Today, a new and, hopefully, exciting new venture has been launched — Photos Around the DC Suburbs.  This will be an ongoing photo project of interesting sites in and around the DC Metro area.  The first photo shows Testudo —the University of MD mascot —a terrapin, of course.  It sits in front of McKeldin Library at one end of a long grassy mall where students and faculty hang out to read, study, play a little Frisbee®.

I hope you enjoy it as I enter in some photos that highlight life in towns outside of Washington, DC like:

• College Park, MD
• Beltsville, MD
• Laurel, MD
• Silver Spring, MD
• Bethesda, MD

and many, more places nearby.

Click Here to take a look.

I found this fascinating quote today:

Michael Kordahi, (@delic8genius ) created a simple search site that delivers the unbranded results from Google, Yahoo and Bing.  You can find it at http://blindsearch.fejus.com Search for “MD Suburbs ” and you’ll find 3 very different results.  Click on the Vote button and the three search engines will be revealed.  For each search the columns are switched.  Having a little fun, I searched for “Decision Engine” and “Why Bing?” just to see how skewed I could make it.

Bing, Google or Yahoo?

You should read the whole article!

It’s that time of year again!  Time to think about cooling down and getting wet.  Yeah, I know. It’s been raining a lot this season so getting wet isn’t at the top of your mind.  Take my word for it, though.  It’s going to get hot and you’ll want to be able to splash around in the pool.

College Park Woods Swim Club is now taking membership applications for the 2009 season.  Just click on this link to download the information form — College Park Woods Swim Club Information and Registration Form.

The very best part is that you don’t have to live in College Park Woods to join the pool!  Of course, it would help if you lived nearby but, hey, it’s a nice pool and the drive might be worth it. Download the form and join the club.  You’ll be glad you did!

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Today is the day we, as a nation, set aside in order to honor our military and their families for their service and, in many cases, their lives for our country.  Regardless of our views on wars or the need for national defense, there is no question that these men and women and their families make sacrifices far beyond those of the rest of us.

It’s also a National Holiday with friends gathering together to grill burgers or enjoy the parades.  Here are a few local events:

• National Memorial Day Parade (downtown DC)
• Alexandria Memorial Day Jazz Festival (for all you jazz lovers)
• Navy Band Memorial Day Concert (downtown DC)
• Memorial Day Observance at the Vietnam War Memorial
  (see drawing)
• Rockville’s Hometown Holidays (Rockville, MD in Montgomery County)

These are just a few of the events going on around town today.  Enjoy the day.  Remember our vets.

That’s right!  This very blog is now available on the Kindle: Amazon’s Wireless Reading Device

So if you’re one of the many high tech readers who own a Kindle (or want to) you can now read this blog and thousands of others right from the device.  Download the latest blog post and stay up-to-date on what’s going on the the Suburban Maryland real estate market.

Yowsa!

I recently had the pleasure of chatting about what Real Estate IQ is and what it takes to get it.  The occasion was a segment on Blog Talk Radio with host Juliet Johnson.

I first met Juliet through this very blog.  She commented on a post I wrote about home staging.  Being an extraordinary home stager herself, she had a nice comment on my post.  Since then, I’ve met her again in Real Town and Active Rain — both real estate centric blogs — as well as Twitter.

To be honest, this was my first appearance on any kind of “talk” forum.  Most of my stuff is written. It was a lot of fun, though.  I shared the segment with Robert Northfield, a mega Realtor in New Jersey near NYC. He had a couple of things to say. I had a couple of things to say.  Juliet guided the conversation along and really put me at ease.  I have no clue as to how many people listed to Blog Talk Radio but, for sure, you should.  Why not?  Plus, there’s lots of other interesting stuff on there, too.

I had the pleasure of attending a great FUNdraiser on May 7th.

RE/MAX is a partner with the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and, locally, the Anne Arundel County RE/MAX Brokers put on their Annual fundraiser at the Cheeseburger in Parasdise restaurant in beautiful Pasadena, MD.  Cheeseburger in Paradise, of course, is the great Jimmy Buffet tune from way back.  The restaurant is just a great place to meet and have a goiod time.  The “cover” went to the Susan G.Komen Race for the Cure and there were cool door prizes and a 50/50 which was won by someone from MetLife Loans who donated his 50% back to the cause.

Last year the RE/MAX Brokers were able to raise over $4,000.  I’m not sure what they raised this year.  I wasn’t involved in the organization. I just went to have fun and support the cause.  Not too many people know that RE/MAX ardently supports the Komen Foundation through their corporate sponsorship.  In fact, the RE/MAX International CEO, Margaret Kelly is a breast cancer survivor.

I’m very proud to be associated with RE/MAX.  I’m proud to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation…and I had a great time.

(note: I’m the one taking the picture from my iPhone. So I’m not in the photo.
It is a little blurry but, hey, you get the idea!)

What a great time!

Jan and I had a wonderful Chili Dinner — Jan had the turkey chili and I had the beef chili — complete with all the fixins’ and corn break and a great sorbet dessert.  There was plenty of wine to go around and plenty of food.  Lots of families showed up and Jan and I really enjoyed talking to the neghbors who are becoming like old friends.

Thanks for inviting us to join you!

The College Park Woods Swim Club is hosting its Annual Chili Dinner on Wednesday, February 11th. It’ll take place at the Swim Club’s main building on 3435 Marlbrough Way in the College Park Woods community.  Lots of goodies, including:

• Chill with all the fixings
• Frito® Bowls
• Sides
• Hot Dogs
• Dessert
• Beverages

Food will be served from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.

Adults — $10.

Children (7 and under) — $5.

Make your reservations by February 9th at 301-935-6698

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This month I’m starting something new called “Client Spotlight” and it’s a trip down memory lane for me highlighting some of my past and current clients. I was thinking about how every one of them had different goals and dreams. Some were upsizing, some were downsizing, some bought new construction, some were relocating for job opportunities or moving closer to family members or retiring to warmer climates. Some were taking care of the homes of aging parents or family members who have passed on.

This month I’m starting at the very beginning of my real estate career with a shout out to Sherry Clarke Mitchell (and her husband, Don).  It’s been ten years since I started having so much fun with real estate that I can’t get enough.  Sherry was the first one to roll the dice with me.

I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Sherry.  She was my very first client when I started my real estate career 10 years ago and has been a friend before and since. Sherry had the confidence in my ability to help her buy and sell a condo in Rockville, MD and referred me to her husband, Don Mitchell to sell his townhouse in Odenton, MD before they got hitched and moved to Laurel, MD. It is really someone special to see potential and roll with it…and refer others.

Thanks, Sherry!