Saturday, January 29, 2011

Open house January 30, 1-2:30, 80 N. Fourth St., Rittman

Open house tomorrow! This is a wonderful start-up home or downsize home - close to shopping, parks, and lots of other great amenities!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Quality service = clients for a lifetime!



As my kids were growing up, I wanted to do something to contribute to our family's finances that also enabled me to attend school functions and have a presence in the school as a volunteer - not benefits I would necessarily receive if I were working a "normal" weekday job. I opted instead to start a home-based business replicating Historical jewelry designs from the Medieval and Renaissance eras, and Sapphire & Sage Renaissance Jewelry and Accessories was born!

At one point, I was bringing in as much money as my husband who works a 9-5 job as an IT Professional (then the economy fell flat and my income was cut in half, which led me to pursuing my long-awaited career change to Real Estate...but that's a blog post for another day!). I have done work for book publishers, photographers, museums, theatres, advertising companies, TV, and major motion pictures, and have a client list numbering in the 4-5,000 range and spanning the globe. (Not too bad for a stay-at-home-mom, eh?)

Six years ago, I did a jewelry set for well-known Fantasy Romance writer, Jessica Trapp (that's her pretty face in the photo). She was headlining a Romance Novelists' convention and needed some "bling" to really make her appearance a show-stopper. She loved what I sent her and had emailed me event photos after the convention to show me how she had used the pieces I had made for her.

Fast forward to this morning......

I received a new email from Jessica today, letting me know that these pieces that had been custom-made for her book-signing event all those years ago had made an appearance in the Houston Chronicle a few days ago (here's the article)! Now, she surely didn't have to take time out of her day to let me know that my pieces had been featured in the paper all the way down in Texas, but what a thrill it was for me to not only hear from her again, but to know that, after all these years, she still thought enough of my service that she wanted to brighten my day by notifying me of my new-found "celebrity" in Houston!

This is proof-positive that, no matter what kind of business you're in, IF YOU PROVIDE GREAT SERVICE, your clients will be your best cheerleaders and advocates! They'll remember how you treated them, for good AND for bad....make sure that the impression you leave with them is a GREAT one!!!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University comes to Wadsworth, OH

Freshwater Community Church in Wadsworth, Ohio will be hosting Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University" starting later this month.

Affectionately dubbed "FPU", this 13-week series will be held Sunday nights at the Wadsworth Knights of Columbus Hall at 148 North Lyman Street. Classes begin January 30th, and attendees will meet weekly from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.




Each class will consist of a DVD lecture presentation, with each week's lecture covering a different topic in Dave's guide to financial freedom. The lectures are followed by group discussions that allow participants to discuss the week's topic and formulate their own plans for putting Dave's teachings into practice.

The cost of the class series is $95.00, which includes a membership kit full of tools to get students on the way to living debt-free. This membership covers the whole family residing with the person purchasing the membership and it does not expire, so the member and his/her family may attend future FPU courses at no additional charge. Freshwater Community Church is providing a $100 gas card for perfect attendance, and are making a children's program and nursery care available for parents needing these services.

Not sure if you want to commit? There is a no-committment preview being held January 23rd at 6:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend this preview session before purchasing their membership kit. Call 330-336-3561 or email fpu@neo.rr.com with your questions.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

There's a snow storm a'comin' to Wadsworth, Ohio!


Yep, ANOTHER storm system is making its way across the Heartland and is creeping into Wadsworth, Ohio as I'm typing this.

The view during the last storm was quite beautiful, as evidenced by the photo I took early in the morning, while the kids were all still blissfully asleep, not even aware that they would have already been up and getting ready for school, had the Superintendent not called in a snow day an hour earlier.

Most certainly, come about 7:00 tonight, my youngest will be wearing his PJs backards AND inside out (yes, BOTH....just for good measure!), carefully tucking a spoon under his pillow, and carefully placing three (not two....not four....THREE!) ice cubes in the kids' bathroom toilet upon retiring for the evening, full of hope that school will be cancelled for a fourth day this school year due to inclement weather.

Exactly how will things play out in the next 18 hours? Hard to say. The latest weather reports are saying that anywhere between 4 and 7 inches will fall by tomorrow morning in the Northeast Ohio / Medina County region. Good thing I'm fully stocked on hot cocoa!

For those in the path of the storm, please be safe! And don't forget to think of your elderly neighbors during inclement weather! Take some time to shovel a safe walking path to their porch and garage, and clear their portions of the public walks so that they don't have to venture out to do it themselves. Your efforts will be appreciated more than you know!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Fresh snowfall creates a GREAT opportunity for updated photos!

If you're an Ohio Real Estate Agent like me, you may have listings with photos that were taken WAYYYYY back when there were still leaves on the trees.  For those of us in the Greater Akron and Medina area, that means a good couple of months have passed since those photos were taken!

So, what to do when your listing shows images that are clearly out-of-date?


You:

1. Get your hiney into some heavy pants, warm fuzzy socks, and Arctic-worthy boots

2. Make your way to the garage and warm up the car

3. Drive to those listings, and......

4. Snap yourself some fresh pics!

That's what I did last week and today...although the grey skies didn't make for the best photos.
:/

The cutest one was of the trees and small shed in the backyard for my listing at 1056 Oak Street in Medina, Ohio ....see?

So, alas, I will find myself venturing out again once the blue skies reappear....I just hope that happens sometime between now and April!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

College Scholarships available for Ohio student Cancer Survivors

From the American Cancer Society:

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR CANCER SURVIVORS IN OHIO

(Deadline is February 25, 2011)

The American Cancer Society is offering Youth Survivor College Scholarships to young cancer survivors in Ohio to assist them in their pursuit of higher education. The scholarships provide up to $1,000 in funding to recipients for the 2011-12 academic year.

This year’s scholarship application deadline is Friday, February 25, 2011. The scholarships are not intended for family members or caregivers of cancer survivors. Applicants will be notified later this year of their funding status.

Scholarships are available for eligible applicants from the following counties:

·           1 scholarship is available for applicants in all counties of Ohio
·           1 scholarship is available for applicants in Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties
·           5 scholarships are available for applicants in Erie County
·           8 scholarships are available for applicants in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina,  Portage, Summit and Wayne counties

Applicants must sign and complete the application, type a 500 word or less goal statement on how cancer impacted their life and how they plan to use this experience in the future, provide a copy of an academic transcript and submit three letters of recommendation. One of the letters must be from their personal physician on his or her professional letterhead describing the type of cancer that was diagnosed.

The scholarship program was established in 2000. As cancer survivors and role models, scholarship recipients may be invited to serve as American Cancer Society volunteers, to train as mentors for future scholarship recipients and to represent the American Cancer Society on campus and in their communities.
                                                                                                                       
Scholarship applicants must be residents of Ohio, a United States citizen, diagnosed with cancer before age 21, under the age of 25 at the time of application and plan to attend an accredited university or community college in the United States.
All scholarships will be awarded by the Society’s volunteer scholarship review committee and will be based on scholastic performance, community and American Cancer Society service, and leadership. For record keeping, those awarded a scholarship must submit a copy of his/her first quarter/semester transcript by January 27, 2012.
Due to limited funding and the competitive nature of this program, the American Cancer Society is not able to award scholarships to all young cancer survivors who apply. Priority will be given to first-time applicants. Former scholarship recipients are encouraged to apply again. 

To receive an application, or for more information about the scholarship program, call the American Cancer Society toll free at 1-800-227-2345. You can also download a copy of the application on the Society’s web site at www.cancer.org/ohioscholarship.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Quick tip for tangle-free holiday lights


From Old House Restore's profile on LinkedIn, here's a simple trick for saving your sanity by keeping your light strands wonderfully tangle-free, ready to use next December:

"To easy holiday light storage, use a piece of masking tape and a permanent marker to label each strand. Your note can indicate how long it is or where it was used for easy replacement next year."

I would like to expand on this by recommending wrapping them around smaller sections of scrap cardboard - you can write the lengths and place you used them on the cardboard and use them year after year...plus, the flat shape makes for easier, more convenient storage.

 Happy packing!

Monday, January 3, 2011

At what point does it become embarrassing?

sChristmas has come and gone.  One by one, the houses on our block have gone dark, and the street that was once aglow with festive colored lights is now void of the vibrancy it has less than a week ago.  With two exceptions:  our house and a house six doors up.


The warm weather we had in Wadsworth, Ohio over the weekend inspired folks to get outside and tackle to day-long project of removing their holiday decor and put it in storage for another year, but two of us are still clinging to the promises of joy and giving that the holidays bring.  Really, I just like the look of the red and green lights, and I will miss them when they're returned to their boxes and carried off to the attic, not to be seen again until next Thanksgiving.

Yes, we're typically the last ones to give in to the social pressure, merge in with the rest of the colorless flock, and go dark.  I always try to hold off until January 7th, using the excuse that the Russian Orthodox people don't celebrate their holiday until then.

Am I Russian Orthodox?  

Nope.

But I dated a boy who was when I was in high school, so that has to count for something, right?

I do admit that it is almost embarrassing that we still have them burning bright tonight.  But that didn't stop me from flicking that "on" switch as the sun set this evening!

You see, I'm not quite ready to give up on Christmas just yet.   ;)