People often ask me what the heck should I blog about to attract real estate buyers and sellers? Put yourself in a consumers shoes and think about the important information that a buyer or seller needs to make the decision of buying or selling a home in a specific area. What would you look for to make such a drastic change in your life?
Depending on your niche should help you determine the best blog topics to attract buyers and seller within your specialty. That means if you are targeting the luxury home market you want to blog about things that appeal to luxury home buyers.
Get local and break it down based on state, county, city, zip code and neighborhood. Bottom line is to provide area information and become the go to person for real estate and your local area. Now that you have an idea on what topics to blog about…what are you waiting for? Go for it! If you found this useful please subscribe and request blog posts in your email!
My birth certificate has been MIA for some time and a few months back it surfaced but the problem was the original date was 1962. The thing about an aged birth certificate is it fades, sometimes tears and I hate to admit it, this birth certificate is 48 years old. Well almost. When I found my birth certificate I was so happy, after all we need these important documents for various reasons. When I found my 48 year old document it was in 6 pieces. The paper tore with time and wear and tear in the same shape as the birth certificate was neatly folded and tucked away and forgotten. There is writing on both sides of the document, I thought about piecing it together but if I were to tape it together, I think no one would take it especially in this day and age and with my luck immigration would show up at my door. LOL
I had been freaking out because I thought I would have to go through hoops to get another copy. Here’s the thing, I was born in Japan, on U.S. soil..in a army hospital, my biological father was American in the Navy and my mother was Japanese. I have a social security card and everything to obtain another copy but I had no idea where to obtain a duplicate copy of my birth certificate when I was born in Japan on a U.S. Army hospital.
The best way to obtain a copy of your birth certificate if you were born in Japan and either born in a military hospital or United States Military base in Japan here is what you need to do:
Submit a signed and notarized written request including all pertinent facts of the occasion along with a copy of the requester”s valid photo identification. Only the subject, parent, or legal guardian may request a birth record. The following information must be included in the request:
General Information
Date of request
Purpose of request
Document Requesting (Certificate of Birth)
Number of documents requesting
Current mailing address and daytime telephone number
Facts of Birth
Name (at birth)
Name after adoption (if applicable)
Date of birth
Country of birth
Father’s name
Father’s date and place (state/country) of birth
Mother’s name
Mother’s date and place (state/country) of birth
Fees for Certificate of Birth the fee is $30.00 for the first copy and $20.00 for each additional copy:
Certificate of Birth (DS-1350)
Check or money order must be signed, dated, and made payable to “Department of State.”
Remittance must be payable in U.S. dollars through a U.S. bank.
Do not send cash.
Additional Requirements
Notarized signature
A copy of a valid identification of the requester, such as a driver’s license, military ID, or passport.
If you possess a Report of Birth/Death or Certificate of Witness to Marriage, please enclose a copy to aid in our file search.
If you are requesting an amendment or correction to a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, please include certified copies of all documents appropriate for effecting the change (i.e., foreign birth certificate, marriage certificate, court ordered adoption or name change, birth certificates of adopting or legitimating parents, etc.). The original or replacement FS-240, or a notarized affidavit concerning its whereabouts also must be included.
SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST TO:
U.S. Department of State
Passport Services
Vital Records Section
1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 510
Washington, DC 20522-1705
Turnaround Time
Most consular vital records must be retrieved from off-site repositories, including the National Archives. Thus, the time it takes varies greatly based on the type of record and date of occurrence, making it difficult to give a definite timeframe. However, in most cases, turnaround is four to eight weeks.
Expedited Service
Overnight delivery can save about ten days processing time, but there is no way to reduce the retrieval time. Overnight return via Federal Express is available for an additional $16.25 or the requester may provide a pre-paid airbill for the carrier of choice.
So why did I write a post about this? I googled and searched and never came up with anything for months on end. Really its been stressing me out and it really surprised me in how difficult it was to find the information. So I thought I would share.
If you found this information useful please subscribe! And I really appreciate you taking the time to read this post!
The majority of the time I have online for myself you will find me on Facebook. I seem to generate business right from there and have the ability to connect with friends, peers and clients all in one spot. My business page is junk and in truth I really don’t care for it. I have a great name, I’m very lucky. I feed my Activerain feed to it. I don’t post too much there..its everything a business page should not be!
As a real estate agent I think they are important. So important that they should be easily found. One thing I noticed is there is the ability to connect your Facebook business page directly to your profile. I don’t see many posts about how to do it and am surprised many real estate agents | businesses do not do this.
I won’t add any fancy graphics to this its really very simple. I have shared this secret with many people.
Example: John Miller facebook profile with fan page attached at top for Play By Play
Please join his page…he is my son! 
Some might disagree with me, why? They do not want to connect their profile page with their business page which really doesn’t make sense. I also noticed that many agents place an additional ink on their profile where their work or real estate website is. Usually there is a link to their facebook business page or other social media sites they participate in.
This year has been an amazing journey and also a year that has been the hardest in terms of gratitude and appreciation but more along the lines of personal growth and building strength and courage. You see, I believe that happiness, sadness and appreciation arrive in moments…just as the purple hankie did.
This year I had to bury a son…felt the deep affects of losing a childhood friend…and lost some amazing online influences that truly impacted me…I’ve had health issues that made it extremely difficult to work..fortunately I bounced back….its been a year filled with tears, a lot of hard work to keep my mental state in tact but most of all its been hard to feel blessed! Everything has been a fight…to get up in the morning, to feel the sunshine…smile..all the little things we take for granted are the things we should be grateful for. I have moments…and so do you! Don’t judge me or any others who have suffered tremendous loss..but people should remember its the moments that count and can change your life.
On the upside many wonderful things have happened, my business is growing and my other two sons are awesome and I have the man that I love by my side..I still have a great sense of humor…yes, I cry a little easier now and in reality I am ok..I have bad days and good days probably like you….but still there is this ache, this yearning and something is missing within… it’s missing one of my sons and all I want to do is hug him just one more time.
About three months ago…I attempted to talk to my blogging mentor who happened to lose one of her dearest friends. I knew how I felt about it and it shook me and impacted me but I could not imagine how she feels… My mentor Colleen Kulikowski was mourning the loss of her good friend Laurie Manny and still mourning another great friend Joe Ferrara. It pains me to think about her sad, then again I really hate it that people feel sad but I know if we never experienced sadness the happiness wouldn’t feel the same and we would take it for granted!
While we tried to be brave and not cry..there were many moments of silence..uncomfortable silence..the kind of silence that needs to exist otherwise you would hear nothing but sobs. It had been a long time since I had seen or talked to her, I knew she was already feeling blue..she was on her way to Laurie’s Memorial. It made me feel better that she called..I wasn’t focusing on myself. She didn’t know I lost a son. I couldn’t bear to talk about it…so I didn’t. I was just so happy she called me even if the words were hard to get out and I wanted to be there for her! I perked up when she said she was mailing something to me….yes, you got it…the purple hanky.
She brought up the term Pay It Forward, I have never forgotten the little lesson and by her doing this little action…created a reaction, one I hope will make someone else smile. For me I gave the hankie to someone else…I swear I never used it but I loved the hankie so much…. once I touched it…I knew it was meant to be shared and with someone who needed it more than I.
I took the hankie and placed it close to my heart…I cried…because it had meaning…it brought me back to when I was a little girl living in PA with my stepmother..little does Colleen know…I had a dress in that pattern. Many viewed the dress as too hot for Florida and it was satin and velvet. I didn’t care…the dress was special to me and I loved everything about it and the hankie reminded me so much of the dress
It reminded me of a time…of love, sadness, chaos and loss as a small child but it also reminded me of some of the most memorable times in my life where a woman did everything she could to give two children a good life…the two children were not hers, we have since reconnected on facebook!
In October I took a trip to South Florida where I was anxiously waiting to see old friends. We had a fine dinner and a few laughs but we now had something else in common…a mother lost a son and sisters lost a brother… a man who I loved a good part of my youth…..he was gone..but the pain remains.
When I sat with Mama Halloran, I could feel her pain…I could see she was hurting…just like my mom and just like me. I know how it feels to lose siblings. Its painful enough but imagine losing a child..you suffer..you feel guilt…and the thought of not holding or touching your child again..is very sad and devasting. I can attest to that..its just recently I am feeling the impact..with holidays..his birthday approaching and his two brothers together without him..yes..it pains me…deeply..I’ve been in denial for too long.
I dug in my purse..and pulled the hanky out…I shared with her the story about Pay It Forward and the inspiration of Colleen Kulikowski and Laurie Manny, I shared a little about Ryan but I really wanted her to know..how special her son was and she is too…and the hankie was meant to cry into..to release the pain and keep the great memories close….we talked and watched a slideshow of her son several times. It touched me and reminded me….why I loved him most of my youth. I stayed a little longer than everyone else…that moment changed many things inside me but still both of us were still the same, we are without our sons, feeling loss and devastation. There are no words, actions or deeds to eliminate that kind of pain.
This holiday season while you give thanks remember to tell those that you love how much you love them and if you are fighting with your family or haven’t spoken to someone who you love…pick up the phone. Don’t wait! Regrets suck…
Last week an amazing thing happened…I got a message from google voice….my little stepson who we couldn’t find for a couple of years…is back in our lives…his mother found me on facebook..I cried the moment I laid eyes on him and hugged him as if it were my last…I think it was the work of angels or at least someone or some rooting for us! We have Daniel back in our lives…its the moments..and everything can change by one phone call, one sentence, one action!
If you should happen to come across someone who might appear ungrateful or unappreciative…remember you never know what is going on in someone’s life and there are bigger things in life to lose rather than money, success or fame. The biggest loss is always someone you love. For me…I’ll do my best..and as I think about it…I am grateful..with great friends, the best family and most of all the special moments of happiness. Did I tell you my brother Albert is coming for Thanksgiving?
I dedicate this post to anyone who recently lost a loved one but especially to the woman who took time to teach me the fundamentals of blogging, the same woman who stayed connected and gave me a gift so special, who isn’t afraid to live and love. I Thank You Colleen..and I am sorry but it was you who stressed Pay It Forward...the purple hanky was more impactful and you thought it was for me, yes it was in a sense but it felt right to pass it on!
Yesterday while reading the web a thought crossed my mind…are humans really ready for transparency? With readers expecting higher levels of transparency…can humans really handle it? When reading some of these sites you can feel how the transparency slowly releases.
Sometimes the transparency is lopsided or one sided by only offering some of the facts and/or a few little white lies or some of the important details are left out…allowing the imagination to wonder about peoples behaviors…encouraging speculation, and a war begins right online. Next thing you know…all kinds of secrets revealed..and a blanket of dirt spreads all over the web but worse a division occurs because someone was too transparent and some human beings can’t handle it.
When this type of behavior happens I wonder if humans are really ready for transparency? We want to know more about people, we expect people to share themselves..we judge people based on interactions…connections…and building bonds but all people are different with different cultures, morals and goals…..we don’t want to hear the bad or the ugly or do we?
We do…. sometimes in the world of transparency….certain things get revealed….and the meter of truth causes discomfort to those who judge rather harshly rather than look into their own lives. Because we are all different some may not be open enough to share their everyday lives….because of some stranger might get offended or look down at our written words.
In this modern day of technology as people we feel entitlement as long as the transparency is on someone else. Curious by nature…we expect people to reveal everything about themselves even if the choices someone else makes is quite different from our own. Instead of looking at our own lives and fixing what needs to be repaired…we read about others and sometimes are very shocked in what is revealed….sometimes we can’t handle the truth…sometimes the truth is too harsh…sometimes the truth is TMI and better left unsaid.
What right do we have as humans to knock, ridicule and judge those who are very transparent? I applaud those that are true to themselves….who doesn’t hide the fact the life is bigger than what they do for a living….because they choose to live their life and share it on the web.
Yesterday I witness something that was just down right mean spirited…nothing new…but what I found interesting….was the comments showed transparency and revealed character….in truth I am disappointed…the comments not only were transparent of character but those few that I held in high regard….is no longer transparency….but TMI!
