When it comes to our health, we need to realize that small, incremental steps are often far more helpful than we are lead to believe. While it may be a cliche of a cliche to say that a little bit is better than nothing, like most cliches it is true! Better yet, for many, a “little bit” is the most they may be able to do.There have been many sources that promote the notion that performing squats can improve your overall health. By performing body squats, you can strengthen your legs, increase your muscular endurance, and increase your metabolism. All of these components are most definitely helpful in terms of their ability to improve your health. However, there are certain instances where advice on performing squats goes off the proverbial rails.For example, many sources state that you should perform 100+ squats a day. Others say that you should work up to 500 squats a day. Granted, if you do perform such squats on a daily basis, you will find your body fat percentage dropping, your strength increasing, and your endurance enhance.Of course, the problem with such a scenario is that most people cannot perform hundreds of squats. They also lack the ability or time to even work up to 500 squats through incremental increases over time. As such, they develop the notion that they should not take part in body squat workouts.This is the wrong attitude to take. The reason is that you are not limited to performing a high number of squats. You can perform as many as you are capable. There are no rules that state you should not.So, if you can only perform 10 squats a day, go for it! 10 squats a day, 5 days a week comes out to a cumulative of 50 squats per week. 50 squats a week for a one year period will certainly be better than zero squats through the course of a year. Again, something is better than nothing. When you let too much time pass without doing any exercise of any kind, your body would not get any benefit from such an approach. This is a little bit of common sense that sometimes is missing from health and fitness books. As a result, many people get the wrong impression of what is required of them to lose weight and get in shape.It is true, however, that you would gain more from doing higher reps. But, if you are unable to perform higher reps, you should do what you can as consistently as you can. Such advice may not sound like ‘hidden magic’ advice to boost your weight loss and strength goals. However, it is wise advice that can deliver results over time.Don’t assume you are cheating yourself by performing low amounts of exercise. A little bit of exercise can improve your health far more than a whole lot of nothing. Never lose sight of this truism when it comes to your workout plans.
Your Property Manager is the Strongest Member of your Investing Team – at Every stage of the Commercial Property Investing Cycle.When you learn how to use all of your Property Managers skills and talents you will see that they are so much more than a Manager of your Property. They are the main “Heavy Lifter” on your Investing Team.We have always recommended that you do not manage your own Commercial Properties.For three reasons…1) You can afford to outsource to a real Pro. One of the major benefits of Commercial Real Estate is that Cash Flow is generous enough to support Professional Property Management.While you may have to manage your own rental properties if they are single-family residential … Apartment Complexes, Retail, Office and Industrial Properties produce enough Cash Flow to be Professionally Managed. What a relief !2) You are an Investor not a Property Manager. Being a Commercial Real Estate Investor and being a Property Manager are actually two completely different jobs, two different knowledge bases, two different skill sets, and two completely different sets of day-to-day activities.This is a simple question of Focus. You cannot be at your best as a Commercial Property Investor if you are distracted by the day-to-day activities of Property Management.3) Your Property Manager is WAY more than just a Manager of your Property. In many cases, Property Managers are completely underutilized. What most Investors don’t understand is all the different ways your Property Manager can help your business.They are the expert in Your property niche, in Your market- They can tell you histories about specific properties- They can give you estimates of operating expenses you can reasonably expect as an owner – And they can perform a huge number of tasks that will improve your decision-making at all stages of the investing cycle.So step number one in building your Commercial Investing Team…Is to find a quality Property Manager you can trust BEFORE you begin looking at properties.Here are a few examples of how you can bring their expertise at every step in the Investing Cycle.Lead Evaluation: Show your Property Manager any promising deals before you even put in an LOI.
They may have actually managed this property before
They may understand the propertys’ reputation and what has caused previous investors to fail here.
They will understand operating expenses you can expect, because they already operate similar properties in the same market. This information will help you build an accurate Investors Proforma immediately
They’ll have an understanding of previous sales of similar properties and give you an idea on whether the pricing is right
In Due Diligence:The reports they generate with these activities can make or break your Due Diligence performance.They will even be able to produce a Budget Forecast to make your Investors Proforma as accurate as humanly possible prior to actually taking over ownership.And a quality property manager will provide these services to you at no charge during Due Diligence for a very good reason… it helps them understand the property from the bottom up, before they are asked to take over management activities. The relationship they build with you in Due Diligence ensures a successful long term working relationship as your Property Manager.While You’re an Owner:Your Property Manager creates the “Sense of Community” that maximizes your profit in this investment.They provide both – The financial reporting to you, – And the systems and people skills at the Property that will keep the performance of the property in line with – or even above – market averages.At the Sale: The quality of your Property Managers records allow you to document your Asking Price unequivocally.As you can see, your Property Manager does so much more than just Manage your Property. We believe they are the Number One and strongest member of your Commercial Property Investing Team.Get your Property Manager on board early and use them wisely at Every Stage of the Investing Cycle.Ask your Property Manager to perform a site walk-through – An Inspection – A Lease Audit – And interview the current management team and a sample of the tenants.
While many writers are busy on starting niche topics hoping to earn extra income from AdSense and affiliate sites, some people have actually started a radical way of making money online. The following attests to this:A. MillionDollarHomepageAt 21 years old, Alex Tew thought of ways to keep himself in college when the idea of selling pixels on the web for $1 each ran across his mind. His enterprise picked up and made him a millionaire in less than a year, prodding hackers to launch a major DDoS attacks on his site and creating a wave of copycats. Alex’ succeeding projects were not as successful; nevertheless, all that he had ever wanted was just to have money to pay for his university tuition and books.B. ShitMyDadSaysWhoever thought one could really make a hefty sum out of a dad’s jokes? It’s Justin Halpern, a writer who suddenly found himself out of job and with no choice other than moving in with his old-aged parents. A gifted writer that Justin is, he felt it would make sense to tweet his father’s sarcastic wit. This sort of a microblog got a mention in The Daily Show, with a succeeding sitcom and a book deal, all in less than a month’s time.C. PickyDomainsIf you haven’t yet entertained the idea that naming things can make you an even greater name, then its time you got to think twice. Dmitry Davidov started his fame simply by offering to make cool domain names for the rest of us who can’t decide on our own domain or brand names. He gets $50 for every name he makes, and if the name doesn’t sound good enough for his clients, they get their money back. He invests nothing, so he loses nothing. And so it is with the clients. The venture is totally risk-free. The virtual community soon took notice, and the sheer volume of orders for domain names made it impossible for Dmitry to complete orders for names on his own. This gave way to crowdsourcing, where anyone can try out offering cool names. The story caught on and got noticed by the San Francisco Chronicle. Many others have since then joined the venture of generating domain and blog names.D. BugMeNotDon’t you find it annoying that many websites blocks your freedom to enjoy your online experience by requiring cumbersome registrations just so you can have access? This situation made Guy King so upset that he decided to create BugMeNot.com in 2003. Users can have instant logins and passwords to free sites so they wouldn’t have the unnecessary worry of having their e-mail addresses being a possible target of online scams. In 2004, Wired magazine reported on schemes to have the site closed, which only made it the more popular. The success of BugMeNot has given way to other niches, such as RetailMeNot.com.E. DogglesNowadays, more and more folks pamper their pet dogs with greater care and attention as if the dogs are their kids. And why not? A dog is said to be a man’s best friend, after all. So apart from the usual vet and training school for dogs, Roni di Lullo came up with a really cool and fun way of pampering a dog even more. He made sunglasses for dogs and named it doggles. While it seemed to be a good-for-nothing invention that we can ever have, it made Roni di Lullo a millionaire. This is so because he sold his doggles not as a fashion accessory for dogs but as a device that protects their eyes from harmful UV radiation. And rightly so! Not only do the dogs get protected, but their human owners also love the fact that their pets can look so cool in doogles!F. GeesePolicencToo many wild geese regularly disrupted the operations of a golf course where David Marcks works. David was annoyed that he could do nothing to dispose of them but he noticed that his dog can chase them away successfully. It was out of this that a brilliant business idea germinated in David’s mind. He started to offer geese chasing service to other golf courses, municipal parks and landowners. So far he owns 27 trucks and 32 dogs and makes $2 million just chasing geese away, literally! While David’s enterprise is not purely an online business, it proves that anyone can make money out of anything.G. FindAGraveEver heard of ‘tombstone tourism’? You’re right! It’s a kind of tourism where you get to visit a dead folk’s grave. At first, Jim Tipton had this unique hobby of visiting famous people’s grave during the weekends. As it was, his list of deceased celebrities to visit got exhausted, and so he founded FindAGrave.com. The site picked up and turned out to be a lucrative business that provides a number of paid service such as genealogy research, aside from offering help in locating the grave of any dead person in the U.S. And yes! It became the start of ‘tombstone tourism’.H. ShoppingCartAbuseCreative people will never really come out of ideas to generate money online. This site’s success is hard to explain as it offers no other description other than “The Center for Prevention of Shopping Cart Abuse is an organization dedicated to preventing the pervasiveness of Shopping Cart abuse”. The site is so successful with its commercial project of online ads and t-shirt store. Now, whoever thought one could capitalize on shopping cart abuse to make successful ads?I. WheresGeorgeIt takes money to make money, but WheresGeorge.com makes even more money by tracking your money. It goes like this. Are you ever curious how and where the bill that you spend goes and travels? Then WheresGeorge.com is for you. The site have been able to track a total of US$1,028,594,634 equivalent to 190,623,138 individual bills so far. All you have to do is to log on to the site, enter your zip and bill serial numbers and spend your money away. At some point in time, another person will enter bills serial numbers into the site’s database, enabling you to see where your money have literally gone.For sure, this list is not complete as to the myriad ways one can make money online. What are the other ways that you can think of? It might as yet be the thing that can really give you a cool break!
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