Abigail

Boy is this a story for ya... and for those of you who know me, you will not be surprised by my antics!

Yesterday morning I woke up with the mindset to have a wonderful Easter! My family was coming over, we were cooking and eating all of my faves, going to hang out and just have a fun day at the house. We went to Easter church service on Saturday night (seperate post to come to showcase the after pics of the Easter baskets!) so that we could relax and cook on Sunday. So, back on track, I woke up and decided to just run to Kroger real quick to get some last minute things. I figured mostly everyone would be at church and not Kroger, so I walked out the door without brushing teeth, purple leopard pajama pants, no bra (TMI sorry) and my hair was a hot mess! Oh well. I was in a hurry and it was a flipping MONSOON outside! Pouring rain, I mean absolutely pouring! So I am driving down Tates Creek Rd. in the hurricane and I see something dart across the street... a dog... great... I have been known to randomly stop traffic and risk my life to save a stray dog... so I kind of keep an eye on it, it's in the middle of the road, runs in front of a van and almost gets hit. I SLAM on my brakes (don't know if there was a car behind me didn't even look, didn't care) pulled onto the side of the road, get out in the monsoon and start calling her! I am drenched, soaking wet, after about 30 seconds. I open my back car door and surprisingly enough she runs into my back seat!

Call Chris... head back home.. tell him I don't have groceries I have a dog. He thinks I'm joking, a cruel joke that I have a sister for Frankie for Easter haha... no joke, true story, soaking wet dog in my back seat. :)

 Who happens to think she can fit in Jake's carseat!

She has no tags, the Humane Society is closed for the holiday, no signs up missing a dog, no leads, nothing. So I tie her up out back while I go inside to get her food and water and towels, 5 minutes max I am gone. I go back outside to take all the stuff to her, and guess what?

SHE IS GONE!! Chewed through the rope. GONE. No where in sight!
Who loses a lost dog??
Me of course! ha. PS. This is a true story. No exaggeration here.
So I get back in the car, not preparing the food I was in charge of for Easter lunch or anything, drive around, walk around, yell "here doggy" because I don't even know her dang name :( After 30 minutes I am about to give up and call it a day, and as I am driving through the back of the neighborhood I spot her!!!!! I get out, call for her, she runs and jumps back in my car haha. I have found the double lost dog! :)

I enjoy the day with my fam while she chills in the garage, no more ropes outside ha learned that lesson.
Then I go and make signs to put all over the place....

I think the zebra tape added a little extra, don't you?? ;)

By last night I was worn the heck out, she slept in the garage, Frankie was not a happy camper he knew she was out there and just couldn't quite cope with it ha.

This morning I wake up first thing and check on her. She's alive! Yay I didn't kill the lost dog! I take her to my vet and get her scanned and TA DA she has a chip!!! Praise the Lord! Long story short, I find the owner, call her from the vet, she is practically in tears that I have "Abigail" and comes straight to pick her up. We waited in the car for her mom.... and she was so happy!

When the lady pulled up to get her, she called her name and Abigail literally was so excited she JUMPED out my car window and ran to her and started jumping up on her, licking her, rolling all over her feet, it was the sweetest thing! I may or may not have cried hysterically like a freako and the lady was probably thinking OMG this crazy girl had my baby? haha I talked to her and she was so thankful and appreciate I didn't just leave her, she was 3 miles from home and never would have found her way back home :(

I left there feeling happy that sweet Abigail found her mom, happy that Frankie would still be an only child, happy that Chris wouldn't move out for me bringing home a dog haha, but would be lying if I didn't say I was a tad sad and cried driving home because I missed Abigail! Am I a crazy or what? I think I need help and admitting you have a problem is the first step lol ;)

Story of my life... I'm sure there will be another stray dog someday down the road (sorry babe), but for now, Frankie is happy it's still just me and him....

Carrie has done it again...Happy Easter!

I have so many pictures to share of our Easter festivities so far, but for now I just want to share this...
I hope you and your families have a very blessed Easter! My favorite holiday! I am so thankful and blessed only because Jesus died on a cross for me, and rose again so that I could be forgiven of all my sins. It is unimaginable, hard to fathom and today brought tears to my eyes while singing about it at church. I will be forever grateful! So to share that with you, I will leave you with Ms Carrie Underwood doin her thang... LOVE THIS video! PinkLouLou this is for you too ;)
 Happy Easter!
 (pause the playlist before watching!)

Click Here to Watch

(sorry I couldnt get the video clip to upload for some reason?)

You've Got Mail!

This week has been insane for me.... I have bene working like a dog, people are out, looking at houses, showing my listings, I love it! So happy Spring has finally sprung! Feels great to be busy!

Easter is right around the corner, still don't have our outfits planned (yes, I kind of like for everyone to match somewhat ha, Chris just loves this let me tell you!), still have some Easter things to gather, need to go to the grocery, etc etc. HOWEVER, did manage this little ditty that I almost forgot about until about 10 minutes before the kids got here... They got mail!!!

A Letter from the EASTER BUNNY hahaha so clever of him to send these out .... ;)

Even came with an envelope addressed to them @ our address and the return address from Mr. Bunny on Hippity Hoppity Lane lol (sorry if you think this is cheesy but I love it!)

So personalized.... They LOVED it... I'm pretty sure they read it outloud at least 5 times ha. So precious.

I am still working on the personalized Easter Buckets found in this post. Proved to be a tad harder than I imagined, lol, the Sharpie paint pens are amaze BUT be aware, they do get you high after using them for about an hour. I literally felt like I had a buzz. So I had a genius idea ... my nail girl, her name is Tee, I;ve been going to her for I don't even know how many years... well sometimes she says she gets high from all the nail polish so she wears those little masks you know ...

(this is not her ha just an example)

Anyway, long story short, I went to see her and told her about the baskets, paint pens, buzz, blah blah and she gave me a pack of 3 masks lol so now I will be looking like a cute little worker bee, mask wearin, basket painter... while finishing these bad boys up! ;) Pics to come.

This is my absolute favorite song right now ... I could listen to it on repeat forever! Love it! The video is kinda different, but the song and lyrics are my fave! (Mute my playlist at the bottom of the page first!)

Tomorrow I am getting my hair did, THANK GOODNESS, it is about time! My brown hair, (not really but feels that way when I look in the mirror, you know when your roots get so bad you basically have brown hair? That's me right now.) will be back to blonde in 14 short hours and I can not wait!

Hope everyone is having a good week!

My Office, & Your Social Media Reputation

Wow I have been swamped this week... which is a good thing, but I am exhausted! Yesterday was a "get caught up on work at my office" kind of day! I tried to get a little more organized, get caught up on paperwork and made all new flyers for my listings and open houses! Even though it's a little messy, I thought it would be fun to show you my office :) I know everyone likes to see pics! 

Yes, there are two framed pictures of Frankie on my desk ;)

 

Cute little accent Zebra chair from Hobby Lobby (love that place!)

I loved this bulletin board, it gives a blah one a little something extra with the frame around it, I got it at Home Goods I'm pretty sure, last year, but they have all sorts of cute ones!

(Kimberly Gail if you are reading this I am still using this white board, lol from you know where! ha)

While at the office, I received an awesome email about social networking that had some really good points about what we put on our social media sites and protecting our reputations. I thought I would share it with everyone too.

Thanks to Laura for sharing with me! :)

We have so many social media sites now that we all participate in, sometimes it is hard to even keep up! Facebook, Blogging, Foursquare, Twitter, Youtube, gees louise its overload!

Here are some tips (taken from Tuesday Tactics) to help us all manage our reputation while on Social Media! (the verbage is for Realtors but you can insert your occupation there because it applies to most!)

Whether or not you're actively using Facebook, Twitter, or other social media websites to grow your real estate business, you should be aware how your presence on social media can (and likely will) impact your relationship with clients, brokers, and other agents.

While you may be in the habit of keeping your personal and professional life separate, your ability to do so is highly compromised by the combination of social media and everyone's ability to Google your name. You can bet when researching an agent, your prospects will likely Google you and other agents they're considering.

It is safe to assume that everything you post online is public. Even with the strictest of security settings, the odds are that over time the information you're posting will be visible.

Now, if managed well, aspects of your personal interests and "public" life can help prospective clients get to know you a little before they meet you. They can, after browsing your status updates and photos, get a view of your hobbies and how you spend your recreational time. They might even share your interests, which can definitely help you get a leg up on building rapport.

But also consider this: If you're vocal about political and/or religious beliefs in social media, you should realize you risk alienating prospects. The same goes for excessive sharing of your "downtime" and even moments when you may be blowing off steam.

It may seem obvious, but the following are a few good guidelines for preserving your reputation:

1. Alcohol and social media do not mix. Don't have a few and pick up your smart phone for some quick updates.

2. Minimize polemic political opinions, unless you're comfortable losing out on those who do not share your views.

3. Never complain about clients, even if you don't name names.

4. Before you post a photo, ask yourself if it's one you'd put on the wall of your office.

5. Don't bad mouth other real estate professionals, companies, or business associates.

6. Nix any romantic relationship woes.

7. Never post what a great golf round you're having when you should be at an open house. :-)

Not participating may not be the best solution, by the way. If you don't define your story in social media, it might be done for you, through the posts, photos, and thoughts of friends, relatives, and other businesses. Proceed mindfully!

If you know someone who is self employed or works with the public a lot, it might be a good idea to forward this to them... sometimes people just don't realize that not "everything" belongs on facebook! I update a lot, blog, and sometimes do get personal haha but hopefully not too personal and never anything that I wouldn't want a potential client reading or seeing! (ok sometimes Frankie's poop talk or vomit issues may be a little TMI, but everyone poops and throws up people, give him a break! haha) For the most part, it is just about him being his cute little self....

Hope you found the article as interesting as I did! I'm pretty sure my social media reputation is "she is a workaholic, shopaholic, who is obsessed with her dog" hahahaha which is ok with me I guess :)

Enjoy your weekend!

Reached 100! & Celeb Homes!

Today I reached 100 followers!! :)
I am so excited!
For you major bloggers I know this may seem blah, but maybe you can remember when you started blogging and how excited you were, and how you wanted everyone to follow you and comment and view blah blah. LOL well that is the stage I am in now. Thank you to those of you who read regularly and follow! I hope you are enjoying my blog, I know I sure am... such a fun way to empty my brain and vent/share things in my life!

My goal was 100 followers before I do a give-away... so this week I will be thinking up a good one!! Maybe it will be so good it will get me to my next goal... 200 followers ;) Gotta dream big!

I wanted from the very beginning to make this blog something fun, funny, and just a good time! Hoping to share some good ideas, products, places I like doing business with, etc etc. I didn't want it to be all about "Real Estate", even though in reality, that is my real life, and a non-stop, crazy full time job for me. I wanted this blog to be a reminder that I am a Realtor (duh!) and that I love what I do and helping people...and that if anyone ever decided to buy or sell a home, or knew a friend, family member, co-worker (baby's mama's cousin's boyfriend etc you get my drift haha) who was looking to sell or buy, that they would think of ME! :)

So along with being excited to blog about my 100 followers, I also wanted to take the opportunity to say, with Spring here and warm weather approaching now is the PERFECT time to buy or sell a home! Everyone is out looking and rates are still low. If you are a first time home buyer, there is still a wonderful program offered that you can get 100% financing on with no down payment... and if you are purchasing your second, third, fourth etc home, downpayments are still low at 3.5% down! I am happy to help or answer any questions you might have! :)

Now for fun.... some celebrity rooms that are my fave (because we ALL love celebrity real estate!)...

Miley Cirus's closet... so girly and cute... love the Houndstooth chair, it matches my bedroom window treatments and pillows (will post pic later)

Kim Kardashians Bedroom ... mirrored armoir is amazzzzzing!

Tori & Dean's Kitchen, I love their entire house by the way, it may be my favorite celeb house! Look at the floors, love them.

Tori & Dean's baby girl, Stella's, cute pink room. Love the wallpaper! 

Tori & Dean's Dining Room... love love love!

Khloe Kardashian's home office, prec!

Kim Kardashian's kitchen, so white and clean and happy feeling w/ the fireplace :)

Brad Paisley's man-area, love the guitar ceiling fan!

Thought those were fun! It's always fun to look at other's people houses and their taste, that's one of the fun (and sometimes very funny) things that I love about my job! ;)

Happy Tuesday!

Another Great Cake by Confused Confections!

Previously I have blogged about my favorite cake place ....
Confused Confections Bakehouse
To see that blog with all the fabulous cake pictures click here  :) Anywho... for my brother's 21st Birthday I knew I wanted to get him an awesome cake. I knew it had to be something obviously to do with alcohol (duh) but a classy alcoholic looking cake... I had reservations about this because the last thing I wanted was to get a cake that looked cheesy or trashy because it had to do with alcohol. I know my brother would have been happy no matter what it looked like, but this cake surpassed my expectations and he LOVVVEEEDDD it!! 

How cute is that?? The most perfect, classy yet "alcohol themed" cake ever!Yellow Cake inside with chocolate filling and icing... yummmmmy! 

I purchased the little Maker's Mark shot bottles at Rite Aid and dropped them off at the cake place for them to incorporate into the cake. Then after we cut the cake, he got to keep those as mini-presents too ha.

Birthday Boy with his cake :)

My mom bought these candles that were crazzzyyy... you light them and they burn and crackle and crap just like a real firework, right on your cake. Was very pretty, but made my house smell like the 4th of July for about 30 minutes haha.  

Not the best picture but the only one we got of the two of us for some reason?!?

It was a great day, I feel like we celebrated his birthday for an entire week!

 But hey, that's ok, you only turn 21 once!

My mouth is salivating writing this, wishing I wouldn't have given all the left overs to him, but pool season is right around the corner and who am I kidding I would have eaten the whole dang thing if it were here. Can't wait until the next party or reason I get to order another cake!!!  Guess I will have to wait until June for Jake's birthday... hmmm...?? Maybe I can think of something sooner than that! ;)

Am I a TV show junkie?

What in the world is a girl to do on Sunday night now?
I literally have two DVR boxes recording nonstop from 9pm-midnight ... is this ridiculous? Is there anyone else out there that is as crazy as me? (If not, don't answer that ha)

So I decided to do a quick rundown of the shows tonight.... most are being recorded and I haven't watched them yet. I obsess over recording everything (poor Chris) and then just watch them at nights when I can't sleep or need something funny to get my mind de-stressed lol

First up...

Not sure who is my favorite this season... You can't help but like John Rich just because he basically owns Nashville and Country Music worldwide lol his celeb power is amaze!

And I love Donald... I'm sorry if you don't like him, but I love him. Trump for President 2012!!  :)

I think next on the list is Brothers & Sisters...(where was Desperate Housewives tonight by the way???)

I do feel like I am a part of the "Walker Family" when I watch this show, and usually for the rest of the night. This could be an issue, but I am choosing to ignore it because I enjoy the show and wish Nora really was part of my family! Don't you? I would weigh 500 lbs and be a wino but still...she would solve all my problems I'm pretty sure... just like she does for Kitty, Sarah, Kevin, Justin & Tommy haha

Next is a no-brainer... Real Housewives of ANYTHING and I'm tuned in, but I love Orange County.

These ladies were the first... and probably my favorites!

Other than wanting to choke Tamara this season, it's going pretty good and I am liking it. Her soft porn, which I previously blogged about here grosses me out and makes me want to vom.

After Real Housewives every week I love to wait around and watch Andy Live...

You can not help but laugh your butt off at the randomness that comes out of his mouth... He def has diarrhea of the mouth! Do you know anyone like that because I do ha?

He is very funny, and it is always entertaining.  

This show makes me bust out the Kleenex every dang week...

Ahh I just love it!! It is so good and seems so real. Always makes me thankful and always puts things into perspective. This is a show I do not feel guilty for watching like I do sometimes with the trashbags of OC or wherever lol.

This one is controversial I am positive, and even though I do not understand it, I continue to watch...

I think this is last season's clip art above because now there are 4 WIVES, not 3....

They seem happy I guess.... I think the two funniest things about the show are 1. Kody has like a million and five kids, but drives a two door Lexus convertible top sports car that literally only seats two people...

and 2. No one knows what his "real" job is and how he supports all these people? Well I guess before the show how did he support them? Because now TLC is making them millionaires I am sure!

Lastly, (yes there is actually one more!) is a BRAND NEW show starting tonight that I am excited about...

This picture is a little strange, ha, but I do love all the Kardashians and I think this show will be hysterical....

The preview clips already look very drama filled!!! Can't wait to watch and see :)

Well I think that's it, boy I'm exhausted thinking about all of them!! Is there anything else I am missing on Sunday nights? Please say no, for the sake of four things...

1. my sanity

2. my sleep

3. my DVR recording space

4. my relationship hahaha