Kate Elim, Lake Anna Real Estate Specialist: December 2009

Do you share your goals or are they a secret? 

I must admit when I first started in real estate I seldom established goals for myself.  Sometimes I would think about how many listings I believed I would need to have as well as how many sales I needed to earn a certain amount but during the year I pretty much cruised along without much if any thought to my "goals".  By the end of the year I probably could not have told you, without looking at what I had written down, what goals I had started out with at the beginning of the year.

In 2001 I transferred my license to a brand new RE/MAX office which had just opened at Lake Anna.  One of the owners mentioned to me that she would like to see everyone in the office earn a certain figure or more.  My immediate reaction was I would have to spend too much time working in order to do that.  Well, it happened and quite easily.

Ever since that happened I have set goals for myself.  Do you?  If you do, do you prefer to keep them a secret or do you share your goal(s) with others?

For some people sharing their goals with others gives them more of an incentive to strive to achieve those goals.  Others are more comfortable keeping them to themselves. 

We are seeing a number of posts by our fellow members which are telling us these highly productive agents set goals and determine from year to year the tools that are helping them achieve their goals.  If you read many of these, and do not currently set goals for yourself, you may be encouraged to do so.  You will find many suggestions in these posts that will help you do exactly that and so I will suggest something else.

When setting your goals, if that is what you decide to do, please be sure to consider goals in other areas of your life. 

• Think about some of the relationships you hope to strength or renew.
   
• Is there anything, perhaps a sport or a hobby, that you would like to learn or improve upon.
  
  
• Are there places that you would like to visit.
  
  
• Have you thought about learning a new language.
  
  
• Would you like to take on and complete a big home project.
  
  
• Would you like to make time for volunteering and if so with what organization.
  
  
• Have you thought about adopting a more healthy lifestyle.

There are so many areas in our lives where it would be very helpful for us to take a minute or two to evaluate how well we are doing.  Reflecting upon other areas of our lives will make for a more complete life.  That in turn enables us to feel better about ourselves and that certainly has an impact on how well we will do professionally.

All aspects of our lives require our attention.  One area impacts others.  If goals can help you attain more balance in all aspects of your life be sure to set them and keep them where you are constantly reminded of them.  If sharing them with others will help you do that, then be sure to share.  If keeping them to yourself serves you better, do exactly that.

Time marches on so quickly.  Work at making the most of the time you have to ensure 2010 is as productive and as fulfilling as possible.

I wish that for each and every one of you.  Happy New Year!

((Photos courtesy of Microsoft Clip Art)

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It is very, very seldom that we have this much snow at Lake Anna so it seemed like the perfect time to go out to take some pictures.  As I had no plans of venturing very far from home most of the pictures are of home.   You will also get an idea of my neighborhood.  We live in the country so we do not really have a "neighborhood".  That's OK.  We have neighbors and that's what counts.

Our Home in the Woods at Lake Anna

Closer

Closest

Up the driveway or down the driveway?

Come on in!

Across the road from home.

Country Charm!

Who's going where?

Lake Anna's Big Foot

There are so many great places around the lake, some neighborhoods and other areas that are called non-subdivision.  Whereever you are fortunate to have a home will become your favorite spot.  Buyers often ask me where the best places are at Lake Anna and that is what I always say...wherever you find your spot...that's the best place of all.

To see photos of Lake Anna during other seasons of the year, check out these posts:

Spring Inspiration and Positive Views of Lake Anna, VA

Autumn at Lake Anna, Virginia 

Falling for Fall

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If you're ups for a little smile time, take a look.  Thanks Missy.

At this time of year when we become so busy shopping for gifts for our children and others it is good to remember the gifts that really count.

There are so many things we can give our children even when we can provide barely provide material things.  What is important is to give these things; our love, our time, our understanding, our patience, structure, laughter, a sense of justice, compassion, our work ethic, a love of family, and the list goes on and on.

These are the gifts that last a lifetime for our children.  These are the gifts that create their memories.

Whether we have the money to provide extravagent gifts or nothing at all, it is more important that we provide the foundation for our children to grow into adults that take these gifts we have shared with them and share them with others.

This is how the world revolves and evolves.  It is why we continue to have hope because we know that another generation is imparting their mark on the world.  Let us do all that we can to make it a positive one.

For those of us that have grandchildren, the same holds true. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

P.S.  I cannot hope to understand the heartache a parent feels when they believe they will be letting their children down because they do not have money to provide gifts or even perphaps a Christmas tree.  All I can say to them is, as the children grow up and understand the hardships in this world they will love you all the more for loving them.

Kate Elim, Lake Anna, Virginia

This title caught my eye immediately.  Well worth reading.

Caught some pictures of the pups experiencing their first snow.  The decided right away that it tasted good which made it hard to get any pictures of their faces.   Actually Rocky kept his back end towards the camera most of the time so I only got a couple of shots of him and several more of Lindy.

Here's pretty Lindy getting a good look.

I love Lindy's curly tail.

Rocky's one face shot.  He's mixing his usual diet of pebbles with something new, a little snow.

Rocky needs equal time so here's his back shot.

It really does not look as though Lake Anna is going to receive that much snow this time but it is fun to be at home, watching football (good for The College of William and Mary...they won their playoff game 24-3), and enjoying the warmth inside while looking out at the lake through the snowflakes.

Now is the time to find out what activities are planned in our area for the upcoming holidays.  These are just a few.  Others will be mentioned in future posts.  See how many you can fit in your schedule.

Louisa is Ready to Start Celebrating

Louisa's Christmas parade, with an expected 40 floats, will start at 3:00 p.m., Saturday, December 5.  The parade will begin at the corner of Patrick Henry Drive and Cutler Road turning left on Main Street to Fredericksubrg Ave. and then back to the fairgrounds. 

There will be approximately 45 vendors including First Fruit Ministry which will be conducting a raffle/food drive to benefit the Community Cupboard.  Every two cans of food donated will entitle the donor to one ticker for a drawing to be held at 4:00 p.m.  Entrants must be present to win the prizes which include a number of items donated by local business.  This is a wonderful opportunity to spread some holiday cheer by donating to a very worthy cause.

St. Jude Catholic Church is having its Christmas Bazaar Saturday, December 5th between 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.  There will be crafts and a bake sale, pictures with Santa, and a silent auction.  St. Jude is located on routes 22/33 between Mineral and Louisa.

Hanover County

Tomorrow morning there will be an open house and guided tours at St. John's Church in Richmond, where Patrick Henry made his history-changing "give me liberty or give me death" speech.

Historic Hanover Tavern, where Henry once tended bar as a young man, will have an open house and holiday craft fair from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. tomorrow.

At noon re-enactors will dramatize Henry's famous "Parson's Cause" speech during a free performance at the historic Hanover Courthouse across the street from Hanover Tavern.

Scotchtown, Henry's home when he was Virginia's first governor, will have a Christmas open house with colonial dancers and musicians from 7:30-9:30 tomorrow night.  All events are free admission except for the Open House at Scotchtown, which cost $5.

 
Santa breakfasts at firehouses begin Sat. December 5th

A number of Hanover County Fire Departments have Breakfasts with Santa each December. Beaverdam VFD kicks off this local holiday tradition tomorrow. Breakfast will be served from 8-10 a.m. and kids can have their pictures taken with Santa. The Beaverdam Fire Station is located at 16150 Trainham Road in the village; call 449-6345 for more information.

Next Saturday, December 12th, the fire departments of Ashland, Chickahominy and Hanover Courthouse will have their own Santa Breakfast events.

Spotsylvania County

It's time for Spotsylvania's annual Holiday Parade.  The parade begins at Spotsylvania Middle School and continues to R.E. Lee Elementary.  You'll get to see bands, floats, high school Jr. ROTC, mules, children's groups, horses, alpaces, and best of all...Santa.  It starts at 2:00 p.m. so be sure to get there in time.

Fredericksburg City

Be sure to plan for the Fredericksburg Jaycees Christmas Parade downtown along Caroline and Princess Anne streets beginning at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, December 5th.  There will be an apprearance by the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. 

An early Christmas gift from Active Rain arrived today.  Well, perhaps it would be more accurate to say through the goodness of Active Rain I have received a gift (aka referral) from Gene and Renee Jantzen, fellow members.

My phone rang, saw a number I was not familiar with, and answered to find Sheri Salley on the line.  Sheri is administrator for the Jantzen Team outside Austin, TX.  Within the first sentence or two she mentioned Active Rain.  What sweet words.

Yes, it was like hearing the name of a friend.

Of course I was interested in a referral for Lake Anna.  That's my home turf.  I love showing people homes or land around the lake.  It's fun to see their reaction which is almost always surprise that the lake is as large as it is and that we have such a nice variety of homes.

The most recent referral I had through Active Rain was from Lenn Harley and that resulted in my helping a young couple and their little boy find a second home on the water at Lake Louisa, a small lake near Lake Anna.

Just remember, all you boys and girls, if you are good Santa may send you a referral through Active Rain.  It may come before Christmas like mine did or it may be a little late but if you play by the Active Rain guidelines and participate it will happen to you.

Right now I had better get back to work in case Santa has any more gifts for me.

Merry Christmas and many thanks to Active Rain and its members!

For more information on the wonders of Active Rain you might enjoy:

What's Better than a Referral Form from Active Rain?

What's Better than a Referral Form from Active Rain, Part II?