Musical Theatre of Anthem: Quality Performance Art in Our Own Back Yard

Have you heard… about our very own Musical Theatre of Anthem? MTA is an unsung treasure, offering performance art training and practice for all ages and enhancing the community. It certainly bears mention… and a lot of appreciation!

Hurry, hurry! The next presentation, and a great family night out, is Disney’s Aladdin, happens this week at Boulder Creek High School Mini Auditorium! Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Genie will take you into a world of magic carpets and just plain magic. Playing October 13–15 at 7:00 p.m., with matinee performances at 3:00 October 15 and 16 (matinee only that day). This presentation is sure to please children—and kids at heart. Check out the rest of the 2011–12 season, at http://www.musicaltheatreofanthem.org/season.html. Musical Theatre of Anthem has many more great plays planned.


MTA’s mission, according to their website www.musicaltheatreofanthem.org, is “to develop youth and adults within the field of performing arts while enhancing their intrinsic creativity and brokering their vast talents. MTA trains and educates youth so they can become the artists, patrons, and leaders of tomorrow while providing opportunities to adults to empower them and foster their creativity.” How lucky are we here in Anthem?

MTA began in 2008 when Jackie and Jeff Hammond decided to bring their considerable strengths in business and theatre together to form a great theatre experience here in Anthem. Jeff Hammond, Managing Director, currently works in the technologies department of a Fortune 500 financial services company. He graduated with honors from San Francisco State University and earned an MBA in Technology Management from the University of Colorado.

Producing Artistic Director Jackie Stewart Hammond brings twenty years of music and theatre teaching experience to MTA. A musician in her own right, she is a graduate of San Jose State University, where she majored in Creative Arts and minored in Musical Theatre. She also studied a wide range of performing arts at the American Musical Theatre Artists' Institute. You can read more about MTA and its founders at http://www.musicaltheatreofanthem.org/about.html.

From its humble beginnings, MTA has rapidly flourished here in Anthem to become a Musical Theatre we can be proud of. Its quality is obvious from its impressive list of awards, including: Two 2010–11 Season AriZoni Awards, and 16 nominations; Nickelodeon's Parents Connect Parents' Picks Award for Best Theatre Group for Kids in Arizona; the 2011 National Youth Arts Awards for Outstanding Production; Outstanding Ensemble – Junior Division; and several other awards for specific actors.

Hats off to our talented, hard-working neighbors, Jeff and Jackie Hammond!

Posted by Doreen Drew

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How to Minimize Risk in a Short Sale

What is risk management?
In this economy, short sales have become all too common. A short sale is an arrangement between the owner of a home and the lender, that the lender will accept an offer for less than the total amount needed to pay off the loan. The difference between the amount owed and what the bank collects on the short sale is the deficiency. In a short sale transaction, someone – either the seller or the bank – is “shorted” and becomes responsible for the deficiency. The extremely complex short sale process calls for risk management, which boils down to making informed decisions and consulting with realtors specifically designated to handle short sales.

Worst-case scenarios
While a short sale may be viable for some distressed homeowners facing foreclosure, a foreclosure is not a short sale. In a foreclosure, the ownership of the home reverts to the bank because the owner is in default on the loan. The bank repossesses and sells the home, then pursues the homeowner for the deficiency. Such legal action is often unworkable for a homeowner experiencing long-term unemployment or another hardship that caused the foreclosure in the first place. Many people in foreclosure eventually end up filing bankruptcy to resolve the situation, especially if they have overwhelming credit card debt—bankruptcy court caseloads are overflowing nationwide as a result. Whether or not the homeowner declares bankruptcy, their credit is compromised for a good while. People do bounce back from foreclosure and bankruptcy, but it’s worth consulting with an experienced short sale realtor to see if short-selling is an option for you. Where viable, short selling offers relief and, some experts say, a softer impact on a homeowner’s credit.

Making the best of a tough situation
It is in your best interest if you find yourself contemplating foreclosure or short sale, to find a specially trained and designated agent who will manage the considerable risk inherent in the minefield that is the short sale process. You need every advantage, including seeking legal council, to make sure that the lender assumes the deficiency—not you—and that you are protected from risk of short- or long-term legal action. You do not want a call from an attorney for the lender five years down the road!

Short sale experts at Coldwell Banker Daisy Mountain Real Estate
At Coldwell Banker Daisy Mountain in Anthem, AZ, short sale transactions make up about 50% our total listing inventory. Doreen Drew and Amy Wylie are very familiar with this process, having worked with these transactions since 2007, and they close over 90% of their short sale listings--an extremely high success rate. Both Doreen and Amy have earned many short-sale specific designations, including Certified Short Sale Negotiator (CSSN) and Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource Certified (SFR), and most recently…

The cutting-edge rCRMS designation
In an intense, six-day course, agents learn from legal experts, attorneys actively involved in real estate litigation. Instructors share real-life examples and case studies that help paint the most realistic picture of the issues contributing to today’s high-risk environment. Real estate attorneys teaching required rCRMS courses include… AAR General Counsel K. Michelle Lind, Richard Mack, Robert Bass, John Lotardo, and Keith L. Hendricks. Kudos to Coldwell Banker Daisy Mountain agents who have earned this designation along with Doreen Drew and Amy Wylie.

Doreen and Amy stay up to date to give their clients every advantage in this market. Coldwell Banker Daisy Mountain Real Estate serves the North Valley and is located in the Ace Hardware Plaza in Anthem. No question is too big or too small, so call 623-879-3277 or toll free 800-536-7336, or stop by any time!

Posted by Doreen Drew

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Welcome Autumn in Style at Anthem, AZ Autumnfest!

Well, it's almost that time of the year again… I'm talking about Fall! After so many days over 110 degrees, I'm sure everyone is ready to welcome this beautiful season. I can already feel it in the air. Here in Anthem, we are privileged to have the Anthem Autumnfest to help usher in the best time of the year. This dates of our fourth annual Autumfest this year fall on the weekend of October 22-23 in Anthem Community Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with rides lighting up the sky into the night.

I can just smell the popcorn and cotton candy now… that’ll be the eagerly anticipated Frazier Show Carnival making one of its semi-annual Anthem appearances. Brave the rides and ferris wheel or just stroll and greet friends. You’ll find many other activities for the whole family, including a Pumpkin Patch, where you can purchase and decorate your Halloween pumpkin. Start your Christmas shopping early at the Arts and Crafts Fair. Kids will enjoy many activities in the Kids Zone, featuring inflatables, pony rides, barrel rides, and hay rides. Sounds like fun to me!

After all that activity, you may work up quite an appetite. Not to worry! There’s always the Food Court and Rotary Beer Garden—for those who have acquired that taste. And don’t forget to plan ahead for the ever-popular Autumnfest Chili Cook-Off and the Apple Pie Baking Contest, both hosted by Anthem Neighborhood Watch. These are sure to be a lot of fun, and delicious too! If you want to compete in either of these contests, the sign-up deadline is October 12, 5 p.m. All the information you need to sign up, plus the rules, are at www.onlineatanthem.com. It's free, and it’s sure to be great fun, so dig into your recipe box and get started!

Help usher in our beautiful Anthem Autumn. By October, the weather should be perfect. And fall’s a great time to get out to our incredible park and meet your friends and neighbors for a fun-filled day at Anthem Autumnfest… See you there!

Posted by Doreen Drew

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Avoid Surprises, Inspect The Home Before Buying!

Once a house has spent a couple or so years under the elements then it has the potential to have problems within – both minor and major. Buying a house without knowing of such problems can seriously demoralize you, and then some.

Professional inspectors are available, but if you could do most of it yourself, you could save yourself some money and time as well. Here are some of the simpler steps in the home inspection process that you can do yourself!

Walls, Inch By Inch

Upon crossing the portal, look to the right and check the wall. As you move through the various rooms and hallways, keep checking the walls to your right. Signs to look out for are cracks, stretched or compressed wallpaper, plaster abnormalities, and separated joints. These can point to the house shifting in its foundations.

Eyes And Ears Out For Leaks

Use your eyes to check for water stains on the ceiling or walls. If the walls are papered, then check for wrinkles and bubbles as these can also point to leaks. A bright flashlight might be needed to properly discern these problems, especially if they have been covered up. Keep your ears open and listen for drips. Check out all the sinks and water outlets – the toilets, the shower, and more. Water pressure is also an important consideration. Mildew, missing grout, or cracked or loose tiles may be markers of in-wall leaks.

Inspecting The Power

You should turn every switch on and off, checking the lights and other such things. If there are appliances provided, make sure to check them out as well. Outlets should be sufficient in number and well positioned. Check out all the outlets – it helps if you can bring a plug-in night light for this.

Condition Is The Name Of The Game

Doors and windows should be inspected for squeaks and ease of opening and closing. Listen for creaking floors or stairs. Good places to look for signs of the house shifting are the front stoop, chimney, and the point where the driveway joins up with the house. If the house has a garage, make sure to check all sides for problems and if the garage door is in good condition.

Pest Patrol For Control

No one likes having pests inside their home. Ants, termites, cockroaches, and mice are what you will want to watch out for. Sometimes, the insects can make their way in via holes made to accommodate electrical or water lines. Termites can seriously reduce a building’s structural integrity, so make sure the house is termite-free.

Of course, you might want to do everything yourself, however, I always recommend some professional know-how. Ask a pro home inspector to get into the generally inaccessible spaces like the crawl spaces and roof and check it out for you. Have him or her check for problems with the gas, electricity, water, heating, and air conditioning. Ask for a detailed written report, so you can consult with a contractor.

Enrich Your Home and Your Life with an Upgrade

Upgrading your home can mean making some of the toughest decisions that you will come across. It is tough because all the choices sound good, though not equally so – and that is the point here. Which upgrades for the home are the best choices? What are the top options for enriching your home and your life?

Well, to answer this question, you need to think about which parts of the home get the most use, regardless of personal preferences and activity levels. There are only two real places that come into consideration here, and they are the kitchen and the bathroom. Think about it – everybody has to prepare food in some way, and everyone has to bathe.

For the kitchen, upgrading cabinets and countertops can be much more stimulating than just upgrading the appliances. In any case, your kitchen is probably stuffed already! This points out one common issue with standard kitchens: the lack of cabinet space. Getting your cabinets upgraded to be taller and deeper will allow you not just to store more, but to store larger pieces easily. Take for example the fact that most ordinary cabinets are 12 inches deep, while the larger plates we use for big dinners exceed that.

Aside from upgrading capacity, you might want to choose a better wood for your cabinets and drawers. Oak is pretty standard, and while it is strong it is also not very visually appealing. A richer wood like maple is a good choice. Such visual stimulation might even inspire you to greater culinary heights. In any case, new cabinets refresh the look of the kitchen, and give it a more customized look.

Remodeling your kitchen’s island (if it has one) can also be very useful and can change the feel of the entire kitchen. Go for granite slab countertops if you can, because they make for solid and stable surfaces for any and all kitchen work.

Consider replacing your chrome fixtures with brushed nickel or brass, whether these are the taps in your bath, the handles on your cabinets, or the knobs in your doors. This is a particularly good choice if you have chrome-plated fixtures, which can lose their shine and appeal for a number of reasons.

In the bathroom, changing up your old water heater for a more modern, energy-efficient unit can be a big help not just to you but also to the environment. Toilets with half-flush options make for great upgrades too! This is a place that features quite a bit of chrome and could merit some changing to sturdier and more rust-resistant fixtures.

Adding ceiling fans or improving the layout of the electrical outlets can also be worth every cent you spend. For those living in colder climes, getting power-efficient space heaters is also highly recommended. Make sure to repair any insulation problems, like windows or doors that have spaces that let heat out.

Still, the most important thing to remember is to choose something that makes you happy and satisfied. It IS your home and your life after all. Resale value comes second to your wants right now (though you should not disregard it either). Just pick the one that makes you happy!

SOURCE:

Susan Felt of The Arizona Republic

Smart Energy Cost Cutters for Your Home

Energy efficiency is the talk of the town. It is all in the news and you have probably talked about it with your neighbors. The most important reason is to save money. Making your home energy efficient means optimizing room temperatures. A few simple home improvement projects should do the trick.

Check Your Insulation

Insulation works by keeping heat out during the summer and keeping it in during the winter. A good and sufficient insulation is the key to maintaining proper room temperature. Air ways and vents need to be checked for leaks and obstructions.

Install Blinds or Curtains

This is a inexpensive solution to reducing sunlight that enters the room. Blinds or curtains on windows keeps the sun out but can also be retracted making it very useful. Window tinting is also a viable option for those who want decorative pieces in their home.

Check Your Appliances

Recent advancements in technology have significantly improved virtually every home appliance’s energy consumption. You want to consider buying newer models to reduce your energy bill. When replacing your appliances, look for its Energy Star rating in its energy consumption information.

Also, make sure to turn off and unplug appliances that are not in use. This is a very simple thing you can do to minimize your energy consumption.

Monitor Energy Consumption

Energy monitors are available in the market. These units allow you to determine an appliance’s exact energy consumption. Some monitors are also programmable and automatically changes the temperature when applicable.

Seal Your Leaks

Good home insulation is practically useless if you have leaks. These can undermine the insulation seal of you home. It is like letting money fly out of your window. Be sure to seal every leak in your home for maximum efficiency. Check old doors and windows for cracks and consider replacing them altogether when heavily warped.

Perform Regular House Inspections

Just like you, your house also needs to undergo regular inspection. A few small cracks in your home are enough to undermine your insulation and in turn your energy efficiency. If you do not know how to do this, you can always hire a professional to do the work.

Hire a Professional

Check your local phonebook for experts that perform energy audits for your home. They are equipped with thermal cameras for identifying leaks in your home. This is particularly useful for knowing when and where to add insulation.

Increasing your home’s energy efficiency is a long-term investment you will never regret. Apart from lowering energy costs, it also helps your home become a more comfortable living space for your family.

The tips mentioned above are just some of the things you can do to achieve energy efficiency at home. These are fairly inexpensive home improvement projects that will pay for themselves in the long run.

Unexpected Home Showing Visit? Patch Things Up In Only 2 Minutes!

It is bound to happen sooner or later. Even if you normally follow a very neat and organized lifestyle, there are those short moments when your house is simply a mess and an eyesore.

And when it is within that messy-house hour that the phone rings and the guy on the other line delivers the bad news saying, ‘we will be there in two minutes’, time just seems to stop and you just know you are in for a major social humiliation.

Well, humiliation may be too much of a word but it can definitely end that way. So to avoid this from happening, there are sure ball ways to get your home fixed in only two minutes time. Now give yourself and your guests that much deserved reception even when time seemed to have gone against you. Here is how.

Step One: Just Calm Down!

Seriously, panicking will bring you nowhere but only deliver you to a fast-forwarded ruin. So what you should do in emergency times like this one is to take a deep gasp, and then calm down. You can keep in control better when you are not going haywire.

Step Two: Quick Browse And Delegate

Now that you are calm, take a quick look at the house. React by instinct and ask yourself what needs to be fixed and how. And then immediately designate each person within the house to a different task. Be in control, and be authoritative. You will want an air of command here.

Step 3: Make Quick Fixes

Alright, admit it, you do not have much time. So what you really need to do is patch things up. You will hide defects rather than really fix them. Here are some tips on how to make quick and emergency patches.

1. Pile laundry in a basket and cover up the mess with a towel or a piece of cloth. You only need to keep the top part proper to hide the ugliness beneath.

2. Do not bother with the thorough cleaning of dirty surfaces like the table mess after dinner. Just wipe the dirt away with a piece of cloth and spray a freshener or a perfume to hide the smell. You can also use lemon extract.

3. If something is dirty, then just remove it. For example, if you failed to replace your dirty curtains with a clean one, then replacing it now could waste precious time. So just remove them, open the windows and let in some light.

4. As for dirty dishes, just do a quick rinsing of the solid dirt, dry them quickly with a towel, and hide them ‘neatly’ in a cabinet somewhere. But if you have enough people, proper washing should be a good idea.

5. Do on-the-spot cleaning. Instead of sweeping and mopping the entire floor area and other dirty places, just handpick dirt and do spot cleaning. So if there is a dark spot on the floor, only mop that area and look for other spots.

And there you go! You should have a properly patched up place by now. But of course, this is only temporary. Make sure keep things straight as soon as your guests leave. And try not to make a habit of doing this when it is not needed.