SPF 8,000

It's 5:00 somewhere, thankfully right now that place is Emerald Isle. My family is down for a week and right now we're awaiting some house guests coming over for cocktails & hors d'oeuvres. The weather has been great for us this week and I've taken on a bright shade of red. SPF 6 was a bold move for my first full day of sun.

Duty has called and I have to return back to Raleigh for work tomorrow unfortunately. I shouldn't complain , it's nice to have so many clients and to be this busy right now. I turn right back around and head to Tampa for a bachelor party on Friday. That kicks off a 2-month spree of one wedding after another. Throw in a trip I'm taking with JoBeth to St.Thomas in August and it makes for lots of traveling but lots of good times ahead.

The recession seems to have done most of it's damage on the real estate market. The # of sales around the country are picking back up although sale prices still seem to be down. In some markets these prices are picking back up quickly. I am skeptical of anything that happens quickly in a real estate market. The Triangle was slower to react to the slump and I see a benefit to it rising at the same pace.

While the # of sales in the Triangle is down about 14%, the average sales price is only down about 9% from the last year. This is a good sign homes are holding their values a little better than other areas. These low interest rates coupled with the valuable tax credit available to first time buyers should keep our local market headed in the right direction. Don't forget, only 124 days left to get your $8,000 tax credit.

Well I'm posting on Twitter now, you can follow me @JohnnyWehmann. It seems like just yesterday I was refusing to join Facebook, my how times change.

Well that cocktail hour is sneaking up here so I better wrap up. Here's a quick look at some of the fun my family has been having here at the beach. My nieces & nephew are at a great age right now and keep their Uncle Johnny quite busy. Thanks for reading - Adios!

Kelly & Wyatt after a go-kart ride, he definitely thought he was driving!

Carrie & Lily floating in the surf

Giving Wyatt some surfing lessons

Light Fuse, Get Away

The rubber is really hitting the road this weekend, everyone I know seems to be making their way out of town. Most folks are heading to the coast, including myself. I was wondering if I would ever get a weekend off this summer, turns out I will after all. We'll be shacking up down at Oak Island for some sun & relaxation.

If you are making your way down I-40 take a look at this ridiculous thing off the Cary exit. I just noticed it for the first time the other day. It is a cell phone tower that residents were complaining over, apparently it's ugly and unbearable. They have since revised it to look like a tree. Albeit a tree 60 feet higher than any surrounding trees. Personal opinion=way tackier.

Instead of pushing everyone to get their first home & $8k in tax credit, I'll offer up some household tips for those that have already done so.

Refrigerator

Clean it our every few months, you know who you are. You should also be cleaning the coils on the back every year. This can easily be done with a vacuum cleaner attachment. If you want to check that you have a good seal on the door, it should be able to hold a dollar bill in place when you shut it.

Air Conditioning

If you are using the traditional fiberglass filters you should be changing it monthly. Who really does that you wonder? Maybe no one, but it will keep your system running much more efficiently. Want to go green? They make reusable filters that require a monthly clean.

Washer/Dryer
Does it sometimes sound like the washer is a bucking bronco? Whoa cowboy, adjust the legs on that thing. Turn these legs clockwise to lower them all to the same level. It's also a good idea to check the supply houses for wear & tear. A busted hose when your out of the house can cause major problems.

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Disposal

Give it a good clean by running a tray full of ice cubes through there while flushing with cold water. Throwing your extra lemon wedges in there can help the smell too. To prevent it from getting clogged, run the water for at least 20 seconds after use.

Billy May's passed away this week, but his products live on. Pick up some Oxy products to clean up your household. But it was the Michael Jackson coverage that dominated the news recently. I'd guess to say Michael Jackson was the most famous person on the planet. He seemed like an odd character to me, but I love his music and I may have been the only person who bought his last CD he put out. Yes people do still buy CD's.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday weekend. Let's not forget what we are celebrating and the troops who are fighting for us. And let my accident in 2003 be a lesson to everyone that the instructions on firework labels should be followed. Thanks to the ECU burn clinic you'd never know it, thanks y'all!