I'm so lucky to live at the start of the Hill Country near New Braunfels, Texas.  The boys and I were in the kitchen making a chocolate cake (yummy) and I looked up and out my back windows was this:     And this:   Now, I'm not proclaiming to be the best photographer (just working with what I got).....but I do believe that it's obvious that the sight was beautiful! Now, I'm sitting on my deck in the backyard, with the wind blowing through my hair and I can hear some of the trees rustling, THE NEIGHBORS DOG BARKING, but, uh...let's forget that part.  Back to my little bit of serenity in pleasant New Braunfels, Texas....the trees rustling, the world is quieting down and closing the curtain on another fabulous day in beautiful Texas ! Gotta love it! Yes, ya'll are invited to view with me t... 05/09/2009

I just read: Susan Mangigian, West Chester PA Realtor RE/MAX Preferred, ABR post this morning about her THANKFUL THURSDAY message.   I thought it was great and of course had to follow suit! Susan has a lot to be thankful for this morning.  I may not go that far but to offer a few items. Mine are: I'm am thankful that even though the schools are closed (because of swine flu) that my family and I are making lemonade out of lemons and will be leaving town tomorrow to spend 3 days at the beach.  I thought this was an opportunity to spend a little extra time with my kids!  I can't wait.  And that makes me thankful.  Thankful for a little extra "fun" time with them. I'm also thankful this morning to my wonderful business partner (but most importantly, my sister) Kristin, who will stay behind ... 04/30/2009

I live in Comal County in New Braunfels, Texas.  They school districts closed all of the schools in Comal County as well as Guadalupe County (which is a good number cities) because of the "swine flu".  This announcement happened last night around 9p.m. and the children will be out of school until May 11, 2009!! So far in Comal County there is one Teacher and 2 students that have this strain of flu.  There have been up to a number of 142 others that have been tested (new testing sites have been set up in Austin so hopefully results will be in sooner than shipping out to different states) So far 18 confirmed cases in Texas. 8 of them are in the neighboring county, Guadalupe. 1 death in Houston of a 22 month old child.   My children think that they are getting an "extra" spring break and w... 04/29/2009

                       Photo of a Sears & Robuck in Key West Florida back in Yesteryear! Wow, I remember Sears & Robuck and Co. do you ? When............we ordered through a catalog all the furniture and necessities for our first born through a catalog and had to pick it up at the store!!!! Most of our clothes and even some folks ordered their home through a catalogue? We would go to the Sears Catalogue Dept., stand and browse the catalogue and place our order.  How times have changed....keep reading  Today, in the current age of technology, instead of a catalog that I had to go to the store to look at, I can go online, put in the subject and hundreds of online catalogs come up, I can order and have my order delivered to my home, and pay for it with a piece of plastic!   I don't recall... 04/20/2009

     I had the pleasure of playing the Bandit golf course in New Braunfels, Texas.  At first viewing, the course and layout is stunning!  The condition of the course is very well taken care of, however you do have to bring your "A" game, and your best putting stroke, the greens are quick.  From the first hole to the last, you are challenged with the shot placement accompanied with beautiful landscaped views, layed out by nature and homes.  The course truly lives up to the name "Bandit" as it seemed to steal a good amount of golf balls from my bag!  I will definitely plot revenge on this course, and book a tee time again here in the near future.   The homes surrounding the course range from decent to lavish in prices and size.  This area truly has a home for all walks of living comforts... 04/15/2009

Tons of New Braunfels Real Estate Links for Finding New Braunfels Homes For Sale & Properties SEARCH NEW BRAUNFELS SINGLE FAMILY HOMES FOR SALE LINKS Search New Braunfels Homes for sale under 200K Search New Braunfels Homes between 200-300K Search New Braunfels Single Family Homes over 300K SEARCH NEW BRAUNFELS LOT, LAND , ACREAGE, FARMS AND HOMESITES FOR SALE Search New Braunfels Lots and Land for sale under 150K Search New Braunfels Lots for sale and Land between 150-250K  Search New Braunfels Lots for sale over 250K Search New Braunfels Acreage for sale and Farms for sale under 1 mill Search New Braunfels Multi Family Homes and New Braunfels Investment Property   SEARCH NEW BRAUNFELS SUBDIVISIONS TO FIND NEW BRAUNFELS HOMES FOR SALE Refine your Search Select a subdivision to find NEW... 03/26/2009

Tons of New Braunfels Real Estate Links for Finding New Braunfels Homes For Sale & Properties SEARCH NEW BRAUNFELS SINGLE FAMILY HOMES FOR SALE LINKS Search New Braunfels Homes for sale under 200K Search New Braunfels Homes between 200-300K Search New Braunfels Single Family Homes over 300K SEARCH NEW BRAUNFELS LOT, LAND , ACREAGE, FARMS AND HOMESITES FOR SALE Search New Braunfels Lots and Land for sale under 150K Search New Braunfels Lots for sale and Land between 150-250K  Search New Braunfels Lots for sale over 250K Search New Braunfels Acreage for sale and Farms for sale under 1 mill Search New Braunfels Multi Family Homes and New Braunfels Investment Property   SEARCH NEW BRAUNFELS SUBDIVISIONS TO FIND NEW BRAUNFELS HOMES FOR SALE Refine your Search Select a subdivision to find NEW... 03/26/2009

STOP YELLING AT YOUR COMPUTER TRYING TO FIND NEW BRAUNFELS BANK OWNED HOMES!                   Howdy there! Ever felt like somebody is watching you? If so, it's us! We know that if you are reading this, that you most likely just typed into www.Google.com or www.Yahoo.com  something like " NEW BRAUNFELS TX BANK OWNED HOMES" or " NEW BRAUNFELS TEXAS FORECLOSURES" Here at www.CanyonLakeHouse.com and www.BluewaterRealEstate.com,  we are in the midst of setting up our coolest new feature, which is sending you BANK OWNED HOMES & FORECLOSURES  by email. To get a free list of Foreclosures anywhere around Canyon Lake Texas, or in the beautiful Hill Country, email us now at CLINT@GVTC.com or click on the easy search button below.                                    03/17/2009

The official start of spring is just a week away. Like myself I'm sure many are happy to see the end of winter.                                                                                                            Ceil loves Marigolds to put in the flower beds but also plants in the garden for color and  to bring in the birds and butterflies. Now that we have had some much needed moisture it is time for us to take a look at a "re-do" in our landscape. Maybe a  new plant or some spring flowers. It is time to think about plants, gardening and lawn clean-up.I found a new website yardcare.com that would be helpful. Whether you are a long time home owner, or a "first time home owner" your lawn is a great opportunity to show off your landscape skills and help improve the looks of your ho... 03/13/2009

I live in South Texas, specifically in New Braunfels, Texas. According to our weatherman we haven't had rain in like 18 months! Our lakes, rivers and aquifer are all REALLY low and we had already implemented water restrictions. I was secretly dreading what was going to happen this Summer with no rain? Water restrictions galore... but alas, someone was thinking of us this morning and sent a little something our way. I laugh because my neighbor (from Boston, has lived in Texas 8 months now) came to pick up the kids for the carpool this morning and said, "I have never lived in a place where it rains and EVERYONE has a smile." Well Jim, welcome to Texas! So, in my backyard we have what is a "dry creek" that runs the back of the property...notice I said DRY CREEK. This is what I woke up to ... 03/12/2009

        We have been waiting for this final Get-Go and it looks like it is about to happen                                                                                                                                                                THE SCOOTER STORE TO ADD 500 NEW JOBS For the Full Story Go To: http://herald-zeitung.com  For more detailed information.                                                         Yes, You Read It Correct - 500 The Scooter Store is closer to staying in New Braunfels  was finally announced. The hold up was to find additional space. They currently have three spaces in mind so keep your fingers crossed.The New Braunfels City Council on Monday made its push to persuade The Scooter Store and its 500 new jobs to stay in town. It was announce that th... 03/10/2009

Add one more to the list of store openings in New Braunfels TX.      This is one nice store, I went at night so didn't get to take a Photograph. JC Penney Company opened a new store in New Braunfels on March 6 at Town Center at Creekside, located at Hwy. 306 and I-35. This is a growing area for retail stores. JC Penney's being located along side the new Target with many more new stores scheduled for openings before year end. This is great news for New Braunfels. Something tells me the cat is out of the bag and New Braunfels has been found and will experience continued growth for many years to come. So, come on down to New Braunfels.  Enjoy shopping, Schlitterbahn, Gruene, Tubing the Guadalupe. Plan your  vacation and New Braunfels, TX. part of your vacation plan. We have friendly folks,... 03/09/2009

The news channel is telling us that we have a possibility of much needed rain in TEXAS. Ceil's still doing her Rain Dance along with our neighbors so we invite you to be on Sky Watch. Look up at the clouds and if you happen to see some of those things called "Raindrops" falling from the sky in your area let us know. Texas Drought certainly has hit many home owners, business owners and farmers wondering when the next rain will come.   Get your out; do a little Texas-Two-Step join us on Sky Watch.                                                                            Pray For Rain Remember to move your clock forward this weekend. ____________Complete Inspection Service for Existing & New Phase Construction___________________ Carl Winters, Advanced Inspector, License #3630...830-899-2... 03/07/2009

Did you just type in something like " NEW BRAUNFELS LOTS FOR SALE" on www.Google.com or www.Yahoo.com? Access All************ NEW BRAUNFELS LOTS FOR SALE HERE**********************.. NO BS NEEDED, just click on these easy NEW BRAUNFELS REAL ESTATE LINKS and search for the NEW BRAUNFELS PROPERTIES you came for. 03/02/2009

                              Access New Braunfels Real Estate Links with NO BS!         If you are looking New Braunfels Properties  or an excellent real estate opportunity in New Braunfels, Blue Water Real Estate can help you find: New Braunfels Real Estate Listings Luxury New Braunfels properties New Braunfels Lakefront homes New Braunfels Lakeview homes New Braunfels Vacation Homes New Braunfels Hill Country Homesites New Braunfels Riverfront properties Commercial and Investment Real Estate  SEARCH NEW BRAUNFELS REAL ESTATE LISTINGS FROM SCRATCH HERE OR Search New Braunfels Lots, Land and Acreage for Sale ( search  over 700 properties!) Search New Braunfels Ranch Style Homes & Properties Search New Braunfels Farms For Sale                                    Search for New Braunfels ... 03/02/2009

                                    Have you noticed the Texas Mountain Laurel are Blooming? If you are new to this area you will definitely notice the beautiful trees or shrubs that are blooming with  purplish flowers hanging in clusters. The smell is unusual and very sweet, some say it makes you think of the penny purple bubble gum we use to buy when we were kids. The Mountain Laurel are native to this area and very hardy. They take very little water and best of all the deer will leave them alone. Therefore, this is definitely a shrub or let it grow into a tree that you will want to put into your landscape. They really take very little care. Every spring and throughout the summer they will drop pods that when open have a red, hard seed. You can scratch the surface on the concrete and ... 03/01/2009

Being the Texan that I am, I came across some Cowboy Proverbs I thought appropriate to share being that times are a little tough. Maybe one may strike a nerve and get you to thinking about life and how far we have come and how far we have to go. I particularly like the last one "If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging." Whew! Those are some very serious words...some folks have dug in pretty deep, now they need to start climbing out and up that hill. Just remember, each day is brand new sunrise, so make each day count.                          COWBOY PROVERBS Don't judge people by their relatives. Don't interfere with something that ain't bothering you none. Nature gave us all something to fall back on, and sooner or later we all land flat on it. The quickes... 02/27/2009

Coming out to the Comal County Jr. Livestock Show in Comal County is a Friends & Family Affair                                                    Comal County Jr. Livestock Show February 2009                                                 41st Annual Fairgrounds Livestock Show Feb. 25-27, 2009.....Feb. 26-27, 2009  Ag Mech Show Fairgrounds.....Feb. 28, 2009                                                        Feb. 28 The Livestock Auction  Livestock Auction Fairgounds - This is the big day the students  have worked  all year. They raise the show stock from just a few months old, show and care for them throughout the year and now show the entire county what they have accomplished. Many have showed in small county shows, then on to San Antonio and Houston and then return home to New Br... 02/22/2009

                                                                                 GRUENE TEXAS It's time to get out of the house and drive over to Gruene Texas: This is the first Gruene Market Days for the year starting with this month. Gruene Market Days is scheduled for the third Saturday and Sunday in February. This is your Big Chance to have some Fun, Buy some special gift items, wonder through some of the antique shops, have lunch at the Gristmill and enjoy some good music in the evening at Gruene Hall. Lots of quaint shops in historic Gruene, Texas . Gruene shopping attracts many visitors and locals. During the summer you can tube the Guadalupe. Here are some Pic's of some of the shops  you can visit while at Gruene so plan on staying all day and into the evening:                  ... 02/19/2009

   THE FINAL   THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FINAL WALK-THROUGH One of the most important processes when buying a new home or building a new home is the final inspection (walk through). it's the opportunity  to ask questions and address any cosmetic or structural issues. It's best to be completely satisfied and have peace of mind that you are getting what you pay for. Work with your builder and your realtor; they will gladly help  you through this last  process of building or purchasing your dream home.   Interior of Your Home 1. Does all the plumbing work properly - toilets, drains, faucets, showers etc.?2. Do all the appliances work properly. Look for dents or scratches?3. Are there any scratches in the paint?4. Do the doors and windows open and close properly and appear to be sealed correctl... 02/17/2009