About Me

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Concerned Citizen and a Serial Entrepreneur wrapped in a progressive democratic soul longing for us all to get along.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Today is Sat., January 28th

Serenaded outside the clinic

Our T




Stanford was an all day affair yesterday. Tracy was poked & prodded until they finally found a vein....poor guy. He's got the black & blues to show for it too. We met with a new fellow in clinic. Her name was at least 12 syllables and she was very thorough. It then took Bruno a long time to come in to speak to us & examine T. T's counts are lower than they'd like & kind of skewed. So they were going to forgo the chemo IV until we talked some more. T's sweats are a little worrisome along with the headaches. Has the leukemia reared it's ugly head yet again? Well, after we discussed the fact that T had had these night sweats for years before he was diagnosed & usually they came on when he overdid it; Bruno decided that an MRI was needed & that T shouldn't take any Methotrexate this month. He may have developed an intolerance for it. We'll see... In the meantime, we'll continue to enjoy this glorious sunshine on the central coast!

Oscar
Oscar loves it... I finally took him home from the studio to grace our home....

He waits while I take multiple classes and test out attempting to satisfy the requirements for my license renewal.... stay tuned....

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Today is Thursday, January 26th

This has been a very stressful week so far BUT it's looking up now. The week started with the near collapse of one deal... negotiating around the clock with the sellers and the buyers threatening to walk over differences in opinion and viewpoint. A Realtor has to facilitate, negotiate and stay calm throughout the process... it's not always easy. The stress for the principals is consuming. After all, the most important facets of life: relationship, employment and home all come into play. We need to keep a level head in order to do the right thing for all concerned. Brian's home also came close to collapse due to timing issues... and then, we received a realistic offer on 104 Angora Lane... hours to put the package together and resubmit and now we're hoping Chase sees the offer as realistic too...

Monday evening, I entertained my book club - 10 avid readers gathered for Italian sausage & pasta soup, salad, mini cheesecakes & wine, deciding on the books we'll be reading and where we'll meet for 2012.

Tuesday, I went to the Sereno Los Gatos office to a Master Mind meeting where we proceeded to discuss "Let my People go Surfing" by Yvon Chouinard (the Patagonia story). When I interviewed with Chris Trapani, the founder of Sereno, we talked about management styles and the view for Sereno. Chris gave me the book at the close of our interview. The tale is an amazing story of the pursuit of one's goals which encompass living simply, loving what one does while sustaining the earth and making a living all while giving back to whence we've come. I was blown away by the fact that Chris & Ryan as the leaders of this group, would give me this book and then, call a meeting to discuss how the tenets of the book relate to our business... enforcing the reasons why I migrated to this wonderful world of Sereno... inspiring and sustaining my soul...

While I was in Los Gatos, tech support fixed my connection issues. Next stop, Amos's home to remove the lockboxes. Amos needs to rent his home since we've received no offers while on the market for 2 months. Parts of South San Jose will take awhile to recover. Hopefully, in a few years it will make sense again.

Wednesday, altho' T didn't have the energy to play with clay... I went to the studio and enjoyed seeing my clay mates and finished my Virgo. I took Oscar home and rallied my love to play some Wii tennis... T is amazing! He walks every morning and consumes books by the dozens... and every evening we hope he'll sleep through the night without those dreaded sweats... and then, he gets up and does it again. While I'm on brokers tour today, T will rest up before the trip to Stanford tomorrow...

Keep that white light incoming to surround our T....

Monday, January 23, 2012

Today is Monday, January 23rd

The Niners lost their chance to go to the Superbowl! That poor rookie has an entire year to think about his blunders.... Next year they'll be a strong cohesive seasoned team with the conditioning and training to see them through.

The Patriots will play the Giants for the prize.

What a day of football! The storm was very scary last night like it reflected the force of foes on the football field. Riley will only get a walk in the neighborhood today since the wind is whipping this morning.

Gathering of my book club this evening at my home (first time in a year)... Feels like Italian soup to me...

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Today is Saturday, January 21st

They say a picture tells a thousand words....

T & A upon arrival

AnneMarie & Vicki rocking out

Vicki, Buck, Me & Tracy
Tracy surprised me yesterday.  When I modeled what I was going to wear for him, he looked me in the eye and said he wanted to go... you could have knocked me over... I choked back tears of happiness and my man lay down for a nap until it was time to shower and get ready.  We dressed up for the occasion and Vicki & Buck picked us up...posed for a photo here at home and we were on our way...

What a fantastic party!! The venue was very cool and the food, open bar and entertainment was fabulous!!!  Vicki and I rocked out until my man finally got up and danced a couple with me...  as Linda said today,  Tracy gave me a phenomenal early Valentine gift of love by accompanying me to celebrate... when I repeated Linda's words to T,  his response was "Does that mean I don't have to get you a card?"

T paid for the party by having night sweats last night but this morning he decided it was worth it....

Open house today at 104 Angora Lane with 10 groups through... looks like we may have another offer coming through...hope it's enough to satisfy the bank...

Sweet dreams and GO NINERS!!!!!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Today is Friday, January 20th, 2012

Jammed packed days full of wonder, biz, and my T trying his best to beat this crap!

Walking on the beach each morning gives us peace and Riley a work out and we wind into our days ready to face whatever confronts us...

T battled something earlier this week... couldn't keep food down and constant headache... now the headache remains, but his attitude is better.

Life is about how you handle Plan B.

I sold 118 Granada!!!  Happy clients and new neighbors soon....


Time to get ready for the Sereno Group New Year Celebration... yahoo!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Today is Monday, January 16th, Martin Luther King Day

To realize how far we've come and to celebrate that progress and acknowledge how far we have to go.... Martin Luther King was a spiritual leader, a force to be reckoned with and a normal man.   We honor his memory today...

Football was everything this weekend.  T & I screamed and cheered until I was hoarse, tired and hungry for more... Next Sunday will be the reckoning.  Manning vs Smith, a true test!  Both smart teams with a heart.  The Giants used to practice at Yale Bowl when I was growing up and they were the players we saw in our midst.  I've never stopped liking them but when I moved to the bay area in 1970, I became a 49er fan for life.

The 2011-12 49ers are a force to be reckoned with like those glorious past teams of Montana, Young, Rice, Clark and more... we're in it to the end... finally, we have a team to be immensely proud of ... altho' we never stopped lovin' 'em, tho' we cursed 'em all those years in between...

Today is a work day for me.  I'm off to show 104 Angora Lane and the other homes in the neighborhood to a new buyer.

Have a great day!!!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Today is Saturday, January 14th

The only way that Friday the 13th could have been any better is if the Niners had played yesterday and beat the Saints.... instead they did it today!!!! Wow!! I'm hoarse... and if I bit my nails there wouldn't have been any left to chew on...  What an amazing game... felt like the old days with Montana pulling it out in the last minute and 40 seconds.... only Alex did it for us!!!!   I can't believe it!!!  We're on our way....  the Patriots won too!!!  OMG!!!

Football heaven!!!  If only T didn't still have a headache... wondering if it could be the fireplace emissions in the area?  who knows?

Yesterday was my board meeting and then, the Santa Cruz Cty. Ass. of Realtors luncheon and my Sereno family was there in force to support my installation for the third year of service on the board.  Amazing...

Life is what we make it... I'm truly blessed....

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Today is Thursday, January 12th

Oh my our lives are soo full... we walk on the beach each morning and revel in the beauty of this amazing weather...  Yesterday was my first office meeting with the Sereno Group and it reinforced the reasons for my migration... inspiration for the journey... after all the journey is the reward...  along the way with another flower arrangement of orchids & roses & my new iPad.... I'm a happy girl...



thought I'd finished up my requirements for license renewal and then, I realized I hadn't tested out all the sections...so, I'm continuing...

gave up on growing my hair long... I just don't have the hair gene... I give up...  it's back to short and I'm relieved.... no fuss no muss

Brokers tour today with Marilyn & Vicki ....  lots of laughs as always...

and T is still enduring headaches & cramping....  now do I convince him to notify Stanford?  He doesn't think they can do anything...

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Today is Tuesday, January 10th

We awoke to another beautiful day on the coast and Tracy, Riley & I walked the beach in celebration... I finished my course and took the last series of tests so, I can now renew my real estate license for the second time.... I even finished early!  The renewal date is Jan. 30th.  Sometimes it feels like 20 years instead of 8 but in spite of that, I'm very excited about the new year and how our lives are unfolding...  my transition is happening very smoothly and I'm very happy I made the brokerage change.  I've got more time for actually selling real estate and enjoying life rather than chasing down paper.

So, since I hadn't taken any time off in at least a week... today was our day to play with clay.  Good news was before we left for the studio, Rhonda called from Stanford to give us great news:  no leukemia cells in T's spinal fluid!!!  Yahoo!!!  So, we're to monitor his headaches over the next few days... I cracked, "you may need your head examined."  but nobody laughed...  Anyway, we're very thankful for another wonderful day...

 Check these out:
Riley & the Mask in T's hand


Leo

we're very proud...

Monday, January 9, 2012

Today is Monday, January 9th, 2012

Keep that white light incoming please?!

Tracy had a terrible night last night... sweats & raging headache. I called Stanford again and they wanted to see him... so then, Tracy was adamant that he could drive himself... our stubborn boy insisted so, I spent the day worried about him while putting a deal together and making a Costco run.

Tracy endured labs and then, a lumbar puncture laced with Methotrexate... the fear is the leukemia cells have returned... think positively and carry a big stick! He finally got home about 6:30 this evening. I finally could breathe normally again. I can't imagine how he managed to drive after the lumbar puncture but he did it...thank God!

Found out a dear friend, Lynne,has breast cancer & her battle has begun. It's amazing how many people are struck by cancer... when do we actually change our ways and our environment?

We must!!!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Today is Sunday, January 8th, 2012

2012 wow!!!  We're into a new year and starting to get used to writing the date correctly.  It's been a very quick start with lots of activity... play, clay and biz...

T seems better and yet,  his hands & legs are cramping and he's had a continual headache for days.  I'll be checking with Stanford tomorrow.

Not much to say tonight... just a little worried about our boy...

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Today is Thursday, Jaunary 5th, 2012

January is always exciting... this year even more so. With Tracy working his way toward health again and my new start with the Sereno Group; I've got to say we're a happy family.

T & I are walking in the mornings and most days that takes us to the beach. Riley needs it as much as we do and I'm starting to feel my legs again. It's interesting how weight gain creeps up on me and then, all of a sudden, I realize I'm as wide as a door... gotta stop that before it's too late so, in addition, I'm watching my intake and I've started working out with Wii... now I just have to keep it up, that's all.

T & I have been pretty busy the last few days. After checking on our tenants on Mon. we stopped for dinner at the Green Valley Grille (T's suggestion when I didn't want to go to Watsonville at all) and then, after a perfect burger & salad as we were heading home, when I said, " a perfect evening would include a movie " T said how about "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" at 6:45? I almost fell off the front seat!!! Great movie and very well done!!!

Most of Tues. and Wed. I spent working my way through the continuing classes in order to renew my real estate license after 8 years in the business. The bright spot was working on Leo, the lion along side T as he painted Riley and his face... I really love playing with clay...

Today was brokers open and Marilyn & I roamed the county looking at some wonderful homes. And I spent some time at my new desk, picked up my gorgeous new open house signs and riders and called it a day.

I've got a rant and a story coming as soon as I finish this last class... keep that white light incoming... Happy New Year!!!!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Year's Day 2012

It's the first day of 2012 and the first day of our new life...

New Year's Eve had us feeling relaxed and lazy after our walk on the beach... we took it slowly and decided early on that we'd stay home and enjoy the year end on New York time... so after munching pretty much all day; we'd popped the champagne and ran the bath with aromatherapy salts, lit the candles and turned on the music...

The fireworks started and we crawled in bed and the next thing I knew it was morning...

A much more strenuous walk to our Hidden beach this morning... we walked down to the shore and climbed up General Hart's trail... much better work out and we felt it... Home to fresh squeezed oj, coffee and the papers. When the niner game started, T suddenly reminded me about our T-shirts and thank goodness! We quickly donned them and I made some bagels, locks, onion, tomato, capers and cream cheese delights...mmmmmmm What a way to watch another nail biter!!!

49ers clinched home field advantage and a bye!!! Oh yah!!! Full day of football...San Diego beat Oakland; Atlanta killed Tampa Bay (who cares?), Packers beat the Lions narrowly (too bad!), Seahawks were beaten by Arizona in OT and now, we're watching the Giants fight Dallas... love the Giants (Daddy would be proud) and the Patriots won too ( altho' we weren't able to see it).

Hopefully, we'll be re-energized in 2 weeks... I know my biz will be!!! I'm excited to start a new year! Sereno advertised yesterday a phenomenal piece! Here it is:



HA!!!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!