Archive for January, 2009
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Jan
29
Posted by Susan Moore
We had some friends over for dinner about two months ago and the subject of Facebook came up. Not 
knowing much about it, but assuming it was like My Space, I figured it didn’t have much to do with me. One of the men in our party is a high level executive at Expedia. He was the first to sing it’s praises which piqued my interest. The funny part was his wife (I’ll call her Mary) was adamantly against it. She feels the proper way to communicate with friends is with pen and paper. She vehemently stated that she would have nothing to do with it and prefered her husband didn’t either. Apparently, they had found that it was a fantastic source of reconnection with old friends. So I tried it. My biggest fear was that I’d have No Friends. I filled out all the places I’d worked before, my high school and college place and year. Facebook pretty much does the rest, and finds people you may know through those sources. So here’s the deal. Facebook is not just for high school and College kids, in fact it makes even more sense to someone who’s been out of high school and college for 20, 30 and 40 years! We have many lifetimes, places we’ve lived, jobs and companies we’ve been part of. After college graduation I took a 3 month trip to Europe. Probably the best thing I’ve ever done and we all left each other with a folded up piece of paper with everyone’s phone number and address on it. I couldn’t tell you where it is today but I’m sure none of it would be accurate anyway. So I look at facebook as a virtual address book, being updated continually, finding friends from when I was a flight attendant; or lived in Sacramento, Denver, and NJ. It’s not so much the people that I see eveyday at work that I want to talk to , but those that I haven’t talked to in 20+ years. Facebook just added it’s 150-millionth member. It was just last August that Facebook hit 100 million users. Since then, an average of 374,000 people have signed up every day, and some 30% of those people are between 30 and 50. Even the Pope was talking about it last week! Benedict welcomes as a “gift” new technologies such as social networking sites like Facebook, saying they respond to the “fundamental desire” of people to communicate. click here to read more. Yesterday Ellen discovered it on her show too. You can win a brand new Samsung Blu-ray player if you become a fan of Ellen’s on Facebook. click here if you too want to become a fan.
In fact, there is a Newcastle, Wa group just to get to know your neighbors in the community. Click here to join facebook’s Newcastle, Wa
So I admit, I am finding it fun and a great way to connect. They have also improved the privacy factor enormously which will ease many peoples fears.
Oh, and I recently received a friend request from “Mary”.
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Jan
27
Posted by Susan Moore
Maywood Middle School Season 3 Sports Starts today. Below are links to each sports schedule. You can find more on School Sports in the Blue Bar at the top of the page. Please let me know if there are others that should be added or if you have pictures to share.
• Coed Gymnastics 6, 7, 8
• Jamboree Basketball (Boys) 6th graders
• 7th & 8th Grade Boys Basketball
by Abdullah AL-Naser
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Jan
23
Posted by Susan Moore
This bill is going before the congress this week – here’s the deets:
http://isakson.senate.gov/press/2009/011509housing.htm
In short this bill is going for a higher tax credit ($10-22K, or 10% of home to be purchased), to be monetized at the time of closing – so buyers can use it for their down payment ( that makes sense). AND they are trying to get this so it does NOT have to be repaid.
Send e-mails to Jim McDermott, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell today! E-mails and more are here:
http://fixhousingfirst.com/
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Jan
20
Posted by Susan Moore
The Coal Creek YMCA has created a new website and Blog at http://www.ourymca.com/ . How easy is that? On top of that, there is a new You Tube video with actual renderings of the new facility. See the many rooms, activities, and programs that will be available to us. The Coal Creek YMCA will serve north Renton, south Bellevue, southeast Issaquah, Newcastle and Mercer Island.__
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Click on the picture below to see the new You Tube video
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Jan
19
Posted by Susan Moore
Get yourself in the know…
Lower rates have already triggered a wave of refinancing applications and could work to spark some much-needed demand in the housing market. Luke Mullins of US News and World Report has a great article to read.
Refinancing has escalated to its highest level since 2003
Fixed mortgage rates are at an all time low, even though rates peaked up at the end of last week. Speculation is that those rates will remain good for most of this year. There are a few big reasons for this.
Most importantly, the Fed has recently undertaken an initiative to purchase hundreds of billions of dollars in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt and mortgage-backed securities.
Click here to see more great information on Real Estate and Mortgage rates from Rain City Guide . An easy way to keep you up to date and savvy in the Real Estate market.
Remember that you can also click Today’s Interest Rates on the side bar to get current mortgage Interest Rates.
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Jan
15
Posted by Susan Moore
Maybe home buyers are starting to realize that this is a fantastic time to buy. Our office saw 16 sales this week. Another Agent from a Windermere office saw 18 ! The month of December showed 10 residential and 2 condo sales in Newcastle . The MLS is showing that 599 homes went Pending in the first two weeks of the year. This is a great sign. Interest rates and prices are seeing their best days ever and the combination is perfect harmony.
So here’s the not so good news reported today in the Huffington Post;
Foreclosure Filings Were Up 81% In 2008
More than 2.3 million American homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year, an 81 percent increase from 2007
More than 860,000 properties were actually repossessed by lenders, more than double the 2007 level
Moody’s Economy.com predicts the number of homes lost to foreclosure is likely to rise by another 18 percent this year before tapering off slightly through 2011
Click here to read more detail from Kenmore Undressed and see
ABSORPTION RATES IN PUGET SOUND, KING AND SNOHOMISH COUNTIES
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Jan
13
Posted by Susan Moore
Has Winter gotten you down? Are you feeling bored and lifeless? I bet you, and most of the rest of us here in the Pacific Northwest, are feeling a bit of the same way after all the good news on the economy, housing and stock market declines, worrying if you haven’t already, “Will I lose my job in 2009?” I say it’s time to shake off that gloom and let’s have some fun. Take a look at these beautiful photos of Italy. Wouldn’t that make it better? Imagine the sun beating down, the warm water, and sand on your toes. Take a moment to dream, even if you can’t get away. Check out the Parker Company and put it on your “some day” list.
Until then, here’s what I did. Wow, this is a great stress reliever. Jumping on a quad, revving up the power and pretending I was part of the CHIPS squad. he, he. Ok, I was pretending I was chasing after rats and rodents.
Now is a time to break up the monotony. Don’t think you’re the only one going through it. We ALL live in the Pacific Northwest remember. Another idea? Try snowboarding. Get a group of one or more and hit the slopes. You really can start out slow, but you’ll feel amazing with your accomplishment. You may even have a few bruises to show and brag about. For those of you who prefer staying at home,
Macy has her own way of filling a day with fun. 
Yep, those are Cheerios she’s sliding across the floor in. Kind of a low budget day of fun at our house. 
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Jan
09
Posted by Susan Moore
By Jaime Greene, Director of Business & Membership
Uploaded by fonsico
Every January as the calendar turns to the New Year, people around the Puget Sound vow to stop smoking, lose weight and get in shape. But, as we all know, the optimism of January often fades in the months that follow.
The Lake Heights Family YMCA has been helping people achieve their personal health goals for more than 20 years and offers some advice to help keep New Year’s resolutions fresh throughout the year.
· First, choose an activity that you find enjoyable and convenient. It’s much easier to stay committed to something that you love rather than forcing yourself to do something that you really don’t enjoy. Check out a new class or activity, such as kick boxing, water aerobics or Zumba.
· Second, once you’ve found it, do it consistently and think long term. The number one reason people become discouraged with their workout is that they don’t hang in long enough to see results.
· Third, set realistic goals. Having an ambitious long-term goal, like participating in a triathlon, is fine, but remember you are working on a gradual lifestyle change and you will achieve it incrementally. Set reasonable expectations for yourself to avoid getting discouraged and quitting early.
· Fourth, consider exercising with a friend or joining a group to reinforce your resolve. Take a group exercise class or get together several friends for a weekly walking club. Many newcomers to exercise have told us that regularly participating in group activities helped hold them more accountable to sticking with their resolutions.
A new year is a great time to renew your commitment to your health. For information about programs at the Lake Heights Family YMCA, or the new Coal Creek location opening fall 2009, visit http://www.seattleymca.org/page.cfm?ID=lh or call 425-644-8417.
Click the picture below… I’m definitely signing up for this!
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Jan
07
Posted by Susan Moore
So many people have asked the question, “What is an RSS Feed?”. Another blogger of the Undressed Network , Kenmore Undressed, explains exactly what RSS is and how it can be beneficial for you. The video below puts it in really simple terms. There are only two steps and the first is to subscribe to a “reader”, such as Google, all of which are free. Then add as many “feeds” from as many sites, blogs, as you like. Click the RSS Symbol to watch video.
After watching the video below, you can give it a try. Look for the same symbol in the side bar of this, or any, site with a feed. You’ll notice down below I’ve added my own RSS feeds to blogs I read as well. If you live in Newcastle, this is a great resource to find information about what’s going on in your community, local real estate statistics, and local business.
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Jan
05
Posted by Susan Moore
Statistics are currently showing 10 home sales in the city of Newcastle for the month of December. Selling Prices range from $399,600 to $1,005,000. The average home of 3284 sq ft sold for $668,214, at 95% of it’s current list price. Interestingly enough, this months sales were on the market an average of 200 days before selling. Although this is much longer than normal, it also shows that inventory is slowly getting scoaked up even in the month of December, a typically slow month for Real Estate sales.
Uploaded by Farl
