Over a year since my last post! Wow! Looking back, I can't believe the journey I've been on since I first started this blog. This site went from nothing to top alexa rankings, followers, and showing up everywhere online and then back to nothing as I focused on business and family. I'll always be "The Real Estate Newbie" no matter how much I learn and "Gurus" I interview or experience I have. There is always more to be learned, a new technique or tool to add to your belt of making real estate deals happen. As I was looking through the web stats for "TheRealEstateNewbie.com", I realized that it is still very useful to my readers and people still keep finding it and want to learn more. I don't want to let my newbies down. You need to learn just as much as I have and even more. So here we go again! More blogs from me, more content from my experts, and more ways to help you get in the game. Here's an update of where I've been.

I spent 2010 being pregnant with baby #2 born in November and now 7 months old. During that time we launched and continued to grow West Texas REI, the only real estate investment club within a 300 mile radius of Midland/Odessa (where I live). I continued to broker real estate notes and promote my real estate business - Real Estate ATM. As a family, we bought our first home, a HUD home at below market value (woohoo!) and finally decided to stay in one location for more than 2 years. My husband is a High School Football and Soccer Coach and we have moved around quite a bit because of his career. In business, after a year of pitching millions of dollars in owner-financed mortgage notes and only closing on a handful of deals (not the return on time invested I was expecting), I went back to focusing on my marketing firm in the Fall of 2010. I taught a Small Business Marketing Class at our local college, and was SUPER Busy with my previous and new clients and helping others with their marketing needs.

Baby #2 - Natalie was born early November 2010 and I was determined to do things differently this time around. With marketing projects still not completed when she arrived, I dove back into work almost immediately after having my baby. Even though we as women are amazing at multi-tasking, some things you just don't mess with. God's gifts of time to recouperate, being there for your newborn, and enjoying the moment. I ran myself dry and ended up with Post Partum Depression. So I completed my projects at hand and let go of clients that I could no longer devote my attention to. It was a very hard decision for me to make but necessary. I had nothing else to give and needed to fill my cup back again. I spent two months giving time to myself and my family. The first month, I tried not to work. Focused on spending time with my husband, my girls, my friends, working out on a consistent basis, and my hobbies of jewelry making and painting pottery. The next month, I traveled to be with close family and friends throughout the state of Texas- a few days in Austin, San Antonio, and some weeks in the Rio Grande Valley. Not really "working" just enjoying being loved on by those that know me best and having long early morning walks with my Dad and letting go of everything that had built up inside that had sucked out my energy and ability to be my true self. Time well spent indeed.

I returned back the beginning of April refreshed and renewed and ready to jump back in. I am a completely new person. My mind is alert, my judgement clear, and no longer carry any emotional baggage that was weighing me down. I came back knowing that I could no longer do it all on my own and it was time to implement systems. I approached a friend/owner of a web design firm to combine our businesses and so we did. We are focusing on a few elite clients and projects.With systems in place, I don't have to devote 100% of my time to that business and can now return to real estate with a new outlook and vision for how I want to succeed in it.

Real Estate ATM is back again but this time we are not only buying real estate notes, but also investing in residential and commercial properties. It's been a busy month of June as we implement the new systems and strategies (many of which have been shared on this blog) and begin to work on our first deals.

On the home front, my 18 yr. old cousin, Katie, has moved in with us and will be attending our local college in the Fall. In the meantime, she's been an amazing help with the girls and around the house. I no longer have be "Super Mom" trying to juggle between my family, house duties, and business all by myself. My husband is also home this summer which normally was spent at clinics, camps, and either moving or traveling to see family and friends all summer long. It's our first summer here as a family and everyone has been helping around the house and even with real estate (including my 4 yr. old and my parents). It's fun to have a team in place especially at home. Thank You Guys!!

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