Pretty soon (I HOPE), the url julieholden.com will point to my Realtor website, which is in the works.  If you get here via Live Journal (http://jooley-ann.livejournal.com/) you won't see any changes.  I'll keep that as a personal blog, but I need to use my name domain for professional reasons now.  Which is good, eh!  And hey, you can still check julieholden.com for blog entries!  I'll be blogging about real estate.  And by that I don't mean data, numbers, and hype.  There's too much fun stuff to look at and talk about out there!  :)  So if you're a property and RE development junkie, like I am, consider keeping julieholden.com on your radar.

Let's say you twisted my arm and said I had to choose, from current listings, a multi-million dollar property in Austin.  Let's say in the 8-figure range.  You know, to live in.  Here's what I'd pick.  Nice, eh?

I take the licensing exam on Tuesday, 6/30, at 1pm.  Yipes! Provided I pass, I'm pretty much done! For now, it's study study, study.  Will post again on Tuesday.

Let's make this quick!  I've been a busy, BUSY bee.  In class 8-5 M-F at JB Goodwin (the broker I selected as my sponsor), learning amazing stuff from talented, successful, well established Realtors.  My status?

• I am about TWO WEEKS (maybe fewer!) from getting my license!
• I am very enthusiastic about the buyers I met at last weekend's open house.
• I'm holding another house open this weekend, and I am working on ways to get some TRAFFIC.

Don't let the local news discourage you. This might not be the most happenin' time in RE, but a house one street over from me had a contract in 4 days.  With multiple backups.  And it's a well kept, beautiful house with a nice floorplan.  And it was priced just right (IOW it wasn't on the low end, by any means).  FOUR days. 

Huzzah!  I'm having too much fun for this to be called a job!

I'm having to do a lot of bio writing and talking these days.  Came up with this to try to cram into a Facebook field:

Home: NW Austin (Oak Forest)

Spouse:  John Watters
Toddler: Johanna (2.5)
Steps:   Ellen (17)
         Jay (15)

Pets: Morgan (female G.Shep)
      Josie (female tortycat)
      Cally (female calico)

Fish: Angelfish, bottomcats,
      pleicostamus, mollies,
      crawfish named Buddy

I think that sums it up.  I live a rather rich life!

Every time I complete another Real Estate class, I get excited.  I'm done with all but three classes, now.  Then I take the exam to get my license. Then I start looking for a sponsoring broker.  It's moving so much faster than I thought it would, which is a great thing!

Can't wait to be a real REALTOR.  :)

One reason I like my trainer so much is that her group, Grass Iron, is very social. They're always planning fun events for their clients, and I've met some of the nicest people via Amalia. When you train with Grass Iron, you get so much more support than just having a trainer walk you through your workout. They've created a community of like-minded people who are all trying to do the same thing -- stay in shape.

The other night at a party to cap-off Operation Get Lean, I overheard someone talking about soy bacon. I hadn't thought about soy products in a long time. I used to cook with TVP a lot because it's fat free, and often works well as a sub for meat. I guess I got away from using things like soy bacon and soy sausage because I don't cook with regular bacon or regular sausage very often, so when a recipe calls for it, I get the (organic, free range) meat product.

Last night, though, I picked up some Gimme Lean Sausage to substitute in my 15 Bean Soup. I use the recipe on the back of Hurst's HamBeens packet of dry 15 Bean Soup. It calls for 1 lb of ham, ham hocks, or smoked sausage. I decided to try it with (fake) breakfast sausage crumbles.

WOW. Excellent stuff! The Gimme Lean has a great flavor, and works extremely well in the soup. I'm not sure I'd ever eat it as a substitute for real breakfast sausage, but it was incredibly easy to cook with.

So, Operation Get Julie Lean is having some good success on day 2, with a huge pot of really delicious 15 Bean Soup to munch on for lunches all week. Huzzah!

To make a long story short, and skip a bunch of whining, I've had a hip injury since January. I haven't posted about it anywhere because I just didn't feel like talking about it. To add insult to injury, being inactive (on Dr's orders) has resulted in a 10lb weight gain. Blah!

I decided last night to take several significant steps toward getting those annoying pounds, plus some, off my frame.
--No more fast food. EVAR! (Exception: breakfast tacos.)
--Watch them carbs. (Especially the mean, sneaky ones that're in alcohol.)
--Log food on Fit Day. (This has worked very well in the past.)

I'm not adding workouts (etc) until my hip pain is resolved.

I might edit this note as other guidelines hit me, but for now I'm keeping it simple.

Wish. Me. Luck.