Lise Howe, Assoc. Broker and Attorney Licensed in DC, MD, VA,Coldwell Banker

One of the best neighborhoods in Chevy Chase is Kenwood Forest, a community of nearly 400 townhouses and one level one bedroom or studio condos, created between 1978 and 1980 from an apartment complex built after WWII. While prices have dropped over the last 2 years, buyers still call me frequently asking to be notified whenever a new listing comes on the market. Small wonder since Kenwood Forest townhouses are well designed with at least 2 baths upstairs and a half bath on the 1st floor; the community is very well maintained with amazingly low condo fees; and homeowners can walk to two metros and every imaginable cuisine in the many restaurants of Bethesda. Want more info about Kenwood Forest, just check out www.kenwoodforest.com for floorplans and answers to all your questions.

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When I got my associate broker's license in 1989, I joked with my family that I was going to sell $1M houses, pop bonbons, and drive a Jaguar. Of course, the market tanked immediately after I got my license, there were no bonbons (bad for my waistline). I never drove a Jaguar - always drove a Jeep (but hey- they both start with "J"), and I told my family that I was now selling $1M houses for $300k.

Then the market improved, and even rocketed beyond itself. Suddenly I was selling $300k houses for $1M. At least my family and my accountant were happy - I never got the Jaguar, found out I could do without it, and I still didn't pop the bonbons, but at least I was selling houses!

Then the market tanked and I find myself selling $1M houses for $300k again. There are a couple of differences though - rather serious differences. This time, I am truly truly grateful for any sales in this market! And most startling of all - most of the houses I show have no heat or water. I was showing houses on Thursday morning and did an inspection on Thursday afternoon. Out of the 7 houses I showed in the morning, 5 were in foreclosure and had been winterized. There was no heat, no water, and sometimes no electricity. The inspection in the afternoon had no electricity because the owner was in bankruptcy and either simply couldn't incur any more debts or couldn't afford to pay the electric bill.

This is in the DC metro area - which is supposedly "insulated" from the rest of the country's hardships. I confess that I am a little frightened at the shape of the housing market, even in DC. I wish all of you a good weekend, and some buyers out there to turn the tide. We need something to change. We need to get on with the business of America and to get the politicians to stop fighting over very meaningless things - we are in a serious situation here.

When I got my associate broker's license in 1989, I joked with my family that I was going to sell $1M houses, pop bonbons, and drive a Jaguar. Of course, the market tanked immediately after I got my license, there were no bonbons (bad for my waistline). I never drove a Jaguar - always drove a Jeep (but hey- they both start with "J"), and I told my family that I was now selling $1M houses for $300k.

Then the market improved, and even rocketed beyond itself. Suddenly I was selling $300k houses for $1M. At least my family and my accountant were happy - I never got the Jaguar, found out I could do without it, and I still didn't pop the bonbons, but at least I was selling houses!

Then the market tanked and I find myself selling $1M houses for $300k again. There are a couple of differences though - rather serious differences. This time, I am truly truly grateful for any sales in this market! And most startling of all - most of the houses I show have no heat or water. I was showing houses on Thursday morning and did an inspection on Thursday afternoon. Out of the 7 houses I showed in the morning, 5 were in foreclosure and had been winterized. There was no heat, no water, and sometimes no electricity. The inspection in the afternoon had no electricity because the owner was in bankruptcy and either simply couldn't incur any more debts or couldn't afford to pay the electric bill.

This is in the DC metro area - which is supposedly "insulated" from the rest of the country's hardships. I confess that I am a little frightened at the shape of the housing market, even in DC. I wish all of you a good weekend, and some buyers out there to turn the tide. We need something to change. We need to get on with the business of America and to get the politicians to stop fighting over very meaningless things - we are in a serious situation here.

This is a street sign in San Francisco as you walk up to Coit Tower. I have a standard poodle in Maryland, and when I saw this, I really missed him. The only thing negative about a standard poodle is that he doesn't fit under my seat on an airplane trip, so I have to leave him home!

If you have never seen a girls' ice hockey game, you have missed a great sporting event. Girls aren't allowed to check, but otherwise, the game is the same as boys ice hockey. It is fast, and very exciting. Girls play ice hockey really well.

We had our final hockey games this weekend at the PonyTail Tournament in York and Lancaster Pennsylvania. Our girls started out the season so badly that at times we never thought they would win two games in a row. I guess that is the problem with starting a new season - it takes time for the team to gel. By the end of the season, however, our girls won all 5 games at the tournament and won their division - ending the season on a gloriously high note. Every time the girls scored, the coach put on a set of bunny ears for the next shift. It was hilarious to watch him, exciting to see the girls performing so well, and the trophy they brought home was big and shiny, making it all very worthwhile.

I never played competitive sports as a child, certainly nothing like ice hockey, and I still can't skate. I didn't have the experience of a travel team with my older child - every other weekend you are on the road to some frozen part of the East Coast - sleeping in bad hotels and trying to find a restaurant for 40 people at one time. We finally gave up on restaurants and started bringing carryout food back to the hotel. The good times were when we actually could have a room or the breakfast area for a communal meal. The bad nights were when we all gathered in someone's room and ate sitting on the floor. A really bad night for the person whose room it was.

I have learned to cheer for girls in Spanish. Dura LaLa! I have mothered girls not my own. I have written contracts on my laptop at midnight for clients wishing to buy houses I haven't seen yet. I have taken girls to the emergency room with dislocated shoulders. I have watched parents do and say incredibly stupid things to their daughters and I have seen great parents love their children. I have shared great bottles of wine and very funny stories with new friends. I have given and gotten incredible support from other hockey mothers. I have made what I hope are truly lifetime friends.

I have longed for the season to be over so I could stay home on weekends and work. Then of course, in true hockey mother fashion, I cried when the girls won and the season was truly finally over. Now that it is all over, I can't wait for spring season to start and a chance to get back to the rink so my daughter can see her friends, and I can hang out with mine. Go Montgomery Blue Devils!