Cool Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

While we were out and about enjoying some phenomenal weather yesterday, my wife mentioned that she would like to check out the new IKEA store in Round Rock.  I had been there once, and I cringed inwardly a little bit, because I was familiar with the layout there.  However, they do have a massive number of inexpensive products, so I was game.

When we first arrived, my wife attempted to sit in a chair that looked to be made of nylon on a frame made of plastic or perhaps metal, and it sort of dumped her onto the floor on her behind.  We mocked the chair and its odd design, along with the name, which was probably a Gurkel or a Haafendag or a Klonturv or something similar.  My son (who gets his smart aleck gene from his dad) quickly said, "Are we just here to make fun of the furniture?" Then, as I was laughing, he followed up with, "Are you going to put that in your blog?"  I told him that I just might.

Since I haven't been to any other IKEA stores previously, I'm not sure if they are all laid out the same way or not.  In the case of "our" location, however, it reminds me very much of being lost in a corn maze.  Once you are inside and browsing, there is a specific path that you must follow in order to (eventually) find the exit. 

Walking at a brisk pace, I would estimate that it takes 10 minutes or more to get out once you are trapped inside.  I had to leave before the rest of my family in order to get home and meet an electrician, but my wife later mentioned that, although they stopped for a snack at the in-store cafe, she still felt like the proverbial man crawling through the desert by the time they reached the exit safely.

Despite their best efforts at merchandising, IKEA didn't manage to convince us to purchase that much yesterday, although my wife did pick up a few items.  I have thus far steered clear of any bigger ticket purchases there, mainly because any time I am visiting a friend or client's house, I can typically pick out the IKEA furniture with ease, if I'm being honest.  That being said, they seem to have some excellent values, so I'm sure that others will easily be able to pick out our stuff soon, too.

Speaking of corn mazes, please enjoy this clip from "Human Giant", which is probably among my favorite comedy shows:

Copyright 2008  Austin Real Estate

There is an old saying in our state, "If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait five minutes - it'll change!".  This is sometimes completely true, and never more so than this week so far.

Yesterday, my mom was in town, so we took the kids out shopping and to lunch at Chuy's, where we had some of their incredible creamy jalapeno dip.  My mom hadn't tried it before, so she was in for a special treat.  While we were out, we commented on how unseasonably warm it was.  Everyone seemed to be in a great mood - the shoppers, the waitstaff at the restaurant, fellow motorists, etc.  You get the picture.  Although I am not a great golfer (or even really a good golfer, or a serviceable golfer), I wished that I were on a golf course somewhere, or perhaps in a park.

I found out last night while watching the news that yesterday's high temperature was 92 degrees in Austin.  Let me say that again - NINETY TWO degrees!  In the "winter".  I spoke with my friend Adam in Long Island and while we were on the phone he was admonishing his son not to play in the snow right then because he wasn't wearing his boots.  SNOW?  What is that?  I laughed as I told him that I was wearing shorts.

Well, I guess it's time for us to get a taste of winter after all, and a mere 24 hours after that balmy day.  Tonight, we are predicted to have a low of around 20 degrees, a full 72 degrees colder than yesterday.

So, I'm not sure if that gives you any idea of what we deal with here, but there are days when I wear a polo shirt but take along a jacket or coat for the evening.  Or, I must turn on the A/C during the day, then the heat at night to keep it from getting too chilly.  As a native Texan, having lived my entire life in this great state, I am certainly used to it now, but I also know that it takes some getting used to. 

As a side note, the funniest question that I am asked by people looking to relocate from out-of-state is, "Does this home have A/C?" 

For the record, I can assure you that EVERY home has air conditioning here.

Copyright 2008  Austin Real Estate   Jason Crouch

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to actually see ANY of the movies up for "Best Picture" this year.  This is no longer an unusual phenomenon for me, as the father of three small children.  In fact, I only saw two movies this year ("Ratatouille" and "The Bourne Ultimatum") that warranted consideration by the Academy at all, and those were in lesser categories, such as sound and editing.  The last time that I made a sincere effort to see the nominated films while they were still in the theater was probably 1989 when I was a freshman in college. 

However, for the benefit of my loyal readers (and even disloyal ones), I will not let that deter me from reviewing these fine films, based exclusively on the title of the film and from photos or posters that I was able to cull from the internet.  Keep in mind that I have NOT seen these movies, but I feel that these reviews are probably dead-on accurate:

"No Country for Old Men" - In this finely crafted epic dramedy, an unknown actor stars as a semi-depressed, out-of-work mechanic who is forced to wander the land with a compressor offering air for tires to unsuspecting travelers, much like those guys who want to clean your windshield for a few coins. 

After experimenting with a rainbow afro wig, a mohawk, and a crew cut, he finds that his pageboy haircut helps him to garner the most tips from drivers.  The title refers to the fact that he uses Grecian formula to maintain his youthful appearance.  Also stars Gary Coleman as his hilarious sidekick.

The film ends with a raucous send-up of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". Soundtrack by Elton John and Tim Rice.

"Juno" - Clearly, this is a family comedy with a sci-fi twist.  As I recall from my extensive knowledge of astronomy, Juno is one of Jupiter's sixty-three moons, and the young girl pictured here with her parents (let's call her Sally) wants to be an astronaut.  While everyone around her is condescending yet kind, the girl strongly wants to visit space, but is only able to do so in her dreams.  This movie is a great combination of the best elements of "Curly Sue" and "Zathura".  With Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman starring as Sally's youthful and cool parents, how can you go wrong?  Soundtrack by Yanni.

"Atonement" - This film stars Keira Knightley along with a guy that I haven't heard of before.  It is a boring period piece set in another country, and it likely involves lots of scenes of the countryside. 

It drags on interminably until the third reel, when Rip Taylor makes a surprise appearance as Knightley's estranged father.  This is the most poignant scene in the entire film,  but it also leads to a series of plot twists and turns and a zany surprise ending.  Soundtrack by the late Spike Jones.

"Michael Clayton" - Based on the tag line I saw on this poster, "Don't be at the Service of Others", this movie is clearly based on some of the agents and brokers that I have had the displeasure of working with over the years here in Austin. 

Michael Clayton is actually an amalgam, rather than a specific person, but this film exposes real estate at its core. 

Soundtrack by Willie Nelson and Britney Spears.  Yes, really.

"There Will be Blood" - This film is a lighthearted sequel to 1992's "Far and Away" which starred Tom Cruise as a barefisted boxer.  Daniel Day-Lewis portrays the aging pugilist with charm and grace.  The story follows Day-Lewis as he trains and prepares for his final bout, this time with silent film star Buster Keaton.  Inspiring?  Oh, yes.  In the photo here, you see the townspeople gathering to congratulate him on his knockout of Stephen Douglas a few minutes prior.  Soundtrack by Bill Conti (who else?).

So, I hope you found this public service to be helpful.  I look forward to reviewing each of the Grammy-nominated artists, although I haven't heard any of their music yet.

Today, my nine-year old son Brandon celebrated the culmination of several months of effort by attending and completing the "Final Mile" ceremony for Marathon Kids.  In essence, Brandon completed a full marathon's worth of running over a period of many weeks, and this final event was held at a stadium in south Austin with a party atmosphere and tons of encouragement, cheering, and music.  The kids felt like rock stars.

After they ran the final mile (which was actually about ½ mile), they were awarded with a nice gold medal and a t-shirt.  In my son's case, he will also be getting the video game of his choosing today when we go to GameStop.  That was my contribution to help get him on the right path toward regular exercise.  So far, it seems to be working well as an additional incentive.

He completed his final run for the marathon this past Monday evening, and he is already working toward a new goal, which is a subscription to Nick Magazine.  The subscription is about $20, so Brandon has agreed to run 20 miles for this.  Not a bad trade for either of us.  He has already gone about 1.5 miles toward the new goal. 

While traveling to the stadium this morning, we ended up taking a longer route than I had anticipated (thanks, Google Maps!) so we were cutting it closer on time than I had planned.  If it weren't for the terrible traffic congestion from the hundreds of people attending the event, we would have been about 10 minutes early. As it turned out, we got there about 15-20 minutes late.  However, this ended up being perfect timing as it was a few minutes before the 4^th graders were set to run, so it worked out well.

I am a proud dad today, and I am hoping and planning to run more often with him in the upcoming months, as I also need to get back on track when it comes to exercise. 

I asked Brandon how he felt after completing such a cool feat, and he said (in his typical mature-beyond-his-years way), "I feel like a new man." 

Later, when we were discussing the event at lunch with my mom (pictured at right), Brandon said, "When we were in the stadium, it felt like I was passing a test with flying colors." and, "I feel like I could fly."

What more could a father want for his son?

If you would like more information about Marathon Kids, please visit their website at http://www.marathonkids.com/.  They currently have programs in a number of cities and I believe that they are looking to expand further. 

The Austin Children's Museum in downtown Austin serves as a great outing for the entire family.  My wife and I have had a membership there previously, and it is well worth the money.  With a recent influx of funds, the museum has completely revamped many of the learning areas, and our kids, ages 9, 6, and nearly 2, had a terrific time on a recent excursion. 

Their hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10am-5pm, and Sunday 12pm-5pm (Closed Mondays).  Wednesday nights from 5pm-8pm are "community nights", which means FREE admission for everyone during that window of time.

The normal admission prices are as follows:

Adult: $5.50
Children 2 yrs.and up: $5.50
Children 12-23 months: $3.50
Children under 12 months: FREE

They accept cash, check, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.

Memberships are only $75 for up to four visitors, and $125 for 5-6 visitors.

I must admit that during our last visit, I had at least as much fun as my children.  The theme was "Play it by Ear", and it focused on making and experiencing sounds, and how sound waves travel.  One cool exhibit was the 100 foot sound tunnel which is capped on one end.  You can put your head inside and speak, yell, snap, or clap and listen as the sound echoes back to you a split second later.  I also got to wear a series of funky headphones that altered the sound dramatically. 

One of the permanent exhibits is an "Austin City Limits" stage complete with costumes for kids (and grown-ups like me who have no shame) to play along with a series of taped live music performances by Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, and a host of other stars.  They also have a few "instruments" and a set of bleachers for the "fans".  They also have a small kid-sized store with a cash register, and a really cool train exhibit in a tower above the main floor of the museum.  I always like going up there, since it includes some great tunes as well.

They have a large exploration/crafts area upstairs with gears to play with, small electric motor experiments, gravity lessons, and more.

I highly recommend checking out this museum for residents and visitors alike.  It is located at the corner of 2nd Street and Colorado, in the heart of downtown, so you can expect to pay $5-7 for parking.  Enjoy your trip to this great facility!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or email jason@austintexashomes.com.  My Austin real estate website is at http://www.austintexashomes.com/. 

I was 9 years old when I started listening to the Beatles.  My mom bought me some of their albums, and others I purchased with lawn-mowing money.  I would study the lyrics as I played the records over and over again, since precision was important to me for some reason.  Even difficult and intricate lyrics like this one from "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" remain a part of my memory vault:

Picture yourself on a train in a station,
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties,
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile,
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes...

As a side note, yes, this song is about LSD.  Don't let anyone convince you differently. 

At some point, lyrics must have become less important to me, or they stopped providing lyrics to read along with while listening.  For example, R.E.M. used to be notorious for never putting any lyrics with their CD's. 

Recently, I realized that there are some other tunes that I have enjoyed for many years, even though the lyrics in my mind don't mesh with reality at all.  In fact, while I was writing this post, I even discovered some new ones that I didn't even know about before.

One example comes from my junior high days, from Van Halen's exceptionally popular "1984" album.  Yes, I said album, not CD or even cassette tape.  I have the vinyl album (somewhere).  So, the song "Jump" came out when I was 13 or 14 years old, and it was among my favorites.  However, I later realized that one portion of the song had utterly eluded me, and it seriously changed the meaning of the verse in question.  Here's the real lyric, which appears just before the chorus:

Oh can't you see me standing here,
I've got my back against the record machine
I ain't the worst that you've seen.
Oh can't you see what I mean ?

And here's the Jason Crouch version:

Oh can't you see me standing here,
I've got my back against the record machine
I eat the worst things you've seen.
Oh can't you see what I mean ?

As you can clearly see, this is a bit different from the original.  I always wondered why in the heck that line was in there, since it was such a cool song.  I learned the real lyric later, but I still stubbornly sing along about eating junk food.  Incidentally, I just learned TODAY that in "Hot for Teacher", they are singing "I've got it bad" rather than (my version) "I've got it made".  Just another example of my auditory ineptitude.

With apologies to my friend Paul Slaybaugh, who is a big-time fan of reggae and Bob Marley, I must admit that over the last couple of days I learned that Marley was actually singing "Stir it Up" in his early 70's hit rather than "Still in Love".  I even managed to mess up the title in this instance! 

I actually like my version better, so I think I'll just stick with it rather than changing.  I guess I am getting more set in my ways as I age.  As the reader, you have the benefit of knowing the lyrics already, but here's the song I am referring to:

I wrote another post back in October about my "lazy ear syndrome", if you are interested:
MORE song stuff - Am I hard of hearing? My Lazy Ear Syndrome

P.S. I still maintain that the most widely misunderstood song ever written is Manfred Mann's "Blinded by the Light", and even though I included this link back when I wrote on this topic in October, I think it bears including it again, partially because I have more people reading my blog now, and partly because it is hysterical.  I won't go into all of the variations that I have heard, but these guys did, and it is probably one of the funniest and most memorable sketches that I have EVER seen (give it time - the funny part starts at around 0:50 on the video):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6U29S--wn8

I just listed a home in Round Rock (just north of Austin, Texas).  It is filled with cool decor and upgrades, all at an incredible price.  My client is a good friend of mine from church, and he and his wife are both artists. 

The home has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 963 s.f. per appraiser, with a one-car garage.  It features stainless appliances, slate and laminate flooring (no carpet at all), a fully fenced back yard, flagstone patio, designer colors, and more.  I expect it to sell VERY quickly at a listing price of $109,900.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or email jason@austintexashomes.com.  My Austin real estate website is at www.austintexashomes.com.  I look forward to hearing from you soon! 

My children continue to amaze me every day with their intelligence and humor.  I wanted to share a few recent things that occurred in my house that made me realize that my kids are both witty and smart.

We had lunch today after church at Serrano's, which is a Mexican restaurant which has always had consistently good food and service, at a reasonable price.  My son ordered the grilled cheese with fries, but when our waiter brought this dish out, there was a pile of lettuce, pickles, and tomatoes on the plate next to the sandwich itself.  You must understand that vegetables are anathema to my son, and they may actually bring tears on occasion.  I swiftly removed the pile of offensive food matter and wiped the plate with a napkin to remove any traces of pickle juice.

He seemed content enough, then later I looked over and realized that he had spit part of it out onto the plate.  If you are not a parent, I apologize for this image.  If you are a parent, I make no apologies, as you should be able to handle this part. 

I asked the waiter to bring us another one and I would pay for it (he didn't charge me).  This one was completely vegetable-free, so my wife Pam jokingly said, "Hey Brandon, your vegetable soup is coming soon.  Wouldn't you love to have a nice cup of vegetable soup with your sandwich?"

Brandon promptly and (somewhat loudly) retorted, "Help!  My parents are brain-sucking aliens!!"

After we had a good and extended family laugh, Pam said,

"I think a more appropriate response would have been ‘No, thanks.  I don't want any vegetable soup right now." 

Clearly, offering vegetable soup to my son is probably somewhat akin to offering him a warm cup of dog food.  Yes, we are indeed twisted in our humor.

And then there's my older daughter....

My six-year old daughter Aleah did two things this week that made me realize that she is just plain smarter than I am. 

I was trying unsuccessfully to close one of her computer games, by trying the "ESCAPE" key and CTRL-ALT-DEL.  She said, "Are you trying to get out of that?" 

"Yes, I am."

"You have to do control-alt-escape," which she did for me. 

"Um....thanks, Aleah."

Later, I mentioned this to my wife assuming that she had taught her, but I was mistaken.  She just figured it out on her own, probably by trial and error?  Yikes! 

The other day, Aleah was working on a puzzle, and Pam said, "Great job!"

Aleah casually stated: "I put these two puzzles together and perfectly tessellated them into a stripe."

"Tessellated?!"

WHAT???

She learned this word while studying art mosaics.  Here is a definition I found if you (like me) didn't know this word at all:

To tessellate a surface is to cover it with shapes without leaving any gaps. In mosaics, surfaces are often tesselated with irregular shapes fitted closely together.

So, my daughter is clearly going to soon surpass my own vocabulary and skill sets, while my son is probably the funniest kid I have been around.

Thanks for taking a minute to read my kid stories.  If you liked these, you can check out my collection of previous posts about them here:

My Kids' Greatest Hits - A Collection of All Posts About My Children

I watched a movie with my wife last night, and I thought it was good enough to recommend to my friends here.  Actually, we watched it over a two-night period, since we rarely have two hours to spend in front of the TV at a stretch.

"Music and Lyrics" with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore is a charming and funny date movie.  Grant plays Alex Fletcher, an 80's has-been music star whose singing partner went on to fame and success while his career fizzled (think Andrew Ridgeley of Wham!, who got to watch George Michael skyrocket to fame after their group broke up).  Alex is asked to write a song for a Britney Spears-type star named Cora Corman, and it's a huge opportunity for him.  He specializes in music, but he needs a good lyricist.

Barrymore portrays Sophie Fisher, the girl who comes to water Alex's plants while his other helper is away, and she proves to be a sensitive poet and efficient lyricist.  Their partnership develops somewhat accidentally, and they compose the song together just in time for the big concert by Cora.

The music is incredibly catchy, and I have found myself singing two of the songs today. 

Grant plays a cooler version of his "Four Weddings and a Funeral" character, complete with one-liners and throwaway lines that are perfectly delivered.  Barrymore gives a cute and endearing performance as Sophie.  Haley Bennett, who plays Cora, is a beautiful and willowy young lady who serves mainly as eye candy, but that's pretty much what the role requires.

As a side note, Hugh Grant is actually a better-than-average singer, and the actors all did their own vocals. I thought the 15-year age difference between the primary actors would make their romance difficult to believe, but it was really not hard at all to see them ending up together. 

So, if you are looking for a romantic comedy to enjoy with your own beloved (even though Valentine's Day already passed), check this one out.  The songs are catchy, the plot is engaging, and you won't have to think too hard.  It's a relaxing film. 

Enjoy this 80's-style video which plays during the opening credits:

According to a recent study conducted by bizjournals of the largest 50 metropolitan areas in the country, Austin was named among the least stressful places to live in the United States.  As an Austin-area resident for the past 20 years, I am not surprised to hear this, as I have always described this town as laid-back and optimistic with a youthful spirit.

Included in the criteria for this ranking were the following:

• Unemployment rate
• Days of unhealthy air per year
• Commute time
• Deaths by circulatory-system diseases
• Rate of per capita income growth
• Families living below the poverty level
• Homeowners making monthly house payments of $3,000 or more
• Murder rate
• Robbery rate
• Days of potential sunshine

Austin tied (at zero) with the lowest number of unhealthy air days annually.  We also had the lowest number of circulatory-system deaths.  Additionally, although it is a dubious honor, we had the lowest murder rate out of the top 50 metros.

They indexed all of the cities on a scale from most stressful to least stressful, with zero as the median.  Austin's stress index was actually negative, at -4.76.  Cities that ranked better than Austin were Virginia Beach-Norfolk, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Oklahoma City.  To see the entire article and the charts, click here: http://www.bizjournals.com/edit_special/62.html?page=2#l.   

Clearly, this is one more reason to consider Austin if you are looking to relocate or to retire.  Why not come and enjoy the good life here in Texas?  It's affordable, fun, and low stress, too!

If you are considering relocating to the Austin area or investing in real estate here, please feel free to give me a call anytime on my cell phone at 512-796-7653.  You can also email me at jason@austintexashomes.com.  I have over 11 years of full-time real estate sales experience in Austin, and I would love the opportunity to help. 

Our Austin real estate website is located at http://www.austintexashomes.com/.  Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!