Wishing you, your family and your friends a Happy Holiday Season!

Historic Low Rates

Pull the trigger!

One man's trash is another man's treasure is a saying that accurately reflects our current housing mess. Low home prices, low rates, a large selection, and little buyer competition offer any potential buyers the chance to drive a sale in their favor.

Pull the trigger and take advantage of our current credit crisis.

Happy Holidays

December is filled with lots of fun Holidays!!

Here are some ideas:

• The Pink Pig

• Atlanta's only outdoor ice skating rink at Centennial Olympic Park

• The World Of Coca-Cola

• BODIES... The Exhibition returns

• The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army

• The Atlanta Thrashers

• Atlanta's first snow park, Snow Mountain

• Titanic Exhibit

If you plan to see multiple attractions during one visit, consider the money-saving CityPass Ticket.

In This Issue

Historic lower rates

Happy Holidays

Alarm Registration

Famous Georgians

WOW Atlanta

HOTtlanta

Epicurious - good food

Tax Credit

Hotlanta

Key assets

• ports and airport

• workforce & training opportunities

• international connections

• business friendly reputation

• low cost of living

• low corporate tax structure

• light union representation

• diverse economy

• lots of Fortune 500 companies headquarters

Alarm Registration

~ it's the law in Cobb ~

Alarms must be registered by Dec 31, 2008. A fine of $100 will be issued for the use of any unregistred alarm system. Only 2 false alarms will be forgiven. The first penalty starts at $50 up to $300 for the 10th false alarm... Read more - Register

Famous

Georgians

Jamia Simone Nash - The child prodigy began talking at 12 mths, started singing at age 2 and was discovered at age 5, after winning a talent search competition in Atlanta. Born in Virginia in 1996, Jamia lives in Buford and attends Frank N. Osborne MS in Hoschton when she is not acting in episodes of the 20-year long famous soap The Young and the Restless.

Wow Atlanta

According to Inc.5000, Atlanta ranks #4 as hottest region for fast-growing companies (194 companies)... Atlanta is #3 city, after Washington and New York, with the most Inc.500 companies. And Georgia jumped from 8th to 3rd on the list of states with the most Inc.500 companies with 31 businesses.

• #1 "America's Most Wired City" (Forbes, 2008)

• #1 "Best City for Singles" (Forbes, 2008)

• #3 "America's Tax-Friendly City for Business" (KPMG, 2008)

• #4 "Best City for Jobs in 2008" (Forbes, 2008)

• #4 "Employment Growth Metro Area, 2006-2007" (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008)

• #5 "City with the Most FORTUNE 500 Headquarters" (Fortune, 2008)

• #6 "Worldwide Center of Commerce" (MasterCard, 2008)

• #6 "Best City for Recent College Graduates" (Forbes, 2008)

Epicurious

Mango salad with prawns

One of my favorites from Jamie Oliver, the pukka British cook

Ingredients for 4 · 20 large, headless tiger prawns · 1 ripe mango, peeled · 2 handfuls of bean sprouts · 3 small cucumbers, chopped · a small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked · 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into thin strips · a bunch of spring onions, chopped · sea salt · a small handful of sesame seeds · extra virgin olive oil for the marinade · a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated · a small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked and chopped · 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and chopped · 4 tbs fresh lime juice · 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil · 1 tbs sesame oil · 1 tbls soy sauce · a good pinch of brown sugar · 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

Get yourself four wooden skewers and slide 5 peeled prawns on to each one.

For the marinade, mix together the marinade ingredients. Drizzle half the marinade over the prawns.

• #6 "Best Places for Business and Careers" (Forbes, 2008)

• Top 10 "Best City to Buy a Home" (Forbes, 2008)

• Top 10 "Cybercity" (AeA, 2008)

Source: Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

For the salad, destone the mango and cut it into thin strips. Mix with the other half of the marinade, the bean sprouts, cucumber, coriander, pepper, spring onions and some sea salt. Fry the sesame seeds in a large, dry frying pan until golden. Remove and set aside. Fry the prawns over a high heat for 2 minutes until cooked through. Divide the salad over four plates. Place a prawn skewer on top of each plate, sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Tax Credit

A $7,500 tax credit is now available for qualified First-Time Buyers until June 30, 2009, as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.