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    <title>Southern Oregon Living</title>
    <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/</link>
    <description>Grants Pass Southern Oregon Real Estate News and Views ~ Melinda Peterson, Broker Real Estate Cafe LLC</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <item>
      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3232593/rockin-the-suburbs-oh-yes-we-are-</guid>
      <title>Rockin' the Suburbs... Oh YES, we are!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title="Rockin' the Suburbs - Melinda Peterson" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/8/8/3/5/ar133625394153885.jpg" height="374" alt="Rockin' the Suburbs - Melinda Peterson" width="300"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rock&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;in' the Suburbs... Oh YES, we are!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp; I just returned from&amp;nbsp;NAR's mid-year legislative conference in Washington DC and what a busy week it was.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;My Realtor buddies and I&amp;nbsp;stormed the Capitol&amp;nbsp;sharing important&amp;nbsp; talking points with&amp;nbsp;our Congressmen on why &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Homeownership Matters!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp; But that wasn't the fun part...&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There were 13,985 Realtors &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;that attended the &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://gigapixelfancam.com/fancams/events/narrally/20120517//?slug=466936-melinda-peterson" title="Melinda Peterson - Realtor Rally to Protect the American Dream"&gt;Rally to Protect the American Dream&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;last Thursday at the Washington Monument in DC.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;It was a sunny day with beautiful blue skies, and the landscape of Realtors in blue&amp;nbsp;shirts provided a sea of solidarity.&amp;nbsp; We were rockin' the suburbs of Washington DC and propagating the message that &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Homeownership Matters!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I've attended many&amp;nbsp;NAR Conferences&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;in my twelve years of being a Realtor, and I can honestly say that I've taken&amp;nbsp;away something positive each time and have&amp;nbsp;used it in my business.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;The sessions&amp;nbsp;are always&amp;nbsp;packed with&amp;nbsp;a plethora of interesting topics and there's&amp;nbsp;never a dull moment.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;It also provides an opportunity to get a pulse on&amp;nbsp;real estate happenings from&amp;nbsp;fellow colleagues around the&amp;nbsp;country... assuring you that&amp;nbsp;you're&amp;nbsp;still&amp;nbsp;alive,&amp;nbsp;or perhaps&amp;nbsp;ready to be buried in the&amp;nbsp;next wave of things &lt;strong&gt;;)))&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I&amp;nbsp;enjoyed a walking tour of General Washington's &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;beautiful estate at Mt Vernon.&amp;nbsp; Our first President was quite the entrepreneur.&amp;nbsp; I also visited the Holocaust Museum, which was a very gut-wrenching experience...&amp;nbsp;I&amp;nbsp;literally felt sick to my stomach&amp;nbsp;thinking&amp;nbsp;about the horrendous things we humans do&amp;nbsp;to&amp;nbsp;other humans...&amp;nbsp;I was truly&amp;nbsp;at a loss for words and still am.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Every time I renew, replenish and refuel my spirit, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;I feel energized to continue blazing a path on my Realtor trail.&amp;nbsp; There's no doubt about it...&amp;nbsp;I'm a true optimist and&amp;nbsp;I'm thoroughly excited about what the future holds for you and me and real estate.&amp;nbsp; &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;We're&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Rockin' the Suburbs... Oh YES, we are!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 20 May 2012 14:53:58 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3232593/rockin-the-suburbs-oh-yes-we-are-</link>
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      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3219118/you-can-always-come-back-home-</guid>
      <title>You Can Always Come Back Home!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You Can Always Come Back Home!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; When my kids left home, I felt a real sense of loss.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;For the first time in 20+ years, the house was suddenly silent.&amp;nbsp; There was no more rushing to and from school,&amp;nbsp;no more helping with homework,&amp;nbsp;no more bandaids for bleeding wounds or chicken soup for sore throats.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;My children&amp;nbsp;were physically&amp;nbsp;absent from my life and all that was left&amp;nbsp;were memories of a distant past.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Where did the time go?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;I heard a song today, &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;'93 Million Miles'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; by Jason Mraz, which&amp;nbsp;made me think of all the miles spent&amp;nbsp;raising our children,&amp;nbsp;teaching&amp;nbsp;them right from wrong, encouraging them to make wise choices,&amp;nbsp;to be kind, generous, and responsible&amp;nbsp;in all things.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Parenting never really&amp;nbsp;goes according to plan,&amp;nbsp;but somehow things&amp;nbsp;always manage to turn out&amp;nbsp;just fine.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;And even when things go awry,&amp;nbsp;our kids&amp;nbsp;know they can always come back home.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I recently learned&amp;nbsp;that a friend's son committed suicide&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/em&gt;Oh how my&amp;nbsp;heart aches for their family as they grieve the loss of their precious son/nephew/grandson.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;What can you possibly offer&amp;nbsp;a family who is hurting so deeply,&amp;nbsp;except to wrap your&amp;nbsp;arms around them with&amp;nbsp;love and understanding as they continue their journey.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;As&amp;nbsp;I&amp;nbsp;sit&amp;nbsp;here quietly&amp;nbsp;reflecting on happy times,&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;I'm reminded&amp;nbsp;how&amp;nbsp;blessed I am to have two beautiful children who are wonderful human beings.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;They're my badge of honor for the blood, sweat, laughter and tears poured&amp;nbsp;out over the years.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I love you Rachael &amp;amp; Drew!&amp;nbsp; And&amp;nbsp;know this, no matter what life dishes you, you can always come back home&lt;strong&gt; ;)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 13 May 2012 10:55:23 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3219118/you-can-always-come-back-home-</link>
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      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3232521/your-beliefs-don-t-make-you-</guid>
      <title>Your Beliefs Don't Make You...</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img title="Your beliefs don't make you..." src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/1/1/1/4/ar133625108141113.jpg" height="311" alt="Your beliefs don't make you..." width="259"&gt;Your Beliefs Don't Make You...&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; a better person, your behavior does!&amp;nbsp; On any given day, I&amp;nbsp;hear&amp;nbsp;people espousing their beliefs on Facebook,&amp;nbsp;in a blog, or at a coffee shop.&amp;nbsp; It&amp;nbsp;always gets my attention when people pronounce their faith publicly.&amp;nbsp; But the real question is... do they live it?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Many of us have&amp;nbsp;encountered&amp;nbsp;hypocrites in our lives.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;I'll never forget the day I saw Jimmy&amp;nbsp;Swaggart bawling his eyes out on TV,&amp;nbsp;confessing his sin before the&amp;nbsp;whole world.&amp;nbsp; It seemed contrived, but what do I know.&amp;nbsp; I've always believed you can&amp;nbsp;know a&amp;nbsp;person by observing their actions, which&amp;nbsp;often speaks louder&amp;nbsp;than&amp;nbsp;words.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I believe&amp;nbsp;in God.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; I don't always talk about it publicly, but it's&amp;nbsp;the foundation&amp;nbsp;of everything I do.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;It's my conviction that propels me to do the right thing, and it's my conscience that tells&amp;nbsp;me when I screw up.&amp;nbsp; I'm not perfect, but&amp;nbsp;I believe I'm&amp;nbsp;here to&amp;nbsp;make a difference in this crazy mixed up world.&amp;nbsp; I'm hopeful&amp;nbsp;that someday when I meet my maker, I'll hear the&amp;nbsp;words... &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;'Well done,&amp;nbsp;thou good and faithful servant!'&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
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&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 10 May 2012 17:21:18 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3232521/your-beliefs-don-t-make-you-</link>
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      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3233183/i-ll-have-another-the-winner-s-circle</guid>
      <title>I'll Have Another - The Winner's Circle</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img title="I'll Have Another - 2012 Kentucky Derby" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/9/4/3/0/ar133627080203498.jpg" height="500" alt="I'll Have Another - 2012 Kentucky Derby" width="373"&gt;I'll Have Another...&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;I'm not talking about having another round of drinks... although, there's&amp;nbsp;plenty of reason to celebrate on this 5th day of May,&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Cinco de Mayo!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I'll Have Another&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; is the name of a beautiful thoroughbred that won the 2012 Kentucky Derby&amp;nbsp;today!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What made this day&amp;nbsp;more special&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;was my daughter (Rachael) &amp;nbsp;and son-in-law (Alex)&amp;nbsp;had the exciting opportunity to be in the Winner's&amp;nbsp;Circle at the Kentucky Derby this afternoon, with their friend and owner of&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; I'll Have Another&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, Paul Reddam.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Last month, Paul invited Alex to watch his horse run at&amp;nbsp;Santa Anita, and if he won, Paul&amp;nbsp;promised to&amp;nbsp;fly Alex and Rachael to the Kentucky Derby on his private jet.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Little did they know that &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I'll Have Another&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; would not only win at Santa&amp;nbsp;Anita, but also go on to win the 2012 Kentucky Derby!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I'll Have Another wasn't the crowd favorite.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; In fact, he&amp;nbsp;posted from Gate No. 19, which no horse has ever won the Kentucky Derby starting from that&amp;nbsp;position.&amp;nbsp; He trailed in&amp;nbsp;seventh&amp;nbsp;for most of the race and surprisingly inched up to first in the home stretch.&amp;nbsp; And just like Santa Anita, &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I'll Have Another&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; gave the crowd an exciting First&amp;nbsp;Place Show.&amp;nbsp; Here's a video clip for those of you who missed it!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Incidentally, &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I'll Have Another's&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; catchy name doesn't have anything to do with alcohol.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Every evening, Paul Reddam's wife asks him&amp;nbsp;if he would like any more cookies... '&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I'll have another'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; is always his response&lt;strong&gt; ;)))&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sat, 05 May 2012 20:14:06 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3233183/i-ll-have-another-the-winner-s-circle</link>
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      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3217952/rpr-doesn-t-mean-really-primo-realtor-but-it-could-</guid>
      <title>RPR doesn't mean... Really Primo Realtor (but it could)!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img title="RPR - Realtors Property Resource" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/1/1/0/3/ar133589959830117.jpg" height="224" alt="RPR - Realtors Property Resource" width="235"&gt;RPR doesn't mean... Really Primo&amp;nbsp;Realtor&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; (but&amp;nbsp;it could)!&amp;nbsp; Rarely do I&amp;nbsp;endorse anything... I&amp;nbsp;like to leave that up to individual preference and choice.&amp;nbsp; &lt;em&gt;BUT today...&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;I can't help but sing&amp;nbsp;the&amp;nbsp;praises of &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.narrpr.com/" title="RPR - Realtors Property Resource"&gt;RPR&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;If you're not using this program, it's quite possible you'll be snuffed out by your&amp;nbsp;competition who is!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;As the President of the Grants Pass MLS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, I had the wonderful opportunity to see RPR up close and personal&amp;nbsp;at a NAR&amp;nbsp;Conference two years ago before the program went live.&amp;nbsp; I knew instantly I wanted&amp;nbsp;it for&amp;nbsp;our Realtor members.&amp;nbsp; &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RPR&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; stands for &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Realtors Property Resource,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;a parcel-centric database comprised of 117 million properties across America.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;The data is&amp;nbsp;compiled from several&amp;nbsp;sources and housed under one address... &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.narrpr.com/" title="RPR - Realtors Property Resource"&gt;NARRPR.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;.&amp;nbsp; NAR has spent millions to provide this program to Realtors for free, and it's worth every penny in my book.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Last week, I had the privilege of meeting&amp;nbsp;RPR's Vice President, Karen France&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;.&amp;nbsp; What a sharp cookie!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Karen put on a fantastic interactive RPR class for our Association of Realtors.&amp;nbsp; Needless&amp;nbsp;to say, the group was wow'd from beginning to end.&amp;nbsp; This program&amp;nbsp;offers the most&amp;nbsp;accurate, comprehensive&amp;nbsp;data available to&amp;nbsp;Realtors and it can easily&amp;nbsp;enhance&amp;nbsp;one's competency and expertise.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If you're currently not a Really Primo Realtor,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; RPR can make you one!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I'm honored that Karen and her team have asked me to become an RPR Instructor.&amp;nbsp; No doubt, I have some pretty tough shoes to fill, but I'm totally stoked&amp;nbsp;about taking RPR on the road throughout the Pacific Northwest.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RPR&amp;nbsp;and I may be&amp;nbsp;coming to a&amp;nbsp;neighborhood near you&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;... &lt;em&gt;soon!&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt; In the meantime, check out the &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://blog.narrpr.com/" title="RPR Blog - Realtors Property Resource"&gt;RPR Blog&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; for more information and training, or visit their &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/#!/NARRPR" title="NAR RPR Facebook"&gt;Facebook Page&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;,&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;be sure to watch the video (below) of my&amp;nbsp;Irish friend, &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Colin Mullane &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;(he's not so serious when you get him in an Irish pub!).&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 03 May 2012 14:43:55 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3217952/rpr-doesn-t-mean-really-primo-realtor-but-it-could-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3209801/making-a-dent</guid>
      <title>Making a Dent</title>
      <description>&lt;div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img title="Making a dent - Melinda Peterson" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/2/7/4/8/9/ar133572513598472.jpg" height="240" alt="Making a dent - Melinda Peterson" width="320"&gt;Making a dent.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp; This morning, as I was sitting in my car in the drive-through line at the Dutch Bros Coffee House in &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Melinda Peterson"&gt;Grants Pass&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, a random thought occurred to me...&amp;nbsp;I wanted to pay for the coffee for the people in the car behind me.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I told the Barista what I wanted to do and he smiled and said okay.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When&amp;nbsp;I arrived home,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; I opened my email and there was a quote from &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/" title="Seth Godin Blog"&gt;Seth Godin&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; saying;&lt;em&gt; 'Are you making a dent in the Universe?'&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp; I chuckled.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps&amp;nbsp;I made a very small insignificant dent&amp;nbsp;in someone's world this morning by buying them coffee, but I couldn't help but reflect on the bigger picture.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;How have I impacted those around me, particularly those who know me?&amp;nbsp; What mark have I left on the Universe today?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;We're given so many opportunities &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;each day to make a difference in the lives of others.&amp;nbsp; Are we paying attention to the hints?&amp;nbsp; Are&amp;nbsp;we seizing&amp;nbsp;the moments? Many of you have made a dent in my world this past week, and for that I'm eternally grateful.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;It's a gorgeous day today, the sun is shining, and there's not a cloud in the sky.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;It's a perfect day&amp;nbsp;for making&amp;nbsp;a dent in the Universe.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Making a Dent in the Universe&amp;nbsp;~&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Carpe Diem!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:02:51 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3209801/making-a-dent</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/1594277/warm-and-inviting-craftsman-home-739-marcy-loop-grants-pass-oregon-97527</guid>
      <title>Warm and Inviting Craftsman Home - 739 Marcy Loop  - Grants Pass, Oregon 97527</title>
      <description>&lt;div&gt;      &lt;div&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Melinda Peterson, Broker&lt;/strong&gt; | Real Estate Cafe&lt;a href="http://www.postlets.com/email_interest.php?pid=3557997&amp;amp;v=re"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; | 541-659-1620&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;739 Marcy Loop Rd, Grants Pass, OR&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div&gt;Warm &amp;amp; Inviting Craftsman Home on 2.52 Acres!&lt;/div&gt;           &lt;div&gt;4BR/3BA Single Family House&lt;/div&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;div&gt;offered at $349,500&lt;/div&gt;      Year Built 1989    Sq Footage 2,548     Bedrooms 4   Bathrooms 3 full, 0 partial     Floors  2    Parking  2 Covered spaces     Lot Size 2.52 acres     HOA/Maint $0 per month     &lt;br&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt; DESCRIPTION&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;hr&gt;   I could live here! This warm and inviting Craftsman home features beamed cathedral ceilings, wood floors, and tons of windows throughout to let in the wooded park-like view. The main home has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2164 s/f with a loft area that could be enclosed for an additional bedroom. Above the garage is a finished 384 s/f room w/1 bath. The oversized 2-car garage (800+ s/f) has plenty of room for a shop. Lots of built-in storage areas and additional parking under the covered carport. Lovely fenced backyard and garden area with raised beds and chicken coop. This is the Oregon Dream!     &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;   &lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144835_IMG_1981.JPG" height="262" width="350"&gt;&lt;br&gt;
see additional photos below                         &lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;PROPERTY FEATURES&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;hr&gt;
- Central A/C
- Central heat
- High/Vaulted ceiling
- Walk-in closet
- Living room
- Bonus/Rec room
- Office/Den
- Dining room
- Breakfast nook
- Dishwasher
- Refrigerator
- Stove/Oven
- Laundry area - inside
- Balcony, Deck, or Patio
- Yard
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;ADDITIONAL PHOTOS &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;hr&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144835_IMG_1981.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 1&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144835_IMG_1998.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 2&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144835_IMG_2020.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 3&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144836_IMG_2038.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 4&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144836_IMG_2005.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 5&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144836_IMG_2016.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 6&lt;/div&gt;      &lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt; Contact info:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;     &lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/galleries/photos/20080214193542_peterson-small.jpg" width="95"&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Melinda Peterson, Broker&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Real Estate Cafe&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;For sale by agent/broker&lt;/div&gt;     &lt;br&gt;         &lt;span&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/css/styles/sonoma/btn_powered.gif" height="25" alt="powered by postlets" width="140"&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.craigslist.org/about/FHA.html"&gt;Equal Opportunity Housing&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/images/eoh_logo.gif" height="18" width="24"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;          &lt;div&gt;Posted: Mar 21, 2010, 11:52am PDT&lt;/div&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 16:09:37 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/1594277/warm-and-inviting-craftsman-home-739-marcy-loop-grants-pass-oregon-97527</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/1557943/warm-inviting-craftsman-home-on-2-52-acres-grants-pass-oregon</guid>
      <title>Warm &amp; Inviting Craftsman Home on 2.52 Acres - Grants Pass Oregon</title>
      <description>&lt;div&gt;      &lt;div&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Melinda Peterson, Broker&lt;/strong&gt; | Real Estate Cafe&lt;a href="http://www.postlets.com/email_interest.php?pid=3557997&amp;amp;v=re"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; | 541-659-1620&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;739 Marcy Loop Rd, Grants Pass, OR&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div&gt;Warm &amp;amp; Inviting Craftsman Home on 2.52 Acres!&lt;/div&gt;           &lt;div&gt;4BR/3BA Single Family House&lt;/div&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;div&gt;offered at $349,500&lt;/div&gt;      Year Built 1989    Sq Footage 2,548     Bedrooms 4   Bathrooms 3 full, 0 partial     Floors  2    Parking  2 Covered spaces     Lot Size 2.52 acres     HOA/Maint $0 per month     &lt;br&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt; DESCRIPTION&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;hr&gt;   I could live here! This warm and inviting Craftsman home features beamed cathedral ceilings, wood floors, and tons of windows throughout to let in the wooded park-like view. The main home has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2164 s/f with a loft area that could be enclosed for an additional bedroom. Above the garage is a finished 384 s/f room w/1 bath. The oversized 2-car garage (800+ s/f) has plenty of room for a shop. Lots of built-in storage areas and additional parking under the covered carport. Lovely fenced backyard and garden area with raised beds and chicken coop. This is the Oregon Dream!     &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;   &lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144835_IMG_1981.JPG" height="262" width="350"&gt;&lt;br&gt;
see additional photos below                         &lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;PROPERTY FEATURES&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;hr&gt;
- Central A/C
- Central heat
- High/Vaulted ceiling
- Walk-in closet
- Living room
- Bonus/Rec room
- Office/Den
- Dining room
- Breakfast nook
- Dishwasher
- Refrigerator
- Stove/Oven
- Laundry area - inside
- Balcony, Deck, or Patio
- Yard
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;ADDITIONAL PHOTOS &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;hr&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144835_IMG_1981.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 1&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144835_IMG_1998.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 2&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144835_IMG_2020.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 3&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144836_IMG_2038.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 4&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144836_IMG_2005.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 5&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20100321/144836_IMG_2016.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Photo 6&lt;/div&gt;      &lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt; Contact info:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;     &lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/galleries/photos/20080214193542_peterson-small.jpg" width="95"&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Melinda Peterson, Broker&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Real Estate Cafe&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;For sale by agent/broker&lt;/div&gt;     &lt;br&gt;         &lt;span&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/css/styles/sonoma/btn_powered.gif" height="25" alt="powered by postlets" width="140"&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.craigslist.org/about/FHA.html"&gt;Equal Opportunity Housing&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/images/eoh_logo.gif" height="18" width="24"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;          &lt;div&gt;Posted: Mar 21, 2010, 11:52am PDT&lt;/div&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:10:30 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/1557943/warm-inviting-craftsman-home-on-2-52-acres-grants-pass-oregon</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/1506322/horse-property-on-40-acres-williams-oregon</guid>
      <title>Horse Property on 40+ Acres - Williams Oregon</title>
      <description>&lt;div&gt;      &lt;div&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Melinda Peterson, Broker&lt;/strong&gt; | Real Estate Cafe&lt;a href="http://www.postlets.com/email_interest.php?pid=2952614&amp;amp;v=re"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; | 541-659-1620&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;13246 Water Gap Rd, Williams, OR&lt;/div&gt;    &lt;div&gt;Beautiful 40+ acre Horse Property!&lt;/div&gt;           &lt;div&gt;3BR/2+1BA Single Family House&lt;/div&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;div&gt;offered at $499,500&lt;/div&gt;      Year Built 1996    Sq Footage 2,579     Bedrooms 3   Bathrooms 2 full, 1 partial     Floors  1    Parking  3 Car garage     Lot Size 40.76 acres     HOA/Maint $0 per month     &lt;br&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt; DESCRIPTION&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;hr&gt;   Beautiful 40+ acre horse property with gorgeous pastoral views of the Williams Valley. Featuring 3 bdrms, 2.5 bath, 2579 s/f home, built in 1993, with huge kitchen &amp;amp; center island, formal dining, family &amp;amp; living rooms, fireplace, vaulted ceilings &amp;amp; skylights. Vinyl fenced pastures, 6-stall barn w/tack &amp;amp; wash room, round pen, riding arena, and 3 covered outside stalls. Oversized 809 s/f garage w/area for workshop or 3rd car. 100 gpm well (per owner). BLM nearby up Fields Rd. Approx. 5 acres of this property is across the street on Fields Rd. (wooded flat land - see map).     &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;   &lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20091029/004013_Water_Gap_030.jpg" height="262" width="350"&gt;&lt;br&gt;
see additional photos below                         &lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;PROPERTY FEATURES&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;hr&gt;
- Central A/C
- Central heat
- Fireplace
- High/Vaulted ceiling
- Tile floor
- Family room
- Living room
- Dishwasher
- Refrigerator
- Stove/Oven
- Microwave
- Attic
- Balcony, Deck, or Patio
- Yard
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt;ADDITIONAL PHOTOS &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;hr&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20091029/004013_Water_Gap_030.jpg" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Riding Arena&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20091029/004014_Water_Gap_016.jpg" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;6-Stall Barn&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20091029/004015_Water_Gap_029.jpg" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Back of House&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20091029/004015_IMG_1514.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Huge Kitchen&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20091029/004016_IMG_1553.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Living Room&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/create/photos/20091029/004016_IMG_1542.JPG" width="344"&gt;&lt;br&gt;Master Suite&lt;/div&gt;      &lt;div&gt;&lt;span&gt; Contact info:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;     &lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/galleries/photos/20080214193542_peterson-small.jpg" width="95"&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Melinda Peterson, Broker&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Real Estate Cafe&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;For sale by agent/broker&lt;/div&gt;     &lt;br&gt;         &lt;span&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/css/styles/sonoma/btn_powered.gif" height="25" alt="powered by postlets" width="140"&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.craigslist.org/about/FHA.html"&gt;Equal Opportunity Housing&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.postlets.com/images/eoh_logo.gif" height="18" width="24"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;          &lt;div&gt;Posted: Feb 20, 2010, 7:30am PST&lt;/div&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:29:38 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/1506322/horse-property-on-40-acres-williams-oregon</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3186449/celebrate-earth-day-at-dutch-bros-</guid>
      <title>Celebrate Earth Day at Dutch Bros!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img title="Dutch Bros Coffee - Southern Oregon" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/2/8/5/ar133512613558253.jpg" height="287" alt="Dutch Bros Coffee - Southern Oregon" width="400"&gt;Celebrate Earth Day at Dutch Bros!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; There's a party going on at the &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="http://dutchbros.com/" title="Dutch Bros Coffee - Southern Oregon"&gt;Dutch Bros Coffee&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; stands around the Pacific Northwest today.&amp;nbsp; In celebration of Earth Day,&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Dutch Bros&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; will discount your coffee drink by $1.00 if you bring your own mug!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I had a conversation with the Baristas&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; behind the counter this morning, and I asked them what Earth Day meant to them.&amp;nbsp; &lt;em&gt;'Recycling and being kind to the planet,'&lt;/em&gt; was their response.&amp;nbsp; I smiled, and thought,&amp;nbsp;these kids really have it all together.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;While&amp;nbsp;I've been a minimalist&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; for most of my life, living in the country, growing my own fruits and vegetables and conserving energy and goods, I still consider myself part of a wasteful generation.&amp;nbsp; When I think about how we throw away an apple that has a little bruise on it, or cheese with a little mold on it, I wonder what our grandparents would think.&amp;nbsp; They used everything...&amp;nbsp;they were a '&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Waste Not, Want Not'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; generation.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;We can learn so much from them, yet they're a dying breed.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Today, I&amp;nbsp;happily rejoiced&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; with the young Baristas at&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dutch Bros&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, who&amp;nbsp;called attention to this day in Celebration&amp;nbsp;of Earth Day.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;They made me smile and of course, &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M" title="Celebrate Earth Day!"&gt;an&amp;nbsp;old song&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp; came to mind.&amp;nbsp; Enjoy this beautiful&amp;nbsp;day everyone... and do what you can to make this planet a better place.&amp;nbsp; I know I will ;)))&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Celebrate Earth Day at Dutch Bros!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:55:04 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3186449/celebrate-earth-day-at-dutch-bros-</link>
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      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3170512/you-re-a-murderer-</guid>
      <title>You're a Murderer!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img title="David Rust, Elizabeth Dopp, Melinda Peterson" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/0/0/5/2/ar133495915025006.jpg" height="244" alt="David Rust, Elizabeth Dopp, Melinda Peterson" width="360"&gt;You're a Murderer!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; I will never forget those words for as long as I live.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I was in&amp;nbsp;a Southern California hospital when&amp;nbsp;I heard a male voice screaming at the top of his lungs... &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You're a Murderer.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;The voice was angry and desperate and&amp;nbsp;seemed oddly familiar to me...&amp;nbsp;it was my brother.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Fall of 1995 had been a&amp;nbsp;trying time for us.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;My brother and I had been camped out&amp;nbsp;in&amp;nbsp;the Intensive Care Unit for over a month.&amp;nbsp; Our Mother was admitted to the hospital for Pancreatitis just&amp;nbsp; 30 days earlier.&amp;nbsp; Sadly, as a result of their negligence, our Mother ended up in the ICU on a respirator, which left her unable to speak.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;My brother and I took&amp;nbsp;turns pulling 12-hour shifts to be by our Mother's side.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It was a cold, dark place from the very beginning&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;.&amp;nbsp; We did what we could to illuminate our Mother's room with happy, cheerful&amp;nbsp;pictures of her family, along&amp;nbsp;with crayon drawings produced by her two grand-children.&amp;nbsp; But nothing could disguise the stark reality that&amp;nbsp;began to unfold there... every patient who had checked into the Intensive Care Unit did not leave alive.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;We&amp;nbsp;felt helpless, exhausted and emotionally spent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; as we watched the doctor and nurses give up&amp;nbsp;on our Mom.&amp;nbsp; They&amp;nbsp;tried everything&amp;nbsp;to convince us to 'pull the plug.'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;They even tried to guilt us out by saying our Mother was taking up a bed that could be used to save the life of a 'younger' patient.&amp;nbsp; Damn them!&amp;nbsp; Our Mother&amp;nbsp;was the youngest patient (55 yrs old) to occupy a bed in that&amp;nbsp;Intensive Care Unit during the previous&amp;nbsp;30 days!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Our Mother's doctor believed&amp;nbsp;we were in denial...&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; but we were not.&amp;nbsp; Our Mother had Multiple Sclerosis our entire lives and she made her wishes known to us from day one... She loved life and wanted to live!&amp;nbsp; So, when the doctor's guilt-trip didn't work on us, he tried something far more drastic.&amp;nbsp; He told us she was brain dead and we needed to make a decision.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I remember feeling sick to my stomach that morning.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;It was my shift to be with Mom when&amp;nbsp;I was hit with the&amp;nbsp;devastating news.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Her doctor pressured me to make the decision to pull the plug, but I said&amp;nbsp;no, I wanted to&amp;nbsp;wait and talk to&amp;nbsp;my brother.&amp;nbsp; While I waited, another doctor came in the room to check our Mother's&amp;nbsp;pulmonary vitals.&amp;nbsp; I asked why he was wasting his time since our Mother was&amp;nbsp;brain dead.&amp;nbsp; He asked, 'Who told you that?'&amp;nbsp; I said, 'Her doctor.'&amp;nbsp; He said, 'Your mother is not brain dead and I can prove it to you.&amp;nbsp; It takes&amp;nbsp;brain cells to initiate a breath.&amp;nbsp; If I disconnect your Mother's&amp;nbsp;breathing tube and she takes&amp;nbsp;a breath, she's not brain dead.'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;He did just that and&amp;nbsp;our Mother took a breath!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When my brother arrived at the hospital&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, I told&amp;nbsp;him what had just happened.&amp;nbsp; We agreed to go to lunch and talk about what we would do next.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;As we headed out, I stopped at a restroom while my brother waited in the lobby.&amp;nbsp; That's when&amp;nbsp;I heard those unforgettable words... '&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You're a Murderer and you're trying to kill our Mother!'&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;Unbeknownst to me, the doctor had chased us down the hall and caught up with my brother in the lobby.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;He thought he could persuade him&amp;nbsp;to pull the plug since he got&amp;nbsp;no where with me.&amp;nbsp; To his utter surprise, along with many other&amp;nbsp;people sitting in the lobby, he received&amp;nbsp;a mouthful of vernaculars spewed at him by&amp;nbsp;my&amp;nbsp;brother, who held nothing back in that moment... God bless him!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There's so much more to this story,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; and someday I hope to&amp;nbsp;share it with you.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Today is our Mother's Birthday, and while she hasn't been with us for more than 17 years,&amp;nbsp;not a day&amp;nbsp;goes by that we don't think of her.&amp;nbsp; Her name was Elizabeth and she could brighten any room with her smile.&amp;nbsp; She was the most beautiful, optimistic and cheerful&amp;nbsp;woman we have ever known.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;And on this very special day, my brother and I look to the heavens with grateful admiration that our Mother&amp;nbsp;was given to us&amp;nbsp;for a short time.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;She&amp;nbsp;had a&amp;nbsp;Brave Heart, a Strong Will and a Courageous Spirit!&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;We love you Mom and we miss you!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:51:19 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3170512/you-re-a-murderer-</link>
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      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3170630/ruthie-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-</guid>
      <title>Ruthie in the Sky with Diamonds!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img title="Ruthie in the Sky with Diamonds - Ruth Radar" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/6/1/6/1/ar133468538316168.jpg" height="267" alt="Ruthie in the Sky with Diamonds - Ruth Radar" width="288"&gt;Ruthie in the Sky with Diamonds!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp; Our paths crossed in the virtual world a few years ago.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I was searching keywords for &lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Melinda Peterson"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Grants Pass Oregon&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/a&gt;when I stumbled upon a&amp;nbsp;most interesting blog.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;After reading a few lines, I knew I had to do something.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ruthie is&amp;nbsp;a 55 yr old professional hitchhiker.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; She's traveled around&amp;nbsp;North America for over 18 years hitching rides from&amp;nbsp;strangers.&amp;nbsp; She's an educated soul and she&amp;nbsp;writes&amp;nbsp;with heartfelt imagination, drawing you into her&amp;nbsp;world of fascinating faces and places.&amp;nbsp; I was touched by her honest mutterings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ruthie's travels led her through Grants Pass,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; but not without incident.&amp;nbsp; She was turned away by&amp;nbsp;a local women's shelter because she didn't meet the 'criteria' for a warm meal and bed.&amp;nbsp; When I read this,&amp;nbsp;my heart sunk.&amp;nbsp; How could anyone turn away another human being in the freezing cold?&amp;nbsp; It was still winter in &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Southern Oregon - Melinda Peterson"&gt;Southern Oregon&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; and&amp;nbsp;night-time temps were in the 40's.&amp;nbsp; The thought of Ruthie sleeping under a bridge for shelter sickened me.&amp;nbsp; I wrote to her and asked if I could help.&amp;nbsp; She called with delight, and on that day two strangers became friends.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sometimes, people come into&amp;nbsp;our lives for a reason.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;Ruthie&amp;nbsp;doesn't know this, but it was her&amp;nbsp;writing style that intrigued me and helped me&amp;nbsp;discover my own.&amp;nbsp; I'm drawn to&amp;nbsp;raw and real utterances.&amp;nbsp; After reading Ruthie's blog,&amp;nbsp;I found&amp;nbsp;my voice, and in some ways, I emulated her&amp;nbsp;style in my own blog, thus&amp;nbsp;the pen&amp;nbsp;name... &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/2402148/the-naked-blogger" title="The Naked Blogger - Melinda Peterson"&gt;The Naked Blogger&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I'm grateful for having had the opportunity to make a small contribution to Ruthie's life.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I wonder if she knows that she's made a significant&amp;nbsp;difference in mine?!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;'Embrace good people, flip-off bad people, help innocent people and consider forgiving other people.&amp;nbsp; And never take anything too hard unless it leaves you smiling when you're done.'&lt;br&gt;-Ruthie Rader&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The&amp;nbsp;'Spring Bear' drawing&amp;nbsp;is&amp;nbsp;a Ruthie creation.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;You can check out her blog at &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://ruthiessky.blogspot.com" title="Ruthie in the Sky with Diamonds - Ruth Radar"&gt;Ruthie in the Sky with Diamonds!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:49:44 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3170630/ruthie-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-</link>
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      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3168756/i-m-gonna-throw-out-my-raincoat-</guid>
      <title>I'm Gonna Throw Out My Raincoat...</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I'm Gonna Throw Out My Raincoat.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;I hope it's all right.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I'm gonna find me a rainbow and hang it up in the sky.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It's&amp;nbsp;raining in the Pacific Northwest.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp; I guess I can't complain...&amp;nbsp;it's so&amp;nbsp;green and beautiful here &lt;strong&gt;;)&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; When the sun goes missing for weeks at a time, we find ourselves delighting in simple pleasures, like this song.&amp;nbsp; I'm gonna find me a rainbow and hang it up in the sky,&amp;nbsp;until the blues pass me by!&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:30:23 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3168756/i-m-gonna-throw-out-my-raincoat-</link>
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      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/426025/things-you-may-not-know-about-me-</guid>
      <title>Things You May Not Know About Me...</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title="Melinda Peterson - Southern Oregon Real Estate Broker" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/8/5/5/8/ar125608323685583.jpg" height="254" alt="Melinda Peterson - Southern Oregon Real Estate Broker" width="145"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I was born in&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Encino, CA&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I live in the &lt;strong&gt;Pacific Northwest...&lt;/strong&gt; one of the most beautiful places on earth!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I'm a &lt;strong&gt;Libra&lt;/strong&gt; and&amp;nbsp;I care&amp;nbsp;a lot&amp;nbsp;about&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;fairness&lt;/strong&gt; and living a &lt;strong&gt;life in balance.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I love&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;diplomacy&lt;/strong&gt; and I believe there is &lt;strong&gt;wisdom&lt;/strong&gt; in the &lt;strong&gt;counsel of many.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My favorite color is &lt;strong&gt;blue.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I like...&lt;/strong&gt; chocolate chip cookies with nuts, brownies and hot chocolate pudding, blue skies with&amp;nbsp;white patchy&amp;nbsp;clouds, clean air, blue jeans, cinnamon, mochas, coffee&amp;nbsp;shops, bookstores,&amp;nbsp;cafes, Mexican food,&amp;nbsp;nature walks, wildflowers,&amp;nbsp;grower's markets,&amp;nbsp;concerts, XM radio, 48-Hour Mysteries, 20/20, true stories, YouTube, funny/witty people, creative thinkers, reading a good book&amp;nbsp;in front of a warm fireplace on a rainy day, and having a good laugh with friends any time, any place!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I&amp;nbsp;dislike...&lt;/strong&gt; smelly/dirty houses, pushy people, cheaters,&amp;nbsp;back-stabbers,&amp;nbsp;brussel sprouts,&amp;nbsp;smoke-filled establishments (are there any of those still around?), long-winded meetings,&amp;nbsp;egos, people who drive way too fast, and fast-talkers!&amp;nbsp; Good thing this list is short!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Favorite Number -&lt;/strong&gt; 7&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Favorite Holiday -&lt;/strong&gt; Valentine's Day (mostly for the&amp;nbsp;chocolate!)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Worst Job Ever -&lt;/strong&gt; Making explosive devices at a company called S.O.S.&amp;nbsp;(appropriate name, don't ya think!)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Best Job Ever -&lt;/strong&gt; Realtor/Broker -&amp;nbsp;Love the variety&amp;nbsp;of people, places, and all of the stuff in between.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Best Advice -&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;You are what you think, and you become who you hang around (thanks Mom).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Now you know a little more about me... tell me&amp;nbsp;about you!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 16 Mar 2008 20:58:49 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/426025/things-you-may-not-know-about-me-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3156849/the-happy-naked-blogger-</guid>
      <title>The Happy Naked Blogger!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img title="Mel Peterson - The Happy Naked Blogger" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/4/4/8/8/ar133434927288443.jpg" height="316" alt="Mel Peterson - The Happy Naked Blogger" width="264"&gt;The Happy Naked Blogger.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; It doesn't take much to make this Naked Blogger&amp;nbsp;happy... I'm a&amp;nbsp;simple gal who&amp;nbsp;delights in simple things.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Today, one of those simple things arrived in the mail.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I'm all smiles &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;on this&amp;nbsp;rainy Friday the 13th&amp;nbsp;and here's why... I received&amp;nbsp;a yellow&amp;nbsp;'Happy Face' T-Shirt from&amp;nbsp;the ActiveRain Staff.&amp;nbsp; It was accompanied by a short but sweet&amp;nbsp;message that read:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;'Whenever you're feeling blue, throw this on and smile.&amp;nbsp; Love, ActiveRain'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Hey... I think the ActiveRain Staff &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;has&amp;nbsp; been reading &lt;a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/2836301/she-was-convinced-she-had-it-under-control-" title="Mel Peterson - The Naked Blogger"&gt;my blog&lt;/a&gt; &lt;strong&gt;:)))&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;Most of you know that these past few months have been pretty tough for me physically.&amp;nbsp; I've been on&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/3075307/needles-pins" title="Mel Peterson - The Naked Blogger"&gt;needles and pins&lt;/a&gt; at times,&amp;nbsp;my resilency has been tested, yet my spirit has been lifted several&amp;nbsp;times by &lt;a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/3091720/yes-they-re-fake-my-real-ones-tried-to-kill-me-" title="Mel Peterson - The Naked Blogger"&gt;many of you&lt;/a&gt; who've written me notes, sent me funny videos and pics, and have called to cheer me.&amp;nbsp; I appreciate every one of you immensely!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I'm feeling so much better these days.&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;The meds are finally kicking in, my heart rate is slowly getting under 100&amp;nbsp;and my health is getting back to normal.&amp;nbsp; The&amp;nbsp;Naked Blogger is Happy, Happy, Happy and smiling real big today!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Thank you ActiveRain...&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You made my day!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="agent_signature"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img title="Real Estate Cafe LLC" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/5/6/0/5/ar129480126450653.jpg" height="131" alt="Real Estate Cafe LLC" width="300"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/default.aspx/PageID=2137633&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Melinda Peterson Broker-Owner Real Estate Cafe"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Melinda Peterson ~ The Naked Blogger&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.buyinoregon.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=2143469&amp;amp;NF=1" title="Grants Pass Oregon - Southern Oregon Real Estate"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Grants Pass Medford &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Southern Oregon Real Estate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.BuyInOregon.com" title="Melinda Peterson - Broker - Real Estate Cafe LLC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;541-659-1620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy; 2012&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Mel Peterson -  The Naked Blogger (Real Estate Cafe LLC)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:36:16 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://southernoregonliving.com/post/3156849/the-happy-naked-blogger-</link>
    </item>
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