On The Mend- Update Part 1

Well, it looks like my goal to blog more frequently didn't quite work out.  My last post was for my brother's wedding in December of last year, and A LOT has happened since then. In my defense, Spring is the busiest time of year for real estate, and that was when I wrote my last post, so that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!

Two days ago I woke up with intense lower back pain so bad I could barely move, forget about walking, so with my parents' help I went to the hospital to get checked out. They determined that it was most likely muscle spasms, shot me (literally) full of pain killers, and sent me home. Right now I am on bed rest while my back heals, so I'm putting the down time to good use and updating my personal and work blogs.

Paul and Jessica's prego announcement.

Since my last post about the wedding, things have been happening at rapid-fire speed it seems, especially for my brother and his new wife! Early this past Spring they found out they were expecting their first child AND decided to purchase their very first home together. I was lucky enough to get to be their Realtor for the purchase, and got right to work helping them find the home that they would spend the first years of their married life in, and bring their baby home to!



Initially they were looking in the rural areas surrounding the nearest cities of Menifee, Murrieta, and Temecula. Their one big request was that they wanted some acreage so they could keep animals and grow trees and plants for food, and have more privacy. In addition to this they hoped to find something that, with a little bit of work, would provide them with great resale value (my little brother is a pretty smart guy!). We had looked at several homes without much success. Even though the areas we were searching were rural, since they were still close to larger cities, you couldn't get much for the money. My real estate office is located in a small rural community East of Temecula, called Aguanga (pronounced Uh-wahn-ga), but they felt that this area was too far a drive from Jessica's job in Corona.

After looking at several homes and not finding "the one" they were getting discouraged, and felt that maybe they should just move out of state. At this point, I asked them if Jessica transferring to a work location closer to Temecula would be a possibility, so that we could expand their search to include Aguanga. I monitor the housing inventory pretty closely up there and had seen numerous properties that I knew they would have loved come up for sale and get snatched up. Not only were the properties physically what they were looking for, but they would also offer them the opportunity to increase their equity through price appreciation, and ultimately achieve their goal of making a profit when they decided to sell.  After showing them pictures of some of the properties, they were convinced that it would be worth it for Jessica to transfer. It wasn't long before they had picked out a few homes as top contenders. One in particular had EVERYTHING that they wanted- acreage, great views, and a nice home in a quiet neighborhood. It also had animal facilities already in place, mature fruit and nut trees, and a fully automated irrigation system for the gardens. We put in an offer, and after some intense negotiations and an adventure-packed escrow, Paul and Jessica became proud 1st time home owners! While the sale was a challenge, ultimately it was a huge success, and I couldn't be happier for them. There is something deeply satisfying about helping someone buy a home, and the feeling is only amplified when it's their 1st home and they are family as well.

In other work-related news, I have become the office photographer of sorts, on top of my regular duties as an agent. I have really been enjoying getting a brief glimpse into the lives of our wonderful clients and helping them sell their homes and move on to the next chapter of their lives. I have always had something of an obsession with homes and home design, so getting a chance to combine that with my other obsession, photography, for my job has been a dream come true. While other teenage girls were pouring over the latest issue of Teen Magazine or the Delias catalog, I was combing through Better Homes and Gardens and any other home/design magazine I could get my hands on. Not to say that I didn't read my fair share of Teen Mag, but my heart was always more drawn to the architecture, landscaping, and cozy design themes of the other magazines. I believe that it stems from the fact that we moved a lot when I was a young child, and I never quite felt "at home" anywhere. I am also something of a home body anyway, and most of the time would rather be curled up at home with a good book or movie and a glass of wine than doing anything else. Regardless of where it originated, the idea of "home" has always been one of my favorite things. Here are some of my favorite shots of the properties I've photographed so far.

One of the first properties that I shot in Lake Riverside. The owners took extremely good care of the place, and the home is the definition of "pride of ownership".

It really could have been a model, even though they had owned it for several years.

Having people invite you into the most intimate parts of their life and home requires a great amount of responsibility on my part and trust on theirs.

Beautiful views from the front porch of another Lake Riverside listing.

Home owners are sometimes self-conscious if their home doesn't look like a model, but to me, there is nothing more beautiful than a well lived in home, filled with evidence of happy memories. 

One of the nicest things about shooting listings in Aguanga, is that with all of the hills and rocky outcrops, there is usually a place to get a semi-aerial view of the properties without the use of a drone camera. I still want a drone, but at least it isn't 100% necessary to get a decent shot of the homes. All I have to worry about is not breaking a leg getting down or getting bit by a snake!  =)

Loved the deep red wall contrasting with the black bar stools on this breakfast bar! 

One of my favorite parts of shooting different homes is seeing all the unique furnishings. The bed and the antique high-back chair to the right of it were both very cool.

This particular home belonged to a military family, and they were obviously very proud to serve. I snapped this shot of the flag in their back yard just a few minutes before sunset.

One of my favorite shoots thus far. Not only was the lighting perfect due to it being cloudy that day (it actually started pouring the second I got done), but the whole property was gorgeous and well kept.

The cloudy skies made a perfect backdrop to the exterior photos.

The mare motel was easily one of my favorite features. The horses were total hams and kept trying to get in every shot.

Inside the mare motel. You can see the adorable miniature ponies on the right hand side.

Inside the Quonset hut below the arena was like being inside of a giant barrel. Loved the colors and lines in this photo.












The kitchen and dining room in this home could have been pulled from the pages of a design magazine! I love to cook (and eat for that matter =P), so I naturally fell in love with this area of the house and kept coming back to it for "one more" shot. It just exudes warmth and welcome.

Right off the kitchen through French doors is the guest bedroom. Another warm and inviting space.

The master bedroom featured this gorgeous custom bed. Are you noticing a theme?? The seller is wonderful lady with a serious passion for horses, and one of the most well kept homes in Lake Riverside. Not surprisingly, this home was off the market in less than a week.

My Brother's Wedding

Paul and Jessica's Wedding 

                               December 13, 2014                         

This past December I was honored to celebrate my second youngest brother's wedding to his girlfriend of over 3 years, Jessica. My favorite thing about about their wedding had to be the simple beauty of the venue and decor. My new sister, Jessica, is a very warm, friendly person and the decor reflected this nicely- sunny, whimsical, and romantic. Here they are after the wedding waiting for the Best Man (my future husband, Mike) and the Matron-of-Honor to sign the marriage license.

2014 Susan G. Komen Walk

      

This past October 19th, I was incredibly honored to walk in the Susan G. Komen cancer walk in Temecula with my local Realtor Association (SRCAR) member team- The Treasured Chests.  There were only a few members whom I had met before that day, but the caring, dedication, generosity of all who attended was overwhelming.  Many of them are active (and very busy!) members of the local real estate community, who still managed to find the time to be a part of an important cause that affects the lives of millions of people each year.  I, along with my daughter, Cassondra, felt very blessed to be among them in support of breast cancer survivors everywhere and in remembrance of those that have fought and succumbed to this aggressive disease.

Our main reason for getting involved was to support Cassondra's Aunt Donna-  a wonderful, strong, and beautiful woman who has been fighting for over 2 years.

My little girl getting hydrated before the walk.  This was her 2nd Susan G. Komen walk this year, and 3rd total.  A few weeks before this she walked in the Orange County walk with Aunt Donna's team, The Boobie Brigade.  

At the starting line.

The Treasured Chests was organized and lead by Diane Stumpp (far right).

If you would like more information on how to help the Susan G. Komen foundation in the search for a cure, visit their website at www.raceforthecure.com and start fighting today.  

My Cure for Digital Depression

         Has anyone else been feeling down about the current state of affairs throughout the world?  People murdering each other, landslides, floods, earthquakes, wars,  genocides (and people betraying their own countries to go help with said genocide), riots, and the list goes on AND on.   I get that this type of thing has been going on since the beginning of time and probably isn't going to stop any time soon, but it's pretty depressing sometimes.  You can't pick up your phone, turn on the tv, or check your email with out receiving the latest update on who has killed whom in the last 20 minutes.   SO to cure my "digital depression", that has been particularly bad the last few days since I've been stuck in bed with a cold, I've been working on one of my favorite hobbies: photography.  Or more accurately photo editing, because there is no way I'm getting up and going to do any photo shoots the way I've been feeling.  Instead I've been trying to get caught up on editing a lot of old shots that I've been too busy with life to do.  There's something very therapeutic about photography for me.  A big part of it, I believe is that it forces me, in a world seemingly so full of pain and wrongs, to sit and focus on the intricate details and beauty that I normally miss as I'm rushing about between calling back clients and getting contracts signed and studying and picking up kids and dropping them off again and trying to figure out what to fix for dinner and where in God's name I left my car keys..... It let's me slow down a bit and remember that even though I miss it sometimes, or can't see it through the shroud of graphic news reports, that there still is lots of good and beauty in the world.       Without further delay then, here is some of what I've been working on these last few days!

The inside of antique wristwatch that we found recently in my late grandmother's belongings.  I've always had a bit of a fascination with clock gears, and I used the opportunity to test out a new (to me) photography technique called free-lensing (I'll talk more about that in another post) that creates a little bit of blur around the edges.  Loved the detail and colors, though! 

Here's the front of the watch. Love the Saphire on the winding knob.  We actually wound this up, and it still works!

The famous First Birthday shot!  Probably the only time in your life you can get away with eating like an animal and having food smeared all of your face, and still look cute as hell.  I tried this last week and all I got were disapproving looks and a lecture on table manners!  =P

And finally, the old Stars & Stripes.  Getting whipped in the wind, but still as beautiful as ever.

Natural Medicine

When I first started thinking of making a blog (about 2 years ago now!),  I was pretty stumped as to what I should make it about.  I didn't have the infamous "writer's block" or anything like that.  There are simply too many things that I am interested in and love with all my heart.  That may come as a surprise to those of you who know me personally.  For those of you who don't know me,  I'm not the most outwardly enthusiastic, excited-about-things person you'll meet. In fact,  from what I have been told, my personality when it comes to getting excited about things is very un-American.  It's much more like the typical Brit.  Sure, I think it's great that [insert random exciting event here] just happened/will be happening very soon,  I just don't express it the way that a lot of people would (with shouts of joy and somewhat exaggerated exclamations of how wonderful it all is).  When I do, it comes off half-hearted because, well...... it is.  In my opinion most people get way too excited WAY too easily and to me it's very presumptuous, naive, and a lot of times insincere.

That being said, I do actually have a lot of subjects that I hold near and dear to my heart and that I am really passionate about.  So choosing just one to write about was difficult.  I went over and over different ideas in my head, trying to decide which one I cared most about. The truth is,  there isn't one interest that I care about so much more than the others.   I love being a mother to my 2 little monsters, I love being a fiance (soon to be wife) to Mike, I love photography, I love gardening, I love my job as a real estate agent,  I love cooking,  I love learning new skills,  I love art, and reading, and wine, and martial arts, and movies, and fast cars, and a thousand other subjects.......  How do you choose just one?   And finally I have the answer:  I'm not going to.   All of those loves are a part of who I am, and not discussing any of them just because it's not what my blog is supposed to be about, would be like disregarding pieces of myself.  

This first post, therefore, is a completely random subject that just happens to be what's on my mind today: Juicing.  For the last few years,  I have had  a lot of random health issues, that doctors haven't really been able to pinpoint to one particular cause or another.  The last couple of weeks have been worse than usual.  I've felt like a zombie most of the time, have random aches and pains, head aches, nausea, dizziness, etc.... basically, I feel horrible 80% of the time.  It's not unusual for this type of thing to happen to me once every couple months.   I am not the best eater and I have a feeling that this is a big part of the problem, because when I actually manage to take the time to eat healthy, nourishing meals.... instead of snack foods all day. I actually feel pretty great.   Problem is that with all I have to do, I don't usually make the time for it.  I'm a firm believer that our food is our most effective medicine or most potent poison, so I've decided to try to stop poisoning my system and start healing it by changing my diet.   I've owned an Omega juicer for a while now, and even used it occasionally.  A lot of times the concoctions that I have come up with have been less than appetizing.  I don't usually look up recipes.  It's just a mash up of whatever fruits and veggies I happen to have on hand that day.  I typically have a few things that I always keep stocked up, usually organic apples, ginger, and carrots.  Sometimes the concoctions turn out great and other times they taste really..... healthy.  Tonight I found one that I loved and decided to share the recipe on here.  So here you go.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.:


3 Large Carrots
1 Large Peach
1 Kiwi with peel  (Kiwi peels are perfectly edible, and very tasty too if you ask me)
1/2 of a large Beet
1/2 Lemon
1 small fingertip size piece of fresh ginger
A handful of seedless grapes

Chop into pieces small enough for your juicer and juice away! If you don't have a juicer or prefer to get all of the fiber from the fruits and veggies as well as the juice, a blender works great too.   Happy juicing and have a good night!