Joe Colón, Jr.

Dining Revolution:

Leaving my wife a widow at such a young age doesn’t seem like too nice of a thing. So bragging about what I’m not going to do but intend to do would be rather unwise, I think. Food Network’s Alton Brown last year put a show on explaining how he lost 50 pounds eating exactly what he wanted to eat. (see episode ‘Live and Let Diet’) With this as our guide we begin this year with very different eating habits along with a modest exercise plan intended on focusing on cardio and muscle toning.

Breakfast of Champs:

Vitamin and protein dense foods are what will be on the menu for

the rest of the year and so far breakfast was quite the treat. A 300+ calorie oatmeal concoction that covered my whole grain, fruit, dairy, and vitamin c for the day!!!

Below is a picture of the ingredients I used, which proved to be rather filling! I thought I was going to need more, but boy was I wrong. I think that Alton guy has somethi

ng here. =^D

What I Used:

1 Serving of Oats, 1 Serving of Strawberries, 1/2 Serving of Peaches, 1/2 Serving of Skim Milk (with 1/2 cup of water), 1 Tablespoon of Splenda, & a Dash of Salt (to taste). = 325 Calories and a very full stomach!

Disclaimer:

Now, I'm not a Doctor, Nutritionist, or a Personal Trainer. Please know that this is simply a blog series about my journey on how I'm getting back in shape! I would love any stories or advice anyone may have! Have a great New Year AR.

Newest Addition

My bride, Jenny, and I ended up unexpectedly rescuing another kitten this past week. It's really a long and sad story, so I'll stick to the happy ending...this is our newest addition to our family-Leah! Though I never thought I would blog about adopting a pet, I'm happy to tell the story...I think it'll be a good one.

Adoption

So by all means, do support your local animal shelter. They need food, litter, and donations. Also, there's nothing wrong with simply calling and asking them what they are in desperate need of. I'm pretty sure they will be most willing to tell you. Do good things AR!

Reality

I used to think Bob Barker was a little mental as we went on about how important it is to spade and neuter you pets. Well, I'm eating my words today as I encourage folks, who are not in it for the breeding, to spade and neuter your pets. And do not be afraid to befriend a stray, it could be a good way to help that little cat by leading it to a new home.

CAUTION:

The handling of unknown animals/strays should be done with extreme caution if at all. Strays should be considered a "wild" animal and in some cases it is best to contact Animal Control. REMEMBER, safety first!

Left: 1st Nap

Right: 1st Bath (she was not a happy camper)

Something Greater

Some weeks ago, Realtor Win Raynor invited me to be a part of Long and Foster (L&F) Cares. This is a group of Realtors within the L&F community who have banded together to raise awareness and resources to help out the needy. I thought it was a great opportunity to give back to our community as I think and feel that at times we get so involved in making the next sale that we may forget about those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

Filling A Need-The Attraction

For our first event we are calling in a Paper Shedding Company to allow folks to shred up to two boxes of paper at no cost. We are only asking for a donation of canned foods for a homeless shelter's food bank. This event will be held on May 8^thfrom 9am to 12pm at the Providence Square Shopping Center (L&F Kempsville Office) Parking Lot in Virginia Beach.

In the picture from L-R:My Lap-Top, Karen, Kim, Terri Giles,Frankie ,Lewis , Cyndi Acton, & Win.

My Plea

If anyone out there in the AR community knows or has a good idea for raising awareness within the community, please let me know. We are only a small group trying to make a difference, but I believe that together we can help a lot of people who are in a rough time in their lives. And let's face it; this is a time that a group like this can be used to fill a much desired need.

Get Ready:

Every year our company has a full day where we align ourselves with the vision of the company. We take the time to hone our skills so we can tackle the year and hit it with a bang! We use fun common things like football to keep track of our yearly goals; using the field and the yard lines as a measure to our goal.

For example, last year we used Disney's "Invincible" as our inspiration and had our executive staff introduced in the same way that a football team would be introduced to the fans in a stadium. This set of the meeting on a fun note and ended up getting very high reviews from the rest of the staff!

(to the right) Jarret Shaffer begins the meeting with a lot of fun!

Set:

This year I'm happy to say that we have chosen "Most Wanted" for our company theme! Why "Most Wanted?" Well, I'll leave that out for now as I don't want to give out any sensitive details. :^D Sorry, no spoilers in this crowd. However, I will say that I am excited to show you some fun pictures of the event today.

Go!!!:

Annual Strategic planning is a magnificent way to align for ANY organization. I would strongly recommend any Real Estate team to think about doing one as it truly does work! So here it is folks, we're looking for top Real Estate professionals who appreciate a smooth way of doing business. I would love to explain how we're different.

More Fun:

(left) Susan Shaffer addresses the company.

Bellow are some more pictures of the fun!

Bellow on Left- Jenny L. Colon, Esq. (my lovely bride) stacks her cards high while participating in a team activity. Bellow Middle- Our newest team members! Bellow on Right- Urban Cowboy? Hardly, I just didn't know what to do with my bandanna and hat combo. :^D

Lower Middle- (from L-R) Karen, Angie, Lisa, & Kim. Lower Right- (from L-R) Diane, Jenny, & Cole.

Discovery:

This past week we ran into a situation where a beautiful newly constructed home was built on a parcel of land, which had a graveyard! The seller disclosed the presence of the graveyard to the buyer and to the buyer's agent. All parties involved were aware; however, their lender was not aware of this and neither were we (title company), thus creating an uncomfortable issue.

Issues:

You may be asking, "OK, why is that an issue at all?" Well, the main problem arises from the fact that graveyards aren't insurable and neither is the right to access them. This means that both the graveyard and the ingress and egress from it are listed as special exceptions in the title policy, i.e., there is NO coverage under title insurance. If the graveyard ever caused marketability issues in the future it would be the BUYER'S responsibility and not that of the title insurer.

Another issue comes from the families of the deceased having a possessory interest in the property, i.e. whoever has a relative in the graveyard has the right to visit the site regardless of who owns the property. In other words, these visitors may cross into the property at any time.

A third issue comes from the sheer cost of moving the graves. Each grave site will cost anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000 depending on the contractor hired to do the move. The cost of the move will NOT be covered by the title insurer. So in the event that the buyers have to move it later, the buyers will now be solely responsible for paying the bill.

Lesson Learned:

So if you find a house with a graveyard on it, do think twice before you "bury yourself" in these issues. Now it's MY turn to ask you, "What have you learned?" If anyone out there in AR has dealt with this, I would deeply appreciate your input.