Recently in Karen Overbury Category

VALENTINE'S Day . . . when, if you believe the guff, all thoughts turn to romance and true love. And, of course, there will be hundreds of blokes - and a few lasses - going down on bended knee to propose to their loved one.

Then they'll head off into the sunset and live happily ever after . . . but where after the sunset? They'll probably plan to buy a home together and face the trials and tribulations of prospective first-time buyers.

ANOTHER year over and a new one just begun . . .

On a personal note, I was glad to see the last of the old year and I'm determined that 2011 will be healthier and happier.

ADMIT it, we all try to pull a fast one occasionally. But when we try to take on the "experts" at their own game, we shouldn't be surprised if we get our fingers burned.

A few words of warning to those trying to sell their home through an estate agent . . . the agents are property professionals and if you try to cheat them, they will - and they should - fight back.

STRANGE things happen at the beginning of November. A gloom settles over us all. The clocks have gone back so we're all leaving work in the dark. The glorious autumn colours have changed to a dull shade of drab and the weather has changed to wet and very windy.

Plus the world has become Christmas-crazy, which - far from cheering us up - has brought a dark cloud of despair that the spending has to start in earnest as it's "only" six weeks until Christmas.

THE internet is a great tool. I often wonder how we coped in "the old days" before the advent of the world wide web.

Many jobs have been created, but many more have disappeared. And in these challenging times, only the fittest will survive as advancing technolgies creep further into our lives.

ONE minute we love 'em, the next we can't stand 'em - whether it's our other partners, our homes, our cars or our neighbours.

We're all getting very fickle these days - and it's time we all took a long, deep breath and calmed down! And it's time we learned to be more tolerant.

HEALTH, education, the economy, British manufacturing . . . there will be many, many priorities for the various political parties hoping to lead the country after May 6.

And somewhere, way down the "and the rest" part of the list will be housing.

GREAT news for the boomerang generation parents! The number of first time buyers is at its highest level for more than two years.

Which means that for many parents, their little darlings are finally moving out . . .

I THINK I'm turning into my mum! It's the middle of January and I'm revelling in finally being back in my routine! What happened to that superb sense of spontaneity I once had? Perhaps it got buried in the snow.

After weeks of wintry weather and before that New Year - and before that Christmas and the build up to the festive season - I finally feel that the world is returning to some sense of normality (whatever that may be!).

A NEW year. A time of new beginnings. Of resolutions, changes, optimism and hope.

Let's be honest - 2009 was quite a struggle at times. A dreadful jobs scene, poor property market and gloom and doom in just about every sector of the economy. In fact, I think most people were glad to see the back of it!

So will 2010 be any better?