Here we are already 16 days into the new year and how time flies. This new year has brought many great changes so far, one being the move I have made from one brokerage to another and also to a home office. With that move I have also been updating my Outlook (both Microsoft and life :) As I was adding all of the holidays into my Outlook calendar I came across some celebrations that I had never heard of before. One being that January is the National Month for Thank YOU.
Instantly I thought, "hmmm…isn’t that something we do all of the time anyway"? Saying Thank YOU seems to me, to be such a simple gesture. We should be diligent in making sure we express our thanks to every person we come in contact with and there are so many ways to say Thank YOU, such as:
• The simplest form of Thank YOU is just saying it.
• Give a hug and say Thank YOU.
• Send a handwritten note to say Thank YOU.
• Send an email to say Thank YOU.
• Make a phone call to say Thank YOU.
• Give the person(s) a small gift to say Thank YOU. Such as flowers, candy, a basket of fruit, or movie tickets.
• Take the person(s) out to lunch and say Thank YOU.
• Send your mom or caregiver flowers on your birthday to say Thank YOU.
• Write a blog to say Thank YOU.
• Throw a party to say Thank YOU.

As real estate professionals, that should be one of our top priorities, to send out Thank YOU’s and we are given so many opportunities to do so. We should all have a goal to send out 5 Thank You’s every single day. If you are asking yourself “how in the world can I send out 5 per day”? Think of it as having your 5 fruits and vegetables per day:

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward
The WHO should be easy. Your team! Every person involved in a real estate transaction: Clients, title, lender, inspector, home stager, your admin, agent on the other side, cleaner, electrician, landscaper, home warranty company, every single person you came into contact with during the transaction.
Outside of a real estate: God, your beautician, mechanic, doctor, dentist, grocery store clerk, waiter/waitress,caregiver, insurance agent, teachers, friends (including AR), and family. The list goes on and on.
Just a thought: A postcard will be held for approximately 3 seconds and a Thank YOU for a lifetime. So let's all keep filling up those Thank YOU buckets and pass them along.
To all of you who have in the past and still continue to support me in my writings and who share YOUR heart and knowledge I want to say from the bottom of my heart

It was a cold winter day, with the snow falling softly to the ground, and the sun trying to peek through the winter storm. All this calmness and to top it off being greeted at my office by 6 kind hearted souls, one by one, the American Red Cross Team, were settling in with all their goods in a conference room at building 448 on Friday November 30th, 2007. Teamwork is an incredibly strong point of the American Red Cross. How else could a mobile blood drive run so smoothly? Each person had their role to play and each person clearly loved what they were doing. The comfort they gave to each blood donor was an incredible gesture.

This was my first blood drive, which had been in the making for just a couple short months and turned out to be a great success. One Gift, One Life and a whole lot of Gratitude and One by one each blood donor made their way to the donor room. Some reluctant, some eager, me on the other hand, every time I give blood I get my nerves all worked up to where my head becomes a little cloudy. Yeah, you know that feeling? I know some of you do. Where you feel like you have suddenly taken flight to the nearest floating cloud in the sky?

Beforehand I had made the decision to donate towards the end of the blood drive, that way everybody that signed up could stick to their appointments. It was actually quite funny because some of my donors which were, friends, family, lenders, title and colleagues were quite disturbed by the fact that I hadn’t donated yet. In fact a couple of them said, “I’m not leaving here until I see you hooked up”. Did they actually think I was going to putz out on them? Never! I just didn't want them to see me in flight to that floating cloud in the sky and my main concern was to make sure they each had water and treats and of course a big hug and a thank you.

My goal was to have 30 donors and being just 4 shy of having 30 sign up, it ended up being that 14 total donated. Even if only 1 donated “that was 1 more pint of blood than there was when the American Red Cross came in”. What a wise statement that was by Nancy, who was in charge of the American Red Cross team.

Nobody passed out, nobody became sick, and yes I did donate. On top of it I learned some interesting information that I didn’t know before:

* You can donate every 2 months (56 days)
* You burn up to 4,000 calories by donating blood. (Too tired to workout at the gym today? Go to your local American Red Cross, kick back in a chair and spend the next 30 minutes donating)
* You clean out your blood system and regenerate healthy blood each time you donate. (You are not only helping another person, but you are also making your body more healthy)
* If you drink alcohol, it will absorb into your blood stream much quicker after donating. (So do yourself a favor, slow down and don’t drink too much after donating)

Also keep in mind that there are so many reasons to give blood and so many causes for the need of blood that it makes it so easy to take that first step in making a difference.

Are you considering holding your own blood drive? Feel free to call me at anytime and I will help you get started in the right direction. The American Red Cross will walk you through the process step by step once you get everything scheduled with your recruiter. Soon you will find yourself feeling completely uplifted by the experience of giving back.

Thank You to all the wonderful people who took the time out of their busy day to support me in my blood drive and above all, for making a difference for another human beings life. You are all such giving souls. Nette, Ounmany, JC, Mike, Nate, Stephanie, Nate K, Joe, Melanie, Curtis,Toby, Carlos, and Nichole.

Written and Posted By: Julie Neerings, GRI- Heart of Utah Real Estate Copyright © 2007- Julie Neerings, GRI
Julie Neerings, Exit Realty Unlimited, is a Utah Realtor® who specializes along the Wasatch Front, from Ogden to Provo. To find out more information about her real estate services please visit her profile . You are welcome to contact her by phone at 801-859-9381/801-506-0305 or by email at JulieNeerings@yahoo.com . You can click to view her listings or visit her website. Thank you for your visit.

Yummy Caramel Corn Recipe…So Easy!

2 Cubes of Butter

1 ½ Cups of Brown Sugar

1 Cup of Corn Kernals

36 Large Marshmallows

Pop 1 Cup of Corn Kernals (I use an air popper ½ cup at a time) and set aside.

On med high heat melt 2 cubes of butter and stir in brown sugar until well mixed and dissolved. Then add marshmallows and keep stirring until completely melted and mixed together well. Once the caramel mixture is done pour 1/2 over the cooked popcorn and stir well, then add the rest of the caramel and mix again.

There you go! You are all done. You can shape into a wreath and add M&M’s for décor and hand it out to friends and neighbors or you can just sit by the fire, watch a Christmas movie and eat the caramel corn right from the bowl. Beware...It's very addicting.

Written and Posted By: Julie Neerings, GRI- Heart of Utah Real Estate Copyright © 2007- Julie Neerings, GRI
Julie Neerings, Exit Realty Unlimited, is a Utah Realtor® who specializes along the Wasatch Front, from Ogden to Provo. To find out more information about her real estate services please visit her profile . You are welcome to contact her by phone at 801-859-9381/801-506-0305 or by email at JulieNeerings@yahoo.com . You can click to view her listings or visit her website. Thank you for your visit.

Friday Night: A 6-Pack + A Young Man=A Whole Lot of Laughter…Hmmm

OK, so before you all start wondering if I’ve gone off the deep end, the title implies one thing, however the true experience of my Friday night was all in good clean fun. Please grab a tissue (to wipe away your tears of laughter) and read on my friends. This is hysterical!

Last night my hubby and I went shopping at a well known shopping center to join in the hustle and bustle of the holiday crowds. Little did we know that this shopping experience was going to turn into comedy central with a 6-pack, a young man and a whole lot of laughter. As we made our way to the checkout we found ourselves in front of a very quiet, somber young man, who not only seemed drained by the holiday crowds, but who also appeared to be having a hard time focusing in general.

As this young man was approaching the completion of scanning the items we were to purchase, he came upon the 6-pack bottles of Mountain Dew (my hubby’s fave) which was priced at $3.98. The entire time each item is being scanned, I keep my eyes on the tally and make sure everything is priced correctly. Then the checker continues to scan the 6 pack of Mountain Dew 6 times. That is $3.98 X 6.

With a puzzled look on my face I said, “Ummm…do you mind me asking why you are charging us 6 times for the 6 pack of Mountain Dew”?

With much confidence, (the words he spoke next found a place in my funny bone that I wasn’t quite sure I could hold back). He said, “yes, it’s because you have 6 bottles in a 6 pack and we need to charge you 6 times”. (trying very hard not to laugh)

Now, I have to tell you, out of respect for the tired young man I held back my laugh. However, the quiet one, my hubby let out a giggle and the lady standing behind me started laughing loudly. I had to bite the inside of my cheeks because I didn’t want to make this young man feel bad, but at the same time, do you think I’m paying $3.98 for a bottle of Mountain Dew? No way. (biting the inside of my cheeks really hard to hold back from falling to the ground and laughing hysterically)

So in a calm voice I said, “I’m sorry, but the point of the 6 pack is just that, a 6 pack. It should be charged as 1 item, we aren’t buying 6 separate bottles."

He just looked at the bottles, as if he was going on the deepest mind settling adventure ever and said, “no, see there are 6 bottles, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6”. (oh my gosh, I'm falling, I've hit the ground)

Again trying not to be demeaning I said, “you see that plastic strap surrounding the bottles? That means it’s being sold as a 6 pack.”

Then he just looked at the bottles, took a step back, turned his head to look for another employee to help him and said “oh, I get it! They’re being sold together”. Then he proceeded to back off the additional charges of the receipt.

Now no disrespect here, but that must have been a very profound mind altering experience for him. I’m so glad that I was able to make a difference for this young man.

Laughter is the corrective force which prevents us from becoming cranks. ~Henry Bergson

Although this young man can't click the rewind button and change what he said or fast forward hoping that we all didn't pay much attention to his lack of understanding a 6-pack. Most importantly we all need to step back and take a look at how we handle these situations in our lives. I choose not to be cranky over something so silly. Any opportunity to take in a good laugh is one that I treasure. Ahhh...the tranquility of a good laugh.

I hope you all enjoy your holiday season and remember the little stuff is just little and if you attach a good belly laugh to it, that little stuff actually will seem all worthwhile.

Written and Posted By: Julie Neerings, GRI- Heart of Utah Real Estate Copyright © 2007- Julie Neerings, GRI
Julie Neerings, Exit Realty Unlimited, is a Utah Realtor® who specializes along the Wasatch Front, from Ogden to Provo. To find out more information about her real estate services please visit her profile . You are welcome to contact her by phone at 801-859-9381/801-506-0305 or by email at JulieNeerings@yahoo.com . You can click to view her listings or visit her website. Thank you for your visit.

*Photos Courtesy of PhotoBucket.com