Sunday, March 06, 2011

Are You Nuts?? Don't let this Market of a Lifetime slip away... from MORALES!



Oct '10 Nov '10 Dec '10 Jan '11 Feb '11 Averages
St Charles          
# Active 496 483 455 440 453 465.4
# Sold 32 25 35 25 30 29.4
MKT Time 191 184 185 276 262 219.6
Med Sold $ $343,000 $310,500 $262,000 $385,000 $279,750 $316,050
Geneva          
# Active 213 203 192 183 185 195.2
# Sold 16 12 20 9 10 13.4
MKT Time 142 158 197 177 202 175.2
Med Sold $ $350,000 $357,500 $395,500 $259,000 $268,000 $326,000
Batavia          
# Active 187 181 175 171 173 177.4
# Sold 18 5 18 12 7 12
MKT Time 163 160 223 218 279 208.6
Med Sold $ $239,750 $268,000 $202,000 $233,250 $220,000 $232,600
Elburn          
# Active 131 116 112 108 106 114.6
# Sold 4 6 8 3 2 4.6
MKT Time 166 536 334 188 89 262.6
Med Sold $ $255,000 $330,350 $304,950 $240,000 $252,500 $276,560
Sugar Grove          
# Active 102 99 88 89 82 92
# Sold 5 3 6 6 3 4.6
MKT Time 154 240 114 319 129 191.2
Med Sold $ $245,000 $228,000 $296,000 $219,500 $240,000 $245,700
Maple Park          
# Active 48 44 42 37 43 42.8
# Sold 1 2 3 2 3 2.2
MKT Time 177 138 360 45 586 261.2
Med Sold $ $180,000 $180,950 $144,000 $345,000 $195,000 $208,990


PEANUTS & PEANUT BUTTER FUN FACTS
Fun Facts
  • It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
  • There are enough peanuts in one acre to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.
  • Two peanut farmers have been elected president of the USA - Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.
  • Americans were first introduced to the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in 1928.
  • Peanut butter was the secret behind "Mr. Ed," TV's talking horse.
    And yes, I'm old enough to remember the repeats from this series.... =)
  • Most women and children prefer creamy, while most men prefer chunky.
  • Ever wonder where the term "Peanut Gallery" comes from? The term became popular in the late 19th century and referred to the rear or uppermost seats in a theater, which were also the cheapest seats. People seated in such a gallery were able to throw peanuts, a common food at theaters, at those seated below them. It also applied to the first row of seats in a movie theater, for the occupants of those seats could throw peanuts at the stage, stating their displeasure with the performance.
Nutrition Facts
  • The peanut is not a nut, but a legume related to beans and lentils.
  • Peanuts have more protein, niacin, folate and phytosterols than any nut.
  • Peanuts have a higher antioxidant capacity over grapes, Concord grape juice, green tea, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, carrots and many more. 
  • Peanuts and peanut butter contain over 30 essential nutrients and phytonutrients.
  • Peanuts are naturally cholesterol-free.
    ~http://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/classroom-funfacts.php
What did jelly say to peanut butter?
Stick with me and we'll go places.

Did you hear the joke about peanut butter?
I'm not telling you, you might spread it.

What do you call a peanut in a spacesuit?
An astro-nut

Two peanuts were walking down the road when one was "a salted!" 

We are currently in the market of a lifetime!  Don't let it slip away! 
There has NEVER been a more affordable time to buy a home,
nor will there EVER be a market like this again in your lifetime! 
IF you can buy, you should. 

Foreclosures & Short Sales ~ Tri Cities & Kaneland
First Time HomeBuyers ~ Tri-Cities
First Time HomeBuyers ~ Kaneland


--
Don't Forget to Remember Me...
                
Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
Keller Williams is now the second largest Real Estate Company in the US!
(630) 709.9882



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JD Powers has ranked Keller Williams as "Highest in Overall Satisfaction for home buyers among national full-service real estate firms, 3 years in a row!"

Monday, February 14, 2011

A Home is Where YOU Hang Your Heart... with MORALES!

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Here are some "Words of Wisdom" from President James A Garfield.
Following these "Rules for Living"
will definitely increase your chances of having GREAT DAYS:
  • Never be idle
  • Make few promises
  • Always speak the truth
  • Live within your income.
  • Never speak evil of anyone
  • Keep good company or none
  • Live up to your engagements
  • Never play games of chance
  • Drink no intoxicating drinks
  • Put good character above anything else
  • Keep your own secrets if you have any
  • Never borrow if you can possibly help it
  • Don't marry until you are ready to support a spouse
  • When you speak to people, look into their eyes
  • Save when you're young so you can spend when you're old
  • Never run into debt unless you see a way out again
  • Good company and good conversation are the sinews of virtue
  • Your character can't be essentially injured except by your own acts
  • If anyone speaks evil of you, let your life be so that no one believes him
  • When you retire at night, think over what you've done during the day
  • If your hands can't be employed usefully, attend to the culture of your mind
  • Read the above carefully and thoughtfully at least once a week

The Valentine Card said to the stamp, stick with me and we'll go places!
On Valentine's Day, the bat said to his girlfriend, "You're fun to hang around with!"
The paperclip said to the magnet, "I find you very attractive!"
The elephant said to his girlfriend, "I love you a ton!"
AND...  Even skunks celebrate Valentine's Day... (Are you ready for this?)  Because it's Scent-imental!! 

A home is where you hang your heart. 
It is about how you feel when you walk through the front door;
the way you can instantly see your life unfolding there.
It is your life and your dreams.  ;)

IF you're ready to hang your heart in a new home, call me! ~
We'll get started on a Valentine present to yourself!


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This month's Housing Trends News Letter...

--
Discover the Diane Difference...
                
Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882



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Sunday, February 06, 2011

January's #s... from MORALES!

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On a personal note, to those who don't follow me on Facebook, last Sunday I was involved in a rollover accident.  I was driving on my way to teach Sunday School.  The oncoming car lost control on black ice and came swirling toward me (doing 360's).  I thought I could move over to the shoulder and hoped she would just swing past me.  However, she clipped the back corner panel of my car throwing me into a tail spin, which threw me down into the ditch.  I think we rolled twice... but I'm not really sure.  Mateo was with me.  By the grace of God, we are both ok.  Mateo was a very brave little boy, and he found my cell phone (which was tossed to the way back of my car).  We were able to crawl threw the window with the assistance of a couple who stopped to see if we were ok.  The whole event was very surreal and truly makes you appreciate every day that you have.  Please take an extra moment today to give a hug to the ones you love.  Live surely is precious.  And I truly appreciate having each and every one of you as a part of my life. 

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IF you "do" Facebook, please follow MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!  I post many things that I think my clients need/want to know about the current real estate market.  I've also created a new community page for the neighborhood where I grew up.  If you (or someone you know) lives around Davis School, please "like" it.  As always, IF there are any items that you'd like to see posted, or would like to know more about... let me know...  I'll make it happen! 

--
Discover the Diane Difference...
                
Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882



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Friday, January 28, 2011

Interesting STATS about the future of home prices... from MORALES



The dashed black line is where Case Shiller Futures were trading this time last year, January 2010.  Essentially this is what the experts thought, last year, the home price index would look like in the upcoming 3 years (through December 2013). 

The barbed black line below it is what the experts today are thinking those years (and beyond to January 2016) will look like.  See the spread between the two black lines?  At its widest point, the difference between the 2 lines represent over a 19% drop in what the experts predict to be the index to be in the years to come. 

Based on this data, your home is worth more today than it will be again until at least 2015.  Unless you plan to live in your current home into the year 2015, now is the time to sell! 

If you know anyone who is planning to sell in the next 4 to 5 years, tell them now is the time!   Call me today to market your home!... =)
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Discover the Diane Difference...
                
Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882



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Thursday, January 27, 2011

The House that Built Me... MORALES

Ever heard the song "The House that Built Me" by Miranda Lambert?  I listened to it several times before I really heard it.  The song talks about going back to the home where you grew up.  I'm fortunate that my parents still live in the home where I grew up.  Years ago, I had the opportunity to visit an old friend* who lived across the street from "my first home" as an adult.  We got to talking about old times when I lived there and mentioned that my old house looked good.  She told me that she was close friends with the new owners of the home and asked if I wanted to go see "my old home!"  GOSH yes!  I was scared and excited all at the same time.  We knocked on the door and she introduced me to the owners!  I walked in slowly and so many memories came to mind!  I was able to share some of the changes that we had made to the home and complimented them on their changes!  It felt good to know that good people were living in "my old home," taking care of it and loving it!  A home is so much more than just 4 walls. 
A home is where you hang your heart. 
It is about how you feel when you walk through the front door;
the way you can instantly see your life unfolding there.
It is your life and your dreams.  ;)
Regardless of how the Real Estate market is doing right now, a home is still the American Dream.  Having a home is something most of us dream about, whether it be a mansion or a trailer on the back 40.  It's yours.  A home is simply not an investment to most.  It's a place to plant your roots, to grow your family, and to relax and retire.  When you pull into the driveway, open the front (or back) door and toss your keys on the kitchen table... That's home!  

Now IS truly the best time to buy a home!  If you've been thinking about it, please give me a call.  Prices are LOW, interest rates are historically LOW and the choice of homes is abundant.  Owning your own home is a feeling that can't be beat.  

FREE EZ search for 1st time home buyers in the Tri-City Area or the Kaneland Area



Discover the Diane Difference...
                
Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882



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Monday, January 17, 2011

It's Snowing and it's beautiful... with MORALES!

It's a winter wonderland outside today!  Even more amazing is the detail of each flake of snow!  Occasionally, when the snow is falling softly, you can see the perfect outline of a flake as it lands on your coat or mitten.  What's incredible is that if you study snow flakes, you'll see that each snowflake is as truly unique as those snowflake cut-outs you made way-back-when in school.  

snowflake.gif

Snowflakes and snow crystals are made of ice, and pretty much nothing more.  A snow crystal, as the name implies, is a single crystal of ice.  A snowflake is a more general term; it can mean an individual snow crystal, or a few snow crystals stuck together, or large agglomerations of snow crystals that form "puff-balls" that float down from the clouds.
  • Simple Prisms ~ The most basic form of a snow crystal is a hexagonal prism. This structure occurs because certain surfaces of the crystal, the facet surfaces, accumulate material very slowly.   When snow crystals are very small, they are mostly in the form of simple hexagonal prisms.  But as they grow, branches sprout from the corners to make more complex shapes.  Snowflake Branching describes how this happens.
  • Stellar Plates ~   These common snowflakes are thin, plate-like crystals with six broad arms that form a star-like shape.  Their faces are often decorated with amazingly elaborate and symmetrical markings.
  • Sectored Plates ~  Stellar plates often show distinctive ridges that point to the corners between adjacent prism facets.  When these ridges are especially prominent, the crystals are called sectored plates.
  • Stellar Dendrites ~   Dendritic means "tree-like", so stellar dendrites are plate-like snow crystals that have branches and sidebranches.  These are fairly large crystals, typically 2-4 mm in diameter, that are easily seen with the naked eye.
  • Fernlike Stellar Dendrites ~   Sometimes the branches of stellar crystals have so many side branches they look a bit like ferns, so we call them fernlike stellar dendrites.  These are the largest snow crystals, often falling to earth with diameters of 5 mm or more.  In spite of their large size, these are single crystals of ice -- the water molecules are lined up from one end to the other.
  • Hollow Columns ~ Hexagonal columns often form with conical hollow regions in their ends, and such forms are called hollow columns.  These crystals are small, so you need a good magnifier to see the hollow regions.
  • Needles ~ Needles are slender, columnar ice crystals that grow when the temperature is around -5 C (23 F).  On your sleeve these snowflakes look like small bits of white hair.
  • Capped Columns ~ These crystals first grow into stubby columns, and then they blow into a region of the clouds where the growth becomes plate-like.  The result is two thin, plate-like crystals growing on the ends of an ice column.  Capped columns don't appear in every snowfall, but you can find them if you look for them.
  • Double Plates ~  A double plate is basically a capped column with an especially short central column.  The plates are so close together that inevitably one grows out faster and shields the other from its source of water vapor.  The result is one large plate connected to a much smaller one.  These crystals are common -- many snowflakes that look like ordinary stellar plates are actually double plates if you look closely.
  • Split Plates and Stars ~ These are forms of double plates, except that part of one plate grows large along with part of the other plate. Split plates and stars, like double plates, are common but often unnoticed.
  • Triangular Crystals ~  Plates sometimes grow as truncated triangles when the temperature is near -2 C (28 F).  If the corners of the plates sprout arms, the result is an odd version of a stellar plate crystal.  These crystals are relatively rare.
  • 12-Sided Snowflakes ~ Sometimes capped columns form with a twist, a 30-degree twist to be specific.  The two end-plates are both six-branched crystals, but one is rotated 30 degrees relative to the other.  This is a form of crystal twinning, in which two crystals grow joined in a specific orientation.
  • Bullet Rosettes ~  The nucleation of an ice grain sometimes yields multiple crystals all growing together at random orientations.  When the different pieces grow into columns, the result is called a bullet rosette.  These polycrystals often break up to leave isolated bullet-shaped crystals.
  • Radiating Dendrites~  When the pieces of a polycrystal grow out into dendrites, the result is called a radiating dendrite (also called a spatial dendrite).
  • Rimed Crystals ~  Clouds are made of countless water droplets, and sometimes these droplets collide with and stick to snow crystals.  The frozen droplets are called rime.  All the different types of snow crystals can be found decorated with rime.  When the coverage is especially heavy, so that the assembly looks like a tiny snowball, the result is called graupel.
  • Irregular Crystals ~  The most common snow crystals by far are the irregular crystals.  These are small, usually clumped together, and show little of the symmetry seen in stellar or columnar crystals.
    ~Courtesy of snowcrystals.com
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If you're driving, take it easy today!
Otherwise, go outside and have some fun! 

See how many ways you can categorize the snowflakes you find! 



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--
Discover the Diane Difference...
                
Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882



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Sunday, January 09, 2011

Your Monthly Market Update from MORALES...




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15 interesting facts about Flamingos

  1. A flamingo’s eye is larger than its brain.
  2. Flamingos are pinkish in color due to the intake of carotene present in the food that they eat.
  3. The legs of an adult flamingo are longer than its body.
  4. They eat with their head upside down, thus helping them to suck water and food in with the front of their bill.
  5. They are omnivorous and can filter as many as 20 beakfuls of algae-rich water in a second.
  6. A vibrantly colored flamingo is considered to be well-fed and healthy while a white or pale flamingo is usually unhealthy or malnourished.
  7. Young flamingos hatch with a grey plumage while the adults range from light pink to bright red.
  8. While standing in the water, the flamingos use their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom.
  9. Flamingos can often be seen standing on one leg, the other tucked beneath the body.
  10. The speed of a flock of flamingos can reach 31 to 37 miles per hour.
  11. When incubating the egg, both the mother and father take turns in sitting on the egg and nursing the chick when it has hatched.
  12. More than a million Lesser flamingos found in Africa is the biggest flock of birds found anywhere in the world.
  13. Flamingos can fly 300 miles at a stretch to reach a new habitat.
  14. They are sociable and live in colonies to protect themselves from predators.
  15. Flamingos sit by extending their legs backwards.
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--
Don't forget to remember me...
                
Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882



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Thursday, January 06, 2011

Diane's Daily Discovery 01.06.11


Can someone please explain this to me?!  I've tried for so long to understand HOW gas companies can get away with this...  No where in our monetary system do we offer a fraction of a cent.  Maybe we do?!  But in my 46 years of life, I've never seen or learned about one.  We've had denominations that have come and gone:  $500, $1000, $5000, $10,000, and $100,000 ~and an 1865 law did allow for a $3 National Bank Note, and designs were engraved for a potential $3 Legal Tender Note around the same time, but in each case no $3 notes were ever actually printed for circulation.  Fractionals were issued in denominations of 3¢, 5¢, 10¢, 15¢, 25¢, and 50¢.  But NO WHERE do I find a 9/10 cent!  (The British "had" a haypenny worth 1/2 cent.  But alas, the coin was demonetized and withdrawn from circulation in December 1984.)  SO tell me HOW can gas companies legally charge $3.15 9 for a gallon of gas?!    Seriously.  IF I pump exactly 1.0 gallons of gas, I should be entitled to 1/10 of a cent change.  Correct?  IF I pump exactly 5.0 gallons of gas, I deserve 5/10 or half a cent back. 
Guess what?  I want my money back...  Let's see, IF you add up all the gallons I've pumped in my lifetime:
30 years of driving x 52 weeks/year = 1560 weeks of lifetime driving.
1560 x 15 (average car gas tank) = 23,400
No matter what the price of gas was at the time, it was always something and 9/10...
So, if I take that 23,400 x .001 = 23.40
I WANT MY $23.40 IN CHANGE!! 
Ok, so it's not a lot... but it's the principle of the matter.  Gas companies should be prohibited from charging in fractional cents.  Who's with me?  I say we should protest and file a class action lawsuit against all the gas companies...  Ok, not really (I'm actually against frivolous law suits) but I do think this practice should be abolished. 

As a Realtor®, I drive a lot. So, the cost of driving is something that I'm seriously aware of.  I kind of chuckle to myself every time someone asks me "where" I do business?  Naively, when I started Real Estate, I thought I'd be working just St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia and Elburn... Boy, was I mistaken!  I go where my clients need me to go (and if it's a bit TOO far, then I can refer you to an agent you can trust!  As we have a huge network of qualified agents all over the US and Canada!). 

Next time you're filling up your tank, "Don't forget to remember me!" Ask the clerk for your proper change (LOL) and let me know if you do get that 1/10¢ back...Until then drive safely.  =)


Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882



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Monday, January 03, 2011

Diane's Daily Discovery 01.03.11






I'd like to share some of the sights that I see in/around the Tri-Cities and Kaneland areas daily.  My goal is to generate 1 photo each working day.  IF I start to slip on this goal, kindly remind me!  =)

I pass this barn beauty each day on my way to work.  It's located on Route 38 just east of Beith Road.  I'm fascinated with old barns.  I always "think" about stopping to capture their image but never seem to slow down.  Today, as luck would or wouldn't have it, there was an  accident at the intersection ahead of me ~ forcing me to stop right in front of this old farm.  So, I decided that today would be the day that I would start my "barn" collection. 
You know they predict that barns will soon be a thing of the past.  That's sad.  They're so beautiful in their own right.  Don't you wish you could hear them speak?  To tell all the stories they've seen in their lifetime?! 


It is true, there are the innocent pleasures of country life...
- Henry David Thoreau

IF you'd like more information on the area's open spaces, check out this link.   And click on Parks and Open Space.  

IF you're thinking about buying a home with the charm and character of yesteryear, and where neighbors can't see your every move... Call me.  I can help you find it!

Don't forget to remember me...
                
Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882



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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Morales wishes you a LUCKY 2011!



2011 (MMXI) is the 11th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century.
I'm reading up on New Year's superstitions and here's what I found to attract luck for 2011.
I found these beliefs VERY interesting...


Kissing at Midnight: We kiss those dearest to us at midnight not only to share a moment of celebration with our favorite people, but also to ensure those affections and ties will continue throughout the next twelve months. To fail to smooch our significant others at the stroke of twelve would be to set the stage for a year of coldness.

Stocking Up: The new year must not be seen in with bare cupboards, lest that be the way of things for the year. Larders must be topped up and plenty of money must be placed in every wallet in the home to guarantee prosperity.

Paying Off Bills:  The new year should not be begun with the household in debt, so checks should be written and mailed off prior to
January 1st. Likewise, personal debts should be settled before the New Year arrives. 

First Footing:   The first person to enter your home after the stroke of midnight will influence the year you're about to have. New
 for old Ideally, he should be dark-haired, tall, and good-looking, and it would be even better if he came bearing certain small gifts such as a lump of coal, a silver coin, a bit of bread, a sprig of evergreen, and some salt. Blonde and redhead first footers bring bad luck, and female first footers should be shooed away before they bring disaster down on the household. Aim a gun at them if you have to, but don't let them near your door before a man crosses the threshold. The first footer (sometimes called the "Lucky Bird") should knock and be let in rather than unceremoniously use a key, even if he is one of the householders. After greeting those in the house and dropping off whatever small tokens of luck he has brought with him, he should make his way through the house and leave by a different door than the one through which he entered. No one should leave the premises before the first footer arrives — the first traffic across the threshold must be headed in rather than striking out. First footers must not be cross-eyed or have flat feet or eyebrows that meet in the middle. Nothing prevents the cagey householder from stationing a dark-haired man outside the home just before midnight to ensure the speedy arrival of a suitable first footer as soon as the chimes sound. If one of the partygoers is recruited for this purpose, impress upon him the need to slip out quietly just prior to the witching hour.


Nothing Goes Out:  Nothing — absolutely nothing, not even garbage — is to leave the house on the first day of the year. If you've presents to deliver on New Year's Day, leave them in the car overnight. Don't so much as shake out a rug or take the empties to the recycle bin. Some people soften this rule by saying it's okay to remove things from the home on New Year's Day provided something else has been brought in first. This is similar to the caution regarding first footers; the year must begin with something's being added to the home before anything subtracts from it. One who lives alone might place a lucky item or two in a basket that has a string tied to it, then set the basket just outside the front door before midnight. After midnight, the lone celebrant hauls in his catch, being careful to bring the item across the door jamb by pulling the string rather than by reaching out to retrieve it and thus breaking the plane of the threshold.

Food:   A tradition common to the southern states of the USA dictates that the eating of black-eyed peas on New Year's Day will attract both general good luck and financial good fortune in particular to the one doing the dining. Some choose to add other Southern fare (such as ham hocks, collard greens, or cabbage) to this tradition, but the black-eyed peas are key. Other "lucky" foods are lentil soup (because lentils supposedly look like coins), pork (because poultry scratches backwards, a cow stands still, but a pig roots forward, ergo those who dine upon pork will be moving forward in the new year), and sauerkraut (probably because it goes so well with pork). Another oft-repeated belief holds that one must not eat chicken or turkey on the first day of the year lest, like the birds in question, diners fate themselves to scratch in the dirt all year for their dinner (that is, bring poverty upon themselves).

Work:  Make sure to do — and be successful at — something related to your work on the first day of the year, even if you don't go near your place of employment that day. Limit your activity to a token amount, though, because to engage in a serious work project on that day is very unlucky. Also, do not do the laundry on New Year's Day, lest a member of the family be 'washed away' (die) in the upcoming months. The more cautious eschew even washing dishes.

New Clothes:   Wear something new on January 1 to increase the likelihood of your receiving more new garments during the year to follow.

Money:   Do not pay back loans or lend money or other precious items on New Year's Day. To do so is to guarantee you'll be paying out all year.
    Breakage:   Avoid breaking things on that first day lest wreckage be part of your year. Also, avoid crying on the first day of the year lest that activity set the tone for the next twelve months.

    Letting the Old Year Out:   At midnight, all the doors of a house must be opened to let the old year escape unimpeded. He must leave before the New Year can come in, says popular wisdom, so doors are flung open to assist him in finding his way out.

    Loud Noise:   Make as much noise as possible at midnight. You're not just celebrating; you're scaring away evil spirits, so do a darned good job of it!
    According to widespread superstition, evil spirits and the Devil himself hate loud noise. We celebrate by making as much of a din as possible not just as an expression of joy at having a new year at our disposal, but also to make sure Old Scratch and his minions don't stick around. (Church bells are rung on a couple's wedding day for the same reason.)

    The Weather:   Examine the weather in the early hours of New Year's Day. If the wind blows from the south, there will be fine weather and prosperous times in the year ahead. If it comes from the north, it will be a year of bad weather. The wind blowing from the east brings famine and calamities. Strangest of all, if the wind blows from the west, the year will witness plentiful supplies of milk and fish but will also see the death of a very important person. If there's no wind at all, a joyful and prosperous year may be expected by all.

    Born on January 1:   Babies born on this day will always have luck on their side.

    ~ http://www.snopes.com/holidays/newyears/beliefs.asp

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    --
    Don't forget to remember me...
                    
    Diane Morales
    Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
    Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
    (630) 709.9882



    Follow MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook! 

     
    Got a Smart Phone?  Check out 311 N. May St.

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010

    Run, run, fast as you can... Merry Christmas from MORALES!

    Gingerbread Man Christmas Poem
    ~Author unknown


    Ginger Cookies
    Once there was a gingerbread man,
    Baking in a gingerbread pan,
    Raisin eyes and cherry nose,
    Trimmed right down to his fingers and toes,
    A gingerbread man in a gingerbread pan

    Here’s the old woman who made him sweet,
    A treat for she and her husband to eat,
    She made him with flour, sugar, and eggs,
    Then gave him a face, two arms, two legs,
    A gingerbread man in a gingerbread pan

    Now open the oven to see if he’s done,
    The gingerbread man may surely run,
    Out of the oven, on to the floor,
    Out of the kitchen and out the door,
    If the gingerbread man leaps out of the pan

    Chase him old woman, chase him old man,
    Now chase him, chase him, fast as you can,
    Through the garden and out the gate,
    Chase him, chase him before it’s too late,
    The gingerbread man is out of the pan

    Along came a horse who wanted a snack,
    Run fast Mr. Gingerbread, and never look back,
    Run, run Mr. Gingerbread, fast as you can,
    Shout, “Can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man,
    I’m the gingerbread man out of the pan!”

    Along came a farmer who wanted a treat,
    The gingerbread man looked good to eat,
    Run, run, fast as you can,
    Shout, “Can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man,
    The gingerbread man out of the pan!”

    Along came a fox who loved to eat,
    And the gingerbread man looked nice and sweet,
    “Jump on my back, my gingerbread pet,
    We’ll cross the river so you won’t get wet,
    Mr. Gingerbread man who’s out of the pan!”

    No place to go, no place to run,
    And a ride ‘cross the river could be such fun,
    Off with the fox did gingerbread go,
    What happened next, I think you know,
    To that gingerbread man out of the pan
    Broken Gingerbread Man
    That sly old fox had a wonderful treat,
    The old man and old woman had nothing to eat,
    Not a bite was left for the cow or dog,
    Or the horse or farmer, not even the hog,
    No more gingerbread man in or out of the pan…

    Wishing You a Cool Yule and a Mellow New Year! 

    If you'd like a copy of the Gingerbread Man recipe, click here.

    --
    ‘Oh yeah, in the next 2 weeks you will know of friends, neighbors, or coworkers who are looking to sell or buy a home.  Be sure to tell them about your experience working with me and call me right away with their phone numbers so that I can help them, too.’                
    Diane Morales
    Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
    Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
    (630) 709.9882



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