The Phoenix Housing Blog

When I was in High School, my best friend Kim and I would often raid "Dad's" coin jar, (it was always encouraged) and head out to Mesa's downtown Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors Ice Cream Shop. We had our favorites and still do! It amazes me that over the years the scoops of ice cream are getting pretty pricey! But it's Basking Robbins 31 Flavors! It rocks, the ice cream cakes are pretty yummy too!

As a young mother of two growing boys and a husband who loved ice cream, we shifted our budget and found a more reasonable ice cream joint.  The local Thrifty Store in Mesa, Arizona brought in an Ice Cream counter and we loved it! The price was right, the scoops were huge and the selection was just fine!  My little guys became accustomed to ice cream almost every weekend night and to be honest, I did too. We really liked the idea of Thrifty's bargain prices of .15 cents a scoop and we could treat the entire family for under a $1.00! Imagine that!?  Well you can again, unless you have a basketball team and some of my friends do with all their seven and eight kids! The scoop is on! 

Baskin-Robbins (31 Flavors) is out to help and honor America's firefighters.  Participating stores will reduce prices of small ice cream scoops to 31 cents at some locations on April 30th at some locations! Of course you are welcome to make a donation to your local fire charities too! 

Here is what is posted on the Baskin Robbin's website:

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation remembers America's
fallen heroes and assists their families. The organization provides
firefighters with training to prevent deaths in the line of duty and
offers the public information to prevent fires in our communities.

A donation of $100,000 will be made by Baskin-Robbins® to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. At select local stores throughout the country, you may also have a chance to donate to your local fire station.

Baskin-Robbins is proud to support this worthy cause. We encourage you to learn more about the foundation by visiting www.firehero.org.

Join me, my family and friends Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 from 5pm to 10pm for 31 Cent Scoop Night at Baskin-Robbins®. 

Don't forget to bring your camera! Capture the fun and share your shots with us after the event.

To invite your group click here.  Baskin Robbins also encourages those to send in their photographs and me too! I want to personally invite you to take your photos and share it here, how many scoops can you layer (you do have a limit Jason of ten, just like comments in the rain)? So go take your group to get a scoop or two, or three or ten! I will be back with my photos, off to make sure our 85296 store is one of the locations!

Have fun Wednesday and be sure to send me your photo, I would love to see it and share it!  I am rounding up my kids, the boys are big now and probably could pound down some great ice cream. 

 I challenge Jason Crouch, Adam Waldman, Paul Slaybaugh and YOU to go take their families out for a 31 cent scoop or more! Support our Fallen Firefighters and Scoop on if you dare!

 

*Note: Be sure to check your local stores to see if they are participating.

Click on the logo below to locate the closet store near you!

Off to count my pennies....

 

Photos courtesy of Photobucket.com

The AZ Real Estate Blogging Network kicked off April 24th, 2008 with a big bang! The attendance was fantastic! We met at 9:00 am, Thursday at the SanTan Village Mall in Gilbert, Arizona. We mingled and enjoyed our lattes, morning coffees and sodas while settling in at 9:30 a.m. to a fabulous line-up of speakers, Teri Ellis, The Lady in Red, Paul Slaybaugh, our ActiveRain celebrity, Shailesh Ghirmire, AZ Mortgage Guru,  Mike Jones, Mike in Tucson and clean up was with our local blogging celebrity, Jay Thompson! I personally want to thank the speakers for a marvelous job they did and for their expertise and willingness to make this kick-off meeting a huge success! Without you this would not have been the event it was! There was much to share and much to learn and it was great to see the passion and participation among the attendees. I really believe that this is going to be the monthly meeting to be at and to have such great resources available to each and everyone in attendance for free! You can't beat that! Enjoy the photos below in my slideshow and as time allows I will upload the Video footage of the speakers for those that missed it or for those that want to recap of the event.

A special 'thank you' to this month's Sponsors:

• Shelli Bates - LandAmerica Lawyers Title - 480-688-9387
• Mary Ellen Kohut - The Mortgage Advantage - 602-329-3437
• Ron Kohatsu - World Inspection Network WIN - 480-844-2882
• Jim Crandell - Homestead Appraisals - 480-390-8530

If you are interested in more information on the monthly meetings, email me direct at AZREBlogs@Yahoo.com and I will get you the upcoming event. May's meeting will be held May 29th, 2008 in the Tempe area. If you are interested in being included be sure to email me so that I can send out an invitation. Also be sure to check out our new group we just started called AZ Real Estate Blogging Network, come check it out!

If you live in the greater Phoenix area then it's very likely that you have attended one of the largest Home Shows in the Southwest.  The Maricopa County Home Shows will average about 155,000 attendees and have approximately 2400 exhibitors. The Maricopa County Home Shows has been recognized as the largest Home Shows in the Southwest for the past 15 years. It's big! I have attended these shows in the past and I hope to stroll through it this weekend!

All of the vendors have gone through some tough screening to participate and have been checked out with the Better Business Bureau and Arizona State Registrar of Contractors to help homeowners to shop with confidence in whatever they seek.

If your desire is Going Green, there will be hundreds of Green exhibits, if you are a do-it-yourselfer with landscaping as your passion, then this is the place to be this weekend! The Queen of Clean will be present, gift card giveaways from Costco (my favorite place) and lots of fun for the homeowners/families who enjoy sprucing up, maintaining and all round Home projects.  You will find seminars, Home Depot kid workshops, kids crafts, Boutiques, Marketplaces, Decor items and more!  If I were you, I would pack up the whole family and head on over to the Arizona State Fairgrounds and check out all the festivities! I will keep you posted if I get to make that way this weekend among my open houses scheduled.  See you out there!!

One of my last visits to the show I came home with the most amazing Blender, K-TEC CHAMP HP3 that not only makes ice cream it can make hot soup too! I know you have seen them, if you love gadgets, this is one of my all time favorite investments. Thanks, Honey!

The event details are as follows:

Maricopa County Home & Landscape Show is held April 25, 26, 27, 2008 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds.  Show Hours are 10:00am-7:00pm on Friday & Saturday and 10:00am-6:00pm on Sunday with an admission price of $5.00 for Adults and $2.00 for Children. 

Please call (602) 485-1691 ext. 107 or visit www.MaricopaCountyHomeShows.com for more details.

If you would like to have an discount coupon emailed to you, go here. They don't collect any data, just your email.

E very once in awhile I will grab the paper and sift through the classifieds and since I have totally turned to the internet for everything it's a rare moment. But for this particular post I am going to refer to some classifieds that should gain your interests.

Being that I missed Easter with my online readers/friends I wanted to share this belated Easter wish for you and a cute story that I had saved in 'draft' mode for some time for the Easter occasion. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. *NOTE: In no way is this to make light of the sacrafice that our Savior has made for us all. This is just in light fun and to enjoy the easter spirit and not all the sugar in it's place now a days!

So I wonder what the classifieds were in Jerusalem Times that Monday morning after the first Easter? With that thought in mind, let's look at the 2002 Easter Edition of the Heavenly Top Ten, which is:

Top Ten Classifieds To Appear In The Jerusalem Times That First Easter

1. For Sale: Used Tomb. Good location! Like new! No longer occupied!
2. For Sale: Temple Curtain. Subdivided by owner. (Mat. 27:51)
3. For Sale: Used Wrap Collection. Excellent condition. You can have it for a song!
4. For Sale: Large selection of sackcloth (mourning clothes)--men's and women's, various sizes and styles. No longer needed.
5. Looking For Work: Two former guards. Willing to lie for right price. No Cemeteries! (Mat 28:11-15)
6. Companions Wanted: Long-term relationships desired. I am dying to meet you!--JC
7. Lost Item: One body lost. Big Reward for its return!--the Sanhedrin.
8. Personal to Mr. S: nah-nah, nah-nah, nah, nah--you lose!
9. Personal to JC: Well-done, Son! You da man!--Dad

And the #1 classified to appear in
the Jerusalem Times that First Easter is:

10. For sale: One Cross. Well used! Priceless! Best offer!

And saving the best for last is this darling little video of a phone conversation with Logan, a avid listener of a Christian radio show.

M ay we all remember the sacrafice made for us all and the great plan of salvation that we all can make a part of our world. When things get to a point of despair and we are at our lowest, remember to turn to Him and ask for help, Christ is our brother, our friend, our life. We all know this and need to remember this everyday of the year and not just in the Easter season.

Please accept my apologies for a belated wish for you my friend, however I still wanted to share it today with you! Happy Easter and may we let Logan be our example and may we remember HIM, Jesus our Savior in all we do! Prayer is powerful and He will listen. May you be blessed throughout your days.

Sincerely,

Candace Robinson is an Licensed Arizona Real Estate agent with HomeSmart Real Estate in Phoenix, Arizona metro area. As a member of our local Arizona Association of REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS®. She works with both Buyers and Sellers serving the East Valley and surrounding areas including Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, Mesa, Fountain Hills, Apache Junction, Ocotillo, Scottsdale, Cave Creek, Phoenix, Queen Creek, Casa Grande, Maricopa, Ahwatukee and more.

Living in Arizona since 1974. She has raised three children in the Town of Gilbert and very familiar with the wonderful lifestyle that Arizona has to offer! If you are looking into buying or selling a home in the Phoenix metropolitan area, hire a REALTOR® like Candace, who wants to win your business and trust. Candace would be honored to share with you an educated idea of what your home's value is based on experience, local knowledge, and comparable actual sales in your neighborhood! To get a FREE no-obligation Home Evaluation specific to your needs be sure to contact Candace Robinson. If you have any general questions about buying or selling real estate in Arizona please don't hesitate to contact her at CRobinson@hsmove.com or call her direct at 480-202-3558 or click on the links below for all you real estate needs.