Thursday, May 17, 2012

Time Block Blues




I don't know about you, but I really, really, seriously hate it when I get the overly long drawn out message that sounds something like:  " Hello, your call is very important to me, blah, blah, blah, I am in meetings or in an appointment and I will be returning calls between 4 & 6 or after 9."Blah, Blah, Blah, if this is an emergency please call the receptionist, secretary or Uncle Charlie (choose one - none of them answer the phone)  Cheerio.  

If I sound frustrated, it is because I am.  It's really nice that the very important person that we are trying to contact has a booming business and busy life.  (Look up Girls Raised in the South for the meaning of "That's Nice", and if you don't get it, you don't really know any girls from the south).

The problem that I have is that my life is busy and sometimes hectic, too.  While it is nice to know what time the important person is planning to call back, I have an issue with the assumption that I am going to be available in the particular time block that works for him (or her).  Shoot, it might interfere with MY  time block.


Recently an agent told me that he couldn't possibly present an offer after 6:00 pm, that he had 2 kids to feed and bathe.  Now I understand about the feeding part, but any kid I know would gladly time block that bath until next week.  The feeding part could be handled with a chicken nuggets happy meal from the Mickey D drive through.  Be sure to block in 15 minutes for the wait time in line.  That leaves a couple hours to manage an appointment or even just a phone call, so that my clients don't have to miss their flight the next morning, pay for an extra day in a hotel, and can make a decision that will affect their families for at least (based on national averages) the next 5.5 years.  

My point is that Real Estate is a service business.  I really would like to have my own life and my own time and maybe I am just a poor scheduler, but when I have clients that are sitting in a hotel room waiting for a response from a very important person, I  wonder about the level of service that is being achieved.  The person who has so perfectly maintained his own schedule is wrecking and attempting to control the schedule of everyone else around him.  That is a disservice to the customer.  



I am Stephanie Kelley, Realtor® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions about San Antonio real estate or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call me at or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail me at swkrealtor@aol.com Our experienced Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs. Visit me athttp://SanAntonioHomeQuest.com

*For those of you following my weight loss and a little less of the home girl. . . I am down 31 pounds since the first of the year and sticking with it!  Join me at my fitness pal!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Losing it while Hiking around San Antonio

I bet you didn't think I would stick with it. Well. So far, so good. I am down 15 pounds since I last posted, and determined not to give up until I reach my goal.

Not winning The "biggest loser" contest could have been a major obstacle and was emotionally disappointing, but grit and determination won out, so I am hanging in there with my 2012 resolution. Yay homegirl!

The contest was actually kind of fun. With the help of myfitnesspal.com, I learned by journaling what was going into my mouth and what kind of energy I was expending that this should really be a no brainer. If I cheat or fudge on what I journal in my fitness pal, I am really only cheating myself. If I am honest about the input, then my body responds with the appropriate weight loss in relationship to calories in and out.

There were competitors that lost much more than I did. The winning female lost 25 pounds in a month. Wow, now that's impressive. When I asked what she done to lose so much, so fast, she was a little hesitant, but said that she had cut to 500 calories a day and worked out twice a day. She drank no coffee, no soda, no simple carbs, very little fat and mainly existed on lean protein and complex carbohydrates. Even though she didn't tell me, I bet she had to avoid any Realtor functions like she would avoid the plague.

My lifestyle has changed, but not so much. I still manage to go out for dinner or happy hour with friends and clients. My diet has included almost anything you can imagine. Cooking light recipes are my friend, but I could still enjoy a dirty martini or 1 glass of wine. I could have a bite of fried avocado ( although indulging in the fried stuff or alcoholic beverages greatly reduces the other good things I could be enjoying). Dairy Queen visits mean that I order a plain small cone in lieu of a banana split. The bottom line is that I have to be accountable and disciplined.


Hiking in Government Canyon
The biggest change has been incorporating exercise into my lifestyle. Randy and I love to hike! Walking on a track or repeating the same routine is the ultimate boredom for me, so the exercise quest became an adventure. The goal of walking about 4 miles a day was surpassed by a need to explore and find more challenging paths. Even getting off the beaten path (in and away from urban development) was part of the process. San Antonio has many parks with hiking and biking trails to explore. Please follow the links below:


Downtown/ Southtown Route

River Walk / Museum Reach

Metro Health to Lexington

Brackenridge - Alamo Loop

San Antonio Highlights

San Antonio Greenway Map

Dry Creekbed in Government Canyon

I am Stephanie Kelley, Realtor® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions about San Antonio real estate or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call me at or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail me at swkrealtor@aol.com Our experienced Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs. Visit me at http://SanAntonioHomeQuest.com

Post Script:  I have let almost a month pass without publishing - Sorry about that, but I am down another 5 pounds.  Yay me!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Better Life in 2012? Weight and See!


It's the second week of 2012 and this time I really am sticking to my number #1 resolution to lose a few pounds.  

You probably already know that losing a few pounds is one of the most common resolutions.  Did you know that January 9 is the most common day that people give up on thir resolutions?  Well, the Home Girl is no quitter, and the only kind of loser I want to be is "The Biggest", so I am steadily hanging in there.

There are all kinds of articles, websites and blogs offering helpful hints on how to best lose weight.  My favorite this year is Myfitnesspal.com.  It's available as an app for your smart phone, your I-Pad or your Mac or PC.  ITS FREE! I  also like it because it makes you accountable for what goes into your mouth and it has almost every item I could think about eating and almost every (chain) restaurant's menu items and nutritional content listed in it's data base, so I don't have to spend a lot of time researching nutritional information and recording it in my data base.  I was very pleased when I pulled up HEB southwest spicy black bean soup and was able to find that in the data base.  Wow! a specific "generic" brand from my favorite grocery store.  Truly amazing.  Reports show that people who journal their diet lose twice as much weight as those who don't.  This app makes it easy to journal not only what you eat, but also tracks your exercise and your progress, and has the ability to invite friends to join in with you on the weight loss quest.   The home girl (along with thousands of other people ) gives this app 5 stars!

Another incentive that is inspiring me was initiated by Shane Tokheim at Alamo Title Company.  He invited just about every real estate agent and related business workers to join in our own Biggest Loser Contest.  This is not to be confused with the one on TV.  He gathered a group of 17 women and I think about 12 men who contributed to a pool to see who could lose the largest percentage of their body weight.  Sometimes it is just being surrounded, supported, challenged by and competing (all at the same time) with my peers that gives me the initiative to work out, cut calories and get healthy. 

A couple of co-workers stopped by the morning and offered their advice on what the do to succeed in the never ending "Battle of the Bulge".  Besides "Just Do It", a couple more I Phone apps that help are Run keeper and Map my run.  I am using my Garmin Forerunner watch and heart monitor, which tracks not only my milage, but my time and heart rate and syncs to the computer.

Being healthy will help with every aspect of my life.  Losing a few pounds (or more) won't hurt. Lighter Realtors move faster & have more energy.  Love that - "move faster".  That's what most of my clients want - a faster move - HA!  I work in a business that can truly zap your youth and vitality if you let it.  Easting healthy, exercise and holding myself accountable should help give me the energy to do not only the physical but the mental gymanistics to help my clients successfully.  Sounds like a win-win!   You are cordially invited to join me in my quest.  Sign up for myfitnesspal and "friend me".
If you have any apps , suggestions or comments, please leave them at this site.  If you just want to follow the home girl and see if I succeed or fail, click on follow me.    I will keep you posted!


Need more help ?  Top Rated Gyms and Fitness Centers in San Antonio

Velocity Sports

Bella Women's Fitness

YMCA of Greater San Antonio

Gold's Gym - 9 Locations in San Antonio

Lifetime Fitness - 2 Locations in San Antonio

Spectrum - 10 Locations in San Antonio

I am Stephanie Kelley, Realtor® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions about San Antonio real estate or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call me at or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail me at swkrealtor@aol.com Our experienced Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs. Visit me at http://SanAntonioHomeQuest.com