Bug me anytime.... with MORALES!!

MAY '14	ST CHARLES	GENEVA	BATAVIA	ELBURN	SUGAR GROVE	MAPLE PARK
# ACTIVE	451	169	147	104	85	29
# SOLD	65	42	39	9	18	3
MARKET TIME	136	102	109	136	98	59
MEDIUM SOLD $	$342,500	$309,000	$280,000	$190,000	$288,000	$187,500

​Summertime, summertime brings fun, fun, fun and BUGS too!

The 17-year cicadas are due back to Western IL.  -- What??  I swear they were just "here" a couple years ago.  Yuk!

• Mosquitoes -- more people are killed by mosquito-borne illness than any other factor. In the United States, mosquitoes can spread different types of encephalitis and can transmit heartworms to domestic animals like dogs and cats.
• Wasps -- Wasps usually have a slender, shiny body but they can often look like Honeybees. Unlike Honeybees, when wasps sting their victim they do not lose their stinger, allowing them to sting their victim repeatedly.
• Ticks --  Ticks can be very tiny and some can also carry Lyme disease. Prevalent throughout North America, ticks can attach themselves to exposed skin after time spent outdoors. It’s important to do a full body check for ticks and to remove any ticks immediately.
• Flies --  During a fly's lifetime (usually a 30 day cycle), a female fly will lay anywhere from 400-600 eggs. Each fly egg hatches into a small, grub-like, creature (larvae), which looks more like an inchworm than a fly. By eating  nutrients from soil, ponds or even in the sea, larvae will grow to adult fly size within a few days.
• Ants -- Ants live in colonies of millions, building underground homes and trails. Most ants are worker ants, which gather food and building supplies. They have a keen sense for your picnics, sweet treats and any food laying around. In the summer heat, keep your food and drinks wrapped up, or you will be sharing it with millions of these critters.

​
BUG ME anytime with all your real estate needs!! 

​

    Diane MOOrales
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
      Call/Text:  630.709.9882
"Like"  MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

 
​http://www.rd.com/health/wellness/10-dangerous-summer-bugs/

Man's Best Friend... and MOOrales!

	ST CHARLES	GENEVA	BATAVIA	ELBURN	SUGAR GROVE	MAPLE PARK
# ACTIVE	424	181	135	101	74	22
# SOLD	49	36	18	8	5	5
MARKET TIME	125	90	91	148	198	88
MEDIUM SOLD $	$309,000	$341,250	$330,000	$247,500	$375,000	$200,000

Fun facts about our favorite four-legged friends:

Dogs are capable of understanding up to 250 words and gestures, can count up to five and can perform simple mathematical calculations. The average dog is as intelligent as a two-year-old child.
Some stray dogs have figured out how to use the subway system in order to travel to more populated areas in search of food.

Dogs don’t enjoy being hugged as much as humans and other primates. Canines interpret putting a limb over another animal as a sign of dominance.

Two stray dogs in Afghanistan saved 50 American soliders. A Facebook group raised $21,000 to bring the dogs back to the US and reunite them with the soldiers.
The Beatles song “A day in the Life” has an extra high-pitched whistle, audible only to dogs. It was recorded by Paul McCartney for the enjoyment of his Shetland sheepdog.
One of Michael Vick’s former fighting dogs, Leo, went on to be a therapy dog who comforted dying children.
Service dogs are trained to know when they are on duty. When their harness is on, they know it’s business time. When you take it off, the pups immediately become playful and energetic.
Tiger Woods stuttered as a child and used to talk to his dog until he fell asleep in an effort to get rid of it.
Seeing eye dogs pee and poo on command so that their owners can clean up after them. Male dogs are also trained to do their business without lifting their leg.
The wetness of a dog’s nose is essential for determining what direction a smell is coming from.
Spiked dog collars were invented in ancient Greece and were originally designed to protect dogs throats from wolf attacks.
The most popular male dog names are Max and Jake. The most popular female dog names are Maggie and Molly.

The name of the dog on the Cracker Jacks box is Bingo. The Taco Bell Chihuahua is a rescued dog named Gidget.

Petting dogs is proven to lower blood pressure of dog owners.

A person standing still 300 yards away is almost invisible to a dog. But a dog can easily identify its owner standing a mile away if the owner is waving his arms.



​

Call me when you need someone to guide you
thru the home buying/selling process...

    Diane MOOrales
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
      Call/Text:  630.709.9882
"Like"  MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

​http://thebarkpost.com/fascinating-facts-about-dogs/

​

​http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/02/15_dogs.html

Warming up...with MORALES!

		Feb '14
St Charles
# Active		302
# Sold		40
MKT Time		171
Med Sold $		$304,967
Geneva
# Active		138
# Sold		12
MKT Time		111
Med Sold $		$313,500
Batavia
# Active		107
# Sold		13
MKT Time		187
Med Sold $		$215,000
Elburn
# Active		62
# Sold		12
MKT Time		127
Med Sold $		$217,500
Sugar Grove
# Active		67
# Sold		7
MKT Time		70
Med Sold $		$260,400
Maple Park
# Active		14
# Sold		1
MKT Time		106
Med Sold $		$189,000

Spring Facts for us to Warm-Up to...

The day when there are 12 equal hours of daylight and darkness usually happens before the first day of spring.

Benjamin Franklin was the first American to propose Daylight Saving Time in 1784. However, it wasn’t fully implemented in the US until after the Second World War.

Daylight Saving Time starts and ends at different times around the world.

The reason that there’s more daylight during spring is that the earth’s axis tilts towards the sun at this time of year.

Dandelions originated in Asia.

Spring fever is not just a myth – the body may experience physiological changes due to changes in diet, hormone production and temperature.

Children grow faster in spring.

Spring is when birds return home after migrating in winter. About 1800 bird species migrate.

Everything is coming up roses in the real estate market! 

If you've been thinking about buying or selling,

now is a wonderful time to make a move. 

Call me for all your real estate needs! 

    Diane MOOrales
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
          630.709.9882

"Like"  MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

 

http://www.parkrideflyusa.com/blog/2012/03/21/16-fun-facts-about-spring/

   

Phil predicts more Winter and I predict a Seller's Market... with MOOrales!

January '14 STATS

 

St. Charles 

# Active 277

# Sold 36

MKT Time 210

Med Sold $ -- $298,500

Geneva 

# Active 125

# Sold 18

MKT Time 102

Med Sold $ -- $331,500

 

Batavia 

# Active 104

# Sold 19

MKT Time 66

Med Sold $ -- $238,000

   

Elburn 

# Active 61

# Sold 9

MKT Time 298

Med Sold $ -- $190,275

 

Sugar Grove

# Active 64

# Sold 6

MKT Time 61

Med Sold $ -- $258,000

Maple Park

# Active 18

# Sold 2

MKT Time 118

Med Sold $ 215,500

I know I'm a day late, but I've always wondered why we celebrate the rodent....  Here ya go!!

Groundhog Day was adopted in the U.S. in 1887 after the editor of the local paper Punxsutawney Spirit, began promoting the town’s groundhog as the official “Groundhog Day meteorologist.”

While original traditions utilized hedgehogs to forecast the weather, early German settlers in Pennsylvania reportedly use the groundhog for their annual celebration due to its resemblance to the European hedgehog and their belief that the critter was the “most intelligent” and “sensible” creature to complete the task.

Of course we know that if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter... But apparently the world’s most famous groundhog uses “a chirp and a click and a wink of an eye” to inform about his vision. How magical!

Don’t get too down if Phil predicts six more weeks of winter this year. His accuracy is reportedly only 39 percent.

Phil, has been forecasting the weather from his hob in Pennsylvania for over 125 years.  (Punxsutawney Phil, according to legend, is the original groundhog, as his life is extended another 7 years every summer and he swigs a gulp of his “groundhog nog” at an annual picnic at Gobbler’s Knob. Groundhog nog’s life-extending powers do not work on humans.)

In the 1960s, the top hat and tuxedo uniform was initiated, noting that such an important figure as Punxsutawney Phil should be greeted with a sense or reverence and formality.

Punxsutawney Phil and 3 other groundhogs — including his wife, Phyllis — live in a heated area of the children’s portion of the Punxsutawney Memorial Library.

A Groundhog's shadow is a fun way
to

predict the beginning of Spring.

When it comes to buying and selling, however,
it is best to refer to an expert.

  Valentine's Day? 
  Milk it for all it's worth!! 
Download my mobile app for a chance to win $50,000!!   

    Diane MOOrales
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
          630.709.9882

"Like"  MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

 

http://hollywoodlife.com/2014/01/31/groundhog-day-trivia-2014-february-2-facts/

   

http://www.ibtimes.com/why-do-we-celebrate-groundhog-day-1551495

http://www.travelchannel.com/interests/arts-and-culture/articles/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-groundhog-day

Igloos for sale... with BURRales!

December '13 STATS

 

St. Charles 

# Active 275

# Sold 60

MKT Time 108

Med Sold $ -- $320,000

Geneva 

# Active 120

# Sold 28

MKT Time 105

Med Sold $ -- $349,500

 

Batavia 

# Active 97

# Sold 19

MKT Time 117

Med Sold $ -- $321,500

   

Elburn 

# Active 58

# Sold 5

MKT Time 51

Med Sold $ -- $242,500

 

Sugar Grove

# Active 59

# Sold 8

MKT Time 49

Med Sold $ -- $205,350

Maple Park

# Active 13

# Sold 6

MKT Time 192

Med Sold $ 236,500

In reflection of this New Year's snowfall, I dug up some fun snow facts about our little white addiction:

1. World’s Largest Snowflake:  The world’s largest snowflake was reported to be 15 inches across and 8 inches thick. The Guinness Book of World Records states that this giant snowflake was found at Fort Keogh, Montana on January 28, 1887.
2. Snow is Not White:  Snow is actually clear and colorless.
   “The complex structure of snow crystals results in countless tiny surfaces from which visible light is efficiently reflected. What little sunlight is absorbed by snow is absorbed uniformly over the wavelengths of visible light thus giving snow its white appearance.” - National Snow and Ice Data Center
3. 76” in 24 Hours:  The most snow ever recorded in a 24 hour period in the USA occurred at Silver Lake, Colorado in 1921 and was 76 inches of snow.
4.  Earth’s Fresh Water is Frozen:  80% of all the freshwater on earth is frozen as ice or snow.  This accounts for 12% of the earth’s surface.
5. What is a Blizzard?:  A blizzard occurs when you can’t see for 1/4 mile. The winds are always 35 miles an hour or more. The storm must last at least 3 hours to be classed as a blizzard. If any of these conditions are less, it is only a snowstorm.
6. 105 Snow Storm per Year in USA:  The USA averages 105 snow producing storms per year.  A typical storm will have a 2-5 day lifetime and drop snow in multiple states.
7. 6 Sides or Bust:  All snowflakes have 6 sides.  Period.  The reasoning behind this gets techy, but it’s cool:
   “The oxygen atom has a particularly strong attraction to the electron clouds of the two hydrogen atoms and pulls them closer. This leaves the two hydrogen ends more positively charged, and the center of the “V” more negatively charged. When other water molecules “brush up” against this growing snowflake, strong forces between the negatively charged and positively charged parts of different particles cause them to join together in a very specific three-dimensional pattern with a six-sided symmetry. Each water molecule that joins the snowflake reflects this pattern until eventually we can see its macroscopic six-sided shape.” – Learner.org
8. Chionophobia is a fear of snow.
9. People buy more cakes, cookies and candies than any other food when a blizzard is in the forecast.
10. The average snowflake falls at a speed of 3.1 miles per hour.

When I no longer thrill to the first snow of the season, I'll know I'm growing old.  ~Lady Bird Johnson

Snowflakes are kisses from heaven.  ~Author Unknown

There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.  ~Alfred Wainwright

Where does the white go when the snow melts?  ~Hugh Kieffer

Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.  ~Vista M. Kelly

Snowmen fall from heaven... unassembled.  ~Author Unknown

When it snows, you have two choices:  shovel or make snow angels.  ~Author Unknown

Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery.  ~Bill Watterson

There's one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor's.  ~Clyde Moore

   Feliz Año Nuevo! 

    Diane MOOrales
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
          630.709.9882

"Like"  MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

http://snowbrains.com/10-interesting-facts-about-snow/
http://unofficialnetworks.com/10-snow-facts-you-may-not-know-72160/

Name that Christmas MOOvie... with MORALES!~

November '13 STATS

 

St. Charles 

# Active 288

# Sold 57

MKT Time 167

Med Sold $ -- $282,500

Geneva 

# Active 120

# Sold 29

MKT Time 70

Med Sold $ -- $292,500

 

Batavia 

# Active 107

# Sold 20

MKT Time 97

Med Sold $ -- $239,750

   

Elburn 

# Active 58

# Sold 14

MKT Time 328

Med Sold $ -- $225,000

 

Sugar Grove

# Active 64

# Sold 12

MKT Time 142

Med Sold $ -- $266,250

Maple Park

# Active 14

# Sold 5

MKT Time 42

Med Sold $ 165,000

Name that CHRISTMAS MO0VIE... 
No fair peeking until you've answered them all!! 

1. "Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings."
2. "What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."
3. "It's a one year membership to the Jelly of the Month Club."
4. "You'll shoot your eye out kid!"
5. "He never got his picture on bubble gum cards, did he? Have you ever seen his picture on a bubble gum card? Hmmm? How can you say someone is great who's never had his picture on bubble gum cards?"
6. "Uh, since the United States Government declares this man to be Santa Claus, this court will not dispute it. Case dismissed."
7. "Bless this highly nutritious microwavable macaroni and cheese dinner and the people who sold it on sale. Amen."
8. "We're your worst nightmare... Elves with attitude."
9. "Fog as thick as peanut butter"
10. "Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved."
11. "The thing about trains... it doesn't matter where they're going. What matters is deciding to get on."
12. "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"

So-o-o-o-o-, how do you think you did?? 

1. It's A Wonderful Life
2. How The Grinch Stole Christmas
3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
4. A Christmas Story
5. A Charlie Brown Christmas
6. Miracle On 34th Street
7. Home Alone
8. The Santa Clause
9. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
10. A Christmas Story
11. The Polar Express
12. It's A Wonderful Life

A hug is the perfect Christmas Gift, one size fits all
and it is easily returned.

 

Have a MOO-y Christmas! 

    Diane MOOrales
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
          630.709.9882

"Like"  MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

http://www.xmasfun.com/Trivia.aspx?Trivia_Quiz_ID=11

The Cow says MOO... Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding... with MORALES!!

October '13 STATS

 

St. Charles 

# Active 334

# Sold 68

MKT Time 153

Med Sold $ -- $304,500

Geneva 

# Active 149

# Sold 26

MKT Time 77

Med Sold $ -- $272,500

 

Batavia 

# Active 113

# Sold 29

MKT Time 90

Med Sold $ -- $266,000

   

Elburn 

# Active 75

# Sold 12

MKT Time 84

Med Sold $ -- $248,000

 

Sugar Grove

# Active 63

# Sold 14

MKT Time 62

Med Sold $ -- $304,450

Maple Park

# Active 20

# Sold 2

MKT Time 310

Med Sold $ 135,000

Mateo is obsessed with the song "What Does the Fox Say?"    It's catchy.  And I find myself walking around singing it too!!  It got me thinking.... When my son was little, my husband's family would teach my son other ways to identify what the animals say.  I never knew.  Just always assumed that the noises were the same in every language.  But they're not!!  Most intriguing to me was what the rooster says in Spanish:  Kiki Riki versus Cock-a-doodle-doo!   Click on this link to see other fun examples. 

And no matter how you make your animal noises,
please remember to say MOOrales
when you're ready to buy or sell real estate!! 

Autumn MOOves in!

    Diane MOOrales
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
          630.709.9882

"Like"  MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!
      

A Lifetime Together... with MORALES!!

The below fun-facts are in honor of my beautiful daughter and her handsome fiancee,
who are getting married in September!!   I love them both SO much!! 
Wishing them a lifetime of love and happiness together! 

In English tradition, Wednesday is considered the "best day" to marry, although Monday is for wealth and Tuesday is for health.  Saturday is the unluckiest wedding day, according to English folklore. Funny -- it's the most popular day of the week to marry!

The English believe a spider found in a wedding dress means good luck. Yikes!

Ancient Romans studied pig entrails to determine the luckiest time to marry.

Rain on your wedding day is actually considered good luck, according to Hindu tradition!

For good luck, Egyptian women pinch the bride on her wedding day. Ouch!

Middle Eastern brides paint henna on their hands and feet to protect themselves from the evil eye

Peas are thrown at Czech newlyweds instead of rice.

A Swedish bride puts a silver coin from her father and a gold coin from her mother in each shoe to ensure that she'll never do without.

A Finnish bride traditionally went door-to-door collecting gifts in a pillowcase, accompanied by an older married man who represented long marriage.

Moroccan women take a milk bath to purify themselves before their wedding ceremony.

In Holland, a pine tree is planted outside the newlyweds' home as a symbol of fertility and luck.

In Asia, wearing robes with embroidered cranes symbolizes fidelity for the length of a marriage.

Ancient Greeks and Romans thought the veil protected the bride from evil spirits. Brides have worn veils ever since.

Brides carry or wear "something old" on their wedding day to symbolize continuity with the past.

The "something blue" in a bridal ensemble symbolizes purity, fidelity, and love.

In Denmark, brides and grooms traditionally cross-dressed to confuse evil spirits!

In South Africa, the parents of both bride and groom traditionally carried fire from their hearths to light a new fire in the newlyweds' hearth.

The tradition of a wedding cake comes from ancient Rome, where revelers broke a loaf of bread over a bride's head for fertility's sake.

The custom of tiered cakes emerged from a game where the bride and groom attempted to kiss over an ever-higher cake without knocking it over.

An old wives' tale: If the younger of two sisters marries first, the older sister must dance barefoot at the wedding or risk never landing a husband.

In many cultures around the world -- including Celtic, Hindu and Egyptian weddings -- the hands of a bride and groom are literally tied together to demonstrate the couple's commitment to each other and their new bond as a married couple (giving us the popular phrase "tying the knot").

The Roman goddess Juno rules over marriage, the hearth, and childbirth, hence the popularity of June weddings.

The bride stands to the groom's left during a Christian ceremony, because in bygone days the groom needed his right hand free to fight off other suitors.

Engagement and wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was once thought that a vein in that finger led directly to the heart.

August '13 STATS

 

St. Charles 

# Active 374

# Sold 98

MKT Time 93

Med Sold $ -- $297,500

Geneva 

# Active 150

# Sold 56

MKT Time 93

Med Sold $ -- $315,000

 

Batavia 

# Active 121

# Sold 37

MKT Time 82

Med Sold $ -- $275,000

   

Elburn 

# Active 85

# Sold 6

MKT Time 130

Med Sold $ -- $242,500

 

Sugar Grove

# Active 65

# Sold 12

MKT Time 26 (WOW!)

Med Sold $ -- $238,500

Maple Park

# Active 17

# Sold 6

MKT Time 504 (again, one listing must've skewed the #s)

Med Sold $ 260,500

And so begins another season
for this Soccer-MOOm!

    Diane MOOrales
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
          630.709.9882

"Like"  MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

Wedding Traditions & Superstitions: 50 Wedding Facts & Trivia - Wedding Planning - Wedding Customs http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-customs/articles/50-wedding-traditions-superstitions-facts-trivia.aspx#ixzz2dOXmVdAQ