Western Mass Homes Lesley Lambert

Lesley's Life

Pool Time in Western MA!

Toes at the pool
This morning on my ride past the pool area at Stoney Hill Condominiums, the pool maintenance woman was vacuuming.

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional start to pool time in Western Massachusetts!

I enjoy the pool at Stoney Hill Condos, especially since I don’t have to clean it! My daughters spend most of their free time swimming and enjoying the water.

As fun as pools are, there are some important safety issues, especially when their are children around. This link is a government page about pool safety and a great resource for parents and their children, alike.

Stay safe and enjoy! If you are at Stoney Hill Condos, see you poolside very soon!

Mother’s Day Reflections on How Being a member of the MuthahoodChanges You

I work hard all week long as a REALTOR in Western MA, but the job that is most important is my job as a Mom.
I am the proud mother of a 10 year old and 6 year old girl. These two ladies light up my life, and bring me much joy, but as I reflect upon my decade as a mom, well…I see some pretty big changes.
slumber party and park 034 - Copy

#1- FREE TIME: While fairly minimal at all points in my life, free time has become one with the dinosaurs. When I am not working as a REALTOR, I am helping with homework, driving, cleaning, doing laundry (dratted laundry), cooking, grocery shopping, taking out the trash, watching yet another iCarly (barf), reading a cute book with the girls (yay!), helping with homework (because it still isn’t finished!), issuing a grounding, fetching a snack or any other in the number of “normal” activities that moms do.

#2- CLEAN: I have discovered that clean is relative. Clean before kids was white glove stuff. Clean now is,well…let’s just say an ever changing barometer is used to determine the proper level of clean. There is “I am fried this is clean enough clean”, “It is cleaner than it WAS clean”, “I will finish cleaning it tomorrow clean”, and the ever amusing “I am cleaning this until it shines clean and you will all help me goshdarnit clean”.

#3- PHONE TIME: There is no way to make a phone call when there are kids around. They can be napping, watching TV in the zone, playing contentedly but as soon as they see a phone in your hand they are needy , loud and insistent.

#4- ENTERTAINMENT: You used to see R rated sexy movies. You used to see mature comedy. You used to go to grown up concerts. Now you watch Disney movies and are grateful for the peace and quiet and the last concert you attended was the Wiggles or maybe Hannah Montana, if you were lucky.

On the flip side, you never realized how much you really really really need:

#1- HUGS: given for no reason, at a moment’s notice or upon request, there is nothing sweeter than a hug from your child.

#2- UNCONDITIONAL LOVE: What is better than “Mommy, you are so pretty, I love you”?

#3- PURPOSE: There is nothing more motivating than children. Each day I think I might give up and then I don’t. They are why.

#4- BEAUTY:Children slow you down and force you to see the beauty in things you would overlook. Suddenly you are peering at a caterpillar in a whole new light.

#5- PRIDE: I know, this is meant to be a sin, but I am so darn proud of my kids and that makes me happier than anything.

My mothering is imperfect and flawed, but I am happiest when working as a mother. I learned from the best of the best…my mother: Shelley (Sheila) who learned from her her mother and my kindred spirit: Myrtle Ryan.

These women sculpted me and are with me always. When I struggle as a mother I do one of two things: I call my mother or I ask myself, “What would Grandma Myrtle do?”.

Often I find the answer within myself, but I know who planted the seed of that answer…Shelley and Myrtle.

So, they weren’t perfect, but they loved me and did a great job. I am really, really not perfect, but I hope I will, too.

Enough with the deep , here is a bit of Mother’s Day Fun for you:

So, Happy Mother’s Day all you members of the “MUTHAHOOD”. Keep busting caps on the toothpaste!

By the way, if you were having a hard time deciding what to get me for Mother’s Day, I can help out….send me a referral! I love helping new people buy and sell their homes in Western MA!

Western MA Gardening Season!

Western Massachusetts it is time to think petunias and pansies and perennials and PLANTING!
Berkshire Botanical Gardens

I love everything about gardens. I love exploring garden centers, selecting my special new additions to the landscape, getting into comfortable gardening clothes and spending a day in the sunshine getting muddy and tired. I even like the soothing monotony of weeding, once in awhile!

Here in Western Massachusetts we have lots of inspiration and ideas to be found in area gardens in parks, historic estates and neighbor’s yards.

My weakness is perennial flowers, but my daughters love annuals and we usually focus on the flowers that butterflies enjoy. Our favorite shopping destination is Meadowview Nurseries in Southwick , MA which is only open a few short months, but has a huge selection and good prices. We can spend hours (and a lot of money) bonding over our flowers and I tell them what each flower is best used for and what the names mean. It can get busy, but the check out lines move fast and the selection is worth it! Just remember to bring your checkbook or cash, no credit taken here.

A great resource for learning some fun facts about flowers is this post from The Gardening Channel, for example, did you know that Tulip bulbs can be substituted for onions in a recipe?

As a real estate agent in Western MA, I can tell you that an attractive landscape will go a long way in the saleability of your home. If you are currently selling your home it has been proven that yellow flowers attract more buyer attention.

Do you like gardening? What kind of gardening do you do in Western MA? Where is your favorite place to buy plants?

Did You Know? Stoney Hill Condominiums offers a 9 Hole Golf Course

Stoney Hill Condo golf course
One of the most prized percs of living at Stoney Hill Condominiums in Westfield, MA is the use of the 9-hole golf course at the front of the complex.

There is an annual Golf tournament open to residents and their guests. May 21st with a raindate of May 22nd the Stoney Hill Classic Golf Tournament will be held. It is a scramble format with best ball. Contests include closest to the pin and hole in one. A pot luck supper in the clubhouse will follow the tournament. Deadline for entries is May 16, 2011.

If you are a resident and want to participate you can comment below and I will give you the organizers information.

For more information on Stoney Hill Condominiums, including photos, market reports and updates visit StoneyHillCondoExpert.com

Lesley Lambert, Twittervangelist

If you know me at all, you know that I love Twitter. I love it so much I co-created a network called the #twitterqueens.

Lately, though, I have been missing the “Twitter of old”. When I first joined Twitter, it was an underground social media experiment of sorts. It wasn’t indexed on Google and most people had barely heard of it. That lent itself to allowing those of us pioneers to get some time to mingle. When I first began, it was exciting to have all these new people following me. I soon realized, however, that while the number of followers can fool you into feeling popular, many of these people never actually TALKED to me. I gravitated towards others who wanted to socialize and converse and have made some powerful and amazing relationships (including meeting my boyfriend @mmpartee).

Twitter has always been my favorite social media platform because it is quick and agile and everyone’s experience is defined by who they follow, so each stream is unique. That being said, I have been spending less time on Twitter and couldn’t quite put a finger on why.

Last night I figured it out. I tweeted that I missed when people on Twitter tweeted at me with conversation and not sales. I longed for the day when the stream was more than an endless pitch of blog posts and ponzi scams. Was I ever gratified when out of blue several people started actual conversations with me. Many of them are “old twitter friends” and several were people I had never chatted with. I was energized and excited that Twitter could still hold that positive result for me.

I tossed out that we should create a movement to take back the “Twitter of old” by committing to strike up at least three conversations on Twitter a day.

I added that I thought we should use the hashtag #3Tweets to be accountable to each other.

My plan includes doing some Twitter pruning for the first time ever. I never really felt the need to thin the herd before, but after last night, I feel like it is time to create space for conversations with people who want to engage.

Of course I use social media venues, including Twitter to share my blog posts and business ventures. BUT….I still talk with people most of the time. If you are using Twitter as one neverending commercial sales pitch, say goodbye to me now while you still can.

If you feel the same way as I do, drop in on #3Tweets and share the conversations! I am @LesleyLambert, Twittervangelist!