Today for the first time since 9-11, you can go to the top of the Statue of Liberty.  "On that fateful day in 2001, she held her head high as she witnessed with her own eyes the horrors that took place just across from her watery home. Symbolism and sentimentality can be infinitely  applid to her place in it all." I have never been up in the Statue but hope to at some point. There are lots of others who want to enjoy the "view from the crown" and tickets are sold out until November. Carefully planned down to the smallest detail- the statue looks out on the ocean and on to France. Located on a 12 acre island, the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democra... 07/04/2009

Brainerd,MN ~Minnesota's Fourth of July Capital Despite the economy, the 4th of July Celebration and the jaw dropping fireworks display will continue, at least for this year. This is mainly due to the efforts of some dedicated volunteers and Nancy Cross , Drector of Brainerd Community Action. There will be 100 parade units down only 20 from last year. The weather is predicted to be sunny with temperatures around 77 degrees and a small chance of rain. The festivites on the Fourth will start with the Annual Brainerd Jaycees Corn Feed on the Adamson Ball Field at noon. If you like sweet corn roasted in the husks and dipped in butter, you will love this. A little sprinkle of salt and pepper and plenty of napkins will do. The American Celebration parade will start at 4 PM and the musical ent... 07/03/2009

  Homes are selling but they are not selling for as high a price nor are they selling as quickly.  Does that sound familiar in your area?       As a REALTOR/Staging Specialist home stager with Keller Williams Realty Brainerd Lakes, I know at least a partial solution to the problem. In order for your home to sell better and faster than those of the competitions', it needs to be properly presented and be priced competitively, from the start. A home that shows well both outside and inside is going to get offers.  When prospective buyers make an emotional connection with the home - they want it!      I keep hearing from Realtors "home staging - we do that".   Then I look at their MLS photos. Home staging is more than cleaning and decluttering (although a lot of the photos were also missing ... 06/30/2009

Emily will be performing her talent and showing off her Miss Minnesota pageant wardrobe tonight June 11th. 2009.  This will be held in the cafeteria on the South Campus of the Brainerd, Minnesota High School at 6 PM.. Also performing their Talent pieces will be two of our area's Minnesota's Outstanding Teen Contestants.  They are Bailey Wachholtz and Emma Hilgart. Everyone is invited to come and ask these young women some tough questions about life, about their platforms, about anything.  They will all soon be standing before a panel of judges doing the same thing and the more experience they get - the better. We wish them well in their endeavors and want to give them a great send off into this adventure. It will be stressful, it will be fun, it will be challenging. "Go Brainerd Lakes" 06/11/2009

     A few short weeks ago my husband went in for back surgery.  It was to be rather intense as he was having fusion, had a tumor on his spine and a disc that was protruding.  They were to take bone from his hip to use in the back and that was to give him some pain during the proposed 5 months of recovery.  We are both self employed and his part of that is roofing. So it is no small matter to take off another 5 months(he hasn't been able to work with the pain for 5 months).  The doctors have varying opinions as to whether he will even be able to roof again.     There was really no choice as to having surgery so off we went to Minneapolis. He was overdosed with narcotics during surgery and that shut his systems down. They could not wake him up and his bodily systems then stopped.  He has... 05/15/2009

President Obama has swiftly moved the United States of America from our traditional American model of entrepreneurship and private initiative to something that quite closely resembles a European model of regulation and government control. He has the uncanny ability to get Congressional Democrats to give him things that will undermine their own power – they have 94% of the time in the House and 91% of the time in the Senate.His Economic Stimulus bill that was in fact a pay back for the liberal interest base and future vote buying cost those people who actually pay taxes $787 billion dollars and more hands are coming out from under the covers to get treats. Do you realize that this moved along at a pace that no member of Congress even read the bill in its entirety before they voted on it?... 04/29/2009

     Syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin in Thursday's Washington Times wrote: "What and who exactly are President Obama's homeland security officials afraid of these days? If you are a member of an active conservative group that opposes abortion, favors strict immigration enforcement, lobbies to protect Second Amendment rights, protests big government, advocates federalism, or represents veterans who believe in any of the above, the answer is: You." Patriotic Americans now pose a threat to the United States government.  There are millions of them, they are everywhere.  People who believe the government is too large and taxes its people too much. All those who participated in TEA parties, anti-abortion rallies, those who attend Christian denominational churches, advocate for marriage a... 04/25/2009

 There is a special tax break available for new car purchases in 2009 - if you are thinking of buying one, you will want to check into this. Taxpayers are receiving a temporary tax incentive that will be available to them for the purchase of a new car, light truck, motor home or motorcycle during 2009. The deduction will be available for the cost of all state and local sales and excise taxes paid on up to $49,500 of the purchase price. The amount of the deduction is phased out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is between $125,000 and $135,000 for individual filers (this probably eliminates most real estate agents - right?) and between $250,000 and $260,000 for joint filers. The vehicle must be purchased after February 16, 2009, and before January 1, 2010, to qualify for... 04/06/2009

The time will soon be arriving for young women to make a decision on this year's pageant participation. There have been serveral contestant meeting so far and we have 15 contestants to date. Anyone still intested in participating should contact Vicki Randall at 219 851-4808 or Kathleen Lordbock 218-829-0339. Prefer to email?  Vicki:    vrandall_msbrd_lakes@hotmail.com Kathleen: resaledesign@gmail.com  Our current Miss Brainerd Lakes is a diabetic and her platform is Beautifully Broken Emily Wyman, 2008 Miss Brainerd Lakes  was diagnosed at age 7 with Type 1 diabetes, which occurs when a cell causes the pancreas to stop producing insulin. Emily Wyman, who got her insulin pump when she was 12, plans to study nursing and eventually become a diabetes educator. Her platform for the Miss Minn... 03/30/2009

See photos of the sandbagging efforts and view the Fargo/Moorhead flood area Despite everyone's best efforts to keep up with the rising waters, in some areas there is already dike failure and subsequent flooding. The volunteers are growing weary but fresh replacements are still coming in. With the evacuations , there will be less time spend on rescue efforts as there will be less to rescue.  There will always be those who stay in their homes risking their lives and those of their rescuers. No one knows exactly how long the waters will keep rising and how long the crest will be sustained. Update: Officials are now indicating that the crest has been reached and for the most part the sandbags are holding.           click link for real time views below Time lapse images here 03/27/2009

The Red River has reached its highest stage in 112 years. Yesterday many buses went out from Brainerd/ Baxter MN from our Greater Lakes Association of REALTORS parking lot and from many area churches filled with volunteers.  Their main goal was to fill and place as many sandbags as humanly possible to hold back the waters.  Tired and wet, they came home late last evening as these communities began to call for evacualtions. Fargo is now under mandatory evacuation and Moorhead (lenient MN style)  evacuation is highly recommended. The sewer systems are failing and drinkable water  is a problem. Rescues are now being made by chopper and all types of boats.   Baby, that ice water is sure cold!!! 03/27/2009

OK, so we are in the middle of another Minnesota snowstorm and I have white on my brain,  Anyhu  - here I  go.      A monochromatic background needs some skillful help to not be perceived as bland.  Various shades of white with loads of textures will keep it interesting.  Texture will add a dimension to an otherwise flat color scheme - now you see depth and definition.  Keeping it still neutral - you can bring in organic materials from the natural world outside , which is quite plentiful here in Northern Minnesota and for the most part free.  Some pieces of wooden furniture sprinkled with age and wear add character, worn upholstery on the other hand is just tacky and altogether gross. Can you add rustic pieces to a sleek modern design?  Please do!  It will help the over all impression t... 03/10/2009

June of 2001, twin twister sisters hit our home, horse stable and roofing business. Life is still in the "picking up the pieces" stage but no human lives were lost. Because I know from experience how quickly and how efficiently tornadoes can kill and destroy everything in its path I will continue posting about our experience to get the information out. Tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms. Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause fatalities and devastate a neighborhood in seconds. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long. Every state is at some risk from this hazard. Tornadoes develop so r... 03/02/2009

To the students of life -       As we 'round the bend in the school year and start chugging towards the Spring finish line, we know that there will be obstacles ahead that have to be seriously considered now  - FINAL EXAMS  Do you totally freak out on test day or are you a last minute crammer?  How has that been working for you so far?     Do you want less stress, higher grades and more return for your time and effort?  Studying is the key - not studying your X- Box - studying subjects that you are actually enrolled in and hoping to get credit for taking.     Here is a handy list of some sites on studying and test taking. How to Study  http://www.how-to-study.com Test Taking Tips http://www.testtakingtips.com Study Skills Self Help Information http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html S... 03/01/2009

With the present economic troubles, we have lost a few Brainerd/Baxter businesses. I was pleased to hear that Papa Murphy's  in Baxter has made a committment to the area by buying the building that their business is in presently. We often purchase their delicious pizzas for take home to bake perfection. I will even stop in on a busy work day to get a salad to eat at my desk at Keller Williams Realty Brainerd Lakes where I am a REALTOR/Staging Specialist. Yes, I usually work right through lunch but if you have a home you want to list or buy - we can eat lunch out or just have coffee.  Brainerd/Baxter has many places for that as well.               photo by; Baclava 02/28/2009

     For those of you who know me, I am quite anti-smoking and have several dead and dying relative reasons. Besides, smoke gives me an instant migrane headache and sometimes even the smell gets to me. However, when I get good news I like to pass it on.  This good news is for smokers or at the very least their survivors.  The Phillip Morris company will probably be ordered to pay more than $130 million to the widow of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer.  This could be history in the making as a trail will be blazed for about 8000  other cases with similar circumstances in Florida alone.      So if you've got 'em smoke em and your survivors could make millions. Of course, there are no guarantees and I am not qualified to offer legal advice.  This is more like a suggestion.     pho... 02/18/2009

Brainerd Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore Facilility   photo by iowa spirit walker SHOP--DONATE--VOLUNTEER      Items for sale are new and used building materials donated to Habitat for Humanity by individuals and businesses. Prices for these recycled items are generally 50-75% of retail cost with proceeds going towards building more Habitat houses.       Our use of the ReStore facility is a valuable contribution to the success of LAHFH. The $319,000 that was raised during the last fiscal year helping them build more homes and kept almost one million pounds of material from the landfill. ReStore Location North Side of the East Brainerd Mall (710 E Street) Phone: 218-454-8517 Fax: 218-454-4867 Email: restore@lakesareahabitat.org Store Hours Wednesday 10-5 Thursday 10-7 Friday 10-... 02/18/2009

I do not usually post jokes on my blog, but needed a little humor to share after a trying day at the office. squeezyboy: Flickr As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his car phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on 280 Interstate. Please be careful!" "It's not just one car," said Herman. "There are hundreds of them!" 02/17/2009

   My Re$ale Design & Home Staging Partner - Allison Lordbock     The Children’s Miracle Network was selected as the official national platform for the Miss America Organization. This partnership represents the first time in the 87-year history of the Miss America Organization that they have adopted such a program.     The Children’s Miracle Network has had an 19-year history working with the Miss AmericaOrganization, with this newest initiative signifying a permanent and on-going relationship between the two.The new partnership will provide opportunities for the Miss America Organization to not only raise fundsand awareness for the 17 million children treated each year at the 170 Children’s Miracle Network hospitals,but also for the Miss America Scholarship Program, the world's largest... 02/05/2009

      Many homes built in the past 20-30 years did not put central lighting fixtures in many rooms , such as the living-room, bedrooms, and dens or studios (now called "the home office).  Unless homeowners are willing to have wires threaded through ceilings and new switches installed, home stagers are going to have to work with what you have.   That means floor lamps, table lamps, buffet lamps, plug-in night lights with decorative shades, up-lights and the like.  Most of these come with cords.  Cords are ugly.  Not only ugly, but potentially dangerous and you can not put them in a walk path over or under a rug.  NO, NO!!!!      So when strategically planning that perfect furniture arrangement - you need to consider where the wall outlets are.  Better to scope them out before the furnitu... 02/01/2009