Sarah Eubanks ~ Preferred Oregon Loan Consultant & Notary Public

Will you be shopping the early morning sales on the Friday following Thanksgiving? Are you the type that is out pre-dawn? Do your legs get weary from all of the wandering? I have a great solution to give you a break and to help get you into the Christmas Spirit!

Macy's will be hosting it's annual Holiday Parade beginning at 8:45 AM. The kids can watch as their beloved characters float by. You can enjoy the live music as the parade passes by. All getting you ready for the amazing season before us. This year, the parade route is slightly different; it will begin at NW Park and Davis, then travel east to Broadway, south on Broadway to SW Alder, east on Alder (past Macy's) to 4th, north on 4th to NW Flanders, west on Flanders to Park.

Once you are done with you are done watching this parade pass, resume your shopping. Grab a bite to eat at one of the local bistros or your favorite restaurant. Shop some more. Just be ready, because at 5:30 PM...

The Tree Lighting Ceremony will begin on the 75 foot Christmas tree in the middle of Pioneer Courthouse Square. With thousands of people participating in the singing of Christmas carols, you may want to get there early and secure a spot.

Whatever you do with the rest of your Thanksgiving weekend, I encourage you to spend it with family, friends, and those that you love. We are starting another season full of all things warm and good. Enjoy!

Sarah Eubanks ~ Senir Mortgage Specialist

Hill Valley Financial Services ~ www.hillvalleyfinancialservices.com/saraheubanks

Contact Sarah via email ~ sarah4oregonloans@gmail.com or phone 503.442.1349

You may not know this about Oregon. It is one of the top producing wine regions in the United States. And, may I say...for good reason!

This is not the first year I have let you know about this event. You may have read about it in a past post of mine, or it may be news to you. Either way, the Oregon Wineries of the Willamette valley are celebrating their 27th Annual Wine Country Thanksgiving this year, and I want you to be a part of it! I have been a wine enthusiast for several years now. I have experimented with wines from all over the world. While there are many great wines out there, from many unique places, I am pleased to say that Oregon ranks right up there among the best that I have had.

I will tell you that there are over 160 wineries that are involved in this ginormous event, I think it best that you investigate the wealth of information at the Willamette Wines website. From 11 AM - 5 PM most wineries will be open with specials to check out.

Personally, I am most likely be found one day at the Argyle Winery, a personal favorite of mine. But, I hope to visit a few others and find some new favorites too.

So, go, pay a visit, and enjoy! Take your girl friends and make a day of it sipping the new releases as well as the more aged vintages. Take your significant other, and take a romantical stroll through the vineyards. Go out with another couple...or three or four ~ meeting the winemakers. I hope to see you there!

Sarah Eubanks ~ Senior Mortgage Specialist

Hill Valley Financial Services ~ www.hillvalleyfinancialservices.com/saraheubanks

Contact Sarah via email ~ sarah4oregonloans@gmail.com or by phone 503.442.1349

I would like to congratulate Diana Redding of Studio One on her success in this month's Featured Business. Diana's motto for her studio is, "We love to dance...and it shows!" As a family who has been involved with this studio, I can attest that Diana and each of the staff members holds this as a core value.

This Saturday, October 17th, Studio One is hosting a Celebration of their 15 years as a community business. Between 1 and 4 PM, they are asking all dancers (past, present, and future) to stop by and visit. There will be special guest performances, refreshments, friends, and lots of fun.

This Studio boasts award winning performing teams, classes for adults, toddler combo classes, tumbling, ballroom dancing, and so much more. As a positive place to give confidence to youth and adults alike, I hope that you will take the time to check it out.

Studio One Dance Academy is located at 7915 SE Lake Road, Milwaukie, OR 97267. We would love to see you there!

Sarah Eubanks is an optimistic and experienced Mortgage Specialist. For both your Residential and Commercial Mortgage needs, she is who you want to handle your purchase or refinance. Phone Sarah today at 503.442.1349.

Inspired by Inna Hardison's tribute to her son, I wanted to share with you about living the dream.

I am the blessed and (usually) fortunate mom of an almost ten year old competitive, testosterone prone, sports minded boy, Derek. He, along with my daughter, are a dream come true for me. While I have many dreams in my life, one of them was (and is) very basic. Having a family and being a mom.

Derek's dream, his #1 hope and aspiration, is to play baseball. He will play for the Oregon State Beavers while he earns his degree, and then for the New York Yankees (if you are not a Yankee fan...you will be when Derek joins their ranks). While this may seem far fetched given that tons of boys dream of playing in the major leagues, I can tell you this. If anyone is able to do this and achieve this dream...it is most assuredly my sweet little man. His dream has become my dream too.

While his Dad and I could tenderly point him in a different direction, telling him that it is just too hard. We do not. We want no part in killing a dream. Especially not our children's dreams. Beyond that, though, we believe that God gives us dreams for a reason. So, we look forward, fully expecting to be sitting there for his first Major League game. We have certainly given this little boy advice on how to make that dream a reality, and Derek has taken that and made it all his own. These characteristics are how we see the winner inside of him.

• His Faith ~ Derek believes that God has a good plan for his life and that it will include baseball. As a left handed pitcher, he has God given traits that automatically give him some sort of advantage when pitching. He also knows that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. When he is feeling frustrated or discouraged, Derek prays and asks God for strength.
• His Coaches ~ In the off season, Derek saw a private coach to get ready for the baseball draft in March. He wanted to be on the top level team with the best coaches so he could try to learn from them. His private coach has mentioned on many occasions that Derek will succeed because at nine years old, he listens to the instruction, retains, it, and uses it to make himself a better play. He did, by the way, make the federal team out of the 100+ who tried for it.)
• His Work Ethic ~ Even after a successful game, he asks those who he trusts what he could have done better to help his team. He is always striving to do better. Always holding the ball with different grips. Often swinging his bat to strengthen his arm. Even in his free time, he chooses baseball activities because he loves the game.
• His Support ~ Having friends and family around who love him, cheer him on, encourage him, and support him has been paramount to his successes so far. He always says how much he loves it when people come and watch him. He knows that he could not do this on his own. And as a result, he gives credit where credit is due.
• His Character ~ People want to be around Derek. His teammates and his coaches enjoy having him on the team. After every practice, after every game, he thanks his coaches for volunteering their time. He finds the successes in his teammates for that game and encourages them. Derek is just the kind of person whose character inspires others.

So how does this apply to living your dream in this business and industry? I would say go ahead and take the wisdom of a nine year old. Use his traits and live your dream. I will be using them in my life and in my business. It will not happen overnight. Go all nine innings and even more if you need to in order to win.

Speaking of business, if you need help with your residential or commercial mortgage, please phone me at 503.442.1349. Just realize that if I do not answer your call, I am likely at a ball park cheering on my favorite superstar who is living his dream. I will phone you back as soon as I can. While you are waiting..take some time...take the steps...and live your dream too.

Get out the Vote, Rock the Vote. I do not particularly care how you vote. Just vote. In this critical time of American history in the making, we need to hear the voice of Oregonians. We need to be a part of both the national and local landscape. Do you really want to be the one vote that looses a measure you care about? Do you want to be one of a few that do not elect the individual to office that you would prefer? Your vote does make a difference. Is it a cliche'? You had better believe that it is. But it makes does not make it any less true.

As a service to all who have been complacent in the past, I have compiled a few resources for you. Go and check them out and get yourself registered to vote. We are coming down to the last few days and you need to be proactive and register. I am making it very simple for you. To borrow a phrase from Phil Knight and Nike, "Just Do It".

In Oregon, our last day to register to vote is on this coming Tuesday, the 14th of October. So read on, visit the links should you need to (or want to), and then VOTE!!

• Clicking here will take you to an official Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division page. On this page you can input your information and find out if you are on target to receive an election ballot later this month. As of this evening when I checked my personal information, it had been updated through today.
• If you are not registered, visiting this Secretary of State site will allow you to register to vote online. It does not get much easier than that. If you can find your way to this post, I am quite certain that you can register withthis method. It will also provide you with information on Oregon's Vote By Mail, Election Guidelines, and other relevant information. It is a good resource to use.
• Finally, this page will get you the information on your particular county. Should you have any questions, comments, or concerns, you can contact your local county official. It will provide you with the contact name as well as methods to get in touch with your local clerk.

Again, this is a crucial time in our history. Whether you are passionate about politics or "just" concerned about the economy. You need to participate. Encourage others to do the same.

As I vote, I will be watching, reading, and writing. :-)