Amy S Zender - Bellingham, WA Realtor®

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Bellingham Realty Girl | Amy S Zender | Realtor®

www.bellinghamrealtygirl.com | amyzender@connectrealty.com

Connect Realty.com | 112 Ohio Street, Ste. 101, Bellingham, WA 98225 | Office: 360-920-4886

Amy Zender is dedicated to supporting the hottest Real Estate market in Bellingham, Washington! Amy's goal is to empower you with accurate, innovative, and honest information. Be mindful of the many choices you have as buyers and sellers, as we find ourselves in a market where there is plenty of room to be creative! Give Amy, your savvy Bellingham Real Estate Agent, a call to learn what she and her snap-crack team can do for you at 360.920.4886!

I was inspired by Clare C's The Importance of Reading the Instructions. I learned my greatest lesson almost too late, because I never read the instructions. Here's the Punch Line - on the back cover read the words: read page 3, Amy...

Upon my college graduation, my Uncle Bill gave me a book entitled "Pooh's Little Instruction Book", indpired by A. A. Milne. This was a cute gesture, charming even, but what could I ever learn from a silly old bear anyway? I thought, "Self, you do not know the true gift in this yet. Hold onto it." And that I did. I waited and waited.

I read the little book time and again. Nothing. Annually, I would clean out the bookshelves of unwanted books for garage sales and used book stores (I mean, how long did I really have to hold onto my History of Rock and Roll text book from college, or that Sylvia Plath poetry book I bought during my "dark" phase in high school?). But I never could quite rid myself of Pooh's little book.

The cover grew weary (college was a long time ago), and the pages dogeared from years of thumbing. Still nothing.

Then I passed my Real Estate license exam, and I ran to Pooh's book. Surely I would uncover some little gem of wisdom that would serve me well in my new career (thank goodness I was no longer handling military contracts, and negotiating with generals, that no, they could not just have an extra million dollars worth of studies performed at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command). Nada. Aught. "Self, the book needs to go."

Fast forward a few months. Real Estate was working for me, but not really working. I was going through the motions, but my relationships seemed empty and vapid. I was being paid but felt disconnected. Naturally loquacious in nature, how could this happen? I was analytical, aggressive, and academic. Just what a professional should be, right?

The phone rings, my Uncle Bill passed away. I was suddenly faced with the notion that I had missed something. Something that would change my life. I just could not unearth the missing link. My Uncle Bill had nothing more than an eighth grade education, but you would never know it. His entire community of Clifton Forge, VA, loved him. Truly loved him. He was a citizen's man. An honorable man. A wise man. The kind of man you wanted to know just because he was compassionate and authentic.

We decided to have an estate sale, so I packed the car with my newborn and a few boxes of things to sell myself (the fighter pilot was sadly deployed). On top of one of the boxes was Pooh's Little Instruction Book.

The sale was a success. Not much leftover (always a good sign). In a box of old 45s, rested Pooh's instruction book. It did not sell. I had a tender moment of sadness, and opened the book. It felt like the first time. I flipped through the entire book for the first time, all the way to the end. On the back cover read the words: read page 3, Amy. I flipped through to the very beginning. There are no page numbers, so I had to manually count, (what if I started counting on the wrong page?) Or better still, what if I had counted correctly, and my outlook on life changes? And that it did my friends.

On page 3 is a quote from Winnie the Pooh - It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?"

Lunch. That sentence changed my life. I had been wheeling and dealing, but never relating. And that is what life is all about - relating to one another. I grabbed that little book, and held it close to my heart. It changed my life forever. Life became authentic in that one moment. I was brought to life. And I brought that life into my business. And now I am known for my strong relationships and for making each of my clients feel like family.

Relating is paramount to any business. Without it, you have nothing. Nada. Aught. How different my life might be had I not read the instructions - read page 3, Amy. I carried this story closely, not knowing when the time was right to share it. Clare unleashed my story. My sincere gratitude to Clare, and to Uncle Bill. Who knew one rotund bear with very little brain, could impart such enlightenment.

If someone ever gives you an instruction book, however cutesy, hold onto it. The time might not be now that you can learn from it, but there will be a time. That I can guarantee you. Thank you for reading.

Tonight, March 28, at 8:30pm local time, I turned off my lights. And for one hour, I voted for Earth. It was Earth Hour. Wherever you live on Planet Earth, Earth Hour is a time of contemplation, a time for reflection, a time to vote for our planet.

This was the first year a vote for the planet became global. The election transcended borders, ethnicities, and ages. Started in Sydney in 2007, over two million homes switched their lights to "off" to make a stand against global warming. By 2008, the message was more transcontinental with the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Colosseum in Rome, and Sydney's famous Opera House all shrouded in illumination. Even in Times Square, bilboards rested in darkness.

But 2009, the globe set a different goal. A goal of one billion shutting off their lights for one hour. The idea being that this is a vote where your country of origin does not play a role, but rather your planet of origin - Planet Earth.

Instead of having lights on tonight, I sat in darkness, warmed by the soft glow of a dozen or so candles I lit for the occasion. I made sure to put one in each of the children's rooms (as they are still unsettled by the dark). I looked outside for a brief moment, and I realized that I sat alone in the dark. But that is okay. Perhaps the neighbors forgot, or were unaware.

Either way, I voted for Earth tonight in a global election of sorts, and it felt grand. I have been reading on which US cities participated. The Sears Tower, Empire State Building, and the Golden Gate bridge all dimmed their lights tonight. Not to be outdone, the famous strip in Las Vegas even went dark, including the world-famous Luxor Hotel & Casino, who's light can be seen from space.

Where else in the world were lights shut off in honor of Earth Hour? The Bird's Nest in Beijing, China; Giza Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt; the Acropolis in Greece; over 1700 buildings in Hong Kong; the business disctrict in Jakarta, Indonesia; the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Rome's Colosseum; the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden; the Eiffel Tower in Paris (only for five minutes); the Connaught Place in New Delhi, India.

Nearly four thousand cities joined forces in over 85 countries for the World Wildlife Fund-sponsored event to raise awareness for global warming.

I cannot wait to have my "Hi honey, I've landed safely" phone call from the pilot in a little while, who was flying across the country tonight, and ask him if he noticed anything unusual about the lights from cities. He is always commenting on city lights, and the sheer number of them.

Earth Hour. Mark your calenders for next year. Thank you for reading.

All around the nation, as home sales drop, and market fears have paralyzed the housing economy, homeowners are finding better coping mechanisms.

Refinancing is currently popular with the recent interest rate drop. But that is not for everyone (for example: A 2-point drop on a $50,000 balance would not be as good as a half-point dropon $500,000). Remodelling is becoming quite popular as of late as well. Since new construction is at a significant low, contractors are hungrier than ever, and making some historically expensive remodels very affordable for most. I mean, who couldn't use those new granite countertops in the kitchen, or that rainfall showerhead in the master bath with matching Jack and Jill sinks? (I do not know about you, but I am unsure how my marriage ever survived sharing a sink in the bathroom) Seriously.

But even a remodel can be pricey, and sometimes all you need is a new way to look at the space. Maybe you already have perfect corian counters in a stellar gourmet kitchen. And maybe you already know how sharing one master bath sink can challenge your marriage (how are those counseling sessions going? No doubt, many therapists should just offer up the idea of his and hers sinks, and voila! problem solved).

Enter Belllingham's solution to small spaces! Serving clients from North King County to the Canadian border, Custom Closets & Bedrooms can help put your house in order.

Owner Mike began the local company in 1990 with a goal of helping folks make the best use of the space available to them, back when home prices were on the rise. Currently, the business employs over 10 staff members, and has remained steadily successful, where copy-cats have failed.

If you have a closet, garage, pantry, office, or craft room that needs some serious organization, then rest assured, Custom Closets is your answer. I called their number, #1-360-738-9121, talked to an animated woman named Jana, who happens to be the owner's daughter. She arrived, and within two days, I had a brand new closet interior to house my some forty pairs of shoes (I know, I know, I'll blog about that another time).

My bedroom closet was a thorn in my side, and it was starting to affect my mental health, or rather I was losing my mind at how space was being wasted. Within two days, I not only received a closet facelift, but I made a new friend. Jana and her snap-crack team of professionals can have you organized in no time!

To date, Jana's team has helped three friends and my mother. Now, if she can please my mom, then Jana is a magical creature (as I long suspected). She managed to revamp my parents' walk-in closet, create a cookbook nook (what... You don't have a nook dedicated to your cookbook collection?), design an executive office that only the President would appreciate (and my dad), and a designer craft room, where the draft table moves up and down with the push of a button. Totally Jetsons, people.

And the best part of Custom Closets? They are local, keeping in line with Bellingham's charming yet popular Buy Local philosophy. Oh, and I cannot impress on you enough how affordable they are. Again, let me say (or write, rather) that you do not have to be one of the bail-out recipients to afford a new organized space. My whole closet, with racks for the fighter pilot's wardrobe and my forty-odd pairs of shoes, and racks for my hat, scarf, and purse collection, cost under $200. Exquisite. Simple. Quick.

Call Jana at #1-360-738-9121, and book a free consultation today to improve your cluttered space. No doubt, money is tight everywhere. Rather than pay for something that probably will not improve the value of your home should you try and sell it any time soon, try refurbishing your existing space, and give yourself more space without knocking down a wall!

If you are in the area, stop and visit the Custom Closets and Bedrooms showroom at 4073 Hannegan Road here in Bellingham, WA. If you are in Washington State, but not local, please call #1-800-394-4403, and ask for Jana.

If you are in the market to Relocate to Bellingham, and space is an issue, I give Jana and Custom Closets and Bedrooms my highest recommendation!

Thank you for reading!