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Estrella Publishing - The Front Porch magazine

January 2021

Catherine Uretsky Publisher & Editor

Christie Giannetto Associate Editor

Al Uretsky Publisher & Sales Exec

Published by Estrella Publishing LLC, PO Box 6962, Goodyear AZ 85338. Additional copies and article reproductions can be obtained for a fee by contacting info@EstrellaPublishing.com Catherine Uretsky, Publisher and Editor 623.594.9283 info@EstrellaPublishing.com Al Uretsky, Publisher and Sales Executive 623.594.9283 info@EstrellaPublishing.com All contents © 2010-present day Estrella Publishing LLC. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any form, in whole or part, without written permission from Estrella Publishing LLC is prohibited. Estrella Publishing accepts freelance contributions, there is no guarantee that materials will be used or returned. Some content is provided by Brandpointe. Estrella Publishing is not responsible for the views of contributing writers and assumes no responsibility for errors appearing within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the Publisher or Advertisers. Estrella Publishing reserves the right to restrict all advertisement to their proper classification and to edit or reject any copy at its sole discretion. Neither this publication nor Estrella Publishing is an agent of or in any way affiliated with the associated Developer nor Homeowners Association, or any of their respective affiliates. This publication has not been approved by, sponsored by, or endorsed by the associated Developer nor Homeowners Association in any way.

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January 2021

Welcome to your January edition! When I sent out cards to wish my clients and friends a happy new year in January of 2020, I thought it was cute to use the word “roaring” since we are, after all, in the 20s once again. Little did I know how roaring it would be! While I am welcoming 2021 with open arms, I am, surprisingly, feeling a little nostalgic about putting 2020 behind us. While certainly stressful in many ways, the year was much more relaxed and slower paced as well. The cancellation of so many events gave us free time and quality time with family that we didn’t realize we badly needed. Like everyone else, I’m going into the new year hopeful that the pandemic will soon be an historic event rather than a current event…but I will miss the slow weekends with nothing on the calendar, the lazy Saturday mornings with my husband and kids with no sports games to rush off to, and the more frequent family meals together with no social calendar to adhere to. This year marks the fifth year of publishing for The Front Porch magazine. Every month for going on five years now, a different Marley Park resident or family has been featured on the cover with their “story” as an article inside. I hope these articles have helped you to get to know your neighbors a little. We have beautiful diversity here in Marley Park and it has truly been a pleasure to learn so many of your stories through the magazine. If you have a story you’d like to share or know of a neighbor with a unique or interesting story, please reach out. Also, if you have an original recipe, a fun photo of your pet, Estrella Publishing - The Front Porch magazine

original artwork, a fine art photography piece, or a photo showcasing your interior (or exterior) design talents, please email it to Christie@ AZLifestyleTeam.com and it may be printed in a future issue. As we close out 2020 and welcome 2021, I can’t help but think of the words of William E. Vaughn, “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” I’m counting on both this year…aren’t you? See you on The Front Porch!

Christie Giannetto | Assistant Editor | The Front Porch Magazine

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On Our Cover

Since my son was a year old, I prayed for God to give him a passion for something that comes naturally to him and brings him great joy. I figured I had until college or early adulthood before an answered prayer would manifest itself. Yet, ever since Thomas first picked up a golf club at the age of two, he has not been able to put it down. Now, at the age of seven, Thomas plays golf several times a week. The days he is not on a course, he is putting or chipping in our backyard. His most impressive streak of golf practice was 214 days in a row!

Thomas joined the US Kids Golf organization at the young age of five and started playing competitively in tournaments. He has been impressive from the start, scoring a 46 in nine holes in his first tournament and earning third place as the youngest and smallest boy within the group. We have an amazing picture of him staring down the older boy who won first place, and we saw on his face that Thomas had a passion for the game. After that day, my husband and I could not keep him off the course!

Thanks to my mom and dad who live on a golf course and coach him several days a week, he has continued to excel. His game advanced to the point where he earned first place in every tournament in the summer of 2020, making him the six-year-old summer tour champion. Due to his hard work and determination, Thomas qualified to play in the US Kids Arizona State Championship Tournament. There was no doubt that Thomas was ready to play, but we were in awe of his performance during the two-day competition. He shot a 33 on each day of the tournament, his personal best, which included two eagles and three birdies! The entire last round was a nail bitter as he was tied for first place up to the last hole. He secured a one stroke victory by sinking a birdie putt to win! We thank God every day for our passionate and dedicated little boy! My husband and I are elated that he is so successful in golf, but what elicits the most pride in us is Thomasâ€™s encouragement of the other players, his great attitude, and funloving spirit. Submitted by Josie Flancbaum | Marley Park Resident

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January 2021

Photo Of The Month This amazing photo of the moon popped up in my Facebook feed a few weeks ago. I was initially impressed with the photography, but even more so when I learned that it was taken with an LG G8 mobile phone camera and an Explore Scientific FirstLight telescope by Marley Park resident Troi Orton, age 14. Troi is a 9th grade student at Shadow Ridge High School and just started dabbling in astrophotography a few months ago. He says he has been interested in astronomy and space since he was little and his goal is to become an aerospace engineer, so he wanted to be able to see the stars, moon, and planets with a telescope. As we begin a new year, I’m reminded of this quote by Shannon L. Alder; “The moon will guide you through the night with her brightness, but she will always dwell in the darkness, in order to be seen.” Submitted by Christie Giannetto | Marley Park Resident

Estrella Publishing - The Front Porch magazine

January 2021

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January 2021

Home Sweet Home Talk of a housing bubble is beginning to crop up as home prices have appreciated at a rapid pace this past year. This is understandable since the appreciation of residential real estate is well above historic annual averages. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, annual appreciation since 1991 has averaged 3.8%. It is easy to jump to the conclusion that house appreciation is out of control in today’s market. However, we need to put these numbers into context first. Following the housing crash, home values depreciated dramatically from 2007-2011. Values are still recovering from that unusually long period of falling prices. We must also realize that normal inflation has had an impact. Bill McBride, the founder of Calculated Risk blog, recently summed it up this way: “In real terms, the National index is still about 2% below the bubble peak…As an example, if a house price was $200,000 in January 2000, the price would be close to $291,000 today adjusted for inflation.” Let’s also put to rest some of the concerns that today’s scenario is anything like what led

Estrella Publishing - The Front Porch magazine

up to the last housing crash. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors, explains why this is nothing like 2006: “Such a frenzy of activity raises questions about a bubble and the potential for a painful crash. The answer: There’s no comparison. Back in 2006, dubious adjustable-rate mortgages taxed many buyers’ budgets. Some loans didn’t even require income documentation. Today, buyers are taking out 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. Fourteen years ago, there were 3.8 million homes listed for sale, and home builders were putting up about 2 million new units. Now, inventory is only about 1.5 million homes, and home builders are underproducing relative to historical averages.” Most aspects of life have been anything but normal in 2020. That includes buying and selling real estate. High demand coupled with restricted supply has caused home prices to appreciate above historic levels. With a vaccine on the horizon and the end of the health crisis in sight, we will see price appreciation return to more normal levels this year. Submitted by Christie Giannetto | REALTOR® | Arizona Lifestyle Team | HomeSmart

January 2021

Cybersecurity We all have personal information that we do not share with family and friends. Some of that private personal information might include what you do on the internet and your physical location. You may not be sharing that with your family and friends, but you are likely sharing it with Google, Apple, and other popular tech companies! One new year’s challenge is to make your digital privacy a priority. Tech companies create profiles of you using your internet history and physical location. They even have positions such as Director of Monetization whose sole purpose is to profit by tracking your online activity. Last year, I downloaded the Brave browser from www.Brave.com. It has excellent reviews on protecting your privacy and physical location. It blocks internet trackers, annoying ads, and Huge Customer Deals and Savings Owner Mason Ashton

physical location tracking. Brave’s homepage gives updates on trackers and ads blocked, bandwidth saved, and time saved. Besides better protecting your privacy, it saves bandwidth and device battery life by blocking pop-up ads and trackers. I highly recommend giving Brave a try. It is hard to break away from using Chrome and Safari completely. Sometimes they are needed. You can find ways to limit their tracking as well. But when possible, I use Brave. So far, I am having good experiences. And my privacy is a little improved. Stay digitally private, Marley Park! Submitted by Steve Poling | Marley Park Resident

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Marley Park News I hope you had a Happy Holiday Season and a Happy New Year! Thankfully, 2020 is behind us and things can only get better from here!

The City of Surprise has several new businesses coming to the Marley Park area. The biggest one is the Amazon last-mile delivery station under construction on Litchfield Road just south of Waddell. The tastiest new business coming to Surprise is The Boyer Bakery, expected to open in early 2021 next to the Uptown Alley on the southeast corner of Waddell and Litchfield. Venue Taproom is now open and operating at the former Under Review location at the same corner as Boyer, and Venue Taproom also recently received their liquor license. Please check out these new delicious locations! EOS Fitness, 3 Minute Express Car Wash, and a new multi-tenant building are all in development review near the Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers location on the southwest corner of Waddell and Litchfield. A new Valvoline Instant Oil Change will soon be opening for business across the street next to the Fry’s gas station.

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Pavement Preservation work is scheduled for the area North of Old Oak and East of Founders’ Blvd. this coming year. The exact timing of Pavement Preservation work will be based on weather conditions. Ongoing sidewalk repair and replacement work will also be continuing throughout Marley Park. For an up to date schedule of work, please visit our website at surpriseaz.gov. Please note that notice will be given to affected homeowner’s prior to any work taking place. Your Surprise City Council meets twice a month on the first and third Tuesday of the month. Live and past Council Meetings can be watched at https://surprisetv.surpriseaz.gov/. Agendas are posted on our website by the Friday before, so you can see what will be discussed and send me any questions you may have. Anytime you have a question, concern, problem, or idea about the City of Surprise, please contact me directly at chris.judd@surpriseaz.gov or at 623-222-1326 and I will do what I can to help or get an answer. Submitted by Councilman Chris Judd

January 2021

Estrella Publishing - The Front Porch magazine

January 2021

Spiritual Thoughts My goodness people, it has been A YEAR! The year 2020 was looking to be a wonderful year at the beginning. July 4th was on a Saturday. Halloween was on a Saturday. Christmas was on Friday. It seemed as if God was creating the perfect circumstances for celebration. What actually happened was like an anti-celebration. There were so many reasons to look back on this year and cringe. A pandemic attacked us and continued much longer than expected. It took a great toll on us by the number of victims it has claimed as well as its economic and psychological impact. There was civil unrest, peaceful protests, and violent rioting. There was one of the most controversial elections of our time that caused many friends to become enemies once it was all said and done. All of this was happening while our little community was experiencing the hottest summer on record! And the murder hornets! We cannot forget the murder hornets! Itâ€™s safe to say when we look back on this year it will not be with fondness.

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Now that 2021 has arrived, we have an opportunity to choose to look back on the year 2020 with a different perspective. What if 2020 was the year of disaster AND the year of growth? What if 2020 was the year your depression sank into a hopeless state AND the year you finally reached out for the help you needed? What if 2020 was the year you had to endure juggling working from home and assisting your children with virtual learning AND the year you worked together as a family to persevere through hardship? What if 2020 was the year of tragic loss AND the year we all learned how fragile and precious we are and how important it is to cherish our loved ones? What if 2020 was the year of political turmoil AND the year that all American citizens finally understood just how important their vote really is? This past year will always be painted with the sadness of tragedy. Yet, with every tragedy God always interweaves wisdom, growth, and the closeness of community. If we observe from a different perspective, we can see Him with us closer than Heâ€™s ever been! Submitted by Josie Flancbaum | Marley Park Resident

January 2021

Teen Time

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice.” -T.S. Elliot Happy New Year! I think that we can all agree that 2020 has both been the longest and shortest year of our lives. It is hard to believe that just one year ago, we were all hopeful that the start of the new decade would bring great things. Clearly the year did not go as planned, and honestly, I am not sure what to expect for 2021. I think the most important lesson that 2020 taught me is to truly not take anything for granted. Even though things may not go as I expect, I can still find something valuable in each day. As life continues to move forward, memories are made from moments. Once a moment is gone all you are left with is memories. So as the New Year dawns, I think that it is important to reach some sort of peace with the things we lost last year, whether they are

Estrella Publishing - The Front Porch magazine

trivial things or of more importance. But just because we have reached an acceptance of what we have lost does not mean we have to let go of the memories. Even though the year was difficult, there were some positive moments. Just do not forget that it is equally important to not dwell too much on the past, or else we will forget to live. 2020 took something from all of us, mentally, physically, and emotionally, and we can either choose to be bitter about it or we can grow from it. It is now 2021, and everyone everywhere is still recovering from last year, but if we go into this year with a more positive mindset then it can make a world of a difference. So, take a deep breath, remember all that happened last year, and go into this next year with those memories and the intent to make more. “We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.” -Ellen Goodman Submitted by Emily Poling | Age 16 | Marley Park Resident

January 2021

Pet Of The Month Oliver, a four-year-old yellow lab, is super sweet, gentle, and loves his new little sister Autumn! She is a fox red lab and was seven weeks old in the picture here but is growing fast! Oliver and Autumn own the Wilson family who live in Marley Park. After several heartbreaking losses in their family in 2019 and 2020 plus the added stress the pandemic has caused everywhere, the Wilsons, including Oliver, have been filled with joy by the sweet little addition of Autumn to their home.

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January 2021

Puzzles & Games Samurai Sudoku Puzzle #10

Samurai sudoku puzzles consist of five overlapping sudoku grids. The standard sudoku rules apply to each 9 x 9 grid. Place digits from 1 to 9 in each empty cell. This samurai sudoku puzzle is a every great way to engage brain3and logic skills. one Thereof are 5 overlapping Every row, column, andthe every x 3help boxdevelop should contain each digit. grids with one unique solution. Each of 4 corners are shaded. To solve this Samurai puzzle use standard sudoku rules for every 9x9 grid: each Good Luck! Solutions are on our website www.EstrellaPublishing.com digit from 1 to 9 can only appear once in every row, column and 3x3 box.

5 7

4 6

9 1

5 7

4 8

4 9

4 2

6 6

Samurai sudoku grid, symmetric, beginner No 10 Estrella Publishing - The Front Porch magazine Created: https://www.sudoku-puzzles-online.com

3 1

1 4

4 8

2 3

3 3

4 1

9 3

6 2

5 8

3 1

7 4

6 5

7 8

8 1

4 4

9 1

9 3

5 3

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SOLD IN MARLEY PARK

Christie Giannetto

You are invited to contact me today for a FREE home value analysis 602.740.2313

More homes sold in Marley Park than any other agent since October 2013!* COMING SOON

UNDER CONTRACT

15169 W Corrine Dr

14932 W Voltaire St

12730 N 154th Ln

17425 W Willow Ave

14148 W Willow Ave

List Price....................$360,000 Sq Ft ...............................2,418 Lot Sq Ft..........................7,593 Amenities............... 3 Car Garage ................................Dual Master

List Price....................$275,000 Sq Ft ...............................1,382 Lot Sq Ft..........................6,342 Amenities ...... Beautiful Backyard

List Price....................$340,000 Sq Ft ...............................2,085 Lot Sq Ft..........................6,600 Amenities ............ Mountain View

Buyer Represented by Arizona Lifestyle Team Buyer Specialist.

SOLD

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SOLD

15261 W Valentine St

14133 W Valentine St

14797 W Pershing St

14878 W Georgia Dr

15127 W Dahlia Dr

Sold Price ..................$440,000 Sq Ft ...............................3,394 Lot Sq Ft........................10,680 Amenities .............. 4 Car Garage

Sold Price ..................$334,890 Sq Ft ...............................2,027 Lot Sq Ft..........................5,175

Sold Price ..................$350,000 Sq Ft ...............................2,619 Lot Sq Ft..........................7,341 Amenities .............. 3 Car Garage

Sold Price ..................$315,000 Sq Ft ...............................2,104 Lot Sq Ft........................12,270 Amenities ............... Quarter Acre

Sold Price ..................$415,000 Sq Ft ...............................3,328 Lot Sq Ft..........................8,160 Amenities........................... Pool

Buyer represented by Christie Giannetto.

SOLD

15249 W Georgia Dr

13152 N 147th Ln

15432 W Corrine Dr

12653 N 143rd Ln

14924 W Voltaire St

Sold Price ..................$363,000 Sq Ft ...............................2,773 Lot Sq Ft..........................7,800 Amenities ...... Pool, 3 Car Garage

Sold Price ..................$412,000 Sq Ft ...............................3,695 Lot Sq Ft........................10,377 Amenities ......Casita, 6 Bedrooms

Sold Price ..................$330,000 Sq Ft ...............................1,907 Lot Sq Ft..........................6,600 Amenities.. Former Builder Model

Sold Price ..................$372,000 Sq Ft ...............................2,486 Lot Sq Ft..........................7,800 Amenities ...............3 Car Garage

Sold Price ..................$236,700 Sq Ft ...............................1,353 Lot Sq Ft..........................5,613 Amenities.................3 Bedrooms

Buyer represented by Christie Giannetto.

Your Marley Park Neighbor and Real Estate Specialist *Information obtained from Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. Excludes new construction. As of 1/1/19.

Christie Giannetto | REALTORÂ® Arizona Lifestyle Team HomeSmart 602.740.2313 15543 N Reems Rd | Ste 139 Surprise AZ 85374 Christie@AZLifestyleTeam.com AZLifestyleTeam.com

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January 2021