MARY IACOVELLI

The 2008 Home Builders Association is Hosting the Parade of Homes in Ridge Water this weekend and next. They had a Realtor preview nite On Thursday the 16th. Now here's the thing, my life is BUSY! I worked Thursday 9-6 took a ten minute drive to the school to see my son play a soccer game which ran long then drove 30 minutes to get to Ridge Water. I arrived at 9pm. It was pitch black in the parking area and walking to the homes. I bypassed the homes and headed straight for the food (since I had nothing to eat so far). The food was by Cazbah's (forgive me if I misspelled it) and it was Wonderful!! Just a few things they had were Lobster Cigars, Lobster Ravioli, Bree with Raspberry Sauce, and Meatballs. The best part was the desert however....Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries! They had other stuff too but to me these where the highlights :-)

The Tour that I took was a whirlwind. I had 30 minutes to see 4 Custom Homes, HUH! The first house had this....

NEXT TO THIS....

NOW that's outdoor living!!! WOW, the sounds of the water feature, the tile floor, the Fireplace. It is beautiful!!! The water feature was compact and would fit in some places that you may not think you had room. The rest of the house was beautiful but remember we are on a time schedule, 7.5 minutes per house. No time for dilly dallying!!

The next house had a great kitchen too but the one thing I want in this house is...

I have to have a TV in my bathroom and here is the perfect solution. Put it in a built in!! You can see it from the Shower and Garden Tub, turn it to see it in the Water Closet and Walk-in Closet. the other Nice Feature they had in this house was the Garage Entry Way....

Next! House #3 had the Best Bathroom and I am not sure if the pictures will do justice and the moldings/trim work throughout was phenomenal!!

Met the builder of this one. Nice guy!! Wish I had more time but one more house....

9:50 pm. The show ends at 10:00 pm and I am walking up to the last house. By the way, the houses are NOT very close together! It's a hike to get from one to another! The last house is dark! What?!? It's dark inside, the garage is open and lite, whoopee!! But the house is dark and no one is home. I missed the last house, how can this be? How can they be closed? I timed it, I worked the plan and I missed it.

Note to Realtors: I.E. if you say you will have your Open House 2-6 don't leave before 6! You may miss that one buyer that you needed to sell this one.

4 Houses, worth the drive to see them. Not sure of the prices but I think they are nice and have some great features! Thanks to the HBA for putting on this event for us! Visit me and my Crazy life anytime www.activerain.com/miacovelli04

What about BMW? A birdie told me that as of December 19th, all the temps at BMW will be dismissed of their positions. True or not? IDK for sure, but it sounds reasonable. Car sales are down across the board, financing is harder for them and BMW is laying out big bucks to add on a new assembly line.

Our market is still great! Data from the S.C. Employment Security Commission show from August-to-September job statistics, with cities, change in jobs and latest number of jobs: Greenville: +1,900 (+0.6%); 324,200.

Manufacturers' News city data shows: Greenville: 26,736 jobs, up 5%.

The Greenville Metro Area includes but is not limited to; Greer, Simpsonville, Mauldin, Taylors, Travelers Rest, Berea & Fountain Inn. The reason I say this is so you know what I'm talking about, not just Greenville proper. Greenville Jobs as a whole are still GROWING! With an article in today's GSA Business Daily news that South Carolina has lost jobs totaling about 1% we are still sitting pretty. What happens however when we OR if we start lossing jobs. Only the future knows but my projection is that we have a great economy, a great area, great leaders that had the forsight to make this what it is today.

Tuesday I went downtown and took a few pictures that I want to share with you. THIS is one reason I love Greenville!!!

Feel Free to visit me often at www.activerain.com/miacovelli04

YES, it rained today!! I have been sleepy today due to the rain and cloudy skys. We are not used to tons of rain but boy did we need it. We are way behind in rain, the lakes have been down but the good news is we were not on water restrictions and Have Water!

Today was 60-62 degrees. Cooler than usual yes but who cares. We got rain!

My son had a field trip today and we were in the rain most of the day. We went to the Roper Mountain Science Center, learned about weather (how ironic) and went into the planetarium. I love the Rockin' Roller Coaster Ride that they show!! If you haven't been there I highly suggest it. Then we went to the Upstate History Museum. I have been before but this time, we had a guided tour. It was great! I learned more than the last two times I have been. The cost to get in was $5 but I'm not sure if that was because I was with a school or if that is normal. The tour was about the past 300 years in the upstate and maybe all that info is written in the museum, but it was great to hear it!!

If you have been to the Museum or the Science Center, Please let me know. I would like to hear your take on the places in the Upstate.

Yours Truly, Mary

This weekend is Fall For Greenville! On Main Street in Greenville SC, my home sweet home! My son has been in Boy Scouts for a little over a year now. This will be our second Fall for Greenville Event that he will participate in as a volunteer. Each year the Boy Scouts pick up the trash cans and deliver ice to the vendors to make money for their activities and/or get community service. Here is what the website says about Fall for Greenville:

"Where else can one enjoy dining outdoors on the cuisine of 46 restaurants while taking in live musical entertainment on four stages - all right in the heart of downtown Greenville - at the 27th ANNUAL ST. FRANCIS FALL FOR GREENVILLE, presented by Pepsi!

"As one of the region's largest and most successful events, this award winning fall festival attracts visitors from across the Upstate and beyond. St. Francis Fall for Greenville has been named the "Most Family Friendly Event" by Upstate Parents Magazine for 2006 and 2007.

"The three-day event highlights Greenville's finest restaurants and musical entertainment on 3 music stages including the BB&T Main Stage on Broad Street just off Main Street beside the Greenville News building. Bring the kids too, the family will love the Children's Area on Washington Street. A new addition to the event in 2008 is the BI-LO Culinary Stage featuring local and regional chef demonstrations - located on Coffee Street.

"Whether you watch or participate, catch the spirit of friendly competition offered by the restaurants: tent decorating, waiter's race, Bartender Mix-Off, and the Silver Spoon competition challenges.

"Your eyes and taste buds will also enjoy ice carving, chili cook-off, and much more. At every turn there's something to take in." http://www.mainstevents.com/2008%20FFG/08%20FFG.html

The posted times are:

Friday, 10/10
5:00 - 11:00PM

Saturday, 10/11
11:00 AM - 9:00 PM

Sunday, 10/12
12:00 - 7:00 PM

My son and I will look forward to seeing you there!! Please let me know if you have been, go there or what you think.

I moved new home communities about three weeks ago. During the move, I hurt my neck by lifting and tugging on big heavy boxes. I did not have the time to find boxes to move with so I scrounged up two from my main office and did the best I could.

My muscles were tense and and my neck/shoulder really began to hurt. I tried Pressure to release the tense muscles, hot showers to loosen it and then finally decided to go to the Chiropracter. Yesterday I went to see Dr. Karen Thomas in Greer, SC. She is a non-manipulative chiropracter and always helps wonders.

She uses a clicker (activator method) to put the bones back in place and loosen the muscles. She makes sure your feet are aligned and she found multiple discs out of place on my spine which I was not aware of. I think she is awesome and will always recommend her to friends, family and YOU!

Greer Chiropractic Center (864) 877-5795

Karen W. Thomas greerchiropracti@bellsouth.net

This is Mary Iacovelli writing, if you visit or contact Dr. Thomas, Please tell her I sent you :-).