Opening Day Picnic 2018!!

Take me out to the ball game
Take me out to the crowd
By me some peanut and cracker jacks
I don't care if I never get back
So let's root, root, root for the home team (TEXAS RANGERS!!)
If they don't win it's a shame
For it's ONE, TWO, THREE strikes you're out
At the old ball game!

We are so excited for the start of baseball season and for our Texas Rangers!! It's our year! LET'S GO RANGERS!!

Opening day is Thursday, March 29th. Texas Rangers vs. the Houston Astros!  What a coincidence! We'll be having our annual Opening Day Picnic that day, too!! :) AND it's a FREE event!

Come join us for lunch on Opening Day. We will have hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, cracker jacks, peanuts and of course Texas Rangers helmet sundaes! YUM!!! We will have door prizes, games and the photo booth for some photo booth fun!

You won't want to miss out on an fun fulled afternoon. Bring your family, bring your office staff, bring your friends! Here at the Kirkwood Agency we always think the more the merrier!

Check out our Farmers Insurance, Kirkwood Agency Facebook page for more information.  Click here for the invite: Opening Day Picnic

5 Reasons to Not Have Life Insurance

While there are WAY more reasons TO have life insurance, these could be your 5 reasons not to have life insurance:

1. I’m immortal

2. It’s not a priority of mine

3. I don’t love anyone, so there’s no need

4. I only care about me #teamofme

5. I live in the now, not the later

If any of the above are you then you’re right, you don’t need life insurance. However, I’m positive that none of the above are any of us, right? Especially #1!

It’s been said that there are two sure things in life, death and taxes. Here’s a little known secret… Life insurance can help with both. OH! And have we told you we have just the guy to help you out? He is the newest member of our team, Todd Mayo! He is busting at the seams with information on how to get you into the best plan for you and your family’s needs.

Here’s the thing… Life insurance can be a tough subject to talk about. Our job is not to make you feel uncomfortable when it comes to this very sensitive subject. We are here to help you feel at ease when it comes to protecting your family if the unexpected happens.

Here’s another thing… Life insurance isn’t as expensive as you may think it is. There are a variety of different policies out there. The best thing to do is give the office a call and set up a Farmers Friendly Review with Todd. He’ll be happy to sit down and go through the different options with you.

Here’s one more thing… February is Insure Your Love month. While roses and chocolates are nice, a life insurance policy is something that will literally last a lifetime. I’m not saying don’t get your loved one roses and chocolate. I’m just saying giving them a gift that gives even after you’re gone is a pretty solid gift.

Let’s go back to the list above and change it up to why you need life insurance:

1. You’re mortal

2. It’s time to make it a priority

3. You have loved one(s)

4. You care deeply for your loved ones and their well-being after you’re gone #teamfamily

5. While it’s great to live in the now, you are prepared for later as well

Again, we understand that talking about life insurance can be uncomfortable but would you trade a moment of being uncomfortable for peace of mind? Peace of mind that your family will be financially set if the unthinkable were to happen.

Adopt a Senior Angel for Christmas

The season of Christmas is a time for family and friends to gather around with lots of food, fellowship, driving around looking at lights, gift giving, etc... It's the most wonderful time of the year, right?! In most cases, yes. In others, no.

In and around the Keller area, there are several senior living facilities.  Each of them are great places providing regular activities and even weekly outings for their residents. However, for some of their residents, the holidays can be a very lonely time. Several residents either don't have any family or family members are too far to come visit for the holidays.

The Kirkwood Agency has been honored to be able to partner with 2 senior housing facilities in the Keller area to put together a Senior Angel Tree for those residents who don't have family around during the holidays. They list out a few things that they want and send it over to us. We have been able to do this for the last few years and it really has been great. What a blessing to have our community and in some cases those outside of our community come together and adopt these Senior Angels. Some adopt one while others adopt several.

Last year we were able to hand deliver the gifts to the the residents. What a great experience! Each recipient was overjoyed and so thankful for their gift. Some couldn't say thank you enough while others were speechless.

If you would like to adopt a Senior Angel, there is still time. We have several that need adopting.  They really aren't asking for much. From cooking spices to bed sheets. Necessities is what they ask for. We just asked that you have them back to us by Monday, December 18th so that we have enough time to get them back to the residents before Christmas.

We have the tree here at the office so come on by and pick your Senior Angel up today. We are here Monday - Friday, 8:30-5:30.
Farmers Insurance, Kirkwood Agency
130 E. Hill St
Keller, TX 76248

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! 

To Fry or To Bake? That is the Question

Oh the weather outside is frightful… Well, depending on when you read this, since Texas can’t decide whether it wants to be winter or summer. On any giving day it could be winter in the morning and summer by noon. If the weather could just change like that all year long and give us a break during the blistering hot summers, that’d be great. Hopefully we get some kind of, at least, cool weather for the holidays.

One of my favorite holidays is Thanksgiving. To give thanks of course, but also for all the delicious food. Turkey (fried or baked), stuffing (or dressing). That’s always a debate in our house on what to call it), green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes and gravy over all of it. Well, maybe not the sweet potatoes. And then there’s all the desserts… Great. Now I’m starving.

Speaking of turkey, what do you prefer?  Fried or baked? Personally, I like the fried turkey. Here’s why, I don’t have to stay up all night long, basting the turkey to make sure it doesn’t dry out. I think I was scared from the turkey gone wrong in the movie, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”. Someone did not stay up to baste that turkey is my guess.

There is a right way and a wrong way to fry a turkey. If you haven’t ever fried a turkey, make sure you are absolutely certain that you know how to do it the right way. Awful accidents have occurred when done the wrong way. Our good friends over at Paul Davis Emergency Services of Keller sent out an email talking about Holiday cooking safety. It also had a link to an article by Popular Magazine, “How to deep-fry a turkey without killing yourself" with just the right information on what to do, what not to do and how to clean up frying a turkey.

I highly suggest reading the article in its entirety before you get your turkey frying on. Luckily we have a couple volunteers to actually fry a turkey and be videoed while frying. Let’s have a big, warm welcome for Eddie and Jason. They are our turkey frying duo. Enjoy the video and remember, do your research and make sure you know how to fry a turkey the right way. 

Kirkwood Agency Annual Christmas Open House Mixer & Shopping Extravaganza!

It's that time of year again for the Kirkwood Agency Annual Christmas Open House Mixer & Shopping Extravaganza!

Join us for a night of fun, food, friends and shopping.

We'll have several vendors, including:
Young Living Essential Oils, Shawnee C Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant, Miss Vick's Cake Balls and Rum Cakes, MK's Glam Shack, The Knot Salon, LuLaRoe Bates Boutique VIP Group, Threads of a Feather, Averee Grace Designs and Wine Tasting by Un WINED with Annie.

Make plans to stop by, we know it's a busy time of year, but you can get some Christmas shopping done and see some great people!

Door prizes every hour.

Adopt an Angel for local senior citizens.

Stop by Tangle Salon and Boutique next door for more Christmas shopping.

Who's Ready for the 2017-2018 School Year?!

Can you believe that it's almost time for school to start? Summer sure did go by fast. Summer as in summer vacation for the kiddos, not the weather...

With that being said, here are the start days and links to get your school districts 2017-2018 calendar:

Keller ISD starts August 15th

Northwest ISD starts August 28th

Grapevine Colleyville ISD starts August 21st

Southlake Carroll ISD starts August 28th

K-8th grade calendar

9th-12th calendar 

Fort Worth ISD starts August 21st

Have a great 2017-2018 school year! 

To all the 2018 Seniors, you are almost done! You can do it! 

Mosquito Season! The Season We All Look Forward To, Said No One Ever!

No one in the history of mankind has ever loved the sound of a mosquito buzzing around their ear or worse yet getting bit by one! I’m not sure how true that is but I’m pretty certain no one has ever loved the sound of a mosquito. Half the time you can hear them loud and clear but can’t see them until they’ve bitten you and then it’s too late. And aren’t they just so sweet to leave you a souvenir (or a few souvenirs) for you to deal with for the next few days… More than anything, they are the definition of a nuisance. 

There’s no real way to wipe them off the face of the earth. I know because I searched the internet longer than I probably should have and found nothing. However, we can protect ourselves as much as possible from them. There are sprays and lotions to protect ourselves but there are also ways to prevent mosquito activity. There are a few different plants you can have around the house, inside and out, that work as deterrents.

 

One thing I’ve always heard is to make sure there is not standing water in or around your house. Those are breeding grounds for mosquitoes. When I see that I instantly get itchy and want to dump it over which in most instances I do. Whether at my house or anyone else’s house. Birdbaths are among one of the standing water places I didn’t think about but the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mentions birdbaths, flowerpot saucers, tires, buckets, planters, and trash bins are also breeding ground for mosquitoes.

 

Here’s a NOT so fun fact for you. The CDC put together this illustration for us to see the life cycle of a mosquito. For more information, visit there site at https://www.cdc.gov.

So what can we do to prevent getting bit? One of the repellents the CDC  suggests using is DEET. The higher the percentage the longer amount of time you’ll be protected. They also recommend to read the label on how to put it on correctly to insure that you are protected properly. Now it doesn’t say that if you use DEET that you are completely immune to mosquito bites unfortunately. And as for babies and small children it suggests not to use them on babies 2 months and younger. If you have a baby that young, make sure to dress them in clothing that covers as much of their body as possible. Also, never apply repellent onto your kiddos hands, eyes, mouth or places on the skin that are irritated or open wounds. If you are interested in using a repellent that is natural, click EPA to visit website for more information. 

While searching through the internet to find better ways to prevent these pesky mosquitos from hanging around the house, I came across an article from Rodale’s Organic Life, “8 Plants That Repel Mosquitoes Naturally”. Did you know that there’s a plant that is actually called, well… Mosquito Plant. The article said that, even though it’s called a Mosquito Plant (Citrosum) it’s the least effective plant when it comes to mosquito control. However, if it is the only thing around, it says you could crush the leaves on your skin to provide a bit of protection.

 

These are the other 7 plants:

Lemon Balm – keeps mosquito bites low but the plant can take over your garden.

Basil – it is toxic to mosquito larvae so it suggests planting it around any natural water sources.

Lavender – I’ve always known lavender to be a smoothly plant. Apparently not for mosquitoes (as well as moths and flies). They’re not big fans. It also says to rub the leaves on your skin to release the oils.

Peppermint – so this plant keeps adult mosquitos away and not only kills their larvae but also larvae of other species. It has to be concentrated to work the best.

Sage and Rosemary- for those of you who enjoy gathering around a campfire, Organic Life says to toss sage or rosemary into the fire. The smell it of either of them burning is not a pleasant one for mosquitos and other insect. The only thing is that you will have to stay near the fire.

Catnip- you have to be careful with this one. It works in 2 ways – a repellent for insects but also it attracts cats. So if you do not want to have cats hanging around, maybe try one of the other 7 plants.

 

I hope these options help with battling those pesky mosquitoes. If you or anyone you know happens to know how to wipe them out permanently we would love for you to share with us. 

 

Illustration by CDC