Bremerton residents have the opportunity to Treecycle their Christmas tree until January, 15, 2008.  Just make sure you remove all the ornaments, tinsel and lights before taking it to the recycling drop area.  If your tree has been flocked or you have sprayed "snow" on it you will not be able to recycle because the chemicals used in flocking can be harmful to the environment.  If you would like to receive the wood chips from the recycled trees you can visit the Kitsap County web site for directions. Kitsap County Treecycle Program. Below is the Bremerton drop off locations.City of Bremerton Public Works: 100 Oyster Bay Ave.; Open daily, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.City of Bremerton Water Utility Building: 3027 Olympus Dr.; Open daily, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.   "Never Excuses...Simply ResultsPugetSoundReal... 12/27/2007

   It's that time of year!       Santa Claus is no different than all the rest of us when it comes to the World Wide Web! Even though Santa Clause doesn't need to be up on the latest Internet trends he sure is!  He has a website, several tracking sites and of course he has some real powerful SEO!!! Just type in the big guy's name and look out!!! He always shows up on the first page!!! I bet he has a room full of elves on PC's and Mac's doing Web 2.0!! Talk about a "net worker" - Santa Claus is one hip tech guy!! Merry Christmas and have some fun with these fun sites!!       Google Earth Tracks Santa The Official Santa Claus Website From NORAD, first a page of fun stuff: NORAD Tracking From NASA: Yes, I even found a blog - who would have thought!!! Santa Claus Blog   12/22/2007

Kitsap Real Estate is changing. From Bremerton to Seabeck, Port Orchard to Poulsbo, Silverdale to Kingston, the way we Realtors do business is steadily becoming more and more influenced by the internet. At Realty Station our goal is to stay ahead of the times!Many people these days do not begin their home search with a Realtor. Up to 82% of today's homebuyers begin their search on the internet. Why then are so many agents only running print ads, or worse, putting up a sign and waiting for something to happen?My team depends heavily on internet marketing to find buyers to purchase our clients homes. One of the ways we do that is by giving each home it's own website, with a domain name specific to that home.To see examples, check out my latest listings:www.2950DelphiCourt.comwww.2145EastH... 12/22/2007

  How many times have you shopped around for homeowners insurance?  This seems to be an item that is left to the last minute and then rushed.  I am sure several new homeowners have just gone with who the lender or escrow agent has recommended because it was quick and easy. Did they get the best deal? Who knows?  I am sure that no one did much research on their behalf.  Have you ever compared rates and coverage on any of your home purchases? Have you ever changed insurance carriers after you have closed?  You pay hundreds of dollars a year in homeowners insurance and yet I bet it is one item that you really haven't spent the time researching.   Does your insurance company even know who you are? Do you have contact with them? Are you getting the service you are paying for?  I challenge yo... 12/22/2007

  Doesn't that title just scream!! You're thinking to yourself "SPRING" yeah, right!! There is snow on the ground and the temp is freezing and I am telling you its almost Spring! Yes I am. Think about it. There are only two more months until spring. December is really gone and in a few days it is January.  Then you will have a short month - February and then MARCH!! And SPRING!!! Spring is a very favorable time to sell a home. Regardless it's a buyer's market or a sellers' market home inventory always rises in the SPRING. Spring is the time when large numbers of buyers start to actively search for a new home. If you read my last blog, "You WHAT? You have decided to sell in the SPRING?" I talked about some items you needed to accomplish to be ready for the spring market.  Let's recap "th... 12/19/2007

  Washington State became the first state in the country to make texting while driving illegal. The bill was signed back in May of 2007 and the first part of that bill will be enforceable on January 1, 2008.  On January 1, 2008 if you text on your cell phone while driving you can be liable for a $101 fine.  Washington started the process after a man caused a five car pileup while using his Blackberry device.  There are several states that have passed laws making talking on your cell phone without a hands free device illegal, but Washingtonis the first to outlaw texting while driving.  In July, Washington will also join those states and make it illegal to talk on your cell phone without a hands free device.  I just wish these weren't secondary offenses. I think talking on a cell phone or... 12/19/2007

As Christmas rapidly approaches, I don't necessarily have 'visions of sugar-plums' dancing in my head, but I am getting very excited at the prospects of being reunited with treasured loved ones. Our daughter, Emily, will finally be back home and Aunt Nancy from Chicago will be with us as well. It promises to be an exceptionally special Holiday Season!One of the things that I particularly appreciate about living here in Kitsap County WA is being part of such a large and valued military community. The Kitsap Peninsula is home to Naval Base Kitsap, comprised of installations in Bremerton, Bangor, and Keyport - including the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bangor Subase, and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. Many of my most enjoyable past clients have been active or retired military.Many times... 12/17/2007

  Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist in April of 2004 with $21 of their own money. Since then, the registered 501c3 non-profit organization has raised almost $1 million in donations and distributed more than 400,000 prepaid calling cards to sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines serving overseas. Here is how it works.  The cell phones collected are then sent to ReCellular, which in return pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone.  The donation is enough to provide an hour of talk time to a military member deployed or stationed overseas. An estimated 130 million cell phones will be replaced this year in the US.  Most of these cell phones are either thrown away or stuffed somewhere to be forgotten.  Most people have no idea what to ... 12/14/2007

   What are you doing with your BAH?Are you giving it to the PPV/Military Housing? Are you giving it to a landlord to pay THEIR mortgage. No matter what you are hearing in the media the market in the Puget Sound area is strong. You need to build for your future. Please call me today! As a military spouse I know what questions you have and can answer them for you from the perspective of a member of the military community - a true member. Enlisted Personnel (Without Dependents) Location           E-1      E-2      E-3      E-4      E-5      E-6      E-7      E-8      E-9 Bremerton        809      809      809     809      887      937     1019    1121    1154 Enlisted Personnel (With Dependents) Location           E-1      E-2      E-3      E-4      E-5     E-6     E-7      E-8      E-9 B... 12/14/2007

 Let's buy a house!  You have heard all the media accounts concerning the real estate market in your area. Is it a buyer's market? Is it a neutral market? Do the prices reflect the truth about today's real estate?  You have heard a lot of different stories, theories and spin.  Make sure you are listening to your local professionals, the real estate professionals in your area.  They know the area you want to be a player in.  Do you feel like you are on a TV Game show!!??  Maybe the one titled "Press Your Luck"? Once you have been out on "auditions" and have chosen your "game" you will need to figure out if "The Price is Right".  How do you do this?  This is not the "Wheel of Fortune" you don't want to just spin a wheel and land on a decision. You need to have the guidance of a real estat... 12/13/2007

  Have you driven the new I-5 at the 16 exchange?  I use to drive over to the "other side" about 4 days per week and that spot merging onto the I-5 always scared me to death!! I had no idea how many accidents were. Being out of the area the last couple of years I had no idea what all the construction was about. So when I heard on KIRO that the new lanes would be opened I was like - oh, that is what that is!!!  Yesterday was the first time I drove over to Seattle from Bremerton and oh WOW!!! What a change!! How smooth the transition is from 16 to Northbound I-5 is amazing!! I didn't feel like I was in a race to change lanes with traffic just barreling down on me!! Loved it!!! Here is a great article from The News Tribune if you missed it. There is also a map so you can view the changes. ... 12/12/2007

  Bremerton Real Estate in NovemberTotal Homes/Condos on Market:  765 Listed in November:  116 Days on Market ~ Homes:  106  |  Condos 315Median Price ~ Homes:  $265,750  |  Condos:  $399,990Homes went Pending in November:  48Days on Market ~ Homes:  52  |  Condos 201Median Price ~ Homes:  $253,400  |  Condos:  $477,900Homes Closed/Sold in November:  79Days on Market ~ Homes:  71  |  Condos:  89Median Price ~ Homes:  $250,000  |  Condos:  $364,730Number of homes Expired/Off Market in November: 55Number of homes Cancelled/Off Market in November: 61 If you would like to find out the value of your home please feel free to contact me via phone or email.  I would be more than happy to supply you with a FREE Market Analysis.  If you would like to purchase a home in the Bremerton WA Real Estat... 12/08/2007

Please don't forget to take a moment and remember how the lives of those before us were changed on this day. My husband is a United States Navy sailor so this day is always remembered in our household. I am always amazed at how many Americans don't have any knowledge about the events that have shaped our great county. Pearl Harbor Raid, December 7, 1941National Georgraphic: Remembering Pearl Harbor - history, maps      Pearl Harbor Memorial 12/06/2007

Just a little reminder - Don't forget to give to Toys for Tots. Toys for Tots is a Marine Corps Reserve community service project.  You will see Marinesin their dress blues at malls, shops and local businesses soliciting donations. If you see one of their barrels please make sure you drop something in.  On the Toys for Tots official websiteyou can find a drop location, or take your donation to any ToysRus. You can also watch the 60th Anniversary slide-show celebration and see some of the prior year campaign posters.   Toys for Tots is very special to many families in our great country.  The toys collected will be given to families in need in many areas.   My husband who is in the Navy is stationed with a Marine Corps unit in Anchorage, Alaska is gearing up to go out "on remote delivery"... 12/04/2007

  That is why you want me on your side!! Those two statements might have seemed like trouble when we were 4 but now as adults they are very important. In the business world today you need someone that is willing to be BOLD and BUCK the norm.  When you are buying, selling or investing in real estate you need a professional that will think  outside the box - sort of like coloring outside the lines. A little bold, a little daring.     If a real estate professional stays with in the "comfort" of the business, follows the "pack" and does exactly what all the others do how does that give you an edge? Why would you want this person on your team? I would rather have a REBEL as my team leader than a Mr. Conventional. Do you want a professional whose attitude is to try anything at least once? A p... 12/04/2007

My goodness! What a storm we've had today. Here in my neck of the woods, in East Bremerton, we received 4 inches of snow on Sunday, and this morning I woke up to rain, rain, rain. We had 2 new rivers going across fields, down the driveway and across our lawn. We thought we would loose our drive way in the early afternoon,     and then I thought I was going to loose my water loving Black Lab when she got sucked into the culvert under our driveway. Moments later she popped out on the other side, coughing, sputtering and bleeding from the couple of little cuts on her head. OK, I had enough excitement for one day, but not my Lab. . . . after a good rubdown, she was ready to head back out and into the rivers. I've been keeping watch on the road closures in town today, and looking at the phot... 12/03/2007

Go Navy....Beat ArmyYep, that time of year again!! AT 12pm EST today in Baltimore the 108thNavy/Army game.  The Naval Academy Midshipmen are 7-4 and have already locked up a bowl game. The Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego on December, 20th.  They will bring with them the momentum of their win on November 17 over the Northern Illinois Huskies and a season which saw the 43 year losing streak against another rival Notre Dame crushed.The Army's Black Knights of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Are 3-8 at the moment. SO I SAY AGAIN ....................GO NAVY... BEAT ARMY!!!! 12/01/2007

We have had an Army and Air Force Exchange System (AAFES) gift card in our possession for the last three years.  We haven't been back to an AAFES store since we got the gift card at Fort Leavenworth, KS, just before our move back to Bremerton, Washington, a navy town.  Well, we may be able to use it now!  Military exchanges have agreed to honor and accept each others gift cards, regardless of the store's service affiliation.  Army and Air Force Exchange System gift cards, Navy exchange gift cards, and Marine Corps exchange gift cards can be used at any military exchange in the world.  The exchange system has finally recognized that flexibility is an important component of a happy military family's life! For more information about the military exchanges, see http://www.aafes.com/ or http... 11/30/2007

Your eligible child can receive scholarship money for winning an essay contest sponsored by military commissaries! Every commissary that receives an entry from an eligible applicant will give away $1,500 in scholarship funds through the 2008 “Scholarships for Military Children” program. Applicants must be under 21 and planning to attend or currently attending college, or under 23 and currently attending college. Scholars must have a 3.0 GPA based on a 4.0 scale, and must be in the DEERS system, meaning he or she must hold a current military ID card. Scholarship funds are available to unmarried children of active-duty, retired, Reserve and Guard service members. Children of deceased service members are eligible as well. Applicants must be enrolled or planning to enroll in an accredited c... 11/30/2007

  Want to cut down your own Christmas tree? I have had the pleasure of this experiance over the years. Some years the experiance was more pleasurable than others. I don't like to be wet and cold and well if you are going to be traipsing around try to find the perfect tree (which there is not) in the Pac Norwest you are going to get wet and cold!!  If you are new to the area here are a couple places close-in to Bremerton where you can go and cut that tree. Good Luck and don't forget to take the hot-coco in the thermos! Bacon's Christmas Tree Farm 9381 W Belfair Valley Road Daylight to dusk thru December, 23rd. Directions - Exit 16 at Gorst, Shelton/WA-3 S/Tacoma and merge onto WA-3 S/WA-3 W 1.9 mi,  exit onto W Belfair Valley Rd 3.6 mi, slight left to stay on W Belfair Valley Rd Trees: ... 11/28/2007