Americans today are living life on the fast track. Most of the internet searches are for fast or easy weight loss. While most of the information is geared towards women, men are also interested and in need of health and fitness tips.Men have the advantage where they can lose weight much easier than women. There are many different health and fitness programs out there for men. Yoga and Pilates are not just for women anymore. There are exercise videos that focus on Yoga and Pilates for Men. There are different types of home exercise equipment that are low cost and easy to use. You just need to have the motivation to follow through with your plans for a healthier life.Heart Disease, Diabetes, prostate cancer, and other health issues are a rising concern for men. These reasons can and should be a good source of motivation for men today. Men can follow these health and fitness tips to lose weight and get healthy and fit.Starting out the day with a healthy breakfast helps to kick start metabolism and keeps blood sugar levels even. It also gives a person more energy. When a man eats breakfast, he is less likely to eat larger portions of unhealthy food later in the day. Eating plenty of fiber rich foods is important to fill up and feel satisfied between meals. Try to eat whole grains – whole wheat bread, potatoes, and brown rice, instead of white bread, white rice, and pastas – that are simple starches and turn right into sugar. The whole grains take longer to digest and can assist with maintaining lean muscle tissue.Men are able to eat larger portions of protein than women. They should still concentrate on eating lean proteins such as chicken, turkey, and fish on a daily basis instead of red meat. They should also make sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.Men can also benefit from portion control and watching their portion sizes. Eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day as opposed to eating the three traditional square meals a day really does help to keep the metabolism running smoothly and helps to build lean muscle tissue.The best way to lose weight is with a combination of cardio, strength training and a healthy diet. But, the cornerstone of most weight loss programs is cardio. Exercising on a daily basis is a good way to get in shape and boost metabolism. Many men are concerned about building muscle and may only concentrate on strength training. Cardio is necessary in any fitness program because:1) It helps you burn more calories in one sitting. Getting your heart rate up means your blood is pumping, you’re breathing hard, you’re sweating and burning calories.2) With many cardio exercises, you can burn 100 to 500 calories depending on how hard you work, how long you exercise and how much you weigh.3) Burning calories with exercise means you don’t have to cut as many calories from your diet.4) You can do cardio exercise most days of the week without worrying about injury or over training.Nutritional supplements can be used in conjunction with eating healthy foods and exercise to build lean muscle. There are many supplements out there designed especially for men and their unique health and fitness needs. They are not meant to be a shortcut to weight change, and taking too much of any one supplement can pose serious health risks. The good news is that average person is unlikely to take so much of a nutrient that they run into trouble. But it’s always wise to check in with a doctor before you start using a supplement regularly. And that’s definitely true if you’re using any supplement in high doses or for prolonged periods of time.It is very important that you keep yourself hydrated during any strenuous activity. Sports drinks like Gatorade, Powerade, and All Sport can give you a needed energy boost during your activity. They are designed to rapidly replace fluids and to increase the sugar (glucose) circulating in your blood. Energy Drinks can help boost your energy, but many use sugar and caffeine as their active ingredients used as stimulants. In fact, excessive use of energy drinks can cause symptoms such as upset stomach, leg weakness, heart palpitations, being jittery, nervousness, and more. Drink these energy drinks on an empty stomach and the effects can be magnified. Never underestimate the power of drinking water and making sure to get at least 6-8 glasses a day.
You will have heard educators say that ‘property investing’ should be treated as a business and that is so true. There is one aspect of owning investment properties that needs special attention and that is the area of property management. After all the looking after a property is the process of looking after your growing wealth.I have heard investors say, “the property was a in a real state, it was unkempt, there was damage to walls and the gardens had not been looked after at all… “The point is that a property investor needs to ensure that even if they have contracted a property manager that they are getting reports from their property manager and are aware of what is happening at the property at all times. It would be nice to think that you could contract a property management team and sit back and relax, but the reality is not quite so real.What I mean by that is that the investor needs to make sure that they are kept informed at all times about the state of the property and if an absentee owner, then digital photos should be sent with every inspection.Where I live property inspections are carried out every 3 months, but that will depend on the management laws where your property is located.As a property investor ensure that you are getting up-to-date and detailed reports on the property and on the finances of the property on a regular basis. You don’t want to hear 6 months later that you have a problem.Appointing a Property ManagerBefore appointing a property manager make enquiries in the area and find out the services that are being offered, at what cost they are being offered and also get some feedback from local sources if at all possible.When signing your property management over to a company, make sure that the property management forms are filled out and signed by both parties. Make sure that you clearly list your requirements regarding the let, such as costs to be paid by the tenant, whether they can have pets and other requirements you may consider important.Maintenance and repairsProperties should be kept in a habitable condition at all times. Not only will your tenants appreciate a well maintained property, but when ‘repairs’ are left to become ‘replacements’ then the whole exercise can become very expensive.It is a well known fact that, in most cases, if tenants are given respect by the landlord they will reciprocate and give respect to the landlord and the property.Self-managed propertiesSome property investors prefer to manage their properties but this can be a problematic area if laws and regulations are not adhered to. If you choose to self-manage your properties then ensure that you know the rules and regulations so that you do not end up in the court unnecessarily.Understand which forms need to be filled out and signed, and the times that certain forms need to be handed out if required due to the particular circumstances, such as late rent or property damage.As mentioned earlier, make sure that all responsibility is taken with caring for and managing your investment properties. Good property management helps grow your wealth and when a property is in good order you will have a better chance of borrowing against the equity to continue building an investment property portfolio.
The online media has provided a big avenue for its users to make money and earn a living. However, only few people are harvesting from this vast marketplace because the larger mass in general have not yet realized it. The reason why only a small percentage of the world’s population earn money online is because some are in formal sectors, others know very little about the internet, while the larger percentage do not have access to the same. Nevertheless, the internet has a wider potential for everyone to make money, but only if they can take note of what they are good at. As we will discuss in this article, there are many ways of earning money online. You only need to know what you are good at, and that’s it. Then you are in the game making active or passive money online.Sell Items OnlineYou can sell almost anything online, be it a good or even a service. The interesting thing about selling online is that you do not necessarily have to be the owner of the same. You can become a reseller, where you can be selling someone else’s products and get paid commissions for the same. The other fun part with selling items online is that you only need to have marketing skills, know where to sell and how to reach out for as many prospecting buyers as you can. The main question here then is how to become a reseller or even an advertiser and how to get paid.The first thing you need to understand as an online marketer is that there are credible market places where people buy and sell products online. Three of the most used market places on the internet and those that have proven to be helpful to resellers include sites like Amazon, eBay and ClickBank. Amazon and eBay operate by selling tangible products like household goods, office furniture and everything except from land. ClickBank on the other hand deals with software and services and has a rewarding program that allows resellers to make money from selling these products. You do not need a lot to earn some money here. ClickBank directs you to where you should be advertising these products, and you get paid for each person you refer and that buys the product.Serious people in the business go the extra mile to build a website where they can sell target products and where they can also transact directly with the customers. The good thing with selling products online is that, once you have set a selling platform and start receiving visitors, you are set for a lifetime to receive payments passively. The reason why this is termed as a passive way of earning money is because you no longer have to work because the website is already doing that for you. All you need to do is monitor the traffic and money as it streams in.How Do You Get Paid?Everyone who has never worked online keeps asking this question and they are never satisfied with the answers given to them. There are many modes of payments that these companies offer for payment. Some companies even offer to deposit the money directly to your bank account, while others use affiliate financial partners to make it possible for you to get paid and receive your money in cold hard cash. The most commonly used payment methods are PayPal, Moneybookers, and Payoneer. PayPal is commonly used in American-based companies, and users can withdraw funds directly from their online PayPal accounts to their local banks. However, Moneybookers and Payoneer are used by merchants and persons outside the US. These two companies make it possible for you to get paid and be able to spend the cash whenever you want to.
Whether you’re in the market for a major interior overhaul or you’re simply looking to give your home a quick and easy update, chances are you’ve spent some time online hunting for ideas and inspiration. That said, it can be pretty deflating to stumble upon a look you love only to discover the price to achieve it is well above your budget.
Fortunately, there are some killer home decorating blogs that show you how to refresh, revive, and fall in love with your home anew without breaking the bank. For a home that looks far more expensive than it costs to create, check out the following blogs for all of the interior inspiration and DIY tutorials you’ll ever need.
Welcome back to the week 5 update for the One Room Challenge. Check out the blog posts and updates for week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4 if you missed them. It’s crunch time now and I’ll be honest… I don’t know that this project will be completely wrapped up for the reveal date. The great thing is the reveal and hitting a deadline is not the only goal of reason for this challenge. Ultimately having a fully functional and hopefully beautiful bathroom is where we want to end up even it things are a bit delayed.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.
When we left off last time the countertops had been templated, the trim was freshly painted and the hardware had been ordered. The hardware took about 1 week to arrive. We chose the Menlo Park 4″ pull from Schlub in chrome because I think the pull has the perfect mix of square and some rounded elements that make it a great transitional hardware option. We went with all pulls for the drawers and doors since the knob option in that line weren’t our favorite.
Guest Bathroom Reno: Quartz Countertops and Grout – One Room Challenge Week 5
The quartz countertops are now installed and things can be put back together. Rectangle, undercount sinks were also purchased through the fabricator. The Marble look quartz from Pental and it is gorgeous with the warm gray veins running throughout. For the edge went for a flat polish eased edge for a clean, simple look.
Guest Bathroom Reno: Quartz Countertops and Grout – One Room Challenge Week 5
Two days after the quartz countertops were installed the tile installer came back to finish up tiling the niches, installing the tile base and grout everything.
Guest Bathroom Reno: Quartz Countertops and Grout – One Room Challenge Week 5
The electoral is being relocated for the new lights. There are some drywall and painting touch ups to do and plumbing fixtures to be hooked up. Plus adding all the finishing touches ???? All those little things like towel hooks, curtain rod, and accessories will bring this whole thing together.
It’s been too long since I’ve updated and even longer since this work has been started. This is me sharing remodel updates, mostly for myself (but also for my nagging family members). I’m sharing photos of the progress that has been made while also document the craziness that has gone on. This is just the beginning of the remodel.
Prior to moving in I had 3-4 weeks where my apartment lease overlapped with the possession of my townhome. This allowed me, with the amazing help of my family, to paint, tear-out carpet and somewhat put back together the upstairs portion of my place so that I could have a clean room to put a bed. At least one that wasn’t completely torn apart. One area that felt more livable that the rest. If you haven’t seen or don’t remember these are the before photos from when I took possession. To list it out here are the main things that I was tacking during those week prior to me moving in.
Phase 1 Remodel Projects
ripping out baseboard, carpet and tack strips upstairs and preparing for new hard surface flooring. (this flooring will go throughout minus the stairs and bathrooms/laundry)
installing flooring upstairs (one of my installers did this)
mostly gutting the master bathroom
installing a new tub and rough in plumbing for the master and powder bath
ordering and installing a rift white oak vanity for the master
Painting (and priming where needed) the ceilings and walls of the bedrooms. Caulking and painting the crown molding in the master
replacing and upgrading the baseboard heater in the master and patch the drywall
painting the hallway and down through the stairwell
adding skirt board to the stairs
installing new carpet and pad on the stairs (my carpet installer from work did this)
removing upper cabinets on the fridge side in the kitchen
partially demoing the wall diving the kitchen (prepare to move switches, outlets, heater and thermostat)
removing drywall on wall next to bar in dining area
painting the downstairs powder bath and removing vanity to prepare for a new floating vanity
Those were the main projects that took place and then I moved in the day after Thanksgiving. Getting rid of the original, nasty cat carpet and new flooring made a huge difference to the upstairs. Also neutralizing and lightening the paint made things feel so much more fresh. I still have no baseboards but I’ll get on that one day! For now here are some photos that I snapped along the way.
It’s been a while since been posting on here but I have some new updates and projects that I have been working on. Last summer into fall I was house hunting while knowing the lease on my apartment would be expiring end of the 2019. It felt a little crazy but was a fun process for me. After a bunch of searching I found and closed on a new home!
I was lucky enough to have a few weeks of overlap with my apartment (I ended up moving out 1 month early) so I was able to get started on projects and updates prior to moving in. I’ll share more about those in the coming weeks (there are still so many unfinished things!) but for now I think it’s best to start with some before photos. Also, follow along on Instagram where I post current project updates more often. The pictures show it in the state I bought it in. It’s a great first place to me and was functional as-is but as you might expect I’m here to make things my own by doing updates that I will enjoy while living here and that will also add value and functionality to the space down the line when I sell… or maybe even keep it as a rental. My dog, Nova, has been enjoying the space as well ???? There are a couple of things to miss about my Bothell apartment but I am very ready to have my own place and space.
In 2017 the guest bathroom was remodeled. You can see more photos and read about that here. Almost everything came out and all new things went back in. From emails and comments people have been asking for sources so I have rounded up what I could in this post to share paint colors, products and links that I could find for the bathroom.
Bathroom Sources and Details:
Wall color: BM Balboa Mist
Trim and door color: BM Chantilly Lace
Floor Tile: Pental Mark Chrome 12×24 matte
Shower tile: Jeffrey Court Weather Gray 4×12 gloss subway
Niche tile: Daltile clio mosaic
Bathtub: Maax Rubix tub
Cabinet: Spencer Cabinets – painted BM Cape May Cobblestone
Countertop: Pental Quartz Misterio polished 3cm
Cabinet hardware: Schaub Menlo Park Pull in chrome
Faucets: Hansgrohe Metris single handle in chrome
Shower trims: Kohler slide bar kit, wall mount supply and Hansgrohe tub spout in chrome
Mirrors: Homegoods
Towel Hooks: Delta Tolva robe hook in chrome