There  once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church  carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows  were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak  was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What do you have there, son?"       "Just some old birds," came the reply.    "What are you going to do with them?" I asked.       "Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm   gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have   a real good time."   "But... 03/15/2011

SUNDAY SILLY FROM THE SUNSET BEACH TEAM    A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him. The waitress asks them for their orders. The man says, "A hamburger, fries and a coke," and turns to the ostrich, "What's yours?" "I'll have the same," says the ostrich.   A short time later the waitress returns with the order.  "That will be $9.40 please."  The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment. The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, "A hamburger, fries and a coke." The ostrich says, "I'll have the same." Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change. This becomes routine until the two enter again. "The usual?" asks the waitress. "No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato a... 03/13/2011

Kodak/ActiveRain Challenge ~ The Closing Gift ~ Personalized We wanted to be creative and unique when we gave our clients a closing gift. We wanted to always be remembered in some way or another. We didn't want something that would go in a cabinet and never be seen. We didn't want something that would be used once like a gift certificate. Twice for clients Frank purchased and installed a garage door opener. These gifts were certainly appreciated but were not always needed with every sale of a home. Thinking caps back on ~ our next client purchased a home in a brand new subdivision. The home came with everything new including a garage door opener. Shoot, what are we going to get. We wanted something personal because these clients had become our friends. We googled (of course we googled) ... 03/10/2011

Spring Renewal ~ Sometimes It Happens For a Reason Our company name was confusing, to us, to our clients and to another company with a similar name. Simply stated, we needed to change it to eliminate the risk of being sued. We had read about the "Zebra" case and suddenly felt as if we might have our own case to worry about. Sometimes things happen for a reason ~ So the decision was made ~ It was time for a new Spark, a time for Renewal, A new name for our business ~ An Inspiration for Us to Move On in a Positive Way ~ We live in Sunset Beach, North Carolina which is a coastal community near the border of North and South Carolina. Since we live so close to the South Carolina border, we decided it was best for us to be licensed in North and South Carolina. With this in mind we wanted to c... 03/09/2011

WHATEVER YOU WANT ~ BACK TO THE STONE AGE ~     Now that can be a very dangerous comment a husband makes to his wife especially on their 35th wedding anniversary. That statement can mean just about anything or can be construed any way a wife wants, right ~  Now let's not take this out of context but I will admit this statement has been uttered numerous times in our marriage and conceivably in many marriages. Take for example the husband and wife who are out looking for their first home.  Now we have all encountered the first time homebuyers, but have we really thought about the comments that transpire between a couple. What happens between a couple can literally date back to the stone age and looking for a cave to live in. Who do you think got the last say in that situation? Not the hus... 03/08/2011

The End of the Oscars this year was very special for me thanks to my wonderful husband, Frank.  I didn't stay up to watch it in it's entirety but Frank, as usual set it up on the TiVo to tape. This year the show ended with a chorus from P.S. 22 of Staten Island singing my ultimate favorite song, "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" The harmonizing of the group of children is amazing and the nuances of the group caught my attention immediately. For me it was a wonderful way to end the Oscars with all the winners walking out while this talented group of children sang my favorite song. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Oh, by the way, I grew up on Staten Island in Eltingville but did not go to this school. I went to P.S. 55.     03/06/2011

SPRING AHEAD NEXT SUNDAY ~ WARMER WEATHER TO FOLLOW ~ A day off was a blessing in disguise as we walked around the neighborhood with our puppies ~ Trees were in Full Bloom ~ Some were beginning to bloom and the temperature was close to 70 degrees ~ We decided to take a leisurely walk on Sunset Beach which is less than a mile away from our home in Sea Trail Plantation ~ The weather was gorgeous, blue sky, slight breeze, chair in place, book in hand, and ready to do the usual people watching and reading.     Never even opened the book, people watched the entire time, text sent to our son, emails read from clients, met friends on the beach and talked about our new company name. We enjoyed the weather, the beach and the time outdoors but the breeze on the beach got the best of us and we hea... 03/05/2011

Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce is holding its Annual Meeting on March 10, 2011 at the Sea Trail Convention Center in Sunset Beach. The meeting's theme is "Reflections of the Past, Present and Future". All Past, Present and Future members are invented to attend and celebrate 35 Years of Reflections.  Join the Chamber for the passing of the gavel, awards presentation, dinner and dancing. Business Attire. Cocktails 5:30pm  Dinner 6:30 pm  Event Fees are $40/person Reserved Table of Eight $330 (with prime location)   Sea Trail Convention Center is located in Sunset Beach at 211 Clubhouse Road                                                                    03/03/2011

Sea Trail Plantation's Carolina Ballroom located in Sunset Beach, North Carolina will be the site for the Inaugural Celebrity Waiter Dinner on Thursday, May 12. The evening plans include dining, dancing, auctions and entertainment by celebrity waiters in support of the charity, The Ruth House, A Home for New Beginnings. The Ruth House Facebook Page.The Ruth House, a nonprofit charity, has a mission to provide a nurturing, loving, Christian home environment for at-risk teenage girls ages 13-18. The home will help the girls learn how to live and effectively contribute in a family setting, to become respectful citizens, to discover and develop the God-inspired gifts and talents within themselves and others.Proceeds from the Inaugural Celebrity Waiter Dinner will help to prepare the donated... 02/28/2011

Many times in a lifetime people think about quitting ~ They don't want to continue what they are doing for various reasons ~ It's too hard ~ They don't want to fail ~ They have failed ~ Things go wrong ~ The battle is never-ending ~ Quitting seems to be the best alternative ~  DON'T QUIT When Things Go Wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all up hill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must ~ but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns, As everyone of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about When he might have won had he stuck it out: Don't give up, though the pace seems slow ~ You might succeed with another blow. Often the ... 02/27/2011

The Graceful Giraffe meets the Type E Personality While reading Margaret Rome's Blog about Surviving Your Serengeti, I came another Quiz to take,  the Type E Quiz. I love taking Quizzes so without further ado off I went. I found myself with a score of 26 which was in the range for a Type E. Is that good or bad, I wondered. With further investigation, I found I was a Type E Translator as far as scoring went. It was nice to find out I one of the "traits" was the "ability to take lofty visions and bring them down to earth" ~ which makes me "invaluable and scarce resource". I am also "essential for creating a balanced and successful work environment" Now a very important trait that I will point out to my Business Partner and Husband for almost 35 years (March 7,1976) "Type E Translators app... 02/26/2011

Paper - Less Challenge has been an inspiration to get organized The Active Rain and Kodak Paper-less Challenge contest has been an inspiration to get organized ~ Our first step to going paperless has been an easy transition ~ we scan everything on our HP Officejet 6310 All-in-One Go ahead, laugh, it's old, ancient, but it works and we can't live without it. I still remember faxing things not that long ago... Our second step of the paperless trail is when we have to work on contracts, documents, and pictures. They are all on our computer, placed in a pdf file and emailed to clients/agents/lawyers/inspectors/banks ~ thus saving a huge paper trail. Our third step to going paperless has been the iphone functions ~ our biggest papersaver is no more writing notes ~ we talk to our phone to sch... 02/24/2011

Surviving Your Serengeti : Which Kind of Animal Am I? The Serengeti Plains of East Africa, a place unknown by so many humans,  is the last sanctuary for the greatest concentration of wildlife remaining on earth, and the unique focus behind this book written by Stefan Swanepoel. All who read the new book Surviving the Serengeti : 7 Skills to Master Business and in Life will encounter lessons to learn in life and possibly help them to rise above their adversities. Do you think you know which animal you are? You can take a quiz by clicking on the "which animal are you?"  read the first two chapters, visit the website, blog and Facebook page. I visited the Facebook page and sent this link there. I chose to take the quiz before reading the first two chapters of the book because I immediately... 02/22/2011

The Old Alphabet : A is for apple, and B is  for boat,  that used to be right, but now it won't  float!   Age before beauty is what we once said,  but let's be more realistic instead.  Now The Alphabet:  A's for arthritis;  B's for bad back,  C's the chest pains,  perhaps car-di-ac? D is  for dental decay and decline,   E is  for eyesight, can't read that top  line!    F is  for fissures and fluid retention,   G is  for gas which I'd rather not mention. H high blood pressure--I'd rather it low;   I for incisions with scars you can show.   J is for joints, out of socket, won't  mend,   K is  for knees that crack when they bend.   L 's  for libido, what happened to sex?   M is  for memory, I forget what comes  next.   N is neuralgia, in nerves way down low;   O is for osteo, bones that do... 02/21/2011

It's been a long week in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, with one more day of showings for tomorrow. These will be the best of the homes for second looks. Let's end the week of showings with a nice soothing story rather than a Friday Funny ~SWEET SWEET DOG ~ An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard.  I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of. He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep. An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.. The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour.  This continued off and on for several ... 02/18/2011

The Limp D**K ~ Much to the man's dismay ~ It's been a long two days of showing homes and we just wanted a little humor in our life here in Sunset Beach, North Carolina   Enjoy ~  More showings scheduled for all day tomorrow ~ Heading for Murrells Inlet, SC A man took his limp duck to the vet, who listened for the bird's pulse with her stethoscope. "Sorry, your bird's dead."  "You sure?" he shouted.  "I'm sure."  "But you haven't tested or anything. He might just be in a coma!"  Rolling her eyes, the vet brought a Labrador Retriever and cat into the room. The lab put his paws on the examination table, sniffed the duck and looked at the vet with sad eyes.  The cat jumped up, sniffed the duck, shook her head and meowed softly.  "Sorry," said the vet, "but definitely, this duck is certifi... 02/15/2011

WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GET ANYTHING FOR A DOLLAR ANYMORE? Sunset Beach North Carolina : The Old Bridge Preservation Society in Sunset Beach North Carolina recently bought the old Sunset Beach Pontoon Swing Bridge for 100 Pennies.         The transaction was part of an effort to preserve and restore the old bridge as a museum. The swing bridge recently went into retirement last November when the new high rise bridge opened for traffic on Veteran's Day. The old bridge was dismantled and relocated to a site just west of the new high rise bridge on a acre of land that was donated by Mr and Mrs Holden. As part of the contract, the old bridge had become the property of English Construction. The members of the Old Bridge Preservation Society of Sunset Beach will work to landscape the bridge site, ... 02/13/2011

Growing up without a cell phone!     If you are 40, or older, you might think this is hilarious!   When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning....Uphill... Barefoot...  BOTH  ways...yadda, yadda, yadda   And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay   a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it   and  how easy they've got it!     But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.  You've got it so easy!  I mean, compared to my childhood,  you live in a damn Utopia!   And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you do... 02/12/2011

WRONG E-MAIL ADDRESSThis one is priceless...A lesson to be learned fromtyping the wrong email address!!!! A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier.Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day...The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife.  However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email.Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston , a widow had just returned home from her husband's fu... 02/11/2011

TELL ME THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN TO US!!        An elderly Floridian called 911 on her cell phone to report     that her car has been broken into. She is hysterical as she     explains her situation to the dispatcher: 'They've     stolen the stereo, the steering wheel, the brake pedal and     even the accelerator!' she cried.. The dispatcher said,     'Stay calm... An officer is on the way.' A few minutes     later, the officer radios in 'Disregard.' He says.     'She got in the back-seat by mistake.'          This is too precious..             Three sisters, ages 92, 94 and 96, live in a house     together. One night the 96-year-old draws a bath. She puts     her foot in and pauses. She yells to the other sisters,     'Was I getting in or out of the bath?' The     94-year-old yells back, '... 02/11/2011