C Tann-Starr's Outside Blog

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Here's your chance to ask me 20 new questions...

Before you do you may want to read this link and run like hellbecause February 14th 2010 is the deadline for new MeMe information. Feel free to leave your questions in the comment section below and may the Lord have mercy upon your souls if and when I do answer you because I am known to answer just about anything(LOL). Being a blunt, quirky person means the answers may surprise you. I know my relatives had a field day with it. They are still trying to get me to spill the secret to my special skill (ROTFLMAO). :-D

Melodious, you never did answer the original post...Hmm... Wassap with that? I am soooo tagging you with the new one. As to the old one: ANSWER ME GIRLFRIEND!!! I dare you. I double dare you. I triple dare you (LOL). ;-)

People with the Q&A if you're chicken but really want to know something you can always e-mail me the question and I will consider adding it to the line-up. If I get enough of 'em tonight maybe I'll answer the update challenge early (like tomorrow night since it's a snow emergency up here and we're locked in - LMAO). They closed school for tomorrow. My kids are thrilled. We will be painting on canvas tomorrow. :-)

Just got home from shopping with the shorties, Sana and a couple of my fave members of the geriatric brigade. They know when a serious snow storm is coming and started calling for rides soon after Susana and I finished with the wee people. I love my elderly neighbors. Their bones are better than the weatherman and they think this is going to be a twofer. Seriously so. Ever hear a farming Granny say, "it  smells like snow or feels like rain?" They know what they're talking about. Mine does anyway so we are in for the evening and not going anywhere tomorrow (unless we decide to make a snowman - LOL). ;-)

The Thing About Drama Is...

You could be minding your business taking a shower thinking about getting the wee ones off to school so you can meet your 9 AM only to discover your client and shorties have to wait because life, as usual, has a funny way of making other plans for you.

The thing about drama is you have no way of controlling what other people toss your way. You can only control your response to what you need to respond to. Even not responding means you have made a decision not to engage, so don't think for one minute you are not making idle decisions about your life every single minute of every single day. Your profession is what you do, not who you are.

I was watching someone work the crowd and wondered (a) is it crass and insensitive to hand out your business cards to people who are wondering where they are going to live if the place goes up in smoke or (b) is it a missed opportunity to connect with people who suddenly find themselves thinking about the possibility of moving?

The thing about drama is if you are careful and listen to the fears, needs, wants and desires of folk who find themselves unnerved, frustrated and lost you can help them if you place them first. Don't give them your card, go say hello and let them know you're around if they eventually need something because most people who are afraid of being homeless just want to talk about their circumstances.

I took the business card of the sales person when the person got to me and the shorties and stated I am a Realtor. It's very nice to meet you. That one statement resulted in someone asking me why I didn't hand out my cards as well. My response was it's an emergency and I just want to see if my neighbors are okay. I am waiting to take my kids to school and I live just over there. That simple statement got me three new customers. I didn't give them a card, I handed them my cell phone and told them to call their phones and save me in their address book. I would save them.

The thing about drama is if you are careful not to create new drama during an ongoing crisis, people will respond in a positive, proactive way if you give them control and make them feel less vulnerable. I have to thank Margaret Rome for that bit of wisdom. She taught me not to always give out your business card while we were hanging out in Maryland together. She was right. People will come to you if they want you. They will come to you on their terms if you just let them know you are available to help if they ever need it.

1000 pictures in 3 days. What was I thinking?

If we keep this up I'm going to have to buy a lock box just for the wee people simm cards (LOL). Did we have fun? Yup. Are we having fun now trying to figure out what to write about? Yup. Will we be taking you guys on a tour of upstate? Eventually... once we sort it all out (LOL).

We're also still painting the apartment because Stephen is giving us a run for our money (if he's not being a crayon bandit he is laughing while ruining our clothes). I remember feeling really pleased about the faux finish on my hall walls. Now I have to paint that puppy over with white primer because I missed chucking out a marker and the green shorty used is bleeding through, driving me crazy because I can't glaze it out. It was custom colors (banana cream, applesauce and jasmine white) layered in a series of thin glaze overlays by hand with a linen cheese cloth. Now I gotta start from scratch to match the wall with the painting I created to hang there. Bummer...

Maybe I should (a) switch paintings, (b) not hang a painting or (c) buy a giant clock (LOL). I am such a pain in the a$$ when it comes to painting my apartment. Gotta get back to work. The shorties are helping me. :-)

Life With Wee People: My Fave Six Pack

This stuff is great... We are using it to build a small, portable play area. We are also using it to teach the shorties that they can design portions of their living space to take with them on the road. My kids and I are in Bob the Builder mode and are hanging out with a couple of very talented girlfriends who are helping me plan our list of eye candy to collect during our shopping and ski excursions. Noah needs incentive to learn how to read and we plan to give it to him in spades (LOL).

Can you say, "Autistic photographs," "Snow ball fights," and "Arts and craft time?" My goal is to take my budding photographer out on an eye candy hunt, label what we shoot into a digital scap book, then translate some of those experiences into art for their bedroom. 

This portable project (painting gym panels and hunting for eye candy) is going to take all weekend. It's a working weekend because I have a client upstate and I like to mix business with play-dates for the kids. I am always scoping something for them to do near what it is that I have to do because it gives them incentive to hang out with me while I work. We take turns having fun and today we are going to be hanging out at Joe's creating posts for Localism.

While I figure out what to show you guys later on, I'm creating music icons for Noah and miniature traveling paths for Step, pasting down blue painters tape for the straight aways and using paper cups and paper plates to create S-curves on the flooring panels. They are trying to help me so its very slow going because they really have no idea what we're doing (LOL).

Gonna build the Minion Blur a series of quirky roads so he can drive his hot wheel cars and trains on a comfy, soft surface I can assemble and disassemble at will. He likes patterns and textures so we plan on keeping him busy while we experiment with rug replacement materials. When you have kids who spill and one who is fickle with cooperation regarding the potty wars, at some point the rugs will have to go because some stains are harder to get out than others. Interlocking gym flooring is reasonably priced, easy to clean, thicker than carpet and hands down my fave six pack to paint and crayon. It is also light weight so you can stick it on the walls to increase your soundproofing and make quirky art puzzle pieces. If you haven't caught on by now I paint on just about anything... (so do my kids - LOL). I may even let the shorties do their own gym panels since it's their room we are painting. :-)

It snowed last night so we have to get our snowman groove on. I love snow and the shorties seem to be taking after their Mama in this respect. This is going to be their first ski trip so we are trying to figure out if we want to do sleigh or tube runs with the wee people after lunch. I love snow mobiles but I don't think Stephen, the Minion Blur, is up for that bit of mischief. Noah would enjoy the experience because every time I pick them up from school he asks if he can drive my car (LOL). We pretend drive in the garage a lot and I may have to add the game room to our list of things to do today because he does drive pretty good on the racing tracks and I could use a round of Time Crisis. Stephen likes Guitar Hero. He doesn't care if the guitar is bigger than he is either. He will prop that puppy against something and strum. Little Dude was plucking at a Cello the other day while we were looking for bongos. I freaked out for a second because he would go for one over a thousand dollars (LOL). I love my little noise maker but had to let him know that was not the instrument for him. I have to find him something more suitable to play with because he likes to sing and is on Noah's Yamaha just as much if not more than he is. :-)

I have a lot of sketching to do if I want to finish their room before Mikey gets back. I took them to Sam Ashe yesterday to take some photographs for reference material and let them play on the instruments while I visualized the make over of their walls. Seems I have to replace all of the Thomas the Train vinyls I posted the other day because Stephen pulled all the icons off the wall and crayoned my freshly painted hall while we were sleeping (sigh). I should have put the crayons away last night and I feel as if I'm starting from scratch. Now I have to buy more paint and cover his latest bit of wall art. At least I don't have to repaint the bookshelves (LOL). :-)

We really had a blast in the music store yesterday and we're looking at some of the photographs we took together after school. The visiting musicians were very kind to the wee people and the little minions got to touch anything that caught their interest. Noah even had a drumming session with a couple of customers while Stephen went crazy on the keyboards.

Gotta go. Will let you guys know how painting the matts and walls are coming along and will take a few shots of the developing layers of illustrations as they progress. I may start with sketching Noah playing the drums. I bet shorty would enjoy that framed over his bed. :-)

Life With Wee People: Creating Art From The Heart...

I owe the Ward Nasse Gallery some new artwork so this morning's conversation is going to be about art from the heart while I show condos and figure out which drawings I should finish and which ones I should let the shorties color for their amusement (LOL). When we went out yesterday I started sketching to explain house features to Noah. When I draw what we're looking at he understands what I mean because I can show him exactly what I am looking and talking about while scribbling away with my pen. His ability to take pictures and my ability to draw what he is taking pictures of means we can communicate on a whole new level. We're swapping ideas through images and I am loving every minute of it. I have to scribble them quick because we have to stop to service clients, but we do have the option to pick up where we left off (and frequently do) so I shall be exercising that option later on when I take them out after school this afternoon. He liked the Tudors so I'm thinking this one would be nice... :-)

I'm thinking of making an oil painting after I scribble it a few more times before I do a really nice drawing of it. I may turn this one into a water color once I finish inking it. It's Canson canvas paper, has a very nice texture  and holds oil paint and acrylic quite nicely. I do a lot of practice work on these pads and like a quality paper because sometimes, when I least expect it, I actually get a drawing right the first time (LOL).

BTW, today's outside office is lower Manhattan because I shall be working in SoHo, NoHo, Chelsea and Union Square before I break for lunch at 1:40pm and head back to pick up the wee people for our afternoon excursion. Union Square is always a fave WiFi spot for me because I have a thing for Barnes & Noble and Starbucks. My kids love going to B&N and the shorties never turn down milk and cookies at Starbucks. Sometimes, they insist (LOL). It is also a quick run to the Brooklyn Bridge when its time for me to return. I find I make better time cutting through Brooklyn to return to Queens in the afternoons because if you learn to flow with the truck delivery schedules you can miss some major traffic snarls. :-)

Traffic is a pet peeve of the hubby. Mike seems to be enjoying the fact that FL traffic isn't as insane as NYC traffic. My kids love traffic because Stephen is car, bus and truck crazy and Noah is master of our music, games and movies. He loves being in motion, taking pictures while enjoying the electronic perks of home on the road. Stephen has been talking more now that Noah is putting him to "work" and I have been cracking up at some of their brief exchanges. I've been talking to the hubby about getting a Sprint MiFi for the car to share with the South Carlonia and Florida properties so I can take it with me when we go wandering about during vacation. Five devices can log on and that would be stellar for my little group. Since the hubby doesn't want to buy himself a laptop and would rather we hard wire into the modem with a router he is hesitant to do so.

Mikey is a die hard tower man who needs a gaming powerhouse and refuses to budge on the issue. He likes to be stationary with his hard drives while I, on the other hand, am an advocate of the mobile office and love Sprint Air Cards because they work going 60 miles per hour (ROTFL). Yes, I have experimented with them with a little help from my gal pals checking their e-mail and streaming TV plus the wee people love YouTube and Facebook so not having instant Internet access on demand for the shorties et al is playing with tantrum fire (LOL).

While my kids surf the Internet and watch their Amazon Unbox movie collection while we zip around showing properties, having play-dates, Skyping with friends and blogging on the fly, I get to multitask on all sorts of interesting little projects and keep my ADD very happy. Right now I am flipping through my sketchbook waiting for my next appointment to arrive, wondering what my kids are up to at school while chatting with you. If time permits I may sketch a Manhattan cityscape while poking around between assignments.  :-) 

The cool thing about having a mobile office is that you can work from anywhere any time, any place and cycle through projects. Right now I have six sets of keys to some very nice properties for two sets of buyers who work odd hours. I am enjoying my blogging break and I also have my sketchpad to while away the time while I play on-line waiting, waiting, waiting on my next appointment. 

The boys have their own art books and canvas and I am thinking I should hang a few of their latest creations in their room since we're painting the apartment together (among other things -LOL). Noah wrote "The Lion King" on his book shelf and hubby's chest of draws. He also wrote his name on the table. I've been bleaching that for days and tossed out the magic markers (LOL). They were not too happy about me using primer on their wall art but they're gonna have to learn some things should not be written on. 

Client is in. I'm out. Will chat with you guys later after I grab the kids and let them play TomTom. :-)

Life With Wee People: Choices...

We are picking up my show keys for my 9 AM. Shorty decided to go with the Nikes and the red car but insisted we bring the truck along for the ride (LOL). How does one explain to a 3 year old that playing with your undies in the back seat is not exactly a habit one wants to cultivate in life? (LOL)

Why have I given in to this madness? (Besides the fact that I am soooo easily amused and Stephen is just too cute to be annoyed with this morning - LOL) The semi acceptable excuse would probably be: Because we have to get out the door and sometimes it is easier not to argue with tiny people when time is of the essence. Besides, making them happy makes me happy and he's a lot more fun smiling than screaming. Little man has a very big mouth when he gets mad. Mater is this morning's quiet down bribe. ;-)

I know, I know, bad blogging Mommy (LMAO). Will be working in Manhattan today and shall actually write something real estate related later. I owe you a web syndication post, among other things (hahahahahaaaaaa). Lets see if I can find something interesting to take a shot of while I'm gone and when I am not spoofing on the wee people. 

Big shout out and thank you to my personal wee people shoppers for making my life very pleasant yesterday.

I may pick me up a pair of Nikes and Nevados to match the shorties because these are cool shoes. I am on the hunt for black jeans so we can match this week end when we go upstate. :-)

Life With Wee People: Minion Shopping 101

My schedule is pretty wild today. The shorties and I have to find a very nice woman relocating from GA a two family house. She wants to go to contract ASAP, which means I need dibs on a house this week so the contract can be signed next week. This also means that I can't take the wee people clothes and shoe shopping like I originally planned because there's no time to squeeze it in. I am juggling buyers on a tight rope (LOL).

I routinely let them pick out their own stuff when we shop and I also let them dress themselves in the morning. Sometimes that is NOT a good thing (LMAO). Not wanting to jip the little minions from enjoying a wardrobe upgrade, I called a couple of very talented friends who where sweet enough to volunteer as wee people personal shoppers. While they run around with my debit cards two counties over, I'm taking a blogging break sitting over here with my laptop watching my kids standing on their table trying to figure out how to read this scale.

I am comepletely clueless, but am reciting the information like a check list to a very lovely lady with excellent taste who is about to provide the shorties with boots and sneakers. I picked them up some blue jeans while I was at the mall earlier and Step also has new undies on the way as well. My boys are blessed with a lot of wonderful friends who look out for them and I can't wait to see what my friends bring over for the wee people later on tonight. :-)

We were poking around looking in this neighborhood after school and have two more to check out before we call it a day:

I have a thing for Tudor homes and so do my boys so I like to point out home features to them while we roam around scoping FSBOs, off market properties and MLS listings. Every time I watch Noah take an interest in a property I find myself wondering if he might turn into a Photographer, Contractor, Realtor or a  Computer Geek... He could be all four or none. It's up to him to decide, so I'm working on him now to instill the desire to want to be something. Little dude is convinced he definitely is something right now (LOL). The fun part of running the streets with the shorties is the fact that you never know where you're going to make a pit stop to entertain them between clients.

Today I have a stellar pit stop planned for the wee people (once I get them off their table). Ever been to a steak house bakery? Seriously. I love New York City. You can get anything tasty to eat if you know where to go. I am a native with really cool friends who love good food as much as I do so I know where to go to get some. My must do list is very long (LOL).

Today, dinner will be at Cositas Ricas because the fish is excellent and I'm working my way through their menu with the shorties and my gal pal Susana Isakhavora. Sana, my fave guide to all things Jewish and Russian, introduced me to this very cool Latin place. It's an amazing hole in the wall spot to chill in with a wide selection to choose from... I am soooo into family oriented foodie paradise spots with good food that is reasonably priced. There is a lot of shoopping over there so parking is going to be a real challenge if you drive.

BTW, if your kids are a wee bit non-verbal like mine are, having menus with nice color photographs is a must. Stephen, the Minion Blur, likes to point and shout "this one" in a very bossy manner if you let him have a go at ordering. Shorty has an expectation too and will get a bit fiesty if you overlook him and order first (ROTFL). I tend to let them both have a go at just about everything so yes, I know, that is not always a good thing... However, trying to teach them generally works best if I do it in a real world setting because I need them to be able to function if they tag along during a business lunch or dinner.

Noah once had such a bad melt down in public the client and I wrote her offer on my dashboard and ate our food in the car to get him out of the restaurant. Stephen was pissed because he likes eating out and wanted to go back inside (LOL).

Oh well... if you can't have fun at work where can you? (LMAO) At least my kids like to go to work with me and my clients like my kids. They really do think they are mini-Realtors-in-training (LOL). Guess what Noah just said? "Get back to work, Stephen" (LMAO).

Oh crap. Stephen is texting again. Gotta go save my address book and get back on the road. Got a client to meet. We will continue this conversation later. :-)

Murphy's Law Can Be A Real B Sometimes... Got pets? Put the pets in the remarks section. Seriously...

Stephen, the Minion Blur will walk up to a 200 pound dog and get nose to nose to smile in its face. Noah, the Net Geek is the exact opposite and runs from barking puppies (LOL).

Took my boys to work today and as luck would have it the 2 family home I was waiting to show (in 18 degree weather) had tenants with dogs. Barking dogs... Hmm...

It would have been nice if the listing agent had made a note to "beware of dogs on the premises" in the remarks section as (1) there is no indication on the property that they exist, (2) some people are allergic and (3) in Noah's case afraid, but I digress and need to set up the rest of the picture of my Murphy-Day for you so you can get where I am coming from this evening. :-)

Have you heard of Murphy's Law? In sum and substance: Anything that can go wrong will... Wikipedia is building an interesting page on it and you can spoof around here for more info:  http://www.murphys-laws.com

I am happy to report that Murphy's Law is alive and well regarding my industry and ML managed to infiltrate my day in spades (LOL).

We can start with the fact that I had to make this appointment a week in advance because the tenants are not thrilled with having to move if the house sells. They have restricted access to their apartments to one hour a week once a week (only on Saturdays). Picking Saturday means my Jewish buyers and my 7th Day Adventists will never get to see this property. Ever. Psssst... Listing Brokers you may want to think about that. Seriously... When people give me the once a week crap I always pick Wednesdays because no religious group has national dibs on that day that I am aware of. :-)

I habitually confirm my appointments before I go because I have kids in tow and hate dragging them out if I do not have to. Family time matters to me so when I am walking out the door for my 1PM and you tell me I am not in your appointment book after your firm denied my out of state buyer access last week because you needed that one week notice and explained the restrictions very carefully to me, I freaked out over the phone because the idea of me having to explain why I didn't merit a jot in your appointment book set my teeth on edge. I apologize for raising my voice a few octaves. That happens when I get upset on behalf of a buyer being pushed through hoops and dissed when we go to great lengths to comply with your firm's rules based upon the sellers instructions and you still forget about me and my people.

It's a short sale, so tenants making it difficult for the landlord to show the property can be a real B when you are an owner going back and forth to court trying to stop a foreclosure with a modified loan and/or a short sale. Brokerage firms not putting Buyer's Broker appointments in their systems compound that bit of stress for owners who have to respond to the scene because of tenant drama. Buyers traveling great distances to view can be out of train/plane tickets when yours is the only property they want to see because they like the outside and work out their hypothetical offers in advance.

I was blessed to be squeezed into today's 2-3pm line up and expressed my gratitude and appreciation for being granted hypothetical access because I treat my buyers the same. 1100 miles or around the corner, my job is to get you in to view, crunch the numbers, do the comps and help you make an informed decision.

I sent a text to the buyer that our schedule had changed, canceled where we should have been at 2pm, fed my kids and took off to get lost in the streets until it was time to show the property. To amuse my boys since I killed their 2 pm playdate, I handed them cameras and let them shoot out the car windows. Guess what we saw?

Isn't it gorgeous? We love fire engines and had no idea how it would affect our appointment to view today. We can start with the mild gripe that the people who promised to be there between 2 and 3 pm left while I was parking my car three doors down from the house. We saw them pull off in two vehicles but had no idea it was them until we read the house numbers. Hmm...

I knocked, I rang, but no one answered. My 8 year old became upset because he loves exploring houses and thinks being a mini-Realtor-in-training is mad cool. He had an expectation to be greeted warmly and peek into how the other half lives but instead was left shivering on a stoop that needed minor repairs. He saw the people leave just as I had so of course the echolalic speech started with him repeating there was "no one home, lets go home." Being anal retentive and always determined to engage him in conversation, no matter how brief, I had to keep explaining that we can't leave our buyer, we have to wait.

Back to the car we go to call the Listing Broker's firm and inform her/them no one was home. She says she'll call me right back. Cool. I sit in my car with the shorties while we watch three cars arrive and six people walk into this home. I call my buyer wanting to know where she is. She's lost. No problem. I have time for her to catch up with me because people are arriving and leaving. I see another broker showing the property. Listing  Broker calls back and says the owner is parked around the corner in the drive. Knock and ring on the front and side entrances. Someone will let me in. Cool...

While having this brief conversation a fire truck pulls up. My kids get real excited. Lights are flashing. Firemen are streaming out. We're wondering where are they going while we snap a few pictures. They enter the listing. Oh crap. I let the broker know a half dozen fire fighters have just entered her listing. We're both incredulous... We have no idea what is happening.

People pour out of the house. Hmm... More fire trucks materialize... I'm thinking, I could be watching Netflix, hugging a blankie with my kids instead of wondering if the place wll burn down before my buyer sees this house. I am praying that this is not going to result in serious damage or someone being hurt. The suspense is stressing me out to no end. I realize I may have to shred the binder sitting on my dashboard (LOL).

It doesn't burn down ten minutes later. Yay! The hoses never come out. Doing the snoopy dance! I'm excited because my buyer really likes the outside and has been speculating with me as to the condition of the inside of this property. We can't wait to see it but don't want to go near it while fire fighters are inside. The wee people and I wait, and wait, and wait... What the heck are they doing in there? Are they using extinguishers? I start to freak out again (LOL). Eventually, the fire fighters trickle out. We watch the fire trucks slowly roll away. I suddenly realize my buyer is missing in action (LOL).

We get out of the car and immediately regret not being warm and toasty. We march up to the front door to ring the bell and knock. The top floor gentleman lets us in and promptly locks his apartment door never to be seen or heard from again by us. Noah is bummed out because we can't get in. He's not used to having a door closed in his face unless it's Stephen slamming the bathroom door during the toilet wars (LOL). We do hear a TV and a dog barking behind the door, so Noah decides it is definitely time to go home because he realizes we're being ignored in a strange hall.

I talk my 8 year old into giving me five minutes to show my buyer the first floor apartment. We knock. The landlord opens the door and Stephen strolls in and starts exploring the living room while Noah executes a backwards broad jump back into the hall upon noting another dog.

Being in a cage does not matter. It's a dog. It is barking. Barking means threat. He has clamped onto the banister and I can't pry his fingers off. Little Dude is stronger than I am when he gets upset (LOL). My buyer goes to tour the place with Stephen and the landlord. The landlord and tenant have a conversation that gets heated while we are all there that triggers my buyers making a hasty retreat. Visions of evictions and landlord/tenant court are materializing in our heads... Bummer... I need a two family delivered vacant. I need a two family that provides unrestricted access to view. I feel bad because it didn't work out even though this place is minutes from the highway on a quiet street, has a lot of potential and is a corner property.

Who knew one argument, a MIA tenant, two dogs and a half dozen fire fighters could blow optimism right out the window.  My buyer has kids. I have kids. Watching a child negatively react to a jumping, barking dog can make parents go into protective mode and not feel safe because we zone into how they feel about a home.

Got pets? Put the pets in the remarks section so we know who needs to be left at home and who should not see your house to begin with. Seriously... I have buyers who can't stand cigarette smoke too so you might not want to dismiss this little ditty too quick out of hand. Smells and noise affect some people in the most peculiar ways...

Foreclosure Avoidance Counseling Is Free From HUD So Why Are You Paying Fees For This?

So, I'm chilling in Home Depot the other day buying paint for my apartment when this woman who reads my blog walks up to me and starts asking about a referral to a company to counsel her on how to avoid foreclosing on her home. She tells me she's been contacted by a few firms who got her info from court records and wants to know what to do. I don't know what to do because I don't know why they contacted her and/or their relationship to her lender. I have never heard of the firms so I have no opinions about them, just a general question:

Why are you going to pay fees for "Foreclosure Avoidance Counseling" when you can get that free from HUD?

It appears none of the commercial companies that contacted her bothered to tell her that. I figure since I helped her in the paint isle I might as well pass along the info to the rest of my readers. If you are struggling to meet your mortgage payments you ought to consider hitting the government websites to discover what your options and rights are. When you are done with your overview and think you understand the process, feel free to hire the professional of your choice to help you with your issues if you believe that is the correct route for you to go. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, then educate yourself and be prepared to live with the choices you make.

Don't be afraid to ask for help but do be cautious when people start contacting you out of the blue because your home makes a commercial distressed property list.

Go to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and read up on President Obama's comprehensive Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP). There is a lot of free government info to point you in the right direction (plus your lender can send you info if you ask them directly). You shouldn't have to automatically pre-pay money so someone can send you their abbreviated version of what the government says. You are free to pay for what ever you want, but before you pay anyone anything, educate yourself so you can understand what it is you are paying for.

Here's the HUD New York page listing Foreclosure Avoidance Counseling providers and each state has their own list. I know that I wold be pissed off if someone sold me regurgitated government pamphlets I could get by clicking on a couple of Internet links in HUD.gov or the Federal Housing Administration. Research before you buy to try. Just sayin...

Life With Wee People: To Paint Or Not To Paint

Ever try painting your apartment with curious kids around? Can't get much done with Stephen the Blur Minion sticking his hands where they don't belong. His fave thing to do? Touch the wet wall and wipe my clothes (LOL). Noah is really cool because he likes to paint and is very good at using the roller. Stephen is another experience. He likes chasing us with the paint rollers. I have to keep pausing then sticking us in the shower so the only thing I have managed to finish so far is "applesauce" on the inlay door panels and "banana cream" on the radiator and window sills. This is going to take a while... I need a break. Time to go outside. :-)

We're going to the park so the shorties can get some fresh air. Stephen has not been feeling well and ran a temperature on Friday. Noah refused to go to school without Stephen and since they were both snotty I let them stay in bed most of the day. You'd think I'd have made progress painting the bathroom but every time I cracked a can of custom colored latex primer they'd both bounce up ready to help. Of course I let them (LOL). :-)

We have to show houses later today. I figure a break would be nice and an excursion to the park would be a good test run to see how Stephen is feeling about running around for an hour. If he curls up on a bench and/or lays down on a slide I am canceling all of my appointments and going back home. If they climb like monkeys then I'm going to have a good work day. It's too early to tell if we will be roaming the streets or hugging the blankies. When the boys don't feel well we usually cuddle up and watch TV. If we do go back home the only question remaining is to paint or not to paint... I have sundance yellow, jasmine white and dried palm to spread all over the walls. I would love to get that done by next week end. I have canvas that need to be hung. I'm working on several portraits. :-)

Life With Wee People: Tickled Pink

Today is the day I pass down the silver Nikon to Noah. My budding photographer is eight years old and we're perched on the futon making birthday plans. He is insisting on cheesey bread for lunch. I guess I shall have to ask permission to bring in pizza for his classroom after I drop the boys of at school. He is also insisting, "no shower." Hmm...

Those two words usually mean he's protesting getting out of bed. It appears they both want to go back to sleep because Stephen is howling is head off at 7AM and Noah just turned off all the lights and the shower. As I type this, Noah is wrapping himself back into the blankets and Stephen is throwing toys.

That is not a good thing. Each morning is a challenge to get them into the bathroom. Refusing to walk is a fave  protest that survives the house and usually continues on to the garage and car. Stephen refusing to walk is not so bad because you can snatch the three year old up and carry him off giggling with a few well placed kisses. Noah is the tricky one. He's strong enough to drag you in the opposite direction so it's a tug of war if he doesn't want to go. I have been known to simultaneously carry Stephen up front with Noah in piggy back position up the basement ramp, each of us sporting a bag. My neighbors get a kick out of it because no other Mommy has ever done this in my building. There are days my boys make their "walk the dog" time very interesting. I don't mind that people find the need a curious undertaking because my goal is to get them into the car under 20 minutes  (LOL). Have you ever tried to keep two escape artists lined up and focused on going up a ramp, around a building and down a ramp without stopping to greet every bird, cat, dog, car, bus, airplane they see? Heaven forbid if one of their friends is still waiting for the bus in front of our building. It's over. Thus, sneaking them through the basement past the laundry room and out the side exit is a must do if I want to avoid a tantrum or full blown melt down (LOL).

Today, the tantrum is in-house because Stephen and Noah do not want to shower... The strange thing is once Stephen is finished fighting you tooth and nail about not wanting to go into the bathroom, you can't get him out of the shower once in (LOL). They both have sensory issues and Stephen has a craving for textures so I have to watch him carefully because he can be extreme when it comes to playing with the soap. Water is also a fave element to play with so I have to give him a bit of space (LOL). Drenching is fun to a three year old so I usually sit in the hall on the floor typing away while blocking the bathroom door insisting they "pee pee potty" and take their showers.    

Looking forward to starting my day. I have a birthday to plan. I'm thinking a game room after school would be kinda nice. Noah loves to drive and Stephen is tickled pink over guitar hero. I have a thing for the gun games. Time Crisis is a fave. :-)

I am locked out of my Cisco system so you guys have to e-mail me if you want me because my voice mail is full. Seriously.

If you call my office I will not be there (e.g. I run the streets with buyers and wee people, remember?).

If you left a message I can not call you back because I can not access my phone, so I apologize if you think I am ignoring you. I am not ignoring you. I can not access your messages at this time. That totally whomps but sometimes things break down.

My office phone is out of order. I wont know when I'll have it back until the line is repaired and I get a new password so please don't fill up my text messages asking me something I can not answer. They may have to dump your messages to reset my password. Sorry...

If you want me please e-mail me. The office fax works too and I can pick them up with my laptop...

Sorry for the inconvenience...

Bagels With Jesse

A couple of days ago I had the pleasure of being treated to breakfast by Jesse Skolkin He is an Independent New York State Certified Real Estate Appraiser with a thriving business and great blog. He produces a lot of exclusive content for the members at ActiveRain so if you want to read my pal Jesse you need to join this platform. For all you bankers looking to expand your appraisal roster, feel free to give Jesse a call. As for me, I high-jacked a bunch of his business cards during breakfast to give to my buyer clients. I'm not stupid (good people are hard to find - LOL). :-)

As much as I love going to Yotveta, you would think a bagel bunnie like me would have crossed the street to try Bagels & Company. Never happened until my blogging buddy suggested I try one of his fave places to eat in the morning. So while snacking on bagels and Israeli salads we had a lovely time chatting about the Rain, the industry, our cameras, families and fave facts about our kids. I'm going to hook up with Jesse for breakfast next week and treat him to Yotveta. I love their sea bass and they have a very yummy breakfast special. :-)

In the meantime I have to figure out today's agenda. I am going to plop my boys in the shower so we can go back to Jesse's fave spot and have our bagels. I am a Cin & Raisin gal so the three of us shall be munching on a few before going to the park so my shorties can play while I blog live in the streets. I may even wander upstate today. I am waiting for the lovely Paddy Pizappi to post her things to do post because she knows all of the cool spots and I need some new eye candy. It's a visual addiction I'm cultivating in my kids (LOL). :-)

Brooklyn Navy Yard...

Sometimes when I want to have a quiet moment I go off the beaten path to chill. The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a fave spot to sit back and enjoy views of Manhattan. I also like to watch the movie makers come and go. There are a bunch of production studios hidden in here and I have a couple of friends with commercial rental listings on location. Periodically, I get invites to come tag along while they show a property. My friends know how much I love eye candy. :-)

Sometimes the best part of being in real estate is access to unique points of views... I love the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It's huge... :-)

Cunningham Park Through The Eyes Of A Seven Year Old (Noah E Starr)

It's the grin and the body motion that makes watching him take pictures so interesting for me as a parent with an Autistic son. He doesn't say much, but he starts moving with this happy, half dance step, using his body to zoom in and out while floating the camera around to snap shots. It always makes other kids come over to see what he sees. My fave part is when I get to see what he sees... I may have to start taking the video camera instead of catching him work with my cell phone (LOL). ;-)

Letters In Nature (Autistic Photographs by Noah E Starr)

My kid is a better photographer than I am. I've been jogging in this park for years and never once noticed a letter in nature. We weren't through the fence two minutes when he demanded the camera and wandered off to do his thing. I remember him saying "W" and his little brother Stephen repeat the letter several times, yet thought nothing of it until I downloaded the simm card into my laptop. Wait until you see my upcoming post of Noah's latest points of view... I have to post a couple here just to tease you of the images to come (LOL). ;-)

Mr. Autism has discovered his calling. If Mr. PDD-NOS follows along behind him I am going to have a field day hunting eye candy with the wee people this year.

As far as I am concerned, Noah deserves his own hyper-local series and I am going to give it to him one post at a time. I may turn it into a publishing project. His work would make a beautiful coffee book and would also bring Autism/PDD-NOS issues to light. Even when people don't want to be bothered by my kid sticking a camera in their face he finds something interesting to capture (LOL). He was quite charming about it and readily shared what he was capturing. It made a lot of people smile today.

Can you say, "Talk to the hand?" (ROTFLMAO). The little girl in the playground soon befriended him when she realized all we were doing were taking pictures and filming clips while Stephen ran a mini-marathon around us.

People become curious when you don't talk and just capture the moment. They want to see what you see and she was shocked at his shots. If a kid with speech delays can get another kid excited about photography, imagine who else he might be able to excite if I keep encouraging to express himself through art...

I shall show you more of what he saw a later on tonight. I may be biased but I think my boy is amazing with his curiosity and attention to detail... Here is one more peek at his work until I sort through the 75 shots taken today. Some of them are mad blurry. He got so close to some objects that I have no idea what they are...

I am really beginning to enjoy discovering what he sees when he looks up and zooms down. :-) If you are going to teach a child photography, the magic hour before sunset is the best time to have them discover the value of dramatic lighting and how not using a flash will color your world in the most unexpected ways...

The Autistic Photography of Noah E. Starr: Holy Cow Playground From The Eyes Of A Child

TLW, this is for you. Your grand-minions send their love, hugs and kisses. We hope to see you in February. I gave Noah my Nikon today and let the boys play TomTom and Photographer. We didn't have far to go. They made a bee line for one of their fave spots and I had a wonderful time watching Noah explore with the camera. He's going to make a wonderful photographer. Stephen was a pip. He kept shooting the ground (LOL). I took some cell phone videos of him working with the camera and will post my thoughts about that later.

Here is some wee people eye candy. Holy Cow Playground from the eyes of a child...

Kids doing Localism. I bet you didn't see that one coming (LOL). ;-)

Here's the link: http://www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/sonicbids

We're over $4K right now and hope to crank out the buzz to get more help over there. Haiti has suffered another major earthquake that measured 6.1 and I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me to see so many people coming together to aid them.

Every dollar counts. Give to where ever you choose to give and give as many times as you can. Don't feel your dollar doesn't count because a dollar is all you have. Every dime is very much appreciated. :-)

Working With The Lights Off...

Ever hear that expression "The lights are off and nobody's home?" That would be me today (LOL). Besides the fact that I opted to work with the office lights off, I don't know how I did it but I managed to lock myself out of my Cisco Systems IP Phone (7940 Series). The computer keep telling me to call customer service... On a holiday weekend... Yet has the nerve not to give me the bloody number to call... WTF?

This is what happens when you have too many accounts that require unique passwords which demand to be updated every 90 days.

How the heck does one constantly create new passwords every 90 friggin' days? Don't get me wrong, I do remember them all, I just don't always remember which order I created them in for what accounts. Seriously... At least I didn't lock myself out of the WiFi (ROTFL). If I did that I couldn't blog live from the office (LOL).

Just popped in to get you guys to say hello to our newest Club Chaos bay-bay. Now that the group e-mail is out I have to get back to my clients. Consider this my example of how to blog in less than ten minutes when the people you are with have to take a potty break (LOL). ;-)

Hi Laura! :-D Wanna hint regarding my next post? RainCamp Bay-Bays (Aren't they cute?)

Laura Cerrano, Tom Re and Paddy Pizappi attending the RainCamp After-party

How cool was NYC's RainCamp? VERY!!! Going to DC? I am. Meetcha' there! ;-)

My Three Year Old Has Discovered Texting (LOL)

So I'm in the shower when I hear the home phone ring and my girlfriend's voice comes through the answering machine stating, "Either you are off your meds or shorty just sent me another text message."

She starts laughing her a$$ off because she knows that Stephen, the Minion Blur has my cell phone. The fact that I didn't answer the home phone either means (1) he drowned it in the toilet again, (2) it's hidden somewhere in the Minion Zone or (3) I am scrambling to get the heck out of the bathroom before my Sprint Rant takes a five story dive out the bedroom window compliments of shorty (LOL).

BTW, we learned our lesson from the last time and no longer leave the microwave, toaster or infrared cooker plugged in (ROTFL). However, we have been experiencing technical difficulty with peanut butter lately... (sigh)

My son has three favorite things that he loves to do: (1) eat ice pops, (2) watch DVDs, (3) engage in the ritualistic sacrifice of electronics. The latest casualty are the surround sound speakers that used to grace their bedroom. Don't ask. You really don't want to know. Trust me. That really, really whomped (LOL).

What you probably do want to know is what exactly is the Minion Zone. Hmm... let me think... it's very complicated (LMAO). I shall be back later to explain that PDD-NOS phenomena in great detail. There will be numerous disclaimers and a Wordy C warning not to try this at home. Seriously. Thinking like a three year old is dangerous but I digress... (LOL).

Did I mention that my three year old has discovered texting? Yes, I do believe I did... Now I fear we have to add sending text messages as a forth PDD-NOS addiction. The sad thing is he's really good at it for someone who can't read or spell (LOL). He works that phone like a pro and enjoys responding to other peoples replies (is it the little fingers engaged in occupational therapy or the freaked out Mama that gets him off?). If I don't get my phone back quick enough he can fire off six or seven of those puppies while running away, squealing with delight because he's being chased.

Text chasing... Shorty gives that phrase a whole new meaning (LOL).

It appears that he has also discovered the fact that if you type a letter my phone anticipates the word by frequency of use. Thus, strange sentences and bogus conversations are formed instantly (to the delight and amusement of my friends). He told one I was "waiting outside" so she came home looking for me. He sent "OMG" to another so she started texting back in rapid fire: "?" "??" "What?" "WTF?" before she finally got frustrated and called me. Imagine her surprise when Stephen answered my cell and proudly announced, "Car. Look at the car? My car. Mine... MIIIIINNE." then abruptly hung up. This ritual was repeated three times before I realized he wasn't talking to Noah (LOL).

News spread quickly of his exploits. Thus, the text wars began. Now my girlfriends interrupt my day with pithy comments like, "I'm outside... or am I?" and "Mine. My Car. OMG Caaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr" (LOL)

Did I mention we are very easily amused? We are you know. We all vicariously raise and supervise the wee people. Time to meet my clients. Last thoughts before I go?

Blog...

My blog...

MIIIIIIINE. ;-)