☁️ When the Rain Becomes the Adventure

This morning, I laced up for what I thought would be a quiet 7 AM walk in Flower Mound Texas. The sky had other plans.

Halfway through my route, a light drizzle crept in. I turned around, walked right past my front door — it was barely a mist, nothing worth quitting for. So I kept going. By the time I reached the park full downpour.

I ducked under a tree, caught my breath, and that's when I spotted them — the Flower Mound Trails, tucked under a canopy of trees, perfectly dry. A hidden path that the rain hadn't touched.

So I took it.

At 7 AM, warm air, nature putting on a show all around me — the rain stopped feeling like an obstacle and started feeling like an experience. And I wasn't alone in that thinking. Three other early risers were out there too — walkers, runners — none of them calling it a day. We all just adapted, found our path, and kept moving.

That's the thing about getting outside, especially in a community like Flower Mound. The trails, the parks, the green spaces — they aren't just amenities on a listing sheet. They're the reason mornings like this become stories worth telling.

We all got our workout. We all got a surprise shower and honestly, we all won.

If you're exploring neighborhoods where the outdoors is part of the lifestyle — not just a checkbox — these are the kinds of moments that tell you everything you need to know about a place.

🌧️ What's the best "didn't go as planned" outdoor moment you've had in your neighborhood?

#FlowerMound #CommunityLiving #NeighborhoodLife #MorningWalk #FindYourHome #OutdoorLiving #RealEstate #LocalLiving

Are You Healthy?

When someone I love was diagnosed with cancer we visited every specialist. They removed the cancer, replaced the bone and said keep go for check ups.

What we asked was Why, How, and What can we do now!

Each answered the same way. There is nothing you can do but keep up with check ups.

The internet was the only place we found with suggestions then and today.

Dr William W Li, MD, EAT TO BEAT and Dr Jason Fung, The DIABETES CODE COOKBOOK, became our experts. They use food as your medicine.

Over 10 years later we shop and eat only organic fresh foods prepared with olive oil, grass and pasture raised chickens and animals. Recipes are everywhere now and simple to make.

I built one website 20 times— to find the BEST website builder

Google Changes

I have had my Google Account from when it first started 2007.

Through the years several changes have occurred including machine learning, with spell check my all-time favorite. In college my business law professor walked up to me and said "You used spell check, right?" For my term paper spell check changed words I used to very unique different words. In my defense he told everyone spelling counts for the class grade! He never took off for the Unique Words!

Why does anyone worry about AI? It is just another tool in your backpack that can make your life easier. Embrace it, but understand it and it's limitations. It does assist with your research and development!

What is Convection Roast? | What Foods is Convection Roast Used For?

Ready For The Camera

HOMESELLERS’ ADVICE

SIX TIPS FOR BETTER LISTING PHOTOS

A recent National Association of REALTORS Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that 89% of home buyers who searched for a home online found photos to be among the most useful features of real estate websites. That’s why many home sellers hire professional photographers. Whether or not you use a pro, here are six tips for better results.

Stage the shoot. Photographers aren’t movers or house cleaners, so it’s up to you to get your home close-up ready. Move the car and kids’ toys out of sight. Power-wash the front and sweep the walk and porch. Mow, prune and weed the yard.

Notice details. The camera captures everything in its view in equal detail, so look out for random coffee cups, crooked wall art, and cluttered surfaces and straighten your walk-in closet to ensure personal effects are out of sight.

Make it sparkling clean. Make your floors gleam. Wipe fingerprints and grease from your appliances so they look showroom-new. Clean the carpets and polish the furniture.

Amp up the lighting. Pick a sunny day for the shoot. Open the shutters, blinds and curtains. Install fresh light bulbs, clean ceiling fixtures and turn on the lights.

Accent special features. Some of your home’s features can’t be duplicated easily, so celebrate the built-in bookcases, mullion windows and window seats, too. Also, include shots of any improvements or updates.

Pretend you’re the buyer. What do you see? Hopefully, fresh paint on the front door and a new welcome mat. Inside, your home should flow from room to room, so remove excess furniture, bric-a-brac, and personal items.

Why Should You Buy Now

Over the last two years, homeowners accrued about $21,300 in home equity, $8,700 of which occurred over the past 12 months, according to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). That’s an average of $10,650 per year, enough to pay back their closing costs and put them almost halfway to eliminating private mortgage insurance they may have.

Equity is only one reason people buy homes, partially explaining why home sales continue to be brisk. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that a combination of lower mortgage rates, more inventory, rising income and higher consumer confidence are driving sales.

Meanwhile, prices are rising. In February 2019, the median existing (pre-owned) home price was $249,500, up nearly 4% year-over-year.

However, rising prices aren’t discouraging homebuyers. According to a recent quarterly NAR survey, more Americans believe that now is a good time to purchase a home, citing the improved economy as an incentive. Yun explained that other factors are spurring buyer optimism, including more available homes for sale and stabilizing home price trends. Data gleaned from electronic lockboxes report increased foot traffic at open houses.
 
Mortgage affordability in 2019's first quarter was favorable to homebuyers, because the Federal Reserve isn’t going to raise overnight borrowing rates to banks, which contributed to mortgage rate declines and making homeownership slightly more affordable for homebuyers. Mortgage rates remain at historically low levels.

Whatever your reasons for wanting to buy a home, the outlook appears promising, especially if more sellers decide to put their homes on the market.