As I mentioned in my last post, 25 years ago this September, I met a 15-year-old girl on a school bus. Little did I know then what a difference she would make in my life. We saw each other every day at the bus stop. We were both new to Newport Harbor High School; she was starting her sophomore y
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06/25/2008
25 years ago this September, I met a 15 year old girl on a school bus. Little did I know then what a difference she would make in my life. It's amazing the things we learn accidentally. I had intended to finish this post later, and have discovered what a wonderful tool it is to leave them want
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06/24/2008
After only three years as a state, California experienced the beginning of its gold rush. Although the California Gold Rush brought many people racing to Northern California in hopes of making a fortune by striking a gold mine, it had effects on Southern California as well. The cattle that had pr
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06/19/2008
There are so many things to do and see in and around Costa Mesa that this is a tough list for me to compose. I think it depends on what your interests are and the age of the person. For this list, I will post my list of the top five things to do with young children if you live in Costa Mesa. I h
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06/16/2008
When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, the territory which is now the State of California became a part of Mexico. During this time, many more settlers came to the Costa Mesa area and established more ranchos with large herds of cattle on the grassy plains that existed back then. A
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06/15/2008
I came across a question from someone wanting to know the median price of all non-distress sales (i.e. not bank-owned, not in foreclosure, not REO's, not trust sales, not in probate) in Costa Mesa last month. He wanted to gauge what the values might be after the supply of distressed properties d
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06/11/2008
I received an e-mail from a seller today. She isn't ready to sell, but she does want to know what is going on with values. So, I've been keeping her updated on the current market and what's for sale and selling in her neighborhood. She must have been paying attention because today she sent me an
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06/11/2008
I received an e-mail from a friend the other day, listing 10 Ways to Be a Better Dad. As I read the list to my husband and a friend who was sitting with us, I realized that my husband scored high in each of the 10. He works hard to keep our marriage strong and to respect me. He spends so much tim
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06/10/2008
In a previous blog, I wrote about the Indians who were the first settlers in Costa Mesa. Today, I added another post about the Spanish Era of Costa Mesa. The Spaniards first came to Central Orange County in 1769, at least in part, because the King of Spain was offering land grants to those who
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06/09/2008
As I wrote in a previous post (Growing Up Local), I've lived in Orange County almost my entire life. It amazes me the changes that come to a place over the years, and yet I have been around only a few decades, while Costa Mesa was first settled over 2,500 years ago by American Indians who founde
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06/08/2008
