GirlTrek's Stress Protest

On a visit home to spend time with my grandmother last summer, she lovingly took my hand after looking at me for what seemed like an eternity and said, "Baaaaby, that stress is gonna kill ya. You are looking like a worn out shoe. That stress gonna turn ya ugly from the inside out. You hear me." My vanity kicked in immediately and I replied back with a laugh, "Mother, well I need to make some changes quickly because we don't do ugly, right? Our playful banter stayed with me long after I left my hometown. If my grandmother was bothered, it was not good!

My son at his graduation before being deployed.

At that time, my family was in the middle of two deployments a few weeks apart and we had a college graduation right in the middle. My youngest son, USMC, and my nephew, Army, were headed overseas and I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. The aching in my heart had penetrated my bones. My baby boy was "chosen" for a special mission and he needed his family support. I needed to be upbeat because he did not need to see me falling apart.

I spent weeks wrestling with fear and worry and tried not to show it. I would lock myself in my closet praying for his protection and safety. It was during this time, fellow Marine moms called me up to tell me to "walk it out." "You got to shake this and be strong," I was told. I took my stress levels seriously and took inventory of what was bringing me joy and what in my life that was throwing me out of sorts beyond my son's deployment. I also went for my annual check-up. After my exam, my doctor voiced sternly what I knew, "Stress and high blood pressure can led to a stroke or heart attack. You must do better." She was right!

I immediately started corrective actions.  I stepped up my game and began walking with bolder, more  determined steps to help decrease my stress levels and to rid myself of the extra baggage in head. My extra baggage came from many factors and I addressed them one by one. I put my volunteering life on a diet and started managing who and what entered my sacred space. I even paid attention to my media consumption. I could only watch #Maddow twice a week!

In my attempts to be very radical about my stress, on Labor Day Weekend in 2017, I joined hundreds of Black women in the mountains of Colorado to stage a #stressprotest. Members of GirlTrek flew to the Rocky Mountains from all over the world! There are no words to describe accurately the magic that happened on that mountaintop.

  

We spent the four day weekend reflecting, being nurtured, resting our weary souls, rejoicing at the breathtaking views, absorbing the serenity of the mountainside and relishing in the peace and tranquility found at Estes Park'sYMCA. We vowed to take care of ourselves and to put health first. Since my weekend in the mountain, I have traveled to meetup with several members of GirlTrek who have staged #stressprotest weekends on hiking trails and mountains to reclaim their minds and health.  For those who did not attend the event in the mountains, they had hundreds of  #stressprotests in their own neighborhoods. The #stressprotest was covered by nation media outlets, online, print, and radio, and thousands on social media cheering for women, Black women, wanting to take care of the themselves by dumping stress! 

At Living Your Best Life Radio Studio.

Saturday after the show walk with Grand Prince.

In the spring of 2018, I joined 100,000+ Black women who took the GirlTrek's Harriet Hall of Fame: 100 Mile Challenge to take charge of our health by addressing issues that maybe self-inflicted, environmental, work related or relational that can take a toll on our physical and mental health.

My Marine cheering me on after a walk!

 I made 2018 my year to advocate for my mind, body, and soul, first, and to partner with others who are determined to be change agents in our community for our sisters' health and well being. #stressprotest 

This story was previously published in February 2018. 

Sellers: Beware of Crooked Couple Wreaking Havoc on Leiper's Fork, TN Families

Follow up post can be found here.

Open houses are usually held on Sundays for those who are selling homes. Buyers set appointments with their agent or the seller's agent to view a home or property. In communities with multi-million dollar homes, home owners and their agents set boundaries regarding who can view their properties. It makes good business sense to pre-qualify buyers so they will not waste agents or the home owners' time by viewing properties that a buyer would not be able to afford or even purchase. Right? Right!

"Were the buyers pre-qualified?," has been asked over and over by the owners of  several multi-million dollar listings in the Leipers Fork Area of Williamson County, Tennessee who became entangled in a web of lies spun by a crooked couple from Colorado named Kimberly (Kim) and Phillip (Phil) W. McDowell. The McDowells have wreaked havoc on unsuspecting sellers by posing as multimillionaire estate buyers who sail from Wales ready to relocate to Middle Tennessee. After putting a contract on the house, The McDowells never appear for the closing. Games similar to a cat toying with a mouse are played with the sellers that have caused several to shell out thousands in upgrades to the their property that is never bought. The games have lasted a few weeks and some have dragged out for months. All of the deals ended with The McDowells never closing on the property but remaining in touch with the sellers through texts messages and even phone calls to "check-in" with the sellers they tried to scam.

Here is how one real estate deal went down with The McDowells.

The McDowells visited one sellers' home on the pretense of buying a horse that was advertised for sell. While there to see the horse, Kim and Phil McDowell mentioned they were also interested in purchasing a home in the area as well. Interesting, the couple's home was listed by agent for sell. How convenient? After inquiring about the house, The McDowells returned a few days later with their agent to view the home. The 12,000 square foot home was so intriguing that The McDowells were ready to make an offer right away. To sweetened the pot, they wanted to buy some of the furniture with the deal as well. You want the house and furniture too? Yes, they wanted it all. After the staff had seen the home. The McDowells did not just want to buy a house for the McDowells' family to visit from Colorado but any home they purchased had to meet the approval of a house manager, a property manager and a chef who has been on TV. Once the "staff" inspected every crack and crevice and made recommendations, the new owners, Kim and Phil, would be as happy as the Bristish drinking tea and eating crumpets. In the meantime, while waiting for their staff to fly in, Kim and Phil made an offer in February 2016 with a closing date set in March, 2016 two weeks away.

Hang on, crazy is about to go into over drive.

The sellers' agent drew up the contract for the multi-million dollar purchase while waiting for the information from the buyers to be sent over along with their proof of funding letter. The proof of funding letter was to be emailed while the earnest money was promised to be wired from a bank in London. Good to go, right? Nope. Don't pack yet!

The proof of funding letter that Kim and Phil McDowell produced had a 615 area code. The funds were never wired from the bank in Wales. As a matter a fact, their lawyer or cousin or whoever she mentioned every other day, stated their assets were frozen at one point and that was the hold up. After failing to show proof of funding and setting the closing date back for a few weeks for everyone to regroup, The McDowells, mainly Kim, began texting and emailing one bizarre story after the next explaining the delays. From "I have been in a car wreck" to "I have cancer and now need chemo," the stories, lies, kept coming. And so did her hired help.

In a three week period, the McDowells sent over or met with property inspectors, estate mangers, and even a Home Shopping Network chef, named Renee, who was hired to cook for the McDowells. These individuals who randomly visited the home shared they were ready to start working for The McDowells once the home was sold.

This is the condensed version of a very awful saga that is still being played out. Kim McDowell still claims the money is on the way in a text sent to the seller on Thursday, August 10, 2016. The home owners have long stopped believing anything these people say but the creepiness of it all shows why it is so important to know who is walking through your doors when you are selling your home. 

The McDowells has played this con game on many individuals. Some have come forward and reported them to the police but many will not out of fear or shame. Very few of us want to admit  when we have been taken for a ride. And there is reason to fear someone who would go this far.

Why string families along like this? No one has been able to figure that out but here is what we do know after many couples have compared their stories with each other since the real estate non mogals' games have been revealed;.

Kim McDowell speaks with a British accent. Not sure if the accent is real or not but click here for a recording of her leaving a message on a home owner's voice mail.

Kim and Phil McDowells have targeted a number of homes in Leiper's Fork including mentioning buying The McGraws' property. Really?

They cruise concierge sites to find estate managers to employ. Several families relocated to the Middle Tennessee Area by registering with staffing firms who The McDowells claimed to use. No one has been able to determine if the staffing services are part of the rouse and to establish if "staff" are actors or actual workers who visited the sellers' home.

Every family that has been pulled into Kim and Phil McDowell's make believe world of real estate buying have underage children. The wives are young and beautiful. In the land of beautiful people, pretty is plentiful in Leiper's Fork but I thought I would share that bit of info because several law enforcement officers took special interest in those similarities. Scary!

The McDowells have been picked up from hotels in Franklin like Drurys and La Quinta. They are driving an older model jeep with an expired Tennessee tag. The vehicle registration address is one of the families that relocated to Tennessee to work for them. That family have reported this to the appropriate authorities.

Kim McDowell is known for playing the cancer card often. When she is cornered or confronted, she tells the sellers she has cancer and needs chemo. (Sick, sick, sick!) Upon hearing this, many couples back up. Maybe this grace given is why they are not in jail for something.  They are also in lots of wrecks! If you fake cancer, you will fake anything!

Phil McDowell has been spotted working at Costco giving our food samples. His eyes twitch often. Phil was born in 1949 but there is no identification on Kim McDowell. When asked if background checks were run on the couple prior to bringing them in the sellers home by the buyers' agent, the details get sketchy.  But independent background checks by a seller's agent reveals Phil has had numerous issues that would deem him unqualified to buy a tree house.

Since open houses are big on the weekends, agents and sellers should be aware that this couple is still actively trying to buy multi-million dollar homes. The McDowells have not harmed anyone physically that anyone know of but they have caused much damage. Their real estate shenanigans can be traced back to Denver, Colorado.

If you have any information to who they really are or if you have had an encounter with them, you can share your information confidentially. One couple feared for the safety of their children after their encounter with The McDowells. The details of that encounter has been kept private but it does make the creep factor surrounding The McDowells sky rocket.


Part Two: Dissecting the Crooked Couple from Colorado