Elizabeth Newlin - Arizona Real Estate Agent

So, yesterday I sat a colleague’s open house (more on that later) that was so popular it ended up going a full five hours instead of the four it was intended to last. I had eaten a big breakfast, but no lunch, so by the time I pulled into our driveway at home at about 5:30pm, I was famished and exhausted. Jason had the kids ready to go get some dinner, so I went in, changed my (painful) shoes and we hopped in the car.

As we were turning out of our street, my cell phone rang. I sighed and answered, trying to muster a professional, “This is Elizabeth,” from my low blood sugar. It was Brad, the husband side of my Tempe clients. We hadn’t spoken in a few days because everything was proceeding as planned, for once, and no input had been needed.

“Hey Brad, how’s it going?” I said, conversationally.

“Um… not good… I guess you haven’t heard?” he questioned in a tone of voice I’d only heard from him when things had been especially bad. He is usually a very jovial and friendly guy. My stomach dropped and my head immediately started to ache in that very special place reserved just for my Tempe clients and their slippery deals.

“No, I haven’t heard anything. What’s going on?”

“They’re pulling out of the deal, everything’s off,” he said, with just the right touch of desperation.

I almost lost it at that moment. No, OK, I did lose it.

“WHAT?! Who’s pulling out? What are you talking about?!!! No one has called me!!” I could not possibly have been more horrified or destroyed. I was hungry, tired and completely out of ideas for how to make this deal close. I almost started crying.

“Bwahahahahaha! Just kidding!” and the Brad I know and love was back. I could hear the rest of his family cracking up in the background.

Oh man. Suffice it to say that I reminded him that I know both where he currently lives and where he soon will be living and that he should from now on sleep with one eye open.

I decided to interpret it as a positive. If they can be cheerful enough about the catastrophes we’ve been through to joke about it, so can I. Now I just have to figure out how to get them back…

I would like to cordially invite you to two open houses I am sitting this weekend.

The first is tomorrow (Saturday, July 30th) from 12-4pm. The address is 743 W. Peralta, Mesa, 85210. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom and is listed at $199,900.

The second is Sunday, July 31st from 10am-2pm. The address is 11019 E. Vecino St., Chandler, 85248. It is also a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom and is listed at $485,000. It is a horse property with stalls and a tack room.

If you’re interested in a property like this, or would just like to come see me, I would be happy to have you out at either or both. I will have cold drinks to combat the heat. Come out and see me!

San Diego is a fabulous get-away spot for Phoenicians. Surf, sand and cooler temps less than 6 hours away by car (I swear, we went from Mesa to Mission Beach in just under 6 hours and we even stopped at the Mickey D’s in Yuma); how can you beat that? When you get there, I have a little advice.

Things I recommend in San Diego:

1. Surf Lessons - My sister, brother, father and I took a lesson one day last week while my mom stayed back at the house with my kids. It was awesome. I’ve always wanted to surf, but never had the chance to take a lesson before. I was sure it was one of those impossible things that there was no way I’d be able to do the first time, but our instructors were awesome and all of us got up and rode waves in. It was quite a workout, but the rush of standing on top of a wave as it approaches the shore is well worth it.

2. Kayaking - This activity we did minus my brother (he had to come home for work), plus Jason (he had just come up from work). It was spectacular and relaxing. We paddled along the coast and admired the stunning cliff-side homes (our tour-guide pointed out Dr. Seuss’s former home, his widow still lives there). We sidled up and chatted to the sea lions who lounge near the La Jolla caves. We sat in the middle of a kelp forest that was so huge and far from the shore that I felt like I was on another planet.

3. Sea World - I’ve already posted a bit about the fabulous time we had there, so I won’t go on. Just suffice it to say, it’s totally worth the cost. Do it. Sea World rocks.

4. Mizu Sushi - We LOVED this restaurant. We cooked almost all of our meals while we were in San Diego (our beach house had a great kitchen), but we wanted to do one night out at sushi. We chose Mizu pretty much singularly because it was close. It was awesome, though. Not crowded, great food, not super pricey. The bay-side walk there and back only added to the experience. So nice.

Things I do not recommend in San Diego:

1. Eating sand -

EW.

2. The Red Tide - We were told that the dark red, cloudy water was a result of bacteria interacting and that it brings the jellyfish out in droves. Basically, it was a bummer on all fronts. My dad, our surf instructor and my sister’s boyfriend were all stung by the jellyfish. We weren’t able to do the ’snorkeling’ side of our kayaking and snorkeling tour because the visibility was about 3 inches. My sister ended up with a hideously itchy, dark red rash from the bacteria getting under her skin. The Red Tide is just no good at all. Boo!

3. Driving home in the first monsoon of the season -

OK, so that’s more of an Arizona thing than a San Diego thing, but still, it was spooky.