Driving down a lone Texas Highway, Texas Ranger Walker receives a phone call, he listens intently, a smile begins to form on his face. He hangs up the phone without saying a word. “You’ll never guess what I just heard Trivette.” he says to his trusted partner. “Judging from that smile Walker, I imagine that a couple of round house kicks might be in our future.” is the response. “Nope, care to take another guess?” giving Jimmy Trivette a mischievous smile.
Trivette knows the game and has learned over the years. He remains silent knowing that Walker can’t keep the information to himself any longer than a couple of miles. “You know Ranger Shaw from Victoria?” Walker finally asks? “Ranger Shaw, yeah, I remember him, great guy and didn’t he have that son that joined the military?” “Yup, funny you should mention his son, I just got off the phone with Homes for Heroes and he is now part of that great team.” “Hooya!” Trivette exclaims as he smacks his 10 gallon on the dash. “I knew old Shaw’s kid had something going for him!”
Yes that right ladies and gentlemen. Texas Ranger Walker has just announced our newest member to the Homes for Heroes family. Caleb Shaw.
Caleb Shaw
Caleb Shaw is a Native Texan, with TEXAS size ambitions. After graduating from Agua Dulce as an accomplished student and state qualifying athlete, Caleb moved to Victoria where he was recruited to work at JR’s Boot Center. He quickly became a favorite among customers even though he was easily spotted as the only “non-western” employee there. Despite the fact that he loved his job and Victoria, he felt a sense of service, so he joined the United States Air Force. In just seven short years he was able to soar through the ranks, earn honor graduate out of basic training, and earn the top graduate award for nearly every military school he was sent to, including the coveted top spot for Airman Leadership School. He flew on the E-3 Sentry AWACS as an airborne radar technician for four years before cross training into three years of success in military law..
After the military, he worked for three years at Sendero Power Line Construction, Inc. Caleb’s intuitive thinking and work ethic took an already great company to new levels of excellence. Caleb also earned a bachelor’s degree graduating magna cum laude, and two associate degrees. Despite his success and enjoyment, Caleb missed his roots, sales and customer interaction.
Caleb is now a full time member of Redding & Associates, and couldn’t be happier. Caleb brings a passion and excitement that is second to none. Using tomorrow’s technology combined with old fashioned values, Caleb’s goal is to meet the current needs of all his customers and clients. Customer satisfaction is the foundation upon which Redding & Associates was founded, and Caleb strives to help build upon that. Caleb’s customers can reach him at all times, as an unrivaled work ethic insures he will do everything possible to make sure all transactions flow smoothly, efficiently, quickly, and most importantly….ENJOYABLY. Most people have forgotten that buying their first new home is supposed to be an exciting time, and if that went sour, the thought of doing it over again can be downright depressing, Caleb intends to change that perception, one satisfied customer at a time. Care, loyalty, integrity, confidentiality…just a few of the things any client deserves, but with Caleb Shaw will undoubtedly enjoy.
Caleb is a member of the Victoria Board of Realtors, the Texas Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors. Additionally, Caleb is one of only five Victoria, TX Realtors to have earned the Texas Affordable Housing Specialist award, signifying his desire to help more Texans achieve their dreams of homeownership.
Recently Caleb decided to join the Homes for Heroes organization. By becoming an affiliate of this program Caleb is able to bring the excellent benefits to Victoria County Heroes. As a veteran, Caleb knows firsthand the sacrifices made by heroes in all the different career fields. Having two brothers that also served in the military, as well as a Texas Ranger for a father, Caleb is extremely excited to give back to our heroes, and make the pride of home ownership a reality!
So if you live around Victoria Texas and are looking for TEXAS size Service and savings, you can contact Caleb by visiting the Homes for Heroes website.
Want to be part of the Homes for Heroes family? Contact Helen or Ruth at 1-866-443-7637 with any questions or visit our web site at Homes for Heroes. This is a wonderful program helping our Heroes that do so much for our communities.
Usually every morning at the Homes for Heroes office I try to gather every one around and have a quick 10 minute meeting. The topic of the meeting is to try and get some ideas for the daily blog. I find that I am met with a lot of resistance. Why? Well I see it as a couple of things. One, I have no authority to hold these meetings, so it takes a lot of cajoling to get everyone seated together in the conference room. I get excuses like “I am supposed to meet with a client right now” or “this is the time we are supposed to be at the daily briefing with the boss.” The other reason was relayed to me by a colleague. She told me that they would love to provide ideas for the blog but they don’t like hearing “wrong answer baby” with each suggestion. So I end up going from desk to desk (after our “boss’s” meeting) asking my office mates what would be a good topic and finding out that being ignored is rather annoying.
This morning is different though. We got a nice white coating of crystallized water last night. It covered up all the dirty snow banks and dead patches of grass we have been looking at for the last couple of days. The topic of the blog today was so obvious it was easily identified by yours truly.
At Homes for Heroes we have an affiliate that lives for just these types of days. Her love of all things winter and last nights weather can only be a sign that we should introduce to you Shae Walker.
Shae Walker
Shae Walker is a hardworking, dependable, and trustworthy licensed Realtor in Minnesota. She has been in the real estate industry for nearly four years, three of which she has been a licensed Realtor. and loves every day of it. She enjoys meeting new people and helping them to achieve their real estate goals. Times are tough, but Shae knows how to work through the market. Whether it is finding buyers their first home, helping people move into something larger, or finding sound real estate investments, Shae is there for you every step of the way.
Shae is currently expanding her education at the University of Minnesota, pursing a degree in Marketing and Communications. This education, in addition to her experience, will help to better her in client representation and marketing creativity.
Besides real estate, Shae enjoys meeting new people and experiencing new things. She loves outdoor activities including snowboarding, snowmobiling, rollerblading, swimming, and boating. All of her life she has danced and is currently taking up swing dance as another hobby. She has a huge family and cherishes the days she gets to spend time with her 6 younger siblings. During her free time she also reads, watches movies, and travels.
Shae became an affiliate of Homes For Heroes almost 2 years ago. It is a natural fit for Shae, her mother is a pediatric nurse who calls after work to tell Shae about the kids she treated and made laugh. Shae has family who have served for the army, and grew up with teachers who really helped her along in her education. Her friends have come and gone to Iraq in the past couple years, and she sees them go through life changes upon returning home. Shae knows that there are heroes in the community, and she wants to give something back them after witnessing how much they give of themselves and to their communities.
So if you live in the Minneapolis metro area and are looking for a Realtor that will be with your every step of the way and let you know where the best snow mobile trails are, you can contact her by visiting the Homes for Heroes website.
Want to be part of the Homes for Heroes family? Contact Helen or Ruth at 1-866-443-7637 with any questions or visit our web site at Homes for Heroes. This is a wonderful program helping our Heroes that do so much for our communities.
Did you ever have one of those mornings where when you got up your left hip seems to be out of socket, your right arm is so sore and stiff you can’t move it and your neck is so twisted and sore that you finally get to see how hairy your back is? Well I had that morning this morning. I barely made it into the office at Homes for Heroes. I am not sure why I had to pop my hip into place in order to get down the stairs. Nor did I understand why I could not get the tooth brush in my arm up to my mouth or even move my head enough to meet the arm.
The wife gave a knowing giggle when she heard the loud pop coming from the top of the stairs. I mentioned I don’t understand what happened, how could I sleep so fitfully and yet not be able to get parts moving in the morning. She said it was all part of getting old! Ninjas don’t get old I replied. Then it must have been the Shepherd Pie. Ahhh!!! She’s right.
We had Shepherd pie for the first time last night. I had heard of it before and always thought it something exotic. So I was a little disappointed to find it was not that much different than pot pie and for the money I think you can make a pot pie a little cheaper. Remember, frugality will be with us for awhile.
Speaking of being frugal. Has anyone seen in the produce department lettuce that is sold with the roots still attached? It usually comes in a plastic container similar to the one in the picture and is sold on the premise that it is so fresh it is still growing in your fridge.
It is packages like this and has roots.
Well we get a couple of those in the spring then plant them in the garden. We eat salads 2 to 3 times a week in the warmer season, so we figure we beat the system by purchasing these heads of lettuce and having them in the garden. That way we don’t have to buy lettuce every week at the grocery store. Just make sure to keep the rabbits away. They love the stuff. But I suspect this summer might not be a problem. We will talk about traps and rabbit recipes another time. I have been practicing making my dead weight trap this winter in the office. You would be surprised at how many people try to trip it and come away with sore fingers!
The other thing we just started this winter was growing our own green onions. It was fluke actually. The wife and I have a pet name for our refrigerator, it is called the pre-compost bin. We let all our vegetable matter get really soft and smooshy in the fridge before bringing it out to the compost pile.
These guys grow like crazy.
Can’t seem to eat those darn veggies fast enough. Well we had some green onions sitting in there all wilted and slimy. We hadn’t eaten a one, and I was in a frugal mood and was not going to let a little spoilage wreck my grocery budget. So I cut the wilted tops off leaving about an inch or so of the bottom. I got some potting soil out of the garage and planted those suckers. Put them in the window and now have a constant supply of green onions. I just cut what I need and they keep growing. So it has been about 3 months now and I have not had to dole out the fifty cents it costs to buy them at the store. Huge savings, something like $25 over the course of the a year if you buy them weekly. Okay it might not be huge but I envision my future grand kids having a blast picking lettuce and cutting onions for dinner.
Oh, don’t worry, I will have more of these neat little frugal ideas for your home and office. Tomorrow we will discuss home and office lighting techniques that will save money and look really cool too!
We had an incident the other day in the Homes for Heroes office. No, I was not involved! Even though I kept getting looks from my colleagues while we were watching the event unfold. I tell ya, once you get a reputation…… We heard tires screeching in the parking lot and all of us ran over to the window to see what was happening. A female was backing her car out of the parking spot and a young driver of the bull headed gender was traveling through the parking lot at a rate of speed similar to that of the local freeway. Well these two things by themselves was not really the issue. These two things happening at the same time was the issue. As the lady was backing out the kid saw her with just enough time to skid about 30 feet through the parking lot. No vehicular contact was made and all seemed fine. I let out a sigh and muttered, “Women drivers.” That’s when I noticed the first look.
We waited to see if anything else would happen. It was either that or get back to work. For three full minutes, neither car moved. I think they were both waiting for the other to move first. One would expect the lady to pull back in to the spot and another would expect the young kid to let her go now that he is stopped. Neither was taking place. The young kid honks his horn first and that is immediately followed by the women honking back. This could get good I thought, but the women pulled into the spot and as the kids starts to pass her she puts her car into reverse and starts backing out again! She doesn’t hit him but I think he learned his lesson.
As we all headed back to our desks some one asked me what I meant about women drivers. I said nothing but sent them this video by email. I thought it was funny, but my boss didn’t. How one can get into trouble for stating fact I’ll never know. You watch the video and tell me if I am wrong.
See? It is not me, women can make some bad decisions. Now I am in trouble again. Gotta go talk to my boss about this blog. Talk to you tomorrow.
We all know that Homes for Heroes affiliates with Realtors and lenders throughout the country to offer substantial discounts and rebates on real estate related services. They provide these rebates and discounts to those who serve our country and communities every day and include military personnel, firefighters, police officers and first responders. Homes for Heroes could not reach the number of heroes that it does without their affiliates.
As Homes for Heroes continues to expand we strive to find the best of the best to serve our Heroes. We have found that in our newest affiliates. From the state of Colorado which means “Color Red” and where the Rio Grande originates, Homes for Heroes would like to introduce to you our newest members.
Alisa Lewis (L) Pamela Williams (R)
Meet Alisa Lewis and Pamela Williams. This mother and daughter team are 20 year residents of the Denver area, they have been providing residents top notch Real Estate service for over 6 years. Their unique background of Accounting and Interior design will ensure that whether selling or buying a home they will make it a smooth transition. They pride themselves on being committed to exceeding your expectations through professionalism, integrity, dependability and excellence.
When not providing great customer service you can find this team enjoying the great outdoors, playing golf, biking and spending time with their families. Pam has another role of being the doting grandmother of Alisa’s 13 month old son Bradyn. Her pride and joy.
So if you live in the Denver area and are looking for a team that will put your best interests first and foremost and save you money, you can contact them by visiting the Homes for Heroes website.
Want to be part of the Homes for Heroes family? Contact Helen or Ruth at 1-866-443-7637 with any questions or visit our web site at Homes for Heroes. This is a wonderful program helping our Heroes that do so much for our communities.
I think I might be in trouble. I did something today at the Homes for Heroes office that might not be in line with office policy. At first it went unnoticed, I had done a pretty good job of covering it up. Then some office “do gooder” had to blurt out loud enough for my boss to hear.
I didn't think any one would notice.
“Why is the trash can sitting upside down in the middle of the floor?” I had put a potted plant on top of it, thinking it would be obvious to anyone that the trash can sitting upside down in the middle of the floor was put there to hold the plant. It didn’t seem to work as long as I hoped. My boss walks out of her office, eyes the trash can with the plant on top of it, turns to my desk and asks, “what the H@&& are you up to now?”
As she approaches, I go into my best pu ning mu position. For you out there that are not familiar with the ways of the ninja. This is the “hiding like a stone” position. You take your legs and move them into your chest then wrap your arms around your legs trying to make your self as small as possible. The hard part is controlling your breathing, you must remain as still as possible. This position has saved me many times before. “I am a stone”, I think to myself as my boss pokes me with her toe and asks me to see her in her office. “I am a stone being prodded by my boss”, I think to myself as she prods me a little harder. “I can see you, dummy, that stone trick only works if you are not seen to begin with.” She drives the point home by pouring a little water from her water bottle onto my face.
My concentration broken, I get up and follow her to her office. We sit down and she again asks what the trash can is doing in the middle of the office floor. I told her that the plant was looking a little rough so I thought I would put it in a place to take full advantage of the sun. The trash can just maximized that sun light. My boss leans back in her chair and runs both her hands through her hair. I think I might just get out of this yet. She is not going to pursue this any further, I think. She is a gardener and my story fits right into that. “I don’t care, get rid of it.” She sighs, and dismisses me with a wave of her hand.
What do I do now, is all I can think of as I slowly walk over to the trash can. If I move the trash can now, all will know what I did and that is not what I want every one to know. It all started last night watching the Home and Gardens cable channel. They were previewing some homes and one of them had an orange tree growing in the middle of the living room. I thought, how cool would that be at work. No more running to the vending machine looking for a snack, just mosey on over to the apple tree in the middle of the office and grab yourself a nice healthy snack, straight from mother nature.
On the way in I stopped by the local nursery and picked up a small apple tree. When I got to the office I grabbed some tools and headed over to where I thought would be the best spot for the apple tree. In full blossom it would be directly between my desk and my boss’s. This would aid me greatly when doing some of my office experiments. I cut a nice square in the carpet, then proceed to chip away at the cement floor below. I figured the hole only had to be about the size of a coffee can and it should not take that long. I would have the tree planted before any one else got to the office.
Well, the cement was harder and thicker than I thought. The hammer alone was not doing it, so I grabbed a big chisel and really started to make some progress. That was until the chisel decided it wanted to penetrate the high voltage power cable buried beneath the cement. With a loud bang and an eyebrow trimming flash, the chisel popped out of my hands and embedded it self in the cabinets behind me. We didn’t lose power in the office but the alarms were going off at the bank across the street. With all haste, I pushed the cement chips back in the hole, covered the hole with the cut out carpet and stamped it down with my foot. I stepped back to see how it looked. What it looked like was a pile of cement chips covered by a piece of carpet sitting in the middle of the office floor.
Being a quick thinker, I look around trying to figure how I can get this big lump out of site before anyone shows up. I spy the garbage can, snatch it and place it over the pile. Perfect, except someone is going to question why the can is sitting in the middle of the floor. Again a detail scan of the office produced just what I was looking for. In the corner of my boss’s office was a small potted tree. I grabbed it and placed it on the can. Voila! Problem averted and I can go another day unscathed by office rules and such.
I promised you yesterday that we would talk about growing some of your vegetables at home. It will have to wait another day. I have to run to the hardware store for some cement and carpet glue and get back before the electrician shows up. I will get started as soon as the electrician is done and the cement is set.
With all the panic and hysteria being brought about from our politicians we can’t help but hunker down for a good old fashion depression. I don’t think it will be a shoe boiling depression for a couple of reasons; because when I boiled my shoes at the Homes for Heroes office, no one wanted to share it with me and it would also mean our politicians were capable of doing anything right. But they have enough knowledge to be dangerous. So I suspect things could get bad for a while.
Because we will be forced to save our pennies we get to call it being frugal. Frugal let’s you be proud on how much you save and you won’t be considered a cheap son of a bum. You will soon see a rash of videos and blogs popping up telling you how to cook a healthy meal for four under a dollar a person. Well we are going to be on the forefront of that wave.
Want to be frugal eating healthy? I have a quick recipe and it feeds four. Chicken or beef stew. If you have a pressure cooker, the meal takes about 20 to 30 minutes tops. My wife doesn’t think stew can be made that fast, something about the word stew having something to do with stewing. Her stew cooks all day and is very yummie, but in the morning who wants to be peeling potato’s? The meal is great for any left over meats but if left overs scare you I have something thing to say. GET USED TO IT!!
Peel and cut up two medium size potatoes, then without washing off the knife cut up one or two carrots. Rinsing off the knife would not be frugal. I usually use one big carrot or two small. If you are the adventurous type cut up a celery stalk. Put these into the pressure cooker, or in a pot of water and get them pressuring. While that is going on put about 2 to 3 cups of water, the meat and about 4 appropriate flavored bullion cubes into a pot and get that boiling. So now you have two pots of stuff boiling. I know you are thinking why not just use one pot? You can’t, and that will soon be revealed. Back to watching the pot boil. As they are boiling grab a piece of tupperware and put in 3 table spoons of flour and about 1/2 cup of water. Shake the ever living heck out of it for about a minute. As the meat (which I hope you cubed) is boiling slowly pour in the flour/water mixture constantly stirring until the stuff looks like gravy. When the veggies are done, drain and dump them into the gravy. Add salt, pepper and onion to taste and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Dinner is ready.
Cost of the meal? If you used left over meat, $1.62 if you were a weenie and bought fresh stuff $4.62. And the bonus is you get to feel all outdoorsy like for not cleaning your knife in between cuts. Now some may take being frugal a step to far. This next video is something I would not recommend. I don’t call this being frugal, I call it being a criminal and bum and some one I would not let my daughter marry or even date for that matter.
Since not all of us are willing to live under the neighbors porch, we will move on to a cheapfrugal dessert that the kids will love to make. It only takes about as long as the next video and it is easier to show you than describe it to you. I hope your kids as enthusiastic as these are. Especially when it comes to cleaning up.
As most of you know, Google and I seem to have a tepid relationship. They tolerate me, but just barely. As I was searching You Tube for the cup cake recipe, Google thought they would add a few bonus videos into the fray. They caught my eye (No pun intended as you will soon see.) and being todays blog is about being frugal I will throw them in. For you guys after watching these you will appreciate the softer gender all the more. For you gals all I can say is I am glad I did not have to go through this in boot camp. I might not have made it.
Next blog I will have some neat frugal tips on growing some veggies at home. It is a real cost saver and will provide fun and entertainment for the whole fam damily. But something we have ignored for a couple of weeks. WHAT IS IT?
No, stop putting it in your nose.
This one is bizarre in nature. You must really be dedicated to your loved ones to use it. Brave too. There is a danger to using one of these. Have you figured it out yet? I gave you plenty of hints. Last one, Crest is not recommended. There ya go! They are tooth brushes for your pets. Go figure. I know you can’t wait till tomorrow to find out more so I will leave you with your anticipation.
Had the radio going during lunch today. I usually sit at my desk at the Homes for Heroes office for lunch. It affords me time to rummage the office without too many questions. I heard something that made me laugh out loud. The commercial was dealing with kids concussions. Not that I think a kid with a concussion is funny but the ad was talking about a work shop that would discuss “impact testing” for kids! What does that mean? Do you attend these meetings to find out just how hard you have to hit your kid to induce a concussion? I think the ad writers need to clarify a little bit more, other wise I may just have to go home and start swinging and recording how hard I can hit before the kids go down.
Speaking of get hit hard, home sellers seem to be the punching bag today. I have heard stories of sellers offering cars along with the home. We have talked about the issues with short sales and banks. And I have have told you all that it is a buyers market right now. Where does that leave the seller?
The seller wants to maximize his profit yet the buyers want the home for free. A price is usually agreed upon where both parties feel they have pulled the wool over the others eyes. That is the best scenario in a real estate, however, today that is a rare thing to find. So what must the seller do in order to feel like they got the best deal possible?
First and foremost the seller must take heed of this video. In order to price the home to take advantage of the market. Meaning that there are a lot of homes out on the market right now and a good amount of them are foreclosures, short sales and HUD homes. If the seller is not one of those categories the right price is where you are going to be able to compete. So take a look at the video and we will discuss what it means.
One of the hardest parts of a Realtors job is to get the seller to look at the home realistically. If you come to my home I can guarantee you that the home made spice rack I made out of old cheese boxes and baby food jars adds at least 2 or 3 grand to the home value. I built that myself and it is the neatest thing in the kitchen! Does that make sense? No, but when you sit down with your Realtor, they will listen to all those improvements and great things you have done to your home then with great tact and skill let you know that very few of them will have an impact on the home. Ceiling mirrors hold no value while an additional bathroom will. Get the idea?
Next is staging your home. What does this mean? It means you have to make your house seem like you do not live in it and that you don’t own anything. All those great colors you fought with the spouse over, get rid of them. Cleaning? You will need to have the home so clean it will make a Drill Instructor cry. Your Realtor will usually have a check list of these things but if you are like me and do not read anything that does not have a cartoon on it, this next video will give you a good idea of what you will need to do to get your home ready to sell.
Now that them home has had 90% of its contents removed and stowed away and all traces of human beings erased you will need to market the home. If you think a sign in the front yard is all you need, think again. 70 to 80% of all home buyers are using the internet now. It is not like the old days when you got in the car and lugged the kids around the neighborhoods you liked looking for open houses. In todays market open houses are pretty much an invite to your neighbors so they can find out how much you are selling your house for and if they should get their home on the market. Your home should be marketed in several medias. But the biggest pay off is having your home all over the web. Make sure that your Realtor has the correct tools and skills that it will take to ensure that your home is seen by people not even looking for homes. I found this video and thought the Realtor that did this was spot on. The home sold if you can believe it.
Now admit it, you might not have liked the home but you watched the whole thing. And I would be willing to bet that you were amused at the Realtors audacity. But the home sold is a short period of time. A good Realtor is a good marketer. Make sure you ask about marketing before you sign listing agreements. A Sunday ad in the local paper won’t cut it anymore.
This last video quickly sums up what a seller must know when selling a home. Again we see that it does not take a lot of money to market your home. This Realtor combines recycling and marketing and for an added bonus had a celebrity appearance. Watch and see how creativity from your Realtor can get your home sold.
Have you figured out that being the seller in todays market isn’t the end of the world. Sure, it smells funny and at times you might feel like someone is searing your eyes out with hot spoons, but if you stage, market and price your home correctly the pain only lasts weeks instead of months. Just remember, there is a silver lining in being a seller. Once the home sells, all those buyers that were trying to get your home for penny’s on the dollar, you get to be one. Revenge is sweet.
ATTENTIONHomes For Heroes Blog followers! My boss called me back into her office this morning and indicated that she was beginning to worry about me, what with Ninja stories and levitating people. I have a new assignment… she wants me to feature introductions of our Homes For Heroes affiliates so that all of you followers will get to know them. All I can say is, since I can’t locate my ninja master, “She’s the boss” so here goes.
Homes For Heroes affiliates with Realtors and lenders throughout the country to offer substantial discounts and rebates on real estate related services. They provide these rebates and discounts to those who serve our country and communities every day and include military personnel, firefighters, police officers and first responders. Homes For Heroes could not reach the number of heroes that it does without their affiliates.
Watch in the coming weeks as we introduce to you the caring real estate professionals who provide outstanding service to our heroes.
Our first introduction is to Jennifer Ott, Dallas, Texas.
Jennifer Ott is a seasoned loan officer of 13 years. She is currently a Branch Manager with AmericaHomeKey, Inc. Prior to joining AmericaHomeKey, Inc. she was with Southwest Mortgage, AmeriNet Mortgage, and CTX. Jennifer has experience in processing, closing/ funding loans, Underwriting, originating loans, and managing originator teams. Jennifer has worked in both the broker and banking industry.
Some of Jennifer’s services with being a Branch Manager / Loan Officer are:
Provide information, terms, rates, value of collateral and other requested information and keeps applicants fully informed of any requirements or necessary information
Work directly with clients, completing all application materials, pricing the loan program, and placing them with the appropriate lender
Communicates directly with applicants to notify them loan approval or denial
Prospects through real estate agents or builders, and configures finance loans for new home buyers & people looking to refinance
Manage the following key relationships: title, loan consultants, vendors and borrowers
Today she continues to enjoy helping her clients with their real estate financing needs. A longtime resident of Dallas, Texas, she is married with three young daughters who are active in soccer, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and the community.
Jennifer Ott is also a sister to a fallen soldier. Her brother Army Specialist Chad Drake was fatally wounded in Baghdad, Iraq, when his patrol vehicle came under attack by enemy forces using small arms fire. Chad was lost in the war September 7th 2004. Chad was and is a true Hero and proof that freedom is worth fighting for. Through her loss she has found away to give honor back to the heroes amongst us. Jennifer feels truly blessed to be a part of Homes for Heroes and she is committed to servicing the heroes that are among us daily in our communities.
We at Homes for Heroes have nothing but praise for Jennifer and we are truly blessed to have her on board. So if you are living in the Texas area (yeah the whole state) and are looking to re-finance or buy a home, Jennifer is the one to call. You can get a hold of her by visiting the Homes for Heroes website.
Speaking of financing, this latest down trend is having an impact on Soldiers when they receive orders to another duty station. (In the military that is called PCS Orders, or Permanent Change Station) The good news is that at least the Congress has addressed it in the “stimulus” package. $400 million has been set aside to assist those that have to sell a home because they have received orders. The full article is here. If you want to save even more when you receive your orders get a hold of a Homes for Heroes affiliate.
My boss is pleased, I made no mess in the office today, or in the parking lot. My colleagues had no desk accessories removed, reshaped or retasked as a result of my new assignment. I on the other hand have some things I will have to take care of first thing tomorrow morning. My desk critters will need feeding soon, but I have read that a single mouse can keep them alive for months.
Did you get out to Denny’s for the free Grand Slam meals yesterday? I planned on going very early thinking I would beat the crowd. I called some staffers at the Homes for Heroes office asking if they would be interested in joining me for a free breakfast. Most of the staff at Homes for Heroes are Realtors and I know how much they enjoy free food. The first call I made was at 4:30 a.m., I wanted to make sure they were ready for Denny’s 6 a.m. opening.
I learned another thing about Realtors this morning. None of them, for some reason or another, like to be woken at 4:30 in the morning. I can only conclude they like their sleep more than 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon, 2 pieces of sausage and 2 flapjacks for free. So alone I wander out into the below zero weather and head over to the nearest Denny’s. I get there at 5:45 a.m. and cannot find a parking spot. I park about 3 blocks and walk back to the restaurant. I am surprised by the amount of elderly people standing outside the door. Especially their rudeness. I learned that I should keep a 4 to 5 foot distance from the ones with canes.
Why all this hostility from our “Greatest Generation”? It took about four whacks and a couple of stitches to figure out why. These people have been going to Denny’s for years and it comes to them as a surprise the Denny’s wants to reward the nation for their patronage. They are not happy with Denny’s poor decision. I had to learn this the hard way, I hope most of you figured it out after the first smack.
On my way back from the emergency room, hungry and sore, I saw something that made me think I got hit harder than I thought. This is something one should not witness after being hit in the head with a cane. I entered the office and was asked why I was late. I was hoping the bandage on my head would gain sympathy, but I think the fake cast last week severely impeded those chances. My boss could see I was visibly agitated and her eyes softened a small bit. Is there anything I should know about, she asked.
Forgetting about my bandages and bruises, I started to tell my boss about the incredible thing I saw on the way back from the hospital. The softness in her eyes went away and I was told to get to work. I am not sure what a demerit is but some how I received another today. I got to my desk and immediately got a cup of coffee. As you know I had an incident with my morning rituals at work. I have been changing up my routine to keep the office ninja from messing with me. I now get my coffee first then sit down and turn on my computer. I have had to make other adjustments in the office and some of them have been very successful in sabotaging any plans the ninjas might have. We’ll have to discuss that later, I can’t let the ninja know I am on to him/her.
Once the computer comes up, I go to You Tube and try to see if others have seen what I saw on the way to work. It took some time but I found it. I don’t know how it is done, but I am relieved that I was not hallucinating from the concussion the elderly provided for me.
My boss calmed down a bit after seeing this video, it seems like I wasn’t being my usual self after all. But that was short lived. Some students at the University of Minnesota had a great idea. They had a garbage truck dump a load of garbage in front of the student hall to go through it and see how much could still be recycled and or reused. I started to call around and found a local refuse company that was willing to come by and drop a load off in the parking lot.
The lot was full and I had to call the refuse company to reschedule the drop off at lunch. At the prescribed hour the garbage truck arrived and there was an available spot. I instructed the driver where to make his deposit and he started to back up to the spot.
Now you might be wondering why I would want a load of garbage dumped in our parking lot? The answer is quite simple. I figured I could do a whole week of reuse articles from stuff that people threw away. Coffee filters could be washed and bleached then used to line your pots for plants. Keeps the dirt from coming out of the bottom. Cans can be turned into small camping stoves, plastic bottles turned into…… See, the ideas are endless and the articles produced would save money for families across this blessed nation. As the truck started dumping it’s load my boss happened to come back from lunch early. She got out and stopped the garbage man mid dump. As I came around the truck my eyes met my bosses and I immediately turned and ran.
Ninja instincts took over, I hopped behind a bush. Being hidden from view I changed into my ninja garb and climbed the wall to the roof. On the roof top I made my way back into the building. With extreme stealth I made it back to the office and got under my desk. This hiding place would offer me sanctuary until things blew over. About 15 minutes later I hear some one call out, “look what I found in the trash out in the parking lot.” I extract myself from my desk to see what was found, upset with myself for not finding it, whatever it was. As I stand I come eye to eye with my boss. She drops a coffee can on my desk then points to her office. Let me get back to you.
My apologies up front. I have been horribly distracted today and can’t seem to keep my mind focused for more than a couple of minutes. God knows how many times I have gotten up from my desk at Homes for Heroes and headed to another room only to stand in the new room not having a clue why I am there. This forces me to go back where I came from and try to find clues as to why I got up in the first place. The office seems amused and is starting to enjoy my distracted state. They are asking me to grab something for them as I head out of the office. Then laugh when I come back empty handed.
Don’t mind them, I’ll ninja them later. I think what’s got me so rattled is the dreams I had last night. I must have had about 20 of the visual things through out the night. Nothing in them scary except for one lingering theme. Google search’s. Now you understand why I am addled today. It seems Google has a long memory.
I have been trying to remember the dreams because in each one it had the same discovery. It was something fantastic and new. I think it had to do with a way to short circuit Google and have dominion over how it works. The only other thing I can remember is that each one of the dreams had animals in them. I even had parts in my dreams where I would tell my self to wake up and write it down, but would I listen to myself? I think the answer is in this blog.
Animals, lots of them. I remember monkeys, elephants, a giraffe, a cat, a dog, something between a rat and snake, even wild boars. I would write a sentence about them and they would come to life. Then I would Google what I had just wrote….. that’s where it gets fuzzy. So I went to You Tube and took a look at some animal videos. The title of this video got me going, my first moment of clarity for the day. The tongue stuck out (no pun) in my mind. It is key to this mystery of my scrambled mind, this I am sure.
Have you ever seen a snake drink? Well this one drinks from the tap. Not sure how it turns off the water when its done. One thing this video shows though, is that when man domesticates animals they soon become very domesticated.
Speaking of being domesticated, would anyone tolerate this behavior? Sure it seems cute but just like kids it sucks getting up at 3 in the morning because little Johnny or Debbie wants a drink of water. At least if you yell at the kids to go back to sleep they won’t come back and give you a clawing.
The following holds the key. When I watch it I know the answer is here. The animal kingdom is living in harmony. The Giraffes, Elephants, Monkeys and all other creatures just hanging out eating fermented fruit. Is this not some divine message?
Did you see it? Harmony and fermented fruit go hand in hand. Watching the Lords creatures just hanging out getting bombed, the answer comes to me. I must head down to the local pub and pool my brain back to some sort of normalcy. I still do not have an answer to my dreams, but I do know that tomorrow I want to be able to get up to get a cup of coffee and remember that before I get to the coffee pot.
If things work out tonight, I will be back in form tomorrow. Till then, I’ll have my drink on the rocks please…..
He hangs up the phone without saying a word. “You’ll never guess what I just heard Trivette.” he says to his trusted partner. “Judging from that smile Walker, I imagine that a couple of round house kicks might be in our future.” is the response. “Nope, care to take another guess?” giving Jimmy Trivette a mischievous smile.
Posted by homesforheroes 
Posted by homesforheroes 
Posted by homesforheroes 
You take your legs and move them into your chest then wrap your arms around your legs trying to make your self as small as possible. The hard part is controlling your breathing, you must remain as still as possible. This position has saved me many times before. “I am a stone”, I think to myself as my boss pokes me with her toe and asks me to see her in her office. “I am a stone being prodded by my boss”, I think to myself as she prods me a little harder. “I can see you, dummy, that stone trick only works if you are not seen to begin with.” She drives the point home by pouring a little water from her water bottle onto my face.
It all started last night watching the Home and Gardens cable channel. They were previewing some homes and one of them had an orange tree growing in the middle of the living room. I thought, how cool would that be at work. No more running to the vending machine looking for a snack, just mosey on over to the apple tree in the middle of the office and grab yourself a nice healthy snack, straight from mother nature.
When I got to the office I grabbed some tools and headed over to where I thought would be the best spot for the apple tree. In full blossom it would be directly between my desk and my boss’s. This would aid me greatly when doing some of my office experiments. I cut a nice square in the carpet, then proceed to chip away at the cement floor below. I figured the hole only had to be about the size of a coffee can and it should not take that long. I would have the tree planted before any one else got to the office.
affiliates so that all of you followers will get to know them. All I can say is, since I can’t locate my ninja master, “She’s the boss” so here goes.
