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Houston, MO Real Estate News

By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
Today is September 11, but you already know that. It's strange how something so huge can entirely change your life, and then with time it slowly fades into the background until something triggers those memories bringing them all flooding back. It's been long enough that I had almost forgotten what today was. . . . Almost, but not quite. How can you really ever forget something that changes so much of your life? You can't. Even though I'm a much older and wiser 26, when I think about 9/11 suddenly I'm a terrified 16 year old again trying to wrap my brain around brands of hatred and heroism I can not even begin to understand. And after all this time, I still can't, but that's life. I spent this morning helping with a rather unique service project, cleaning around headstones at a local ce...
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
So on top of everything that has happened lately (the dentist, the hospital, etc.). . . . . my phone died. So by all rights of a tenant of Miserydom I should be wailing up a storm and venting my spleen to the heavens about life's unfairness. But instead, I'm actually really happy about it! Why? Because I now have the most awesome smart phone EVER! *GASP* Did Phly just say that she likes a SMART PHONE? I know, I know! This appears to be one of those classic "Say What?" moments. The anti-smart phone girl is writing a blog post raving about her new smart phone, and the world appears to carrying on just fine with no sign of impending doom on the horizon. So what seduced this smart phone hating female over to the dark side? You can blame T-mobile and their amazing two for one on Smart Phone...
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
So after the rather looooooooong weekend that just happened, I thought that a post with a more inspirational tone to it was in order. ;) One of my good friends from high school had a saying that used to drive everyone crazy. It seemed like when things got tough, inevitably she would look at you and say "Cry me a river, build me a bridge and GET OVER IT!". . . . Did I mention that most people would readily admit to wanting to strangle her on occasion? It was annoying to hear when you were having a hard time (and everyone knows that High School is no picnic!) and wanted nothing more than a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on. She was good at offering them when you really needed them, but if she thought that you were after more sympathy than you were entitled to, watch out! The thing is,...
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
So some of you have probably noticed that I have been totally absent from AR for a couple of days. Do you want to good news or the bad news first? Well, it's the weekend so I'll start with the good news! ;) The Good News: I'm fine, and I will be back to blogging regularly very soon. I'm just taking a little down time for family. The Bad News: The reason I have been absent from AR is that this weekend my 4 year old little girl had a seizure. She was hopping over a couch arm slipped and bonked her head on the carpet. Paramedics were called, (You guys were fantastic, thank you!), a visit to the ER was made and a CT scan was done. The CT scan came back completely clean and she is home and doing great, but I don't remember the last time I was that scared or prayed that hard. So the long and ...
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
    Have you ever noticed how children tend to repeat what they hear and see? My daughter did something that I thought was odd and slightly puzzling the other morning. . . .until I realized that I did the same thing on a daily basis! She walked into our master bathroom, kicked the bath mat out of the way, pulled the scale out from beside the toilet and hopped on.  She then rolled her eyes and proceeded to drag it down to the kitchen and set in on the floor. She again hopped on, but this time gasped in mock horror and made the face you see above. . . Just like I do a couple of times a week. ;) What makes it even funnier is that she informed me afterward "I got a 3 and an 8! I did really good Mom! You had better eat something so you do good too!" ;)
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
In my apartment complex (as I'm sure such is the case in every apartment complex) the beautiful green lawns are watered by a sprinkler system. . . . Ours is just a little more unique than most! There are a few rules to remember about the sprinkler system, that if you should forget them you will wind up very wet. They are as follows: 1. There is no timer, the sprinkler can sense you coming and turn on when it pleases them to do so. 2. The odds of the the sprinklers turning on when you are coming home from the grocery store in the wee hours, loaded up like a pack mule and unable to run, are 99.9% likely. 3. No matter what their set pattern, one will deviate to blast you with a pressure washer worthy stream of freezing cold water. . . . especially if you are nicely dressed or (heaven forb...
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
It's so nice to have people that worry about you! But on the flip side, it's really not nice to cause them worry. So on that note, I'm letting everyone know in advance. . . . I'm going to the Dentist today.  *funeral dirge starts playing the the background* I know, I know! Modern dentistry has made made huge leaps and bounds in the comfort areas and is not quite (but almost!) as scary as it used to be.  But I'm a wimp when it comes to needles, what can I say? ;) I can handle the numbing, the drilling, the heavy medications and the funky plaster taste that lingers for weeks after your visit. But what gets me is the numb lips! ACK! Have you ever tried putting on chapstick when your lips are numb? It's nearly impossible. You wind up looking like a picasso gone horribly awry and you then ha...
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
  Did you ever have one of those days (or in this case weeks) that nothing seemed to go right? When it seems like nothing you do turns out right and the rest of world is out to get you? I'm having one of those weeks. Yesterday started out to be one of those days. I had just found out the day before that I have two teeth that need root canals and several others that need fillings. I had another emergency procedure (I blogged about the other one last week) and I'm still in "sticker shock" over what this is going to cost me. To top that off, there is a whole list of household chores/errands that have been let slip and I've not been able to blog, etc. . . . *sigh*. . . So the short version is that yesterday was shaping up to be a rotten day! Until somebody cared enough to take a minute out...
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I just realized that I neglected to post a list of the blogs from the webinar so that everyone would know who I was talking about. . . . .  having your face completely numb and a partial root canal tends to make you forget about pretty much anything else in life! So, if you are not on here, I still love you! I just like someone else's blog a little bit better! JK! ;)   The List Of My Most Favorite Blogs: Liz & Bill Spear - Miss Bad Manners is nothing short of genius! They are just such completely sweet people, how could I not put them at the top? Chris Alston - His blog always has good information, great photos and cute tales of real estate woe. . .  and he's just an all around awesome guy! Alan May - My fellow Mac fanatic and a true master of all things humorous. He's like everyone's f...
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Dental emergencies, software failure and life generally getting in the way have delayed it, but they could not stop it forever!! ;) It's been a while in coming, but here is the video of the webinar I co-hosted for Cybertek U, Enjoy!!
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
  There is a song that I love that goes like this:   Have I done any good in the world today?Have I helped anyone in need?Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?If not, I have failed indeed. Has anyone’s burden been lighter todayBecause I was willing to share?Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?When they needed my help was I there?   After reading the fantastic post put up by Liz & Bill Spear, I felt the need to reflect on my actions of the day. Had I helped someone? Had I helped to fill the needs of someone that could not help themselves? Had I made life better for those around me?  It does not need to be something huge, or some grand gesture to let the world know how good and wonderful you are, that defeats the purpose. Charity and honest affection for ...
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
Today is just one of those days. The sun is gloriously streaming down from a perfectly blue summer sky, a light breeze wafts along carrying with it the song of a bird and the scent of freshly mown green grass combined perfectly with that of grilling burgers. It's the epitome of the perfect lazy summer day. *sigh* And yet here I sit, in my remarkably uncomfortable, standard issue office chair alternating between gazing longingly out my window at the summer slipping by. . . and typing like a woman possessed so I can get out of here and properly putz! Ah! The long lost art of putzing! What's that you say? YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS??? *gasp* My friend, let me educate you!  PUTZING: (putt-zing) - 1. The long lost art of saying "to heck with it" and enjoying whatever comes your way.  2. ...
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
*sigh* Today is one of those days. One of those days where you just want to drop everything to run and play in the summer sunshine. After the week this has been, I want the beach!!! Ah! The glorious beach, with it's magical relaxation qualities! The pounding of the surf, the warm glow of the streaming sunshine and the soft white sand, all perfectly punctuated by the occasional cry of a seagull. Throw in some quality boogie boarding and body surfing followed by some truly excellent fried calamari and life would be bliss! . . . . It's perfect. . . . Except for the tiny fact that I'm stuck in Idaho, with spruce trees and grizzly bears! . . . *sigh* . . . . Well, at least I have the pool! ;)
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
For those of you who were wondering where I disappeared to today and why the promised webinar is not yet up (an for all of those who were not wondering as well) prepare yourself for a tale of woe and medication! Dun, dun, DAA! (insert choice of scary music here)I was at the dentist!  Truthfully? He's a very sweet man, and genuinely cares about what he does and the comfort of his patients. The experience was really quite nice. . . . .  all things considered. I was able to squeeze into his schedule because one of my teeth has been bothering me a great deal of late. It escalated from mildly annoying to utterly excruciating on this past Saturday. (When I post the webinar video, you will probably see a few faces I make that are really out there, even for me. It's because I'm trying to allevi...
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Alan May, you are my new muse! ;) Alan posted a very, very good blog post, A Tale Of Two. If you have not read it yet, you really should. But what got my creative juices flowing was the "How would I handle this?" part of the blog. Racism is right at the top of my pet peeves list. To be blunt: It's a stupid, antiquated attitude that should have been completely stamped out eons ago. Personally, I don't care if someone is neon pink with purple spots; their skin color and racial heritage do not make a difference to me. . . . it's their actions and who they are as a person that matter. The fun thing about Alan's post is that I actually do know how I would deal with it . . . . And it's the main reason that I would make a terrible Realtor!   My response to the racist attitude of the seller wou...
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The polls are now closed and the voting is officially over! So what were the results? . . . . Drum roll please!   The Social Media Webinar will be held at 9:30 am MDT. I know that's a little early for some of you, but that's what was voted as the best time.   There will be LIVE video available. Yep, you get to watch me live while hosting the webinar and making faces at the camera. A good time should be had by all. ;)   The format of the Webinar will be loose, allowing for any questions you would like to ask. While there will be a topic outline and some structure to the format of the webinar, we will leave things mostly open to discussion. I would recommend that the questions be of a social media nature, but if you have another question that you would like me to answer, send it off and I...
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
This was taken at dusk this about this time last year in Houston Missouri. The person you see in the red hat is my baby sister. (I say baby, but she's actually 19 and got married this year!) I was out roaming about with my camera, and photographing everything to my little shutterbug heart's content, when she popped up out of literally no where. The light was just so amazing! It has that sort of otherworldly twilight feel to it, and I love how the hat just pops against the deep emerald green of the forest. It was one of those wonderful pictures came out perfect in a single shot. Which was very fortunate because my sister hates getting her photo taken! ;)
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Ta Da! As I promised in my blog earlier, AR members will be given the chance to vote on what goes on during the webinar I am hosting for Cybertek U on Tuesday of next week.. . . .For those of you who are like me and don't always have a calendar handy, that's this coming Tuesday the 17th of August. ;) Ready with your answers?   Come on over and join the vote!   The topic of the webinar will be Making Social Media Work For You. Phly Jambor (That would be me!) is hosting, with the technological mastermind of U.S. Cybertek and Cybertek U, Brian Jambor, co-hosting. Trust me! This is something that you don't want to miss! So, come on down and vote! Then make sure to sign up for the webinar! ;)   Oh, and did I mention it's FREE? ;) Enjoy!  
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
I decided that no evil laugh was necessary this time. I'm not out to kick any beehives, stir any pots or trod on any unsuspecting bloggers in my quest for number one today. (And to those of you that now bear the imprint of my size 6 and 1/2 Etnies: Sorry for the tread marks, but I told you I was coming!) ;) Actually the purpose of my blog today is a benevolent one. . . Seriously! It is, I promise! I really am a sweet and kind person despite my aspirations to become the best blogger in the world. Hey, some kids wanted to be ballerinas when they were little, but I had floppy disks instead of a tutu. So honestly, what do you expect? ;)   Drum roll please . . . . . .   I'm announcing my first ever appearance on the Cybertek U weekly Webinar! Or on any webinar for that matter. ;)   Get read...
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By Richard Green
(U.S. Cybertek, Inc.)
I'm taking a break from my regular Trunk Monkey posts to bring you one of my favorite things - Diet Coke and Mentos Geysers! These are just too much fun to make, especially on a hot summer day when the economy is tight! ;) All you need is a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke (or two, one is just not enough fun!) and a package of Mentos. Set the bottle upright on a stable surface OUTSIDE (it's very messy!) like the sidewalk or in a parking lot with no cars nearby. Open the lid of the soda. Carefully drop in two or three of the mentos very quickly, and BACK UP IMMEDIATELY! Stand back and watch the fun! Repeat with another bottle of soda and more mentos if desired. Just remember to stand well back and to make sure that there is nothing blocking the top of the bottle. Enjoy the mayhem! Wondering w...
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