Peggy's 20 Favorite things about Bardstown
30 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
- The beauty of this town- no matter what time of year it is- there is beauty all around! In the town, in the country, the churches, the graveyards, the old homes and buildings, the flowers in the spring and summer, the leaves in the fall. If I were a watercolor painter, I’d have to paint here!
- Wednesday night at Buffalo Wings and Rings…
It’s a Good Day To….
20 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
Hello folks! It’s another beautiful morning in the most beautiful town in the US! The sky is blue, the trees are all abloom, flowers are starting to show all their beautiful colors and nice warm breezes are blowing. Temps will be in the upper 70′s. I’m thinking it will be too pretty to let the day go- business as usual. So what sould you do on such a perfect day?
Take a walk! Try the walking path through the Old Kentucky Home State Park! Go to Nazareth- they have a wonderful walking path there too! Or just stroll through Downtown Bardstown!
Call your REALTOR(R) and finally go look at that house you’ve been dying to see, and if you like it, maybe now is the best time to act on it!
Take an extra long lunch with a friend- and sit out on the patio! Make sure you give yourself a little time to linger and breathe in the day! Bardstown has so many good restaurants with some great patios for outdoor dining!
Get outside and spruce up the outside of your home- especially if you’re thinking about selling it. When you get finished and you’re so proud of what you’ve done…call your REALTOR and let them give you a market analysis of the value of your home. It could be a good time to finally take steps to make a move you’ve been thinking about for awhile!
Fire up the grill! Throw some chicken kabobs and fresh asparagus on there and have a tall glass of iced tea!
Drive around and check out some yard sales! Yeah- love those spring yard sales, you never know what you might find! Drive through some neighborhoods in which you think you might want to live.
Sneak in a round of golf!! I mean really- we have 4 gorgeous golf courses right here in Bardstown! There’s no way you can’t find one to fill your craving for a little bit of relaxing play!
Whatever you do with your beautiful spring day- just remember to treasure it, when it’s gone…it’s gone! I saw on an ad somewhere that we have about 25,000 mornings in our lifetime. I don’t know about you, but I’ve used up alot of those mornings and don’t want to waste a single one of them! So go on out there today and sieze the day!!
P.S. if you’re a REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL, and you don’t live here in Beautiful Bardstown, I have a suggestion for you. Go to www.KAR.com and find the Core Law Course being held in Bardstown on May 15, register for the course and come and see Bardstown for yourself! The class is over at 4:00pm, it’s just 2 blocks from the court square. Take your own walking tour of Bardstown, schedule a tee time at one of the beautiful courses.
If you want to find out more about what to do while in Bardstown, go to:
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My Wabi-Sabi Experience!
20 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
Yep- two days after Christmas, I woke up with my mouth feeling funny. I had lunch with my son and his wife that day and couldn’t get a sip of water through the straw. Not wanting to make a big deal out of it, I just moved the straw to the other side of my mouth and finished my lunch. (A little background here- about 30 years ago my dad had something called Bell’s Palsy, which is a temporary paralysis of one side of the face.) I glanced in the mirror as I was heading home from lunch and my first thought was- “Oh crap, Bell’s Palsy!” Sure enough, by the next day my face was drawn up on the left and drooping on the right. Went to the doctor, she confirmed what I thought and prescribed some meds for a week and sent me on my way to do what you have to do with Bell’s…wait!
I'm not kidding, I really looked like this!!
So now- I look like Quasi-Modo, I have a hard time talking, can’t eat very well, can’t spit when I brush my teeth, can’t smile, can’t close my eye (actually had to tape it shut at night). And with all this- all the good cuss words won’t come out right! And there’s nothing I can do about it but wait! Frustrating- to say the least!
Oddly enough, a couple of weeks ago I ran across this phrase- and it was interesting to me, so I wrote it down in my journal, not knowing when I might be able yo use it! Wabi-Sabi.
Wabi-sabi (侘寂?) represents a comprehensive Japaneseworld view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. “[Wabi-sabi] nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.”~Wikipedia
Throughout all that I read about this was the recurring theme of imperfection, asymetry, roughness, irregularity, and in the middle of all that was beauty! Now, that’s odd to me, since I don’t normally connect imperfection and beauty. To tell the truth- as I glanced in the mirror at my disfigured face- beauty was the LAST word that came to mind! But- I was about to find out that this was WABI-SABI to a tee! Imperfection, impermanence and incomplete! I knew it would eventually go away. I’ve known plenty of people who have had it and recovered from it. Some have had recurrences, some didn’t completely return to the pre-BP condition. Imperfect, Impermanent, Incomplete! The beauty of it is this- I have discovered how patient I can be! I have realized that so many people can be so encouraging and positive which was the key to keeping myself away from the pity party! I have started paying closer attention to my health and habits and making some changes! And, I have had the best possible outcome! After about 3 weeks- I feel like I am getting back quite a bit of movement in the right side of my face and can actually smile again! (It’s still a little twisted, but better every day and I know that I’m livin’ in the grace of God!)
So, the next time I find myself thinking that my day, week, month is a little twisted, not working out like I want it to, I’m going to call it a WABI-SABI Day and smile(because I can) and wait for tomorrow, because I know it won’t last!!
I'm never again going to take for granted how nice it is to smile! 
To Join or Not To Join…
02 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Real Estate, Uncategorized Tags: Affiliate, Association Executive, Bardstown, Bardstown real estate, BOARD OF REALTORS, cooperate, education, housing, inspectors, insurance, lender, networking, Professional Association, RE, real estate broker, Realtors, success
Do you want to further your career? Yes? Then think about joining a professional organization or Association. There are associations for nearly every profession or area of interest and many have national, state and regional chapters available to join. Because you share common interests, your collective influence on your profession can be more effective than going it alone. How can becoming part of this synergistic group help further your career and business goals? Here are a few ideas…
Build your network: For most people, creating professional relationships is important, and joining a group brings you into the “inner circle” of your professional community. Giving support and getting support! Opportunities to connect with your peers through lunches, community events, educational seminars are available- if you take advantage of it. Share ideas, ask for advice, volunteer to be a speaker or become a member of a committee. Learn about breaking news in your career, “best practices”, or new ideas! Find a mentor…Be a mentor! Giving back can be the greatest reward and benefit. Participate in forums, chat groups or discussion boards! This allows you to use your peers as sounding boards and often make some great friends. Many Associations have annual conventions which is the perfect time to connect with other professionals in other areas. If the association you join is not your primary profession, but a related business- remember to sponsor lunches, set up a booth in a trade show or have a seminar showing how your profession impacts their business!
Take charge of your career: Associations can offer information about seminars, training or certification classes that may be suitable for you. Often these classes can be done through web- or podcasts so you don’t even have to leave your home. And don’t forget, listing your association membership on your résumé is impressive to current or future employers as it shows that you are dedicated to staying connected in your profession.
Broaden your knowledge: Most associations offer access to resource information such as: case studies, articles, white papers and books written by experts in your field or area of interest. Also, journal, magazine and newsletter access is provided as a part of your membership privileges. Some groups have a library of books, guides and DVDs that they loan to their members as a way of supporting all members in their growth in the profession. Additionally, associations provide a source for scholarship information, links to publications, and awards for persons achieving excellence in their field. No matter what your field is, staying on top of these issues is important. The more you know about your specialty as well as other areas of the professional circle, the more you will find yourself being recommended by your colleagues.
So, whether you are looking to learn about jobs in your field, network in your professional community, gain access to current events in your career area, or just have some fun while meeting new people, joining a professional association is a step in the right direction!
The Old Kentucky Home Board of REALTORS® is a local Association that provides services that helps its REALTOR® members and affiliated business members to give professional and ethical service to the Nelson, Washington, Marion, Larue and surrounding areas. The Board meets every third Wednesday to offer networking, informational programs and a delicious hot lunch! For more information about how you can join as a REALTOR® member or as an affiliate, please contact Peggy Smith, Association Executive @ 502-331-0408.
Before You Turn Out the Lights…
03 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
It’s time to wrap up another day, and you’re already looking forward to your “after work” routine to kick in! Before you leave, do at least 3 more things! Allow a maximum of 5 minutes for each thing. Think of this as your last chance to end the day on a productive note or to get a head start on tomorrow’s agenda!
- Call one of your more high maintenance clients to give an update or report, just to let them know that you are on top of things! If you can’t reach them, then leave a detailed message and invite them to follow up with you tomorrow. If you sound confident and composed, your client will feel that you are taking care of business for them and their trust in you will be strengthened.
- Compose and sendout an email to your prospect list that is designed to generate leads or referrals. It may be to promote a specific property, describe a great new loan program that you know about, or just to talk about how you do business and how you get paid- and of course, ask for leads, referrals and/or listings! While you are having dinner with friends, or at your son’s/ daughter’s ballgame- somebody may be reading your email and replying or passing on your information to another friend! Sometimes nothing happens, and that’s okay- it took less than 5 minutes, but if you get that one lead or callback you’ve been looking for, it’s a five minutes well spent!
- Check your website, social media, blog page,etc. to make sure everything is functioning, updated, accurate and interactive so that your marketing has an overlapping reach combined with a unified and consistent message and an easy flow of information. If you discover a problem, you don’t have to stay and fix it right then, but you put it on your “to do list” and take care of it tomorrow!
~And don’t forget to listen to your own voicemail message and change it from time to time, be clever, but not childish. It’s all marketing and needs to be freshened up regularly!
Okay, that took 15 minutes, and now you’re ready to turn out the lights and move on to this other thing called “your life”! See ya tomorrow!
