Have you ever shared your feelings and then been told to quit complaining? When a woman shares her feelings, many times she is misunderstood and it is thought that she is complaining. I am going to show you a few reasons why a woman is not complaining when she is sharing her feelings. I will show you that a woman uses that sharing experience as a way of sorting, purging, gaining and giving trust and respect, relating to others, expressing creativity and creating new relationships and bonding.When a woman shares her feelings, she is able to release tension and stress even if the problem is not solved. Just the act of discussing it helps her oxytocin level rise and that will reduce her stress level. It is a natural response for a woman to share her feelings, because of her need to raise her oxytocin which is her feel good hormone. Keeping the oxytocin level high for the woman will increase her ability to function in a positive manner physically, mentally and sexually.Many times female clients have told me that when they share their feelings, their partner thinks that they are complaining or blaming and that leads to arguments. That is why I felt it important to write this to bring understanding to the female brain’s need to share feelings and to be heard. And more importantly, when a woman shares her feelings she is not looking for action to be taken or to complain or place blame, but because she genuinely wants to be heard, understood, respected, and related to.When a woman shares her feelings and emotions, she creates a way of sorting out the many things going on in her multi tasking brain. It provides her a way of giving trust to her listener, and gaining trust once she feels understood and heard. Also a woman feels more respected if she feels she has been heard and understood.Sharing her feelings also gives a woman a way to connect with others and to relate to another being in a way that says she understands and can relate to the feelings of another person. It is important for the female to tend, befriend and nurture. Not to mention it is important for a woman to relate to others and communicate in positive manner to keep her oxytocin levels high enough to keep her healthy and feeling good.
I’ve been in the personal fitness training industry close to 20 years. A lot has changed in terms of health and fitness training, from aerobics to circuit training and everything in between. Even diet programs have changed. From non-fat diets to low carbs diets, it seems with each passing year there is a new fad when it comes to workouts and or diets. But one thing remains the same. The people who get the results they want are the people who log their programs daily. I call it, “keeping score”…. When we keep score, we try harder. The last thing we want to do is write down, that we didn’t do what we were supposed to do. Having it in the back of your head is one thing, but having it in ink, on paper, is a whole other can of worms. Have you every noticed that we keep track of our bank accounts and our car maintenance schedules better than our bodies? Why is this? Without our health, we have nothing.Set daily, weekly and monthly goals. If you know from day one that there will be challenges, start thinking of solutions in advance. For example, if you have a busy day or week ahead of you, plan your meals in advance. Also in regards to your fitness training schedule, maybe it’s best to wake up ½ hour early and do a short program before your day starts so you can cross it off your list. Quite often we get so wrapped up in our to-do-lists, we tend to put our “health and workouts” on the backburner. Even if its only 20 mins of activity, make it happen so you can feel proud of your accomplishment and good about keeping score – writing it down.One of the biggest selling points of keeping score is that it provides you with a roadmap.By logging your activities and your diet you can see what is working for you and what isn’t. It works as a feedback tool. So often I get clients discouraged by their results. They think they’re doing everything right, but the minute they agree to start logging it their program and diet, they quickly notice key changes that need to be made and voila, results!Consistency is key when it comes to your health and fitness training schedule. I promise you results if you follow these steps!I hope this helps to make your fitness and health regiment easy to incorporate in your daily life.
How does one determine when to sell a rental property investment? If you are going to buy rental properties – having a plan in place for the appropriate time to sell is important.I have worked with many individuals over the years and showed them how to buy rental property. There are many things that need to be considered when purchasing for investment purposes. There is also – definitely – a time to sell.How to Buy an Investment Property- Is the property in a convenient location? Is it near shopping, in a neighborhood with good schools, and is it easily accessible to interstates and connecting roads?- Does the potential investment property have a sound foundation? What sort of issues does the home have? If it needs a new roof or the foundation is sunken in and is creating issues within the structure, it might not be a good investment at this time. If the issues are only cosmetic (needs a new bathroom floor, or painting, or carpeting) it may be worthwhile. Inspection reports will reveal the property’s flaws so the buyer and real estate professional can make a good decision.- Do you have enough of a down payment to purchase the rental property so financing will not be an issue? In the current real estate market, most lenders will see a down payment of 40-50% as a good risk. If you can invest 100% into the property – this is even better.- Income gained from the property needs to exceed expenses. Identify a credit worthy tenant, a reliable property manager, and a solid lease to make your property investment profitable. Property management fees are tax deductible.- For residential property investments, single-family homes as well as multi-tenant properties such as duplexes and fourplexes are great ways to build income and wealth. Some investors may want to consider apartment complexes. In this case a commercial property loan will be necessary to obtain financing.- Use depreciation on the investment property as a way to receive an annual tax deduction. Check with your accountant, who will apply the depreciation deduction on the building, appliances — even window treatments. The government still allows tax deductions for accelerated depreciation on properties. Savvy real estate investors use this deduction to increase cash flow and net operating profit on a property.When to Sell a Rental PropertyI have a term for properties that need to be sold: alligator properties. These are properties that are eating the investor alive with carrying costs. When an investor looks at the bottom line on an alligator property – there is no profit – just expenses. An alligator property today may have been a good investment ten years ago. But some individuals will continue to hold a property until it depletes all of the profits they may have made in the first 5-7 years.If a property has sentimental value (it was your first home, or your mother once owned it but now she’s deceased), some investors may tend to want to hold onto it. Having an emotional attachment to an investment property that is supposed to be generating income is not good. Sometimes an individual will hold this type of property even if it is not profitable. It may be time to consider selling this property.- After a certain number of years, the depreciation tax deduction is used up on a property. Ask your accountant when this depreciation is no longer applicable. When the investment can no longer be depreciated – it’s time to sell that property, and purchase another rental.- Consider selling the property and applying the 1031 tax code, so no capital gains tax is imposed on the profits. To paraphrase, the code states that an owner can sell one property in exchange for a securitized piece of property or tenant in common piece of property. Roll the profits from one property into a new investment to increase wealth and maintain it.- On average, in the 12th year of property ownership — it is time to sell an investment. The decision to sell will depend on two factors. 1. Is there enough equity in the property to sell? Or, have you pulled out too much equity in the property? 2. Will the real estate market allow you to sell and obtain a nice profit? Ask a real estate professional for a custom market analysis on the property to see if it’s realistic to obtain a price that nets a nice profit.- Alligator properties are not profitable for a variety of reasons. I am amazed at the number of investors who are not even aware that their property is losing money. If you have a property that might be losing money, then ask your real estate professional or accountant to perform a cost to income analysis. If it is indeed an alligator property — consider selling.Investors buy and sell equities all the time. There is a time to purchase and a time to sell a home as well.
Transferring money online is not just for people working abroad. With the internet, you can send money to someone for various reasons using a ewallet which guarantees that your information, as well as that of the person to whom you are transferring funds, is always safe, and that transfers are always instant.If you have never done this before, you may be wondering about the different ways to transfer money online. You may even be considering doing it in the future, but want to know about all the different purposes of using a ewallet for a service like this. Here are a few ways to consider:1. Transferring money online to your child abroad. If you have a child and they are studying or travelling abroad, using a ewallet is very useful in helping them out when they need a little extra cash. Whether the cash is for school books and supplies, rent and accommodations, groceries, train or plane tickets, sending money online to them can get them out of a bind or back home for a visit in mere moments.2. Collecting money for a fund raiser. If you decide to do a fundraiser for a charitable cause, donors can use an online e-wallet for sending money online. Some payment solutions will even have nifty “Donate Now” buttons you can place on a website, or you can just tell friends and family to send money directly to your personal ewallet. After reaching your goal, you can withdraw the amount and write a check for the organization. Or if they happen to accept donations with the ewallet solution you used to raise money, you can just transfer the money you raised directly to them.3. Paying back a personal loan. If someone lent you money, and you need to pay them back, you can use a payment solution for sending money online. All you have to do is add a credit card to your electronic wallet or add money by bank account, and transfer the money to the person you need to pay back. They don’t even need to have an established electronic wallet account. Once you transfer money to them with their email address, they will be invited to complete registration (which takes only a minute) to claim their payment.4. Paying an invoice. If you bought a product or service from a merchant but still have yet to settle your bill, they can invoice you with a payment solution, making sending money online quick and easy with just one click of your mouse.These are the most common ways to transfer money online. Writing and mailing checks are a thing of the past and a waste of paper. Online money transfer takes way less time, less effort, fewer stamps, and is friendlier to the environment. Even though using technology to pay bills, make donations, send money to your loved ones and pay personal loans can take a little getting used to, you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy and convenient it is, and how much time you will save in the long run.
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