Mother

To my dearest Mom, who passed away too soon on February 17 th 2010.

No one could be as special as you.
Today and Always I want you to see
everything you mean to me.
You always treated me with love and care.
And we always had enough to share.
I know that you had to leave
but you are waiting up there I believe.
I loved the little things you did.
I hope you can hear me Mom when I'm saying this.
I think about you every single day.
Someday I know I will meet with you again.
Thank you so much Mom for all you have done.
And I hope that on this Mother's Day you are happy and you can hear me.

M.

THIS SPRING BE AT YOUR BEST.

As spring and summer bring warmer temperatures and lifted spirits, I expect to be at my best. Here are some tips that I find helpful and would love to share with you. Also, I’m going to brag ……I lost 10 lb!!!
Happy Spring Everyone,
M.B

For Extra Brainpower
Salmon or Mackerel
The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are one of the primary building blocks of brain tissue, so they’re essential to boosting brainpower. Salmon is also rich in niacin, which wards off Alzheimer’s disease and slows the rate of cognitive decline.

For Focus
Peppermint Tea
Researchers found that it took a mere whiff of peppermint to increase subject's concentration and performance on tedious tasks.
Bonus tip: Think that all tea is created equal? Think again. In today’s sugar-laden environment, it’s easy to consume an overwhelming percentage of your daily calories in liquid form—some researchers estimate that we consume about a quarter of our day’s calories through beverages. Swapping sugar-saturated drinks for smarter choices is an easy way to take pounds off.

For an Energy Boost
A Handful of Trail Mix
Raisins provide potassium, which your body uses to convert sugar into energy. Nuts stock your body with magnesium, which is important in metabolism, nerve function, and muscle function. When magnesium levels are low, your body produces more lactic acid—the same fatigue-inducing substance that you feel at the end of a long workout. Ever notice how hard it is to concentrate when you’re feeling sluggish?

For Sharper Senses
1 Tablespoon of Ground Flaxseed Daily
Flax is the best source of alpha-linolenic acid (or ALA)—a healthy fat that improves the workings of the cerebral cortex, the area of the brain that processes sensory information, including that of pleasure. To meet your quota, sprinkle flaxseed on salads or mix it into a smoothie or shake.

For Long-Term Memory
Blueberries
Antioxidants in blueberries help protect the brain from free-radical damage, which could decrease your risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and improve cognitive processing. Wild blueberries, if you can find them—check the freezer section—have even more brain-boosting antioxidants than the cultivated variety.

To Calm Your Nerves
Low-Fat Yogurt or Mixed Nuts
Scientists in Slovakia gave people 3 grams each of two amino acids—lysine and arginine—or a placebo, and asked them to deliver a speech. Blood measurements of stress hormones revealed that the amino acid-fortified guys were half as anxious during and after the speech as those who took the placebo. Yogurt is one of the best food sources of lysine; nuts pack loads of arginine.

The Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson

During my February visit to Poland I had heard a ton of good things about this series of books by Stieg Larsson. Everyone was asking me if I had a chance to read the trilogy. I found the idea intriguing and decided to purchase first two books.I've been a huge fan of Minette Walters’s books since 1998. Her psychological novels explore the dark side of a human nature below a calm surface. She never follows rules, each novel is so different. Larsson's books gave me same taste for something very different.
Stieg Larsson (1954-2004) was a Swedish writer and journalist who gave us this gift of trilogy "The Millennium-series" which were published posthumously; "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest". Altogether, his trilogy has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, and he was the second bestselling author in the world 2008. Before his career as a writer, Stieg Larsson was mostly known for his struggle against racism and right-wing extremism. Starting in the late 1970's, he combined his work as a graphic designer with holding lectures on right-wing extremism for the Scotland Yard. During the last 15 years of his life, he and his life companion Eva Gabrielsson lived under constant threat from right-wing violence.

Have to admit that I did not speak to anyone for 2 weeks while I was drowning into the first books of the " Millennium series" I could not wait till end of May for the North American release of” The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest". I placed an order from the UK and anxiously expect a delivery next week.

To me these books are way more than "just" thrillers.

I recommend this international bestseller to all who eagerly sift through new books for challenging intellectual crime thrillers, who like immersing themselves in the lives of memorable characters and who soak up financial and investigative subjects.

Larson does an outstanding job of sketching rich portraits. Salander and Blomqvist are not easy to like - they both have some rough edges - but each is known for his or her passion. I can't wait to read the 3rd book and see the upcoming movie based on the first book. But before you go to see this new Swedish movie you must read the book first. You must! My husband is on page 124 of the second book.

http://www.thegirltrilogy.com

All the Best,

M.B


www.meggib.ca

Lessons on Living Life to the Fullest During a Great Real Estate Market and After You Turn 50

Hope I ‘m not so bleak in February. A month in the Great White North proves so challenging that any of us could be forgiven for wanting to spend most of our time in comfortable, flannel pajamas with the covers pulled up over our heads. But, it is after all a great month with Winterlude in Ottawa, the Olympic Games in our own, Vancouver and a great real estate market.
Ottawa is a unique city that offers a stable and consistent real estate market. We are seeing expected increase in home sales and although listing inventory remains low, this situation is expected to change as we head into the spring market. While higher prices caused by strong demand could make us nervous, we are not experiencing a risk to a still fragile economy, And certainly we can put “the bubble fear” to rest. The government and its Minister of Finance have a lot of tools at their disposal to prevent a “housing bubble” from raising down payment requirements to lowering amortization periods. Overall, we can expect a balanced housing market.
Spring, spring where are you?
Trying not to get negative and bleak at this time of the year (February brrrrrr, brrrr). I ‘m attempting to laugh more. According to my family I have never have been funnier. I’m told “You don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing”.
On the subject of getting older, I feel at times, like laughing and crying at the same time.
I ‘m sitting here and thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don’t hurt. Maybe it is true that life begins at fifty but someone forgot to mention that everything else starts to wear out and definitely spread out. I started a new diet. It is called the Cardiologist diet “If it taste good, spit it out”
The older you get, the tougher is to loose weight because by then your body and your fat are best friends. Mine are joined at the hip. Recently, I read somewhere that reaching menopause is a sign that you are physically and emotionally mature enough to handle all the tough stuff that life has to dish out with grace and elegance. Wow!
I can learn to like the new me, my mature self. Someone once told me “always remember that you are unique just like everyone else”.
To summarize this first (and maybe a bit too long) attempt at blogging I would like to say that a true sign of menopause is wanting to sell your home heating system at the next yard sale. And, that the aging process could be slowed down if it had to be passed through Parliament. Ouch! Promised myself to stay away from politics. But it is February in nation’s capital after all.
Homeowners should be confident about selling and Buyers can expect more homes on the market to help drive prices closer to last fall levels.
So long, for now.
M.B

Welcome to Meggi's blog

Hello Friends,
Welcome to my new Real Estate blog. I hope to post articles and information that will make for an interesting read. As always, my goal is to provide helpful and informative news that you will find beneficial and hopefully exciting. Please feel free to pass anything you find interesting to your friends and family members.

Thanks,
MB