Texting While Driving Banned in Oklahoma City

Reckless driving can put many lives at risk. Not only are drivers and passengers at risk, but those who may be walking on the sidewalks or crossing the streets. All across the country, there are thousands of car accidents happening every year.

A new bill in Oklahoma City aims to reduce the number of car accidents every year by reducing the number of distracted drivers. Senate Bill 422 indicates that drivers who are texting or reading their phones while driving can be fined. This will incentivize drivers not to get distracted by their phones when they are driving a vehicle.

Many people get annoyed by drivers who are looking at their phones, especially when it comes to the operation of public vehicles. The risk of potential accidentsare heightened when drivers are holding and/or using their phones.

The new bill states that for every offense, drivers will have to pay a fine. For the first offense, there is a fine of $30 and proceeding offenses will have a fine of $50.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Selecting the Best Type of Glass for Your Windows

Glass plays an important and unique role in any building design. By selecting the best type of glass for your area, you can reduce your cooling and heating costs. You should check your windows every five to ten years to see if they need repairs or replacement in order to ensure you are maximizing their energy efficiency. This will also increase the longevity of the windows and better safeguard the house against the elements.

Think about the following when selecting style and materials.

1. Tinted Glass. A number of manufacturers provide the option of tinted glass to minimize the amount of warm heat entering through your windows. Tinting can also reduce the amount of ultraviolet light that enters as well.
2. 2.       Conservatory Glass. This type of glass can be cold during the winter and over-heat in the summer, so if you’re considering this type of glass, it is important to determine how much sun will enter the room. If the side of your hours where you’re considering placing the glass gets a lot of sun, choose a solar controlled glass, which will help you reduce your solar heat gain.
3. 3.       Low-E Glass. It is a very popular glass option that is being used in most residential and commercial buildings today due to its energy-efficiency. The “E” stands for emissivity and refers to the ability of the glass to radiate heat. Low-E glass can eliminate common window problems such condensation and harmful UV rays.
4. 4.       Double Glazing or Insulated Glass Units (IGU’s). This type of window consists of two panes of glass bonded to both sides of a space to create one unit. Argon gas is used to fill the space between the panes of glass to increase the insulation abilities of the double glazing units. It significantly improves insulation and is ideal for climates with extreme hot and cold weather.  

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Tips for Choosing Persian Rugs for Your Home

Persian rugs are a popular decorating item with many homeowners, and their high-end quality makes them an investment piece. Persian rugs are handmade out of genuine raw materials and offer a very carefully crafted and durable additional to any come. When cared for properly, Persian rugs can last for many decades or more.

 Here are some tips for choosing the perfect Persian rug for your home:

1. Make sure that the rug is handmade if you want an authentic, valuable Persian rug. Machine made rugs lack originality, durability and charm, and although they may initially cost less, they won’t last as long and will have to be replaced more frequently.  For a truly special Persian rug, opt for a handmade one that will be worth your investment.
2. When looking through design options, choose a more classic design, which will never go out of style. Rugs that offer the newest, most modern designs and colors will decrease in value over time because they will begin to look dated.  A traditional or classic design, however, will always look beautiful, and classic Persian rugs can actually be incorporated into both traditional and modern homes alike.
3. Persian rugs come in a multitude of different patterns that can generally be grouped into three categories: pictorial designs illustrating scenes from Persian history and literature, geometric designs, and curvilinear designs that usually have a center pattern called a medallion. It helps to get a sense of what specific pattern you like so you know which questions to ask and where to go when  you’re shopping for your Persian rug.
4. Evaluate the fineness and strength of the knots, as that is an important indicator of quality. Push your fingers down to the base of the pile to test the knot. If the knots feel tightly packed, the rug will be extremely durable.  If they stretch and separate fairly easily, you may want to consider a different rug instead.
5. Make sure the rug is properly finished and that it lays flat. Be sure the dealer is willing to guarantee that the rug is authentic. Authentic Persian rugs are made of natural materials like wool, cotton and silk. Wool has a hydrophilic property that makes it absorbent to moisture and is also a naturally hypoallergenic raw material.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

18th Annual Creek Classic Kicks Off on March 1st

A run for a great cause is scheduled for this coming March 1st at the Deer Creek Intermediate School. The Creek Classic will once again be held to raise funds to assist local students in their fight against hunger.

The 18^th Annual Creek Classic is a fundraising event that will benefit the students of Deer Creek School. This event will be in partnership with the Regional Food Bank, giving aid to their food assistance program.

Last year, proceeds of the Creek Classic gave a gave the school a chance to buy educational necessities such as outside equipment, smart boards, library books and computers.

The run will feature a 1-mile race, a 5K and a 10K. The event will start at 8:30 am at the Deer Creek Intermediate School and will be open to the public. Participants must register for $25 per individual or $90 per family of five. Inclusions of the each registration are a pancake breakfast, a t-shirt and a virtual goodie bag.

Also featured during the annual creek run is David Brown from the show “The Biggest Loser:”

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Ways to Make A Ceiling Look Higher

Most homeowners dream of having high ceilings in their home. Unfortunately, not all houses come with that feature, and low ceilings are very common.  Lower ceiling are actually more conducive to heat and air efficiency and circulation.  However, they do lack the visual appeal that higher ceiling provide.

So, if you’re looking to create a more open feel in your home despite having low ceilings, here are five tricks to help you:

1. Paint your ceiling a color that is lighter than the walls; preferably plain white. High-gloss paint can reflect light and make the ceiling look brighter and more open, while a matte finish help the ceiling to blend in more. You can also paint the first two or three inches of the ceiling around the perimeter the same color as the walls to give the illusion of taller and higher walls.
2. Use vertical patterns. Painting your walls with vertical stripes or using wallpaper that has a printed printed pattern can create the illusion of taller ceilings.  It provides an optical illusion of stretching your walls and making them feel more expansive.
3. Incorporate large windows and keep window coverings simple. This will enable you to have more visual access to the outdoors, which will make the room feel more open and less confined. This trick works well for rooms at ground level.
4. Hang window treatments as close to the ceiling as possible and let them drop all the way to the floor to create an elongated vertical line. Pick a rod that is as minimal as possible and extend it a few of inches beyond the window moulding.
5. Use low slung or low profile furniture with fewer horizontal elements.  Low furniture emphasizes the distance between the furniture and the ceiling and maximize the perceived height of the room.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Preparation Tips for Installing Kitchen Cabinets

Newly installed cabinets can breathe fresh life into any kitchen. Installing your own kitchen cabinets may not seem like too difficult of a task to accomplish; however, you must have certain tools and knowledge in order to do it. You also must be sure you prepare the space well in order to ensure the results are satisfactory.

Here are some tips to help you when installing your own kitchen cabinets:

1. Gather the right tools. This is critical to your installation success. Be sure you have a 4-foot level, power drill, stud finder, pencil, and tape measure. Check with your local home improvement store for other tool recommendations.
2. Take precise measurements of the cabinets and the spot where they will be installed. With your pencil, draw lines directly onto the wall exactly where you will be installing  each cabinet such as the area where the top of the cabinets will be and where they will line up on the bottom.
3. Use your stud-finder to find your wall studs for anchoring weight. Kitchen cabinets store a lot of weight from canned goods, dishes, and other items that can tear a cabinet from the wall if it is not firmly anchored to a supportive stud. Once you have found the studs, plot out your screw pattern.
4. Choose your cabinet material. This will influence the final finish of your cabinets and determine the cost of the installation project. There are so many different material options available.  If you are on a budget, opt for woods like oak and maple.
5. Spackle any existing holes left by your former kitchen cabinets with a quality spackle before you begin to drill new holes into your kitchen wall. Look for pink spackle varieties that turn white when they are dry, so you know everything has set properly before you proceed.

Installing your kitchen cabinets yourself can save yourself thousands of dollars that you can use toward other upgrades in your home. Educate yourself, obtain the right tools, and get to work!

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Oklahoma Hospitals Participate in Ban the Bag Initiative to Promote Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding offers a plethora of benefits to newborn babies. Their physical health is improved with greater protection from possible illnesses. It can also benefit their emotional well being especially when babies come in contact with their moms.

A massive movement for breastfeeding awareness has swept the nation and many hospitals are encouraging the push. The “Ban the Bag” program is a movement which seeks to promote breastfeeding and reduce the use of formula milk for newborn children. In Oklahoma, seven hospitals have joined the effort, bringing the total of “bag-free” hospitals to 28. This accounts for 50 percent of the total number of hospitals in the state, all now participating in the program.

“Ban the Bag” encourages hospitals to stop including formula milk in discharge bags sent to new moms. This will encourage moms to stop using formula milk and instead resort to breastfeeding. If new moms have problems with breastfeeding, they can simply call the hospital or another recourse rather than revert to an instant formula milk.

Given the efforts of most hospitals, breastfeeding rates have improved in the state, with better ranking in breastfeeding initiation as well as exclusive breastfeeding in babies from 3 months of age and 6 months.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Why Custom Homes Are a Good Investment

Everyone has their own vision of their dream home. Since every person’s idea of a dream home differs, it may be difficult to find everything you’re looking for in one house if someone else was in charge of the building and design.  If you have a lot of specific details and features that you want in your home, it may be better for you to work with a professional to design the home yourself, exactly the way you want it, versus looking at existing homes. Custom built homes are usually more expensive, but there are also many reasons why they are a good investment.

By building a custom home, you have the opportunity to include special features from the beginning versus having to deal with structural renovations to a pre-existing home. For example, you can use more than one material for the foundation of the home by blending different construction materials such as stones, bricks, slate, rocks, or wood, which makes it stronger. In addition, custom built homes also give you the chance to include as many windows, doors, and fireplaces as you want from the beginning. You can also create balconies, decks, or pergolas exactly to your tastes.

These types of properties fall into two categories: true custom homes and semi-custom homes. True custom homes start in the planning phase between the homeowner and the architect. The two parties collaborate until they come up with a final house design that fits the homeowner’s tastes while remaining structurally sound. This type of custom home is the most expensive because it involves selecting materials and paying for the services of architects and contractors. Semi-custom homes are built from existing plans that offer a variety of options for different layouts, features, and finishes. With these types of homes, the builder chooses the materials used in construction and you don’t have to pay as much for the plans since they were already pre-conceived.

Creating a custom home for your family is a good investment because nothing beats the feeling of spending years in a one-of-a-kind home where your kids can grow up in a unique setting that has everything you want. By carefully planning the overall design of your house, you can show your own style and creativity. Your house becomes a sanctuary that reflects your personality.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Tips on How to Delegate Chores Around the House

With so many chores that must be done on a regular basis around the house, it is best to have a helping hand. A lot of professional cleaning services are expensive, however, and that may not be a practical solution for your household.

What you can do as an alternative option is make use of the people in your family. Not only will it accelerate work completion around the house, but it will also teach your children the value of responsibility and discipline. Delegating household chores can be a challenge, especially since cleaning is usually not at the top of children’s list of fun things to do. So, it is up to you to be creative with how you delegate tasks to your children and make sure they complete their responsibilities.

To help you effectively assign household chores, here are a few tricks:

• Practice a reward system. You may have trouble getting your kids to do things for you the first time, especially if you simply tell them to do things. But, if there is something they can look forward to as a result of doing their chores, it will be a lot easier to convince them. A reward system enables them to obtain something special for the job they did. It may be their favorite treat, getting to watch an extra hour of TV, or a weekly allowance, so they can learn how to manage and spend their own money.
• Create a chore schedule for everyone. This will officially assign specific tasks to every member of the family. Plus, it will make every task visible to everybody, so people can hold each other accountable and ensure everything is doing their equal part to keep the house clean.
• Make it a more permanent assignment. Make sure that when you assign a task, it is something they can do continuously for a long time. This will allow them to develop a regular schedule and make it easier for them to incorporate household chores into their schedule, so they allot enough time to do them. For example, let your child set the table every night for dinner.
• Add fun to every task. Let your children be children, even while being held accountable. Make them realize that even if they need to do a chore, they can still enjoy it. Play some music, create a game out of it, or even pose a challenge to them to play off of their competitive side.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Low-Income Households to Receive Propane Assistance Funds

Households with low incomes may find meeting the needs of their family to be an acute challenge during these winter months, especially in those families with a larger household size. Many families have many commitments vying for their limited budget, including food, school fees and energy expenses.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has announced a new assistance program to low-income households in a form of propane assistance funding. Under the Energy Crisis Assistance Program (ECAP), families with low incomeswho utilize propane as an energy source will be granted additional funds based on their existing assets and incomes.

Funds to be used for the program will come from $4 million offered by the federal government, as well as from the $600,000 donations from various utility companies. Eligible applicants can start submitting their application to the DHS on Tuesday, February 4. The same process will be applied for any of those in need of standard assistance.

Eligible households will need to have a size and income as follows: household size of one occupant with an income of $1,053, household size of two occupants with an income of $1,422, household size of three occupants with an income of $1,790, size of four occupants with an income of $2,159, size of five occupants with an income of $2,527, size of six occupants with an income of $2,896, size of seven occupants with an income of $3,264 and size of eight occupants with an income of $3,632.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031