Seems to be that time of year where everyone starts to make their New Year's Resolutions. The most common New Year's Resolutions every year seem to have something to do with exercising, losing weight, more family time, quit smoking, eat healthy, organize your home and work life, volunteer.... etc.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog we have set our goals, but I wouldn't call them New Year's Resolutions. I haven't set any and I don't think that I will, for some reason they are too easy to break. After all, how many people actually stick to their New Year's Resolutions? I prefer to set goals and then if I achieve them great, if I don't then I can evaluate why I didn't and adjust accordingly.

We are curious what are your New Year's Resolutions? Will you stick to them? 

A look back at 2012....

The Bettina Reid Group went through a lot of changes in 2012. 

We start off each year setting our goals for the year. We set our goals as a team, our own personal goals within the team and our goals for outside of work. One of my goals was to start blogging every day except weekends. Blogging about the community, new businesses we have frequented or ones we are fond of, of course real estate related blogs and pretty much anything I fancied on any given day. I have wanted to blog ever since I can remember but kept over thinking things and struggled with what to write about. 2012 was the year to let go of that struggle and just DO! I did, I pretty much blogged a minimum of 5 days a week for 52 weeks straight. I did it and I am proud that I did....not truly because I am proud of writing my blogs. Which may have been interesting to some and not to others...I am okay with that. I am proud of myself because it showed me that I can do anything I set my mind to do. 

January started us off at a steady pace and by April we were busy enough to expand again. I hired another agent to help Kara out with all the new Buyers we were working with. In order to ensure we were able to give our clients the service we promise and the service they deserved. 

Then in June we hired a temporary assistant to help us with all the administrative details which freed us up even more to ensure our clients get 110% from us all the time.

In September we were back to our core with just myself and Kara....who has been an integral part of The Bettina Reid Group for the past 2 years. 

As great as our temporary assistant was, we knew she was only temporary....we bid her well in her career endeavours and welcomed our newest addition Lisa Speers. Lisa joined the team in November and she has already become a valuable asset to the Bettina Reid Group. She is helping to keep us both in line. :)

Then in the middle of October Kara added a new addition to her own family with a beautiful baby girl.

Looking back at 2012, in a year where the economy struggled and the real estate industry as a whole seemed to as well. We had our best year yet! We would like to Thank all of our clients for trusting us with their most valuable assets and helping us to reach our goals for the year. Without you we couldn't have done it!

We look forward to what 2013 has to offer and know it is going to be an amazing year with a lot of exciting things to come. 

Happy New Year 2013!!! From all of us at the Bettina Reid Group. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2013. 

Property Brothers are coming to the Greater Vancouver area and looking for people looking to Sell their home but in need of a makeover. The only criteria to enter your home for a chance to win the Property Brothers home makeover is:

- That you live in the Greater Vancouver Area
- You live in a detached house that is over 2000 square feet with a driveway or double car parking
- Of course that you are looking to sell your home for top dollar but need a makeover before getting it on the market

Visit the Cineflix website to see how you can enter your home for the Property Brothers home makeover in the Greater Vancouver area:

Property Brothers

All of us at the Bettina Reid Group would like to wish you, your family and friends a safe and Happy Holidays. Wishing you the very best in 2013!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

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.

http://www.rew.ca/news/30-holiday-gift-ideas-for-new-home-owners

Once again it is that time of year...a time to give back, a time to help make Christmas special for families in need.
Every year at this time our office - HomeLife Benchmark Realty Cloverdale and the Pacific Titans Hockey Academy rally together for a month before Christmas and raise funds to help support the Surrey and Langley Christmas bureaus.

This year we helped to provide Christmas Hampers for 3 families...but more importantly we helped to keep the spirit of Christmas alive for the children in those families. Tonight we delivered the Christmas Hampers and every year I am torn with excitement at giving and the emotions that well up as we deliver the hampers and meet the families. Everyone's story is different...tonight we met single Moms struggling to make ends meet. From a cancer survivor trying to find work to a Mom who finds it challenging to provide the right diet for her diabetic son. 

Christmas is a time of giving, I challenge everyone out there to give back in some way. Whether it is helping a person carry in their groceries or paying for someone's order in the drive through, anything that brings a smile to someone's face. That is what the Spirit of Christmas is all about!

Children are meant to out live us and tragedies such as this one in Newtown, Connecticut have really hit everyone hard. I cannot imagine anyone not having their emotions turned upside down after hearing about the nightmare that the children and staff of Sandy Hooks elementary went through. There is no making sense of such a tragedy, these children were taken before they even had a chance to live.

I will never forget Barack Obama's quote from yesterday's memorial "being a parent is like living with your heart outside your body all the time" Never have their been truer words...

Newtown you are not alone, the world grieves with you....Let us all remember....

This is the list of names of the dead provided by the Connecticut state police. It does not include the name of the gunman, nor his mother. 

Children

Charlotte Bacon, age 6

Daniel Barden, age 7

Olivia Engel, age 6

Josephine Gay, age 7

Ana M Marquez-Greene, age 6

Dylan Hockley, age 6

Madeleine F Hsu, age 6

Catherine V Hubbard, age 6

Chase Kowalski , age 7

Jesse Lewis, age 6

James Mattioli, age 6

Grace McDonnell, age 7

Emilie Parker, age 6

Jack Pinto, age 6

Noah Pozner, age 6

Caroline Previdi, age 6

Jessica Rekos, age 6

Avielle Richman, age 6

Benjamin Wheeler, age 6

Allison N Wyatt, age 6

Adults

Rachel Davino, age 29

Dawn Hochsprung, age 47

Anne Marie Murphy, age 52

Lauren Rousseau, age 30

Mary Sherlach, age 56

Victoria Soto, age 27

Let us all remember