Charter Schools

PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL IN VIRGINIA BEACH

A Public Charter School is scheduled to open in Virginia Beach September of 2013.  Click on the below button to read the news article from WTKR Channel 3.

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photo courtesy of © Royalty-Free/Corbis  

 7 Free Must-Have Mobile Apps to do Your Job Better.

These seven free mobile business apps – a mix of tried-and-true classics and road-tested upstarts –  merit a spot in the phone of any office warrior this year.

Check out the rest of the article below courtesy of Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite.

7 Must-Have Apps for Your Job

photo courtesy of Forbes.com

The biggest change new homeowners should know when filing their taxes is they’ll need to itemize deductions in Schedule A, which is more complicated than the standard deduction they may have taken on previous tax returns.

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which President Obama signed on Jan. 1 to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” helps homeowners by restoring two tax breaks.

The first is the deduction for mortgage insurance premiums. Lenders often require the insurance if the loan balance is for more than 78 percent of the home’s value.

The second reclaimed tax break is a credit of up to $500 for making certain improvements that increase a home’s energy efficiency. A credit is money taken off the amount owed to the IRS. The tax credit is typically 10%, up to $500 total, for buying and installing certain products such as a new water heater, central air conditioner, insulation, windows or roof.

for the rest of the article from ABC News.

Images courtesy of Komonews.com and Motherjones.com

Click here for the article: Valentines for Vets  

To all of our military as well as first responders, thank you for your sacrifice.

The Power Of Giving

Even after obtaining what may be considered as ‘enough’ for personal fulfillment, many still feel a void inside them that yearns to be filled.

This is where the power of giving is then realized.

Anyone Can Give

Some people would be inclined to think that only those who are financially set should give. But remember that giving starts form personal will or from the heart, a thing that every human being has no matter their financial or material standing. So long as whatever is given, whether a service or material gift, makes a positive impact and difference in the life of the recipient, then it qualifies to be a charitable gift. But it must be given unconditionally without any expectation of a reciprocal action from the receiver.

Why Don’t Some People Give?

While a good number of people will give out selflessly despite their meager capabilities, others who may be even more endowed do not give to charity. They claim that they first have to achieve substantially at a personal level before they can give to others. This kind of outlook would be too narrow to allow someone to give. This is because the complex nature of the human being forces us to seek for more, no matter what we may already have. As such, the urge to get more may never end. Additionally, some people do not give because they believe that they have nothing of value to share with the rest of the world and that they have to be a certain type of person to give or that there is not enough to go around. All of this is far from the truth, anyone and everyone has something they can offer one another.

Giving Has Immense Personal Benefits

Giving does not necessarily mean giving money or material items. People give not because they have but because they have that inherent urge to give. In fact, many well-known philanthropists did not start their charity work when they got rich. Even without any material gift to offer, sharing your ideas can have immense personal benefits. Ideas can transform others greatly. By giving out what you have without expecting anything in return, you start living a meaningful life. If you find meaning in the lives of those in need and do something about it, you will also find meaning in your own life. That is the magic of selfless giving.

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” – Kahlil Gibran 

Click here to go to Addicted to Success and read more of this article written by Joel Brown

I often get calls from past and current clients debating on remodeling their homes. I always keep an open communication with my sphere of influence.  I am willing and ready to help before you start the process of remodeling. To start with, I will do an analysis of the neighborhood to see your possible return on investment (ROI), especially if you are thinking of selling in the next 5 years or so. Something to keep in mind is to check your motives for remodeling and to know your timeline for staying in the home. Now if the main reason to remodel is to improve your quality of life then something to weigh and to understand is you might not get all the money back. Check out this article I came across. Remember to contact me and I can assist you with weighing your options.

RISMedia To Remodel or Not to Remodel

Enter for a chance to win!  First place winner will receive a $100 Visa Gift Card.  There will also be a second place winner who will receive two tickets to the Virginia Flower and Garden Show.  The winners will be announced on Friday November 16th.  Good luck!

Click on the “view my flyer” button for more information.

FALL HOME SELLING TIPS

Curb Appeal: Curb appeal is the exterior attractiveness of your home and like many other things in life home selling is all about first impressions. A large percentage of home buyers decide whether they will view the interior of the home based on its curb appeal. The way your house looks on the outside is key. The grass may not be growing as quickly in the fall, but you still need to do your part to keep the home looking its best and keep the grass maintained and trimmed. This is a great time of year, when the weather is relatively mild, for outdoor maintenance projects such as cleaning out your gutters, touching up paint jobs and planting fall foliage for a pop of color. A few subtle fall decorations, such as a decorative door wreath will make your home look more inviting.

Appeal to Buyer’s Senses: Apples and cinnamon are great fall scents that will help accent your home during showings, but don’t overdo it! One well placed air freshener by the front door and another in the kitchen will really help your property show at it’s best. Brighten up your home by opening all the blinds, and emphasize the warmth of your home with warm fall colors. Adding soft throw pillows and blankets as well as plush towels are all nice touches that are low cost and will appeal to the buyer’s other senses.

Have a Fireplace? Show it Off: Place furniture in such a way that the fireplace becomes a focal point. A mirror above the mantel, artwork, or vases and other tasteful decor will appeal to buyers during this season.

Hire the Right Realtor for You: Getting ready for the holidays and the kids returning to school and activities…this time of year can become hectic, very quickly. A Realtor will help to release a lot of the added pressure and stress of trying to balance life and the holidays. Let a Realtor handle the task of helping you sell your home.

As always call or text me at 757-288-8268 for help with your home buying and selling needs.  I am here to serve.

Brent Montella

Photo and some insights courtesy of www.mhoran.com

Top 10 Back To School Ideas 
For Keeping Kids & Home Organized

Here are the top 10 back to school ideas and tips that can help you have a smooth transition from those laid-back summer days to the school year ahead for you, your kids, and your home.

Back to school means getting back in the swing of things, getting ready for each school day, keeping up with homework and after-school activities and extracurriculars, and continuing to keep the house under control.  To do all that, and not feel like things are spinning out of control, here are some of my best back to school ideas and tips we can all use:

Idea 1: Get In The Habit Of Getting As Much Ready The Night Before As Possible

It can be a flurry of packing lunches, signing homework or permission slips, scarfing down breakfast and not having enough time to brush teeth properly.  That’s no way to start the school day.  Instead, when I actually take the time, the night before, to do as much as possible that needs to get done for the next morning everything runs so much more smoothly and my day just seems to be better.

Idea 2: Create A Morning Routine For Each Family Member

It makes for a smoother morning.

Idea 3: Set Out School Clothes For Your Kids A Week At A Time

Though this idea works great for little kids who don’t yet care what they wear to school, it won’t work at all for your older ones. (Although you could do it for yourself and really streamline your mornings if you wish.)

Idea 4: Create a School Lunch Packing Area In Your Fridge & Pantry

Create an area in your pantry and another in your refrigerator for school lunch supplies, so you (or your kids) can grab what you need quickly when packing up your lunch either the night before or the morning of school.

It can be difficult to keep from getting monotonous with the lunches you pack. To get some new ideas check out Katie Kimball’s ebook called Healthy Snacks To Go , because in her recipes she goes the extra mile and tells which ones will work well in a backpack, lunch box, or diaper bag, and which must be refrigerated, for example.

Idea 5: Create A Launching Pad For Your Morning Stuff, Including Backpacks

One of the things that can keep your family from getting out the door on time in the mornings for school is rushing around gathering up all the things you need to take out the door.  In regard to school, one of the most important things to make sure is in the “launch pad” are backpacks.  Plus, if you can keep these items off the ground, such as with the over the door backpack rack, you’ll save a lot of floor space at the same time.

Idea 6: Stock Up On School & Office Supplies At The Same Time

Remember, you need supplies for your kids at school, but also some supplies at your home for them to use when doing their homework each afternoon or evening too.  Have an area in your closet or in the garage to hold the supplies.

Idea 7: Label Your Kids’ Supplies And Stuff So It’s Easier To Find In Lost & Found

Once you’re home with all those supplies take the extra time to label anything you would be upset to have get lost and not easily identified for return.  Kids are always laying things down and forgetting where they put them.

Idea 8: Clear Out Your Kids’ Backpack Daily (With Their Help)

If you do this daily it doesn’t take very long at all, keeps you from missing stuff, and trains your children how to do it themselves so when they are older they can keep things organized and under control with less supervision and intervention from you.

Idea 9: Make A Designated Quiet Homework Area In Your Home

Create a designated quiet homework area in your home so your kids can get their homework done without too many distractions, and with all the needed supplies close at hand.

Idea 10: Start Your Year Over When The School Year Starts

It’s no wonder some calendars don’t start in January, but instead start with August — because that is the start of the next school year, and it feels like a new beginning for everyone, not just kids but parents too.

While getting your kids back into the swing of things, why not get yourself into some better habits too?  Check out Homes.com for great storage and design ideas.

for the complete Home Storage Solutions 101 article Click here…

5 Steps to a More Productive Morning

by Markham Heid April 19, 2012

The cure for morning brain drain.  Zombie in the morning? Science has the cure.

Does every morning start like a scene out of Zombieland—and you’re the zombie? Skipping breakfast may be to blame. A review of 134 breakfast studies conducted by the University of Leeds in the UK found that your memory, problem-solving skills, verbal fluency, and several other measures of cognitive ability all suffer when you miss the most important meal of the day.

New research provides a road map that can help you get the most from your breakfast and your brain every morning.

Eat like a cow.  Verbal reasoning and problem-solving ability improved roughly 35 percent among those who practiced grazing, or dividing breakfast into four smaller meals spaced an hour apart, finds a study from Cardiff University in the UK. Spreading out your meals gives your brain a more consistent supply of energy in the form of blood glucose, the study explains.

More from MensHealth.com: Choose the Best Breakfast Foods

The best breakfast nut.  People who ate a small handful of polyphenol-rich walnuts every day improved working memory 19 percent, finds Spanish research. Polyphenols have been shown to reduce oxidative stress, which may help improve communication among your brain’s neurons, the study hypothesizes.

Walk your brain awake.  Just 20 minutes of walking improves your “cognitive flexibility”—your brain’s ability to produce a flow of ideas and answers when presented with a problem—by 16 percent, says a study from the University of Illinois. The researchers attribute the brain benefits to improved cerebral blood flow and increased levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Protein power.  Eating a protein-rich breakfast resulted in a nearly 20 percent boost in brain activity compared to either no breakfast or a breakfast high in sugar, Japanese research shows. That’s because protein, unlike sugar, provides your brain with a consistent energy source, the study says. Eggs are a great source of hunger-quelling protein, not to mention a lot of other good stuff.

A better source of caffeine.  A recent study from the University of Bristol in the UK found that just 20 to 30 milligrams (mg) of caffeine boosts brainpower—regardless of how alert the subjects felt. That’s about 100 mg less than your average cup of coffee. Higher doses didn’t provide any additional brain boost. So have a small amount of dark chocolate in the morning. Research has shown dark chocolate improves blood flow and cholesterol levels, and may even help you lose weight. One ounce—or about two 1-inch squares—containing 70 to 85 percent cocoa packs roughly 25 mg of caffeine. (For even more great food choices, make sure you check out Eat This, Not That! 2012.)

Courtesy of Men’s Health News

Reflection and perspective. The Jamaican culture was refreshing and therapeutic.  The locals always seem so happy, always have a radiant, warm and welcoming smile on their faces. It’s hard to understand because they have so little. Tattered clothing and sometimes you even come across those with no shoes. Yet they look like they don’t have a care in the world and that they really enjoy life. Respectful, friendly, loving, personable and just plain genuine. It makes me realize life can be so much more simpler, yet here in the states we seem to make it so much more complicated for some reason.  They show me the meaning of having a grateful heart.

Perspective.

I love the difference between Brent and I. He is outgoing and loves to engage in conversations with strangers on the street, get to know them and their story. He is an open book and eager to hear from them and their perspectives. People embrace this quality in Brent. He draws inspiration from just about everything. He is always doing things whether big or small to help others. Its his heart. I on the other hand love to fly under the radar, you know, just blend in with the crowd but I have noticed the more I am with Brent the more I am less inhibited. I see myself engaging more in conversations with people. Slowly letting my wall down and being in the moment with them.  In doing this I feel a change within me and connecting with people blesses me more than it blesses them.  Although it is still hard for me to do, I really have to make a conscious effort, my hope is it will eventually come as natural for me as it is for Brent.

After this vacation I am realizing the things I am missing in my own home environment. The little things like listening to the birds chirping each morning. Really appreciating what we have. Our conversations with our kids, again……just being in the moment, seeing and feeling clearly. Life gets so hectic at times that I seem to stay too busy to feel and really connect with what’s around me. My mission, my hope, is to connect more with my family, friends and strangers.  Be in and stay in the moment and soak in all the wonders around me.  And to make sure our kids understand this basic concept and apply it to their lives.  I am thankful beyond words for this experience and am in prayer that I don’t ever let the busyness of life drown out this important lesson.