Surprising ways hot tubs heat up relationships

(BPT) - On average, working adults spend less than an hour per day socializing and relaxing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistic's American Time Use Survey. Yet a host of research - and common sense - tells us that spending time together in a social, relaxing way is essential to building and maintaining healthy relationships.



Recreating that spark or special connection with your spouse or significant other, free from the distractions of everyday life, isn't as difficult as you may think. The answer can actually be found in your own backyard when you add a hot tub to your outdoor living space.



The therapeutic benefits of hot tubs are well documented - 79 percent of owners say they value the therapeutic health benefits their hot tubs present, according to a survey by the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP) - but many owners point to another significant benefit: the ability to spend more time with their partners.



Seventy-seven percent of owners say their hot tub is one of the few things that can truly take them away from the day-to-day stresses of life and allow them to reconnect with their partner.



Here are three surprising ways hot tubs can add some spice to your relationship:



* No distractions



The relaxed atmosphere of a hot tub promotes meaningful interaction, owners reveal. Hot tub owners typically say they use their hot tubs as a way to connect, and 82 percent say they are extremely satisfied with the level of relaxation it provides. Relaxing together outdoors, enjoying nature and each other's company without the distraction of ever-present digital devices, is a great way for couples to rediscover the things that drew them together in the first place.



* Stress soothing



Life can be pretty stressful. Countless studies tell us that too much stress is harmful on a number of levels - physically, mentally and socially. Common stressors such as money are leading causes of strife in marriages and even lead to divorce. The warm water and effervescence of hot tubs relieve stress and soothe sore muscles, allowing couples to refocus on what's most important in their lives: each other.



* The vacation effect



Something about vacation spells romance for couples; more than one getaway has led to a new addition to the family nine months later. While taking a trip more than once or twice a year isn't always practical - the average American family spends about $1,180 per person on vacation travel according to an American Express survey - a hot tub can create the vacation effect in your own backyard, and allow you to experience that special feeling of romance every day.



Spicing up your relationship begins with the right tub, and finding the right hot tub starts with a professional you can trust. APSP Certified Professionals adhere to the highest standards of service, performance and ethical conduct. Visit the APSP website to find a professional near you.

Crown molding - Adding a touch of glamor to your home decor

Crown molding is a great way to beautify an ordinary looking home into one that exudes class and style. Crown moldings are typically decorative strips made up of wood, plastic, or fiberboard. These are introduced to any room décor in an effort to camouflage the existing flaws and ugly blotches on the walls or ceilings. The crown molding is therefore similar to a wall decoration which adds a touch of elegance to a room, making it appear more grand and unique.



Crown molding ideas can be retraced to the Roman and Grecian culture where it became vastly popular. Wooden crown molding gained popularity later when craftsmen mastered the art of cutting, sanding, and carving wooden blocks to create masterpieces. Crown molding is affordable and can be implemented in almost any type of room. You can buy the raw materials yourself and get it made professionally by customizing it. What materials you choose for crown molding will largely determine how durable and beautiful it is going to be. Superior quality materials for home furnishing are likely to be far more expensive but are less likely to be damaged.



Home furnishing experts choose crown molding these days because it helps heighten a property's real estate standing. When a property appears visually stunning, chances are buyers will be willing to pay more for it. Simply demolishing walls to give your rooms a spacious look is not enough; instead, this is more expensive and impractical. An easier and economical alternative is using decorative columns and ceiling medallions for your home décor. These home décor ideas are easy to implement and will not cost you dearly.



Buying crown molding online can give you many advantages. This is because you can purchase your decorative columns or door casings or ceiling medallions directly from the maker without having to handle the wholesalers and retailers. They offer you the luxury of customizing your home furnishing ideas and guarantee you good quality materials. Unlike furniture, such decorative columns or ceiling medallions will not occupy unnecessary space, nor will they clutter the room. Besides, they are fire-resistant and help keep away harmful UV rays. Crown molding can be easily maintained and these products seldom rot. Installing them is never a problem and most of the products can be set up by following simple instructions, except ceiling medallions where professional assistance is recommended.



Crown molding can come in various designs like the traditionally classic designs which help add elegance and class to your home décor. Crown molding in the kitchen is similar to ceiling and wall decorations, but the installation process is different. Although challenging, using crown molding is a sure way of giving your rooms that much-needed makeover. It helps give every room a distinct flavor, an aesthetic appeal, a unique personality, and a sophisticated touch.



When choosing the crown molding for your rooms, make sure to choose the right molding depending on the room dimensions and ceiling height. Select the materials that are sturdy, dependable, and weather-proof. The world of home furnishing has undergone a revolutionary change with the advent of crown molding.



by: Walter Mitchell

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/home_improvement/article_7226.shtml

Ideas for flooring in your home

Bedroom flooring:



There are plenty of options when it comes to flooring in your bedroom. Being the most private and personalized part of your home, your bedroom is the place which uses a big part of your budget whenever you are remodeling your home; you can use carpet, tile, hardwood, bamboo, cork or laminate. Play with different materials in different rooms; you can opt for striped light and dark shades in your boy's room so that if your son is going to create mess ( which is unavoidable),the flooring can withstand the burden, and also the flooring can bear heavy traffic of the folks coming in the bedroom. For more powerful scratch and water resistant flooring, you can choose laminate.



Living room flooring:



Most of the traffic in a home happens in the living room, with people coming in and out of the house. It is highly recommended that the flooring should be strong enough that it can endure all such wear and tear done with your furniture, or to the increasing and decreasing ratio of visitors. For this purpose you can opt for hardwood flooring. Being classy and sophisticated in look it is the perfect choice for your living room whenever you are remodeling your home.



Kitchen flooring:



Design the floor of your kitchen in such a way that it not only looks pretty, but also gives a practical impression. You can choose from vinyl, tile, natural stone, wood, cork or laminate. A floor covering that is water resistant and durable such as tile, is the best choice to protect against potential water damage. Make sure when you choose your floor to order a little extra of the product, in the event that you drop something like a pot on your floor. If the flooring material is damaged, you will be sure to have enough to repair the floor because often, floor manufacturers have high turnover of their products, to insure a continual buying cycle. Most flooring contractors add 5-10% additional square footage of the flooring product to their purchase order to insure they have enough for the project and to provide the client with a little extra flooring for future use.



by: Builder Brian

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/home_improvement/article_7342.shtml

7 real estate investing lessons we can learn from Steve Jobs

I recently read the book "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson. As brilliant as Steve Jobs was, I came away from the book not with a sense of awe about the man who Steve Jobs was, but how despite his incredible success, how idiosyncratic and deeply flawed a human being he really was.



Yes, he was a certifiable genius, although in some ways "certifiable" as well.



Yes, we'll never see anyone else exactly like him, although Apple's stock price has done quite well since his death



Yes, in American business, he will live in the pantheon of Edison, Einstein, and Ford, and he really thought he belonged there.



Yes, he did leave an indelible mark on our society - in fact, totally revolutionizing five separate industries nearly simultaneously...but he deeply hurt many people on the way in his rise to near mythic status.



Despite his greatness, he made tons of mistakes, cruelly alienated lots of people including his own daughter, and did some curiously unethical things in his relatively brief time on this earth. No doubt, the further you probe into the true personal lives of your "heroes" oftentimes the more you find, the less you like.



I came away from reading the book in a word - exhausted, but exhilarated at the same time. In fact, it was refreshing in a way to know that although Jobs was "Steve Jobs the icon", he's just a guy like you and me. I realized that you don't have to be perfect to be great. And although there are many traits of Jobs I would never emulate in my own life, I felt like there were so many brilliant lessons that can be learned from him not only as a businessman and real estate investor, but as many lessons in what not to do as a father, a husband and a human being.



The bottom line is this: you, I and anyone can be great. There are multiple paths to ultimate success in life and in real estate investing, and there are multiple lessons Steve Jobs can teach the real estate investor and which can be learned by you.



The Top Seven Real Estate Investing Lessons Steve Jobs Taught Us



1. Fear Not



Jobs was plagued by strange idiosyncrasies. His diet, his odd personal habits, his driving without a license plate, his parking in handicapped zones just to name a few. But one thing he was blessed with was a total and utter lack of fear. Lack of fear comes from many things; self-confidence, optimism, even delusions of grandeur (checkmarks on all three for Jobs here). One thing's for sure, he had enormous amounts of self-confidence. He felt he was special and that he was put on this earth to do great things by creating the technical marvels which ultimately influenced and bettered the lives of millions of people. Those innovations still affect us all each and every day.



Even in the face of terminal pancreatic cancer, he seemed to have an almost irrational sense of self-confidence and lack of fear. His self-confidence was so great; he actually thought that he could cure himself with oddball diets and rituals, while shunning traditional medicine - medicine that just may have saved his life. Incredibly, he seemed to have a complete absence of fear of the one thing that most of us are deathly afraid of...death itself.



It's terrifying to buy your first house flip, for sure. But is it as fearful as death? Keep things in perspective in order to control fear. Think of the worst case scenario if you do what you're fearful of. If you can handle the worst case pain and aggravation, then do it. If Steve Jobs could fearlessly stare down death, you can do the same.



If you're just starting, then make your first real estate purchase. If you've been around the block a few times, try a new investment strategy you've never done before. When you face your fears and do what you fear most, you end up controlling your fears.



2. Pick Yourself Up Even After Your Failures



Can you imagine the humiliation of being fired by the guy you picked to run your company? In one of the most public firings in corporate history, Steve Jobs was fired. This was big news when it happened, sending shockwaves throughout Silicon Valley and the rest of the corporate world. Jobs did wallow for a short period of time, sure. But he picked himself up and created a new company that was ultimate bought by the company and the successor he was fired by.



If you are new to real estate investing and you lose a few thousand on your first deal because you overestimate your ARV, didn't stick by the 70% Rule or failed to tightly manage your general contractors, then provided the few thousand didn't bankrupt you, pick yourself up and try again.



It's not how many times we fail; it's how many times we get back up after failure that counts most.



3. Marry Art and Functionality



Many of us have iPhones. If you have one nearby while reading this or on the desktop beside you, pick it up. Feel the weight, notice the elegant stainless steel wrapping, the Gorilla glass screen, the smooth back. Swipe a few apps from side to side, browse the Internet, touch an app and see how they all gently jiggle to be deleted or modified. If you think all these enhancements and subtle artistic nuances of the device (since copied by the Google platform) are random, think again.



Jobs dissected each of these features and weighed them for weeks and months prior to being introduced by Apple. And each feature indelibly bears his thumbprint - his signature. He married art and functionality to create everlasting products and innovation that will affect generations to come.



There are lots of posts on this website that discuss the "steps" to real estate investing, house flipping, wholesaling, you name it. Follow these steps here and learn as much as you can. But then, put your own thumbprint on each of them - just like Steve Jobs did with each of his creations.



Is there only one way to rehab a house for maximum resale? No way.



Is there only one way to round up funding for your next apartment building? Not a chance.



Virtually anyone can become a real estate investor as long as they have the desire and the ambition, but to become a massive success, it's going to take more than just what you learn from others. Its going to require you to put your own indelible stamp on every deal you do. Think like Steve jobs in how you can make your flip or rental a little bit different, enhanced or beautiful...marry art with functionality.



4. Listen to Your Inner Voice



When you are new to real estate investing, you have no voice in your head. If you do have one, that voice is usually screaming to you "don't do it!"



However, the more deals you do, a different inner voice starts to appear. This is the voice of experience.



Maybe you are thinking about becoming a real estate investor and there's something that has stopped you from doing it. You went to school, you got a good job in finance or sales or maybe you're a doctor or a dentist - but there's something missing. When we don't listen to our inner voice, we mail it in, we do what we do on autopilot.



You're reading this blog most likely because you want something more. You want to create the life you've always wanted. THAT is the inner voice calling you.



Ignore it at your own peril.



Jobs' inner voice screamed "change the world" - a pretty dramatic vision and a pretty big voice. He built computers to do it. That was his plan.



What's yours?



One thing that's abundantly clear with Jobs is that despite his many imperfections, he lived his life with very few regrets. He followed his inner voice. Whatever that voice is telling you, it would be smart to listen to it. Even if it tells you to quit your job, become a full-time real estate investor, move to Tibet or become a gourmet sushi chef, listen to it.



Live life with no regrets.



5. Expect More from Yourself and From Others



Jobs was a real prick sometimes. He would berate people. He would yell at people. He would throw little temper tantrums. He was a totally obsessive control freak.



And of course, he was an absolute perfectionist.



He demanded this from himself and he demanded the same from everyone who worked for him. I am not saying that the WAY Jobs did it was right, far from it. He seemed like a real jerk to work for.



But one thing's for sure, he pushed people to places where they never thought they were capable of going. He expected this of himself and he expected it from everyone who worked for him.



Do it in your own way and do the same thing in your real estate investment career. If you need to get upset, do it. Don't overdo it or you will find nobody will want to work with you, so be careful. But shoot for perfection and settle for excellence at the very least.



Jobs built products that revolutionized the world using this philosophy and he did it in his own way...so you do it in your own way. But don't try to be him. Be yourself and expect a lot from everyone and most importantly expect the absolute most from yourself.



6. Surround Yourself with the Most Talented People You Can Find



Steve Jobs gets all the credit when you think of the legacy of greatness at Apple. Sounds good, but it's simply not true.



Yes, Jobs made the ultimate decisions in all matters Apple from the type of sandstone used in Apple stores to the kind of glass used on iPhone screens. But what's less known is that he surrounded himself with some brilliant minds that simply made him and Apple better.



Jobs surrounded himself with serious talent: the true mastermind behind the iPhone and iPad design Jony Ive, now CEO Steve Cook, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Toy Story creator John Lesseter, just to name a few. These super-talented people (not the faceless minions kowtowing to Jobs every whim as we may want to believe) don't get the credit they rightfully deserve.



In real estate investing, surrounding yourself with an incredibly talented and knowledgeable team, including lawyers, real estate agents, general contractors, etc. - people in many cases who know far more than you - is just as important in real estate investing as it was in building one of the great companies of our generation. Steve Jobs realized that he couldn't do anything without great talent around him.



How about you?



7. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish



Success in anything in life is consistently looking to improve, to grow, to build and also to have fun. If you're going to do it for the majority of the time you have in any given day, shouldn't it be fun too? Jobs summed up this philosophy of innovation, creativity and fun in his memorable 2005 Stanford commencement address (check it out on YouTube if you haven't):



"When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.



Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.



Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."



We can be just as special as he was and although we may not all build the next Apple; we can build excellence in what we do every day as real estate investors. As was previously reported on this blog, we as real estate investors not only enrich the lives of thousands of people every year with quality housing, but we create jobs and opportunities to the tune of $9.2 billion per year as well.



What we do as real estate investors matters. Jobs would agree that is a worthy dream to pursue. And we all can learn much from him - both the good and the bad. But best of all, you don't have to be perfect in to be wildly successful like Steve Jobs.



In fact, anything's possible in life if you continue to follow the simple lessons laid out above.



Author: Mike LaCava



Mike's Website: http://www.houseflippingschool.com

Are you saving enough for retirement?

(NC)-Over the several years that Desjardins Financial Security (DFS) has conducted its retirement survey, two themes have always come up: most Canadians avoid retirement planning and they're sure they haven't saved enough. So, how prepared are you?

A) You're totally confident about your financial security and retirement plans, or;

B) You know you haven't saved enough, but now you're ready to make a plan.

If you answered B, these experts from Desjardins are here to help you get started.

Djamal Saleh, Regional vice-president of sales, Individual Savings Products

1) What does retirement look like? Will you be spending your retirement traveling the world or will you just keep on working? Actually, in the most recent DFS retirement survey, 56% of respondents expected to do just that. Many said it was because working kept them active. But the most popular reason was financial. It might be nice to think that you could continue your current working lifestyle well into your 80s. But life has a way of throwing you curve balls. The reality is that less than one retiree in five continues to work. In fact, events like job loss, a disability, becoming caregiver to a loved one, or simply fatigue can change your plans in an instant. This is why it's important to visualize what your life might look as part of creating a solid plan.

Daniel Villeneuve, Tax Specialist

2) How much will I need to retire? This is a very common question so it's important to remember that you'll likely spend 25 to 30 years in retirement. For example, the average 55 year old woman who is a non-smoker will live to 86 while her male counterpart will live to 83. That being said, you will likely need a retirement income of about 70% of your gross working income.



Here's a snapshot of the type of income sources you may have if you were retiring today:

1. An employer pension, if it was available to you

2. The Canadian Pension Plan, on average about $6300 per year

3. The Old Age Security Pension, on average about $6500 per year

4. Savings in an RRSP and/or non-RRSP

Since future retirees have no control over the amounts of the first three sources of income, creating a substantial nest-egg within your RRSP and regular savings accounts will be an essential part of your written retirement plan.

Angela Iermieri, Financial Planner

3) Review your plan The golden rule to ensuring you have saved enough is to regularly review your objectives and adjust your plan as required, as circumstances can change quite often. For example, there may be changes in the tax rules, new laws, interest rates and public pension plans that may affect your goals. But if you stay flexible, all this is manageable, giving you much better odds of attaining your retirement goals.

For other retirement planning tips, tools and calculators, visit the Thinking About Retirement section of Desjardins Financial Security's website at www.desjardinslifeinsurance.com.

Two-in-one tools for busy moms on the go

(BPT) - Any mom will tell you there are never enough hours in the day to "do it all." Research indicates working moms spend 10 hours more a week multitasking than working dads - making useful, efficient tools Mom's secret weapon for getting more done.



"I multitask from the moment the sun comes up," says Brittany Bailey, busy mother, wife, DIY renovator and the blogger behind PrettyHandyGirl.com. "Shaving mere minutes off my day-to-day routine lets me cross more tasks off my to-do list and spend more time with my family."



Whether yours is a family of three or 13, try these multi-functional tools to keep up around the house:



Family room



Whether you're playing educational games with the kids, catching up on emails during nap time or creating a new chill-out music mix, multitasking moms can tackle all of this with a tablet or smartphone - without taking up a lot of floor space in the family room. Refreshing your device with new apps just for the kids can help keep things calm for the long family road trip or the short wait at the dentist's office, too.



Kitchen



Any mom knows keeping the kitchen tidy is a formidable task, with snacks, baking ingredients and trinkets that don't make it into the junk drawer. Consider recycling heavy-duty glass jars for extra storage without adding clutter to your countertop. Empty glass jars look chic on display, but also are hard at work when filled with sugar, cookies or even knick-knacks like keys or change. Because you can see into the jars, you'll always know what's inside.



Bathroom



Dad wants a powerful showerhead but Mom wants a hand shower to spray down messy tots, so who wins? Parents can end the debate with the Delta In2ition shower with H2Okinetic technology. This two-in-one shower system simultaneously offers the comfort of water streaming from a showerhead and a hand shower and uses an internal system to control the droplet size of the water to create the feeling of more water than a standard shower. The embedded hand shower offers the flexibility to accomplish other tasks such as bathing children, washing pets and cleaning the shower. When not in use, it easily slips back into place on the showerhead.



Utilizing two-in-one tools around the house can help busy moms stay ahead of the curve and reserve time for what really matters: quality time with family. If she's lucky, maybe she can even carve out some of that precious time just for her.

Year-round backyard safety tips for families

Your backyard is a space where you enjoy quality time with your family - from running around with your kids in the fall leaves to playing catch with your furry friend in the snow. It's a place to escape, but remember accidents can happen anywhere at any time, and just like you childproof your house, you need to ensure your backyard is safe as well.



Keeping your backyard safe begins with your fence. A yard without a fence is a little like a house without walls. Fences help protect children from danger, keeping toddlers out of swimming pools, hot tubs and ponds or keeping them in the yard, away from busy traffic or strangers. Fences can also help keep your own pets in your yard, and other animals out. They can reduce your liability by preventing injuries to uninvited guests on your property, or damage or injury caused by escaped pets.



A good weekend project is making sure your fences and gates are functioning properly and are protected from rust, a destructive force that can render gate hardware useless or dangerous, says Jim Paterson, senior vice president of D&D Technologies, which manufactures gate latches and hinges made of ultra-strong engineering polymers. In our research, we found that when homeowners consider their fencing needs, rusty metal gate hardware that no longer functions properly or becomes a threat to children was their top concern. Rust-free and adjustable gate hardware is available.



Seasonal weather, ground settling and other factors can cause a gate to become misalignedover time and not function properly. It's important to have gate hardware that can be easily adjusted to overcome this. TruClose self-closing, tension adjustable hinges are an ideal solution. Some models are vertically and horizontally adjustable as well. Combined with D&D adjustable, locking gate latches will ensure your gate will always function properly.



Additional precautions to take when childproofing your backyard:



* Tighten and cover any protruding bolts on swing sets and do not attach ropes or cords, which could become strangulation hazards.



* Remove old tree stumps and rocks, level concrete footings to avoid tripping.



*Seal wooded items such as decks, swing sets and picnic tables before inclement weather sets in.



* Completely fence pool and spa areas with adjustable self-closing hinges like TruClose and self-latching gates, ensuring latches are out of the reach of children such as the Magnalatch Safety Gate Latch. Both products carry a lifetime warranty and are adjustable both vertically and horizontally for quick and easy adjustments.



* Eliminate access to lawn equipment and chemicals. Put these items completely out of the reach of children.



* Keep a first aid kit and a rescue kit for those backyards with water features easily accessible.



Your backyard can be one of the most exciting places for your children through the entire year. A little prevention along the way will keep it safe and provide wonderful memories for your family.



Look for D&D Technologies rust free gate hardware and child safety latches at www.ddtechglobal.com or under the Stanley Hardware brand through Lowe's.