Real Estate and Reston, VA

Have You Heard of CHATROULETTE!? Your Teenager Has!

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:43:35 -0600

I have 3 teenagers (ooops, one is now 20) and I have watched for years how easily they move from one technical 'toy' to the next. There seems to be no learning curve...they find out about it, try it and it either sticks or it doesn't. Often, I don't even hear about these things until they are either rejected or so integrated in to their lives as to have become an everyday thing (think Facebook and Skype). I thought I would share what I learned about last night so that we 'older folks' can at least understand some of what they are doing and find interesting.

The latest craze with the 17 year old set is a new website called Chatroulette! The premise here is that almost all computers now have video cams so that our kids can Skype to their hearts content. Well, take that one step further and you have Chatroulette! Let me explain.

Last night my daughter was working with her Spanish group on a project that was due on Monday. I heard shouts and cheers coming from the basement. At first I did not pay attention because they were yelling 'Hola' in Spanish. When it continued, I went down to check on their progress.

Turns out that they had finished the Spanish homework and turned on ChatRoulette!. They were talking to some Spanish speaking kids who were also sitting in front of their computer waiting for the next exciting person to check in. By the time I got downstairs, they had switched to some college kids in Florida.

The idea behind the site is that you just hit the 'Next' button and you 'spin' to the next person who wants to chat.

Obviously, all of you reading this are thinking about the 'creepers' out there. I am sure that is an issue. My daughter said that they 'spun' over to a camera where all they could see was a pair of pants and a belt buckle. They immediately hit 'Next' and left that 'chatter' behind. Clearly this is a website that comes with opportunity for dangerous situations to occur. As with anything, it is a site that must be used carefully, with an awareness that not everyone who is participating is just doing it for fun, and is not appropriate for younger kids. Even with those precautions, it is still ripe for problems. I kind of think it won't be around too long...

I am sure there will be some clever business people who find a way to utilize this technology to their advantage. It will be intersting to see how, and if, that evolves.

Ironically, the generations who have embraced technology as the foundation of their social fiber are now using it in ever changing ways to establish personal connections. I can't see myself ever adding this to my technical repertoire, although the premise (at its most innocent) is interesting. I thought I would share it with all of you in an attempt to have at least some idea of what our teenagers are up to!

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

If I can assist you with the purchase or sale of property in Northern Virginia, please visit my website: www.greatexperience.net , my blog Real Estate and Reston or email me at hollyweatherwax@mris.com. My direct number is 571-643-4902.

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

Gardening Tool Prep - Let's Go Green!

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:22:09 -0600

These are great tips by Eilean Foster for taking care of your gardening tools use earth-friendly techniques. Thanks, Eilean!

Via Eilean Foster (Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Shore):

Fingers itching to get into your garden, but Mother Nature is telling you it isn't time to plant yet? Here are tasks that will make the time fly while you wait! Even better will be the years you add to those costly tools and the ease with which you can use them!

Want to try non-chemical techniques? Here are some GREEN suggestions!

When gardening tools get rusty, there is a super easy method to get the rust off using plain, ordinary tea. Follow these steps for a healthy and eco-friendly solution.

1 - Make A Very Strong Black Tea. You will need as much tea as will cover the garden tools that you are de-rusting, so perhaps a few kettle boils might be needed. Leave it to cool down before using

2 - Pour the tea into a container such as a bucket.

3 - Place the rust garden tools into the tea and leave to soak for a few hours

4 - Using a clean cloth, remove the tools from the soak and rub over the rust. The rust should come off on the cloth without much effort.

5 - Make sure that the tools are fully dry before storing.

An easy way to keep your hand tools in good shape during the growing season is to fill a five gallon bucket with a mixture of clean sand and a new quart of vegetable oil. Cover the bucket and place it near your tool storage area. When you are done working outside, repeatedly dunk your tools into the oily sand and it will rub off dirt and other debris and coat the tool with a protective oil coating. If the bucket develops an unpleasant odor, just change the sand and vegetable oil.

Using vegetable oil mixed with the sand works just as well as used motor oil to protect your tools from rust, and you won't be contaminating your outdoor space with a harmful petroleum-based product.

And don't neglect the wooden handles. Remove splinters or rough spots with medium coarse sandpaper and then rub the handles with a rag soaked in boiled linseed oil. If you want to get a little fancy, paint the handles a bright color so they will be easy to locate when they get misplaced in the garden.

If you feel comfortable sharpening your own tools; that's great! If not, your local hardware store will help you out; which gives your tools longer life!

THINK SPRING!! BUT DO NOT PLANT BEFORE TIME! YOUR PATIENCE WILL BE REWARDED!

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

Create a Custom 'Skin' for Your Twitter Account

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:02:48 -0600

If you are like me, you don't have time to do all the things you HAVE to do--much less the things you SHOULD do. I read an article today that said I should have custom 'skin' as the background on my Twitter Account.

Well, I had a few free minutes and decided to go to the application, FreeTwitterDesign.com. It took me a couple of minutes, but I was able to give myself a custom background, upload my company logo and put in some basic contact information.

I read that it was important to put my contact info on the left side of my tweets so that browsers won't inadvertently cut it off.

There were a couple of quirky things about the application; Adding text wasn't easy and a couple of times, the mouse would not 'give up' some text even though a different piece of information was highlighted.

Despite the challenges, I think it was a worthy first effort...and it only took a couple of minutes.

I would love to have you follow me on Twitter. I use a very tricky name--hollyweatherwax.

Let me know if you 'tweet' too and I will follow you. I know I have a lot to learn and the best way to learn is watching what others are doing and how they are using the technology!

Happy Tweeting!

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

Relocating? Give the Virginia Suburbs a Look

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:04:19 -0600

Forbes Magazine has come out with its list of the 25 Richest Counties. Loudoun County in Virginia tops the list. Fairfax County is 2nd.

You are probably wondering why this would be a good thing--after all, don't higher incomes result in higher housing prices? Yes, undoubtedly they do, but they also result in a more stable economy, more services and better public schools. Our real estate bubble was later than many other areas and our recovery is reported to have begun sooner.

Our unemployment rate has consistently been lower than that of many other major metropolitan areas. The Bureau of Labor Statistic reported in February 2010 that, 'The large areas with the lowest jobless rates in December were Oklahoma City, Okla., and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.0 and 6.2 percent, respectively.' This is due in large part to the stable employment offered by the government and the network of companies and organizations that work to support the government.

Understanding the cost of living concerns, Washington area jobs often come with a cost of living income differential to make the move more attractive.

If you have children who are moving up the education ladder toward college, you would be hard pressed to find better college values than those offered by the Virginia higher education system. Look at the costs for in-state tuition and then look at how highly regarded the public universities in the state are compared to other state schools.

The public school systems in and around the D.C. Metro area consistently rank in the highest in the Nation. I think if you look you will find, too, that many of the local high schools are among the best in the country.

Beyond the financial and educational considerations, we have access to some of the best cultural opportunities in the country. A non-rush hour trip in to the District of Columbia is a 20 minute drive. My family has a White House Tour scheduled in a couple of weeks, my husband and I went to a book launch party last week at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Women in the Arts. Yesterday I took my son in to Georgetown for some lacrosse coaching. We love to get downtown to either the Kennedy Center, The National Theater, The Warner Theater or one of the other numerous venues for theater troops or musical organizations. How could I have left off my favorite venue of all? Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts which is in Virginia and literally 10 minutes from my house. It offers a wide variety of shows, musical acts and performances.

For those who have more of a sports leaning, we have The NFL Redskins,The NHL Capitals, and The Nationals baseball team. In close-by Baltimore, you can add The Orioles Baseball team and The NFL Ravens to the list. Nearby college level sports teams inlude: George Mason, Georgetown, University of Maryland, George Washington, Howard, Catholic and within 2 hours you can add University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and James Madison University. Just 4 hours away, you can cheer for the Virginia Tech Hokies or the Penn State Nittney Lions (forgive me if I left out someones favorite team...feel free to add it in the comments).

If you are considering a new job or a relocation, give the Washington D.C. metro area a close look. I think you will find that the stable economy, wide variety of housing choices , the public education system and the wide variety of arts and activities, will make it worth your extra attention.

Please give me a call, or drop me an email, if I can help you begin your home search process. I would be happy to set you up with some tools that will allow you to begin your new home search from the comfort of your living room.

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

Open House TODAY, 3/7/10 at Loudoun Country Day School (LCDS)

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:32:15 -0600

If you have been considering private school placement for your Pre-Kindergarten through 8th Grade student, plan to attend the Loudoun Country Day School in Leesburg, Virginia, open house today, March 7, 2010, from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

Loudoun Country Day School (fondly called LCDS) has been educating young Virginians for over 50 years. As its Mission Statement states, 'The purpose of Loudoun Country Day School is to educate and develop each student academically, physically, artistically, socially, and emotionally.'

The school has moved to a beautiful new campus off of Evergreen Mill Road in Leesburg. The facilities are amazing and we have enjoyed seeing the students thrive in the new location. This school year, 2009-10, is the first year in the new campus.

This open house is a great opportunity to explore the beautiful new campus and hear about the wonderful programs offered in both the Lower School and the Middle School. There will be faculty, parents and students available to answer your questions about curriculum and programs.

My children have attended LCDS and I have had first hand experience with both the Lower and Upper Schools. The school has been a special part of our family through the education of our 3 children. As Fairfax County residents, we have made the reverse commute, using the wonderful Bus Service for our daily transportation needs from Reston. The small classes and individualized attention have been wonderful for all three of my kids!

We have particularly enjoyed the competitive Middle School sports program. Boys and girls in grades 6-8 compete in a variety of sports against other private schools. Sports include Soccer, Field Hockey, Basketball and Lacrosse. There is also an intramural program for young athletes that prefer individual sports, such as Cross Country and Tennis. There is also a swim team and a tennis team.

If you would like more information about Loudoun Country Day School, and the wonderful learning environment it offers, the phone number is: 703-777-3841

The address for LCDS is: 20600 Red Cedar Drive, Leesburg, VA 20175

I hope you can make it today, March 7 from 1 to 2:30 pm for the LCDS Open House! It should be a beautiful day and perfect weather to see the stunning new campus!

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

Digging Out and Digging Spring!

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 08:01:46 -0600

What is left a month after Snowmaggedon?

The sun is shinning, the temperature is creeping up and slowly but surely, I am finally able to believe that this winter will end.

It has been nearly a month since our back-to-back Washington D.C. metro area blizzards. I still have huge banks of snow in my front yard where we moved snow from the driveway and sidewalks. It has thawed and frozen so many times since that I expect these snow banks will be with us until May!

Each day, a little bit more snow melts away. We can now see traffic on the main road as we leave the neighborhood (all but the highest set vehicles have been unable to see around the snow banks without creeping in to the intersection) and most of the neighborhood street is visible again.

Everywhere I walk, however, I witness the devastation that these storms left behind. Not a yard is left intact--they are all soggy and most are missing large swaths of grass where shovels hit frozen grass instead of pavement. My hedges, trees and bushes are mangled and broken from weeks buried under heavy snow. My 12 foot pine tree lies across one of my planting beds. We will attempt to stake it and save it, but I suspect that it has been out of the ground for too long.

Municipalities are left with bills that far exceed budgets for annual snow removal. Of course with real estate sales down, so are local revenues. Even those areas who were really on top of 'spend as you go' had no way of anticipating how this winter would devastate the area. We broke a snow fall record which had been in place since the winter of 1898-1899!! The Federal Government remained closed for 4 DAYS!

As you drive around, street signs, street lamps and tree branches are all found lying on their sides waiting for crews to come along and remove or repair them.

In one of my earlier blogs, "What You Can Do To Prevent Snowstorms" I very facetiously stated that the sheer number of people who will stock up on snow blowers and other snow removal supplies will buy us some insurance against another winter of devastating snow storms. If the number of friends and neighbors who are actively purchasing snow blowers is truly insurance against heavy snows, we should be in for a mild winter next year!

I think the only folks who will end up with happy news from the storms of 2009-2010 will be the landscaping companies and tree removal companies who will overwhelmed with contracts and waiting lists for their services. At least someone will benefit!

I am moving on and eagerly anticipating the joy of Spring--eager to put this record breaking winter behind!

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

Loudoun Country Day School Open House this Sunday, March 7, 2010

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:58:09 -0600

Loudoun Country Day School (fondly called LCDS) has been educating young Virginians for over 50 years. As its Mission Statement states, 'The purpose of Loudoun Country Day School is to educate and develop each student academically, physically, artistically, socially, and emotionally.'

If you would like more information about Loudoun Country Day School, and the wonderful learning environment it offers, the phone number is: 703-777-3841

The address for LCDS is: 20600 Red Cedar Drive, Leesburg, VA 20175

I hope you can make it on Sunday, March 7 from 1 to 2:30 pm for the LCDS Open House!

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

Support Herndon High All Night Grad Party and Laugh Yourself Silly!!

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:02:44 -0600

On Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. plan to be at the Herndon High School Auditorium in Herndon, VA for the 1st annual 'Funny Mind Games.'

'Funny Mind Games' is a family-oriented comedy show which will feature James Munsey, a comedic hypnotist, and the first-ever Herndon High School 'Family Feud'--featuring competition between different school organizations. Some of the groups scheduled to compete include: Seniors vs. Faculty, Softball vs. Baseball, Football vs. Band.

All Night Grad Party is celebrating its 23rd year of keeping Graduates and the local community safe by providing an all night party free of drugs and alcohol. It is a community effort to throw a party that is 'good enough' to get a majority of the kids to attend. Fund raisers like this one allow us to throw a party honoring all that our graduates have accomplished and that the kids will remember for years to come.

Families with Students at HHS can purchase tickets this week during lunch. Tickets purchased in advance are $5 for students and faculty. All other adults and all tickets purchased at the door will be $10.

If you cannot attend 'Funny Mind Games,' but would like to support the All Night Grad Party, donations are gratefully accepted. More information about donating and purchasing tickets to the event can be found at our website: http://www.herndonang.org/

You can also get more information about Herndon High School and the many opportunities and events available through the school at: http://www.fcps.edu/HerndonHS

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

Are Our Energy Habits Sustainable?

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:30:15 -0600

We switch off the lights, turn up the thermostat, make improvements to our house, recycle like crazy, but are our habits getting worse?

An article in the March 1,2010 article of Time, Less is Actually More, by Bryan Walsh contends that just like someone who binges on diet food (thinking it has fewer calories, they eat more of it, thus negating the benefit), those of us who try to reduce our energy use sometimes get complacent. The theory goes like this: you check your electric bill and see that you are using fewer kilowatts than this time last year. The next time you walk by the kitchen and notice the blazing lights, you think,' gosh we have been doing so, well, what would it hurt to leave them on for now? I will be back in 15 minutes.' And the energy reduction 'backlash' begins.

I can see evidence of this in my own household. We have made some big changes: turning down the thermostat, switching off lights, added insulation in the attic and garage, new windows, plenty of blankets and sweatshirts easily accessible. As a result, I have seen definite improvements in our energy use. Of course, now that I have shared that success with my family, I have noticed that they have been more casual about switching off the lights. Even I have 'bumped up' the thermostat on occasion (and I am the Energy-Enforcer).

This article was a great reminder that these changes and behavior modifications need to become lifestyle changes. Just like dieting, don't cut back so severely that the change is not sustainable over the long-term. Smart choices, small changes and an awareness of energy use is what we all need to continue our steady improvements in reducing our carbon footprint--and an awareness of how easy it is to back-slide!

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

Is Your (Lovely) Wallpaper Costing You a Sale?

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:06:12 -0600

One of the hardest conversations I have with clients, and potential clients, is that they need to remove the wallpaper prior to listing their homes (and yes, borders count). I know that your wallpaper is lovely and I can tell that is designer quality, but the number one complaint I get from buyers is that they don't want to deal with wallpaper removal!

Sellers don't want to remove it because

They paid to install it
Removal can be time consuming and/or costly
Walls often need to be repaired
After the paper comes down, the walls need to be painted

Buyers want it removed because:

They did not choose it
Removal can be time consuming and/or costly
Walls often need to be repaired
After the paper comes down, the walls need to be painted

As you can see, most of the same reasons that you have for not wanting to deal with it are the reasons that often make it a show-stopper for buyers.

On occasion, clients will leave up a neutral (ie. it looks like a painted wall) wallpaper and that is usually okay, but anything with any sort of design should be removed--even subtle designs can be a problem for some buyers.

Often removing the wallpaper provides an opportunity to paint the walls a warm and inviting color--which ends ups making the home more appealing in the long run.

If you want to sell your home for top-dollar (and who doesn't?) approach this like you would any other long term project: plan it out, do the foundation work, and finalize the details. If you approach it this way, removing the wallpaper is just one task on the way to selling your home for as much as the market will bear.

For more advice on removing wall paper go to:

Wallpaper Removal Techniques

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

What We Can (and Should) Learn From Toyota

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:45:53 -0600

Wow! What a come down for the company who has always been highest rated for quality. I do not intend to make light of the problems that plague Toyota vehicles. They are real and they need to be fixed. I am a long time Toyota owner and I have owned a number of their vehicles over the years. In December, we purchased our latest Toyota to replace a very poor quality Audi. I was relieved to return to the high quality vehicles created by Toyota. I am a little less relieved now that my car has been recalled and the press is reporting that all Toyota owners have lost value. But I still love my Venza...

So how did this all go so wrong for Toyota, and what can we as business people learn from it?

Not one of us is perfect. When we make a mistake, we really are faced with only a couple of options: deny it, ignore it, acknowledge it or own it. In most cases, the business person who owns the problem will be able to get passed it.

This is where, I believe, Toyota messed up. They did not own the problem. They attempted to acknowledge it and hoped that would be enough to make it go away. The crisis-hungry press, however, was looking out for consumers as they continued to delve in to the problem. The situation pretty quickly evolved from a problem to a crisis.

Lesson One: Own your problem. Confess and work with all involved to come to a satisfactory outcome.

In addition, Toyota management behaved as if they were not accountable to anyone. I am sure they are 'king' in Japan, but here in the United States, they are just another large company that produces a product that consumers purchase. If you are being summoned by the United States Congress, don't slap back at the hand that feeds you. Put on your best suit, board a plane and go talk to Congress.

Lesson Two: No matter how powerful we are, or how good at your job, you are still accountable for your actions (and the actions of those who work for you...take note, Brokers)

Every day, it seems, I hear about more and more vehicles being recalled. I can't help but feel that any manufacturing company put under this microscopic scrutiny would find problems that need to addressed. When I was talking to my sister-in-law last week about the floor mat recall, we could both recall problems of that nature with non-Toyota vehicles.

Lesson Three: Perception is Reality to the public. Good word-of-mouth=good reputation. Bad-word-of-mouth = bad reputation. Pay attention to what is being said out there about you and your company, because it matters.

I hope that Toyota will be able to resurrect some of its good will and reputation. They really do build good cars and trucks. I think that what has happened to them should be a lesson to us all. I do not believe that Toyota set out to create problem vehicles. I believe they set out to become the biggest and most powerful car company in the world, and in their haste to the top, they stopped paying attention to the little details that used to set them apart.

The final lesson here for all business professionals: do not get so confident and so conceited that you don't think you have to 'sweat the small stuff.' The small stuff is probably what got you to the top and it is the same stuff that can bring you back to the bottom!

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

Did You Win the Virginia Lottery?

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:01:50 -0600

Today at 5:00pm is the last day that the winner of a $250,000 Virginia Lottery can claim their winnings! Are you holding the lucky ticket? By State law, the winner has 180 days to come forward.

The prizewinning Ticket was purchased on August 21, 2009, in the Mega Millions drawing at Giant Food, located at 61 Catoctin Circle NE in Leesburg.

If you have a ticket lying around that you purchased late in the summer, run and grab it. The numbers that you need to claim the prize are: 9-38-44-48-49 and the Mega Ball was 13.

Unclaimed prize money goes to the Virginia Literary Fund which is used for education in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

For more information on claiming the prize, or on the Virginia Lottery, go to their website and check out the page announcing this local Mega Millions winner.

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

Loudoun Country Day School Open House: Sunday 2/21/10 from 4-5:30 p.m.

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:26:45 -0600

If you have been considering private school placement for your Pre-Kindergarten through 8th Grade student, plan to attend the Loudoun Country Day School open house this Sunday, February 21, 2010, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

If you would like more information about Loudoun Country Day School, and the wonderful learning environment it offers, the phone number is: 703-777-3841

The address for LCDS is: 20600 Red Cedar Drive, Leesburg, VA 20175

I hope you can make it on Sunday, February 21 from 4 to 5:30 pm for the LCDS Open House!

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

What You Can Do To Prevent Snow Storms!

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:09:36 -0600

I am at the point where I just have to laugh with all the snow that we have had this year in Virginia--otherwise I would cry! The Washington D.C. metro area, which includes suburban Virginia and Maryland, usually gets a couple of light snows, but rarely anything like what we have gotten this year.

The evidence is anecdotal, but it seems to me that the years that we purchased or upgraded our snow blower were years that we got little or no snow

So here is a list of things that you should do to prepare for NEXT winter. I can almost (but not completely) guarantee that if you do all these things, you will notice a significant reduction in the amount of snow we see next season:

Buy the biggest, strongest snow blower that you can find
Buy extra engine oil for the super strong snow blower
Keep the gas can stocked and in a safe place
Stock up on snow shovels; all types. Replace any shovel that looks at all decrepit or prone to breaking.
Buy one of those plow-style snow movers (they look like a big, square plastic sled with wheels at one end).
Find one of those nifty ice-choppers (I just used one to break up the 2 inches of ice that had settled on my driveway). A friend from Buffalo told me about it and it has been a god-send!
Keep plenty of pet-safe ice melt around
Always keep plenty of hot chocolate available
Get that emergency generator that you have been coveting (and see #3)
Make sure you have a battery operated radio (and spare batteries)
Have flashlights on hand with batteries to put in them
Keep extra windshield wiper fluid on hand to restock after a storm
Check the pet food and make sure you have enough on hand
Don't let prescription medications get below one weeks worth of medication
Make sure all family members are outfitted with warm, well-fitting coats, snow pants, boots, scarves, mittens/gloves and hats. Check them in October and buy them then for best selection in both color and fit.
Buy a variety of sleds and saucers so that you can have fun in the snow, too!
Get your cars in for service, check tires and battery, and make sure they always have gas before a possible snow storm.

Most years in the D.C. Metro area will not require any of these items...except maybe the warm coat, hat and gloves. This winter we have used them all and gone out for restocking once or twice. I am sure I have left things off of the list, but those were the items that came to mind this morning as we prepared for our latest snow storm.

All kidding aside, next fall when supplies are plentiful, consider purchasing the items on my list. If you stock up early, besides being well-prepared for any snow emergency, you will almost ensure that the rest of us don't have to deal with a snow storm next year. And we will all thank you!

Stay safe and warm!

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!

2009-10 Winter High School Sports Season Comes to an Untimely End!

Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:35:35 -0600

As I sit here at my computer, we are going through our second Blizzard in a week here in the Washington D.C. Metro area. If you live out of the area, I apologize in advance if it seems like those of us who are living through this series of snow storms seem obsessed. We don't usually get a lot of snow in our area and certainly this many serious storms so close together is unprecedented!

We all know the obvious cancellations; our children are home from school for the indefinite future, the Federal Government is closed for the third day in a row and the powers that be are rescheduling both professional and college sports events.

Today, to add insult to injury, the Washington Post is reporting that the local public high school winter sports regular season is over. The teams will be going directly in to the tournaments. The article, 'Snowstorms force Northern Region to cancel basketball regular season' detail the current plans for finishing the Basketball, Wrestling, Gymnastics, Swimming and Indoor Track Seasons. It is a tough blow for the student athletes, especially the Seniors, who will not have a chance to play all of their regular season games.

My daughter is a spring athlete. Tryouts begin the week of February 22. Since many of the Winter athletes also play Spring sports--and facilities will be in great demand--there is really no alternative but to find the most fair way to wind up this winter season.

I appreciate what a difficult decision this has been for the local Athletic Directors, but I am sure that most of us agree that they really have very little choice. With such severe weather, there is really very little option but to make the hard decisions and move on.

My sympathy goes out to all of the Senior athletes for the loss of the remainder of their senior season and I wish them all great success as they move in to the post-season tournaments!

Holly Weatherwax, Associate Broker

EcoBroker,Graduate of Realtors Institute,Accredited Buyers Representative,e-pro and Accredited Staging Professional Realtor

I believe buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE!