Downingtown, PA is Turning 150

I saw the sign on Pennsylvania Avenue near the gazebo, "Volunteers needed for Downingtown's Sesquicentennial Celebration. Call 610-269-0344." I'd seen it for a couple of days, and finally decided this was something I needed to be involved in.

I was born in West Chester, PA and lived in Downingtown until I was eight years old. Downingtown held many memories for me- and after living around the world (Air Force brat) - it was the only real place to call "home".What a great opportunity to give back to the community !

It has been fun to be a part of the planning - to come together with other people who care about the town and want to make the celebration event a hit with the community. The memories of the town have been so fun to learn - and I don't consider myself a real history buff.

If you'd like more information about the events including a parade and celebration day in May & a market day in October - you can visit the site I'm working on at Downingtown 150.

I had the lucky pleasure of attending Real Estate Bar Camp in Fredericksburg, VA this week. It's not only because I liked spending 4 hours there and 4 hours back with John Lauber in the car.... but I respect so many of the people at the Virginia Association of Realtors (Ben! Jovan! ) and Real Estate friends that work in the general area (I know better than to start shout outs here - hugs y'all).

If you know me ... you know I usually have my camera in hand. I have sad news to report.... my camera broke on Day 1. So I don't have a whole lot of pictures, but there are about 35 in my Flickr REBCVA set.

Here is a good recap picture for you.....

If you don't know the first picture - find out - he's a sort of a big deal, Tina & Kim; Craig & Kim; Kim & Ann; Natalie & Marie; Jason Kim & Mike; Jay & Monika; Kim & Jeff; Sarah & Monika; Kim & Sarah; and the center... Kim, Drew & Sarah.  (Not pictured.... so many!!!!  Broken cameras really suck - jussayin. At least I have a friend who said I can stalk her pictures.)

Play it Forward with Akoha

If you follow me on Twitter,  you know that I enjoy connecting with people both IRL (in real life) and in the Social Media realm. Akoha Playing it Forward game is a way to connect "real life" connections (even quick ones) to an "online" one. Andy Kaufman, East Bay Foreclosure Agent in CA, played a card with my friend Sarah while we were in New York for a Real Estate conference. He explained the game and gave SarahWV a card along with a Chocolate Bar.. what could be better than that ?

The playing mission card gets logged on the Akoha website, with short notes that explain who gave the card to whom. The purpose is then that the card gets played again... so Sarah would buy someone chocolate and give them the card.... for the rest of the story visit WestofPhillyBurbs.com

Compare the Market Statistics for Chester County Real Estate over the past 12 months. This information is taken from the information provided by TReND and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. For a personalized report of the Real Estate Activity for your area, email Kim for a copy via email. Previously posted on WestofPhillyBurbs.com.

The number of Listings decreased by 282 units when you compare January 2008 to January 2009. This could be for a number of reasons - including that many sellers who are selling now want to sell their home. They are not testing the real estate market. The amount of homes that sold relative to the number listed did not vary too much from 2008-2009. Neither did the Days on Market (DOM).

Real Estate Report of Monthly Statistics

Criteria searched was $100,000 - $1,000,000. All Residential Real Estate in Chester County Statistics.

Chester County PA includes the following areas: Atglen, Avondale, Birmingham, Caln, Charlestown, Coatesville, Downingtown, E Bradford, E Brandywine, E Caln, E Coventry, E Fallowfield, E Goshen, E Marlborough, E Nantmeal, E Nottingham, E Pikeland, E Vincent, E Whiteland, Easttown, Elk, Elverson, Franklin, Highland, Honeybrook, Kennett Square, L Oxford, London Britain, London Grove, Londonderry, Malvern, Modena, N Coventry, New Garden, New London, Newlin, Oxford, Parkesburg, Penn, Pennsbury, Phoenixville, Pocopson, S Coatesville, S Coventry, Sadsbury, Schuylkill, Spring City, Thornbury, Tredyffrin, U Oxford, U Uwchlan, Uwchlan, Valley, W Bradford, W Brandywine, W Caln, W Chester, W Fallowfield, W Goshen, W Grove, W Marlborough, W Nantmeal, W Nottingham, W Pikeland, W Sadsbury, W Vincent, W Whiteland, Wallace, Warwick, Westtown, and Willistown.

Click Here for a Delaware County Real Estate Market Report.

Chester County PA School Districts

Chester County, PA is compromised of 12 Public School Districts. They are spread out around Chester County and include many schools in each district. You can find the school calendars, school football schedules, school basketball schedules, school sports schedules, and other important information by visiting the district websites as listed below.

• Avon Grove School District
• Coatesville Area School District
• Downingtown Area School District Previously Featured on WestofPhillyBurbs.com is Downingtown Area School District
• Great Valley School District
• Kennett Consolidated School District
• Octorara Area School District
• Owen J. Roberts School District
• Oxford Area School District
• Phoenixville Area School District
• Tredyffrin/Easttown School District Previously Featured on WestofPhillyBurbs.com is T/E School District
• Unionville-Chadds Ford School District
• West Chester Area School District Previously Featured on WestofPhillyBurbs.com is West Chester Area School District

You can check many places for information on school statistics... one of my favorite is http://GreatSchools.net  (the only bad side is there are lots of ads).

Guest post by Jesse Herman of the Mesothelioma Cancer Center

Asbestos Removal and Greener Alternatives

There are many things to consider when remodeling or purchasing an older home. Homes built before 1980 have the strong likelihood of containing asbestos. Due to a steady progression of technology and green sustainable methods, there are many ways to ensure your home or property is asbestos free. If you are interested in saving money, remodeling and improving your carbon footprint, here is some information to get you on the right track.

Used in millions of homes throughout the last quarter of the 20^th century, asbestos insulation can become a real dilemma for homeowners due to causing a variety of health problems, including Peritoneal Mesothelioma and Malignant Mesothelioma. These types of cancer take the lives of thousands each year. 

Non-regulated asbestos material can be legally performed by homeowners, regular contractors, or licensed asbestos abatement contractors as long as the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) are not violated. Asbestos removal in public facilities, homes and workplaces must be undertaken by a licensed asbestos abatement contractor. Once the removal is complete, green insulation options should be given serious consideration, such as: Cellulose, Cotton Fiber and Lcynene.

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC), in a study conducted in 2003, estimated a savings of $50-$65 per square foot for well-constructed green buildings in the U.S. (see table below) during that year. The numbers continue to improve as more eco-friendly options become available, and those kinds of figures have finally begun to attract those who thought eco-friendly construction was just a bunch of hogwash.

Sometimes.... it just takes words to bring you back to some fun memories:

• When Harry Met Sally
• Breakfast on the Roof?
• Museums we pass
• Flask
• NYPD has words with someone in our party
  
• Newlyweds at The Paramount
• #A Group Tattoo
• Glove Swapping
• An extra subway stop
• Penn Station Tears
• Chocolate & Cards
• Sugarcane
• Broadway at 4am - all linked up
• On the corner, "You're sexy"
• Street Peddler walked side-by-side cause someone was "sweet to talk to everyone"
• Black Bean Ice Cream
• Daily Mug Shot Fan
• Scavenger Hunting
• Tastykakes
• NYPD in action - cameras in hand -  even possibly in a precarious spot
• "My tongue is on FIRE"
• Red Robe fashion
• Pepsi bottle surprise
• I want my $2.00 back!
• Waking up with Pizza in her bed?
• One stall = Three Girls
• Jay's still thinking about it...
  
• Tongue in cheek - I mean ear
• #weirddesserts
• Curly Hair in another pic? Where?
• We didn't see Wall Street and we were right there?
• Pool "Entertainment"
• Girls in the Men's Room?

I'm sure I've missed a lot..... feel free to carry on.... :)  THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES Y'ALL !!  For those friendships bonded closer, for those I got to hug for the first time, for those I just connected with ..... yay!

Thank you SUSAN for pointing this out to me ! I hope our town comes together and supports for this great cause :)  I will be in a Leadership Training in St Davids so I won't make it.  Good luck!

The Storm in my Life continued....

URG! It has NOT been a very good couple of days. As I said in my first post The STORM in my Life (Days 1-5), I was forgiving of "new" and decided that with the minor problems.... I was sticking with the STORM. I still know that I took a chance on a new products

Not sure I still feel the same way.

Here are the issues that I am finding in the last couple of days. They just might be the straw..... that breaks.... ya know.....

CALLER ID: So the last five phone calls I've received... says someone else is calling. Yep. The last person who called me, not the incoming call.

COPY/PASTE/SELECT: I'm still really not happy with this. It is difficult to copy, paste, and place the cursor in previous text to either correct or insert something else. Maybe I'm the only one that needs this - but it's frustrating.

BLACKBERRY DESKTOP MANAGER: What a crazy system! I don't like it. Why not? It has "sections" with descriptions for further information. What a pain - they aren't descriptive enough to know where to go. I liked the ability in Windows Mobile to actually go view each part of your device, each file and move it around from there.  The synchronization process takes a long time!  I only have it synching contacts & notes but it takes a long time!

UPGRADE: So.... I've now almost completed two blog posts, tweeted, picked up house, played with LittleOne5 - all while waiting for an upgrade, the first upgrade to complete. If I saw it correctly, it actually removes everything from the device then puts it back on it again. Interesting. Never had an upgrade take this long. Wonder how many more there will be?

Good points since last post...

I like Crackberry.com lots of useful information!

Transferring files from iTunes to Blackberry Device wasn't too difficult. Music quality is very good on phone.

AutoSureType has been interesting to learn, but I've kept with it, as people say.... and I think that with another few days - we'll be friends.

At this point..... Take it or leave it?  Not sure. Still using it like crazy - hopefully this upgrade will improve some things. If I was made to decide today - - - I'd be at the store looking for something else.

The Blackberry STORM review by me....

Poor @TwitterFriends keep hearing bits and pieces... here is a little more for ya...

When I ordered my Blackberry Storm online I was anxious about the 2 day wait for it to arrive.... only to learn it was on backorder and it would be about a week and a half wait. 

My poor XV6700 was having such a hard time keeping up with me and reminded me frequently it was time for it to retire, so it was a long wait.

I ripped open the box - got it all set up very quickly ... and off I went to learn.... 

Keeping a very open mind... change is always hard.... and the reviews were 50/50.

KEYBOARD: Yes, the touch screen is tough to get used to. The screen almost does a whole 'push' of the phone - hard to describe, but I'm sure you've heard it from the real techies doing the reviews a little better.  I was a speedy texter, I mean, like... really fast. My thumbs could roll ! So it was frustrating to go back to the elementary stages of typing again.  But eventually I have gotten better with it.

My biggest complaint about the text entry is that you can not go back if you mess up very easily unless you use the "back-up-and-erase-arrow". You know what I mean? After you type your message and you need to change a word - it's VERY difficult to go back and select it.

MESSAGES: I do like that it keeps the messages (or can if you select it) in order of conversation with that recipient. So you can see your entire conversation back and forth if you want to - with just a glance.

CAMERA: I'm not a huge camera user other than fun personal ones to send to family & friends.... it works well for that. But it takes long for the picture to take after you've depressed the shutter button. That's irritating.  (Picture on right taken with Storm)

OS: Kim? With a Blackberry? My friend Jason and I seem to be in a minority of our "ANTI-Blackberry, but can't explain it" attitudes.  Other friends like John, Matt, Nick, and recently Candy Lynn - say, "Go Blackberry!"  I was shocked I actually even considered it. And when Candy Lynn was helping me with my upgrade decision, some of the first words out of my mouth were, "No Blackberry!" But after she was telling me about the new Storm, I was a little interested - and the rest is history.

I'm not really sure how I feel about it now. I think Windows Mobile and Blackberry (sure, the others as well Palm, Apple, etc) all have their ups and downs.  I have no complaints one way or another at this point.

PHONE CALLS: The reception with phone calls is very good compared to my XV6700 (that was horrible!). Both on the device and via Bluetooth.

Should I mention I had to visit Verizon's Tech Service Department already? Yes, they fixed it. I couldn't hear anything.
Should I mention that I've had to restart and remove battery a couple times a day?
Should I mention I've seen the Black or White Screen of Blackberry Death a couple of times?

My plan is to use this thing like CRAZY for the 30-day trial period.

At this point, how do I like it?
I like it. If I had to chose on Day 5 whether I keep or rid it.... I'd keep it. It has it's problems, but it's better good than bad.

(Stay tuned.... to learn if I still feel this way)

Posted: The Storm in my Life Days 5-7