Barb Szabo's Blog: December 2009

My Wonderful Mom turns 87 Today!

There is not a day that goes by when I am not thankful for my wonderful Mom, nor do I have to be reminded about how blessed I am that she AND my Dad are still with me.

My Mom, Frances, is a woman of strength, conviction, and devout in her Catholic faith. She attends Mass daily and stays away from gossip and ill will. She is kind, considerate, loving, generous, and forgiving. If I wanted to emulate anyone it would be my Mom.

I could go on and on but suffice it to say that I wish her the happiest of birthdays and I want her to know that I am and will be eternally grateful to her for all that she has taught me.

In honor of her birthday I am sharing her recipe for what we have come to call her Christmas Moon Cookies. A more appropriate name would be Walnut Crescents but Christmas Moon Cookies sounds a lot more festive don't you think?

Enjoy!

Christmas Moon Cookies--Frances Strancar

1 cup sapphire flour (no substitutions)

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 1/4 cup finely ground walnuts

1/2 cup sugar

pinch of cinnamon

1 egg

1 packet vanilla sugar mixed with 1/2 cup sugar

Beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add egg and beat until well mixed. Mix together the flour, walnuts, and cinnamon. Add to butter mixture. Roll into crescent shapes. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in a 325 oven for 8-10 minutes. Watch carefully and do not let them get too brown. Remove from oven and roll in vanilla sugar as noted above.  Note: If you find that the dough is too soft, add small amounts of flour til it rolls well. Makes about 3 dozen.

This recipes is from a very old Slovenian cookbook.

Enjoy and when you take that first bite think of my Mom Frances!

Happy Birthday Mom. I love you so very much!!!

 

 

If you would like to buy or sell a home in the southern communities of Cleveland Ohio, please call me at 440-263-7496, or you may want to visit my website for more specific information on the communities I service: Brecksville Ohio Real Estate, Broadview Heights Ohio Real Estate, North Royalton Ohio Real Estate Independence Ohio Real Estate, Seven Hills Ohio Real Estate, Parma Ohio Real Estate, Parma Heights Ohio Real Estate and Middleburg Heights Ohio Real Estate.  Information is obtained from Neohrex (Northeast Ohio Real Estate Exchange) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties subject to prior sale, rental, or other status changes. All properties that are advertised as being listed or sold by Barb Szabo are in conjuntion with ReMax Trinity.

Bethany Hamilton was a happy teenager in love with surfing and great at it. She wanted to go on to compete as a world class surfer. Then 6 years ago,while on her board, a shark came along and bit off her left arm! One month later she was back in the water on her board! Watch the video below and be inspired by her bravery.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 

 

If you would like to buy or sell a home in the southern communities of Cleveland Ohio, please call me at 440-263-7496, or you may want to visit my website for more specific information on the communities I service: Brecksville Ohio Real Estate, Broadview Heights Ohio Real Estate, North Royalton Ohio Real Estate Independence Ohio Real Estate, Seven Hills Ohio Real Estate, Parma Ohio Real Estate, Parma Heights Ohio Real Estate and Middleburg Heights Ohio Real Estate.  Information is obtained from Neohrex (Northeast Ohio Real Estate Exchange) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties subject to prior sale, rental, or other status changes. All properties that are advertised as being listed or sold by Barb Szabo are in conjuntion with ReMax Trinity.

Twas the Night Before Christmas...for Realtors!

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house,
Not a Realtor was stirring,
not even a  mouse.

Papers were signed,
escrow was done
and Realtors everywhere
were on their happy way home.

I too could go home
to my house full of love
take off my coat,
my hat, and my gloves.

When what to my wondering ears
did I hear?
A text message
on my phone did appear!

My eyes saw the message
and I almost fell
My deal and my closing,
they were not well.

The title rep called
"The money's not been wired,
this deal's been tough
and I 'm really tired."

I thought of the buyers
who thought all was o.k.
who thought they had closed
on a new home that day.

I cannot call them
I thought  with a tear,
This is surely not what
they want to hear.

The van was packed
they were on their way,
To start making memories
in their new home today.

So I started to call
all the people I knew
to see if they could help
still make this dream come true.

The co-broke, the lender,
the title rep and I
put our heads together
and gave it a try.

We found it they said,
it was just a computer glitch!
our closing just then
went off without a hitch.

The buyer and seller
were unaware
that there had ever been
a problem there.

So I got in my car
and I drove out of sight,
Merry Christmas to all
and to all a good night!

 

 

If you would like to buy or sell a home in the southern communities of Cleveland Ohio, please call me at 440-263-7496, or you may want to visit my website for more specific information on the communities I service: Brecksville Ohio Real Estate, Broadview Heights Ohio Real Estate, North Royalton Ohio Real Estate Independence Ohio Real Estate, Seven Hills Ohio Real Estate, Parma Ohio Real Estate, Parma Heights Ohio Real Estate and Middleburg Heights Ohio Real Estate.  Information is obtained from Neohrex (Northeast Ohio Real Estate Exchange) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties subject to prior sale, rental, or other status changes. All properties that are advertised as being listed or sold by Barb Szabo are in conjuntion with ReMax Trinity.

Social Media...It's Not Just For Breakfast Anymore! Proceed with Caution!

We all know about the social media explosion. And it's not just realtors that have climbed aboard.

It's for just about everyone. It's for anyone in sales, IT, real estate, finance, engineering, marketing, cooks, sports lovers, musicians and anyone else you can think of.

Lately, I've been getting much more involved in  Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook. In trying to grow my "connections" I have, of, course "met" more people. Some of these people genuinely want to share what they know, much like here on Active Rain. Some though, are there to make money and only make money.

Many of us who have been realtors for a long time can share some costly mistakes made in the name of increasing our business and getting leads. Mine was a tri-fold color brochure for which I paid $5000.00 back  in the early 90's. I'm still apologizing to my husband for that one!! I have read stories here on AR that would make most folks hair curl. I remember one agent who said he spent $70K  (yes that's $70,000) on learning about SEO. I also remember buying my share of books and cd's, all geared toward more leads and more closed business. Mostly the books and cd's ended up on a shelf which was my fault, not the author's.

But, in all businesses, there is always someone who can help you learn more about marketing yourself, getting leads, or now social media, FOR A PRICE. Imagine the magnitude of the playing field now that social media can apply to so many careers and industries.

So I say, proceed with caution. I'm not saying you should never buy a book about social media or on specific applications. I am saying that you should do your research before you buy into some of the hype out there. There are so many people offering free webinars that you could take them all day AND learn a lot. Here on AR there is no shortage of people wiling to help and guide you, JeremyBlanton, Bob Stewart, or Brad Andersohn come to mind.

Are you considering buying a particular book? Ask your friends here if they have read it? Is someone offering a webinar for X number of dollars that will help your business EXPLODE? Ask them for references.

I received a call from a marketer a few days ago, trying to sell internet ad space for a rather large nationwide organization. I listened and at the end of the conversation I said what I usually say, "It sounds good but I have to do what I always do when I consider spending money for my business and that is to call some of the agents who are already advertising with you." His voice became a bit cooler and he simply said, "That's fine. Call me if you're interested." The ad is supposed to link to the agent's website. When I looked at one agent's ad, her link did not work. I called her to ask about the ad and she said it was a waste of money and that I should not bother. She was quite unhappy to hear that her link was not working but grateful that I called to tell her.

I am not opposed to people making money off social media, but I believe there must be a genuine benefit attached, and it has to make sense for your business, whatever it is. I've seen webinars on social media being offered for $1000 dollars. They may be worth it but I am not quite ready for that kind of investment.

Are you?

 

 

If you would like to buy or sell a home in the southern communities of Cleveland Ohio, please call me at 440-263-7496, or you may want to visit my website for more specific information on the communities I service: Brecksville Ohio Real Estate, Broadview Heights Ohio Real Estate, North Royalton Ohio Real Estate Independence Ohio Real Estate, Seven Hills Ohio Real Estate, Parma Ohio Real Estate, Parma Heights Ohio Real Estate and Middleburg Heights Ohio Real Estate.  Information is obtained from Neohrex (Northeast Ohio Real Estate Exchange) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties subject to prior sale, rental, or other status changes. All properties that are advertised as being listed or sold by Barb Szabo are in conjuntion with ReMax Trinity.

Owners Jim and Judy Darwal of ReMax Trinity Open Their Home Again for a Wonderful Christmas Party!!

Last Saturday, owners Jim and Judy Darwal invited us all to their home for our annual Christmas party. We had some lenders and title reps to round out the crowd. Not much talk of real estate, which was o.k. with everyone.

The food was spectacular as usual and included shrimp cocktail, ham, salad, warm pasta, stuffed mushrooms, and rumaki. The desserts were decadent with cheesecake, carrot cake, and a chocolate torte. No shortage of drinks either!

When we left, we were each given one of the beautiful poinsettias that adorned their home. You can see one of them in the pictures.

Though the party is always nice, what is more special to me is the hard work Jim and Judy do to make ReMax Trinity a success. Jim is the behind the scenes guy and Judy is on the front line, putting out fires and answering her phone 24/7.

So let's raise our clip art wine glasses in a toast to Jim and Judy. Thanks for all you do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

If you would like to buy or sell a home in the southern communities of Cleveland Ohio, please call me at 440-263-7496, or you may want to visit my website for more specific information on the communities I service: Brecksville Ohio Real Estate, Broadview Heights Ohio Real Estate, North Royalton Ohio Real Estate Independence Ohio Real Estate, Seven Hills Ohio Real Estate, Parma Ohio Real Estate, Parma Heights Ohio Real Estate and Middleburg Heights Ohio Real Estate.  Information is obtained from Neohrex (Northeast Ohio Real Estate Exchange) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties subject to prior sale, rental, or other status changes. All properties that are advertised as being listed or sold by Barb Szabo are in conjuntion with ReMax Trinity.