Houston Auto Show at NRG Center 2017The Houston Auto Show which has been in existence for 34 years starts on Wednesday April 5, 2017 runs through Sunday April 9 , 2017. The show takes place at NRG Center ( formerly Reliant Center) . This is a great opportunity for everyone to see the latest cars, trucks and SUV’s from the World’s best Automakers. There will be over 700,000 square feet space devoted to the latest and greatest vehicles from all of the top automakers. Over  700 new vehicles with several being  debuts from approx. 20 automakers will be on display. In addition, about 70 vehicles are available for test drives. The Houston Auto show is a car lover's dream. Tickets cost $12 per person per day. Children 6 to 12 years old are $5 and under 6 are FREE when accompanied by one adult.... 04/06/2017

Katy ISD Police / DEA Taking Back Unused or Expired Prescriptions 2017Mark L. Hopkins Law Enforcement Center20370 Franz RD.Katy, TX 77449 Saturday April 29, 2017 the Katy ISD Police ion in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA) will be giving the general public the opportunity to get rid of unused or expired prescriptions from their homes. This Taking Back event is taking place at the Mark L. Hopkins Law Enforcement Center in Katy which is located at the address shown above. Take Back starts at 10 AM and lasts until 2 PM. Last September, Americans across the Nation turned in more than 617,000 pounds of prescription drugs at sites operated by the DEA at approximately 5,500 sites across the US. Since inception this program has taken in more than  4.8 million pounds of... 04/05/2017

Car Show Cane Island Katy TX Saturday April 8, 2017 from 10 AM till 4 PM Cane Island is hosting a Car Show. This is a family event and the public is invited. The developers and builders want people to know they can live the Resort Lifestyle right here in Cane Island Katy TX. This events features classic, muscle and exotic cars. Attendees can vote for their favorite. Prizes totalling $5,000 will be awarded.   In addition, There will be a No Label Brewing Biergarten; Food trucks; Live Radio DJ; Car Art; Bounce Houses; Face Painter & Balloon Artist.  You will have an opportunity to win a $400 hotel gift card along with a Lexus car to enjoy during your weekend getaway.    Car Show Cane Island Katy TX  04/04/2017

Spring Cleaning of Blog Posts in Katy TX Debbie Laity  who is an agent with Cedaredge Land Company created a March 2017 Challenge requiring participants to go back and clean-up prior posts. I started in Activerain back in 2007 but I did not really get going with writing regular posts until around May 2011. I decided the early posts were so terrible it would be depressing plus tortious to go back and reread and modify these horrible posts.  I took the scatter gun approach of looking for recent posts where I was confident I could make improvements fairly ( or so I thought at first) easily and correct errors. Updating data, pictures and checking links was part of my process. This whole process will take many more hours to completely review and change all the posts needing attention. I will... 03/31/2017

The Three Brands I Trust in Katy TX Our friends Ron and Alexandra Seigel  created a challenge for March to write a post concerning the 3 brands which we trust. My picks for brands to trust already changed as the days in March passed on. I think like many of us the list is changing as time goes on.  My list might have a couple of surprises as some folks may say Really! My 3 brands I trust are as follows: Brooks Athletic Shoes/ RoadRunner Sports - I use to be a runner but hip replacement surgery over 6 years ago ended my running days. I now use a treadmill for my cardio exercise. I use to hate using a treadmill for cardio exercise but one has to change as the situation dictates. I have very flat feet and finding shoes of any kind and especially running/training shoes is difficult at best.... 03/30/2017

Annual Folk Life Festival Hosted by Katy ISD    Katy Independent School District (KISD) is hosting the 32nd annual Folk Life Festival on Saturday April 1, 2017 from 9 AM to 4 PM. The Festival is being held as usual at the District’s Outdoor Learning Center (OLC). The OLC is located in Old or Historic Katy with its address being 6301 Stadium Dr. Katy TX. Admission is $1 per person.  Katy ISD Outdoor Learning Center (OLC) is situated on 35 acres of land which is kept in its natural state. All the building blend into the natural setting. The festival concept is for students to experience life as it was for early Texan’s. The buildings include history and science classrooms mixed in with a barn and a blacksmith shop.  Attendees will get to experience the OLC being transformed into a 1800’s... 03/29/2017

URGENT - Fort Bend County Animal Services has a PUSH List of Dogs Unfortunately the Fort Bend County Animal Services shelter has been swamped with over 30 dogs arriving at its facility in Rosenberg TX during the last couple of weeks. I have no idea why so many lost or owner turn pups have surfaced in the last few weeks but they have. It is beyond my comprehension why this situation seems to becoming a commonplace occurrence.  When this overcrowding situation occurs, the Shelter has to develop a PUSH list and set a deadline for these pups to be rescued or adopted or fostered. The dogs on the list are the  shelter residents who have been there the longest period of time. If rescue or adoption does not happen by March 22, 2017 then these pups will be euthanized. There are 14 dogs on this U... 03/21/2017

Enjoy Early Morning Walks / Listening to Birds Sing - Grand Lakes  If you enjoy taking early morning walks on trails in your own neighborhood during the spring time or anytime of the year while listening to the birds sing then you should definitely consider  Grand Lakes in Katy TX as a place for you to move to. Grand Lakes in Katy TX is an established family and pet friendly neighborhood offering residents numerous amenities such as pools, putting green, hike and bike trails, playgrounds, dog park, man made lakes, parks and several others.  If you or someone you know are looking for or are in need of a home in Grand Lakes, Katy, Sugar Land or Cypress TX area then you need a REALTOR® to help you with the purchase or sale or lease of a home and please contact me as you will not be disappo... 03/20/2017

Sensitive Offer to You my Friend!  I suspect several of us received a message similar to the one below through Active Rain today. Altan has a sensitive offer to present to me and probably numerous others. Gosh I wonder if this could be my ticket to wealth! LOL.. How stupid do they think we are? I have recently received several supposed job offers sent to my Email account which state big salary and little work.. Spare me!  This is obviously another in a long list of scams that hackers and or thieves are sending out to probably millions of folks just like you and me. I am publishing this so not only my AR friends are aware but so are folks in the public who will read my post. It appears no water is safe to go into any more. Date03/15/2017 at 07:34 AMNameAltan C BalikEmailaltancansu.b@yaho... 03/15/2017

Working on Federal Taxes in Katy TX This weekend has found me working on our Federal Taxes so we can file for an extension.It takes me some additional time to put together the Real Estate data and expenses. I always file for an extension once I have inputted all the other data in Intuit Proseries tax software. Free plug for the software but customer service with this group not so much.. I will leave that to another post.  If you to file an extension, Form 4868 needs to be filed with the IRS by April 18, 2017 which is the due date for individual tax returns this year. This form requires a taxpayer to estimate the amount tax they owe and pay the difference if tax is indeed owed with the extension request.  I have a client I prepare the tax return  as the paid preparer and I have worked on... 03/12/2017

Wonder Why Katy/Houston has a Huge Homeless/Lost Pet Population? Hmmm.. The entire Houston metropolitan area has a huge problem of a large population of lost or abandoned and/or homeless dogs and cats. Last year I heard two different TV stations state there are over 1 million dogs roaming the streets of metropolitan Houston let alone the number of cats on the streets.  Every day I see several internet posts concerning lost dogs or cats. Sometimes these pets are found and returned to their owners but in my experience this does not happen all that often. This week I encountered an experience which may help to explain a small part of this large problem.  I was driving to our mailbox which located on the first street in our section of Grand Lakes Katy TX. I drive fairly slow on this street ... 03/10/2017

Sunday March 12, 2017 Spring Forward  Plus Spring 2017 To Do Items As most of us know but tend to forget, we need to spring forward on Sunday March 12, 2017 at 2:00 A.M. and turn our timepieces forward one hour. I like to remind folks early as there are many planners who might not remember and this can cause havoc. It is always easy to remember the time change if you think about spring forward and fall back when it comes to setting the time.There are several essential things most of us should schedule time to do to coincide with the time change. These tasks for the most part are items we all tend to forget or just ignore or realize this is a real pain and we wait until there is a problem before taking any action.  Call this a Spring Important To DO List. If we plan to add all these item... 03/09/2017

Annual Fishing Show in Houston Texas Fishing has a huge following of fishermen all across Texas and certainly in the Houston and surrounding areas.  Where:      George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida De Las Americas Exhibit Hall A, Houston Texas, 77010, 713-853-8000. This is in downtown Houston with easy accessTo all of the freeways. When:        Starts Wednesday(Today), March 8 2017 and runs through Sunday, March 12, 2017 Hours:        March 4 Wednesday through March 10, Friday 12:00 noon to 9:00 p.m.          Saturday March 11, 2017 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.          Sunday       March 12, 2017 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.Admission Price:Adults - $9.00     Children under 12 - $2.00 This is the 42ND Annual Fishing Show and is the biggest consumer fishing show in the entire United Sta... 03/08/2017

Sick Yesterday in Katy TX Yesterday afternoon I became sick all of sudden. We were scheduled to go to dinner with my son, his fiancee, future step granddaughter and my sons future in inlaws . We had to cancel as whatever hit me did not go away quickly. I still do not feel that good today. We were going to have dinner at a highly rated South African restaurant located in northwest Houston.  I always say it is better to live to fight or enjoy on another day than it is to push any attempt at something when things are not right.  Have a great reminder to your Sunday afternoon and evening.  Below is a sunset picture ..    03/05/2017

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Aquarium PicturesEarlier this year we visited an aquarium and the below pictures were taken there. I really like the colors and the sea life. The ocean is a very complex life system without question.If you or someone you know are looking for or are in need of a home in Grand Lakes, Katy, Sugar Land or Cypress TX area REALTOR® to help you with the purchase or sale or lease of a home please contact me as you will not be disappointed. I am positive if you interview me you will be very happy. I am a Professional Realtor working for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices - Anderson Properties in Katy TX and I have several years of successful corporate and real estate experience. I would love to hear from you and start working on finding your dream home. My cell number is... 03/01/2017

"Our Agents Take The C.A.K.E"C-CommitmentA-AltitudeK-KnowledgeE-Enthusiasm Licensed Realtor Looking To Enhance Your Business? Luxe Realty Group  We are looking for Licensed Real Estate Professionals with experience in the residential real estate industry. The successful candidates will be results driven, clients focused, experienced professionals possessing backgrounds in sales and OR the hospitality industry.  Responsibilities:  Conduct phone appointments creating listing activity to qualified sellers and decision makers working in our primary markets Greater Houston, Greater San Antonio, And Greater Austin Vicinities. Identify, qualify and record leads, contact information and notes regarding the new or ongoing development of new or existing client targets · Negotiate and execute cont... 02/27/2017

Almost Speechless Sunday - Our Pup Enjoying a Leisurely Sunday Morning Our little pup Miss Duchess is a family dog and she loves to hang out with us. Below she is shown enjoying a leisurely Sunday morning cup of coffee while checking her Email plus pictures on my laptop here in Katy TX. Sitting in my spot or Miss Yolanda's spot at or breakfast room table is one of her favorite things to do when we are home. She makes us laugh every day. Small dog with a huge personality.    02/26/2017

Don’t Let Student Loans Stop You from Buying a Home Buying a home is considered by many, to be an integral part of the American dream. But what happens if you have student loans, that means that you aren’t financially capable of buying a home, right? WRONG. Student loans may affect your monthly budget, but there are mortgages available for those with student loans. You still can qualify for a mortgage loan.   Please take the time to read the linked article shown below as it does a very good job of providing needed information.   Want to learn more? I am an Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) in Katy TX, plus professional Realtor and have worked with first time homebuyers to manage their student loans and still be able to afford a home. Please let me know if you have any questions! ... 02/24/2017

Today is National Margarita Day! Enjoy!!  February 22 of every year is National Margarita Day and it is a time pay a tribute to this wonderful drink. I have recently read a survey which found margarita's are the most popular drink ( alcohol) in the US. I will not get into some type of debate as to the accuracy of this survey but certainly margarita’s are very popular all over the US and especially in Texas. In fact margarita’s are enjoyed all across the world.  If you the opportunity enjoy one today or maybe one over the upcoming weekend.  My wife Yolanda makes excellent margarita’s including cranberry, blue, and others. She is a lady of many talents. Next time she makes one I will take a picture and share it with everyone.  Enjoy your day and margarita.  Above picture courtesy of Bing ... 02/22/2017

Katy ISD Virtual School Registration is Open Katy ISD has created a virtual school and registration is now open for Summer 2017, Fall 2017 and Spring 2018. Katy ISD District feels online learning is an essential segment of today’s learning environment. Online courses can provide students with an opportunity to acquire required school credit from anywhere and at time the student is availble to learn. Online education is in high demand and is a very cost effective method to provide students with instruction.  All online courses are aligned with Katy ISD curriculum and are taught by Katy ISD teachers. The key is this type of school instruction and learning provides the student and their family with flexibility. Another advantage to students of this program is students can attend specialize... 02/20/2017