There are two featured posts that have caused a lot of conversation. One is
When marketing flies in the face of convention, the noise can be deafening! and the other is Are you Cheating your Sellers by using a Lockbox?
This illustrates exactly why I wrote Real Estate the Rome Way. Look how these two people - one an agent, one a trainer - approach the subject of lockboxes and showings. I am not at all opposed to the lockbox, in fact many of my listings have them. However, that does not mean there is a blanket invitation at ANY and ALL times to have access. You will not see "lockbox, show anytime" on any of my listings. That is NOT how you represent your seller.
I make my own appointments – I've written about this before (Yes, I Do!), more than once (Yes, I Do…Part 2).
As a listing agent, I need to do what is best for my clients. There are so many special situations that require me to be at a showing: the elderly, the frail, those with young children, family illness, special pet situations, caretakers, sellers who works and sleeps irregular shifts and many more.
Sure if all my homes were vacant, were short sales, or the owners were touring Europe for the year, it would be easy to slap a lockbox on and keep on going. But I list with real live people not properties. Buyer's agents call and speak to me. I answer my phone, I make appointments, I represent my sellers!
Why are expensive homes treated with listing agent's showings? Do only the wealthy get the "right" representation? Why not a lock box on these so-called exclusive listings, too? Sorry, but all my sellers are very special, and deserve the Right The Rome Way.
410-530-2400
Some people just have the knack to create a magical party; Alice is one of those people.
The house was perfect, warm, and inviting, and everywhere you looked were tasteful Christmas decorations. The flowers were perfect, long stem white roses, poinsettias and five very different Christmas trees.
I did not want to spend too much time with the camera because then I would have missed the good friends and conversation. Did I say mention this was perfection? The "belinis," luscious drinks (cranberry, pomegranate, Champaign) and topped with a sprig of mint and a cranberry were pretty and delish! The bounty of superb hors d'oevres: brie and mushroom, bountiful cheeses, gargantuan shrimp, and crab cakes were more than enough to satisfy. But then there was a beautiful dinner of tenderloin, gourmet potatoes creations, yummy salmon with an olive tampenade, crisp green beans, and a beautiful salad. All of this was elegantly served and catered in Alice's magnificent new kitchen with flowing "white diamond" granite countertops. Deserts were plentiful, and Marie's always-popular cream desert was no disappointment.
The guys came up from the football game (Ravens won) to make sure they did not miss dessert. A beautiful party, lots of beautiful people, lots of good conversation. Some people just have the knack to create magic. Alice had a pretty party! 
Yesterday, to the sheer delight of many, many Houstonians (including Alex & Alyssa) snow fell for several hours in Houston, TX. That's right, Houston TEXAS!! It was a really enormous deal here. Snow comes once in a decade around this tropical locale! I mean, people were treating this as though it was the Blizzard of 1996 for the east coast! Real serious!
At about 4:30 pm yesterday, Alyssa's prayer was answered (any and all prayer requests must come well after her mom's and dad's and should be submitted in writing, please!): SNOW fell in Houston!
So, even though it was well after their normal bedtime, I allowed Alex to show his baby sis just how much fun they could have playing TOGETHER in snow.
The class was sponsored by WCR(Women's Council of Realtors) and REMDA (Real Estate Million Dollar Association), and taught by Tom Drechsler who I knew from the settlement he did for 
There were agents from all over including some from my former Floyd Wickman mentor group: Amy Ruth-Remax and Barb Fiertag-Keller Williams, and a number of agents from my former Coldwell Banker company.
Remember the game we've all played where one person whispers something to another and that person whispers the message to another? By the time it gets through half a dozen people or more, the end version is nothing like the original.
I think it is pretty special that a post can be written about a Seth Godin blog and the blogger can get great attention. This was a perfect opportunity to have a wonderful Active Rain discussion, and it' would have been even more wonderful if there were not so many random comments – It is more meaningful when we take the time to read what others say before making our own comments.