If you went to Texas A and M then you know the significance of the number 12. If you have no idea then you can ask any Aggie and they will most likely get the story right.  It is a great story and is part of the many great traditions at A and M.  The Twelfth Man Story is worth Goggling when have a moment! Aggies Play The Hogs tomorrow! Whoop! ( another tradition) 09/29/2010

Gary Chang, a Hong Kong architect, lives in a tiny (344 sq. ft.) apartment.  But thanks to ingenious design and accordion-like wall units, he can create at least 24 different room configurations using his limited space. The trick is using shifting wall units suspended from steel tracks bolted into the ceiling.  His apartment contains everything he could ever need: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, library, dressing room, lounge with a hammock, dining room, even a wet bar. Mr. Chang has lived in this same apartment since he was 14.  At that time, he shared it with his parents and three younger sisters.  When they moved out in 1988, he began his novel experiment in flexible living. Check out the amazing video below.  College Station students living in small spaces, or even large f... 05/25/2010

The Texas Aggie men's basketball team soundly beat the Texas Longhorns in College Station this after-noon at Reed Arena. The final was 74-58!  The former #1 horns just couldn't get it togethers as Donald Sloan lerd the Ags with 19 points. The Aggies never trailed in this one. The Aggies just don't give up ! Gig -em'!  Their next game is with Oklahoma State on March 3rd. Please reasd about at  http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/tam-m-baskbl-body.html   02/27/2010

Coming into today's game with a 3 game winning streak the Aggies (6-3 conference play) are playing Texas Tech (4-5 ) in Lubbock ....the worst place for the Aggies to play in my humble opinion. I would rather them play Texas in Austin. There's just something bad luck about Lubbock not to mention the bad behavior ususally shown by the Raiders. Anyway I am crossing my fingers in favor of the Aggies. Be sure and tune in. I know it is on ESPN. Gig Em Aggies! 02/13/2010

Closing gifts can be dodgy things. Do you want to be the agent that gives your client a keychain while the other agent gives their client a bottle of champagne with personalized label and a set of wine glasses too? I don't think so. How about a door knocker or a gift card for the local spa? Then there are the BBQ tools or the monogrammed cheese board. There's the dinner for two gift cards or the basket of toiletries or fruit. What about the old standard, the house plant? So my question to you is do you give your clients a closing gift and if so what? Is it something that can be bought at the local store, something personalized or a fistfull of gift cards? Do you give them something with your contact info on it or is it something that you think they will need and remember you for? I wond... 08/20/2009

For many Americans, Ireland holds a special place in their hearts. Most have never been there but claim ancestry and a love for all things Irish. For the fortunate that have been able to walk on the Emerald Isle they leave with a vow to return and take with them many great stories of the Irish scenery, pubs and hospitality.   And then there's the very fortunate few that have been able to buy a piece of the island for themselves. Whether it's a sprawling county estate in the most southern tip of Ireland, a thatched roof cottage on the west coast or an apartment in Dublin's fair city, Irish Americans were buying a piece of Ireland at a time with property values turned ordinary Irish citizens into millionaires overnight. When small run down farm houses were being bought up for more money t... 08/20/2009

In my previous post I told you about how I had suggested to an agent that we meet at Starbucks in order to visit with each other as he was considering joining our company. At the time of my suggestion he seemed to be surprised that I would suggest Starbucks as the venue and I was equally surprised that he thought that there was anything unprofessional about that. Well I am pleased to report that it was a very successful meeting despite any reservations about the location. As for the venue, I explained to him that since we office out of our homes and since I had never met him before personal safety dictates that our first meeting take place in a public place. I went on to tell him that Starbucks is a well known company that many people are familiar with and therefore will be comfortable ... 08/15/2009

  Sometimes agents can get confused with all of the different options out there…  Do I get a template site from iHouse, or is Agent Image better? Do template sites rank lower in search engines?  Is it worth it for me to invest in a custom designed site? Let me take a second to clear up some of the gossip about template websites, and at the same time shed some light on the “essentials” that every template website needs to have. The Good: Cost~ Hands down template websites are the cheapest option out there. They range from $0 to $250/month and you can cease use at any time. The cost of a template website generally will include some kind of hosting service and even domain registration. Build Time~ A template website can be live within hours of purchase. With most custom designed websites t... 01/27/2009

Downtown Bryan already boasts a fiberoptic center, known as “Fibertown”. This fiberoptic hub gives Bryan College Station the technological edge. Being connected to Fibertown is an incredible technological advantage to major companies because of the speed, reliability, and storage that Fibertown offers. Since it opened in 2003 Fibertown has developed 65,000 square feet of space and is currently contracted as a refuge for companies that could have to flee natural disasters. During Hurricane Ike 120 employees transferred their operations from the Houston area to Bryan College Station. These companies and employees relied on Bryan College Station’s fiberoptic hub to keep their companies running during the disaster. Fibertown recently announces a 3.2 million dollar expansion that will go to... 12/05/2008

I don't know why but this is one of my favorite view at Texas A & M University . Sitting on the 50 yard line  and looking northeast between the "Zone" seats and the east side of the stadium you see the old G. Rollie White Basketball building. The Aggie Men now play in a more modern building but there is just something about the old Basketball Building that brings back fond memories.  Behind G. Rollie you can see the Oceanography building. 09/23/2008

Well, here it goes, my first attempt at a Me-Me. Thank you to Sondra Meyer for Tagging me! I am a Realtor, Mother and Wife. I care about my family, other people and animals. I think about lots of different things at the same time. I smell like Flower by Kenzo I hope. :D I'm scared of roaches and spiders. I have a home, two wonderful children, a teacup schnauzer and a loving husband. I fear something will happen to my Sister, Mother, Husband or Kiddos. I can hardly wait for my family's Disney cruise in Nov. I just do what I can. I forget to enjoy every minute of every day. I want to be a successful Realtor, Mother and Wife. I wish I had more business right now. I hate it when people don't work together. I feel stressed when my office "Under Contract" board is blank. I don't always make t... 09/06/2008

I just got through mowing the front yard and my clothes are completely soaked. It is hot!! And sweaty! and in exactly 3 hours I will be sitting in The Zone at Kyle Field watching the opening kickoff of the Texas Aggie football season against Arkansas State. Now The Aggies have a new coach that has been fairly quiet about things. We all have big hopes for him and the team. So let's cross our fingers and wish the Texas Aggies  a great opening game. Gig-em! By the way I am taking my son, a devout Texas Longhorn fan, to the game.....I am quietly working on a conversion. It is a slow and sneaky process.. Very soon though the Aggie spirit will overcome him!  He will not be able to resist!;0) 08/30/2008

I walked out behind my home this Sunday to find over 100 Buzzards behind my back yard with over 120 dead fish floating in the pond behind my house or scattered along the bank. See Blog All of the Fish in the pond Appear to Have Died Overnight! What the? The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has concluded that the fish in the Woodcreek Subdivision died due to lack of oxygen.  My understanding is that this was because: we had a long period with no rain, then lots of rain overnight, with not a lot of natural vegetation in the pond, and a fountain that had recently broken. Apparently, once the amount of oxygen decreases in a tank, it can kill the fish overnight. Now we have tons of algae in the tank and the whole thing looks nasty and green. This brings me to my latest problem. I hand ra... 08/19/2008

You know I can't really give you the definition of "Green" in relation to building homes other than I believe it involves using materials and labor that cause minimal impact to the environment and result in minimal energy usage in the  completed home. Our local Home Builder Association has been holding some fatastic continuing education programs. Recently my brother and I completed the ADA course and today we completed a wonderful 3 hour program on Cost Effective Construction Methods for Building High Performance Homes....the English version is "how to construct very energy efficient homes without over spending builder budgets and ultimately save the home owner on utility bills." The industry is making great strides. Research is changing many of the previously held views about insulatio... 06/10/2008

Double success is great at A&M this spring. As of this week ,the men's basebsall team is rated 6th nationally and is first in the Big 12 conference. The ladies softball team is 5th nationally and 1st in the Big 12 conference. It is ironic how they both did so well in bassketball, and now softball and baseball are going well too. Maybe this will be the decade the Aggies finally get the recognition they have strived for for so many years! Way to go Aggies!Have a prosperous week!http://www.treythurmond.com/ 04/23/2008

Recently I was playing Table tennis with my brother Nekoda, we were having a good 'ol time, until he started beating me about as much as I was beating him!  Normally, I don't have this problem, so I took a step backward to see if I could figure out what went wrong.  Then it dawned on me...I had fixed the problem!  I fixed it by taking a literal step back from the table while I was playing.  This gave me more time to react to the spins that Nekoda was giving me.  Consequently, I started winning pretty much all of the games!In Real Estate, this "taking a step backward" can be a good thing as well.  Sometimes you have to stop being so busy and take the time to see the BIG picture, get some perspective...how am I spending my time, is this profitable for my bottom line, will this get me a li... 04/16/2008

This listing courtesy of Terry Key. Keller Williams Realty Phone: (979) 846.0001 Email: terrykey@kw.com Website: http://x263374.yourkwagent.com     3777 CR 117 Caldwell, TX 77836 >> map it $445,500 >> mortgage calculator bed/full bath/half bath: 4/3/0 sq. ft.: 3322 Take a Tour  virtual tour  Remarks: This is a beautiful property. Large, unique brick home with lots of character. All the views in the back look out to a large stock pond with a dock going out to a small island. All bedrooms have doors to outside and covered porches. Wet Bar, large kitchen with an island. Many amenities. Hot tub in sun room. Beautiful landscape, barn , fenced and cross-fenced. Barn has bath and could conver to a house easily. Quiet and private. PROPERTY DETAILS:Cross Street:FM975/BanksStyle:RanchDesign:trand... 03/23/2008

We are looking forward to another great year for B/CS in 2008!  The average home is on the market for 90-120 days. People are still buying and selling 365 days a year.  My husband works for a local cabinet company, and 2007 was their best year ever!!! Despite what the media is saying about the housing market, homes are still being bought and sold in Aggieland! 12/27/2007

Yesterday, my mother and I went to fulfill our rights as Americans.  We went to vote!  Yippy skippy Proposition 6 passed!  However, it was quite frustrating!  We went to where we had gone in the past to vote, which is a local elmentary school.  My first question is....why would the county hold voting at an elmentary school?  It is just asking for predators.  We arrived at the school, went inside to where we usually go, and the voting was not being held there.  We were apparently the second group who showed up to vote there that day.  No one knew where the voting was being held in place of the school.  So, we called David Kent, who is the Chairman of the Republican Party in Brazos County.  Unfortunately, he was at home, and had no access to see where we were to vote for our district.  Ho... 11/07/2007

Yesterday, I was speaking with someone I had not seen in some time.  I was telling him that I would much rather do real estate on a smaller scale and do it ethically, than do it on a larger scale, and unethically.  This statement is a no-brainer for me.  I would much rather be able to look at myself in the mirror and feel good about how I conduct my business.   I was a bit shocked to find that he said "ethics do not make the world go round, money does."   I was then taken aback when he continued to say that "no one in my family has done business ethically."  He said,"How do you think that your father got into the position he is in?  There is no way he was ethical.  I use dirty tactics all the time, and that is the only way to succeed in life and business."  Please excuse me while I go v... 11/07/2007