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Category: Living the Law of Attraction

Exploring and practicing the concepts related to living the law of attraction.

Food drive to benefit White Center Food Bank May 18, 2013

Food drive to benefit White Center Food Bank May 18, 2013

White Center Food Bank

The White Center Food Bank needs our help, so I am joining with some of my Prudential Northwest Realty colleagues to sponsor a food drive benefitting White Center Food Bank on Saturday, May 18th.  While it is common for most of us to think of helping the hungry during the holidays, the food banks typically experience a slow down in donations during the summer months. Not surprisingly, demand for assistance is still high. Hunger doesn’t know from holidays.

Volunteers from Prudential Northwest Realty will be on hand from 11A-3P on the 18th, at the QFC in Westwood Village and the Albertson’s at 12725 1st Ave S in Burien. Your favorite Realtors will be there in person to collect your food and/or monetary donations, so please come say hi and introduce yourself!

Bonus opportunity! Mention that you read about the food drive here (on my blog) and I will give you a coupon good for a free ice cream cone from West Seattle’s own Husky Deli!

Canned food, other non-perishables and cash are all welcome donations. High protein items such as peanut butter and tuna fish are especially appreciated.

The White Center Food Bank is located at 10829 8th Ave SW Seattle WA 98146 ~ 206.762.2848. Their website address is: http://www.whitecenterfoodbank.org

And don’t forget the West Seattle Food Bank at 3419 SW Morgan St.! Both these worthy facilities depend upon the generosity of folks like you and me.

Hope to see you on May 18th.

The trouble with Yelp

The trouble with Yelp

The trouble with Yelp is…

What good is it to have your own blog if you can’t use it to vent your frustrations once in a while?

I’m told that a lot of people swear by Yelp and won’t make a move without consulting it for recommendations. Being a Realtor with lots of satisfied clients, and not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to let them toot my horn, I tried a couple of times to build up my Yelp recommendations. Alas, I met with nothing but frustration.

For one thing, Yelpers are required to create an account and post a photo of themselves. While I understand the reasoning behind this, very few of my clients seem to have a Yelp account and I don’t like asking them to open one just so they can do me a favor. This is especially true because I have noticed every time a friend gets hacked, the source shows a fictitious Yahoo account name. That suggests to me that Yahoo is particularly vulnerable to hackers.

I have also had Yelp remove legitimate recommendations in accordance with some policy of theirs that randomly deletes some entries. (I read their explanation at the time, but can’t remember their reasoning… probably because I thought it was ridiculous that there was no way to appeal their decision or prove the validity of the recommendation.)

So, if you are thinking of using my services and wonder why I don’t have more recommendations on Yelp, that’s why. Meanwhile, I am more than happy to provide you with a long list of happy, happy clients who will tell you everything you want to know about working with me, warts and all.

You can also check out the December 2012 issue of Seattle Magazine, where you will find me listed among a select group of real estate brokers who received the 5 Star Professionals Award for outstanding client service (3 years in a row, no less).

So there is my rant.

Tell me about your experience with Yelp.

Second Annual “Santa Paws” is Coming to Town

Second Annual “Santa Paws” is Coming to Town

Bring your pup for a photo with SantaSANTA PAWS is a free photo op with Santa for you and your pet happening this Saturday, Dec. 1st from noon-3PM. Hosted by Prudential Northwest Realty, this 2nd Annual event takes place at the Prudential office in West Seattle’s Jefferson Square Shopping Center, 4700 42nd Ave SW, Suite 600. Just look for the balloon festooned signs that will direct you every step of the way.

Appointments are encouraged and accepted, but not required (i.e. walk-ins are welcome). If you have questions or would like to reserve a particular time, call the Prudential Northwest Realty office at 206-932-4500.

We will also provide complimentary coffee/tea and holiday treats for you and your pet.

What? No pet? Then just stop by for refreshments and to say hello.

In the spirit of the season, we will be accepting donations for the West Seattle Food Bank AND the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program.

Got fruit? Donate surplus fruit from your trees

Got fruit? Donate surplus fruit from your trees

Wild blackberries

Do you have fruit trees in your yard that produce more than your family can use? Consider donating the surplus fruit to one of the local organizations that will distribute it to needy families. Not only will they distribute the surplus fruit, they will come to your home and harvest it for you! How great is that?

Here is a link to a feature story on KPLU.org that tells you all about once such group called Community Fruit Tree Harvest Projects.

Need more incentive? For a small donation, another non-profit called City Fruit will check your tree to see if it’s healthy and prune it free of charge!

Community Fruit Tree Harvest is another gleaning project sponsored by the anti-poverty group Solid Ground. In their own words, “Solid Ground works to end poverty and undo racism and other oppressions that are root causes of poverty.”

City Fruit is another local organization dedicated to making use of surplus fruit. They urge us to join them in “reclaiming urban fruit!”

The mission of City Fruit is to “promote the cultivation of urban fruit in order to nourish people, build community and protect the climate. We help tree owners grow healthy fruit, provide assistance in harvesting and preserving fruit, promote the sharing of extra fruit, and work to protect urban fruit trees.”

Although the Rotary Club does not harvest fruit and vegetable directly, their Harvest Against Hunger program is dedicated to “Connecting farms, food banks and volunteers for statewide hunger relief.”  The project’s mission is “to secure fresh produce for distribution to thousands of hungry families and individuals throughout Washington State.”

Two more well-known local organizations that work tirelessly to end hunger are Northwest Harvest and Food Lifeline. Again, they do not collect perishable food, but have many other ways you can help your neighbors in need.

If you are a professional educator, here is an organization whose website you should explore. Facing the Future. According to the website, “Facing the Future creates tools for educators that equip and motivate students to develop critical thinking skills, build global awareness and engage in positive solutions for a sustainable future.”

So the next time you step out into your yard and tiptoe around the fruit that is lying on the ground, spoiling, pick up your phone and call one of the groups listed here. Everyone benefits.

Know of other groups such as these? Please mention them in the comments section below.

Something to wine about

Something to wine about

I love a good “win-win” situation, so I am creating one for you and me.

From now until August 31, 2012, I am pairing up with Martedi Winery, which operates out of Monroe, WA, to offer a complimentary bottle of their 2008 Lavella wine to everyone who “Likes” me on my Facebook page and subscribes to this blog!

In other words, if you “Like” me, I’ll give you something to wine about 🙂

You can find my Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/AliceKuder

To subscribe to this blog, type your e-mail address into the subscription space above in the right-hand column (Home page). It’s that easy!

When I see that you have both liked and subscribed, I will send you a congratulatory e-mail. If you live within 10 miles of West Seattle, I will deliver your wine personally. Others can pick up their prize at my Prudential Northwest Realty office here in West Seattle. Sorry, but shipping is not available.

Why am I making this offer? The short answer is, to grow my business. The long answer is that I’d like to introduce you to my real estate services. I love my job and I invest a good deal of time and energy to providing valuable, up-to-date information about the local real estate market via my websites. This is just one avenue I use to provide exceptional service to my clients. If you’d like to know more, please give me a call and we can chat over a cup of coffee, tea or wine! 206-708-9800.

Westwood Neighborhood floral display

Westwood Neighborhood floral display

One of the big pleasures of my day is walking with my dog, Tess, around our under-appreciated Westwood Village neighborhood. This time of year is especially enjoyable because of all the flowering trees and shrubs.

I took my camera with me this morning and captured these colorful shots from my West Seattle neighbors’ yards. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

 

UW Mother’s Day Scholarship Brunch

UW Mother’s Day Scholarship Brunch

A note from Christy Austin, the event organizer:

We are very excited and proud to have Jean Smart, our Hollywood-success UW grad to be our keynote speaker, along with Michelle Esteban from KOMO TV as our emcee for the event.  This fun day will be on May 12th, 2012 at the Grand Hyatt in Seattle from 10:30 to 12:30.  I am hopeful that you can support our endeavor to raise money for deserving future leaders in our community in need of financial aid.  Whether it’s coming to our event or donating something to our cause, we would really appreciate it!  It should be a fun event, not just for Moms on the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend, but for all that attended our Alma Mater.  The origin of the words Alma Mater was in 1651, Latin for “Fostering Mother”.  It is thus apropos that we hold the celebration of our school on this weekend.  In the theme of celebration, with the University of Washington’s 150th birthday year, we are looking to create auction items of $150 or more.  This sure-to-be fun event will reach hundreds of attendees along with tens of thousands in audience.  I hope you can participate in some way.

Actress and mother, Jean Smart
Thoughts that give me peace of mind

Thoughts that give me peace of mind

I hope you don’t mind this very personal post. I am sharing it in the hopes that, in some small way, it will contribute to your peace of mind as well.

Thoughts that Give Me Peace of Mind

I Am the creator of my own perfect reality.

I Am exactly where I Am meant to be.

There is only a Stream of Well-Being; I allow it, I accept it, I receive it.

Only goodness & mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

I can have, do & be anything I want.

My purpose in life is to create & experience Joy.

There is plenty of time for everything.

There is plenty of everything for everyone.

There are no mistakes, there are no accidents, only lessons.

Good health, great wealth & great joy come naturally to me.

Every event produces positive manifestations.

I deserve to be Rich & Successful.

I am Rich & Successful in every way.

The longer I live, the Richer I become.

Life just keeps getting better & better.

Teenagers are great :)

Teenagers are great :)

I had almost forgotten how much I enjoy teenagers.

My first job right out of college was as a Youth Minister at St. Nicholas Parish in Gig Harbor. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole four years I worked and lived there, and much of the reason is because the kids were so great. Twenty years later, I still remember many of them by name, even though we didn’t stay in touch.

Since then and until recently, however, I haven’t had much reason to interact with high school students. Now that I am writing a book intended for a teenage audience, I decided that I had better immerse myself in the culture once again. So I recruited some 10th graders from Chief Sealth International High School in West Seattle to participate in a focus group to help me.  We had our first meeting/discussion yesterday and I came away feeling incredibly energized and encouraged about the project. (The book is about the trauma and drama many people experience during their high school years.)

Students in my focus group

These kids are sharp, respectful, insightful and just generally pleasant to be around. I’m really grateful that they have agreed to work on this book with me; I know the finished product will be much better than it otherwise would have been. I don’t want to publish their full names without their permission, but they might choose to identify themselves.

Want to know more about the book I’m writing and how you can be in it? Here’s a modest website I created for anyone who is curious: http://home.comcast.net/~alicekuder/site/

Alice Kuder is The Telltale Scribe