At Home In Texas

By Daiquiri Beebe

Considering moving to Texas? Would you like guidance in buying or selling a home in Texas? This book is for you. A down-to-earth guide about life in Texas and detailed steps to successfully purchase or sell a property in the Lone Star State.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daiquiri Beebe
• Release date: Feb 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393577645

Daiquiri Beebe

Professional real estate agent, mother of six children, city councilwoman and volunteer. Daiquiri Beebe chooses to serve others through work, home and volunteering. Currently working toward attending law school, she hopes to find new ways to help fellow Texans.

Book preview

Introduction

I HAVE BEEN A BUSY mom since my first daughter was born in 2004. I stayed home with my six kids and homeschooled them for a few years. I finally decided to go back to work and put my kids in public school. I currently work as a real estate agent and spend as much time as possible, volunteering around my community. I was recently elected to serve on the Huntsville, Texas City Council.

I discovered a couple of years ago that I enjoy writing. I started writing articles for my blog, then moved onto weekly real estate articles in the local paper and now I am writing my first book. I hope that it will entertain you and help you on your journey to buying or selling a home.

Chapter 1

MY CHILDHOOD YEARS

Although I have not lived in Texas my entire life, I do have an inner love and passion for the state. Ever since I was a teenager when my mom would take myself and my brother on road trips to Texas, I always had a desire to live here. My husband had the same feeling, which is why we chose to move to Texas when our kids were small, and we were still in our twenties.

What attracted me to Texas?

I grew up in Temple City, California where I had a lot of freedom as a child. I was a latchkey kid. My father was in-and-out due to his work as a salesperson, and he would travel out-of-town for days at a time. My mother worked full-time as a teacher in East Los Angeles, she was paid a higher salary for working in a risky area of town. She tended to arrive home late most nights. My brother and I were on our own regularly. My brother took to the streets and played with his friends running around town many nights and weekends. I chose to entertain myself by riding my bike up to the main street, Temple City Blvd, going to stores, hanging out with friends and running into my brother.

What I remember about Temple City is the size, the feeling of safety and the freedom I had to be independent. I could go to the grocery store, Carl’s Jr, the library, the playground and anywhere I wanted on my own. I very much enjoyed it.

My memories of growing up in Temple City are what attracted me to Huntsville, Texas. Huntsville has about the same population that Temple City, CA did when I was a kid. We chose to purchase a house near downtown Huntsville because of the charm and character that the cultural district has to offer. The many events put on by the main street office are appealing to my family and me. The idea that we can walk to all these events from our house, makes it even more fun.

Our home is conveniently located close to historic sites such as The Oakwood Cemetery where Sam Houston is buried (the cemetery is located on one of his former homesites). Close to The Wynne Home arts center, Walker County Museum, numerous churches, like First United Methodist Church and 1st Baptist Church, the downtown square with the county courthouse, antique shops, boutiques, restaurants and more. We are close to the middle school and the elementary school.

Our home is near the famous Walls prison unit, where much history abounds and within sniffing distance of Lindo Mexico, which offers the best breakfast tacos.  Not to mention, that we can easily walk to the Huntsville Public Library to pick-up books or attend one of their myriad of community events.

As you picture Texas, you may visualize a brown cabin style home with a large, covered wrap-around porch and me sitting in a rocker. That’s a great picture, but that’s not me. My house is old, 1920’s we believe, a blue farmhouse style home with a covered front porch. I rarely sit out there. I like to keep busy. My mind is always racing, and my body stays fairly in tune with my mind most days always working, being with my kids or keeping my hands busy, gardening or painting my house.

I’m not a manicure gal. Painted nails don’t last long on me. I tend to get dirt and paint under my fingernails and have a spatula close by to keep my boys in line.  Always ready for a hug and all too often kisses, I am thankful for my life each day.

Have I mentioned my love of bike riding? I am not a competitive cyclist. I don’t need to challenge my body for oxygen or wear spandex to be content. All I need is a beach cruiser and some sidewalks to be satisfied. I rode my cruiser all over Temple City and surrounding communities like Arcadia and Pasadena as a kid. As an adult, I enjoy riding my bike from my house to my office, taking in the downhill ride and the fresh air and pushing myself on the heart pumping ride uphill to work off the cake I will eat after dinner.

Chapter 2

I’M NOT PERFECT, JUST ME

I believe that people are the most valuable resource in this world. How we treat each other affects the way we live and the world we live in.

Most people want to do good and serve others. They work to support their families and provide for a pleasant lifestyle. Everyone knows that Negative Nancy that likes to complain about everything or chooses to be a victim in every circumstance. I wonder whether that is due to their home life as a child or if they were born with that personality.

What really matters are the millions of people who choose every day to work at making the lives of other people better. I see these imperfect action takers in my community of Huntsville, Texas. I know that it also exists in the Houston Metropolitan area. Heroic measures were taken by many during our last devastating hurricane, Hurricane Harvey.

I would even go as far as to say that Texas is a state full of caring individuals willing to risk their lives to save others. One significant event was the church shooting in Santa Fe, Texas where a neighbor was told of the shooter in the church, he made his way to the church as fast as he could to protect the people in the church that morning, at significant risk to his own life.

When you have a choice to be negative, try and choose the positive, consider that there may be circumstances causing the reaction that you deem as wrong, circumstances that you have no knowledge or understanding of. Our school superintendent Dr. Sheppard always says, Positivity breeds positivity.

Try to imagine that there is an unfamiliar perspective, life experiences and information coming from the viewpoint of the people around you. It is much easier to be empathetic and understanding. Many arguments, fallen organizations and failed businesses can be avoided.

Our culture is changing dramatically before our very eyes, through technology over the years, since humans have been able to fly, the invention of the television, the daily use of the computer to social media and the accessibility of so many opinions and perspectives at the tips of our fingers.

We can see the positive actions of people throughout the world as they are caught on video. The videos of random acts of kindness go viral daily. It makes me proud to be part of the millennial generation. I got in, just by the skin of my nose. The cut-off is 1980 and you guessed it. I was born on the first day of summer in 1980.

Summer is my favorite time of year. I love swimming, sunshine, the beach and of course...air conditioning.

Seth Godin says, "The cultural turning point of our moment in time, the one that’s just beginning to be realized, is that education is an abundant system, not a scarce one. Space on the Harvard campus is highly valued and scarce. But