C Tann-Starr's Outside Blog

Today's Wordy C Agenda: Creating Works of Art (and maybe finishing that market report...)

Time to get new supplies for our next Minion Painting video. I've been in Google and have decided to go somewhere I have never visited: Utrecht Art Supplies located at 211 Glen Cove Road Carle Place NY 11514 (516) 741-1805.

Being a cyber-child, I am addicted to shopping on-line. I have used their website and shopped in their Manhattan store but have never checked out the Long Island version. Rumor has it this place is close with a nice parking lot. Free parking means I can buy more supplies (LOL).

Usually when I need to get my artsy-fartsy on I drive to Manhattan to visit Dick Blick and Pearl Paint. Today, I decided to do something different so I can create a Localism post. Killing two birds with one stone can be useful for your blog in more ways than one.

This store has decent hours: Mon - Sat they open 10-8 and on Sundays 11-7. 

Coolio. I have time to shower, hit Yotveta for breakfast, do my do at the New York Sports Club, shower again, take a casual drive for eye candy, buy art supplies and torture you with a new YouTube of me and the wee people painting together later on (LOL). Okay, okay, I will post the eye candy first before I torture you with our illustrations (LMAO).

You think this is a frivolous post? Well, I am soooooo easily amused and it is Sunday (LOL). Hmm... well... um... er... No, it's not really frivolous. Not really. I'm giving you a heads up to the fact that:

Yes, I have an agenda (LMAO). Will be posting four videos today (translated: now answering my e-mails in public - LOL). I finished two in the wee hours this morning and might even do a Cow Pie tutorial for Carra's group simply because they tickle me. Chicka is a mad cool newb with a sense of humor. I love that! She's great for my ADD too (LOL). Cosmic Cow Pie is such a perfect fit for Club Chaos just like Whacked and Jacked and a few other fave digital places to be (there's a list - LOL). I'm having mad fun in AR and I'm like a little kid who can't wait to start her blog-day. It's a very nice feeling. I love blogging on ActiveRain and checking in to socialize and mess around with you guys. :-)

An Ambassador of Chaos post is over due as well. Will I be serious there? Hmm... who the heck knows (LOL). After all, I am menionizing writers so I've gotta get my tutorials posted if you guys are gonna start writing Minion Style. I am obsessed about Google Domination so it actually wont be a frivolous post because I take my AR duties seriously. Might become fun 'cause I'm having fun with it and I want all of you hitting page one at will, not willy-nilly. I am pretty serious about that but serious is relative (LMAO).

To hit page one of Google takes very creative writing. If I can do it when I want to, then you can do it too. I am going to have mad fun playing Ambassador later because I'm going to spoof my a$$ off while teaching you how it is done and sharing a few stats to prove that I do indeed do it when ever I want with the subject matter of my choice (LOL). If you follow along with the SEO Bootcamp you'll get a boost in your stats out of the deal. ;-) 

I wonder where my imagination is going to take us today... Wanna help me pick a subject? I have a good idea where I may be going with this but don't want to spoil all the fun. Anticipation is a beautiful thing... Participation makes it all the more fun. ;-)

Stay tuned. I may be posting a "Silly Saturday" post on Sunday as well (LOL). Think I can get it to page one of Google by Monday? I think I can... I know I can... What the heck. Let's just do it, eh? Silly can go a long way to getting your blog noticed. Silly mixed with serious is best when collecting a wide spectrum of readers. Never know where your next bit of business will come from.

You don't believe silly can be effective? Wanna bet? Dare ya to take the Silly Saturday challenge! Tossing down the blogging gauntlet now (LMAO). You pick your fun post and I'll pick mine. Lets see where we stack up in cyberspace...

GOOGLE the term "My Cow Pie" (ROTFLMAO). Mwah-ha-ha-he-heeeeee. You are so screwed if you bet against me (LMAO). It's on page one of Google. Seriously (LOL). I have some of the greatest minds in AR teaching me how to teach you to do this and I have been doing what they have taught me so I know it works. I just have to figure out how to effectively mentor my peeps because I've been collecting writers to minionize. I am a geek. A silly anal retentive but fun geek. I get SEO. In spades (LOL).

My gig is pimping your outside blogs. Best way to get that point across is to pimp mine (LOL). If I can prove to you that my blogs do well, then you have an example of what you can do with your own. If you want to set up an Outside Blog and need help, e-mail me. Can't play SEO games without being indexed people. The OB is the bomb diggity and the Club Chaos SEO Bootcamp requires an Outside Blog. I have three. Feel free to set up as many as you would like because they are real websites that have major value. Think separate intellectual property people. You will own actual domain names and have digital real estate in cyberspace. You need to understand AR is also a hosting platform (just like GoDaddy) and your OB is not the same as your AR Dashboard and Localism. Uuh-oh (LOL). :-)

I get the fact that my Outside Blogs rock. I really need you guys to get the fact that your OBs should be rocking cyberspace too and consider the Rainmaker package if you have not done so.

Hook up with your friends and create, then market your groups. The Active Rain Group: Club Chaos has been dominating Google and if you Google the term "Club Chaos" you will discover our group and team blog ClubChaosAgents.com live on page one of Google out of 10,600,000 entries for the term. People have been begging me to let them advertise there. That's not happening, but it's a lovely compliment. People should be begging you to market and advertise to your group creations as well. If not, you need to go find the Ambassador of your choice and stick with them, opening up multiple team and outside blogs so you can monetize your ventures. My bay-bays have all sorts of writing projects going on. Yup. Several of us have monetized our blogs. Guess that means that My Cow Pie IS BIGGER than your Cow Pie (LOL). BTW, it really is on page one of Google. Position 4 of 514,000 for "my cow pie." So I guess me and Carra are not as silly as some people may think (because we created fun groups and write what ever we want).

Hmm... Come to think of it I did promise you guys my version of a market report. Sigh...  A bloggers work is never done... My list of things to do today is growing... :-)

No more teasing. I have to take a shower and get out of here. I need to pick up a couple of brick and mortars so you can see Glen Cove, among other things (LOL). If you think I'm crazy, wait until I start posting interviews of my friends talking about what they do for a living and how I disrupt their days taking them on adventures in blogging.

A videoblog? Seriously??? Yup (LOL). They are going to help me get to page one of Google because I have just formulated how to get my unwitting victims to play along (LMAO). Wanna learn something new today? Come back after 4PM EST and watch how silly people like me actually get a lot of work done. I need to go buy some peeps lunch and get 'em on film so you can learn something new about how I create music, art and articles between running the streets with customers, little minions, friends and clients (LOL).

See ya! Gotta go entertain my ADD. :-D

BTW, The Wrath of Cow Pie Googled as a term actually produces 23,200 hits to which we are number 1 on page 1 of Google (ROTFLMAO). Who the heck knew... Thank you, Heather C for inspiring me with such a fun term. ;-)

Wordy C on The Wrath of Cow Pie and How To Cowculate Bull

Buying a brown cow dos not automatically mean it will produce chocolate milk. There are some people in the Rain who would have you believe this fairy tale because in cyberspace anything is possible if one is willing to believe. Like the Goose that lays the Golden Egg, The Chocolate Cow award is the brass ring of stellar blogs. Who doesn't want to be the next Lenn Harley and own a website like HomeFinders.com? Who doesn't know three names of AR Staff? What are the first three things you think of when someone says TLW? If you are addicted to the Rain you subconsciously answered these thoughts without blinking or missing a beat because you can't be here a month and not know. Not knowing means you are not an active participant. If inactive, use the search feature to bring yourself up to speed. You are missing out if you have not read Lenn and TLW. :-)

BTW, there is more to TLW than crap points, ammo and a whip (LOL). Seriously... Give yourself time to get acquainted with your digital peers. It changed my life. Bet it will change yours in a wonderful way. ;-)

Google UFOs. Enjoy the arguments debates. They are very interesting and very compelling. We know they exist. There is a lot we don't understand. Looking forward to the explanations one day. Ezekiel saw the wheels in Chapter 1... (my fave visual) Dr. Rev Jesse Duplantis has Close Encounters of the God Kind creationist explanations that are fun and educational (stellar DVD). Pilots have taken film and pictures. The military is still freaking out about what they can't explain while governments keep pointing fingers at each other convinced new weapons are being manufactured and tested for the ultimate world war. The Blue Book Archives is a fascinating government website.

When it comes to UFOs we just don't know (a) what they are, (b) where they come from and (c) who is manufacturing them. Take out UFOs and feel free to substitute the word Blog Posts, then re-read this sentence again (LOL). Do you know the writers you are reading? Do you know where they are coming from, their true intent? Do you even know if they manufactured their own material?

Hmm... I think I know more about UFOs than the writers in cyberspace (LMAO).

UFOs are the Scientific Unicorn. Do we all subconsciously want to get our hands on one? You betcha! Think of all the free business publicity and historical notoriety not to mention the potential hypothetical money involved when governments and defense contractors start drooling over the rights to reverse engineer the technology of an advanced spacecraft or unicorn genome (LOL). Did I mention MONEY? (LMAO) Rumor has it it makes the world go round (besides gravity and God).

Anything that generates a substantial amount of money will always garner interest. If you maintain your blog well and treat readers right you will eventually discover you can generate a lot of money from several sources of revenue because you've stumbled into the Digital Goose that Lays the Golden Egg: Social Media.

Milk your social media opportunities by creatively marketing content and you open the door to opportunity. When opportunity knocks, your bloggers butt had better be in your digital home ready to respond. You have no idea who is reading you. You have no idea where your blog is going. From Club Chaos to Cosmic Cow Pies, doesn't matter what group you align yourself with. What matters is that the Rain allows you to be found in cyberspace by the entire planet. It's a commercial platform for your mind to find and connect with a business and/or consumer audience. Little kids can find you too. Anyone with access to cyberspace can make your acquaintance at any given moment.

When you introduce yourself, who and what are you introducing? Are you a whole person having a conversation or are you a made up individual trying to convince another person you have what you think they think they need? We are all working professionals in the Rain. Some of us like to play here more than work here but don't let our playtime fool you. Work can be playful and pleasant. It can be anything you make it because the two are not mutually exclusive. In the end, earning and collecting our fee is the goal of every working professional. When we take the time to market ourselves, we do so with this bottom line in mind: making money, paying the bills, making more money...

Like grass, money is green. Stop moo mooing and poo poohing over whether a kid or an elderly person wants to buy your book or do business with you. Stop worrying about whether or not it is greener on the other side because you are squabbling over a members blog post or dueling business titles as if the majority group can rule the minority groups. Earning a living should rule. That's where the money is.

Blogging is what it is: a digital conversation. It has intrinsic value based upon its stated and perceived worth of the reader/consumer. You may have an inflated opinion of yourself and run amuck accordingly or you can just have opinions and let them influence whoever as they may. I tend to think if you tend to your business the way you tend to your lawn people will eventually have a perception about you based upon the curb appeal of your blog. Neglect it, it gets all bald, spotted, brown and weedy and no one will want to be so bothered with sending a dollar or comment your way. Tend to it well and people will buy into what you are selling or at least be comfortable with taking your advice because you appear to have a green thumb and can help them learn how to tend to their own garden of business. I do not measure a blog's success by how many comments it generates, I measure it by how effective the message is and whether it generate readers visiting every day.

Some of you write for brownie points, crap points, AR points, no points (LOL). That's fine. Why you write is your personal and professional business. Have fun with it (or not). The problem I would like to address is the attitude some people take regarding their perception of who is a serious contender for generating business and who is not. (Yes, it is true, I have do-not-have-fun-police and hypocritical-commenter issues - LOL) Got news for you: it is up to the consumer to decide whom they want to work with, not you. Only readers decide who they want to read. We can all suggest where they may like to go because we recommend a writer we like, just be careful when you decide to fling a lot of disparaging remarks about because you don't like something written by your peer or competition. 

There are over 5000 groups on ActiveRain. Your blog posts give them an idea of what you are like and how you operate personally and professionally. You can place those thoughts on your AR Dashboard and in Outside Blogs, in Localism and in five groups. You can associate and congregate any way you please in the Rain. The AR Staff publish the rules and have discretion to tweak their business model as they see fit. So the only rules you, as a blogger and guest on a platform, should be making are the rules that affect your writing and personal presentation, not others. Notice how I didn't say you couldn't opine. I simply said you don't get to make rules for people who are not your children living under your roof dependent upon your money for their shelter, food and clothing. Stop treating your peers as if they are recalcitrant children you need to spank (unless you are their mentor or a group founder enforcing your group rules they volunteer to subscribe to).

If your digital group is bigger than my digital group, it doesn't rule me or the bay-bays writing under my digital roof. They are enjoying the blogging benefits associated with my Club Chaos home. Every group is home to a set of writers publishing there. Each group has been given digital real estate by this platform to operate and publish under with a group description that sets the tone or mandate of what the group is about. We are blooming as writers together in these forums. We are exploring a cyber-world filled with opportunity and promise, looking forward every day to being discovered by the public. We are making new friends and creating new business opportunities while freely associating with the writers of our choice.

Some writers don't get this, have no feel for community, spam the forums or are either digitally color blind and can't tell the difference between a cyber-flower and a cyber-weed. Those types of bloggers pull everything living out of a newbie, pollute the content of other writers and/or concrete their ideas like a mantra over other people's creativity. They try to sell the idea that their stone throwing is low maintenance paving to cover erroneous ideas that need to be rooted out by the uninitiated newb, pulled up by their digital roots and cast down in the cyber-dirt to be swept away like the trash they consider it. They think their spam constitutes the freedom to advertise and take offense when founders like me tell them the content is inappropriate for the group. Some people wont post a picture or icon and take offense when I ask them to do something with their blank smurf heads. If you care so little about your blog that you can't take the time to upload a picture, don't be angry when founders freeze your group account and eventually boot you for failing to respond to numerous requests to finish your profile information before posting in the house.

Community Rules are important in the Rain. If you experience a lot of flack as a writer then you may have picked the wrong group to plant your digital garden in or you may be dealing with someone unfamiliar with the rules.

Groups attract writers for a reason. Form or pick a new one if you are not happy. If you, as a blogger, do decide to stay, then stay and put up a fence to keep the wrong people trying to live in your computer from accessing a restricted area: your mind, will, emotions and heart. Once you set your digital perimeter, write what ever you want and warn them if they keep messing with you they may have to face the Wrath of Cow Pie. When you give as good as you get people learn something new about you (LOL). Never be afraid to moderate your comments section or tell a rude person to take a hike.

Did I mention blogging was a bloodsport? I think I did... so do yourself a favor and learn how to fight for your digital reputations because no one is going to fight for your rights with the same passion as you. I do not take using the delete button lightly. I rarely use it, but I will if I must. I am also not beyond dropping the F-bomb, tossing cow pies and kicking out a rant or a rave if you flip my b*tch switch (LMAO).

There is a difference between diversity in opinions and stupidity. Sometimes stupidity can actually be useful if you are quick on your feet with a pithy comeback and their diatribe illustrates your point (I love irony - LOL).

In sum and substance, today's Cow Pie talking point is learning how to cowculate the bull and use it to your advantage to grow your digital garden.  I do believe that I just did and if you haven't figured it out by now I am so easily amused (LMAO). Now you go out and do it too (amuse yourself bay-bays). Have fun with it and go check out those links. Dr. Duplantis is mad cool. So are Lenn and TLW. Talk about diversity in thinking  (LOL). ;-)

Stephen and I have been hanging out at the outside office for most of the afternoon with EEK. Little dude has been driving her Yorkie crazy. Got great shots of four neighborhoods and am arranging some music. We're still working on our next Cow Pie project between teasing the puppy. Will be posting late night because we're having too much fun chatting it up (LOL). ;-)

Got the Nikon, going on a turtle run to collect some eye candy for a little Cow Pie YouTube and Tour of Homes adventure (oh horror!!!).

Need some interesting background to float my titles over. Will be writing a real estate centric not quite market report post very soon (LMAO). Why does that mean? Hmm... Translated: making up crap as we go along? (Oh, the things I could say here but wont - LMAO)

Actually, there is a method to my madness and I really am going to write a real estate post. I'm going to one of the outside offices to have some fun with the brick and mortars while recruiting them for a brief bit of film fun  (LOL). Will give you a tour of three really lovely neighborhoods while I create a new spoof on what the market is doing. So much material, so little time... ;-)

In the meantime, go read Richard Weisser. He inspired me this morning. I bet you're wondering what you're gonna get later on (LOL). If you already read him, feel free to fart around here and here until I get back. Going off the grid people. The eye candy hunt starts now...

Colleen was kind enough to make this available for a re-blog. Very well said... Reminds me of CP moments... makes one pause...

My Cow Pie Is Bigger Than Your Cow Pie! Is Not! Is Too! Nope-nah! Uuh-huh... Yeah, it is. No it aint. Bite me... 

Today's Cow Pie Talking Point is ANTITHESIS. Antithesis is simply an opposing argument. Had I titled it that you wouldn't be curious to see where this is going (LOL). We are going somewhere a few of you may not want to step so get real comfy because Wordy C is in the house and Cow Pie is about to be served... ;-)

Ever watch a social media spat across cyberspace? It can be mad fun watching your sociology class come to life. If you are really careful you can map a time line of theories by collecting and rearranging the comments to reflect who is pro and con on the subject being debated. Can't collect this stuff willy-nilly. You really have to pay attention to who is talking to who (parallel, primary conversations) and who is reacting to who (secondary, spin offs who don't follow the entire thread, just pick a line of reasoning and/or a person to support or attack). You can't have fun while learning something if you don't pay attention to the players spinning the game. All players have a strategy. It doesn't matter what line of business you are in or what the product is that you are selling. When writers start writing it is because they have something that they want to share with you. Period. From the absurd (arguing about cow pies while trying not to step in other people ____ ) to the sublime (proving string theory and the existence of God).

Social media is a game. Don't let anyone fool you. It's a tool to advance your agenda and agendas can encompass anything you like. Doesn't have to be serious. Doesn't have to be fluff. It just has to be you looking to dialog with another person in a way that they can relate to what you are advancing. Weapons of mass destruction? Staplers and restraining orders? The subject isn't the game. The presentation of the subject is the game. If strategy, diction, professionalism and prose make you feel better, feel free to substitute those words or the words of your choice but don't ever forget interpersonal communication skills are personal choices we make to convey what we intend to convey.

I like thinking of blogging as a "game" because gaming requires fluid thinking and multiple levels of skill and strategy. It's dynamic. It's organic. It never stays the same. The military plays war games to prepare the troops for the reality of battle. Bloggers play writing games to stimulate dialog while showcasing their points of order they wish to present to the reader while taking the reader on a journey down a path of thoughts we'd like them to explore. The best writers are the ones who are transparent. They are the ones who can find a way to make their cat's litter box a relevant analogy to the state of the economy with such a natural flow you don't blink an eye when you get to the end of their prose. 

Blogging is a bloodsport. Heart, sweat and tears go into being transparent because we take a huge risk in exposing our inner selves in the context of another person's perception of reality. Writers are attempting to create a meeting of the minds. If we do our jobs well you may laugh or cry. You may agree or disagree. You may rant or rave. If we do our jobs well you will respond by initiating dialog with your friends, family, share the link, leave a comment, subscribe, etc... If we do our jobs right you will return again and again although you may never leave a comment... 

Writers expose themselves by what they do and don't say. Can't fake truth. Can't teach funny. Can't hide mean. Can't duck the consequences of your actions (and on occasion non-action when a response is required). 

What is in a person is going to come out one way or the other. Stick around cyberspace long enough and you will soon realize when someone is being serious, teasing, trying to make a point, share an idea or is just determined to spend their days pushing a button. These things are not mutually exclusive. You can have it all in one blog post or a series of missives (LOL).

If you are lucky you will subscribe to writers that hone their craft and grow. If you are unlucky, you will find yourself wondering why you keep coming back for more of the same crap you thought this person was over and done with. After all, they said they were done with it... yet some people don't know when to let a subject go. I see that in a lot of people who digitally foam at the mouth when responding to religious and/or political posts (LOL). It's like they go trolling for trouble because they have to have an argument to prove they are better or right rather than the other person.

My kids are learning disabled and they are monitored for milestones. Sometimes, they age out of a program when they reach a certain point in their young lives and/or development and we, as parents, have to enroll them in something more appropriate in relation to their level of functioning. When I wander around cyberspace I find myself routinely comparing grown people to my wee people because I respect the process that allows me to manage them.

Applied Behavioral Analysis is a beautiful thing. Everyone human fits the profile because we all have points of leverage that can be triggered to influence us (LOL). Hang around a bunch of therapists long enough and you will start incorporating their way of thinking into your blog posts. ;-)

You'd think experienced bloggers would be "aging out" as their craft matures. For the uninitiated: aging out is the theoretical process delineating when and how individuals reduce the frequency of their "offending behavior" as they age. ABA is all about self corrections and rewarding socially acceptable behavior. Socially acceptable behavior has a pretty wide spectrum and no one has cornered the market on it's predominate culture or intercultural ramifications.

Social media fascinates me in this respect... So does spoofing about Cow Pies because we all know it's just a politically correct euphemism for "Bullshit" so why pretend one word is more correct or socially palatable than the other? If you are conveying what you intend then all else is an illusion, a fallacy, a bit of sophistry from someone else who wants to change the meaning of your work and dilute your words from being a pithy, relevant remark to bland milk toast imagery.

You don't have to be evil to say what you mean, you just have to be honest enough to mean what you say. It has been my experience that most people recognize and know the difference even if they don't like or agree with you every single day. At least we respect each other enough to come back and try to have new conversations. That is the fun of blogging. Never knowing what you're going to get and never knowing what you are going to share until you have the nerve to go there...  

One should always blog like a child seeking to age out and experience a new adventure. One should also be careful not to step in other people's cow pies while fertilizing the blogosphere with their own organic material (LOL).

This concludes our Cow Pie lesson for the day. Until our next organic adventure, play nice in the electronic sandbox people. ;-)

http://activerain.com/groups/CosmicCowPie

Steaming, organic and very juicy. Nothing like a new group to make you go hmm, eh? Being a card carrying member of 75 I feel the need to talk about 'em every once in a while (LOL). 

This group has an interesting mandate: "This group is for individuals who want to navigate the universe of flying obstacles known as the "Cosmic Cow Pie" together to help find balance. We will share ideas of what is currently working to get through today's Real Estate Market and try not to step in the "stuff" aka Cow Pies! Anyone wanting to have some fun with the cow pies we have to deal with on a daily basis should join this group! Bring your A game! Are you brave enough to "get in the game" and show us your voice in cyber space?"

I'm bringing my A Game, my Club Chaos Bay-bays and a quirky sense of humor. What are you bringing? Better figure it out soon 'cause I am roaming the streets with my laptop and cell phone. Gonna dust off my Nikon and mess with these people in a few. Are you ready to jack a group? Go join if you want to play with me this afternoon. I'll let you know who were going to victimize minionize vaporize plop in poop say hello to later. ;-)

Cow-Girl Founder: http://activerain.com/cosmiccowpie

Pssssst. Carra Riley has no idea what she's getting into. She actually let me join (heheheheheeeee). Be gentle my minions. Mama has to work for a hot minute. Will hit another outside office in a few and give you the cow low down later. Now go join the group so we can jack them up (LMAO). Looking forward to slinging some cow pies with my blogging buddies later on.

Time to drive to my next appointment. Blog Tag. You guys are it. ;-)

Update: http://activerain.com/blogsview/1214119/wordy-c-my-cow-pie-is-bigger-than-your-cow-pie-is-not-is-too-nope-nah-uuh-huh-

Tenants Victimized By Foreclosures... I have been having this conversation a lot lately. It gives me chest pains because people usually call in a panic about the Sheriff showing up and informing them they have to vacate the premises.

I don't do rentals anymore. The drama is not conducive to my peace of mind and emotions run very high when there are babies at stake. Sometimes it is very hard being a buyer's broker and having to explain your business model to someone who wants or has to move now. It's not like I have a prepared speech or anything. I talk to individual people on an individual basis. Every situation is unique and the foreclosure stories are horrifying.

Sometimes I think I need a shrink to deal with other people's problems. Anger management would be nice as well. Landlords who collect rent and piss away the mortgage payments stranding innocent families piss me off. I don't think I can ever find the words to tell you how hellacious that kind of feeling really is. 

Moments like these make me want to get the hell out of real estate... Seriously...You'd think the bank would make some sort of specialized unit to notify tenants when a home is foreclosed upon so they can stop paying landlords who don't own the friggin' building anymore. Yeah, crap like that happens up here, among other things...

What about the sellers? How about the homeowners who never did anything wrong, paid their mortgages and can't get a fair market bid on their homes because they are surrounded by people in pre-foreclosure short selling away as if it's the new stock option instead of giving the open market a shot of recovering. Why are agents so damn quick to do a short sale with a property barely 30 days on the market? Why can't more of them try to sell the home for just under market value so people can start over instead of still having to owe? The foreclosure process up here takes approximately 12 to 15 months so why rush to short the property? I am not against short sales, I'm just against it being the first option without at least trying to get the owner some sort of relief...

I keep thinking constantly shorting properties is harming rather then helping. What say you?

http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/082609_familytree.pdf

I was looking at the Kennedy Family Tree that Fox News posted from the Kennedy Library and found myself thinking about all the ways people affect other people. Sometimes we have no idea how what we say or what we do will affect a third party. We sometimes are truly clueless regarding how our relationships (or lack thereof) could be significant to someone else.

We do some things because it is the right thing to do. We do some things because it is the wrong thing to do but makes something right for someone else. Regardless of why we do things, the fact of the matter is what we do usually affects another person.

Most people go through life and just don't think that much about it.

The Kennedy Family Tree got me thinking about it today...

Genesis 11 : 1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech... It's 2009 people. Hasn't happened since. There's a bloody good reason too (LMAO). Need I remind you people what happened when diversity was missing and the do not have fun police messed around with God and we all got to babbling in the end?

Eh? Remember that? Feel free to look it up. Lofty ideals aren't always what they seem (LOL). Tower to the Heavens seemed like a great bit of real estate planning at the time (e.g. prime location, coveting and competing against the best, the gathering of elite minds plotting and planning to do what was never done before or since and think of the views - LOL). God created diversity in language and expression for a reason: So a handful of people with a bad idea marketing it as "a great idea" could not make the rest of us fall into line, all acting the same politically correct way (which is usually stupid and incorrect), with one accord towards damnation.

You have something to say, then say it. Express yourself. Blog your a$$ off and keep your original content coming in the manner you expect will reach your targeted audience. We can agree to disagree without putting other people down for sharing their ideas. I read hundreds of posts and routinely don't say a single thing. Then there are the ones that get me commenting... Hmm... Sometimes, I get inspired to write a post, like now (LOL). ;-)

Genesis 11 : 7 ... let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. If you don't friggin' get something or someone don't be so quick to attack or discredit them. Maybe there are some things you just aren't going to like or understand and it's okay... Feel free to ask a question. Feel free to find another writer more to your liking. Feel free not to rile people up against someone else's creativity because they do not have the same taste, the same diction or the same ideas at a specific moment of time that you, the reader, do. How hard is that? Not very... Don't like the way I put it then go read the Community Guidelines and paraphrase them to your heart's content. This is my blog post and my whole purpose is to celebrate diversity and freedom of speech between friends and foe. I am not choosing one over the other, I am simply stating that at some point in your writing career there will come a time when you are going to have to call a spade a spade without stubbing your toe on one. If you can't take it when other people have the courage and boldness to say what they think, move the hell on and stop whining about what someone else got featured because a third party enjoyed the virtual show.

I write because I like writing. Why do you write? Why do you read? Why do you select the links that you do? You can just as easily pass them over and not click. When you do click, what keeps you reading? Sometimes a person can miss out on the best posts simply because a title didn't catch their attention. Sometimes, people miss out on a fabulous post because the title offended them. I don't think I give my titles much thought. What ever pops into my head when I start is what it is (LOL). I like talking with people and am known to tease, rant and rave every so often so my readers just click to see what I've been up to (LOL). Rumor has it I am very easily amused. That rumor happens to be true and it also appears to be the number one reason why people keep coming back (LOL). I write about everything, so you never know what you're going to get with me.

Original content is king, so my advice is be yourself because you are an original. There is no one else quite like you. If you are going to write, then write about what and how you feel. Write about what you know. Write about what you like and dislike. Pick a subject and let it rip. If you are transparent, the you that is you will always shine through regardless of your subject matter.

Your diction and your prose don't have to be perfect. You do not have to be perfect. There are a lot of flawed heros and heroines in the Bible, so do the best with what you have. I do. I have lots of issues (LOL). That's why I am happy God loves me. Creating me means HE has a sense of humor. Blog Post Therapy means I get to share a bit with the whole world while chatting about what I want, including God on a Real Estate Network. ;-)

Exodus 4 : 10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. Hmm... yet God used him to set millions of captives free. I am a bit wordy. That's why Susan Mangigian named me Wordy C. Hot diggety! Wonder what I'll write today to set a few people on a new path of cyber-creativity... I am going to set some newbie's mind free today. I am out to minionize me some writers (LOL). I may have to go film something later and arrange some new music just to have something interesting to float some titles over (LOL). I love creating stuff for my Outside Blog. Don't have one, need to set one up, shoot me an e-mail. I am obsessed about Google Domination (LOL). See? I go everywhere with my conversation and don't even feel the need to leave one post to start another thought. :-D

Psalms 19 : 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Where do you want your voice to be heard? Cyberspace is a curious thing. Once you release it in the Rain, you have the infinite power of the digital divide at your disposal to get your message across to every corner of every nation. Satellites cover the globe. People sit with laptops and PDA in the deepest regions of the bush. Don't think because you did not write a featured post that your work is not being featured and revered around the world.

Write to be discovered. Write to be found. Write to open a dialog and share ideas. The Active Rain Real Estate Network is about members in the industry and related industries coming together to share ideas and express ourselves. It is not about one faction trying to get the upper hand over another faction because they believe their fleeting, politically correct ideals and personal morality trumps another writer's. Don't believe the hype. Believe in yourself and your ability to say what needs to be said, then say it to the best of your ability, or the worst of your ability if the parody gets the point across without triggering libel, slander and defamation suits. Seriously... (LOL).

Check out my fave post of the day by Jeff Corbett. Don't let the title fool you and it is not Biblical in nature  (LMAO). I was particularly tickled by the slogan next to the monkey with the gun. I did mention I was easily amused, didn't I? (LOL) It's a great post, not for everyone's tatse but if you read me then feel free to read Jeff. We share the same cyber-quirky genes and absolutely love TLW. We're her bay-bays. ;-)

Do you think "Whatcha' doing?" is a rhetorical question? It's not. I really wanna know... I missed you guys the last couple of days. I have been in training and also have an upstate buyer who periodically takes me out of range for my cell phone (oh horror!!!). Mad cool buyer but sometimes traveling all over disrupts my routine by not being able to check in, blog or gab. :-)

I'm thinking I need to stay close to home today and am about to hit one of my outside offices to do some overdue blogging. Been working very hard lately and can't make up my mind if that is a good or bad thing. Buyers using multiple Realtors always tick me off. I hate wasting time. If you have an agent, stick with that person and don't use the rest of us as a casual stop gap if your agent is otherwise occupied. Wait your turn and don't waste other professionals time pretending to not have representation when you do. Very bad way to do business and we will find out. It's a small world when you are dealing in our industry.

People have lost their purchasing minds about the expiring first time buyer's credit and they need to know up front that we Realtors are not a taxi service for lookie-lous... If you, as a buyer, are in a panic don't go crazy thinking you need to see two hundred homes. You don't. Seems I barely have time to do laundry, enjoy Hagen Daz or watch Internet TV these days because I am too busy trying to sort out the serious buyers from the pretenders from the I-need-a-ride but don't really need you might be a buyer. I will try not to whine too long about being in social media withdrawal because these unscrupulous consumers think we have nothing better to do than entertain their every whim while wasting our time but I have to say the panic of not closing escrow in time for the credit appears to have set in and encouraged all sorts of strange behavior from people.

Am I the only one seeing this? What are you guys seeing? Let 'er rip in the comments sections. Might make for a very interesting conversation. :-)

For someone who is supposed to be in control of her schedule I have lost my ever loving mind responding to text requests for appointments. These things are starting to come in 24/7. Think I am kidding? I was answering text messages 5:42 AM this morning and fielding e-mail outside the laundry room for crying out loud. A couple of my NYC buyers were also a wee bit peeved about me being with the upstate buyers because they are soooooo used to instant gratification from me using the tech toys.

Sometimes I wonder about that. Realtors do pause to recharge their batteries and sometimes we actually stop working for the evening (LOL). We have to go home sometime. I know I like running the streets but I have a family at home that likes to see me during prime time once in a while. You know you've been working long hours when your sons start calling Daddy "Mommy" (LOL). Don't get bent out of shape if we actually turn the phone off so we can sleep, cuddle with the kids or remind them they do have a Mom. I know it's a rare thing for me to go to bed at 9 PM but I was tired so I went to sleep with the wee people. This explanation is specifically for the people I stood up last night at Open Mic (LOL). Yeah, it's true, I can sing. I can actually carry a tune (LOL). I sing, paint, make music, sometimes sell a house... don't be so surprised (LMAO). We all have stuff we like to do. Realtors are people with lots of personal quirks and talents so when you waste our time we don't get to do the stuff we like to do with the people we enjoy because we gave that slot time to you. I like helping people but I do not like being used. No one does. Remember that the next time you call ten firms to show you ten houses.

Lately it also appears that some people always want to know where I am and what I am doing, even when I am not doing it with them. A few even want to know why I am doing stuff with others that I am not doing with them (LMAO). Is it just me or is this a social media side effect? I don't know how to answer that because I am a pretty spontaneous person and some buyers are more fun than others. Some like to have my kids along while others don't. Some want to pause and get something to eat while others don't. Some actually invite me over for dinner while others don't. Some are fascinated by meeting me at the beach, the park, the gym while others wont touch an outside office with a ten foot pole. Oh well... I tend to do what we both are comfy with. Wanna hang and house hunt, I'm game. We can do suits or we can do sneakers. Up to the buyer. ;-)

Hmm... That may prove to be very interesting to find out down the road (LOL). No one got me yesterday save the three people I checked in with and I may be limiting access today as well so I can prepare for my international buyers. Wonder what's going to happen when I don't answer my phone today. Freaked them all out yesterday. Kinda freaked me out a little bit as well. I live on my cell phone and it is a bit strange not to have coverage in every crevice of the state. I may need some therapy to ween me from that particular issue (LOL). BTW, I almost wrote a spoof toilet texting post but decided that was way too much information (LMAO). That naughty seed planting is for the people who think I don't respond fast enough. Poo to you. Oh puh-leeze. Normal people don't always call back the same day so give me a freaking break. Besides, I am not normal. Take note of that fact and stop tripping when I decide not to jump through a hoop, social media multitask or entertain my ADD. Sometimes I have to slow down. I can do slow. Seriously... Just remember slow is relative (ROTFL).

Slow is starting to become an attractive word because I need a vacation... Seriously... I want to see my Mommy and Daddy. I want to watch a movie in a theater. I have a brother and sister I haven't laid eyes on in a year. I may want to adopt a girl... buy a dog... build a house... tweak my friggin' life (LMAO).

The wee people are on vacation but I am not. Bummer... I'm constantly thinking about taking one because I promised the SC crew I would take my bloggers butt down there while visiting with family and other pals going down and coming back up. A tiny four day event would be mad cool because I can do a loopy-loop and make everybody happy. Think it will happen? I don't know. My phone is always ringing off the hook but we shall see what we cook up in the next couple of days. Gotta call my Mama and see what she's doing next weekend... Figured I give everyone a heads up I am taking off a few days for some fun.

Yes, I will be bloggging about it... I talk about everything else (LOL). Time to meet the clients. Gotta hit the outside office in Forest Hills today. Going out with my fun clients. We're having lunch. ;-)

My friend Elizabeth was kind enough to make this available for a re-blog. Enjoy!

I have a small landing page that does incredibly well because I link back to most of my AR holdings from there. It was created to be a bounce page to what I want you to see and where I want you to go. People can find my websites and calculators there or check out RSS feeds to Real Estate News and my blogs.

It sometimes pops up pretty high in the search engines depending upon what you are looking for based upon the embedded RSS feeds. Recently, I have noticed an increase of requests to exchange links. Please stop asking. The answer is, "No. No Thank You."

I don't exchange links with people I do not know. I don't exchange links with businesses that I do not use. I don't exchange links to increase my rankings in the search engines. I will add a link if I like something. I will add a link in support of my friends. I have a small group of advertisers and that is all that I need to support my blogging habits. I don't understand why people get angry at writers who do not wish to exchange links. I do not understand why people get upset if we decide to not respond to unsolicited e-mail.

I routinely do not respond to unsolicited e-mail that annoys me. It's nothing against you. It is simply me not wanting to go in a direction I believe I do not wish to go. If I have a few large pictures from Yotveta on my TannStarr.com landing page it is only because I am truly impressed with their food and service and I like talking about them on my blog. They did not pay for those Outside Blog Minion Report covers. I created them because I went hyper-local there, blogged about my thoughts on the subject and it is a fave place to eat while in Fresh Meadows, Queens County, New York. I am a regular... Quit bugging me about my eating habbits. I get invitations to go places all of the time. I have wee people. I have to pick and choose who, where, when and how to spend our time. It's not an insult if I don't come. it's simply a scheduling conflict. I am involved in a lot of projects and am falling behind in my blogging because I routinely work from 8 AM to 8PM or beyond. If I don't answer your e-mail the same day, don't e-mail me the next day about not answering you. It might flip my b*tch switch.

The Outside Blog Minion Report is about what we did today and not who pays me. This is a very important distinction readers need to know about me and bloggers in general. We will let you know if we are doing paid advertising. Seriously... Don't assume... You are doing the writer and businesses we enjoy a disservice when you do. I simply write about what I like and dislike during my day. Nothing more. I am not as complicated as a few of you assume. Haven't you noticed that I am very easily amused? I high-jack blogs for Pete's sake (LOL). My websites relax me and are fun. The business is a plus, but there is more to life than business. All writers don't want the same thing. We each have a plan for our work and only we can decide what to do with our original content.

These Covers represent parts of my daily life. They have personal and emotional value to me and I do not need a third party link exchange to bring value into my cyberlife, my websites or my blogs. Interacting with my friends, family, peers and readers do that just fine.

My life is not fodder for your link exchange programs. Advertising? Sometimes we can talk about that but it's not the reason I created my blogs. I created them to share what I see, do and to talk... :-)

Noah E Starr

The Gift Of Rainmaking is a curious thing. Yesterday I asked for help because I needed it. You guys responded in spades and I'd like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who came to my emotional rescue. Today, I got a fun little e-mail from someone who apparently does not believe I needed or need help. How on earth could I have given you such an erroneous impression? Was it something I said? I don't remember ever saying anything about me knowing everything. There is a lot that I don't know and I learn something new every single day. That's why I don't pretend to be something that I am not and/or use any description(s) to make others believe I am better than I really am. I don't have two years in as a Realtor yet and it appears some of you need to be reminded of that little fact (LOL). I want you to know that I did very much need the help I asked for. I still do and probably will always need help. :-)

The ActiveRain Real Estate Network is a great source of help and usually the first place I turn to get my answers. Where else can you ask a question and get a response in your In-box just as fast (if not faster) than advice in a Twitter stream? (LOL) My bay-bays are live 24/7.When the brick and mortars close, the Rainmakers are still available and in play. I don't have to wait for a firm's business hours. I can get a response 3 AM if I post something. How cool is that? Very! :-)

If you think people do not cultivate the collective wisdom of Twitter members on a subject you are truly sadly mistaken and missing out on a lot of fun wisdom to boot (LOL). ActiveRain is unique in that it doesn't have the limitations of a micro-blogged answer, yet it has the same immediate ability to get you what you need if you use it wisely. Regarding wisecracking on my posts and/or all other distracting points aside, I told the truth when I said I had never set eyes on what I was asking for and only knew to ask for it because the bank asked me for it. When your client's need is at stake you should never remain silent if you don't know the answer. You should ask everybody you know who may be able to help you.To be esteemed less for asking a question fascinates me... You've inspired this post (LOL).

I placed my request before all of cyberspace because I did not know who would read it or where the answer would come from. Guess what? The bank responded. The firm hosting the listing agent responded. Club Chaos responded. Lawyers responded. Yet, a few people unsubscribed from me because they thought less of me for writing that post. Oh well... thank you for letting me know and thank you for your e-mail. I'd write it again if it meant my buyer obtaining a $384K home for $263K.

You only get one shot at an REO. The bank either says yes or the bank says no. When the bank calls, you need to listen, get your butt in gear and give them exactly what they ask for. To not do so in a timely manner harms your client's best interests. I will not slack in that respect. I want my buyers to get what they want. Happy buyers give happy referrals (LOL).

The Gift of Rainmaking lies in it's ability to shower the world with knowledge freely shared so that other bloggers like me can do a good job and grow. It's my personal think tank where I share, play, rant, rave, teach, toy and get my job done. If you don't get that by now then you may never get it.

While playing in the Rain, don't ever be afraid to admit there is something that you don't know or that you need help with. Talking with the members here will make you better in so many respects because we don't just talk real estate. Life lessons flow in every exchange and you can cultivate the wisdom of 156,302 members if you want to. Some of you think that I don't do my job because I like to play while I work. Well, I have news for you, it is permissible and it depends upon the client. Some people can't wait to meet my kids while others wont hire me because I am not always available and make no bones about the fact that my family comes first in all things. Regardless of that fact, my job is to get my buyers in the homes of their choice (with or without my kids in tow), and not to sit around branding myself as "an expert" or be looked down upon because I am not afraid to admit I  don't know where the friggin' forms are (LOL).

I got what I needed because people respond to honesty. If you don't know, then you don't know. Why lie about it and secretly hunt for something when you can simply tell the truth and openly ask? What if you secretly hunt for something and select the wrong format or form that harms the project?

Never be afraid to ask for help. EVER. The right professional will come to your rescue if you put it out there you need to be rescued. That's why they are professionals. They rise to the occasion not because they have to, but because they want to. Some because they love what they do and will not always demand to be paid first for a little information. That, in sum and substance, is the caliber of people who blog here. Their ability to share their many talented gifts of Rainmaking make the Rain what it is.

That's why AR rocks. There is nothing like it and I have no intention of going anywhere because Club Chaos is my virtual home and I love my bay-bays. If you don't like my blog feel free to stop reading and commenting on it. That includes sending writers worthless e-mails about why you are unsubscribing. Don't whine. Just do it. I don't mind. I'd write if I only had one reader. I enjoy blogging here. I know a good thing when I see it. This is a great thing. You may want to remember that the next time you feel the need to be negative to a newbie in any profession. If you want to unsubscribe, please feel free to do so without sending me any more diatribes. I do like to answer my e-mails in public every so often. You never know what you may get (LOL). I might decide to make you a star on my blog post. Seriously. :-)

Stephen the Blur Minion

So, I finally made it to my outside office in Far Rockaway. The boys had to leave without me because I was scrambling to get an REO bid completed and fax over everything to the bank. My beach client and I hooked up and we're all still together having dinner with my gal pal. She may be selling soon. We shall see. I kinda hope not because she has a Spanking-A place near the sea with lots of tasteful upgrades (not to mention really cool toys that I like to play with - LOL).

Her electronics really are cool and I am in electronics heaven. My beach buyer is an IT guy who is an excellent singer and is doing an open mic on Monday at Five Spot at 459 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY. Make sure you mention Orlando's name at the door if you are going to come out and play with us, okay? 9PM bay-bay. You can follow him on Twitter @OOneMic and get all the info about the event there. We're tweeting, blogging and spoofing on NY1 while chatting about his music demo among other things... By the way, EEK is a great cook. I am seriously stuffing my face over here. She also has Hagen Daz. Did I mention you could get a lot out of me for Hagen Daz? It's true you know. After 9 PM and I am still here (LOL). It's a fave weakness that I crave. ;-)

Ever taste Sharon's? Interesting tangy flavor. This is the first time I have tasted both of these flavors. Mmmm... I love Hagen Daz and I am already biased so HD wins the taste test. Sharon's is cool. I think I need to try more flavors before I give up my Hagen Daz fettish. Oh... wait... I'm addicted. Can't give it up  (LMAO). Being introduced to something new is always fun when foodie paradise stuff is involved. I forgot to take a picture of my dinner. Bummer. You should have seen it. Very healthy. It really was great, but I digress... back to the electronics and beach blogging with your clients. Highly recommended if you hook up with the right type of client (LOL).

New Rule: You should always check if your clients blog. May learn something new about them while they are learning new things about you. Just sayin... You may discover you have a lot more in common than you know and work can convert into mad fun. :-)

How do you think I got the geek referral? For being geeky and kinda cheeky of course (ROTFL). I love making new friends with some of my clients. Orlando is definitely a keeper. Us computer techs have to stick together and we all know how much I like creating music. BTW, we follow each other in Twitter and across a few other social media accounts. I have said it before and will say it again: don't squander your social media people.

Yes. It's true. Dusting off the ActiveRain road trip genes. We're having a major tweetup at EEK's (LOL). The geeks are in the house trying to hook up a newbie cyberbaby and it is mad fun going through pictures for some pending Facebook albums (LMAO). We're also hooking up EEK's computer and printer because chicka doesn't fb, compute, tweet, blog, or do anything CPU except write reports for the friggin government. That thought is driving me absolutely crazy. Seriously! My sweetie doesn't even play video games on-line. OMG!!! We can't have that. Gaming sharpens the mind and chicka is mad smart. I have got to get her to compete so I can up my gaming skills (LOL). She may be the only friend that I have who doesn't play on-line. My three year old plays on-line so we have to fix this (LOL). She finally friend-ed me in Facebook and like my family it only took forever to get her in there and get 'er done. Brick and mortars can be hard to pull into cyberspace when they see you all the time. I am working on it. I am on a playdate mission...

Wanna see my fave Far Rockaway outside office? I have a quite a few wifi hotspots but I always like to get comfy with EEK, a host of other friends, Starbucks or at the beach when I blog off the ocean. :-)

EEK's rear terrace. My Windy Office. :-)

Stephen refusing to leave the Far Rockaway boardwalk (LOL).

Fave Boardwalk Bench

The wind was up quite a bit today. At one point poor Stephen couldn't take the sand blowing in his face and covered himself with towels, howling. Noah decided to help, but the wind kept blowing his towel all over the place. Mr. Autism soon got pre-occupied with it waving in the wind (LOL). We had to douse shorty with water to get the sand out of his eyes. Stephen the Blur Minion perked up soon after that and promptly shared a few love taps. I think I may have a black eye in the morning from Mr. PDD-NOS. We shall see (LOL). I enjoyed my windy office today. The kids were a hoot and my tweet-up is starting to look like a possible pajama party (LOL). Too bad I gotta go home... we're having a lot of fun over here. :-)

Noah E Starr (Noah the Net Geek)

I need a sample "REO As-IS Statement" like you wouldn't believe. I can't go to the beach without one so feel free to email me samples at CTannStarr@yahoo.com. I know it is supposed to say things like the bank makes no representations about the property, yadda, yadda, yadda blah blah blah and we are buying it just the way it is. Except I have never seen one and no one can find the friggin form for me. It's not even in the documents on demand download list in my MLS. WTF??? With all the short sales and REO floating around how could they not make it a download jammie?

My kids are in the water and my hubby wont stop texting me from Far Rockaway. I need that form. I need to get out of Flushing and park my toes in the sand so I can blog from my fave gal pal's condo and my fave outdoor wifi spots. Why am I tripping out? They left the food in my car. My babies don't have their brown bags. That is serious!!! Seriously. (LOL)

Snackage is a very important topic in my household. Besides, I have more footage to post from my outside office before I get back to driving clients about later this evening. Play time is an important part of my day. So is social media. You have to be social to do social media and one of my buyers is meeting me on the beach today. I am stir crazy working on this REO and I need to get out there so I can hang with my next client.

I don't wanna be late for my next client. HELP MEEEEEEEEEE!!! Please? Pretty please?

Thank you in advance. I may even send you virtual kisses if I get it in the next fifteen minutes (LMAO). I really do need that sample letter. I want my buyer to get her house. It's a gorgeous center hall colonial needing very little work and only five years old. ;-)

Getting Back In Can Be A Challenge

Getting Back In can be a challenge when you are on the outside looking in. Sometimes the people you need to help you are just outside of your reach, or you don't know how to ask or whom to choose... There may be obstacles involved, but it is not impossible to overcome them. If you think you want something you should go for it. Don't talk it to death. Don't think it to death. Just do it...

Getting back in can be a lot of fun once you overcome the fear of failure. Failure may not be failure at all. It just may be part of the learning process to help you understand what not to do. Don't be afraid of buying that house or setting up your outside blog. Need help? I am only an e-mail away. My outdoor office is very mobile. I can come to you or we can meet at the beach (LOL). Wireless is a beautiful thing... so is selecting professionals looking out for your best interests. ;-)

Dang... Gotta Buy A Bathing Suit 'Cause I Threw Out The String Bikini (LOL). We shall not mention that unmentionable string hubby brought me to wear (LMAO). I will confess to spending my mornings in the sand in a tee and sweats. Yes, it's true, I also brought my electronics. I hardly ever go anywhere without my laptop. I guess it's because I've been suffering from withdrawal since the death of my Sony. It was a 2002 and I still have my oldie but goodie. I want to get it fixed. Seriously. That is a beautiful machine and it still runs Windows XP. I like Windows XP. The Toshiba Satellite we got to replace Noah's IBM Thinkpad is lovely, but it runs Windows Vista. Can you say learning curve? (LOL)

It appears hubby believes you guys would be thrilled to see my floatation devices (ROTFL). I don't know how I feel about that... Ambivalent? Yeah... That sounds about right... That's why I make it my business to keep the Nikon away from him. Who knows what that man will find fit to post in Facebook (LOL).

See, these are the types of conversations we have in our house. This is what happens when crazies marry crazies and start a blog. We are about to take transparency to a whole new level while going hyper-local. I am having mad fun keeping you guessing what the heck I am going to post next. The OBMR presentation is coming out lovely. I'm arranging new music for it. :-)

BTW, Stephen tasted the sea water (eeeeeeewwww!!!) Wait until you see the look on his face (ROTFL) Dude started for the blankets with his eyes closed, that's how disgusting it was to him. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at my poor little wee one. Yeah, I know - bad mommy! (LOL) :-D

I love ActiveRain. I find this place amazing. Where else can you casually mention on a blog you are going to hang out at the beach with your friends in Far Rockaway and have someone give you a referral while you are sunning yourself with them in the sand (LMAO).

I picked up two new buyers simply by going to the beach yesterday. I wonder what we're gonna do today... Hmm... While I figure out which clips to use for my upcoming Beach Minions post, here's a little footage of our play date. There's a lot more footage coming (LOL). Got some nice eye candy of Far Rockaway as well. I did mention we were going hyper-local during vacation. Shall post Life With Wee People and Outside Blog Minion Reports later. :-)

Stephen Starr

Life With Wee People: Candy Land... What's That Like For You? What Does That Mean?

Susana Isakharova hosts Stephen Starr and he has a very nice morning playing in her backyard. She owns a wonderful company: Global Play, Inc. I shall be blogging about my gal pal's business  later because we are designing a new logo for her and I am very excited to be doing something useful for my darling of a friend. Chicka is very smart, has a double Masters and works wonders with learning disabled kids. Stephen the Blur Minion has a wee crush on Susana. He is also fascinated with Max, her lovely rotty. I have to carry Step around because if I don't he always tries to get up close and personal with her dog. He has no idea how big and powerful dogs respond to wee people with a tendency to head butt or love tap as a form of affection, so I have to keep shorty in check to save him from himself.

He thinks he is big enough to be walking the dog, but the dog will be walking him (LOL). Do you know what is really cool about her dog? He understands Russian!!! Seriously (LMAO). I am starting to feel like a slacker because a dog learned a foreign language and I just speak English (LOL). Actually, the dog may only speak Russian, but what do I know... I can't even figure out how to get a three year old to play Candy Land and have to ask for Special Instruction from my girlfriend (LMAO). Three week vacation? Summer school over? OMG - Sana, please don't leave me alone with my kids. Seriously! (ROTFL)

Yes, it's true, I need a professional to advise me because my kids are crazy... actually, so am I, but I digress... :-D

I am going to have a lot of fun talking to you about Global Play, Step By Step, and a few other businesses to help wee people out while I walk you through our day by day adventures while school is out. We're going to give going hyper-local a run for it's money because I have to take my kids out every single day on an excursion. We are planning ActiveRain road trips to keep them very busy. If you don't focus your kids they will distract you (LOL). We all know how easily amused I am so this could get very interesting... :-)

ActiveRain is full of incredibly intelligent people, so I am looking forward to visiting with more of you. Smart friends (both on-line and brick-and-mortar) help save my sanity, provide release, escape and are just amazing people to spend time with because you will always be learning something new and/or trying something new. I like new. My kids like shiny. New and shiny is good. Go polish your relationships to new, shiny heights and remember that your friends are the family you get to choose for yourself. I shall be mixing my brick-and-mortars with my on-line family, so I am really pumped up to load the car and start my day. Some of my B&Ms are closet fans of yours, so I am determined to get you guys together so you can all eventually be friends.

Social media is amazing, eh? Do you know that more people talk electronically than in real life? It's true, but I shall have to blog about that later because I digress...

If you don't have any really smart friends, you need to go get some. Start cultivating those relationships now. It will enrich your life and make you laugh every single day. Psssssst... It will also give you extra places to go when you want to park your kids somewhere interesting to play that is safe (LOL). Just sayin... ;-)

Let's get back to the backyard: While we were chilling in the sunshine having fun conversations enjoying the garden view (and trying to keep shorty from picking another tomato) Stephen was wandering in circles trying to figure out what to do next. He lined up rocks. He tipped flower pots. He messed with bugs and tossed some gardening horse poo around. Actually, now that I think about it he messed with just about everything (LOL). I think that's why I decided it was time the wee one got to check out Candy Land for the very first time. We were originally saving it in the trunk of the car for a picnic but this looked like a good time to crack the plastic off that puppy and distract him. It worked. He did some very interesting things with those little plastic people (LOL). Don't ask. Just how much information do you people want from me anyway??? Geez... Be careful what you wish for... I'm know for posting pictures... (LOL)

Stephen seemed to enjoy it immensely. Candy Land can actually be fun if you do what ever you want with it. We wanted to see what his initial reaction would be to the game and it was very good. Sometimes he doesn't take to new things and can be quite destructive. In this instance, Mr. Non-verbal with the moody attitude made up a few interesting little songs of a language only three year olds could possibly understand, played nice then promptly got distracted as only three year olds in a backyard can do.

I love watching his expressions while I try to figure out what is going on in that tiny little mind. My boy's brain is very busy (LOL). He's observant and quick, so don't leave him alone or you will be writing very interesting blog posts after spending money you should not have had to spend to fix and replace stuff (LOL). I am looking forward to when he graduates from Daffy Duck Syndrome so we can start having conversations about things other than him claiming everything is "mine, mine, mine, mine, MIIIIIINNE!" Hmm... why haven't I filmed that? I really, really think I should (LOL)

While visiting our friend Susana and her family, Stephen, the Minion Blur also did his usual "gift of rocks" routine which included love tapping the ground, the house, the exercise equipment (and dinging me and my Nikon upside the head - LMAO). Had I taken the laptop out of the car he would have lined them up along the keys. What the hell was I thinking? I should have pulled the laptop out. That would have been soooo much better that getting tapped with a rock upside the noggin! Not once but twice mind you (LOL).

However, since there were not any electronics around, he took to tossing pebbles and stones about instead. What is it about little boys and digging in the dirt? Sticks, twigs, rocks, bugs... they find it all so fascinating... I kept trying to get him back to the game at hand but quickly realized it had a different meaning to him based upon his perception of what he wanted to do with all of that colorful stuff in relation to the entire yard. We decided rather than teaching him the game, we would let his actions teach us something useful about Stephen. I thought I had him playing nicely when I decided to take my camera out and show Daddy how our day was progressing. Turns out I captured myself getting a love tap with a pebble. Oh well... what the hell, at least it wasn't the horse poo (LOL).

Kids. Ya' gotta love 'em. They make life very interesting... ;-)

Candy Land... What's That Like For You? What Does That Mean? That thought never left my head while Mr. PDD-NOS explored every aspect of the box, the pieces, the board, the cards and even the instructions (LOL). He doesn't care that he can't read. He just likes the fact that he knows which way he is supposed to hold it because he can recognize some of his letters and numbers. My fave part is when he proudly declares that an "A" is an "O" (LOL).

Hasbro makes the game and has a nice little quote on their website that reads, "Explore the colorful world of King Kandy, Mr. Mint and Princess Frostine, where the whole family can play together." I do not know if my whole family can play it together because i have reason to believe we will be subjected to Daffy Duck Syndrome by a rambunctious three year old who always wants what others have. I found myself thinking I like that little blurb when I stumbled across their website. Let's go buy this thing and watch the kids at play was my initial reaction, rather than lets play with them (LOL). Hasbro, I shall try because I think you are definitely onto something here... Besides, I really do like playing with my kids. They are funny as hell. Quirky wee people make my day. Life with wee people is always interesting. :-)

There is brilliance in simplicity. Watching learning disabled kids play can teach you a lot about what drives them, matters to them and gives you leverage to create incentives that will help them focus on performing a task at hand so they can reap the rewards of the promised or inferred payout: getting what they want in the end.

Sort of reminds me of blogging and real estate... Closing escrow is a game we all want to win as we wander through the colorful antics of navigating underwriters, buyers, sellers, lawyers, appraisers, inspectors, brokerage houses and all sorts of interesting third party authorizations.

I think I am playing my own grown up version of Candyland (LOL). I wonder who gets to play King Kandy in my world... Hmm... Does this mean I get to swap out Princess Frostine with the Queen of Chaos? (LMAO). Club Chaos is definitely Candyland in my book. I may have to invent a silly, colorful real estate game. Wouldn't that be interesting? It would give me another excuse to illustrate something. I should paint a game board and go create some playing cards (LOL). 

In the meantime I am now a fan of hearing my kids sing, "candyland, candyland, candy candy candyland." Thank you Hasbro. Thank you, Susana. The Isakharova and Isakharov families ROCK. :-)