We just moved, making now  a perfect time to talk about moving. Last time we moved, 16 years ago, I said “Never Again”.  Like childbirth, the pain and stress eventually wear off and the joy of something new—take your pick, a baby or a home–outweighs the pain.

You would think that since I’m a Realtor® and I deal with people who want or need to move every day and the challenges that come with a Real Estate transaction, I’d be immune. Not the case at all.

The first part of the whole moving process is the decision to make a move.  If you are being transferred and need to relocate, that decision may be taken away from you, but you still have the stress of being kind of forced into something.

If your move is one that you initiated because you wanted to downsize (like we do) or upsize, or go for a new community, a different style or type of home, want to save money, or make money or any one of a million reasons you can dream up to move—that also comes with its own set of stresses.  Am I making the right decision and then second guessing your decision multiple times being the biggest stressor we like to place on ourselves.

The next anxiety is getting your home ready to sell.  Maybe you have collected lots of “stuff” over the years and view the move as an opportunity to de-clutter and purge yourself of items no longer useful or needed by you and your family.  I love getting rid of things and wiping the slate clean, so this part is fun for me. But for others their “stuff” is cause for major deliberating. Some people just have trouble parting with their belongings and when faced with putting their precious household items and memories in a pecking order of what goes and what stays—confusion and yes, stress, take over.

This is all just the beginning.  Next you have to pick a Realtor® to help you market your property and get it priced right.  Do you already know and trust someone who is a Realtor®, or do you have to pick a stranger? Best advice, preferably choose someone you know & trust and who is a good communicator.  Communication is key in a Real Estate transaction and you definitely want someone you can easily talk with and who can communicate your wishes on your behalf to all the parties involved.  In my case, it was easy, I picked me.  Obviously, I didn’t have to communicate anything to myself, but the interesting thing was my husband kept asking me to go over what’s next, and several times he said to me, could you explain how this works again.

This was a valuable lesson for me.  If he had all these questions, was unsure and wanted to be reassured of the process multiple times, certainly my other clients would feel the same way. 

This whole moving process has helped me to appreciate what my clients go through in their moves and reconfirmed the importance of communicating the details, and the value of checking-in—communicating regularly and frequently what’s happening and what’s next. 

You might be curious to know what our 2 biggest challenges where in our move.  For us it was coming up with a solution for our onsite septic-system that didn’t pass inspection and dealing with our 16 years of accumulation of “stuff”.

First we had to fix or replace the drain field on our septic system.  We ended up solving that problem with a unique new technology called Soil Air.  If you end up with a drain field that doesn’t pass on the home inspection, I highly recommend you look into adding a Soil Air System to rejuvenate your current drain field.  We were lucky that we had a very competent septic expert to communicate the possible solutions and explain our options.  Thom Noll was one of the best, if not the best contractor I have ever worked with on a project. 

We were also lucky in that the buyers of our home liked it enough to hang in there and were not scared away by a less than perfect septic system. Again in all of this I think communication was the glue that held the transaction together until closing.

So we weaved our way through the drain field horror and a delayed closing date and made it to the big day.  I cannot stress enough how important it is to organize, pack and purge your treasures until you have culled it all down to what you are certain you will need and use at your next home.  This is where we were in “stuff shock”. Where was it all coming from? Had the walls somehow absorbed clothing, electronics, papers, kitchen wares and now they were seeping into the rooms no matter how many times we emptied them? It seemed that way, and we were under the impression that we were “under stuffed” compared to most people. 

Now I’ll be better prepared to help my clients through their septic problems that may arise as well as brace themselves for stuff issues.  

It’s a good feeling. I’ve purged and learned some valuable lessons that I’ll be able to pass on. I’ll also be better prepared for the next move in 7 or 8 months when we’ll move into a home we are building. Just wait for those stories!

 Have you moved recently? How was your experience? What would have made it better?  We’d love to learn from you too.  Leave your comments below, and if we’re not already connected on face book, hop on over there and say “Hi” as well.  We appreciate you and your readership http://www.facebook.com/beappreciative

Some days I feel like throwing my cell phone in a river where I can never retrieve it.  It’s with me all the time and it rings and beeps and chimes a lot.  I wish I hadn’t given everyone my cell phone number.  I really like the idea of a stationary phone that stays in my home office.  I can retrieve messages once or twice a day. Better yet, forget the voicemail. I’ll answer it when I’m there. Sounds like heaven, doesn’t it?

Have we become too accessible?  It was 1989 and we were moving. It seems every time we move (and we are in the process of a move right now) it’s a double.  In other words, we end up having temporary quarters before we move into our new home. That was the case in 1989 when we were building a home and there was a 3-month period that we were homeless. Did you ever try to find a very short term rental? We had a 1 year old and a 3-1/2 year old and no place to live that we could be together.

It was the weekend and we were driving around the area of our soon-to-be new digs when we passed by a campground called J&D’s. Out front there were a couple of large campers for sale. Hmmm, this was a beautiful setting; it was summer and maybe…we pulled into the entrance and went up to the office, 2 cute kids in tow, and asked if they rented campers.  "Well, not usually", Barbara, the owner said.  But I could see it right away…she had a soft spot, and in short order we had picked our site by the river and close to the bathroom, and made arrangements to rent their 28 ft. camper for the rest of the season.  We had a grand summer at J&D’s Campground, our temporary home, in the summer of 1989.  We quickly became friends with Sherri & her son, Tarik and the rest of the family that ran the campground.  What more could you want when you had a swimming pool,  a fishing hole, mini-golf and an ice cream store (the cree- mee-freeze), right there for you to use, everyday?

Perfect! This would be a vacation, an adventure and fun! It was all of that, except for one minor thing—there was no phone service, no way for me to communicate to the world outside the campground—and I’m not talking no cell phone service, because no one that I knew  had a cell phone in 1989.  I called the phone company and found out that I could (for a fee) get a phone line run to our camper off the main pole at the front of the campground. We were “the only” folks in that campground that had any kind of phone to their camper.  It is hard to imagine all those people without phone service for weekends or weeks at a time. There was one pay phone on the campground, and it was NOT in constant use.

Look how far we have come and so fast.  So much progress…we can all be reached instantly, by cell phone, text message, facebook, twitter, and more ways than I can count. For me, sometimes it’s just too much, and I long to go back to 1989 when having a life, was having a life. Have we gone too far? Will we go even farther—is it possible to be more accessible than we already are?  Is this whole thing called, communication overrated or abused?   I guess only time will tell. I’d love to hear how you all handle your communication devices and if you like it the way it is, or would prefer to turn the clock back, like I sometimes do.  Please leave your comments and stories in the comment box below and pass this along to your friends if you think they might enjoy a little of days gone by, or if they could add to the conversation as well.

BTW, the folks at J&D are the best! If you are in the area of Elysburg, PA , near Knoebles Amusement Park make sure you stop by J&D's Campground for a day or a week, or a summer; and no need to worry, they have all the amenities you can’t live without…but don’t forget I, Pam Burzynski, was “the first” phone and anomoly at J&D’s. 

So much talk about jobs, mostly the lack of them and how to create more. On the other side of the coin there is a lot of chatter about people who don't like their jobs– try googling I hate my job and see all the entries.  Ok, google I love my job, and there are pages of entries there also, but somehow it's just normal, that we mostly  hear about the folks that are unhappy.

Well, today I've got a happy story about our 45 minute layover in the Charlotte, NC airport. Last week I travelled with my husband on our annual get away to a conference he attends each year. It's a chance for us to spend time together, go to a city that we have never visited and meet up with the friends we have made over the years attending these conferences. It's almost like the movie, "Same Time Next Year" with Alan Alda and Allen Burstyn, without the adulteress  love affair. Instead it's a friendship affair and we only have a chance to see these folks once a year and we look forward to catching up with them.

On our way  to Chattanooga, we had a very brief layover in Charlotte–just enough time to "hit" the restrooms and grab a Starbucks. You're probably thinking the Starbucks was the highlight….but believe it or not it was the rest room. Everyone who entered was greeted with a jovial and sincere Welcome to Charlotte! Talk about inspiration! You could tell Nellie really loved her job. She made me smile for those few minutes I was in the restroom and  at one point Nellie yelled out, "Who's gotta go? I've got plenty of vacancies."  I had noticed before entering my stall there were jars stuffed with dollar bills on the counter, and you can bet before I exited, I reached in my purse for some cash. That kind of enthusiasm deserved a little bonus. Once I was outside I stood back and watched the reactions of the people leaving. Most were smiling and whispering to each other. I over heard one person say, she is sure turning that job into fun. On our way home, I was actually looking for Nellie again…I was trying to find that same restroom and here it is the next week and I can't help but think about Nellie, her positive energy and enthusiasm. What a bright spot she is for all who are lucky enough to find themselves in her bathroom!

Do you have a story about a stranger that uplifted your spirits? We'd love to be inspired by your comments below. If we're not already connected on facebook, let's change that right now! Hop on over to www.facebook.com/socpamski

Everyone is so busy, and life really is on fast forward these days.  Do you ever long to go back? Back to those days without cell phones, voicemail, e-mail, texts, instant quotes,  recorded messages, and, and, and the list goes on.  I’ve said it too many times; I want to go back, well—not really—but just a little slower would be nice.

So, yes, we are all really, really busy and sometimes important things get forgotten.  Important things like thanking someone for helping you, or forgetting a birthday or another important milestone.  Even worse, have you ever forgotten to send someone a sympathy card? That has to be the worst, isn’t it?  You have the best intentions, the thought comes in and out of your mind a million times, but never at a convenient time—as your stepping into the shower or getting ready for bed or on your way to an appointment.  The next thing you know, a week has gone by—it’s not too late; you  can still send something—but now, somehow, it’s 2 weeks later and you still haven’t gotten the card out. I’m such a bad friend, so inconsiderate, a buffoon—“It’s definitely too late now!”

If you’ve ever gone through this scenario, and most of us have—stop your worrying.  Your friend or whoever may not have noticed, or maybe they did and are wondering hmmm, nice friend—but either way it’s NOT too late.  In fact, it’s the unexpected words of congratulations, condolences, or encouragement that are most appreciated and often needed just at that time—even if it seems late to you. 

The new baby is born and becomes an instant super-star.  Everyone is dying to see him or her, they line up at the door, the poor kid’s cheeks are ruined for life, they’ve been squeezed so much…and then as fast as they all came ogling and goggling….poof everyone’s gone—a flash in the pan so to speak.  It’s happened to you, or someone you know.

Believe me, it’s never too late to say thank you, to be compassionate, or share excitement! Your acts of kindness and appreciation will be happily accepted whenever you deliver them. 

Is there a time when you were surprised by an unexpected note of encouragement or thanks? These are the stories Reader’s Digest would die for, and so would we.  Share your story in the comment section below, and if we’re not already connected on Facebook, hop on over now www.facebook.com/socpamski  it’s not too late!

I have a love affair with grandparents, not just mine—all grandparents.  

Since I was a kid they always fascinated me. Back in “the” day, my day, grandparents tended to have gray-blue hair.  I remember saying, “Grandma, how come your hair is blue?”  I also wanted to be able to take my teeth out of my mouth at night when I went to sleep—like grandma did.  It seemed like it would be so comfortable to just take them out and plop them in a glass of water to keep them sparkling clean. Grandma told me I would be able to do the same one day—little did she know that probably wouldn’t be the case in 50 years.

I never got to meet my grandfathers. They died way before I was born—they died so young, my parents barely knew their fathers.  I couldn’t imagine life as a kid without my Dad.  How hard it must have been for my parents to grow up without a father. 

Sadly, I didn’t have my grandmothers for nearly long enough either, but I do have some great memories. We just loved it when grandma would tell stories about the “olden days”, that’s what we called it.  She would tell us about her career working in a Women’s specialty store in Philadelphia called the Blum Store. She worked there in the early 1900’s. With her first paycheck she bought a bedroom suite with a 4-poster bed.  She gave me that set and it was the first and only bed I ever slept in while living with my parents.  I still have that set, and it brings back fond memories of my grandmother.

When I was about 12, Grandma came to live with us. That gave my brothers and me more time to hear stories and be around grandma who was always baking.  Cookies were her favorite baking project. Grandma and my mother didn’t see eye to eye on the baking, but you can be sure my brothers and I loved always having fresh baked cookies in the house. Without thinking very hard, I can smell and taste the famous molasses cookies and continue to search for a recipe to repeat Grandma’s specialty.

While grandma was living with us she suffered strokes and dementia, but we all helped take care of her. One day when I was in grandma’s room at our house making the bed, she showed me how to make the nice, neat hospital corners at the foot of the bed.  As she carefully showed me how to make a perfect corner, she whispered, “Now each time you make a bed, you’ll think of me.”  And you know what, I do! Every time I make a bed I’m reminded of grandma and her stories, her cookies, and her pearly white teeth that so conveniently slipped out of her mouth for easy cleaning.

With no grandparents left by the time I was in my late teens, I took to hanging around my friends grandparents and coaxed them to tell me stories of their “olden days”.  Many of my friends would complain about their blue-haired relatives, because grandparents can be very protective and prone to worrying about their grandkids, which was annoying to most teenagers—but I never understood, because I would have given anything to bring mine back.

My kids are lucky to have grown up with a full set of grandparents, until a month ago, when my father-in-law passed away.  I’m thankful that without any prodding my kids, and nieces and nephews love spending time with their grandparents, and appreciate their wisdom, stories and occasional cookies. It’s a different century of grandparent, but even without the blue hair or the re-movable teeth, there are still plenty of stories to tell—I’ll save them for another day.

Grandparent stories are fun and inspiring, I’m sure you have some to share. Leave them in the comment section below, we’d love to hear them.

Summer is here and school is out. Where are all the kids hiding? I haven’t seen any riding bikes or playing outside.  Here I go with the when we were kids….But it’s true! When we were kids we begged to go outside and spent most of our time out doors We had lots to do in the summer as young kids–butterflies, fish, tadpoles, turtles and minnows to catch for starters. Then there were carnivals to plan and baseball and kickball games to play.  My brothers and I always got up early–probably because we went to bed early. We’d eat our cereal and immediately want to go outside and play with our friends.  Usually we had to wait patiently for it to be a respectable time before we were allowed to go knocking on doors.

I’m not sure what the kids do today, but remembering the summers of my youth sure brings back fond memories. Not quite sure I appreciated the fun times then, but it sure sounds dreamy now. Oh the things we would think up.  I was lucky enough to grow up living on a lake. That made for plenty of stuff to do.

One summer it became our ritual to pack a lunch and paddle out to the island to dine alfresco–no parents allowed.  On one of these days, after we ate our lunch of ham sandwiches and peanut butter tandy cakes, we went exploring on the island. There were lots of ducks on the lake and it was egg laying time.  We found what we believed to be abandoned white-duck eggs.  For some reason, the white ducks were not that diligent at tending to their eggs, and we would find eggs randomly laying outside of a nest or sometimes in the water.  My brothers and I decided that we would take care of these eggs until they hatched into ducklings. No we didn’t sit on them! We wrapped them up and carefully placed them under the lamps in our house to keep them nice and warm. We practically stood over them waiting for something to happen that first day. The next morning we woke up and no signs of hatching. Surprisingly our mother was very tolerant of our “eggs”capades.  Since there was no hatching activity and it was a very warm day, we decided it would be best to put the eggs outside and let them bask in the warmth of the natural sunlight.  We carefully, wrapped the eggs in towels and laid them out in the sun.  Since nothing was happening it wasn’t necessary to watch over them, so me and my one brother went off to play and swim with  friends, while my younger brother stayed behind intent on being there when a duckling emerged.

It was only a short time when we heard a blood curdling scream from the brother tending the eggs.  We were sure the scream meant the eggs were hatching, and we bounded out of the water and ran as fast as we could to where our younger brother was guarding the eggs. As we got closer there was a horrible smell and our brother was screaming even louder and frantically running in circles where we had left the eggs wrapped in towels. At first we didn’t know what had happened. Had our brother gone mad and squashed the eggs? No, the eggs had heated up and exploded as he was peering over them–the eggs all popped and exploded and his face was covered in rotten eggs. This happened over 45 years ago and I can still see my brother and the towels covered in egg and smell that rancid smell. We calmed my little brother down, and everyone was pretty bummed because this meant no ducklings;  but we weren’t giving up. There would be other homeless eggs to hatch.

Appreciate Summer while it lasts. So what are your kids doing this summer? We’d love to hear about their escapades.

“Only Givers Live a Truly Fulfilled, Powerful, Positive, Happy and Deeply Meaningful Life.” ~Amirah

There is something about giving, just to give without the expectation of getting anything in return that set’s you free, that is totally liberating. We actually do it all the time and don’t realize it—the reason we don’t realize it is we did it without expecting anything.

Think about your personal life. Don’t you love to help other people? I’ll bet you even volunteer your time at your church, your child’s school, and in your community; and you do it all without expecting anything in return for yourself.  Most likely you are anticipating that the organization will benefit from your help, but being able to help out is your way of giving back and it’s a good feeling to be a part of something bigger than yourself, isn’t it?

We have all heard stories about the person that gives something away to a total stranger. As a matter of fact, my daughter has been the recipient of random acts of kindness on more than one occasion.  On this particular day she and a few workmates had gone out during their break to the local Ice Cream Parlor and were being treated to ice cream by their manager—he gave them his credit card. Somehow when they went to pay, the credit card he had given them didn’t work and they had not brought their wallets with them. Now what? Of course they were going to return later with the money to pay their bill, but the person behind them in line saw their dilemma and said, “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got this”, and he paid their $16.40 ice cream bill and he would not hear of them trying to repay him.  Wow! They were flabbergasted at the gesture and actually couldn’t believe that someone would do such a thing.

You are probably familiar with the saying “you reap what you sow”, but there is also a Universal Law of Reciprocity that says that whatever you give, you will get back in abundance.   Now the kind man that paid for the ice cream certainly wasn’t expecting anything from the girls because he knew they had no money, but what the Universal Law implies is that what he gets back will come to him when he least expects it by someone else at another time.

By Giving we can change a life, by Giving we can set ourselves free. If all you give is all you will get, then why not give all you’ve got?

Do you have a story to share about a time when a stranger helped you or someone you know? Where you ever that stranger? We’d love to hear your stories so we can be inspired to Appreciate All We Have and Give All We’ve Got.



Appreciation Marketing is a growing concept aimed at retaining existing customers and creating newer ones. It is a known fact that a happy customer brings in more potential buyers. With appreciation marketing, you can increase your customer base by multiples. Can you imagine doubling your customer base every three months? With appreciation marketing, you can.

Customers love to be pampered. This is the underlying aspect of appreciating marketing. With growing competition in all markets, sellers are vying with one another to stay ahead. That’s where appreciation marketing comes in. It’s the extra step that most businesses don’t take that allows you to stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Another important aspect taken into consideration when adopting Appreciation Marketing techniques is that around 60% of business comes from existing customers. To retain these customers, it is essential to keep them happy. Once a customer becomes dissatisfied, not only do these customers change who they do business with but they may also prevent other people from doing business with your. It is very wise to take the extra step to keep your customers happy.

The best way to set up a strong relationship with your customers is to gratify them for their patronage in terms of business they are doing by buying your product or service. A free gift with every purchase ensures that a customer comes back to you in future. Greetings sent on birthdays or anniversaries work wonders in sealing a bondage with your customer. A happy customer will be sure to recommend you to his friends and relatives thereby increasing your potential client base as well. It’s always a good idea to provide a gift to someone for giving you a referral.

Sending of mailers, promoting new products, and offering discount coupons from time to time also act as gratification tokens that go a long way. The Internet is also an effective way of keeping in touch with your customers. Always interact with your customers over Internet regularly whether its through an email list, Facebook, or Twitter. This helps in maintaining a relationship with your customers and gives your customers a feeling that you listen to them and care about them.

Appreciation marketing is a new concept aimed at sustaining a dedicated customer base and generating new referrals. In this era of competition, producer of goods and services vie with one another to stay ahead of others. Appreciation marketing methods are effective instruments of creating a niche for yourself among buyers.

Appreciation marketing is basically a methodology that helps to keep close contact with your customers and retain them. Statistics has shown that of total sales during any given period 60% comes from existing customers. Hence it is always crucial to keep this customer base undisturbed. Satisfied customers provide referrals which increases the absolute number of customers you get. Mathematically the number of customers increases through a multiplier effect.

Appreciation marketing processes always aim at gratifying customers for their patronage in buying products or services a company might offer. This gratification could be in the forms of gifts with every purchase, anniversary or birthday greetings, and special gifts for referrals. These small tokens of remembrance act as motivations for customers to visit and shop more. It also inspires your existing customers to send referrals. A happy customer always brings in more prospective buyers.

In addition to sending good wishes and gifts, regular updates about new products could be sent in the form of mailers. Special discount coupons sent time to time also assist in maintaining a close business relationship with customers. Invitations through e-mails or cards for any expansion of your business are always inspiring. Whenever your business reaches a milestone it should be conveyed to your dedicated customers instantly.

Appreciation marketing is not just customer care but a focused way of caring for your customers both existing and new. This new concept is being adopted by businessmen and marketers of all scales across sectors. Pampering of customers was never so thorough earlier.

Appreciation marketing is essentially an after-sales marketing process often referred to as customer care. Customer care, however, is a very broad concept, while appreciation marketing is in a more focused area. Appreciation marketing is used to keep your customers happy and remembered.

Marketing organizations big or small most often forget their customers after a sale is made. This is a critical mistake. Because of all the competition that is out there, it becomes even more important to keep your customers pleased so that they come back for repeat purchases. Customer satisfaction is the core to repeat business. You have to keep your customer happy. There are a number of ways to keep purchasers of your products and services happy. Appreciation marketing helps you to understand the different methods for making your customers pleased.

Remember that more than 60% of your sales will come from repeat purchases. Based on this finding, it is essential to increase your customers’ trust. This is a process that takes time and a lot of effort. Understanding your customer and and preferences is an important aspect of appreciation marketing.

Appreciation marketing has two primary objectives: (1) to maintain great relationships with current customers, (2) to those customers to provide you with referrals. Appreciation marketing is gradually emerging as an inseparable part of all business.

Appreciation marketing could be started in a small way. It’s very easy to do. It can be in the form of a gift, but a simple card is all that it takes. When is the last time you received a heart-warming card from someone you do business with? A simple card can go a long way in the form of appreciation and how it can develop into additional business and referrals. Your token of appreciation could be in the form of a gift with a purchase, a card on those special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries, or special gifts for referrals.

The bottom line is that you should begin to use appreciation marketing to help grow your business today!