Susan Mangigian, West Chester PA Realtor RE/MAX Preferred, ABR

My husband Jack was walking through the bedroom today and astounded me by saying it was snowing! With that, I hear Max's feet hit the floor running... the kid lives for snow. He went straight to the computer to check out whether or not he had a snow day... Hope springs eternal in the young! Sadly for him and yippee for me, school was in session! Mom, where are my gloves... Mom, do you think we'll have early dismissal, Mom.. Mom.. Mom...

Seeing the snow through my puppy's eyes this morning brought a smile to my face. JJ has never seen snow and he was in puppy heaven! Clumps of snow were sticking out all over his little body. God, I love this dog.

Honestly, have you ever seen a cuter little face?

C Tann Starr recently posted, or commented that someone told her she needed to stop talking about her children so much. What? Our children, our pets, our spouses... these are the things I want to know about people. I don't want to read market reports, although I've posted a few.

I come to Active Rain to form relationships with other agents. Maybe the public is reading Active Rain, and I hope they are, but I'm here to meet other agents, to talk about our lives, to celebrate our successes and commiserate about our missteps. I think this kind of networking is invaluable. I'd love to meet a buyer or seller here, but I'd love it more to get a referral from someone here, another agent, who I have come to know and respect. To know that the feeling of respect is mutual.

Now that is social networking.

I've formed some very serious friendships here. I value them like I value all of my friendships. They make my life more pleasant, they make it for flavorful.

And, hey, if you don't want to hear about my little dog, or my two sons, or my husband and the red vacuum cleaner, oh well.

I am a spring/summer person. I get very excited by the coming of spring, the first crocuses, the first daffodils. I'm over the moon when my forsythia's bloom. The first year I started gardening, in the warmth of a summer afternoon, I was leafing through a spring flowering bulb catalog. What a great idea, I'll order a couple of hundred bulbs and plant them when fall arrives. Being a city girl, I never dreamed in a million years that this meant I was going to be digging a couple of hundred holes and putting dead looking things in them on a blustery and overcast fall day.

This was the year I learned that gardeners are also optimists. To go out on a cold, windy day with something that looks like an onion and expect it to be a gorgeous flower come spring is nothing short of expecting miracles. But, miracles indeed they are. Every spring when the bulbs are blooming I think, this autumn, I'll plant more. Every year by the time September gets here, after raking leaves, weeding the thistle and getting rid of the summer flower debris, the very last thing I want to do is dig more holes.

My garden, while I think there's a wild beauty about it in summer, is not very inspiring in the fall. And lately, I've been outside a lot. My puppy, JJ is not getting the hang of this going potty outside business. In the summer months, he was somewhat incredulous that I expected him to walk in the wet grass in the morning. Go outside in the dark, surely you jest, his accusing eyes would say. My husband Jack put in an electric fence for me so that I could just open the door and let my little darling out. He stands at the open door, looks outside, looks back at me and runs away. What are you kidding me, he seems to say. It's cold out there, and I want to be with you! So, with nothing else to do for it but to accompany him outside, every single time he needs to go, I wander around my garden, urging him on, and looking around for a shred of beauty.

Having JJ has been very rewarding to me. Every time I come home, he throws me a parade of love and unstinting affection. But the potty business is getting old, I have a cold and it is raw outside. So there we were today, I am urging him to go, and JJ is trying to be cute and sneak back up on the deck. We both know that as soon as he is out of my sight, if I can't get him to go outside, he'll go in my laundry room, so he keeps trying to slip past me and I keep blocking the way.

Gardening teaches many lessons and I learn another one today. There is beauty in everything. While begging JJ to hurry up, and complaining about the cold, I am immune to it. But when I grab my camera, and decide to make the best of it, I find it. The remains of Max's marigolds, planted every year from the seeds that started out as a present on Mother's day from him when he was 6 years old, remind me that while he may be growing up fast, he is still my little boy.

I may have to rethink the beauty of my wild garden in the fall. Hope springs eternal in a garden and who knows, there may be hope yet for JJ and the potty training. JJ brings so much to our home and putting the time in with him really isn't too much to ask in return.

On Thursday, October 30, 10 women from the Chester County Women's Commission had the opportunity to attend the Pennsylvania Chapter of the March of Dimes 19^th Annual Salute to Chester County Women of Achievement. I was one of the lucky 10 members of the Commission who got their name picked out of the hat to attend this function, as the Commission was one of the Corporate Sponsors.

Pictured from left to right are Lisa Spangler, current Chairwoman of CCWC, Deanna Shelton and Joanne Yarnall.

Pictured from left are Cynthia Vickers Wilson, yours truly and current Vice Chairwoman of CCWC, Debra Shupp

Pictured below are Terry Moody, Pat Tirney, Terry Brown Walker and Brenda Williams

My sincere congratulations to the three women being honored at this event, Glen Brion, the Community Development Coordinator of Friends Association for Care and Protection of Children; Barbara Tachovsky, President of Paoli Hospital; and Michelle Venema, Vice President of First National Bank of Chester County.

I got to see my favorite State Representative, Barbra McIlvaine Smith and our Chester County Commissioners, Kathi Cozzone, Terrence Farrell and Carole Aichele.

Pictured from the left is Chester County Commissioner, Kathi Cozzone and PA State Representative for my district, the lovely Barbara McIlvaine Smith.

According to Grant Parker, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Eastern PA, the March of Dimes is actively pursuing their mission by investing money, time and volunteer talent in our community in support of programs to prevent birth defects, infant death and premature birth.

A young couple got up to speak about their experience with very premature twins, now 2, who were up on stage with their parents. Having very premature babies can be a harrowing experience, and with the help of organizations like the March of Dimes, babies born this early have a much better chance of surviving now than they did years ago.

I can speak from the experience of being an aunt to a lovely young lady, now 22, who was born on the 1^st day of the 7^th month of gestation. My Little Lizzie was 3 pounds 5 ounces at birth and she fit neatly into the palm of her Dad's hands. Being the first baby in the family and coming after many late stage miscarriages to my sister and her late husband, she was a miracle to behold. I still tell her how strongly she resembled Jiminy Cricket!

To find out how you can support The March of Dimes, go to http://www.marchofdimes.com/. From there you can then type in your zip code to go directly to the local chapter near you.

If you are looking for an over 55 community with loads of appeal and a ton of choices, look no further than Hersheys Mill http://www.hersheysmill.org/. Right now, there are 38 active listings on the market there in a wide variety of price ranges. The lowest price right now is $219,000 for a two bedroom, two bath unit. The highest price is $735,000 for a 3 bedroom, 2 full bath a one powder room single.

I deliver Meals on Wheels to a few families in Hersheys Mill every Thursday. Since this is a gated community, you have to stop at the gatehouse. The guards are very nice and because I show homes here quite often, we always share a laugh as to whether this is a real estate visit, or my weekly Meals on Wheels delivery.

The landscaping is absolutely breathtaking and the grounds are very well cared for. There are numerous pools, a tennis court and their very own golf club, which many of the units back onto. The clubhouse is lovely.

If you are looking for an over 55 community, call or email me. I'd love to give you a tour of the grounds and show you some of the homes for sale. Now is a terrific time to buy a home, rates are great and inventory is high. As a resident of East Goshen Township, I can't speak highly enough of the amenities, the beauty and the great people that live here. Hersheys Mill is adacent to and within walking distance or a very short drive to a food store (Genuardi's), two pharmacies, a great pizza place (Vanos) and a dry cleaner.

Here is a link to the Hersheys Mill Golf Club. http://www.hersheysmillgolfclub.com/ It features a private, 72-par golf course located in the center of a gated, 800-acre residential community. Two dining rooms give members a choice between formal and informal dining.

Abraham Lincoln is a hero of mine. I am a Democrat. Mr. Lincoln was a republican. The irony of my position is very known to me, so please don't feel the need to point it out.

Every 4 years, my home is a House Divided. I have very strong beliefs that the Democratic party is the better of the two parties, my love for Honest Abe not withstanding. My husband, Jack, thinks that the Republicans walk on water and the Ronald Reagan was the best president ever, bar none, except for perhaps Richard Nixon.

A house divided against itself can not stand. Well, every 4 years, we are generally at war. This year is slightly different because even my died in the wool republican husband can see that old "W" has made a mess of things in the 8 years that he has been president. But, we still have such fundamentally different beliefs in what we think is right that my children have requested a cease fire!

These are pictures of our front lawn. Jack got this McCain Palin sign from what he says is a nice lady who stopped by one day while I was at work.

I paid for my sign when I went to the West Chester Restaurant Festival. The two additional signs below were delivered to me by like minded friends. Joe Sestak for congress and Barbara McIlvaine Smith for State Representative. Both democrats, both very well regarded people.

10/27/08 is our 24th wedding anniversary. We've been through many presidential elections. Jack votes early in the morning. I vote mid day. Every time I vote, I call him to tell him that I just canceled out his vote!

A house divided against itself can not stand unless there are children living there! Children who stand between us and say, hey guys, can we talk about something else now?? So, we fight nice. Needless to say, my neighbors get a big kick out of this every 4 years! When we first moved here I was a lonely voice in the republican wilderness of Chester County. Now, I am still in the minority, but there is definitely hope!

4 years ago, I had a John Kerry sign on my front lawn. My husband requested I take it down. I respectfully reminded him that it was a big lawn... go get your own sign. So there you go. I was having the exterior of my home painted that year and my painters were Republicans. We had many debates while they were here and one morning I came out to find a pair of flip flops stapled to my John Kerry sign. I left them there just to show them I was a good sport. And, because, it really was funny!