Having come from the very fractured and underfunded California school system, it came as no surprise to read recently that 12 (yes TWELVE) CCISD campuses are among the best in Texas! Ask anyone in the Clear Lake area and they will brag about their schools - often pointing to the school district as being a contributing factor in choosing to live in Clear Lake. I know having excellent schools was an important factor in our move here.
According to the Bay Area Citizen (1/21/2010 frontpage) these 12 campuses have been recognized by the National Center for Educational Achievement in its 2009 Just For Kids Campaign for Higher Performing Schools in Texas. (read entire article here) They are:
Armand Bayou Elementary - in science
Brookwood Elementary - in math, reading and science
Falcon Pass Elementary - in math reading and science
Ferguson Elementary - in math and science
Hall Elementary - in math
Hyde Elementary - in writing
North Pointe Elementary - in math, reading, science and social studies
Robinson Elementary - in math
Ward Elementary - in math and science
Space Center Intermediate - in math, reading, science and social studies
Westbrook Intermediate - in writing, science and social studies
Clear Lake High School - in math, science and social studies
Not to be outdone, Friendswood High School, Friendswood Junior High and Windsong Intermediate were also cited.
Why should you care about these rankings? Well if you are selling your home and it feeds into one of these schools it is an added selling point. If you are buying, you may want to see what homes are available in these areas. How do you find where these schools are? Visit my websites resource page , email me, or give me a call. I'd love to help....it's what I do!
Ask anyone who has had to clean a large home and the agreement is smaller may be better. My early married life we lived in an 800 sq foot home (though I may be generous). While a small home can seem cluttered sooner - it takes no time to clean the entire home top to bottom. It is just more efficient. The same can be said for other scenarios as well.
Take for example my recent experience with refinancing. With interest rates so low, it seemed ridiculous not to take advantage of the rates. We contacted our current mortgage company - now owned by a bank. Since we had all our various mortgages through them we "assumed" we would get a great rate, great service and lower fees - wrong! I had previously contacted our bank for general information and was given a direct line should we decide to proceed - great! When we had crunched numbers and made the decision to proceed I called the number - oops the recording said he would be gone from the office for two weeks. Another number was provided. No problem. I called and left a message.
In the meantime, I contacted a mortgage company I had referred clients to. The same day I had a great rate quote, an estimate of closing costs and an estimated time frame to close in 3 weeks barring any unusual circumstances. I began to doubt my "big" institution.
Still receiving so return call, I dropped by a branch where I was told I couldn't get a breakdown of costs until I initiated an application. After assuring them I would not hold them to their "estimate" I received the quote with a higher interest rate, larger closing costs and their improved closing time which was now down to 45 days from 60! Guess who I didn't go through?
At Simien Properties we are a smaller company. There is no cumbersome infrastructure, no "press this number" to get answers, no transferring of calls - you receive personalized service directly from me start to finish. This allows for a fluid, personalized and client centered service. We have the same access to information and Internet tools that the "big" companies have. Ask any of my previous clients - I give prompt replies to all inquires, questions and situations.
So smaller is better and I'll tell that to my bank.....whenever they return my call.
Now that you can leave your scarves, gloves and heavy coats home, it is time to address your yard. If you're like me when you uncovered them you might gasp at what you see. Don't fret all may not be lost. Though I think my tomato plant is toast.
Give everything a good watering and then follow these tips from the Houston Chronicle on How To Clean up After a Freeze.
Where do we live? I thought the South was suppose to be warmer in the winter. Regardless of what we think, this week is going to be COLD! As a homeowner you need to take some preparations so all you need to do when the cold hits is ideally sit inside and stay warm. If you are thinking of listing your home in the near future - all the more reason to protect plants!
Not being a girl with much "hard freeze" experience, I am taking a few precautions
1. Pull all outdoor potted plants under cover and drape with an old sheet or old curtains. I secure into placed using chip bag clips or large paper clips (you know the springy kind). Put smaller plants on the ground if they are otherwise on a table or shelf.
2. If you have enough sheets to go around (don't use plastic) drape freeze sensitive plants in the yard. Don't know which ones are freeze sensitive - well you can always Google search it or use my rule of thumb "would I be very sad if it died" If the answer is yes cover it. You can also substitute the word sad with "expensive to replace" for the same result
3. Now I don't know about wrapping pipes, but I do not that this time we will empty the hose of water
4. To keep snug in the house, this is a good time to use that switch on your ceiling fan to make it go in reverse. It then moves warm air near the ceiling around.
5. My wonderful husband just came home with some cool styrofoam items to put on our faucets and pipes. Beats cutting up our water noodles like we did a few years ago.
Well that is the depth of my knowledge. If you have another tip to share - feel free.
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