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It’s getting to the end of the year, and you are no doubt starting to think about your New Year’s resolutions for 2021. A common goal for many people is to read more books. It’s a highly worthwhile resolution, as reading makes you more knowledgeable, curious, and intelligent. It gives you more to talk about in conversations and can improve your career prospects. Sitting with a book and a cup of hot tea is one of the most relaxing pastimes there is, and the mental health benefits are monumental.

But actually finding the time and the motivation to sit and read a book can be difficult. In this digital age, it is often much easier to pick up your phone and scroll through Instagram than it is to open a book and concentrate on the words. But no matter how busy your schedule is, there is always time to read if you really want to. After all, even Bill Gates, one of the most successful and hard-working billionaires on the planet, reads 50 books in a year. 

Reading more is all about organizing your schedule and prioritizing books over less meaningful activities. To get you started on your literary journey, here are four tips to help you read more in 2021.

Set a firm goal

Simply resolving to read more is a difficult goal to track, and one that provides little motivation. Setting yourself a measurable target to aim for will make you much more likely to succeed with your resolution. Your goal could be to read 30 books in 2021 or to read 20 pages a day. You could even compile a stack of books on your bedside table and slowly work your way through them until you're done.

Have multiple books on the go

You might think you need to pick one book at a time and persevere with it until the end before you can start a new one. But this restrictive attitude to reading will make you less likely to commit to your goals. If you aren’t captivated by the book you choose, you’ll be less motivated to read often. Instead, you should opt for two or three books at a time, of wildly different styles and genres. As well as that weighty work of classic literature, lighten your load with a humorous novel or an uplifting self-help book at the same time.

Read multiple genres

As well as giving you more options, reading multiple different genres will expand your knowledge and make reading more interesting. And the subjects you choose are up to you. Whether it’s a romance novel, a biography of Winston Churchill, or a guide to CFD Trading, you should try to broaden your horizons. 

Create a reading nook

If you have a cozy, relaxing spot in which to read, you will be more inclined to nestle down with a book at the end of the day. Get a comfy chair with plenty of cushions and blankets, and pick a quiet spot in your home to set up your reading nook. As soon as you settle in, you’ll never want to stop reading.

 Feeling a little better about yourself as well as healthy is a brilliant thing to do. Giving yourself a new lease of life with a huge boost to your confidence. There are so many ways to get into shape when you look at the multiple exercise methods and all of the diet options available. The trick is finding what works well for you. This can be a little tough. Human bodies are all different and react in different ways to certain methods so trial and error can be a great way to find what works, just don’t stop at the first hurdle and keep your motivation up. Here are some things you can try to help you get into shape.

 Do you remember pre-Covid? When the bride and groom had bigger fish to fry than ensuring their small wedding was atmospheric? Nobody does! Fast-forward a couple of months, and the main issue for a ceremony is attempting to recreate the magic that appears when you tie the knot in front of hundreds of your loved ones.

 If you’re preparing to put together a dinner party, or you are thinking about arranging a celebration filled with all your kid’s friends, it’s important to choose the right food to serve. You need to make sure that you select an option where there will be plenty for everyone and won’t leave you with a massive shopping bill. Here are some of the options that will be worth exploring. 

Weight loss is always a long journey and people always say that there are no shortcuts, but that isn’t actually true. It’s true that there is no easy way to lose weight and you always need to put some hard work in. However, there are some simple ways that you can speed up your weight loss and reach your goals a lot faster. These are some of the best shortcuts to help you burn more fat. 

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Start Strength Training 

If you are trying to shed weight, you are probably focusing on cardio activity and you might not think that strength training will do much for you. You’re not trying to build muscle, so why would you bother lifting weights? The thing is, strength training helps to speed up your metabolism, which makes it a lot easier to burn fat. You also convert muscle to fat when you lift weights, so it helps you tone up and burn more fat at the same time. Strength training is always an important part of your workout routine because you can lose muscle mass if you do a lot of cardio so lifting weights will help to maintain your muscle. 

Try Fat Burning Supplements 

A lot of people claim that fat burning supplements don’t work but that isn’t the case. There are a lot of fat burning supplements that won’t do anything for you but there are still some that will help you to speed up weight loss. Check out this review of the Best Fat Burning Supplements for Women to find products that actually work. However, it’s important to remember that they’re not a substitute for exercise and diet, they just help to speed the process along. The reason that a lot of people say that fat burning supplements don’t work is that they take them without doing anything else and expect results. But as long as you keep up with your exercise routine, they can help you to burn more fat in a shorter space of time. 

Eat More Protein 

Any diet that cuts back on calories will help you to lose weight, but a high protein, low-carb diet like the keto diet is the most effective way to burn fat and maintain your muscle mass at the same time. Eating high protein foods is obviously important but if you are working out a lot, you should try using some protein shakes or bars as well. You’ll find that you have a lot more energy and it’s also better for your recovery if you eat plenty of protein. If you often get sore muscles after working out, that’s a sign that you need more protein in your diet. 

Take More Rest Days 

People often think that working out more often means that they will burn more fat, but if you push yourself too hard, the opposite will happen. When you are overworked, you won’t be able to push yourself as hard so you won’t actually burn as much fat. But if you take more rest days, your workouts will be far more effective and you’ll burn fat faster. 

Although there is no easy way to lose weight, these simple changes to your routine will act as shortcuts and help you burn fat faster. 

 Are you struggling to find the motivation or energy that you need to get through some of the most difficult days of the week? If so, then you might want to consider some of the best ways to build up your levels of energy and give yourself the new found power you need. Here are some of the options that you can explore. 

I can't believe our sweet girl is already beyond three months old! She is growing so fast and it has been so fun to watch her grow and develop. With a baby, comes a lot of stuff. When registering for our daughter, I spoke with new moms, read message boards, and looked at checklists. We probably registered for a hundred things that people insisted we had to have. However, I realized these last three months, that babies don't need much. As long as their basic needs are met, they really don't need all these gadgets and fancy things. I can't believe how many expensive items I have read about people insisting a baby needs, when really they just need a clean diaper, milk, and a good swaddle. Don't waste your money on bottle warmers, breathing monitors, and fancy bassinets. These are the top ten items your little one needs...or that you need for your own sanity!

Hatch Rest Sound Machine, Night Light, & Time to Rise: We use the Hatch as a sound machine and night light, but will use it as our daughter ages as a night light and time to rise. The Hatch has a variety of different noises and colors, with our Addy preferring the orange light and the laundry machine sounds! My favorite part of Hatch is that I can control it via an app on my phone and set a timer to it. I am able to get the Hatch set up before we take baby in to bed and set it to go off 15-20 minutes after she falls asleep.

Unicherry Baby Scale: We originally got the scale because COVID had us unsure if well baby visits would be happening. But we were so grateful to have it when our daughter was born premature and we had to actively make sure she was gaining weight. We use this scale once a week to check our daughter's progress and are so glad we have this! We checked it's accuracy with our pediatrician's scale and found them to be aligned. 

Boba Wrap Baby Carrier: For awhile this carrier was the only way that I could get our baby to nap. I'd have to put her in it and just sit down for her to sleep at all during the day. While we have broken that habit, it is extremely helpful to have when I have stuff I need to get done around the house and she just wants to be held by mama. It is easy to use, easy to clean, and a great purchase for the price.

Oogie Bear: I knew there would be many new joys to parenting, but one that I did not expect was the joy I would get when digging boogers out of my daughter's nose! The Oogie Bear works so much better than bulb syringes, it's easy to clean, and can help with removing wet or dry snot from your child's nose. It is made from rubber so it doesn't hurt baby's nose at all and it has a bear head on it to be sure that it doesn't go too far into baby's nose.

Fisher Price Bouncer: This is another area where you really don't need anything fancy. I had registered for the $200 Baby Bjorn Bouncer where you have to bounce it yourself with your foot. Thankfully we didn't get it because this $20 Fisher Price bouncer is one of the best things we have for our baby. It vibrates and has a removable toy bar that baby enjoys batting at. We put her in it after every feed for about 15 minutes to ensure that she doesn't spit up. We also put her in it while we are eating dinner. I have heard of Mom's using it while they shower, but with both of us home working remotely right now, this is not a concern of ours. 

Love to Dream Swaddle or as we like to call it, the arms up swaddle. While our daughter has transitioned herself out of swaddles (thank God she did that on her own, I have heard it is awful!) this was a great swaddle for us for two months. She preferred sleeping with her arms up by her face, so this gave her the capability to do that, while also being swaddled. The sleep sack design makes it super easy to put baby in and it taught our baby to self sooth. They also make transitional and independent sleep swaddles, but because baby has transitioned herself out of swaddling, we haven't tried those.

Electric Nail File: While our daughter was in the NICU they recommended to us that we file her nails instead of clipping them because of how thin her skin was. We started out using standard nail files, but it was taking so long to be able to get her nails filed and it wasn't getting a good file either. I looked up recommendations online and saw suggestions for electric nail files. Now I am giving the same suggestion because this was a game changer! It removes any fear of cutting baby's skin and gets the filing done quickly. It has different heads for different ages and has different speeds to best fit your needs. 

Boon Grass Drying Racks: These drying racks are helpful in getting bottles, bottle parts, and pump arts dried quickly. The racks don't take up a lot of space and have a tray underneath for the water to drain to. There are accessory add ons available for allowing more space for drying items, but we do not feel a need to have those. We have three racks and love them. 

Fisher Price Deluxe Kick & Play Piano Gym: This play gym is perfect to keep baby entertained for hours and can last them for a couple years. Our baby currently loves this play gym. She hits at the animals, stares at herself in the mirror, kicks the piano, and has so much fun with this interactive mat. As baby ages you can move the toy bar and piano to better engage your child. The songs, while be it annoying after hearing everyday for months, are cute songs. There are three stages to the piano and songs based on child's development. It helps with sensory development, gross motor skills, and early academics. Tummy time can also be done on the mat. 

Pacifier Wipes: Our daughter can not function properly unless she is sucking on her pacifier. Because of this, we are often cleaning her pacifier. However, we do not always have access to a sink or clean water, so we have pacifier wipes! These wipes contain natural ingredients and get the pacifier clean in an instant. They can also be used on toys. We have them in our diaper bags, as well as our diaper caddys. Because of convivence we often use them at home even when we do have access to a sink or clean water. There are many different brands out there, but we prefer Dr. Talbot's because it is all natural. 

 When you are looking for gifts to buy for someone close to you in your life, there are a lot of types that you might want to look into. One type that is generally going to be a good way to go is to get self-care products. These are appreciated by almost everyone, and most people are going to want to make use of them in some way or another at different times. In this post, we are going to look at some of the self-care products that you might want to consider getting for the people close to you.

We all need a little help keeping on top of things as of late, especially those of us who are stuck inside for one reason as another. As such, it’s important to find ways to enjoy the company of the family with us, first and foremost. As the weather’s starting to change, so too are our options. Here are five ways you can keep the family entertained as we get deeper into fall.

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Get moving

Given that many of us have to spend a lot more time at home lately, we should all be aware of the risks that can come with living an overly sedentary lifestyle. The single best way to ensure those risks, such as obesity and musculoskeletal injury, don’t happen to us is to stay active. Even if you don’t have a lot of space in the home, yoga can be a great way to ensure you get the movement that your body needs to stay limber and flexible.

Marathon some movies

The seasons are changing, but there’s one day your kids might especially look forward to. There are a lot of age-appropriate scary movies that could be perfect for getting some buildup in the lead-up to Halloween. You can even make yourself a special homemade candy popcorn recipe to make the movie marathon nights feel really special.

Enjoy some seasonal treats

You don’t need to put on some Halloween movies to give yourself an excuse to whip up some tasty treats, either. Baking is one of the most accessible ways to make delicious foods for you and the family and you can get the kids involved with these pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Not only can it help them learn the basics of a skill they’re likely to rely on later, but it’s a great way to get creative and even a little messy.

Craft some fall decor

Head out into the garden if you have one or any nearby park or woodland and you will be able to see the season change around you, with leaves changing colors dramatically before they fall away from the trees. It can be a very inspiring sight and you can encourage your children to take advantage of this inspiration with a wide range of fall leaf crafts, which can include painting with leaves, making decor pieces with them, and more.

Watch nature change

Just because we’re all practicing social distancing doesn’t mean that we have to stay indoors. You and your kids could get out into the wilderness away from the four walls around you, and enjoy camping in the fall. If you don’t have a campground close to your home, you can even enjoy doing it in your own backyard. The opportunity to sit under the stars, make smores, and get away from technology is worth it.

You don’t need a lot of money or a ton of space to have a fun fall. Hopefully, with the ideas above, you can keep everyone in a good mood when that boredom really starts to set in.