The Bank of Canada announced today that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 3/4 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/2 percent.

"Recent indicators suggest consumption in Canada is holding up relatively well, given the impact of lower oil prices on gross domestic income."

This is now the third consecutive announcement where the Bank of Canada has maintained the overnight rate. This was anticipated by most economists.

The next scheduled Bank of Canada date for announcing the overnight rate target is July 15th, 2015. At that time I will be sure to post all the exciting highlights. Let’s see if we can do 4 in a row!

Here is the official press release from the Bank of Canada for your reference.

Bank of Canada Rate Announcement 2015-05-27

Today's Guest Blog was written by Ainsley Beattie Mortgage Professional from Xeva Mortgage Group to visit her website for more great morgage tips visit the following link:

 Ainsley Beattie

Please note this evening is a neighbourhood engagement meeting for the Cloverdale area.  Information provided at the meeting will be in regards to the Cloverdale neighbourhoods known as cowtown, and the George Greenaway elementary school catchment area.  The areas bounded by 168 to 176 St., and Hwy 10 to 62 Ave.   The Cloverdale/Port Kells District 4 office of the Surrey RCMP hope you can make it. Please refer to the below noted.  Staff Sergeant Martin Blais

Are you wondering how you can work with police to make your neighbourhood safer? The job of crime prevention does not live with the police alone – there are many things that residents can do to collectively improve the safety of their neighbourhood.

The Surrey RCMP's Neighbourhood Safety Campaign provides residents with the information they need to mobilize their community and enhance the live ability of their neighbourhood.  Throughout 2015, the Surrey RCMP will be meeting with neighbourhoods across the city to address crime issues in that area and help residents create a safer neighbourhood. Presentation topics include: community engagement and mobilization, property crime, how to report crime and suspicious activity, and how you can engage in crime prevention. 

Please join us at one of our upcoming Neighbourhood Safety Campaign Presentations: 

• Bridgeview Neighbourhood – May 20th at Bridgeview Elementary; 6:30pm

• **Greenaway/Cowtown Neighbourhood – May 21st at George Greenaway Elementary; 6:30pm**

• Semiahmoo Neighbourhood – May 26th at Semiahmoo Secondary; 6:30pm

• Boliver Heights Neighbourhood – May 27th at James Ardiel Elementary; 6:30pm

• Chimney Heights Neighbourhood - May 28th at Chimney Hill Elementary; 6:30 pm

Register to attend a Neighbourhood Safety Presentation at the following link:

Neighbourhood Safety Campaign

Kara made another delicious chilli for us to serve on behalf of Homelife Benchmark Realty at this years Cloverdale Rodeo Chilli Cook Off. Even though we didn't win, we felt like we did. Congrats to the Blackjack chilli that did win. We all had a blast and enjoyed serving up our chilli to all those that came.

Looking forward to next year! We will be sure to enter again.

Cloverdale is the place to be starting Friday May 16-19 for the annual Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair ...guaranteed fun for the whole family! The Country Fair is the largest in the Fraser Valley with lots of games and rides for everyone.

From a lumberjack show to the world freestyle skateboarding round up and even the 3rd annual Cowboy Cookoff Rib Fest and BBQ competition. There is lots to see and do this year.

For more details on all the events and times visit the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair website in the following link:

 Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair

Saturday's events start off with The Cloverdale Rodeo Parade, which is one of BC's largest parades. Kara, Erinn and myself (Bettina) will be marching in the parade along with others from our HomeLife Cloverdale office passing out treats to all the children along the route. Be sure to come out early to get a good spot for the family to sit along the route to watch the Parade.

This year's parade starts at 10:00am on Saturday May 19th. Don't miss out on this exciting event!

The Cloverdale Rodeo Parade starts at the corner of 177B St and Highway #10. Heads west on Hwy #10 to 176 Street. The parade then heads north on 176ST to 58A Ave and turns east to 176A St where it turns north again and heads to 60th Ave. We then head east on 60th to Fraser Downs Racetrack and Casino before heading south on 177B St where it finishes off at 57 Ave.

Then of course once the parade is over it's time to check out the Rodeo itself and all the exciting events it has to offer.

For the 4th year in a row we are participating in the Cloverdale Rodeo celebrations by once again entering Kara's delicious chilli into Friday's 18th Annual Cloverdale Chilli Cook Off.

Come on out this Friday May 15th from 4:30-6:30pm for the 18th Annual Cloverdale Chilli Cook Off in Clover Square Village Mall on Hwy 10 in Cloverdale and say hi to the Bettina Reid Group. Meet Erinn if you haven't met her yet, as we all serve up chili on behalf of Homelife Benchmark Realty. Don't forget to VOTE our chilli as the best! .... because it is!

The 18th Annual Cloverdale Chilli Cook Off is a FREE event, so if you love chilli...don't miss out!

Below are some of the pictures of us dishing out chilli in previous years.

Chilli Cook Off 2014, Bettina managed to coerce her eldest daughter to help us out...because it can get busy. Be sure to come out early before the lines get too long!

Chilli Cook Off 2013 

My Shanti  opened up almost a year ago now and finally my husband and I tried it out this past weekend! Erinn has been with her family and mentioned that we really should try it out. So when we were looking for something different, we figured it was about time we tried them out. 

My Shanti is one of well known local Vancouver Chef (and Dragon's Den celebrity) Vikram Vij's restaurants. In Vancouver he has opened a few different ones including a food truck. But the one everyone knows is the ever popular Vij's. We have yet to try that location as you have to arrive early and line up just to get in. Much like Vij's , My Shanti does not take reservations. Which worked out well for my husband and I, although we did arrive early before 6pm and were lucky to have our pick of tables. We were pleasantly greeted by the host as we walked into the sparkling building and then offered a choice of tables as I mentioned. Although we weren't there very long before the place was completely full. Always a good sign....

Once seated we were given crispy pieces of naan and indian version of salsa (we barely left a crumb...so I guess we liked it.) Then they served us a small taster cup of tomato broth that was very flavourful. Great start to our night adn we hadn't even ordered yet.

We had looked at the menu online so we already had an idea of what we wanted to try, but I always like to seek out the advice from the servers. She was very helpful letting us know that the menu was designed to share, much like other Indian restaurants. She recommended we try one choice from each section. So we started off with the "Indian Democracy of Samosas" (I know cliche - one of the most typical of Indian dishes...but we do love Samosas...who doesn't!) it was a combination of Chicken, Lamb and Beef. We aren't lamb fans but they did taste very good and I couldn't get enough of the Raspberry chutney that came with it. The mint chutney was good, but we both liked the sweetness from the raspberry chutney.

Then we tried the "Dehli's Creamy Cauliflower and Potato" vegetarian dish that was brought out with the"Awadhi Grilled Chicken Korma" that we ordered (highly recommended by our server). My husband hasn't always been a huge curry fan...but I think he just hadn't tried a good dish that had curry in it....he loved the Chicken Korma. We also ordered a piece of Paneer (Indian Cottage cheese) stuffed Naan and a piece of roti to help sop up the delicious Chicken Korma garlic curry sauce. One of my husband's colleagues introduced us to Paneer and since we are cheese lovers we figured naan stuffed with it would be delicious and it was. They provide you with a complimentary dish of rice to eat with everything. As predicted by our server we couldn't eat it all and had enough to take home for my lunch today. :) Unfortunately, we were too full to try dessert....guess that means we will have to visit again and scope out the dessert before deciding on dinner items to ensure we have room. 

My Shanti is located at 15869 Croyden Drive in South Surrey right next to one of our other favourite haunts Famoso Restaurant. 

Visit the following link to view their menu and make plans to visit their restaurant:

My Shanti

Vancity is a big supporter of just about everything green. So it is no surprise that they are teamed up with Science World in support of Earth Day and GREEN Month offering FREE admission to the 1st - 422 members. But even if you don't make the first 422 members to visit Science World as a Vancity member you will receive 50% off your admission all day tomorrow May 2, 2015. 

All you have to do is show that you are a Vancity member with your debit or credit card and then you and your guests get in for 50% off after the 422 members have been admitted into Science World. 

Vancity staff will be onsite all day with activities and fun for the whole family, as well as some of their community partners - see how they contribute to making the community greener. 

Science World's Green month runs from April 22 to May 22 celebrating environmental awareness and sustainability. 

Who doesn't love a good food truck.

They aren't all just greasy fast food either. Food trucks are becoming a great option in urban centres for people needing something on the go that can be healthy. Now I am not saying all food trucks or even the majority offer healthy choices, many are so good they aren't all that fast either as you have to line up depending on their popularity. But the variety of food trucks that we have come across is pretty neat. From an organic cotton candy truck to Vij's Railway Express and just about anything in between.

Which brings me to the reason for today's blog....this Saturday May 2nd the Cloverdale Fairgrounds is hosting the Fraser Valley Food Truck Festival  from 11am until 5pm. They have 20 food trucks, a beer garden, local artisans, music and fun for the whole family. 

The cost is $2 to get in and children under 13 years old get in FREE. 

Below is a picture of one of the food trucks that will be in attendance at the Fraser Valley Food Truck Festival. As well, I found out there's an app for Street Food in case you are ever looking for food truck food while you are out and about. (I know there's an app for everything, so why not for food trucks too)

Click on the following link for the app or visit the app store: Street Food App

To find out which Food Trucks will be at the Festival click on the following link: Fraser Valley Food Truck Festival

Let us know which one was your favourite.

Just in case your panicking because you didn't get your 2014 taxes done and e-filed by midnight last night, worried about the penalty and interest for not filing and paying your 2014 taxes due on time.

NO NEED to panic as the Canada Revenue Agency messed up for the 2nd year in a row. Someone sent out reminders to Canadians letting them know that the deadline was May 5th, but this was a message from last year when there was a breach. The deadline really hadn't changed but because of this accidental message informing people of the extension they ended up having to honour it for ALL Canadians. Which means you have until midnight on Tuesday May 5th to get your taxes postmarked or e-filed to avoid the penalty and any interest owing.

Just in case you don't believe me, because even my accountant said the messages were mixed, as the Canada Revenue Agency had tried to recant the mistake before realizing it was too late.

Visit the Canada Revenue Agency website landing page to see for yourself : Canada Revenue Agency and be sure to file your 2014 taxes by Tuesday!

 

E waste is becoming a huge problem worldwide. Especially as new technologies and products advance on a daily basis. It seems there is always something new coming on the market to beat the older version. But with that comes so much of our electronics that either don't get used at all or get thrown in the garbage and filling up our dumps. 

Willowbrook Mall is participating in Bentall Kennedy's E Waste Challenge.

Drop off your old electronics for FREE Saturday April 25th from 11am -3pm and receive a FREE Tim Horton's beverage courtesy of Willowbrook Mall.

All E- Waste collected at Willowbrook Mall will be responsibly recycled or reused to help local non-profit groups. Be sure to remove any personal information frm all your electronic devices before dropping them off.

Items accepted include:

• Computers/Parts of Computers

• Monitors

• Printers

• Scanners

• Keyboards/Mice

• Fax Machines

• Modems, Routers, Switches/Servers

• Motherboards and Accessory Cards

• Uninterruptible Power Supplies

• Game Consoles, Cartridges, Accessories

• Power Bars, Extension/Phone Cords, and Cables

• CDs and DVDs

• CPU/CRT Combos

• Used Toner Cartridges

• Telephones and Answering Machines

• Televisions

• Video Cameras

• VCR/DVD/VHS Players

• Radios, Turntables, and Record Players

• Amplifiers & Mixers

• Electronic Music Equipment

• Battery-Operated/Electronic Toys and Board Games

• Car Security/GPS Systems and Radar Detectors

• Sleep Therapy Devices, Blood Pressure Monitors, Hearing Aids, Thermometers, Breast Pumps

• Cash Registers/POS Terminals

• Vacuums

• Microwaves

If you’re relaxing on a Caribbean beach, or enjoying a bus tour through historic Paris, the last thing you want to worry about is your home. Most people know the basics of keeping a home secure while away. Here are some additional tips that are easy to miss: 

• Tell your kids not to boast about your fabulous vacation plans, especially on social media. The fewer who know that the house will be empty, the better. 

• Ask a neighbour to pick up any mail and flyers dropped at your doorstep. But don’t rely on that alone. Also call the newspaper and post office to temporarily halt delivery. 

• You can buy timers to automatically turn lights on and off. However, most will stop working if the power goes out and restart with the incorrect time when the power comes back on. That’s why you should keep at least a couple of lights turned on continuously, and not connected to timers. 

• If you’re leaving in the evening, or before dawn, don’t forget to open the blinds. Closed blinds during the day are a dead giveaway that the owners are away. 

  Finally, experts recommend creating a home security checklist, so you don’t forget anything. That will give you peace-of-mind. 

It has been a few months since we visited Wild Wing, first because as delicious as wings are they aren't the healthiest of foods. But the other reason we hadn't visited was because we were a little skeptical as to whether or not we would get what we wanted when we ordered.

So last weekend I didn't feel like cooking after working all day and picked up Wild Wing for dinner. The last couple times we ordered take out there, we were either missing something or our meals just weren't right. I am sure much of that was because the business was very new and new businesses always have kinks to work out. Which is why I gave them another chance, that and we love their wings. I am sure I said that before. 

I did speak with the owner this time just to let him know about my previous experiences and ask for them to please ensure my order was right this time. He was very good and appreciated the feedback. Feedback good or bad is always helpful to any business owner...myself included.

I was very impressed with how the owner handled the situation. He had asked me to text him so that he could bring this to his staff. After a few texts back and forth he thanked me again for the feedback as well as for coming back to give them another chance. I let him know our meal was delicious and as we had ordered it. But what really impressed me was how well he handled the situation. He mentioned it to his wife who had been aware of a previous mistake and let him know she remembered me. He also mentioned being a family owned and run business and they were going to continue to strive to make everyone's experience better. This type of service encourages people like myself and others to want to tell others about them. 

Many times I have had friends complain about an experience they had at a local restaurant. But they never complained to that particular establishment. I used to work in the restaurant business as a server putting myself through University. If you don't give good service you don't make money. That goes not just for servers but also for managers, hostesses, owners and anyone else working in a restaurant. Because if you don't try to make things right by your customers they won't come back and they won't recommend you to others. In fact nowadays with social media, negative feedback can ruin businesses. 

If you don't voice your concern when something is not right with your meal or your experience in a restaurant then it will likely happen again since they don't know that anything is wrong. The way the restaurant handles whatever the situation is reflects how they do business and whether or not they will succeed. 

If you want to read my first blog about them to see what our favourite wings are, visit the following link: Wild Wing