Property Management Blog

I don't know about you but the change in time as really thrown my body for a loop. I always found it hard to get out of bed because it was so dark and it still felt like "night-time" to me. I just wanted to say in my bed and snuggle with my doggies. It was also harder for me to fall asleep because when I went to lay my head down at night time, it just didn't feel like night time. Now, with the change, I am hoping out of bed every morning and ready to go. The nights are where I am finding it super hard. When I get home from work it is almost 5ish. We get dinner done about 6ish. It is super dark out and I am so tired that I am ready to crawl in bed and go to sleep but I can't. I look at my clock and I find myself stunned that it is only 7pm. I know I am "old" but I am not THAT old. 

I also don't like the colder weather. I thought fall meant like low 60s not low 40s. I feel like it is getting colder sooner rather than later. Does this mean we are in for an early winter with lost of snow???? I sure hope not. I am not a BIG snow person. I can't wait until I can be one of the winter birds that head to Florida for the winter. With it getting cold make sure you check your furnace filters. I can say that enough. A dirty furnace filter can lead to all sorts of problems. Also,. make sure your gutters are cleaned. With the leaves falling like they are, you don't want to have a leak on your hands. 

One of my favorite things about fall is the smell. My husband brought home pine cones a few weeks ago and every time I walk into my house it smells like cinnamon. It is so good. Baking is another smell that I just can't help but love. The smell of cookies in the oven, YUMMY!!! I love making chocolate chip cookies from scratch. You want to know something funny? I can't make sugar cookies to save my life! They are one of the hardest things I have ever tried to make. Now, I can make a mean peanut butter pie but there is no baking involved in that. 

Thanksgiving is coming up and it is one of my favorite Holidays ever. It makes me happy to be around so much food and family. We have a lot of food. We do a turkey and a ham, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, rolls, and tons of desserts. We talk about how well all the kids get along and how much they have grown. We talk about remembering when we were their ages and how the world has changed. One thing that amazes me still to this day and I love.....the kids aren't on their devices. They are actually talking and playing with each other. It is so awesome. 

I have checked the forecast for the next several days and it is going to be cold. 

Check your furnace and make sure that it is running properly. 
If you have ceiling fans make sure you reverse it to push the heat down

Clean the gutters

Make sure all the water pipes on the outside are shut off. 

Happy Birthday weekend to the world's greatest husband, dad, brother, son, and friend.

On Sunday, not only is it Daylight Savings Time (remember to set your clock an hour back), it's also my husband's birthday. He will be 35 yrs old. We aren't planning much, just dinner with some friend's and family. I have had a hard time figuring out what to get him. I wish I could give him everything that he could hope for but, he ended up with me so how much more could he want (lol). I am really excited to celebrate him. He is a truly wonderful human being. He is a great cook and always makes me whatever I want to eat, even when he really doesn't want it. The good lord above broke the mold when he made this man. I am so thankful for him each and every day of my life. 

  
We just celebrated Halloween. Not much to celebrate really. I am not big on decorations for Halloween. Not my favorite "Holiday". My son doesn't go trick or treating but my daughter is still all about it. Especially, since this is the first year she has had her braces off. She was Carrie White from the movie Carrie. She even went as far as watching the movie the night before so that she could get in character. I didn't know that you could look so cute. 

We also got to spend some much needed time with so friends from out of town. Tracey and Lonnie came in town for the wedding of Tracey's middle son Trey. Trey had the honor of marrying his love Taylor. They are super cute together. They even have a cute nickname Treylor! It was a beautiful wedding in a remodeled barn. The wedding was upstairs and the reception was down. It was such a cold evening but there were plenty of heaters to keep the bar warm and you were sure to work up a sweat on the dance floor.  

That got me thinking. The weather. It has been super cold out however, this weekend is suppose to be nice. This is the change to winterize your home. 

1) take a pool noodle and cut down one side. Slide under your door to prevent air from coming in. Cut to size. 

2) replace your furnace filter

3) use blackout curtains 

4) Tweaking your thermostat so it isn’t running when you’re away from your home is a smart way to save money. You can create a different program for your days off so your house stays warm. For extra savings, try dropping a few degrees from your normal setting. 

5) Stay warm and safe

Until next time........

So a lot has gone on since I last did a blog. It has now gotten a lot colder. My son was asked to stay on and practice with the varsity football team which is great and all but GOOOOOOOD LORD! They practice 4 days a week and until 6:30. I kind of wanted a break before basketball season started but it doesn't look like I am getting that. It is really good for him because they are working towards playing for State and that would be awesome for him to be apart of.

My daughter has me running around all the time. I am so thankful for my grandma because she has been a big help. Ali has a lot of allergies and those allergies cause her to have asthma. She is on so much medication. We have been to a few specialist and they have decided to fight the allergies by pumping her full of what she is allergic to and hopefully she will become immune to them. She goes twice a week to get 6 shots in the back of each arm. She is pretty brave. She was also recognized as a "Special Person" by one of her teachers. He said that Ali Consistent achievement to the best of Student's ability, having a positive attitude towards learning, and contributes good nature and spirit to classroom atmosphere in a positive way. She is keeping to the family tradition. Her brother got one last year and I got one when I attended there years and years ago. 
                                                                 
We also got to celebrate our Famaiversary. I know you are like "What is a famaiversary" so let me tell ya. It is the day we legally became a family. We celebrate each year by having a wonderful dinner and dessert. We normally do something fun as well. This year my husband made homemade chicken fried rice, steak and chicken. Kind of like Benihana.

Then we had Halloween. Our daughter was the Statue of Liberty. I love how she really takes time and effort into her costume. She doesn't like to be the "norm". She always looks so cute too. She got SOOOOO MUCH CANDY. The problem is because of her braces she couldn't eat half of it. Luckily, my husband and son are helping her out.

                        
To start of the Holiday season we got out kids new pjs. How cute are these. My husband and I got some too but we are going to safe those embarrassing pictures for another time haha!


Now that all the cute pictures and family update is out of the way lets start talking about Fall. Here are a few chores you need to do around your house to get ready for the cold weather.

1) Rake your leaves~ you can also just mow over them while you can and use them for mulch

2) Clean out your gutters~ make sure you get your downspouts as well

3) Change your furnace filter~ this is important to do. Using a dirty filter can ruin your heating

4) Remember when it gets below 32* you need to leave your water at a slow drip

5) Now is the time to plant for your Spring Blooms and remember to cut down your annuals.

Until next time..........

I can't believe how long it has been since I last blogged. So much has happened. So lets just get started.

My son started his freshman year of high school ;( and he is on the football team:)  He practices 5 days a week and has a game on Saturday.

Our daughter is playing soccer and is currently a 7th grader. She is involved in choir. Seems to me that time is flying by. My very active kids have me staying busy.

The past few months have been a super crazy ball of emotions. We had to put one of our dogs down. Bob Marley had a tumor in his spleen the size of a softball and the doctor said there was nothing we could do. It broke our hearts because he was our baby. We had him for 7 years and thought we would have him much longer. I can't tell you how much we loved that dog. If I write any more about him I will be sitting at my desk bawling my eyes out.

Shortly after we said our goodbyes to Marley (the white dog), we received Hunter (the black dog). He came to us through a friend of a friend and he has brought so much happiness into our lives. He is so cute. I love his floppy ears. His personality is coming in and he just makes you fall in love with him daily.

Right after we got Hunter I found out that I had a massive kidney stone that needed to be surgically removed. It was really fast. It couldn't have come at the worst/best time. Worst time because we had planned a family trip to Michigan and my husband was NOT going to let us go on because of it. Best time, well frankly, my family needed a break. We consulted with the DRs and they cleared me to go sit by the lake and do nothing but relax so, that is what I did.

I wasn't able to get into the lake but it was okay because I got to enjoy a relaxing and peaceful weekend with my family. It was great seeing my kids laughing.

We also took a short one day trip to Chicago because 1) the kids have never been 2) I haven't been in like 20 something years. We walked around and ate at some of the "HOT SPOTS". I was super excited because we got to see the Firehouse that they use in Chicago Fire. We saw the "Bean" and many other great things. 

We are currently ripping the carpets out of our house and installing laminate floors. In doing so, I am realizing that it would be a good idea for me to do some Fall Cleaning. So if you get the bug and want to join me here are some ideas.

~Wash your windows inside and out (with 3 dogs and their noses pressed against my windows this might seem like a pointless task but one that should be done)

~Dust and wash your blinds

~Dust and wipe down your walls and baseboards

~Dust off the refrigerator condenser coil. You can use your vacuum brush to assist you.

~Declutter and reorganize your closets

~Replace your furnace filter

~Check your some detector

~Check weather stripping and caulking around your windows and doors

~Clean out your gutters and down spouts

Do a little at a time. Don't overwhelm yourself. You can do one room a day or a weekend, depending how much time you have. Good Luck and Until Next Time........

Well it has been awhile since I had a chance to blog. I started real estate school. I would go to school for 4 hours in the morning and work for 3 hours in the afternoon. I would have to rush home to pick my son up from football and start dinner, help the kids with their homework, do my own homework and work on stuff for soccer. If it wasn’t one thing it was another. I was obviously too busy to do anything, including getting sick which is exactly what happened as soon as football, soccer, and my school ended. I have had a runny/stuffy nose, my head has been clogged, a horrible dry cough, and sometimes it feels like someone is sitting on my chest for like 6 days now.

Enough about me and all my whining (as my friend Julie would say). Let’s talk about something else. What should we talk about? (I am looking around my office for inspiration). My office is filled with beautiful pictures of my family and letters from my kids but we always talk about my kids. So……………well that is just sad. Unless I am talking about my kids I have nothing to talk about.

I was talking with my sister in law Amy yesterday as I drove home and I was explaining to her how much I love driving up College Ave in the fall. The leaves are such beautiful colors. I love the burnt orange and the reds.

I was on facebook the other day and I was looking at my feeds and seeing my friends update their status. I loved seeing that a few of the girls that I hung out with in high school are all Moms now and are about to be again. I love seeing that they are making Apple Pies from scratch and helping build houses with Habitat for Humanity. Makes me realize that I hung out with some pretty awesome people.

I have a new friendship brewing with another old high classmate, Lauren. We have been helping each other out with the real estate class. She just passed her state exam and is on the road to being an Indiana Licensee/Broker. I am so proud of her!!! Those test are HARD!!! I have passed my class but have to now past the State Exam.

I am super excited because my best friend in the whole entire world, Erin is moving back state side. She currently lives in Hawaii and even though I am upset that I don’t get to visit Hawaii (plane tickets are crazy expensive) I am happy to have her state side. She will be coming home for a few days as I get to soak up some of her time.

Well….......I finally found something to talk about (besides friends) today is National Back to the Future Day. Back in 1985, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale wrote a movie about a boy who used a DeLorean to travel back and forth in time. The movie starred Michael J. Fox which was almost NOT the case. Michael was approached for the part and had to turn it down because of the show Family Ties. Michael J. Fox had to turn down the role as Marty McFly. Eric Stoltz took the role as Marty McFly however, after 4 weeks of shooting, the directors decided that Stoltz wasn’t right for the part and they turned back to Michael J. Fox. His schedule had opened up some but was told he could only do the movie if he made sure that Family Ties wouldn’t suffer.

The Character of Doc was played by Christopher Lloyd however, the directors originally wanted John Lithgow. Christopher Lloyd then turned down the role but then changed his mind after reading the script with his wife and they let him change some of the scenes.

Lea Thompson was cast as Lorraine McFly because she had worked with the 1^st Marty McFly, Eric Sholtz but they liked her in the part and decided not to recast her once Sholtz left.

Claudia Wells, who plays Marty’s girlfriend Jennifer was also a recast after Scholtz left. The original Jennifer was played by Melora Hardin but once Michael J. Fox signed on as Marty they felt that she was too tall for him and let her go. She never got to film one scene.

Back to the Future opened on July 3^rd, 1985 on 1,200 screens in North America. It spent 11 weeks at #1 at the Box Office. The film grossed $210.61 million in North America and $173.2 million in other countries.

Well that is all for now. I will send you off with these important dates

~10 days until Halloween

~11 days until Day Light Saving Time Ends

~36 days until Thanksgiving (My favorite Holiday)

~62 days until Winter

~65 days until Christmas

I LOVE LOVE LOVE fall. I love the rustic reds, burnt orange, and the smell of bonfires at night. My children spent the weekend raking the leaves in a huge pile in the back yard just so they could jump in it. They did it for hours. They would get the pile big, jump into it until it was flat and then rake it into a big pile again. Brings back memories doesn’t it. It was so beautiful this weekend it almost felt like the beginning of Spring and not Fall. My family had family photos taken on Sunday afternoon at a local park. They turned out beautiful.

Saturday was the perfect day. I spent most of my day out on my motorcycle with my kids and my mother. We went and got my son’s haircut, a few new pairs of jeans, and their Halloween costumes. I must admit that I HATE HATE HATE Halloween. I am not a big fan of Scary Clowns and the kids like to make fun of me for it and try to scare me every chance they get. Also, I am not a fan of scary movies and that is the only thing that seems to come on during the month of October. We spent the afternoon and evening on our back porch playing cards with my brother and sister in law while our kids and the kids I was babysitting were playing a weird form of tag in the backyard.

The biggest thing I love about the fall is it is the start of FOOTBALL SEASON!!!! I know that the season is almost ½ over but there is nothing I like more than watching the Indianapolis Colts play on Sunday. Win or lose I have been a fan of them since as long as I can remember. I think my next blog is going to be about them. They have a lot of history here in Indianapolis and this is their 30^th year here so why not.

Well a few tips for fall clean up.

1)    Clean out your gutters

2)    When raking leaves, rake them around the base of a tree. This helps mulch the tree.

3)    This is the time to start cleaning out your flower beds if you want to plant flowers that will bloom by spring time.

4)    Make sure your downspouts are not clogged when cleaning the gutters

Enjoy time with Family and Friends.

Until Next Time………

Labor Day~

Did you ever wonder what Labor Day was actually about? I did. So I googled it and I found out and it is about ME and YOU and any hard working individual. Here are some important facts about Labor Day for you.

1)      It is celebrated the first Monday of September  

2)      It was originally celebrated on May 4 back in 1886 but they moved it to September in 1887.

3)      It became a Federal Holiday in 1894

4)      It is known to a lot of people as the end of summer and the start of football.

Most families celebrate by having a cookout. Brats, burgers, hotdogs, potato salad, baked beans and lots of other good stuff. Others go camping and enjoy the peacefulness of Mother Nature.

Whichever you prefer I hope that you have a restful week.