2 0 1 8 D A T E S + S C H E D U L E

MARCH MADNESS

YNERGY TIMES MARCH | 2018

Now that it’s March, it’s time to look ahead to the madness and San Antonio.

Selection Sunday will take place on March 11 this year, when the NCAA Division I Men’sBasketball Committee reveals which 68 teams have made the field for that year’s basketball championships.

CONTRIBUTOR: MARKETING

Original article from www.ncaa.com

R O U N D S I T E D AT E ( S )

SELECTION SUNDAY

FIRST FOUR

FIRST | SECOND

FIRST | SECOND

FIRST | SECOND

FIRST | SECOND

FIRST | SECOND

FIRST| SECOND

FIRST | SECOND

FIRST | SECOND

MIDWEST REGIONAL

WEST REGIONAL

SOUTH REGIONAL

EAST REGIONAL

FINAL FOUR

MARCH 11

MARCH 13 - 14

MARCH 15 + 17

MARCH 15 + 17

MARCH 15 + 17

MARCH 15 + 17

MARCH 16 + 18

MARCH 16 + 18

MARCH 16 + 18

MARCH 16 + 18

MARCH 23 + 25

MARCH 22 + 24

MARCH 22 + 24

MARCH 23 + 25

MARCH 31 + APRIL 2

N/A

DAYTON

PITTSBURG

WICHITA

DALLAS

BOISE

CHARLOTTE

DETROIT

NASHVILLE

SAN DIEGO

OMAHA

LOS ANGELES

ATLANTA

BOSTON

SAN ANTONIO

Recipe of the Month:Braised Corned Beef Brisket

1 (5 lb) flat-cut

corned beeff brisket

1 tablespoon

browning sauce

(such as Kitchen

Bouquet®), or as

desired

1 tablespoon

vegetable oil

1 onion, sliced

6 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tbsp water

INGREDIENTS:

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).

Discard any flavoring packet from corned beef. Brush brisket with browning sauce on both sides. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown brisket on both sides in the hot oil, 5 to 8 minutes per side.

Place brisket on a rack set in a roasting pan. Scatter onion and garlic slices over brisket and add water to roasting pan. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil.

Roast in the preheated oven until meat is tender, about 6 hours.

15

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6:30

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H O U R S : M I N S

*Aluminum foil can be used to keep food moist, cook it evenly, and make clean-up easier

Original recipe from www.allrecipes.com

CONTRIBUTOR: JONATHAN “JJ” JEROTZ

TI

P

Drink ofthe Month:Pot O’ Gold Shots

Pineapple or lemon Jell-O

INGREDIENTS:INSTRUCTIONS:

5

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1. Pour water and Jell-O into a pan and heat. Once mixed, turn off heat and add cold water and whiskey.

2. Pour into shot glasses and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. Add Cool Whip or whipped cream, gold sprinkles and rainbow candy belts.

MIN

CONTRIBUTOR: MARKETING

CONTRIBUTOR: STEVE EMMINGER

Drink me, I'm Irish!

Full recipe on http://delish.com

Whipped Cream or thawed Cool Whip

Water

Whiskey

Gold Sprinkles

Rainbow candy belts

S T A Y I N G

HEALTHY20 Surprising Ways to Prevent Colds and FluCONTRIBUTOR: JEFF BLACKWELL

Full article on http://health.com

INSTRUCTIONS:

SNIFFLE SEASON STRATEGIES

You’ve got to act fast to fight off colds

and flu. Case in point: University of

Arizona scientists have found that

when someone is sick in an office, it

takes only four hours (!) for surfaces

like coffeepot handles, copy-machine

buttons and the fridge door to show

traces of infectious virus. Considering

that the 2014-2015 flu season was

one of the worst on record—it even

reached epidemic status—it’s well

worth arming yourself against aches,

cough, fever and general misery. For

reality-tested tips that actually work, we

turned to doctors, politicians, makeup

artists and other brave souls who are

exposed to viruses every day. Steal their

strategies to win the war against germs

this winter.

LOSE THE BOOZE

“When I’m on trips, I don’t drink

alcohol. It interferes with sleep qual-

ity, and I’m much more likely to get

sick when I’m sleep-deprived. I’ve also

read that nightcaps disrupt REM sleep,

which is the most restorative part of

sleep.”

—Kim Mazzolini, a flight attendant with

Alaska Airlines

SIP TEA

“I drink hot black or green tea with

lemon and honey. Drinking the tea

and breathing in steam stimulates the

cilia—the hair follicles in the nose—

to move out germs more efficiently.

Lemon thins mucus, and honey is

antibacterial.”

—Murray Grossan, MD, ear, nose

and throat specialist at Cedars-Sinai

Hospital, in Los Angeles

GET A PROTEIN FIX

“Research shows that diets that are

too low in protein can deplete the

immune system. So I make sure to get

protein-rich foods throughout the day,

especially fish, eggs and yogurt.”

—Douglas Kalman, PhD, RD, director

of nutrition and applied clinical trials at

Miami Research Associates

WIPE OUT

“Gyms are crawling with sweaty towels,

dirty sneakers and other germy

grossness. Instead of sitting directly on

a mat or bench, I’ll place a clean towel

on it first. Any equipment that I have

to touch—like free weights or bicycle

handlebars— I’ll clean first with

antibacterial wipes.”

—Franci Cohen, group-exercise

instructor and owner of Fuel Fitness, in

Brooklyn, N.Y.

SANITIZE YOUR OFFICE SPACE

“I clean everything that gets touched

by lots of people—microwaves,

fax-machine keys, doorknobs, elevator

buttons, the armrests on my chair—

with a good disinfectant at least once

a week, even if it looks clean. It’s just

basic hygiene. Rhinoviruses can live on

surfaces for up to 48 hours!”

—Philip Tierno, PhD, author of The

Secret Life of Germs

SANITIZE YOUR OFFICE SPACE

“As a paramedic, I never know what

germs I’ll be encountering. So I drink

water constantly to flush toxins out

through the lymph system. During cold

and flu season, my EMT partner and I

start our day by making and drinking

juice. We’ll use kale, broccoli, apple,

arugula, parsley, cucumber, carrots,

Swiss chard, lemon and mint. Since

I don’t get my recommended nine

servings of whole fruits and vegetables

every day (who does?), juicing allows

me to drink that amount in

concentrated form.”

—Kristina Economou, a paramedic in

Monterey, Calif.

SANITIZE YOUR OFFICE SPACE

“As a paramedic, I never know what

germs I’ll be encountering. So I drink

water constantly to flush toxins out

through the lymph system. During cold

and flu season, my EMT partner and I

start our day by making and drinking

juice. We’ll use kale, broccoli, apple, aru-

gula, parsley, cucumber, carrots, Swiss

chard, lemon and mint. Since I don’t

get my recommended nine servings of

whole fruits and vegetables every day

(who does?), juicing allows me to drink

that amount in concentrated form.”

—Kristina Economou, a paramedic in

Monterey, Calif.

What is My Dog Trying to Tell Me?DECODING YOUR DOG’S BODY LANGUAGE

Full article on http://moderndogmagazine.com

AUTHOR: Sue Alexander

Think for a moment about going to a bridal shower after a long day at the office, a 90-minute traffic snarl, and four customer service misunderstandings to get your bank card reactivated. Most likely, you aren’t in the mood for a “fun” time. Nevertheless, it’s an important event for the bride. Putting on a fresh dress and your best party face, you go, even though you would rather snuggle up with the dogs on the couch and throw in a movie. When you arrive, your sister takes one look at you and says “You’ve had a rough day! Coffee or wine?”

How does she know? How do we pick out that the bride is tense, the bride’s mother is proud, the maid of honour is excited, and the groom’s mother is disaffected?

In humans, we send body language signals without even thinking about them, and we read them accurately through long experience and a certain amount of innate knowledge. Although there are some cultural differences in how body language is spoken around the world, for the most part, we have a base language that we all share. Tense people tend to be rigid in their movements, nervous people tend to move quickly and with jerky movements, and relaxed people tend to move fluidly and gracefully.

How often do you watch your dog and read him just as well? Dogs have a rich body language that they use to great effect. We can eavesdrop on what a dog is telling you by knowing a little

bit about how dogs behave when they are relaxed, happy, nervous, frustrated or angry.

Imagine, for a moment, that instead of walking into a bridal shower, you were walking into your living room at the end of the weekend. By considering a dog’s posture, path of travel, gait, eye shape, and tongue, you could quickly assess what that dog was experiencing just as well as you read a friend’s body language.

Standing Still

Standing still may only last for a split second, so you have to watch carefully to see what is happening. When a dog is standing still, he bears his weight in

CONTRIBUTOR: JAMES CARMODY

• Feet four-square and balanced. • Balanced on his hindquarters. • Balanced in such a way that he can bolt away from you (or what he is looking at).

Dogs may stand in a variety of off-balanced ways that show you which way they would like to dart away. Darting away indicates fear, so if your dog is standing off balance, try and determine what is frightening him.

When you look at a dog, it is important to consider his emotional state. Human body language tells us if someone is afraid, confident, or relaxed, and we react appropriately. In the same way, we can help our canine friends by reading their bodies carefully. It is unfair to ask a fearful dog to approach things that frighten him, and likewise it is foolish to approach a dog who is broadcasting aggression unless you know more about his intent.

Wither Do You Wander?

The path of approach tells us a lot about someone’s intent. If you are approaching the customer service desk to return a damaged item, you will most likely walk assertively and directly to the person at the counter. If you approach a friend this way, he or she will likely be intimidated and fearful. The same is true of the dogs you meet.

If a dog approaches you in a direct line, looking aggressive, turn away, keeping one eye on her. You will often see this sort of rude behaviour from adolescent dogs who are trying out assertive behaviour, albeit in the wrong context. Standing still, looking down at the ground, and yawning may diffuse the situation.

A dog that is moving on a curve does not likely intend harm, although with a large dog, she might knock someone over. If you see a dog doing this while

playing, it is a good idea to bend your knees in case she slams into you by accident.

The Rocking Horse Run

When dogs are playing, they run in a very particular way. They move vertically almost as much as they move horizontally, rocking back and forth like a child’s rocking horse. Running in this way is inefficient, and reflects that play is all about fun and games, not about running your friends down and tackling them. A dog running towards you in this manner is being playful, but it may not be safe—this playful behaviour can be very rough and you can easily be knocked over.

The opposite of rocking horse running is flat, efficient movement. When a dog moves in this way, he is in a hurry and going as quickly as he can. We often see dogs doing this sort of movement during an aggressive incident.

The Eyes Have It

It is said that you can read the soul through the eyes. There is nothing as special as looking at the eyes of some-one close to you—you can achieve an instant connection. You can also read a lot about a dog’s state of mind in the shape and look of his eyes.

Almond-shaped, relaxed eyes are a reflection of a calm demeanour. Rounded eyes can indicate arousal and surprise. If you can see the sclera or whites of a dog’s eyes, beware; the dog is tense and upset and may bite you. Behaviour specialists call this “whale eye.”

Hard eyes and loose lips are the sort of ambiguity seen in dogs who have been punished for growling in warning.

The Tell-tale Tongue Tongues have a lot to say, and they are one of the ways

that dogs communicate very differently than humans do. When a dog’s tongue and lips are loose and floppy, don’t worry about that growl—everything is meant in play.

When a dog is actually going to bite, he pulls his lips and tongue back and out of the way so that his teeth can do their work.

A Tail to Tell

As with tongues, tail talk is different than human body language communication. Dogs use their tails the way that people use smiles. The idea that a wagging tail indicates happiness is similar to thinking that every smile means only one thing. A low, fast-wagging tail is like a nervous laugh.

A high tail wagging slowly is the confident smile of someone who is going to make you do something you don’t want to do. And the middle-level, fast, wide wag where the tail hits or almost hits the body is comparable to the excited grin of a child waiting at the airport for Grandma to come out of the luggage area.

When looking at tails, look at the base of the tail where it attaches to the body; a dog with a very short tail has as much to say as a dog with a very long tail, and the base of the tail is more telling than the tip. A tail drawn as low as possible in a long-tailed dog will cover the genitals. A tail this tightly tucked indicates extreme fear. The short-tailed dogs are trying hard, and you can only see that if you look at the base of the tail. A high tail may curve upwards and over the back and this can be confusing in a dog who has a tail that naturally curls over his back, so again, it is important to look at the base instead of the tip to learn the dog’s mood and intent.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Dogs can move their ears independently and almost 180 degrees from the front to the back. In general, consider that the more forward your dog’s ears are, the more confident he is about a given situation. The further back and pinned against his head and neck your dog’s ears are, the more fearful he is.

However, ears serve a dual purpose and can be a bit difficult to read; just when your dog is using his ears to communicate something, he hears something that causes him to pop them out of an easily readable position. Upright, forward ears are attending to what is directly in front of

him.

Then the phone rings and one of his confident, forward ears flicks back to listen. Ears pulled back tight against the neck tell us that the dog is nervous and concerned, but then the neighbour’s dog barks and the dog flicks one ear forward to listen to that!

Pay attention to the general drift of the dog’s ear and as with the tail, the base is more important than the tip.

When you open the door to reading a dog’s body language, you will learn a lot about what they intend, how they feel about their surroundings, and how they interpret your actions. Dogs don’t lie with their body language, so

they are always telling us exactly what they mean by how they stand, move, look, and act. As humans, we are more aware of our verbal communication than our visual communication. Dogs function in a world that depends primarily upon visual communication, so they often read our body language better than we read theirs, but with a little practice we can hone our skills. The payoff to learning to read what your dog is saying is better responsiveness to the dog’s needs. When you respond to your dog’s needs, you set up a situation where your dog can gain confidence and your relationship with your dog will improve.

Are You Walking Away from Extra Money?

Full article on http://www.linkedin.com

AUTHOR: Sarah Lindsey

THE MORTGAGE CREDIT CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

I don’t know anyone that would say no to extra money so I have another little-known program to share with you that gives just that…extra cash. It’s called the Mortgage Credit Certificate Program (MCC). This program is a tremendous opportunity for a first-time homebuyer or anyone looking at buying a home that hasn’t owned in the last 3 years. If you’ve owned a home in the last three years, don’t worry there is a caveat, just keep reading. This amazing program increases your take-home income and

increases the loan amount you can qualify for all through a tax credit. How it Works: The MCC Program operates as an IRS tax credit. It’s a program that survived the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the specifics vary per state. I’m located in San Diego, CA so I’m going to give specifics to San Diego, but this information will give you a general idea of the program and you can look up your own state and area information. With a MCC, the qualified homebuyer becomes eligible to take a federal income tax credit of

20% of the annual interest paid on the mortgage each year for as long as they live in the home. For example, a $300,000 home financed at 4.00% is approximately $12,000 a year in interest. 20% of $12,000 would be a $2,400 credit! This dollar-for-dollar credit is applied directly to the buyer’s federal tax liability. Basically, it reduces the federal income taxes you have to pay, resulting in an increase in an increase of net earnings and thus increases the amount of a mortgage loan you can qualify for.

W W W . S 1 L E N D I N G . C O M

There are a variety of specialty programs like this available. The MCC is another example of why you should always choose a real-life mortgage advisor over an online mortgage company. You don’t want to leave thousands of dollars on the table, so make sure you get the advice of experts.

S A M P L E M CC C A LC U L AT I O N H O W TO Q UA L I F Y

Eligible Area: City of San Diego

20%MCC Credit Amount:

1-2 Persons $109,080 (2017 | 2018 Limit)

3+ Persons $109,080 (2017 | 2018 Limit)

Targeted $689,765 (2017 | 2018 Limit)

Application Fee

With SDHC Loan + Grant $300

Sales Price Limit:

Non-Targeted $564,353 (2017 | 2018 Limit)

Standalone $500

Income Limit:

Amount of 1st Mortgage

$ 3 0 0 , 0 0 0Interest Rate

4 . 0 %First Year Interest Paid

MCC Tax Rate

4 . 0 %Amount of Credit for Year

What’s the catch? is what I’d be asking at this point, so let me lay out the details for qualifying...

• Your household income and the purchase price must not exceed the limits shown below

• You must not have owned property in the last three years. When the home being purchased is in one of the sixty-six designated targeted census tracts the applicant is not required to be a first-time home-buyer but cannot own a home at the time of application.You must occupy the home.

• You must apply for the MCC through a participating Lender (like Synergy One), and pay a non-re-fundable MCC application fee, amounts listed to the left.

• All fixed or adjustable loan types are eligible. Including FHA, VA and

Conventional. Cannot be layered with mortgage revenue bond financed loans, or negative amortization loans.

• You must purchase a single-family detached home, condominuium,

townhouse, or duplex within the eligible area.

$ 3 0 0 , 0 0 04 . 0 %

$ 1 2 , 0 0 0

$ 1 2 , 0 0 02 0 %

$ 2 , 4 0 0

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