Service 4 Life!

More pics Julia & Alyssa's B-Day Party

2007-10-20T22:20:00.000-07:00

A few more pics! Enjoy!

Julia & Alyssa's Birthday!

2007-10-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

10/20/07 - We celebrated Julia (8) and Alyssa (6) birthdays! Fun for all! Both Julia's and Alyssa's classes were invited as we belatedly (yes, I know that's not a word) celebrated their birthdays!

It was a grand time for all - with a cookout (hot dogs and hamburgers), pinatas, jump house, dancing with flashing lights and fog machine and limo rides for all!

Julia and Alyssa sincerely thank all guests for attending and the wonderful gifts they received!

New logo

2007-10-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

Check out our new look.

http://www.andrewsmithteam.com/default.asp

Let us know your thoughts.

Thanks!

Finally!

2007-10-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

Basketball season is almost here. Rockets preseason home opwner tipped off tonight as the Rockets beat Panathinaikos 107-70. Yes it was against a non-quality NBA opponent, but the rest of the league better watch out, and that was without T-Mac.

Finally, the Rockets are fielding a team that could give them a chance to win it all. They completely re-built last year's 53 win team with esentially four new players (Francis, James, Wells and Scola) that could probaly start somewhere in the NBA (although Wells was on the roster last year - he didn't play). Not to mention the addition of Butler, Brooks, and of course new head coach Adelman - the Spurs, Mavs & Suns better take notice.

Go Rox!

Park and Ride - Free Limo Rides Texas A&M vs. Louisiana-Monroe game 9/15/07

2007-09-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

Park and Ride at the New Keller Williams office at 701 University Dr. E., Suite 405 and ride to the game in style. As a free public service The Smith Team http://www.smithteambcs.com/ is hosting a tailgating party for all home games this year beginning approximately 4 hours before kickoff until the end of the game.

Limo rides back to Keller Williams will continue as needed for approximately 1-1 1/2 hours after the game.Hope to see you there! See photos and get more details at http://www.smithteamblog.com/

Tailgating Texas A&M vs. Montana St. - Meet Our Team - This Saturday

2007-08-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

This Saturday!! (that's tomorrow), September 1 from 2:00 until ???whenever???

Limousine transportation (no not vans misrepresented as limousines, but a real limousine) from the Keller William's parking lot (across from Blockbuster on University Dr. just behind the Bryan-College Station Visitor's Bureau across Tarrow from the Hilton) hopefuly it will run every 30-45 minutes from 2:00 PM until 11:00 PM or about an hour after the game.

Join The Smith Team in front or beside the Heep building (on West Campus) for a HUGE tailgating par-tay!

Bring the kids, bring your friends, bring your dogs...if you're reading this, you're invited. Don't get left out. It's going to be fun.
We will be eating, drinking, watching TV, playing games, visiting, cheering for the home team and getting marooned.

So, anyone who's anyone will be there. Join us this Saturday. Don't be sad if you can't come. We'll be there every Saturday before the home games having a blast.

It's soon to be the newest tradition in Aggieland. If it's done more than once at Texas A&M it becomes tradition so that means we're well on our way to becoming one. What an honor!

I promise you won't be disappointed!

You should come if you're an Aggie because well, you just want to because you've all tailgated and know how much fun it is. You should come if you're not an Aggie because it will make you want to be one. Seriously, Aggies are the best fans in the world and know how to put on a pregame party, a postgame party, a victory party, a celebration party, a consolation party...Aggies just know how to celebrate football season and fall is here...so, come on over to our tents and have a bite to eat. Say hello and let the kids run around a little bit.

If parking scares you, drive to the Keller Williams parking lot across from Blockbuster and The Smith Team limo will take you to tailgate in high style. Seriously, just show up and wait for the limo. If it makes you feel better and you are planning on taking the limo, you can comment here or call my cell (979) 412-0442 or Andrew's cell at (979) 777-7677. I promise, you won't get left behind. We're ready!

See you there!

GIG 'EM AGS!!!

Keller Williams is Here!

2007-08-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

Keller Williams opened it's doors in the Bryan-College Station market on August 16, 2007 (incidentally enough, Lisa and my 10 year anniversary).

We're excited about the things to come!

Come by and visit us at 701 University Dr. E. Suite 405 just behind the Visitors Bureau.

Learn more about opportunities with Keller Williams at www.KWBCS.com

Back to School

2007-08-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

As the summer comes to a close (although it sure doesn't feel like it). This month is typically about Back to School. In honor of comedian Rodney Dangerfield for his famous role in the movie Back to School, I've selected to feature a few of his quotes and one liners in The Smith Team Service 4 Life newsletter. If you're not currently receiving it and would like to be added to our mailing list please email me at Andrew@AndrewSmithTeam.com

Also, should you or anyone you know have any real estate needs or even anyone thinking about getting into the business, we'd love to help.

All right, here are the quotes! ~ Enjoy!
A girl phoned me the other day and said... Come on over, there's nobody home. I went over. Nobody was home.

Acting deals with very delicate emotions. It is not putting up a mask. Each time an actor acts he does not hide; he exposes himself.

At twenty a man is full of fight and hope. He wants to reform the world. When he is seventy he still wants to reform the world, but he know he can't.

I came from a real tough neighborhood. I put my hand in some cement and felt another hand.

I could tell my parents hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and a radio.

I could tell that my parents hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and a radio.

I drink too much. The last time I gave a urine sample it had an olive in it.

I found there was only one way to look thin, hang out with fat people.

I get no respect. The way my luck is running, if I was a politician I would be honest.

I had plenty of pimples as a kid. One day I fell asleep in the library. When I woke up, a blind man was reading my face.

I have good looking kids. Thank goodness my wife cheats on me.

I haven't spoken to my wife in years. I didn't want to interrupt her.

I looked up my family tree and found out I was the sap.

I looked up my family tree and found three dogs using it.

I met the surgeon general - he offered me a cigarette.

I remember the time I was kidnapped and they sent a piece of my finger to my father. He said he wanted more proof.

I saved a girl from being attacked last night. I controlled myself.

I told my dentist my teeth are going yellow. he told me to wear a brown tie.

I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous - everyone hasn't met me yet.

I told my wife the truth. I told her I was seeing a psychiatrist. Then she told me the truth: that she was seeing a psychiatrist, two plumbers, and a bartender.

I was so ugly my mother used to feed me with a sling shot.

I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out.

I worked in a pet store and people would ask how big I would get.

I'm at the age where food has taken the place of sex in my life. In fact, I've just had a mirror put over my kitchen table.

I'm taking Viagra and drinking prune juice - I don't know if I'm coming or going.

If it wasn't for pick-pockets I'd have no sex life at all.

It's tough to stay married. My wife kisses the dog on the lips, yet she won't drink from my glass.

Life is just a bowl of pits.

Men who do things without being told draw the most wages.

Most of the arguments to which I am party fall somewhat short of being impressive, knowing to the fact that neither I nor my opponent knows what we are talking about.

My cousins gay, he went to London only to find out that Big Ben was a clock.

My father carries around the picture of the kid who came with his wallet.

My marriage is on the rocks again, yeah, my wife just broke up with her boyfriend.

My mother had morning sickness after I was born.

My mother never breast fed me, she told me she only liked me as a friend.

My psychiatrist told me I was crazy and I said I want a second opinion. He said okay, you're ugly too.

My uncle's dying wish - he wanted me on his lap. He was in the electric chair.

My wife and I were happy for 20 years. Then we met.

My wife is always trying to get rid of me. The other day she told me to put the garbage out. I said to her I already did. She told me to go and keep an eye on it.

My wife met me at the door the other night in a sexy negligee. Unfortunately, she was just coming home.

My wife wants sex in the back of the car and she wants me to drive.

My wife was afraid of the dark... then she saw me naked and now she's afraid of the light.

My wife's jealousy is getting ridiculous. The other day she looked at my calendar and wanted to know who May was.

On Halloween, the parents sent their kids out looking like me.

One year they asked me to be poster boy - for birth control.

Some dog I got too. We call him Egypt. Because in every room he leaves a pyramid.

The way my luck is running, if I was a politician I would be honest.

They change the sheets every day... from one bed to another.

This morning when I put on my underwear I could hear the fruit-of-the-loom guys laughing at me.
We sleep in separate rooms, we have dinner apart, we take separate vacations - we're doing everything we can to keep our marriage together.

What a dog I got, his favorite bone is in my arm.

What a kid I got, I told him about the birds and the bee and he told me about the butcher and my wife.

When I played in the sandbox, the cat kept covering me up.

When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them.

When I was born I was so ugly the doctor slapped my mother.

With me, nothing goes right. My psychiatrist said my wife and I should have sex every night. Now, we'll never see each other!

With my wife I don't get no respect. I made a toast on her birthday to 'the best woman a man ever had.' The waiter joined me.

Yeah, I know I'm ugly... I said to a bartender, 'Make me a zombie.' He said 'God beat me to it.'

Please take a look at our revamped website www.AndrewSmithTeam.com and let us know your thoughts and comments.

The Animals

2007-08-08T21:05:00.001-07:00

All right, the Natural Bridge Wildlife Park isn't just for rabbits or even kids for that matter, but for all of us. Here's a few snapshots from our recent trip to see Alyssa's true relatives...
If you haven't been, take the 2 hour trip to New Braunfels and take the short tour of the Wildlife Park. It's amazing to see how close the "wild animals" come up to your car if you have some thing to feed them.

Serenade

2007-08-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

"If I said goodbye to you tonight, there would still be music left to write..." OK, maybe that's not the song they sang or even the artist they choose to copy, but Julia tried and I guess that's what's important. No, it wasn't Billy Joel, but at least it didn't hurt my ears like Celion Dion. The point it that Julia tried to join the mariache band and do her own rendition of La Cucharacha (or however you spell it) and did a great job!

Julia has always been a showman (or showgirl) as is probably more accutately titled. Julia loves the limelight! She loves to be the center of attention (unlike myself). She craves attention and hopped up the second the mariache band offered to sing a song for $10 to our table, that I couldn't resist. How could I not let her showcase her skills even though it might set us back and force us to eat Taco Bell the rest of the trip :) OK, not really, but as much as Julia craves the spotlight Alyssa and myself shy away from it. I'm perfectly comfortable not being noticed in a room of 50-100 people and neither is Lys, but I wasn't going to hold her back, so.. she made the show. Besides, I've got to encourage her, as she is in the dual language program in school.

Kudos to our very own Selina, I mean Julia. Cheers J!

Family Vacation

2007-08-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

We got an opportunity to get out of town for a few days last month and take our first "2/3 family vacation". I call it 2/3 since Hunter and Palmer stayed with their grandparents. We took over 100 photos on our 3 day trip so I'll break it up into a few posts since it takes so long to download the photos onto this blog page.
Here's the first stop! The Snake Farm...
The Snake Farm is a hole in the wall stop on the side of I-35 on around New Braunsfels. It's got hundreds of exotic animals, but it's primary focus is on snakes. Because Alyssa is so in tune with the animals we thought we'd start our trip off right by taking a tour of the Snake Farm. Right off the bat we were excited to find out that there were two new baby lemurs on display. They even let you pet the lemurs and Julia and Alyssa got a special treat of having one climb on their shoulders and head. The average person may not know too much about lemurs, but for Alyssa this was kind of like the holy grail. Alyssa enjoys all animals but is especially partial to lemurs (due to the children's show Zoobamafoo where they became her favorite animal). Alyssa "the lemur girl" at the Snake Farm in New Braunsfels with a baby lemur pirched atop her head.

The same lemur just seconds before it bit Julia.
Alyssa really knows the different animals and told us the names of two that neithe Lisa or myself even knew their names. The first was a capuchin (a type of small monkey) the second was a capybara (the world's largest rodent). Sometimes I'm concerned that maybe she watches too much TV, but apparently some of the educational TV is sinking in.

Welcome Home Stevie Franchise!

2007-07-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

Steve Francis once a proud member fop the Rockets is headed home. 3 years and three different teams later the man Bill Worrel dubbed "Stevie Franchise" is back.

The Rockets traded Francis along with Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato to land T-Mac, but now Francis has made a full circle coming back to the city he calls home.

The Rockets have the NBA's most improved roster this off-season. Adding Scola, Wells (who did not play most of last season), Mike James and now Francis. Houston held the fourth best record in the West last year, but was ousted by Utah in the first round.

I'm excited that Stevie is back, so much that my brother and I decided to split season tickets - the first time I've had them since Olajuwon, Barkley and Pippen were on the franchise.

Go Rockets!

Some things that men generally take for granted, and fail to realize that women cannot.

2007-06-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

Your last name stays put.
The garage is all yours.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can never be pregnant.
You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
The world is your urinal.
You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just 'too icky'.
You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Same work, more pay.
Wrinkles add character.
Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental - $100.
People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
One mood - all the time.
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat..
You know stuff about tanks.
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
You can open all your own jars
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.
Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
You almost never have strap problems in public.
You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
Everything on your face stays its original color.
The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
You only have to shave your face and neck.
You can play with toys all your life.
Your belly usually hides your big hips.
One wallet and one pair of shoes one color for all seasons.
You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
You can 'do' your nails with a pocket-knife.
You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache.
You can do Christmas shopping for twenty-five relatives on 24th December in forty-five minutes.

The Sweet Old Couple Story (dangers of making assumptions, understand before you intervene)

2007-06-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

A little old couple walked into a fast food restaurant. The little old man walked up to the counter, ordered the food, paid, and took the tray back to the table where the little old lady sat. On the tray was a hamburger, a small bag of fries and a drink. Carefully the old man cut the hamburger in two, and divided the fries into two neat piles. He sipped the drink and passed it to the little old lady, who took a sip and passed it back. A young man on a nearby table had watched the old couple and felt sorry for them. He offered to buy them another meal, but the old man politely declined, saying that they were used to sharing everything. The old man began to eat his food, but his wife sat still, not eating. The young continued to watch the couple. He still felt he should be offering to help. As the little old man finished eating, the old lady had still not started on her food. "Ma'am, why aren't you eating?" asked the young man. sympathetically.
She kindly responded, "I'm waiting for the teeth."

Awesome One-Liners by Steven Wright

2007-05-29T20:11:00.000-07:00

1. Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before.
2. Lots of comedians have people they try to mimic. I mimic my shadow.
3. I was once walking through the forest alone. A tree fell right in front of me -- and I didn't hear it.
4. He asked me if I knew what time it was. I said, "Yes, but not right now."
5. I put tape on the mirrors in my house so I don't accidentally walk through into another dimension.
6. I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas, I just think about it.
7. My watch is three hours fast, and I can't fix it. So I'm going to move to New York.
8. I like to reminisce with people I don't know.
9. I like to skate on the other side of the ice.
10. I'm so hyper... (Said with a very dull voice.)
11. If you can't hear me, it's because I'm in parentheses.
12. Four years ago... No, it was yesterday. Today I... No, that wasn't me. Sometimes I... No, I don't.
13. Is it weird in here, or is it just me?
14. A friend of mine once sent me a post card with a picture of the entire planet Earth taken from space. On the back it said, "Wish you were here."
15. Every so often, I like to stick my head out the window, look up, and smile for a satellite picture.
16. I'm moving to Mars next week, so if you have any boxes...
17. Sorry, my mind was wandering. One time my mind went all the way to Venus on mail order and I couldn't pay for it.
18. I have a map of the United States... Actual size. It says, "Scale: 1 mile = 1 mile." I spent last summer folding it. I also have a full-size map of the world. I hardly ever unroll it. People ask me where I live, and I say, "E6".
19. It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to have to paint it.
20. Cross country skiing is great if you live in a small country.
21. Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.
22. You can't have everything. Where would you put it?
23. I have the world's largest collection of seashells. I keep it on all the beaches of the world... Perhaps you've seen it.
24. It's a good thing we have gravity, or else when birds died they'd just stay right up there. Hunters would be all confused.
25. When I die, I'm leaving my body to science fiction.
26. I went to the bank and asked to borrow a cup of money. They said, "What for?" I said, "I'm going to buy some sugar."
27. I saw a bank that said "24 Hour Banking", but I don't have that much time.
28. I went to the museum where they had all the heads and arms from the statues
that are in all the other museums.
29. I like to go to art museums and name the untitled paintings... Boy With Pail... Kitten On Fire.
30. One time I went to a museum where all the work in the museum had been done by children. They had all the paintings up on refrigerators.
31. Last time I went to the movies I was thrown out for bringing my own food. My argument was that the concession stand prices are outrageous. Besides, I haven't had a Bar-B-Que in a long time.
32. One time I went to a drive-in in a taxi cab. The movie cost me $95.
33. I went to the cinema, and the prices were: Adults $5.00, children $2.50. So I said, "Give me two boys and a girl."
34. I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time." So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.
35. I went to this restaurant last night that was set up like a big buffet in the shape of an Ouija board. You'd think about what kind of food you want, and the table would move across the floor to it.
36. There's a pizza place near where I live that sells only slices. In the back you can see a guy tossing a triangle in the air.
37. I went to a general store. They wouldn't let me buy anything specifically.
38. Years ago, I worked in a natural, organic health food store in Seattle, Washington. One day a man walked in and asked, "If I can melt dry ice, can I swim without getting wet?" Two days later I was fired for eating cotton candy and drinking straight Bosco on the job.
39. I went to a 7-11 and asked for a 2x4 and a box of 3x5's. The clerk said, "ten-four."
40. I was in the grocery store. I saw a sign that said "pet supplies." So I did. Then I went outside and saw a sign that said "compact cars"...
41. I went down the street to the 24-hour grocery. When I got there, the guy was locking the front door. I said, "Hey, the sign says you're open 24 hours." He said, "Yes, but not in a row."
42. I love to go shopping. I love to freak out salespeople. They ask me if they can help me, and I say, "Have you got anything I'd like?" Then they ask me what size I need, and I say, "Extra medium."
43. I went to the hardware store and bought some used paint. It was in the shape of a house. I also bought some batteries, but they weren't included. So I had to buy them again.
44. I went into a clothes store the other day and a salesman walked up to me and
said, "Can I help you?" And I said "Yeah, do you got anything I like?" He said, "What do you mean do we have anything you like?" I said, "You started this."
45. I saw a small bottle of cologne and asked if it was for sale. She said, "It's free with purchase." I asked her if anyone bought anything today.
46. There was a power outage at a department store yesterday. Twenty people were trapped on the escalators.
47. I bought my brother some gift-wrap for Christmas. I took it to the Gift Wrap Department and told them to wrap it, but in a different print so he would know when to stop unwrapping.
48. Friday, I was in a bookstore and I started talking to a French looking girl. She was a bilingual illiterate -- she couldn't read in two different languages.
49. For my birthday I got a humidifier and a dehumidifier... I put them in the same room and let them fight it out. Then I filled my humidifier with wax, and now my room is all shiny.
50. Ever notice how irons have a setting for *permanent* press? I don't get it...
51. I have a microwave fireplace in my house... The other night I laid down in front of the fire for the evening in two minutes.
52. My VCR flashes 01:35, 01:35, 01:35, ...
53. I have the oldest typewriter in the world. It types in pencil.
54. I couldn't find the remote control to the remote control.
55. I invented the cordless extension cord.
56. Under my bed I have shoe box full of telephone rings. Whenever I get lonely I open it up just a bit and I get a call. One time I dropped the box all over the floor and the phone wouldn't stop ringing, so I had it disconnected. I bought a new phone though. I didn't have much money so I had to buy an irregular phone -- it had no number 5 on it.
57. I saw a close friend of mine the other day... He said, "Steven, why haven't you called me?" I said, "I can't call everyone I want. My new phone has no five on it." He said, "How long have you had it?" I said, "I don't know... My calendar has no sevens on it."
58. I plugged my phone in where the blender used to be. I called someone. They
went "Aaaaahhhh..."
59. Today I dialed a wrong number... The other person said, "Hello?" And I said, "Hello, could I speak to Joey?"... They said, "Uh... I don't think so... he's only 2 months old." I said, "I'll wait."
60. I got up one morning and couldn't find my socks, so I called Information. She said, "Hello, Information." I said, "I can't find my socks." She said, "They're behind the couch." And they were!
61. Last week I bought a new phone. I took it out of the box, hooked it up to the wall... Pressed redial. The phone had a nervous breakdown.
62. I got an answering machine for my phone. Now when I'm not home and somebody calls me up, they hear a recording of a busy signal. I like to leave messages before the beep.
63. I don't like the sound of my phone ringing so I put my phone inside my fish tank. I can't hear it, but every time I get a call I see the fish go like this...
64. I bought a self-learning record to learn Spanish. I turned it on and went to sleep; the record got stuck. The next day I could only stutter in Spanish.
65. I was going to tape some records onto a cassette, but I got the wires backwards. I erased all of the records. When I returned them to my friend, he said, "Hey, these records are all blank."
66. I got tired of calling the movies to listen to what is playing so I bought the album.
67. I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything.
68. What's another word for Thesaurus?
69. Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song? The guy who wrote that song wrote everything.
70. My grandfather invented Cliff's Notes. It all started back in 1912... Well, to make a long story short ...
71. I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done, so now I just have to fill in the rest.
72. I'm writing an unauthorized autobiography.
73. I wrote a few children's books... Not on purpose.
74. I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.
75. I installed a skylight in my apartment.... The people who live above me are furious!
76. All of the people in my building are insane. The guy above me designs synthetic hairballs for ceramic cats. The lady across the hall tried to rob a department store... With a pricing gun... She said, "Give me all of the money in the vault, or I'm marking down everything in the store."
77. While I was gone, somebody rearranged all the furniture in my bedroom. They put it in *exactly* the same place it was. When I told my roommate, he said: "Do I know you?"
78. In my house there's this light switch that doesn't do anything. Every so often I would flick it on and off just to check. Yesterday, I got a call from a woman in Germany. She said, "Cut it out."
79. Doing a little work around the house. I put fake brick wallpaper over a real brick wall, just so I'd be the only one who knew. People come over and I'm gonna say, "Go ahead, touch it... It feels real."
80. In my house on the ceilings I have paintings of the rooms above... So I never have to go upstairs.
81. One time the power went out in my house and I had to use the flash on my camera to see my way around. I made a sandwich and took fifty pictures of my face. The neighbors thought there was lightning in my house.
82. All the plants in my house are dead -- I shot them last night. I was torturing them by watering them with ice cubes.
83. Winny and I lived in a house that ran on static electricity... If you wanted to run the blender, you had to rub balloons on your head. If you wanted to cook, you had to pull off a sweater real quick.
84. I've never seen electricity, so I don't pay for it. I write right on the bill, "I'm sorry, I haven't seen it all month."
85. My house is made out of balsa wood, so when I want to scare the neighborhood kids I lift it over my head and tell them to get out of my yard or I'll throw it at them.
86. I bought a house, on a one-way dead-end road. I don't know how I got there.
87. The other night I came home late, and tried to unlock my house with my car keys. I started the house up. So, I drove it around for a while. I was speeding, and a cop pulled me over. He asked where I lived. I said, "right here, officer". Later, I parked it on the freeway, got out, and yelled at all the cars, "Get out of my driveway!"
88. My house is on the median strip of a highway. You don't really notice, except I have to leave the driveway doing 60 MPH
89. A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I’m afraid of widths.
90. There’s a thin line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.
91. What a nice night for an evening.
92. I busted a mirror and got seven years bad luck, but my lawyer things he can me five.
93. Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect
94. Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?
95. Don’t you hate it when your hand falls asleep and you know it will be up all night
96. Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time
97. I bought some batteries, but they weren’t included
98. I got a chain letter by fax. It’s really simple you just fax a dollar bill to everyone on the list
99. I’ve got this powdered water – now I don’t know what to add
100. I had some eye glasses. I was walking down the street when suddenly the prescription ran out
101. I had to stop driving my car for a while – the tires got dizzy.
102. I hooked up my accelerator pedal in my car to the break lights. I hit the gas, people behind me stop, and I’m gone
103. I poured spot remover on my dog, now he’s gone
104. I put instant coffee in the microwave and almost went back in time
105. I saw a bank that said “24 hour banking”, but I don’t have that much time
106. I think it’s wrong that only one company makes the game “Monopoly”
107. I used to work in a fire hydrant factory, you couldn’t park anywhere near the place
108. If it’s a penny for your thoughts and you put your two cents worth, then someone, somewhere is making a penny
109. If you were going to shoot a mime would you use a silencer?
110. I Vegas, I got into a long argument with the man at the roulette wheel over what I considered to be an odd number
111. It doesn’t matter what temperature a room is, it’s always room temperature
112. When I die I’m leaving my body to science fiction
113. When I was a little kid we had a sand box. It was a quicksand box. I was an only child…eventually
114. When I was crossing the border into Canada, they asked if I had any firearms with me. I said, “Well, what do you need?”
115. When I woke up this morning, my girlfriend asked me “Did you sleep good?”. I said, “No, I made a few mistakes”
116. Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many different memories
117. Why don’t they make the whole plane out of the black box stuff?

NBA Playoff Challenge!

2007-04-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

Pick your brackets and the team that you think will be the eventual NBA Champion in 2007!

The brackets are posted on my website www.AndrewSmithTeam.com and must be completed before the start of the first game this Saturday. Don't forget to enter a final score for the tiebreaker.

The winner will receive a dinner for two at Messina Hof with limo ride, hosted by myself and Lisa.

There is no charge to enter & tell all your friends!

Enter the tournament at www.AndrewSmithTeam.com

Congratulations to Trevor Bibb

2007-04-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Trevor Bibb winner of this years March Madness Sweet 16 Challenge!

Over 50 people joined the challenge and Trevor only missed two picks in this years challenge!
Trevor and a guest won a dinner at Messina Hof and limo ride hosted by myself and Lisa.

Up next - NBA Playoffs! Watch www.AndrewSmithTeam.com once this years seeds are established to play our next challenge!

Revolutionary New Real Estate Program

2007-04-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

Sell it Yourself, While it’s Listed, and
Pay No Commission!

The Best of Both Worlds!

Have you ever wanted to try sell your home on your own to avoid paying a real estate commission, but at the same time didn’t know if you had the time to try and do it?

An exciting breakthrough by The Smith Team in the Bryan-College Station area has enabled you to do just that. Our exclusive “Sell it Yourself…” listing agreement is a unique program that enables you to attempt selling your own home by owner while still enjoying the benefits of having it listed with a professional real estate agent.

It’s really quite simple, here’s how it works. We will begin aggressively marketing your property from the time you sign with us. We will submit your property in the B/CS MLS and expose it to over 500 local real estate agents as well as using the advertising mediums, such as the internet, newspaper, signs and homes magazine to expose your property to as many potential homebuyers as possible (see my Exclusive 23 Point Marketing Plan). You can begin, or continue to market your property for sale by owner simultaneously, and should you secure a buyer for your property before we do, then you don’t have to pay a commission.

The no commission clause does not apply to a buyer that is exposed to the property by myself or another licensed real estate agent while your property is listed with my team.

Need help after you’ve found your own buyer?

No problem!

We will assist you will all steps from preparing the sales contract until closing for a minimal 1.5% of the sales price. There is no obligation to take advantage of this part of the program, it is simply there in the event you choose to do so.

Cancel the listing at any time!

You are completely free to cancel your listing with my team with a simple phone call. We’re so sure you’ll be thrilled with our marketing that we feel strongly that you’ll never need to use it, but it’s there for your protection. However, unlike several other firms, should you decide to cancel there is never a fee!

No Transaction or Advance Fees!

Unlike some companies or agents that may charge an extra $250-500 transaction or service fee, we do not subscribe to that philosophy and you never pay a commission unless you we procure an offer that is acceptable to you.

A True Win-Win!

We’ve designed this program as a Win-Win for local home sellers! Seriously, we take ALL the risk. If you sell it you don’t pay, if we sell it we earn a commission and you sold it quicker that you could have on your own and you won’t have to worry about making two house payments, insuring a vacant houses or utility bills on an empty home.

Don’t hesitate, pick up the phone and give me a call today! (979) 777-7677

Is Chocolate Healthy?

2007-04-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

Two years ago it was reported that the average American consumes 11.5 lbs of chocolate each year!

Contradictory to what some may say about the amount of caffeine in a serving of chocolate: research indicates that it would be necessary to eat more than a dozen chocolate bars to get the same amount of caffeine as one cup of coffee.

Health factors that chocolate effects are both positive as well as negative. The substance Theobromine contributes to acid reflux because it allows stomach acid to enter the esophagus by relaxing the esophageal sphincter muscle: A word of warning to any person suffering from Acid Reflux disease.

The chemicals phenethylamine and serotonin that are in chocolate has been shown to act as a sexual stimulant. Other positives to eating chocolate are its efforts in aiding to a better complexion. While it is true that chocolate that contains a high content of milk and fat contribute to acne, Dark chocolate or “pure” chocolate help to make your skin shine.

The ingredient theobromine has been found to be very helpful in preventing persistant coughing. Along with preventing coughing it also soothes and moistens the throat.

It is no surprise that chocolate has been sent through the ringer time and time again, always coming up with a new excuse to eat chocolate or to keep it out of your diet.

An Italian study is theorizing that flavonoid-rich chocolate can lower blood pressure and cholesterol and also improve the body’s processing of sugar – in turn, guarding against diabetes.

Other things that might be of interest to a chocolate love are to follow:

• Cacao, the source of chocolate, contains antibacterial agents that fight tooth decay. Of course this is counteracted by the high sugar content of milk chocolate.
• The smell of chocolate may increase theta brain waves, resulting in relaxation.
• Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine, a mild mood elevator.
• The cocoa butter in chocolate contains oleic acid, a mono-unsaturated fat that may raise good cholesterol.
• Drinking a cup of hot chocolate before meals may actually diminish appetite.
• Men who eat chocolate live a year longer than those who don't.
• The flavanoids in chocolate may help keep blood vessels elastic.
• Chocolate increases antioxidant levels in the blood.
• Mexican healers use chocolate to treat bronchitis and insect bites.
• The carbohydrates in chocolate raise serotonin levels in the brain, resulting in a sense of well-being.
• Chocolate may trigger headaches in migraine sufferers.

NCAA Sweet 16 Bracket Challenge!

2007-03-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

So you're sitting there feeling sorry for yourself because you lost out on your office pool by picking Duke to win the National Championship and now you've got to wait another 12 months for March Madness to return.

Stop! Not so fast! Although it's too late to start over for the enitie 64 field tournament. I had my website guy set up a Special Bracket with the top 16 teams!

It's your second chance! A chance to start over.

The winner will receive a dinner for two at Messina Hof with limo ride, hosted by myself and Lisa.

There is no charge to enter & tell all your friends!

Enter the tournament at www.AndrewSmithTeam.com

Ags advance to Sweet 16!

2007-03-17T17:24:00.000-07:00

Billy Gilespie wasn't wearing green on this wonderful St. Patrick's Day afternoon at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

But the Ags had the luck of the Irish by staying alive as one of the top 16 teams in the nation.

It was essentially a home game for Louisville and it was pretty much officiated like one as well. Sosa (no, not the bat corking, steriod taking baseball player, but rather a more annoying one, at least on this particular day, that held the Cardinals in it. Pitino even said after the game that they would have lost by 20 had Sosa not had the game of his life.

"It's an amazing feeling. I don't have any words to describe it," Acie Law IV said. "It's huge for this program."

I didn't make it to the gym today, but I still got my cardio workout this afternoon. I had an appointment at 2:30 and had to TIVO the game. I was screening my calls, sure that someone was going to call me and spoil it, like what happened earlier this season when I TIVO'ed the TT game.

I love TIVO, it's one of the best inventions in the last 10 years! But every once in a while, it comes back to haunt me (like the above scenario). Occasionally it will cut-off if a game goes into overtime, extra innings, etc. but I learned my lesson early and have set the recorder to record an extra hour or hour and a half. So I guess the moral of this story is don't ever call me to discuss any Rockets, Astros, Chicago Bears or Aggie game unless it is at least 4-6 hours past the end of the game. Don't be a spoiler! ;)

Hope your St. Patrick's Day is exceedingly green.... and maroon! ;)

Gig'em Ags!

Keller Williams is Coming to Bryan College Station!

2007-03-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

Keller Williams is Coming to Bryan-College Station!

Have you ever thought about pursuing a career in real estate? Keller Williams Realty, the fourth largest and fastest growing real estate company in North America, is coming to Bryan-College Station and is actively searching for new and seasoned agents.

We offer...
Unlimited Earnings Potential
Profit Sharing
Keller Williams Culture
World Class Training Programs
Flexible Hours
A Say in How the Business is Run
and much more...

Our Mission:
To build careers worth having, businesses worth owning and lives worth living.

Keller Williams Realty is founded on the values...
God, Family, then Business

The Keller Williams Belief System...
Win-Win - Or no deal
Integrity - Do the right thing
Customers - Always come first
Commitment - In all things
Communication - Seek first to understand
Creativity - Ideas before results
Teamwork - Together Everyone Achieves More
Trust - Starts with honesty
Success - Results through people

If you’ve ever considered a career in real estate this may be your best opportunity.

To apply visit www.kwbcs.com or call me today - Andrew Smith (979) 777-7677

Daddy-Daughter Dance

2007-02-09T23:03:00.000-08:00

Last night was wonderful. Last night, I got to spend a wonderful night with two of the most important women (girls) in my life. Last night I got got to attend my first Daddy-Daughter Dance at the Children's Museum in Bryan.

We were picked up in The Real Estate Group's company limo at 7:00 PM by our gracious driver Rebecca Linton, Bella's mother, and Bella and Allen, Bella's father. We then proceeded to pick up Tommmy Lanhart and his daughter Haley. We arrived at the event and enjoyed festivities including making candy bracelets, coloring handbags and had a dinner that featured everything from chicken breasts to mac and cheese. ;) Although dancing was the featured topic many other festivities consumed most of the evening.

We were even featured on the local news during our "prom-style photos."

It was an incredible experience. Alyssa was not feeling well. She was not her normal self. Lisa doped her up with some Benadril before we left, but she was much better after the events began.

Julia was indeed her normal self. She made a new friend in Bella (Isabella) and also reunited with an old one in Haley. Julia is great at making friends - better than I've ever been. People are drawn to her. She's a leader, a friend to everyone. By the end of the evening she was invited to go to Haley's house when everyone except for Haley's father, was aware that she was invited.

Kids have a way of living in their own world. Sometimes I wish I was still 7 years old and my biggest concern was how to spell "igloo". Life has a way of making things seem much more serious than they really are.

All in all, we ended up having a great time topped off with a sparkling apple cider champagne style toast on the way home! We are already looking forward to next year!

Easy enough...That Even A Caveman Could Do it...

2007-02-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

Want to find out how much your home is worth? Simply go to www.AndrewSmithTeam.com and fill in the 30 second questionaire under Free, Quick, Over-the-Net Market Analysis. It's so easy, anyone can do it.

We'll send you recent listings and sales in your neighborhood that you can use to assist in determining a value of your home. It's free and as always without obligation!

What's your Favorite Holiday?

2007-02-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

I don't like holidays! Really, I don't. Any self-employeed individual will probably tell you the same thing. I'm not a Scrooge, but honestly this country celebrates far too many holidays for my liking. I appreciate Christmas, Easter, the 4th of July, Thanksgiving and New Years, but please tell me where does it end? Just in my lifetime we've made MLK Day a National holiday. Not too long before that Veteran's Day and Columbus Day were recognized as Federal holidays. Where will it end?

Don't get me wrong...I don't disagree that these days are important, I guess it's just what side of the fence you're standing on. As a self-employeed individual I really don't look forward to holidays: after all it there is a chance I could lose out on opportunities to assist others with buying or selling a home.

What’s your favorite holiday? Up until 1993 my favorite holiday was Bonfire! Yes the Fightin' Texas Aggie Bonfire - which really doesn't exist anymore (at least the University recognized version). At least that is what I told people my favorite was, up until that point, but actually now it is Groundhog’s Day. Groundhog’s day? Why you may ask… It is because on that day 13 years ago I went on a date with the most beautiful woman I ever met. What happened? Well, I went on a date with the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen and…let’s just say things didn’t quite work out like I hoped. I eventually married Lisa and we’ve been pretty happy ever since.

Seriously, it was on this date in 1994 that Lisa and I went on our first date to the Olive Garden (in it’s old location at the intersection of Texas Ave. and Holleman) on Groundhog’s Day in 1994. I remind her every year! Yeah, I’m the sappy romantic.

It was love at first sight, at least for me (read Lisa’s version on her own blog)…www.lifeoflisasmith.blogspot.com .

We were both 13 years younger, thus the 13 year anniversary. Duh! No, seriously, we were both much trimmer, younger and smarter (at least we thought so).

Almost 30 years ago, my dad had a choice. My father was a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (more commonly referred to as the FBI). He served more than 30 years in Chicago and Houston. In 1978 we were living in Chicago, Illinois home of the 2007 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears! You bet’cha life! He had a choice, he requested a move and because of his seniority and could select just about anywhere he wanted. I still remember the family talking about it when I was just 7 or 8 years old.

It’s those kinds of decisions that live with you your whole life. It was between San Diego and Houston, Texas (home of the cows, armadillos and from what I learned on television …the place where kids rode horses to school and tried their best to avoid the tumbleweed and cacti on the dirt roads on the way to school). Gun slinging and train robbery were classes you could take at the local community college and showers were something that that happened in April and May (not what one would do on a daily basis).

My vote was for Cali – no question about it. Ever since I was born, I’ve felt called toward the beach. Sun, surf, boats, fishing, etc. Hey, I’m a Parrothead, wha’d you expect?

Unfortunately for me, my vote didn’t count. My dad wanted San Diego, I wanted California, my two younger siblings were too young to vote! We wound up in Texas. Yes, Texas? How did that happen? Two to one…I thought?!

It really doesn’t work that way in the real world! Fair is NOT fair. My mother trumped both of our votes and I remember being very disappointed.

OK to be fair, my past experiences in Texas were nothing to write home about. Wait! Scratch that! It was exactly the things you would write home about. I remember being nearly “eaten alive” with my first encounter of FIRE ANTS! Still to this day one of the worst nightmares I ever had was when I was in high school dreaming I had fallen asleep in a pile of fire ants to awake and find half my face was missing!

I had been to both southern California as well as Texas and for the life of me couldn’t understand why in the HE(double hockey sticks) anyone, and I mean anyone would choose the farm over the beach!? Every year, my grandmother reminds me of the time when I was 2 or 3 when I went to her house (in Corrigan, Texas) and refused to go to the farm with her neighbors. She said she awoke in the middle of the night to me singing “Didn’t go to the farm with Dorothy and Dick, E. I., E. I. O” Spoken like a true Californian.

Had we stayed in Chi-town, I would have been able to witness not 1, 2 or 3 Chicago Bull Championships…not even 4 or 5, but 6 (Yes SIX) Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls Championships! But I would have missed the countless Texans jokes! “How do you keep a Texan out of your front yard?” Paint it like the end zone!…LOL! Ha Ha! That’s why I’m a Bears Fan! Or even worse the stupid Dixie Girl jokes – we’ll leave it at that. At that point, I thought my life was going to turn out like their career.

I could have been a World Championship surfer, I could have played Power Forward alongside “Magic” Johnson and won 5 NBA Championship rings… don’t laugh Kurt Rambis did… so for that matter me, you, or even Eva Longoria could have played with Magic, Kareem & Worthy and at least won a couple of rings.

But, I wouldn’t change the way it ended. The Man upstairs knows far more than me and as the great Ronnie Milsap sings “I Wouldn’t Have Missed it For the World”.

I would have missed out on Houston’s first two World Championships (the ’94-’95 Rockets) which not even MJ could have stopped! I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to become an Aggie, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to complain Every Single Day between March and October that I hate the heat and humidity in this “God forsaken state”. But, most of all, I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to marry the woman of my dreams in Lisa and to have been instrumental in the conception of Julia, Alyssa, Hunter and Palmer.

Cheers to Groundhog’s Day 1994! Cheers to the woman I admire most – Lisa!

Thanks Mom! We may disagree on many issues, but you proved right on one of the most important!

Take this Presidents Quiz!

2007-02-02T12:09:00.000-08:00

All right, February is here and to celebrate, I've decided to host the First Annual Real Estate Group President's Day Quiz. Anyone that completes the quiz with a score or 50% or higher will be entered into a drawing for $1,000,000 cash and various food prizes from McDonalds! Scores will be reported using the honor system - just email your grade to Andrew@AndrewSmithTeam.com Really? No, Not Really! But it is a good test to see how well you know the former Presidents of the United States. Enjoy!

1) Who’s 6,000 book library became the basis of the Library of Congress?
2) Who was the only president elected unanimously?
3) Who was the first President to live in the White House?
4) Who was the only president to be elected to two nonconsecutive terms?
5) Who took reporters' questions with his helicopter roaring in the background to avoid the press?
6) Who was the first president to appear on television?
7) Who was the only president to appoint their brother to a cabinet post?
8) Who was the first president to hold a press conference?
9) Who was responsible for putting 'under God' into the Pledge of Allegiance?
10) Who was the only President to take the Oath of Office on an airplane?

OK, before I spill the beans and enlighten you on the correct answers to these questions - I will now take a brief moment to plug my business - ;) If you've got a home to sell give me a call at (979) 777-7677 or email me at Andrew@AndrewSmithTeam.com I Guarantee to Sell Your Home in 90 Days or will Pay You $1000 at Closing! (some stipulations do apply). I also offer a Cancellation Guarantee that enables you to cancel your listing if for any reason you are ever unsatisfied - which you won't be! but it is there just for your peace of mind) ;)

Drum roll....

All right here are the answers to this year's First Annual Real Estate Group President's Day Quiz.

1) Thomas Jefferson
2) George Washington
3) John Adams
4) Grover Cleveland
5) Ronald Reagan
6) Franklin D. Roosevelt
7) John F. Kennedy
8) Woodrow Wilson
9) Dwight D. Eisenhower
10) Lyndon B. Johnson

May you and yours have a Fantastic February! A wonderful Valentine's Day and of course a Extra Special President's Day!

Don't forget to answer my February Trivia Question and earn a chance to score to free movie tickets! Visit www.AndrewSmithTeam.com and click on the starburst in the top right corner of the home page!

Coffee - Nature's Wonder Drug?

2007-02-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

How would you like to lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and even colon cancer? The secret maybe right in front of you, even in your own kitchen.
I’ll bet you didn’t know that drinking six or more cups of coffee each day could possibly reduce diabetes risk by 54% in men and 30% of women according to a recent Harvard research study.

We’ve all got our own stereotypical images in the back of our minds of a co-worker or colleague that is strung out on caffeine; the hyperactive, restless, jumpy bundle of nervous energy who can’t even sit still for a second.

Side effects such as feeling restless, irritable, trembling hands and cause rapid heartbeat.. In extreme cases, it can create severe insomnia. Coffee may also raise cholesterol levels in some people and may contribute to artery clogging.

The word "coffee" comes from Kaffa, a region in Ethiopia where coffee beans may have been discovered. More than 500 billion cups of coffee are served worldwide each year and more than half of all Americans over the age of 18 (107 million people) drink coffee daily. On average, U.S. coffee drinkers consume three and a half cups each day.

An eight ounce cup of drip-brewed coffee contains about 85 mg -- about three and a half times more than the same serving of tea or cola or one ounce of chocolate.

According to one American study, coffee drinkers who have a daily intake of four or more cups have a lower incidence of Parkinson's disease. Some suggest it may even help prevent Alzheimer's disease too. The theory is that the stimulative effect coffee has on brain cells increases the brain's intake of the chemical choline, which is depleted in those suffering with the cognitive dysfunction.

According to a new study from the University of California at San Diego, coffee reduces diabetes risk among pre-diabetics by over 60%.

At least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's, with three showing the more they drink, the lower the risk. Other research shows that compared to not drinking coffee, at least two cups daily can translate to a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in liver cirrhosis risk. Medical researchers associate positive health benefits to moderate coffee consumption, including improved mood and the prevention of gallstone and kidney stone formation.
There's also some evidence that coffee may help manage asthma and even control attacks when medication is unavailable.

When tired, caffeine can help you sharpen some complex mental skills like manipulating numbers or recognizing words.

It can also lower your risk of cavities, and even help treat headaches. Caffeine helps cure headaches and is a key ingredient in headache pills because it increases the power of aspirin on the body.

"Overall, the research shows that coffee is far more healthful than it is harmful," says Tomas DePaulis, PhD, research scientist at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Coffee Studies, which conducts its own medical research and tracks coffee studies from around the world. "For most people, very little bad comes from drinking it, but a lot of good."

Caffeine makes java a powerful aid in enhancing athletic endurance and performance, says physiologist and longtime coffee researcher, Terry Graham, PhD, of the University of Guelph in Canada.

So powerful, in fact, that until recently, caffeine in coffee or other forms was deemed a "controlled" substance by the Olympic Games Committee, meaning that it could be consumed only in small, designated amounts by competing athletes.
As little as one cup can offer some benefit, but the real impact comes from at least two mugs, says Graham. By comparison, it'd take at least eight glasses of cola to get the same effect, which isn't exactly conducive for running a marathon.

So, once you've had your morning cup of Joe, and are ready to buy or sell a home - give me a call at (979) 777-7677 or shoot me an email at Andrew@AndrewSmithTeam.com or visit me online www.AndrewSmithTeam.com

source - http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/80/96454.htm?printing=true

Julia the All-Star

2007-01-30T21:12:00.000-08:00

Julia (our oldest daughter) made her first basket tonight at her FIRST ever basketball game. Actually, she made two!

She truly embodies Wayne Gretzky's famous quote, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take". Well, in this case the ones she didn't take weren't the only ones she missed. ;) She shot a blistering 7% (no, not a typo) she really only shot about 7% from the field, ;) but she was the team leader on the floor and I'm very proud of her.

She was incredible, she is the defination of a true leader. On several occasions she shoved...and I mean "shoved" her teammates into position (not meanly), but hard enough to let them know they were not in the right spot defensively.

Julia is an 18 year old stuffed into a 7 year old body. She's always been mature for her age, and she excels at just about everything she does. She's a dancer, a reader, tennis player (or was until I pushed her a little to hard), a Spanish speaker - she's in the dual language program at school, a great speller, fashion expert (Lisa now asks Julia if things go together) ;) and now a basketball player.

She's a real life "King Midas" - every thing she does turns to gold. She meshes well with both younger and older people. Fits in everywhere and is generally the center of attention.

Most recently, she' learned to drag every state into it's proper place on a map of the United States (and I'm not talking about a jigsaw puzzle) - she can actually drag the name of each state into the correct place without an outline and she completed it in 320 seconds. Give it a try yourself, it's much harder than it sounds - Geography Games Pick Level 6 under the States column to see for yourself how challenging it really is. We've got even more fun and challenging games that you can play at www.BryanCollegeStationInfo.com in the Entertainment Forum.

Now she's even got her own blog - Julia Smith Check it out and be sure to leave a comment!

Wanna buy a house visit www.AndrewSmithTeam.com and get ALL Hot New Listings emailed to you as soon as they come on the market.

Need to sell a home? Visit www.AndrewSmithTeam.com and get a free Ovet-the-Net market analysis!

# 6 Aggies vs. Texas Tech

2007-01-24T06:03:00.000-08:00

A&M vs. TT - Wednesday 1/24/07 - 7:00 PM (CST even though as far away as Lubbock is, it seems like Tech should be in a different time zone) at United Spirit Center. No TV :(

The Aggies are hot, moving up to number 6 in the polls and tying their highest men's basketball ranking ever. Tonight is a true test. A road game in Lubbock vs the 14-5 Red Raiders.

All right, I'm not a Tech fan by any means. Although my sister actually went to Tech in the early 90's, I don't know if I've seen a less classy fan base anywhere. Texas Tech fans make Oakland Raider fans look like Cub Scouts.

From their high flying tortillias to their dorms which actually have "Drug Free" floors Seriously, if they have "drug free" floors what does that make the other floors?

You may remember in the 90's when Tech fans threw red punch all over our football team as they were coming onto the field. Or when Tech fans got into an actual fight with the Aggie basketball team after a game in Lubbock in the early 90's.

On campus, they even have a statue of Will Rogers riding a horse in which the rear of the horse intentionally faces Aggieland.

One thing that I truely do love about Tech is that the Masked Rider looks exactly like the Hamburglar from Micky D's.

I went to a football game at Jones Staduim in 1994. My brother, myself and a couple of friends and my had one of the best times just laughing at their outrageous traditions and the Tech band. The game started with the Lone Ranger making a guest appearance (apparently that's their mascot) and Tech fans tossing tortillas around like frisbees.

Next was the truely fun part, I don't know if you've ever seen "The Puffy Shirt" episode of Seinfeld, but we had a field day heckeling the fans around us with this one. It had to just have been release a week or two before because it was fresh on our minds. The Texas Tech band marched out onto the field to our "Avast, Ye Matey!" and "Arrrrr!" yells.

If you haven't seen "The Puffy Shirt" episode, it's a must see! You'll think about the Tech band the next time you see it.

To borrow a line from one of the Dixie Girls, "I'm embarassed they're from Texas".

Gig'em!

Game Predicitions? Make yours here...
http://www.bryancollegestationinfo.com/showthread.php?p=333#post333

View all B/CS Homes for sale at www.AndrewSmithTeam.com

ZEBRA Meat!

2007-01-19T18:02:00.000-08:00

What the heck is ZEBRA meat? "Zebra Meat" as defined by Webster's as anything that a parent (OK, maybe...myself) attempts to place a "curiousity label" on to an "unwelcomed food" item to an unknowing individual (let's just say for illustrative purposes only ;) a five-year old child...OK...cough...my child, Alyssa...cough,cough...).

I don't exactly remember all the details, but I do remember, it was a dark and stormy night, all right maybe not stormy, and yeah, it was in the summer, so maybe it wasn't even dark, but this I do remember. We grilled chicken on the grill (fajita chicken) and Alyssa (our second child (out of four)...stop laughing right there! YES, We HAVE a TV in the Bedroom!!) :)

Anyway, Alyssa decided that the food I worked hard to prepare (OK, maybe I bought it at HEB) wasn't worth eating. Alyssa, who actually has a "Sixth-Sense" and can actually TASTE food based on the way it LOOKS, decided right then and there that she was not going to eat the chicken that I had prepared because of the charcoal lines/stripes that the grill produced.

Alyssa also has a 'Seventh-Sense" that recognizes "rhetorical questions" better than anyone else in the world (including myself). Honestly, I'll ask her a legitimate question and if she doesn't feel like answering it (than gosh-darnit it's a rhetorical question). It's quite frustrating at times! "Alyssa, did you spill this milk on the ground?' She just walks away... and mumbles...never really answering my question. :(

I'll never forget it, it was at that moment that it hit me. It was like a great flash of brillance, like you'd see in the movies. I was just about to pack up her things and send her on her way (yeah, I know she's only five) but I was tired of it. All she wants to eat is chicken nuggets and candy. Anyway, a stroke of genius hit me like a ton of bricks.

However, you need to know this first...Alyssa is known as the "Animal Angel" in our family. My parents dubbed her that after she spent a couple of days with them (God bless them!) ;) She is fascinated with animals, watches Zaboomafoo (a kids' "Wild Kingdom" show) and tries to pet and smother every living creature.

Back to my epiphany...I fooled her and although I probably shouldn't be proud of this moment (secretly, I am - OK maybe not secretly, since I'm sharing it with over "8 billion internet friends") but Alyssa can't read, and what she can't read, well, it will only make her stronger - isn't that how the saying goes? She was complaining about the stripes on the chicken and how she wasn't going to eat it, when I dug down deep (into her biggest weakness) and said "You're not going to have any of this ZEBRA meat?" acting quite astonished and convincing.

She bit! She wanted to try the zebra meat. WOO HOO! I finally hooked the big one. You see Alyssa is not your typical child. Alyssa is not scared of punishment, and she is not motivated by rewards (treats). Disciplining her has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I still claim that she's the only child I can't beat (no, not "beat" literally). What I mean is that I've figured the boy (Hunter) out and Julia (our oldest) out, but I've never been able to figure out Alyssa and how to motivate (or better yet, manipulate her).

Alyssa, is our "special child". You see, Alyssa has "Selective Amnesia". Alyssa can't ever remember doing anything wrong...EVER! Yeah, she can recall the name of the cat she pet back in 2002, but she can't remember who knocked the lamp over - 20 minutes ago! She's got "Bill Clinton disease" and just "can't recall" her mistakes.

She's also very in-tune with her rights. As a five-year old, she knows more about the fifth-amendment than both Lisa and I do together.

Back to my story, it was a true stroke of genius on my part, (and since I don't have them too often - I'm having to brag about it here), using her ONE weakness (animals) against her. Her curiousity of knowing what a zebra tastes like (for those of you that don't know, it tastes a whole lot like marinated chicken fajita meat). ;)

Hope you enjoyed it! - Leave a comment & tell a friend!!

Get a FREE, Quick, Over-the-Net Market Analysis of Your Home - by simply going to www.AndrewSmithTeam.com and fill out the brief form and I'll email you a free, no obligation, market analysis of what you're home might sell for! Find out Today!

Be sure to visit the New B-CS Message Boards! www.BryanCollegeStationInfo.com - learn special offers that will Save You Money in B/CS, things to do, and many other interesting facts!

Gig'em Ags! BTH outta OSU!

I Don't Want to Take it Anymore!

2007-01-11T18:08:00.000-08:00

OK! So, I'm flipping through the 456 stations on DirecTV hoping to find something interesting - especially since there is no Rockets game tonight...

Instead, I find some chump trying to sell me the latest, greatest, newest piece of athletic equipment that "I can fit in the corner of any room in my home", obviously, so when I QUIT using it after the initial two-week period (one week past the initial money back guarantee trial period) then I'll have a place to store it.

Now, if that wasn't tempting enough...they also offer a no-money-down payment plan, where you can finance the entire $35,000 slightly-modified treadmill machine, over the next 240 years for payments of only $39.99.

It reminds me of the first time I went to a Rockets game without my parents. A group of four guys (including myself) decided to go to a Rockets game at the Summit in 1985-86. I was naive. I just didn't realize a carton of (pre-popped) popcorn cost $12.50 (even back then)! I was just excited to be there.

I remember standing in the concession line. For some reason the items I was planning on purchasing were hidden from the view of the checkout lady. She asked me what I was buying, I promptly told her "a popcorn and coke" - she quickly replied that my total was $17.50. I held up my 3 1/2 oz. Coke (mostly filled with ice anyway) to display the size (of both my 12 kernel popcorn and 3 1/2 oz. drink) and said "No, this size popcorn" thinking that maybe she had misheard me and thought I had said "Popcorn & Cokes for the whole frickin' Arena is on me tonight". She quickly replied, "That'll be...$17.50."

Ouch! I was speachless! Actually, I wasn't...although, I was only 15 at the time, being the smart-alec I was, I quickly asked her if I "could put that on my Visa card?" Un-amused, she said "No!" I then asked her if I could take out a second mortgage on my house and bring my payment by later. Again, she was un-amused. I finally paid her the $11,000 cash that was due for the popcorn and coke that I had ordered.

In addition to being a "Rockets Freak", I'm also a "Parrothead". What is a "Parrothead?" A "Parrothead" is defined as anyone that enjoys Jimmy Buffett music.

A few (OK...maybe many) years ago, Jimmy Buffett released an album called "Fruitcakes". In the title track, Jimmy sings (or shouts) "Take for example when you go to the movies these days, you know. They try to sell you this jumbo drink...8-extra ounces of watered-down Cherry Coke for an extra 25 cents. I don't want it. I don't want that much organization in my life. I don't want other people thinking for me. I want my Junior Mints! Where did the Junior Mints go in the movies? I don't want a 12-pound Nestle's Crunch for $25.00. I want Junior Mints! We need more fruitcakes in this world and less bakers! We need people that care! I'm mad as hell and I don't want to take it anymore!"

I really identify with this song. I'm so sick and tired of every one trying to tap me for another 30-50 bucks each and every month!

In my business, technology is crucial. Not having a state-of-the-art website, can be the difference between whether or not you make it in this business. According to the National Association of Realtors, over 75% of all people that bought a home last year did at least some sort of their search via the internet.

It's crucial that I have a strong presence on the internet. It's also important that I advertise in the local newspaper, on TV, the radio, on the shopping carts at the local grocery store and in the bathroom at my Kindergartner's school...Seriously, where does it end?

I love marketing! It's a passion of mine. It's fun, exciting, and I enjoy the challenge of finding better ways to "out-do" my competition but recently I've been struggling with everyone, everwhere...(borrrowing a line from Alanis Moresette) trying to stick a "hand in my pocket".

Everything I do there is someone, somewhere with a better product, service or idea that they want to charge me $25, $30 or $50 a month to "make my life easier". Is it worth it? In some cases yes, but in most "no."

I don't know who first invented the "upsell", but in my opinion they are a genius. I don't have many opportunities in my business to ask "would you like a condo with your house?" but seriously, whoever first came up with the idea was a marketing genius. However, it has gotten to the point that I am starting more and more each and every day thinking maybe I can live without some of these products.

Today I cancelled two call-forward numbers that were costing me over $40 a month. IT FELT GOOD! It felt nice to say "See Ya!" to Verizon and the $40 they charge me each month for simply moving to a more desireable location. I support local businesses and hope they do well. However, there is a fine-line between earning an honest living and taking advantage of someone. I moved office locations about a year ago, when we needed more space. It was quite costly, and I understand that part of that is the cost of doing business. However, I also don't agree with many of the "because that is our company policy" rules made by corporate monopolies.

It's just not right. It's not acceptable that I pay $25 for my family to go to the movies and then have to buy their concessions...at an over-inflated 5000% mark-up.

That's why we sneak our own candy into the movies. It's not that I'm cheap. I'd honestly prefer to buy their concessions, but not at the 5000% mark up. Come on... it's public knowledge that a fountain drink costs 5-10 cents (probably 2-3 cents when they fill it up with ice) but to charge $4.00 as does Cinemark (not to mention the $5.75 bucket of popcorn that probably cost them another 5-10 cents.)

I'm bombarded each and every day with hundreds of SPAM emails. Anything and eveything from "a new stock that has just been released that will quadruple your money in 24 hours" to pills that can help you "lose 35 lbs. in 23 minutes" or "grow your manhood 3 x bigger in just a few weeks."

Enough of my rave. I'll see you at the movies (matinee of course)! I'll bring the candy, you bring the soda. ;)

P.S. Don't forget the Junior Mints!

Bryan-College Station Housing Market Statistics 2006

2007-01-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

Click here to see the 2006 end of year B/CS housing market statistics!

http://www.bryancollegestationinfo.com/showpost.php?p=54&postcount=3

I need your help!

2007-01-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

I've been working hard on the technology end of my New Year's resolution. I've just installed a new message board on my website and my desire is for it to be a leading source of local information for local residents. I think it's crucial that there be significant buzz on the site (rather than just a few posts by myself) or people will not go back and re-visit the site on a regular basis.

I need new members to join and post so I have some traffic and create a buzz. I'm advertising it in tomorrow's newspaper and would REALLY appreciate it if you'd register and post something or start a new thread www.bryancollegestation.info There's plenty of things to talk about and although some of you may not live in B-CS there are still many other interesting topics; humor, sports, Aggies, etc. or anything you want to talk about. Share a funny photo, or anything else you want that is interesting, informative or entertaining. It shouldn't take you but a few minutes of your time and I would really appreciate it.

My goal is to have 100 new members and 500 posts by the end of next week. Please help! Anything is appreciated!

In fact, if you're one of the first 25 to register and post 10 (legitimate) messages, then I'll send you a gift certificate for a free Little Caesar's pizza or if your out of the B/CS area, I'll send you a gift card for a free movie rental from Blockbuster.

Feel free to forward this to anyone else.

More Money Saving Tips for 2007!

2007-01-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

As promised, I told you I'd share even more money saving tips...Here are a few more out of a list of 25 that can literally save you thousands of dollars each year. I also share tips on my new message board www.BryanCollegeStation.info so be sure to check it out as well. Also leave some of your own tips and earn chance to win two movie tickets if I feature your idea in a future newsletter or blog.

Continued from previous blog...

6) Invest your new savings. As you put money side (see above) your “pay-yourself-first” money could become automatic contributions to a mutual fund or other stock-oriented or real estate investmet fund. If you need the money to be more liquid than that, consider an online savings or money market account that gets linked to your current checking account. Many of these online-only accounts are insured by the FDIC and pay annual percentage yields between 5-6 percent and in some cases even higher.

7) Pay extra towards your mortgage each month. By paying $100 extra towards your principal each month on a $150,000, 30 year fixed mortgage at 6.5%, you’ll save more than $50,000 in interest over the term of the loan and be able to payoff your mortgage approximately seven years early. Just by paying an extra $25-$50 each month can make a huge difference. Paying off your mortgage early may mean eliminate some of the tax benefits of home ownership, however if owning your home outright and spending less on interest are some of your goals, then it is worth it.

8) Eliminate credit card debt. The best way to avoid creating problems for yourself in 2007 is to use your credit cards cautiously and sparingly. Pay off your entire balance off each month, if at all possible. However, if you’re already in serious credit card debt as 2007 begins, transfer your credit card balances to a card with a lower interest rate. You’ll save over $700 if you transfer a $2,000 balance from an 18-percent card to an 8.25% card and then pay off your balance at a rate of $50 a month. You'll even receive better result the lower the interest rate.

Transfer balances to cards with rates of 0-4% percent and concentrate on paying them off entirely while those low rates last. Another option may be to take out a second mortgage on your home. Obviously, paying 7% on a second mortgage, which is tax deductible, toward your home is far better than paying 18-20% on a compounding interest credit card. If you do use credit cards, make sure that your credit card is at least paying you back with some sort of incentive program. I found a credit card that allows me to earn points on my daily purchases toward our annual vacation trip, including airline miles and hotel accommodations.

Since most of my expenses each month are incurred at Office Depot, I found a rebate card that rewards specifically for these types of purchases. Of course, you will need to make sure that you are paying off your balance each and every month. Paying a high interest rate on your credit card will negate any savings you accrue on your incentive plan.

9) Avoid over-the-limit and late fees. If you keep finding yourself getting hit with extra finance charges because your credit card bill is regularly due before you’ve received your paycheck or your over the limit, call your credit card company and ask to have your due date changed. It might take a few months for this change to kick in, but it’s worth the wait.

10) Quit smoking and other bad habits. Depending on the “sin taxes” where you live, you could save more than $2,000 a year if you go from being a pack-a-day smoker to a non-smoker. You’ll also qualify for significantly cheaper life-insurance rates a non-smoker. Cigarette taxes in Texas just increased by $1.00 a pack in 2007, if there's never been a better reason to quit...there is now. Also, don't buy lottery tickets. Yes, they may claim you can't win if you don't play, but you've got a better chance of being struck by lightning.

Visit my new message board and share money saving tips with other users…also be one of the first 25 to register and make 10 legitimate posts and win a free pizza! Visit www.BryanCollegeStation.info and bookmark it!

25 Top New Year’s Resolutions for Saving Money in 2007!

2007-01-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

If you weren't already aware, the Chicago Bears are my favorite NFL team. Ever since the Oilers defected and left Houston to become the Tennessee Titans, I went back to my roots and have followed the Bears closely.

In Sunday's Bears/Packers game, one of the announcers said that the Head Coach of the Chicago Bears, Lovie Smith, had already mapped out the Bears course through the Super Bowl.

He gave the players a calendar detailing hour-by-hour, day-by-day, schedule from Jan. 1 through the Super Bowl (Feb. 4). The schedule detailed, very vividly, what their expectations would be so that they could begin to see it for themselves. I won't even touch their last game (26-7), as I'll rack it up to an attempt to rest players and reduce the risk of injury before the playoffs or a going away present for Mr. Favre but it's no coincidence that Da Bears had the best record in the NFL this year.

I'm sure you've heard the expression "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I am a firm believer that without a goal (plan or map) you will surely reach your destination...no where!

Here are some valuable tips that can assist in saving you money in the New Year...

1) Create a budget. Your spending plan can be as simple as a Excel spreadsheet or more thorough like Quicken or Microsoft Money. Not having a budget is like not having a plan. It is extremely important to know what you are really spending. For years, the budget I had in mind was really more of a "wishful thinking" budget. However, this eventually led to debt. Whether you use a computer program or a simple ledger, make sure you know where your money is really going.

2) Cut down on incidentals. Review credit card statements. Be aware of monthly fees that you may have forgotten. Cancel unread magazine subscriptions and gym or club memberships that you don’t utilize.

4) Improve your credit score. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com and follow the prompts to find out what your credit reveals. Scores typically range from 350 to 850. The higher your score, the better. If yours is low, try to improve it by paying bills on time, getting out of debt, and disputing false or inaccurate claims.

5) Pay yourself first. This is a great time for an honest self-analysis: What are your saving habits? If all the money you make falls through the cracks and gets eaten up by bills and other expenses, consider a reasonable amount you could utilize as another monthly bill and set it aside as a savings. Save for the future. Take 10 percent of your income and put it in savings, right off the bat. You now know what you need to cut back on (or how much more you need to earn) to make up the difference.

Got any of your own tips that you're willing to share...submit them to my attention at Andrew@AndrewSmithTeam.com and if I feature your submission in a future blog or in my newsletter then I'll reward you with two movie tickets!

By the way - I now feature my monthly trivia question online on the homepage of my website www.AndrewSmithTeam.com enter for your chance to win two movie tickets! (It's on the top left corner in the starburst).

Know of someone thinking of buying or selling a home in the Brazos Valley? Please let me know and I'll be sure they receive the best service available! You can always reach me at (979) 777-7677.

Visit my new message board and share money saving tips with other users…also be one of the first 25 to register and make 10 legitimate posts and win a free pizza!
Visit www.BryanCollegeStation.info and bookmark it!

More money saving tips coming soon... check back tomorrow!

A True Christmas Miracle?

2007-01-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! A friend of mine, Roy Llanes, forwarded me the following story...

The brand new pastor and his wife were newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn. They arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc., and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman; she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and she never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job. What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return.

One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war. He wondered how there could be two tablecloths so much alike. He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again for the 35 years in between then and now. The pastor asked him if he could take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid

------
I attempted verifying the story above and found the following link http://www.snopes.com/glurge/tablecloth.asp It neither confirms or denies the story. However, there are apparently several small variations in the story. It simply says "undetermined" as whether or not it is true. Regardless, it is a great Christmas story and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Do you know of a great story, facinating antecedote, humerous quote, interesting piece of trivia, or a great money saving tip? If I feature something that you submit in a future newsletter or blog, I'll reward you with two free movie tickets! Simply submit your ideas to my attention at Andrew@AndrewSmithTeam.com

2007 is off to a bang! One of my New Year's resolutions is to assist over 150 local home buyers and sellers in the Brazos Valley this year. If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in the Brazos Valley please contact me at Andrew@AndrewSmithTeam.com or call me at (979) 777-7677. You can obtain a free consumer report entitled "44 Money-Making Tips for Preparing Your Home to Sell Fast and for Top Dollar" simply by visiting my real estate website

2006 - The Year in Review

2006-12-29T18:29:00.000-08:00

2006 is quickly coming to a close. I really enjoy this time of year. As for me, it is a time to set goals, and resolutions for 2007 and reflect upon the last year.

In 2006, we lost

"Red" Auerbach - former coach and GM of the Boston Celtics
Ed Bradley - 60 Minutes
Peter Benchley - writer "Jaws"
Lloyd Bentsen - former Secretary of the Treasury
Gerald Ford - former President

Steve Irwin - the "Crocodile Hunter"

Kirby Puckett - Hall of Fame outfielder
Buck Owens - "Hee Haw" TV show
Ann Richards - former Governor of Texas
James Brown - "Godfather of Soul"
Byron Nelson - former Professional golfer
Joe Niekro - former Astro (with his brother Phil, won most games as sibling pitchers (539))
Bo Schembechler -former head coach of the University of Michigan football team (5th all-time wins)
Aaron Spelling - his credits included the TV series Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Dynasty, Melrose Place, and Beverley Hills 90210
Caspar Weinberger - President Reagan's former Secretary of Defense
Most recenty, Saddam Hussein - former Iraqi Dictator

Personal Reflections of 2006 -
What transpired in our (Lisa and my) lives...

Jan. - We moved into our new real estate office.

Feb. - We welcomed our fourth child and second son, Palmer Jett Smith, into the world Feb. 14 (Valentine's Day).

Mar. - We became highly addicted to the Fox television series "24" (we watched all four complete season series within about 6 weeks). Hunter finally turned 3, yet he still acts like a two-year old. ;)

Apr. - Alyssa won an award at pre-school for being the "Most Neatest" which is pretty accurate. She always seems to have the cleanest room in our house and so far seems to retain the compulsive disorder gene of having to have eveything in perfect order...which no one else in our family seems to possess.

May - The family took our annual vacation to my parents condo on Galveston Island. Lisa, Julia, Alyssa, Hunter, Palmer and I had much fun while escaping reality by wrestling fake alligators in the pool and fishing off the pier into the Gulf of Mexico. We actually caught a few Angel fish. Julia graduated from Kindergarten.

June - Lisa and I begin updating our home (after 8 years in our current residence and 14 years since it was built)... we gave our home a much needed "facelift" to attempt bring our home into the 21st Century - we textured and painted the interior, put in faux wood blinds (yes, I did that - don't look to closely), we installed wood floors (actually we hired someone to do that part), installed updated light fixtures (again, hired someone to do that) and improved our landscaping (and yet again, we hired someone to do that). We did all this while only missing 1-2 Astros games. ;)

July - renovations continued...the men (I say that figuratively) begin construction on our (10' x 12' - $200.00) shed we purchased from Lowe's. We assumed that this would be a relatively easy task that would be completed in a day or two. Now, I've been selling homes for almost 10 years and I have never seen anything take as much time as constructing this stupid shed. The men started contruction on this project in early July...now, I will say in their defense that the parts were not all there and that the directions were not even included, but the guys I hired were supposedly professional house framers...hold on just a second - I think that's them at the door right now letting me know they're finished...LOL, but seriously, I believe it wasn't completed until early September.

Aug. - Julia began first grade and Alyssa began Kindegarten - both are enrolled in the Dual Language program at College Hills Elementary. For those of you that don't know anything about the Dual Language program, it is a program in which half the class' primary language is English and the other half's primary language is Spanish. The class is taught half the day in English and the other half in Spanish. I think this is an incredible opportunity for our children and am honestly quite jealous that I didn't have this opportunity growing up. Our sincerest thanks go out to the Gus Roman family for referring Julia to this wonderful program.

Sept. - after 17 years, my dorm at Texas A&M, the Moore Hall Truckers, "Bad Mother ...", that's as far as I'll go with that, decided it was about time to have a dorm reunion. We kicked off our reunion at Abuelo's on Friday evening, we then went to yell practice (which I hadn't been to in several years) and concluded the evening by visiting our old dorm and mingleing with the current tenants of our old dorm rooms (who were very hospitable)and had our own "yell practice". Sat. we tailgated and went to the Aggie game and that concluded my part of the weekend.
We also kicked off our company's (The Real Estate Group) first annual softball team (don't ask me about our final record - I have "Selective Amnesia", as Charles Barkley calls it. We also celebrated our company's second anniversary. We purchased a company limousine (that we plan to use for company events and to thank our clients) and it was a big hit at the celebration. Although, our chauffeur, Jose (who is from Mexico and doesn't speak English very well) although very careful, only drives about 15 MPH, and ran about 3 hours behind schedule. The Astros broke my heart again by just missing the playoffs, but "there's always next year" (a common theme if you're a Houston sports fan).

Oct. - Kicked off with a bang! Julia, our oldest, turned 7 and let the whole world know about it. She celebrated her birthday with a pajama party. Halloween was a blast, our church, Grace Bible Church, had a "fall festival" in which all of our children dressed up and had a wonderful time. Julia was a lion tamer and "tried to tame" her younger brothers.

Nov. - One of my favorite months...not only is it the official start of the (NBA) National Basketball Association season and I get to satisfy my withdrawl symptoms from not being able to watch the Rockets for the last six months, but Lisa also celebrated her 29th birthday (for the eighth consectutive year!) Besides, I think the best Thanksgiving gift we've received in quite some time was the Aggies football victory over t.u. in Austin.

Dec. - Not only did my fantasy football team (Da Beers) win our league championship...Yeah, baby! But the Chicago Bears (my favorite football team) - (at least since the Oilers left Houston) - won the American Football Conference and for the first time since 1986, the road to the Super Bowl goes through Chicago (my hometown). Certainly, a Super Bowl Party at my house will be immininent should they make it to the big game! However, should they play Dallas and you so happen to be a Cowgirl fan... then you're not invited, so please stay home (unless you're my wife, and then...please leave home...just for the game, of course). ;) Go Da Bears!

Well, here we are! We're just about to turn the page to another chapter in our lives. May each of you have a Prosperous and Memorable New Year!

If you're ever in the area, please drop in and say "Hi" - remember we're at 809 University Dr. E., Suite 200. You can also always reach me on my cell at (979) 777-7677 or via email at Andrew@AndrewSmithTeam.com . Be sure to visit my website at www.AndrewSmithTeam.com to find out more money saving tips about buying or selling homes in B/CS.

What is a blog?

2006-12-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

I've never posted a blog before. Honestly, I'm not quite sure I even knew what one was until a couple of months ago, when my wife became addicted to blogging. She spends hours upon hours in front of the computer trying to post photos of our children, etc. I'll hear her groan when our outdated home computer freezes up because it is simply too slow to upload her photos; she'll hear me groan as I watch Rafer Alston take another ill-advised 3 point attempt or Chuck Hays make another needless foul... so I guess we're even, ;) but my groan seems so much more important in the grand scheme of things (at least as playoff position is concerned) - LOL :).

Honestly...I'm proud of her new addiction. Not only does it leave less time for her to complain about my obsessive-compulsive Bears and Rockets watching disorder this time of year, but it truely allows her to express herself in a way that suits her personality and talents extremely well. So as the famous expression goes; "If you can't beat 'em...join 'em."

I apologize in advance that so many of my ancedotes refer to sports, but those are the things that I relate to best.

I teach a Real Estate class at Blinn College - "Law of Agency"- and one of my favorite pasttimes has been to bring Julia or Alyssa (my two daughters) to class and challenge the class to see if the class can name more of the Rockets or Astros than Julia or Alyssa. Needless to say, I've trained them well and Julia (7) or Alyssa (5) almost always wins.

A couple of years ago, we took a family photo with Lance Berkman (a Houston Astro All-Star first baseman). He picked up Alyssa in one arm, and Alyssa still to this day refers to him as "a nice man."

One of my favorite moments in class is when I'll ask Alyssa, "What do you say to Kobe?" Without hesitation, she'll yell out, "No means No!" Like I said before, I train them well.

Anyway, my objectives for this blog are to 1) educate you 2) as Matress Mac would say "save you money" and hopefully 3) entertain you.

This week's money saving tip goes out to my good friend Damian, who is the GM for both Bryan and College Station's Little Caesar's Pizza franchises. I worked for Damian when I went to A&M in the late '80's and early '90's and we are still good friends to this day (even though he likes the Cowboys... Da Bears rule!) Little Caesar's offers a "Hot and Ready" large pepperoni pizza that can feed our whole family for only $5.00. In my opinion, it is by far the best bargain in B/CS, not to mention that there is no reason to call ahead as they are already ready. Get one today, pick one up on your way home from work at the College Station store on SW Pkwy and Texas or the Bryan store at Booneville and the Bypass.

Now as the late night TV talk show hosts might say about their guests promoting a new movie, I'm going to "plug" my own business and offer you a free, quick, over-the-net market analysis of your property if you're in the market to sell you own home. Simply click on www.AndrewSmithTeam.com and fill out the online questionaire and I'll give you a free, confidential market analysis of what your home might sell for without any obligation.

I'd love to hear your comments, your thoughts, your opinions, and your questions. If you've got any input please post in the comment section.