Utica, OH

It doesn't really matter whether it's a weekday or the weekend, a work day can appear suddenly. We real estate agents might think we're going to have a day off, but when a client asks to see a house for sale, I'm sure I'm not the only one who will give up what I thought was going to be a day off.

I returned phone calls and then went up to Utica to show a couple of houses, we looked at a HUD home and a bank owned listing. While in Utica, I drove by another property that a different buyer had asked about and found out it's listed by an agent who isn't in our MLS. So, that's why I couldn't find it. From there I went to Newark to meet another buyer who was looking at a HUD home.

While in Newark, I got an e-mail from another buyer wanting to make an offer on a short sale property we had looked at. I stopped at the grocery store for a few things and then headed home. I was going to stop at the garden center and get some seeds for the garden, but it was packed. I'll wait until Monday.

Once I got home, I typed up the offer for the short sale property and e-mailed it off to the buyer for review. I'll meet with them tomorrow for signatures when I go to Zanesville to show a different property to another buyer.

I've had a busy "day off" and it's only 4:30pm.

I usually only celebrate major holidays and Cinco de Mayo was never a big deal to me. What's the big deal about May 5^th? It's just another day, right? If you didn't already know this, Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May) commemorates the Mexican Army's victory over France in 1862 at the Battle of Puebla.

Honestly, it's still not a big deal to me. But my son is in his 2^nd year of high school Spanish and has an assignment to take a recipe to school (for prior approval) and then he's supposed to make the dish and take it to school to share. His class does this for Cinco de Mayo and Day of the Dead.

We've made Mexican Cookies and some kind of pinwheel with cream cheese and peppers in it, both very good. Our favorite "mexican" dish is Cowboy Caviar. It is easy to make, no cooking involved and it tastes very good and I would say it's good for you. It has different beans and tomatoes and corn and you can eat it with tortilla chips. It doesn't look very appetizing, but my son likes it so much that he requests it even when he doesn't have to take a dish to school. I have always made it, but he's supposed to - it is his assignment. He has a bad cold now, so I guess we'll have to see how he feels tonight. If he's coughing and sneezing, I'll have to make it. He has a 4.0, perfect attendance and refuses to miss school.

My son attends Utica High School in the North Fork Local School District.