Gayle Causey

TODAY's the DAY!

The "Who Dat Nation" pep rally will be 5 p.m. Thursday at the Monroe Civic Center Arena. Come down to support of our own New Orleans Saints!

The event is free and open to the public. The pep rally will feature special guests, entertainment, food and drinks.

WHO DAT!

Quick! Go to your closet, dig out a smock, and get to the Masur Museum's Bottles & Brushes. Create your own work of art under the instruction of artist Lou Davenport Kavanaugh while enjoying wine with friends! Bring your favorite bottle of wine or other beverage. The Masur provides all the art materials, bottle openers, ...glasses, and instruction. At the end of the evening you will leave with your very own work of art!

Think you can't paint? Don't worry! A professional artist instructor will teach you step by step how to paint the featured work of art. Thursday, February 18th 6-8 p.m. Cost is $35 museum members/ $40 non-members. (You must be 21 to drink and 18 to attend.) Call Emily 329-2237 to register. Space is limited and payment is required in advance.

This sounds like so much fun! Try it out--you may take home a masterpiece.

If you are planning to buy or sell a house this year, you should know about big changes that will go into effect this spring. It will impact you as a buyer because you are now required to have a higher credit score or come up with a significant down payment. As a seller, you will still be able to assist with buyer's closing costs, but the amount you can contribute has been cut in half. (Paying buyer's costs is a very common seller concession during the negotiation process.)

Why did this happen? In October 2009, FHA announced that its capital reserve fund had fallen below the congressionally mandated level. The drop in capital reserves has led Congress and the Administration to call for changes to strengthen FHA. Last Wednesday, January 20, FHA announced major changes to build up its reserve and ensure its long-term financial soundness.

· The upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP) will increase to 2.25% up from 1.75%. FHA will continue to allow the financing of the UFMIP.

· New borrowers will now be required to have a minimum credit score of 580 to qualify for FHA's 3.5% down payment program. New borrowers with less than a 580 credit score will be required to put down at least 10%. This rule may have little practical effect since the average borrower score is 693.

• Seller concessions will be reduced to 3%, down from 6%.

You can read more about this at CNNMonrey.com http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/19/real_estate/fha_loan_requirements/index.htm

The good news: mortgage interest rates dipped below 5% yesterday. That means it's a GREAT TIME to BUY! If you're beginning to look, call me or visit my website to see all homes now on the market. I'm here to help.

Saturday, February 6th, 2010 will be a day of fun for both people and pets!

When & Where:
100 Commerce St., (Antique Alley) West Monroe, LA
11:00 to 4:00
Registration, games and face painting will begin at 11am. Contest judging starts at noon. The parade will line up at 1pm and roll at 1:30.

For the first time in KREWE of PAWS history we will have goodie bags for the first 150 entries! Thanks to our wonderful sponsors and hard working parade committee, they will be stuffed FULL of goodies, including a limited edition 2010 parade T-shirt. Please register early!

Entries can be mailed to:
PAWS Parade
P O Box 15432
Monroe, LA 71207

Visit the online registration page at www.pawsnela.org to sign up for the parade, buy a T-shirt and enter your pet in the raffle for Parade King and Queen. The raffle winners will ride in the front of the parade in golf carts while wearing custom costumes! Don't let the opportunity for your pet to be parade royalty pass you by!

The costume contests are always a huge hit. There will be a winner and runner-up for best costume small dog, best costume large dog, best costume non-canine, and best float. Judging starts at 12pm sharp and you must pay an additional $5 per pet per contest to enter. Check out the photos from last year (on the website) to get your creativity going!

There will be games for humans (ring toss, bean bag toss, go fish, and pick up ducks) and your pet (seek & treat and tricks & treats) starting at 11am. The prizes are great! Face painters, food and music will also be there to add to the fun!

The KREWE of PAWS Mardi Gras Pet Parade is truly a family friendly event so come early and enjoy! Show us your treats!!

For questions or more info, please call 318.397.0007 or email parade@pawsnela.org.

This is PAWS major fundraiser of the year and ALL proceeds go to PAWS of NELA and PAWS of NELA Spay/Neuter Services.

The aging concrete seawall which protects the city from flooding if the river overflows its banks in West Monroe will get a long-needed face lift this year. A grant from Home Depot and materials donated by Sherwin Williams will make it possible. AmeriCorps, Keep West Monroe Beautiful, agents from Keller Williams Realty and other community organizations will provide the volunteer labor.

The project will be kicked off Jan. 16-18 in conjunction with the national Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

West Monroe's AmeriCorps coordinator Alicia Stewart said volunteers will paint bricks and wrought iron designs on the seawall. She worked with West Monroe historian Ron Downing to come up with the wrought iron design, similar to the actual wrought iron used around the perimeter of the city's old cemetery.

Join us! After the frigid temps of the past week, you never know about Louisiana weather--it may be cold, or it could be 70-degrees and sunny. Either way, it's a worthwhile project to beautify a part of the city that is seen by thousands every day.

Pictures will be added after the initial work day, so stay tuned!

PS. We'll be on the LAND side of the seawall, not the part nearest the rising water :-)