HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

New Year’s Eve is here!  Have you thought about how wonderful 2010 can be for your family, friends, and strangers?  Resolutions are a New Year’s tradition.  Start a realistic list and make at least one promise with a loved one to do something out of the ordinary. 

FAMILY RESOLUTIONS:

Agree to disagree. Learn to cooperate and compromise. Put yourself in your loved one’s shoes, and truly try to understand how they are feeling and why they are reacting the way they are. Think before you speak or react. If all else fails, make believe the person you are hard on is a stranger, we often treat strangers kinder than our loved ones. Try not to hold a grudge, and don’t allow it to upset the other aspects of your relationship.

COMMUNITY RESOLUTIONS:

Volunteer somewhere you feel you could make a difference. It could be a hospital, nursing home, church daycare, literacy programs, meals on wheels or your local SPCA. You’ll know what feels right. There are volunteer opportunities everywhere. Check the Internet, local newspapers, and charities in your area.

PERSONAL RESOLUTIONS:

Plan to exercise for 10 minutes everyday. Stretching is great for circulation, walking around the block is great for your heart. Not anything strenuous, just something to get the joints moving. Dancing and yoga are also good for your overall well being.

Read a daily devotion, mantra, or quote to enlighten your spirit. Keep a daily journal of best thing that happened today or one thing per day that you are thankful for. Meditate, pray or focus on something beautiful in nature. Any of these suggestions will do wonders to nurture your inner spirit and will also help relieve stress.

FINANCIAL RESOLUTIONS:

Budget, spend less, and have more. Plan meals, shopping trips and make a list. Stick to the list and do not buy anything except what is on the list. Plan monthly allowances for birthday and special occasion gifts. Start putting money from coupon savings, bottle returns, or loose change in a jar for next year’s holidays. Have a yard sale and put those proceeds away as well. Cut down on your heating bills by wearing layers of clothing. Walk to the corner store instead of driving. Shop at thrift stores, rummage sales and garage sales for clothing, garden ornaments, and household decor.

But most of all, think positive, love and be loved…. and live every moment to its fullest!  HAPPY NEW YEAR to YOU!!!!

–Tara and April

MERRY CHRISTMAS from our houses to yours!!

We wish everyone a wonderful holiday!!!

– Tara, April and Brooklynn

5825 Palm Avenue

 

$339,900   Price reduced $10,000!  Sprawling 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom ranch-style (approx 1900 sq-ft) custom home built by Harry Marsh in 1953, on almost half an acre!  This turnkey “Wood Streets” pool home boasts almost two dozen fruit-bearing trees, and the backyard is overflowing with colorful wisteria, crape myrtle, hummingbirds, and more!

Walk through the front door into the large living room with brick fireplace, hardwood floors under carpet, and formal dining area with chandelier and built-in display for plates and/or trinkets.  Bright kitchen with original knotty pine cabinetry (and lots of it), along with two built-in knotty pine hutches in the nook area.  Lovely family room overlooking the expansive backyard with covered patio and inground olympic-sized pool with diving board.

Big ticket items have already been taken care of, so all you have to do is move in, unpack and not worry about anything for quite a few years.  Newer air conditioning and heating unit, roof, fence, attic-blown insulation, exterior paint, etc.  This home is NOT a foreclosure or a short sale, nor is this a distress sale!

The lot size is 18,730 sq ft (.43/acre) with newer sprinklers, wisteria-covered arbor (in the springtime), and numerous mature fruit-bearing trees.  The huge level lot is separated into two yards by a newer wooden fence.  One section of yard contains the covered patio, pool, arbor-covered hammock, rose garden, and ideal year-round entertaining area, while the back section of yard consists of many trees and an expansive grassy area perfect for the kids and pets to run around or for family football games! 

Last but not least, a 2-car attached garage with separate room for storage and/or workshop.  Laundry area and utility sink are easily accessible, and there is also a smaller separate room just outside the back of the garage that is used as a convenient changing room for pool guests!

This home is lovely and well-maintained;  Mr. and Mrs. Clean live here!  You will not be disappointed if you are looking for a home that feels like “home” yet is perfect for entertaining family and friends as well.

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