4. BURN THEM LONG ENOUGH Have you ever seen a three-wick candle that looked like Mickey Mouse? For pillar candles, make sure you burn them for at least one hour for every inch in diameter. Skip this step and you’ll end up burning a tunnel through your candle.

5. EXTINGUISHING THE FLAME To blow out a candle, a candle snuffer works best. If you don’t have a candle snuffer readily available, you can blow out candle by placing an index finger in front of flame and blowing gently. This causes air to surround flame and minimizes splattering of hot wax from wax pool.

6. SAFETY FIRST Keep all lit candles out of reach of children and pets. Never leave a burning candle unattended. And always burn candles in a well-ventilated room.

7. CLEANUP If wax has spilled on carpet best way to remove it is with paper and an iron. Place a paper towel or brown grocery bag over spill. Place a heated iron over paper towel. The heat from iron will cause wax to melt and be absorbed into paper towel.

As we discussed my needs and expectations, I discovered a great deal about Gretchen. She is confident, not threatened by questions related to her professional credentials. She’s thoroughly familiar with mechanics of home buying process, and knows Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Kensington market like back of her hand.

I also discovered that she is a proud mother. During our conversation we shared stories about our grown kids. I have two daughters, one a graduate of USC, other a graduate of Loyola Marymount in LA. Kevin, her oldest son, graduated a couple of years ago from Stanford with a degree in marketing and new media communications which, as it turns out, is being put to good use because he has now joined family business.

And his addition didn't come any time too soon. Three years ago Gretchen had to start referring clients to other brokers in area, because she couldn’t handle demand. Now that Kevin is her partner, they are able to handle increased volume without outside help.

With a degree in marketing and new media communications, Kevin is a welcome addition because he spends most of his time cultivating new marketing strategies. "Marketing is so much more than it used to be," Gretchen said. "You know, putting a sign in ground and a listing in computer. Even in hottest sellers’ markets, there is always a way to make property more visible and that exposure brings more offers to table. Kevin does that for us."

What has evolved is a multi-generational, multi-disciplinary approach to both sales and relationships. Kevin, using advanced technologies, has been able to target market, placing properties in locations to be seen by right buyers. He has also increased "team’s" online presence, which is also incredibly helpful to sellers and buyers.

As for me, I have yet to decide whether I’m going to move back East or to Scottsdale, but one thing is for sure. If I do move to Bethesda area, I will be counting on Gretchen and her son to handle details. I put a premium on business service providers who put my interests ahead of their own.