Cheri' Smith, Realtor Prudential Gary Greene

The map below shows how many electoral votes your state is allowed in the presidental election.

The map below shows how Bush won the 2004 election.

Bush had 286 electoral votes and Kerry had 251.

The graph below shows the projected numbers for the 2008 election (according to one site).

Let me state for the record that these "projections" are about as valid as the National Weather Service guessing how many hurricanes there will be in a given year. The truth is that they don't know, they are just guessing and hope they are right.

Regardless, it is VERY important that EVERYONE get out and vote and be heard in this election. Weither or not the electoral college votes the 'right' way or not is nothing we can control at this date. All we can do is let our vote be counted and pray that God blesses this country in the future.

I will be arranging a carpool to the election site in my area. If you live in the 77447 zip code, please call me to arrange a ride. I only have room for 6 more people.

** to my fellow ARers, make room in your cars and use your gas for a really good purpose. Join me in helping people get to voting booths who otherwise wouldn't make it.

If like me you were trying to use your phone during or after hurricane Ike and were surprised to have no or a poor signal for days then keep on reading.

Not long after the hurricane had swept through I needed my phone for an emergency. It didn't work. I didn't have time to deal with it so I put my phone on roaming and sent out text messages instead. Even on roaming I was lucky to get a signal for at least 4 days after the storm.

Yesterday I got a bill in the mail from Sprint. It was $484. Twice my usual bill. As if I needed to be punched in the gut by my cell phone provider after everything else I had been through!!

Well, after taking some deeeeeep breaths we called Sprint. Much to my surprise they credited us a little over $200 for the extra charges for roaming during and after the storm.

The CSR told us that Sprint was more than willing to help those that were affected by the storm who had to put their phones on roaming when the Sprint network was not available as usual.

So I am sending out this message to all of you who might be getting a similar bill in the mail. Call Sprint, tell them you were in the area hit by Ike and see if they will help you out. You will have to provide some information, will have to prove you were in an area that was affected by the storm but the time you spend will be worth it I am sure.

It never hurts to ask.

Thank you Sprint!!

Tomball wasn't always known as Tomball. Like many things in life it has changed over the last 200 years both in name and size but not in spirit.

Tomball, originally called Peck after a railroad engineer, was originally settled by immigrants in the 1800s. These immigrants were ecstatic to find untouched land that was perfect for farming and ranching. That part has not changed. There are still farmers and ranchers in our area but as Tomball grows the pasture lands are shrinking to make way for progress.

Tomball was originally just a railroad stop. Thomas Ball was responsible for getting the railroad to put the line through Tomball so the city was renamed Tomball on December 2, 1907 after Thomas Ball.

These rail lines brought a boom to the area because it made it easier to ship crops and move cattle.

The lines brought in railroad workers, saloons, hotels and boarding houses as well as shops.

For many years Tomball was known as a "honky tonk town" because of the desire of people to come out to the country and "party". The prohibition ended the boom after 8 years, the town was no longer a party town and the boom ended.

The oil and gas industry brought a second boom to the town in the early 1900s. When it was discovered that oil was abundant in the area it brought a great many people to the area, some of those decendants are still here today.

We are currently experiencing another boom in Tomball. Some say it's the people's desire to live close to Houston but still feel a little bit of that country spirit that resides here. Some say it's because this is where the builders are building new homes and so the people come. Others say it's to get away from crime and crowds.

I say it's because Tomball makes you feel like you've finally come home.

If you decide to join us here, know you will always be welcome.

I recently had to have my HVAC replaced because the old one was 10 years old, causing high energy bills and kept breaking down.

I called out everyone from Trane to Carrier to American Standard to Goodman. The quotes I got were for 13 seer to 15 seer units.

I got quotes that ranged from $3300 to $16,500.

Yeah, that is a big difference.

I hope you don't have your system go out in these tough economic times but if you do I highly recommend you give Neal a call at 936-372-3416.

He was prompt, polite and best of all he got us a new system for under $4000.

The system we got was a Ruud, 5 ton, 13 seer. Yes I know that isn't the highest seer rating but when you go 3 days with no HVAC, are on a budget and are paying cash....the 13 seer was much better than the 10 year old unit we had and should be more energy efficient and best of all you don't have to sweat to death!!

So if you find yourself in my shoes....give Neal a call.

My husband and I went on a company sponsored fishing trip out into the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday. It was a neat experience. It was chartered by Underwater Expedtions of Freeport, TX. The boat we were on was Capt. Casey. Here is their website for more info....

http://www.underwaterexpeditions.com/

Everyone meets at the dock at about 5:45. The boat heads out to sea at about 6am.

It's smooth sailing in the beginning, everyone is excited and although tired, we are having a good time.

Then the seasickness sets in as the water gets rougher. After several people lose their breakfast they end up in the air conditioned room on the boat, including my dear husband.

Please remember that if you have never been on the open sea and don't know if you will be seasick that no matter how big and bad you think you are....even the biggest guys can be brought down by the ocean waves so TAKE SOME DRAMAMINE!!!

About 3 hours out we were finally fishing.

The crew was great. They even baited the hooks of those too squeamish to touch the squid bait we were using. I caught several snapper but I have no pictures of it because my hubby spent the whole trip sick.

The scenery was beautiful. The experience was great. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who has never experienced it before.

Just remember....TAKE SOME DRAMAMINE!