Like so many tragic moments in the world, September 11, 2001 will always be a day where you remember where you were and what you were doing when tragedy struck. I was with my daughter and 2 other children that I took care of and we were heading to the grocery store. I remember vaguely hearing about the 1st airplane and the radio station talking about how tragic it was that this plane somehow lost control and hit one of the Towers of the World Trade Centre. I headed in to the store and came out to the reality of it being so far from an accident. Our daughter was supposed to go to her kindergarten class in the afternoon and we just couldn't let her go.
3 years ago we took our girls to New York for a holiday and to cross a few things off our bucket list. One of which was to pay our respects and visit ground zero. St. Paul's church outside of Ground Zero, had been transformed as a permanent memorial and the emotions that overcame us as we walked through and read accounts of September 11th. We never expected to be so emotional, it brought us back to that day. We can only imagine how difficult it must have been for New Yorkers living with that reminder everyday.
The present memorial was still in construction when we visited New York, so it still remains on our bucket list to return and pay our repsects once more.
With 2 working parents (which is very much the norm nowadays) in the summers when our youngest was still in elementary school we registered her in the local summer camps. Every summer she couldn't wait for them to start. Kept her busy and out of trouble. After a certain age kids no longer want to be going to daycare and the Summer Day Camps are a great alternative. But the camps aren't just for older children. The camps are for children aged 6-12 years old, there may also be some half day camps or mini camps for preschoolers, but you will need to check your local municipality.There are a variety of camps to choose from in each municipality from sports related ones to arts and crafts. Half day camps and full day camps, as well some offer before and after care giving parents a variety of options to choose from.
When my youngest aged out she was quite disappointed as she always had a good time. Since then she has volunteered every summer. This way she still gets a chance to be a part of the camps. Once they reach a certain age they can look at applying to become camp leaders or to work in other areas of the community thru the city. The camps are a great stepping stone to teach your kids about volunteering (without them even realizing it) and then they are already familiar with the programs and staff. Giving them a greater chance of getting hired on.
To guarantee your kids lots of fun this summer, be sure to sign them up for summer day camp!
Check out your local community websites for a list of the camps offered and how to register. Some camps do tend to fill up fast so be sure to check out the following links:
Looks like the Liberals have won a Majority government this evening in the BC provincial election. Definitely an interesting election here in BC and will be interesting to see what the next 4 years will bring us.
At first glance this looks just like any other billboard that you would see around the city...you cannot drive down any city street without coming across some sort of advertisement. But what is exciting and unique about this one is that it is made up of over 60,000 pennies of varying degree of tarnish.
What better way to honour our dying Canadian penny then to create a masterpiece for all to see!
It took a lot of sorting and arranging to find the right ones, to be sure to put them in just the right place. Then they had to glue each and every penny down. But what impressed me even more was how it all came together. Vancity partnered with Starworks to build their Billboard made of pennies. Starworks is a non-profit organization that was established to provide employment for people with developmental disabilities. Vancity prides themselves in working with socially responsible companies and this one certainly fits the bill. This project created jobs for 1/2 dozen people putting Vancity's marketing to good not just to advertise!
“The billboard is an innovative way of demonstrating Vancity’s “Make Good Money” philosophy,” said Richard Seres, VP/Marketing at Vancity. “We want to make good money for our members while creating positive change for local businesses and our community.”
If you are in the area of 4th Ave and Granville St. facing west, at the main entrance to Granville Island you will surely notice this incredible work of art, let us know what you think of Vancity's billboard made of pennies.
The Real estate market has certainly heated up for the typical Spring surge and the news release out from our Fraser Valley real estate board today confirms that.
Kara and I have been quite busy helping our clients with not only the sale of their homes, but with purchases as well. We have noticed if a home is priced right it isn't sitting long forcing buyers to make a decision quickly before someone else does and they lose out on their future home. Today's news release has us leaning towards a balanced market which is good for both buyers and sellers. Prices don't seem to be going down, but they don't seem to be going up too much either. The key thing is that well priced homes are selling.
As BC residents celebrate the passing of the HST, consumers and businesses are struggling with the return of GST.
It seems that there are still many businesses across BC that have yet to figure out how to change their systems back to how things were before HST.
CTV reported today that a number of businesses are still charging HST. But what I find most disturbing is that consumers have to be savvy enough to know what should have GST only in order to question businesses. If they do realize they have been overcharged by paying PST on goods that do not require the tax then it is up to the consumer to take it up with the business if the tax charged is under $10 or to fill out a rebate form in order to get the money back from the provincial government if the PST paid is over $10.
For a reminder of which items are PST exempt visit the following link: PST exemptions
I wonder how many unsuspecting consumers will pay more tax then necessary? Be sure to check all your receipts for the next few months until things get sorted out so that you don't become one of those consumers!
As a big supporter of Canuck Place Children's Hospice through our HomeLife Charity Golf Classic, when I came across the Vancouver Lego Games also supporting Canuck Place I knew I had to blog about it. :)
It sounds like a lot of fun for the young and young at heart!
The Lego building block as we know it has been a staple in children's lives since 1958.
A few students at UBC decided to put together the Vancouver Lego Games for a class project and will be hosting the World's largest charity lego building event for all ages on April 28th from 2-4pm.
I found out about this event in one of my favourite blogs "The Fraser Valley Pulse" and the founder and editor herself is not only offering a chance to win free tickets but is also offering people a chance to showcase their unique lego creations. Check out her blog for details and to see how to enter to win tickets to the event.
Cloverdale residents will finally get a new high school in 2016. A decision by the provincial government that is long overdue. From the time both of my girls started high school, with one attending Clayton Heights Secondary and the other attending Lord Tweedsmuir they have been extremely overcrowded. So much so that when applying to attend from out of the school boundary they try and trade off with each other to help each other out. Clayton will trade one student for another from Tweedsmuir.
This year my eldest attends Clayton Heights and she has mentioned it's been the worst yet for overcrowding with barely enough room to walk through the halls between classes because the halls are jam packed with students.
The government also plans on purchasing land for another needed elementary school in the Clayton area as well as another elementary school and long overdue high school in South Surrey.
To read more about the planned schools click the following link:
Most people would have heard by now that as of today the Royal Canadian Mint has stopped producing the penny and will no longer distribute them to financial institutions across Canada.
It was interesting to read that there are 35 billion pennies presently in circulation and they figure it will take approximately 4 years before the pennies become obsolete.
Already I noticed signs in the windows of various retailers this past weekend...detailing how they will be dealing with pennies at the time of purchase. It wil be interesting to see how consumers will react as their purchases are rounded up or down.
To read more in the penny's last day read today's article in the National Post:
Recently I noticed the air in my tire was a bit low. It had been a long time since I had to deal with putting air in my tire and I had forgotten that most gas stations now charge a fee to use the air and water pumps. It is totally absurd that this has become the norm. I absolutely despise this and think the use of air and water should be a complementary service at gas stations. That being said if I must pay I would rather it go to a good cause then into the pockets of big oil corporations. I may be a little extreme in my thinking but this is truly how I feel. So you will appreciate my surprise and willingness to pay when I tell you about this super awesome partnership Husky Energy has with Habitat for Humanity. When I pulled up to the pump behind the Cloverdale Husky Mohawk gas station on 176th and #10 Hwy and jumped out to see what ridiculous fee they were charging I noticed the sign on the pump that said ....
Husky Energy Proudly Supports Habitat for Humanity. I think every gas station should be doing something like this. It made feeding the machine my money easier knowing it was going to a good cause.
Tells us what you think about gas stations charging a fee for water and air. Also how do you feel about Husky partnering up with this worthy cause?...
By now just about everyone in British Columbia should have gotten their BC Tax assessments in the mail. If you still haven't received yours in the next few days you may want to contact the BC assessment office at 1-866-valueBC (1-866-825-8322). You can also check online at BC assessment where you can find your own BC assessment as well as compare to your neighbours or other homes in the area.
An interesting fact is Over 98 per cent of property owners accept their property assessment without proceeding to a formal, independent review of their assessment. that over 98 per cent of property owners accept their property assessment without proceeding to a formal, independent review of their assessment.
I wrote about this last January and shared some advice I had received from a colleague that used to work for BC assessments, if you are concerned about your tax assessment it might be worth a read:
Just remember if you are considering an appeal you must file your appeal by January 31st, 2013.Over 98 per cent of property owners accept their property assessment without proceeding to a formal, independent review of their assessment.Over 98 per cent of property owners accept their property assessment without proceeding to a formal, independent review of their assessment.
Looking for a gift for someone who has recently purchased a home?
Visit the following link for some great ideas on what to give to the new homeowners. These gift ideas are great year round, but with Christmas only 5 days away any one of these gift ideas make a great, thoughtful last minute gift and likely a very much appreciated one.
The data relating to real estate on this website comes in part from the MLS® Reciprocity program of either the Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR), the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) or the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB). Real estate listings held by participating real estate firms are marked with the MLS® logo and detailed information about the listing includes the name of the listing agent. This representation is based in whole or part on data generated by either the GVR, the FVREB or the CADREB which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy. The materials contained on this page may not be reproduced without the express written consent of either the GVR, the FVREB or the CADREB.
The data relating to real estate on this website comes in part from the MLS® Reciprocity program of either the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) or the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB). Real estate listings held by participating real estate firms are marked with the MLS® logo and detailed information about the listing includes the name of the listing agent. This representation is based in whole or part on data generated by either the REBGV, the FVREB or the CADREB which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy. The materials contained on this page may not be reproduced without the express written consent of either the REBGV, the FVREB or the CADREB.