Lara O'Keefe (Hunter's Creek, Melissa)

1. Texas is the only state that permits residents to cast absentee ballots from space.

2. In Pennsylvania, Ministers are forbidden from performing marriages when either the bride or groom is drunk.

3. Hypnotism is banned by public schools in San Diego.

4. In Michigan it's illegal to place a skunk inside your boss's desk.

5. In Kentucky, it is illegal to carry ice cream in your back pocket.

6. During the time that the atomic bomb was being hatched by the United States at Alamogordo, New Mexico, applicants for routine jobs like janitors were disqualified if they could read. Illiteracy was a job requirement. The reason: the authorities did not want their trash or other papers read.

7. It's illegal in Alabama to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church.

8. In parts of Alaska, it's illegal to feed alcohol to a moose.

9. You're subject to fines and/or imprisonment for making "ugly faces" at dogs in Oklahoma.

10. In Hartford Connecticut, it is illegal for a husband to kiss his wife on Sundays.

For more information please contact Lara O'Keefe at 972.838.9156 or visit Hunter's Creek.

Our Irish culture has always been a source of pride for my family. My name, O'Keefe, came from County Cork where my grandfather was raised.

We used to spend summers with my gradparents in the fishing village of Kinsale in southern Ireland. I must say that the Irish are some of the friendliest people I've ever met!

Until the 1970s, St. Patrick's Day in Ireland was a minor religious holiday. A priest would acknowledge the feast day, and families would celebrate with a big meal, but that was about it. Corned beef and cabbage is the traditional meal.

St. Patrick's Day was basically invented in America by Irish-Americans. Irish charitable organizations originally celebrated St. Patrick's Day with banquets in places such as Boston, Massachusetts; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina.

18^th century Irish soldiers fighting with the British in the U.S. Revolutionary War held the first St. Patrick's Day parades. Some soldiers, for example, marched through New York City in 1762 to reconnect with their Irish roots. Others parades followed in the years and decades after, including well-known celebrations in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, primarily for flourishing Irish immigrant communities.

This picture is my little nephew Kieran, who is ready for the special green day!

It became a way to honor the saint but also to confirm ethnic identity and to create bonds of solidarity among the Irish immigrants.

On any given day 5.5 million pints of Guinness, the famous Irish stout, are consumed around the world. On St. Patrick's Day, that number more than doubles to 13 million pints!

For more information please contact Lara O'Keefe at 972.838.9156 or visit Hunter's Creek.

So who knew that playing in the mud as a kid would pay off one day?

It's spring time in Texas and it has rained here for the entire last week. I sell new home construction and I have a few beautiful, finished homes to sell, but I also have several at various stages of construction.

I did some fact finding with my prospect and her Realtor and found the perfect home that fit her needs. It has sheetrock, but there is no driveway or lead walk into the home. We knew it was going to be a challenge when we drove up, but decided to "dig in." I took my first step onto the mud and did okay; by my third step mud was squishing between my toes ... ewww. I fought past the feeling and started walking toward the house. We have clay here and it just stuck to my shoes making them heavier and heavier! I felt like Frankenstein.

I made it to the garage without falling on my face, which was a miracle in itself! I found some scrap MDF boards cut in stepping stone sizes and threw them towards the curb. The Realtor and I standing in the mud created a safe path to the house and a way back for us later. We have such glamorous jobs sometimes!

We all got in the house, looked around, answered some questions, and determined it was indeed the right house for her. Thank goodness! I would have hated to ruin my favorite pair of shoes for nothing! We went back to the model with our shoes wrapped in extra wrapping material from the garage. Even my feet were caked in mud. We sat down barefoot and wrote up her contract.

I have to admit that it was an adventure and we all found some humor in the situation! Needless to say. I'll be bugging my builder for some kind of temporary walk for next time!

PS-I'm going to invest in some cute wellington boots!

For more information please contact Lara O'Keefe at 972.838.9156 or visit Hunter's Creek.

1. The British Navy is said to have built a ship named Friday the 13th, or the HMS Friday, which on its maiden voyage left dock on a Friday the 13th, and was never heard from again. However, this story seems to be a hoax.

2. The ill-fated Apollo 13 launched at 13:13 CST on Apr. 11, 1970. The sum of the date's digits (4-11-70) is 13 (as in 4+1+1+7+0 = 13). And the explosion that crippled the spacecraft occurred on April 13th. The crew did make it back to Earth safely, however.

3. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor.

4. Fear of Friday the 13th - one of the most popular myths in science - is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.

5. Quarterback Dan Marino wore No. 13 throughout his career with the Miami Dolphins. Despite being a superb quarterback, he got to the Super Bowl just once, in 1985, and was trounced 38-16 by the San Francisco 49ers and Joe Montana (who wore No. 16 and won all four Super Bowls he played in).

6. Butch Cassidy, notorious American train and bank robber, was born on Friday, April 13, 1866.

7. Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926.

8. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.

9. Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.

10. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12."

11. Woodrow Wilson considered 13 his lucky number, though his experience didn't support such faith. He arrived in Normandy, France on Friday, Dec. 13, 1918, for peace talks, only to return with a treaty he couldn't get Congress to sign. (The ship's crew wanted to dock the next day due to superstitions) He toured the United States to rally support for the treaty, and while traveling, suffered a near-fatal stroke.

12. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.... And so on...

13. The seals on the back of a dollar bill include 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle's head, 13 war arrows in the eagle's claw and 13 leaves on the olive branch. So far there's been no evidence tying these long-ago design decisions to the present economic situation ... but Im sure people are trying :-)

Be careful out there tomorrow, Friday March 13th!

(Insert evil laugh here!)

For more information please contact Lara O'Keefe at 972.838.9156 or visit Hunter's Creek.

*** Please re-blog and help me get the word out there ***

I recently connected will an old high school friend, Lara Lester Iezzi, who's baby daughter is in need of your help. Gabby needs help in raising funds to help cover her heart transplant.

On May 25, 2009 David Tambur will compete in a Triathlon in Austin Texas. He is committed to completing this challenging endurance event while raising money for Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA). By donating you will be supporting his cause and be part of the many who are helping families of transplant patients.

With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $500,000, many transplant patients are unable to shoulder the financial burden of such a procedure. COTA is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-needy patients. His goal is to raise a minimum of $2500.

100% of the proceeds given to COTA go directly to paying Gabby's medical bills and related transplant expenses. Born on January 26, 2005, Gabby was later diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy on October 2, 2006. Doctors at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston performed a life-saving heart transplant March 6, 2007.

Gabby is the daughter of Gregory and Lara Iezzi. Gabby's family has asked for assistance from the COTA. The organization's priority is to assure that no child is denied a transplant or excluded from a transplant waiting list due to lack of funds.

To donate please visit http://www.active.com/donate/alltri/alltriDTambur.

For more information please contact Lara O'Keefe at 972.838.9156 or visit Hunter's Creek.