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My wife Shirley and I are counting the weeks to the first-ever Bici Bucerias Couples Bike Tour on November 16 to 23 in Mexico. Should be tons of fun: touring the cobblestone streets, the miles and miles of beaches, and the beautiful Sierra Madre Mountains in this charming Mexico town with my best pal on our trusty bikes! What more can a guy ask for, besides tacos? If you haven’t noticed it yet, I love biking – it takes me places! But even just back home in Calgary, there are few things I’m happier doing than biking.

In buying a home, it’s always great to know that your agent understands what you need and want for your family as well as being clear on what to expect in the process. Watch as Calgary’s top-producing, real estate agent, Bryon Howard, talks about how he helps his clients buy their dream home.

Are  you looking to Sell or Buy a home in Calgary and need someone who won’t rest until you’ve found your dream home or until your home is sold? I’ll work hard to earn your trust and to deliver exactly what you need. Contact me at 403-589-0004 or at TheHowardTeam.net.

About the Author:

Bryon Howard and his team of Calgary real estate professionals sell an average of two homes a week. He is a member of the MLS Million Point Club, which ranks him roughly in the top 2% of productive realtors in Calgary. His aim is not just to please clients but to help them buy/sell a home in Calgary at the best price, in the shortest time, and with the least hassle. He is a member of the RE/MAX House of Real Estate that leads in the Canadian market. Learn more about Bryon at TheHowardTeam.net.

Thanksgiving gifts (photo courtesy of stevendepolo)

Thanksgiving Day is here again; where will you be? I hope by the time you’re reading this, I’ll know where my family and I will be. We all have special traditions on this special day, and ours is spending it with my sister Peggy Perry and her family.

You see, Peggy’s what’s called a “sommelier” — an expert in wine tastings and pairings – and a well-known foodie here in Altadore and greater Calgary. She helps people eat and drink really well. She lives in a spectacular home near River Park here in Altadore, just four blocks from ours. We always count on her to invite us for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with her family, but last year, she was away so it really felt odd for us not to have had Thanksgiving with them.

Not sure that we’d get invited this year, I brainstormed on how to wangle that invite out of her. Should I bring her flowers? A bottle of wine with an exotic-sounding name that’s not on sommeliers’ lists? Or give her a massage? I ended up googling it and I found this great website  with out-of-the-box ideas that will surely keep your hostess guessing what new and exciting thing you’ll bring her next year. Here are my picks.

Not flowers but a potted plant

You can break tradition by, instead of giving your hostess flowers, gifting her with a nice-looking potted plant that can perk her up as it grows and help cleanse the air in her home, plus – my sister will love this – that she can even cook with (like herbs such as mint, thyme and oregano).

Not just any wine but organic wine

Instead of giving your hostess the customary bottle of wine, why not initiate her into the “Love the earth and love yourself” movement (if she’s not yet in it) by bringing her organic wine? That’s wine made from grapes grown without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides, and that doesn’t have preservatives. That’s a great way to tell your hostess you hope she’ll live longer, but with my sister already being a wine afficionado, she may see through my veiled attempt.

Not just any cookbook but one where guests can write their Thanksgiving greetings to the hostess after dinner.

A book that generates all-around good vibes is a cookbook with a message, like Denis Gingras and Richard Béliveau’s Eating Well, Living Well. Scribble your special greeting for your hostess on the inside front cover, and urge her to pass the book around after dinner so the other guests could write their greetings too. That’s something that will not only keep her healthy and pretty, but that she’ll also want to go back to again and again and that will give her many happy memories!

I’m sure Peggy will love any one of these gifts so much that she’ll never miss another Thanksgiving feast at home just so she could invite my family and me! Happy Thanksgiving, sis, and to you all! Peggy, in case you need it, my number is 403-589-0004….

Are  you looking to Sell or Buy a home in Calgary and need someone who won’t rest until you’ve found your dream home or until your home is sold? I’ll work hard to earn your trust and to deliver exactly what you need. Contact me at 403-589-0004 or at TheHowardTeam.net.

About Bryon Howard

Bryon Howard and his team of Calgary real estate professionals sell an average of two homes a week. He is a member of the MLS Million Point Club, which ranks him roughly in the top 2% of productive realtors in Calgary. His aim is not just to please clients but to help them buy/sell a home in Calgary at the best price, in the shortest time, and with the least hassle. He is a member of the RE/MAX House of Real Estate that leads in the Canadian market. Learn more about Bryon at TheHowardTeam.net.

Are you looking to buy or sell a house in Altadore and want to check out first how the market’s been doing, especially with all the irregularities that came up after the June record flood in Calgary? It’s always smart to check the stats before you make a move, and I’m happy to share them with you in my new video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au_zzYU1UMo

It’s the last quarter of the year, and by now, many of us are pushing hard as we cover the last mile to the finish line. If the thought of unreached targets is making your heart pump double-time, relax – you’ll make it yet with a burst of second wind, as I’ve found by following these simple steps.

I refocus on the finish line.

I’ve covered many miles and finished pretty decently in many races on my bike, and when I felt exhaustion creeping in before I reached my destination, I just refocused on my goal. I get a fresh spurt of energy whenever I do that. I guess that shows my body that my mind is the boss – and what the boss wants is to get to that finish line, fast. In the race of life, the bumps I meet along the way sometimes wear me out, but when that happens, I just refocus on my goals. I’m a goal-oriented guy, and I set my goals far in advance. There are lots of things I want to achieve for myself and my family, and there are lots of people counting on me to help them find their dream homes or sell their homes, so I need to stay strong and focused.

I breathe deeply.

Of course I can’t ignore my body, though. When pedaling hard to gain speed finally takes its toll on my body and I begin to gasp for breath, I do what every long-time biker does: I take rapid deep breaths. Soon I make up for my body’s oxygen deficit, and have enough to finish the race. In my work, when my target is almost within my reach, I muster all my resources, including spurring and strategizing with my team, to cover that last stretch.

I picture the medal on me.

One last thing that gives me that much-needed burst of energy for the final run is – you guessed it — the prize! When I’m close to a home run, I pump myself up by letting loose my excitement over my reward: a nice vacation with my family! There’s no way I’m not going to take that — so off I go to the finish!

There you have it, the three ways by which I get my second wind to reach my targets. This last quarter, don’t think “Oh, no… I won’t have enough time to reach my target….” Instead, think “Oh, yes… just one more quarter and I’ll be there!” See you at the finish line!

Are you looking to Sell or Buy a home in Calgary and need someone who won’t rest until you’ve found your dream home or until your home is sold? I’ll work hard to earn your trust and to deliver exactly what you need. Contact me at 403-589-0004 or at TheHowardTeam.net.

About Bryon Howard

Bryon Howard and his team of Calgary real estate professionals sell an average of two homes a week. He is a member of the MLS Million Point Club, which ranks him roughly in the top 2% of productive realtors in Calgary. His aim is not just to please clients but to help them buy/sell a home in Calgary at the best price, in the shortest time, and with the least hassle. He is a member of the RE/MAX House of Real Estate that leads in the Canadian market. Learn more about Bryon at TheHowardTeam.net.