I love birthdays! I really do have a wish list I would like to share with you also!

This year, July 24, I will turn 43. In celebration of 43 years of life, I would like to give back. I am on a quest to collect 43 uniforms for the children of Ascension Parish. As a mother of school children, I know how expensive these uniforms can be and how hard it is to budget for them when school rolls around again in the Fall.

I have been in contact with Volunteer Ascension and they tell me that St. Vincent dePaul can buy a new uniform for about $12.00. My mission this year is to collect enough new uniforms or monies to buy uniforms to equal 43 complete new uniforms for the children in our parish. Every child needs a couple new uniforms to start the school year. It just makes the feel better to wear new clothes to school like most of their other classmates.

Many of us have children in school and we have uniforms left over from last year that are too small. I will also be collecting used uniforms to give to the schools as well. If you would like to help make my birthday spectacular, please consider donating to my school uniform drive. My hope is to deliver to Volunteer Ascension on Friday, July 22, 2011.

Shoot me a message at Kristina@HomeSalesOfBatonRouge.com and we can coordinate a pick up or I can give you an address.

Thank you for helping make my birthday super special this year!

This list is more on a personal level with a little humor attached.  Life is too short not to have a little humor! 

1. I’ve learned that a smile, a sweet text message or an encouraging comment can make someone’s day (that’s why I love Social Media!). It’s those little things in life that truly add up.

2. I’ve learned that #TequilaTherapy with friends needs to happen at least every other month! All of the world’s problems can be solved over a bottle of Tequila with good friends.

3. I’ve learned that surrounding yourself with smart, funny and witty people is a great way to live your life. Thank you to all of you who have befriended me and shared your talents and wit with me.

4. I’ve learned that generosity is not just a personal characteristic but also a daily practice. Running kids to a practice or getting someone their morning coffee can be a cherished expression of love.

5. I’ve learned giving your children wings is harder than it sounds. I will survive even after my oldest daughter has moved on to begin her life on a College Campus. BTW…she will survive just fine as well

6. I’ve learned that I love my back-up camera on my vehicle. Now I can see you as I actually run you over when you walk behind me as I am backing up!

7. I’ve learned how it feels to miss someone and have your heart hurt. (Unfortunately, I had to re-learn this one)

8. I’ve been reminded that life is terribly short. Make the time to spend with the people who have touched your life. If they don’t know that they have, make sure that you tell them. Don’t wait; there may not be a tomorrow or a next week.

9. I’ve learned that my RE.Net friends are even more awesome in person and give the most spectacular hugs! (Another reason why I love Social Media!)

10. The hardest thing I have probably learned this year is that it’s ok to ask for help. It doesn’t mean that you are weak. It means that you are human.

I would again like to thank you for touching my life. There are too many of you to list but you will probably see yourself in at least one of these things I have learned. I would also like to thank my clients for their continued support of my business. 2010 totally rocked because of all of you! 

There will be a lot of changes for me in 2011. Some of these prompted by the things I learned in this list. I am ready and excited…let’s do this!

I would love to hear about some of the things you have learned…..  let’s share!

Wishing Everyone A  Happy Mother’s Day!

It was 9:00 am on Christmas Eve.  I received a call from UPS.  They were inquiring about a forwarding address for the owners of a home I had sold back in September.  The nice lady on the other end of the line was calling from the local Gonzales, LA office of UPS.  She asked me if I had a forwarding address for the former owners of the property.  She said that she Googled their name and found that I had been the listing agent of the property!  The package looked like a Christmas gift and they were trying desperately to get it delivered before the close of business.

Unfortunately, the owners were not close.  They had moved out of town.  I gave her the information I had and she said that she would take care of the rest. 

I was so impressed.  Someone took the time to track these people down.  Instead of just sending the package back to the sender, someone used technology to make sure this package was delivered. I hung up the phone and vowed to use UPS whenever possible from this point forward. 

(This is especially impressive to me now that my nine year old daughter has still not received the Christmas card from her grandparents in Maryland.  It was sent USPS a week before Christmas.)

Props to the UPS employee that took the time to do some research on this lonely package.  She gave me the best Christmas present of all!

As I thought about each of these challenges a little more, I found myself doing some deep searching.  All of these things that my family faced were actually blessings in disguise.  Everything happens for a reason, we all have been told this, we all know this.  I am here to tell you that this is very true.  I think that each of the things we faced this past year were sent as wake up calls.   We get so busy in our everyday lives that we tend to operate well within our comfort zone.  This year, we were forced to function outside of our comfort zone and the results were amazing! After facing each speed bump or road block, we were stronger, wiser and genuinely better.  This is true with both our personal and professional lives.

As I think about my friends and others, their stories are much similar.  They finished the year with stronger families, stronger marriages, better jobs, better health and a renewed faith in God.  As I wrote in Growing Pains, we are experiencing a “growth spurt”.  I now view 2009 as a year of growth. Growth is always a great thing.  I only hope that 2010 will bring the life lessons  that helped us to grow and the new friendships that are truly treasured.  I know that I have changed and I like the change!

I will enter 2010 with the intention of operating outside of my comfort zone, will you?

May 2010 bring you much love, happiness and prosperity.  Happy New Year!

As I have thought about the things that I have to be Thankful for this year, I think about those that have really suffered.  The economy has really hit some folks hard.  I don’t know that I can say that I know of anyone that hasn’t had to make a change in one way or another because of the state of our economy.  Being in this profession I have seen a lot of heart-ache.  I have had to help sellers to sell their homes because they were no longer able to afford their notes.  I have seen families loose their homes for the same reason.  Families have had to sell extra cars and carpool.  Loved ones have been lost.

Watching the world take its lick at people, I have wondered why. Why are these good people suffering?  I don’t know why but I have seen some wonderful things happening even through the blanket of rain.   Families have become stronger; grown together in ways they never thought they could. Family game nights are not as seldom as they once were.  Attendance is up in the churches; nothing like seeing the smiling faces of children as they leave Sunday School.  Friendships have grown stronger as well.

Even families that seem to have lost everything have found something to be Thankful for.

It has been a tough year, yes.  But if we all dig deep, we can come up with a list much longer than we everknew possible.  Isn’t that what Thanksgiving is all about?  I am asking you to take some time tomorrow… reflect back on the year.  No matter how bad it was…find something good.  Find lots of things good.  Be Thankful! 

I am thankful for all of you… for being such a source of strength for me.  For being my friends, my mentors, my shoulders to cry on, my inspirations.

From my family to yours…Happy Thanksgiving!

ps.  If you would like to share with me what you have to be Thankful for, please do so!  I would love to be Thankful with you for the blessings you have in your life!

Well, I have decided on a Honda Pilot.  After speaking to the local Honda dealership’s salesman and asking him to get me his best price…one shot deal…we found ourselves at the dealership looking at the vehicle they “ordered for me”.  Good sales tactic on their part if you are an emotional buyer.  Bad thing if you are like me and feel as if they are pushing you.  Strike One  Our salesman wanted us to speak to his sales manager.  Upon walking into the showroom we were met by a man that we had seen just a few minutes earlier.  He saw my husband’s shirt which had our boat logo and asked us if we had boat.  He then asked how big our boat was.  After telling him he proceeded to wave his hands in the air and dance around chanting “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!  I have a 30!”  I was dumbfounded! So many things raced through my mind…”Is he taunting us that he has a bigger boat?  Seriously?”  I could not speak. I looked at my husband and his reaction was about the same.  I finally heard the word “WOW” come out of my mouth.  Strike Two  Ok…now I am really regretting my decision to be here.  The more this man spoke, the more irritated I became.  In the course of the next couple of minutes, my husband senses my aggravation and tells the sales manager that we have not made a commitment and if someone comes to look at the vehicle that he “ordered for us without our approval”, to please go ahead and show it, sell it.  We understand that it is a chance we will take.  His response was this “Oh, Don’t worry, I will.  In fact, don’t be surprised if you come back this afternoon and it is gone”.  Ok, dude, have you not yet figured out that you will not win me over with the hard sell?  Strike three We said our goodbyes and made our way out the door.  I was still in shock over the way we were spoken to.  As I spoke to people around the community, I have learned that this is not the first time this sales manager has acted this way. So sad.

We have now done what we should have done in the first place.  We called our friend who is a Honda guy 80+ miles away.  Asked him to order what we have decided on.  I am a firm believer in keeping the business close to home.  Well, I tried, but the businesses close to home didn’t seem to care about me…they just wanted my money. 

This whole experience has opened my eyes.  As a salesperson, I hope that I have never treated any of my clients this way.  I pride myself on not being pushy or using hard sales tactics and I would never label someone or taunt them in any way. I want you to buy a home because you love it.  Not because it will help my numbers for the year.  I want you to love that home and be able to tell your friends and family that your experience was not only fun but enjoyable.  This is the biggest purchase of your life…let’s make it a great memory.

If you are a car guy reading this… Change your tactics.  Learn to read your customers. This is the 21st Century, we are educated and don’t want to play your games.

It has been 10 years since I bought a new car.  After the last couple of weeks, I have been reminded of why it has taken me 10 years to even have the desire to look at a new car.  During my search I was called a “soccer mom” and a “control freak”.  These labels were not put on me by my husband…they were given out by two different car salesmen!  While test driving a Chevy, the car salesman told me that this was the vehicle for all “soccer moms”.  I proceeded to tell him to “shut his mouth”.  Maybe he doesn’t know what a “soccer mom” is and if not, he should gather his facts before labeling every woman with children that walk through the front door.  Just because I have children and take them to their after school activities does not make me a soccer mom.  I am a Real Estate Agent.  I work long hours and make my own money.  I run my household, keeping up with everyone’s schedules and making sure that my family has food on the table and clean clothes to wear.  I feel a rant coming on so I will stop.  To end this episode, I was offended. I don’t like labels and immediately turned the car around and told the salesman thank you for his time.  He is out…next.

Next…This is not much better.  I went to GMC to look at the sister vehicle of the Chevy.  I liked it.  We started to gather more information about this car.  From the very first meeting, I told this salesman that I liked the vehicle but was concerned because I didn’t think it would tow our boat and that we (my husband & myself) had not decided if that would be a deciding factor in our decision.  As I continued to do my research, I was feeling less likely that I would be happy for the long haul with this vehicle.  Let me interject here that upon meeting each and every salesperson they were told that we were shopping each and every brand since it had been 10 years since we had looked at a new vehicle.  With that being said, we did ask the GMC salesman to give us a price.  Not a negotiation, a final price.  I negotiate each and every day.  You know your bottom line, I know the range of your bottom line and I know my bottom line.  Let’s don’t waste time!  I wanted to compare pricing on this GMC and a Honda (which I knew would pull my boat).  Full disclosure on the table, the salesman gave me a price.  When I told him that I was just really concerned about the towing issue because I want to know that I can hook up to my boat and go if I want to I was responded to with this. “You are a control freak aren’t you?”  My response, “Yes and don’t you forget it.  It is what makes me exceptional at what I do.”  Guess what… he’s out…Next!

I am a woman…no doubt.  Am I a clueless?  Absolutely not!  I have done my research for a few months before getting the nerve to actually step foot on a lot.  (for above obvious reasons) Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a research addict.  I am also a “motorhead”.  A quality that my husband loves  I think the funniest thing that happened is while test driving I made the statement that this vehicle didn’t have the torque that my Durango has.  The salesman looked at me with a puzzled facial expression and said, “What?”

Purpose of this post?  Don’t make the assumption that because I have boobs that I am stupid and don’t know about cars.  Don’t make the assumption that because I drive my children to their after school activities I am a soccer mom. Don’t make the assumption that because I have done my research and know more than you think I do that I am a control freak.  Two dealerships lost my respect and possible business because of their sexist salesmen.   

This past weekend, I took my husband for a surprise birthday weekend in New Orleans.  We stayed at Le Pavillon on Poydras Street.  I can’t begin to say enough wonderful things about this hotel.  Upon our arrival we were greeted with a room upgrade and a tray of fresh fruit, cheese, crackers and wine.  There was also a card.  Now the upgrade and cheese tray were nice…but the card was what made the most difference.  While speaking to Katrina, while making my reservations, I told her that this weekend was a surprise for my husband’s birthday.  The card was to Thank us for our stay and to wish my husband Happy Birthday!  She actually listened to what I had to say to her and then took it one step farther!  Impressive

As we ventured out one night for dinner, I confirmed the location of a restaurant we were walking to with the doorman, Louis.  He confirmed my directions but then asked me if we had reservations.  We did not.  He left his post, went to the phone and called the restaurant to make them for us.  They were only taking walk-ins at this point in the night.  It was about a mile and a half away and it was getting late.  He offered to get us a cab but we really just wanted to walk…see the sights.  He then suggested another restaurant that was much closer and offered to get us reservations.  He could have easily confirmed my question and let us be on our way.  The fact that he chose to make the steps he did was incredible to us. 

The whole weekend was filled with moments and service like this.  We are already making plans to bring our girls back in November to see the city decorated for Christmas.

As a special treat, every night they serve peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with ice cold milk or hot cocoa from 10:00-11:00 pm.  There is a story behind this tradition that is quite heartwarming.  I can’t wait for my youngest to get to make herself a PB&J before bed when we go back!

Customer Service is what made the difference this weekend.  The hotel was beautiful and everything else was wonderful..but nothing that would have made me feel like I do still today.

You can find Le Pavillion on the web at www.LePavillon.com  They also have a Facebook Page or you can follow them on Twitter @lepavillon

Mary Poppins, please forgive me!

Last week was a test of strength for me.  On Monday morning my oldest daughter, Girly17,  was diagnosed with the FLU!  The Dr. walks in and says “Congratulations!  You have what I belive to be the Swine Flu!”  “Oh Goodie”  is all I could think.  Tuesday afternoon I get a call from my youngest daughter’s, Girly9, school to come pick her up.  She wasn’t running fever but they had found out that her sister was sick and asked me to keep her home as well.  By Thursday, Girly17 was back at school but guess who was running fever now.  Lovely.  After a day of 104 fevers with no end in sight, and a nasty looking throat, we went to the Dr. with her on Friday.  Being cautions, he checked her for every ailment under the sun.  It’s viral…let it run its course. I am getting to the point of this post…I promise!  On the way home I was thinking about the Dr. telling us to have her gargle with salt water. 

THAT’S IT!  HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS?

When I first got married, my father in law told us about an old home remedy for coughs and sore throats.  We came home and went straight to the pantry.  A spoon full of sugar with just enough vinegar to wet it.  Girly9 had done this before so she didn’t object.  Put the sugar in your mouth and let it slide slowly down your throat.  Vinegar is a natural disinfectant.  The sugar makes the vinegar thick enough to coat your throat on the way down.  By Friday evening her throat looked 50% better.  We did the treatment again that night and Saturday morning the fever was gone and her throat looked and felt great!  Now I am not saying that this was the cure-all but it sure did help.  I am hoping that next time I remember this before running to the Dr.’s office! 

I have also tried drinking pickle juice.  It works well but Girly9 detests pickles!

With sore throat/flu season upon us, try this and let me know how it works for you