Ninja Training Update # 2

So sorry I've been gone so long! I was visiting various family members and being visited by various friends and the time got away from me. But here I am again and I've got some awesome news!

As you might remember from my previous Ninja Training Update, I've been tackling added sugar in my diet. I am so happy to say that my efforts have paid off. Doing this simply and slowly has ingrained it as a habit for me. I no longer have to strictly write down and add up grams of sugar. I naturally eat under the cap. My cap is 25 grams, but I've naturally been eating way below that. On a typical day I might have 12 grams or, more likely, less. It feels great to have a healthy habit down! Now I have the willpower to spare on another step.

I'm uncertain what my next step should be. Sugar isn't entirely defeated in my diet yet. Through a little bit of research I've learned that certain bread foods, while not containing added or natural sugar are digested as sugar in the body. These are foods like white bread/rolls/pasta, white rice, fruit juice, potatoes, and even corn. In the case of white bread and white rice, my understanding is that the refining process takes out key nutrients and fibers that counteract the sugar digestion. Without those fibers the food is digested quickly and spikes your blood sugar. White flour and white rice is refined. Potatoes and corn are starchy. Fruit juice is an interesting one. You would think that fruit juice is a healthy choice. But the juicing process strips away the fiber part of the fruit, adding together the natural sugar content of many fruits into a one place. I personally think fruit juice is a little strong and and have heard that it's bad for tooth decay.

My next step could be cutting down and out white breads and white rice. I despise white bread, but I do eat other white bread products like rolls and bread sticks. I love white rice so that one will be more difficult. But cutting down on these things will positively impact my health and make me even further away from getting type 2 diabetes, which runs strong in my family. I don't drink fruit juice. I can limit potatoes, they're not the best veggie for you. However, corn would stay. It's one of the few veggies I really love. Why cut out one of the good guys just because it's not perfect?

My other choice for a next step could be measuring my baseline for sodium and working it down like I have sugar. One of the first things the doctor does after you have a heart attack is put you on a low sodium diet. I would know, many people in my family have had heart problems and high blood pressure. I know my sodium is probably through the roof and I'll feel much better when it's down to a reasonable amount. Right now I'm really not sure which of these steps I want to take first.

I've come a long way already and I still have a long way to go. But this journey isn't terrible or torturous. It's actually quite fun and I feel physically better than I have in I don't know how long, maybe ever lol. This is only the beginning. I have much more health to enjoy in the future!

That's all for this update. Thanks for reading! If you have any feedback, questions, or comments just post a comment at the end of this post or email me at thehalflingninja@gmail.com

You're never too small to make a difference in the world!

The Halfling Ninja

+50 Nerd Power!

So much has happened since my last post. I've had an amazing family reunion, many visits from friends, the Fourth of July, and so on. However I don't want to cram all of this into a haphazard post. I realize I've missed my usual posting time, so this post is a late one. So sorry, I've been so busy and really sleep deprived lol. But I will tell you what happened yesterday.

After work yesterday my two roommates and I decided to run some errands together. This involved picking up a car from the mechanic, dropping off a car at the mechanic, some light grocery shopping, and, just for fun, a visit to a game store. We had never been to this game store but it was highly recommended by a friend. To clarify, it's not a video game store. It's a nerdy strategy board game store.

I knew we'd struck gold when we first walked inside. At first glance I saw plastic cubbies full of dice in various sizes, colors, and number of sides. I love to customize. The first shelf we glanced at was full of promising looking game boxes. The atmosphere was inviting and we could clearly hear from the back of the store that a game was in progress (ex. "I equip the Broadsword of Vanquishing which gives me +4 strength which raises my overall combat strength to 11 thus defeating the Menacing Minotaur).

We browsed the shelves for quite some time. So many games looked so fun! If my roommate had a million dollars we would have walked out with one of everything. The store associate was incredibly helpful. He recommended several games of different types to us. He plays many of these games himself. He let us know about the demo games in the back area of the store that we could try out. I'd never heard of demo board games before but I love the idea! One game in particular caught my eye. It was a type of strategy board game that we hadn't tried yet (involving resources). The store associate had just bought the game and hadn't gotten the chance to play it yet. He offered to play it with us so we could see if we liked it.

Now, I had to use the bathroom. There wasn't a public restroom in the store. Also, I was a week and a half's worth of sleep deprived. I knew if I said something to my roommates that we would end up telling the man we might try it some other time and leave. However, I had a gut feeling that if we played the game with him that day we would leave the store as members of a gaming group. My two roommates are introverts. We're all nerds. A gaming group would be really good for us and this was a prime opportunity to find one. So I held it lol.

The game was amazing! It's called Evolution. The premise is that the players are species of animals struggling for survival. You start out with one species each and as the game progresses you can add more species, increase the population of your species, and increase the body size of your species (a protection against carnivores or an edge for carnivores). Various cards aid you in helping your species survive. The limited resource is food. If you don't have enough food for your species, it's population goes down to the amount of food you do have for it. If you have no food for a species or all of them get eaten by a fellow player's carnivore your species goes extinct. So many strategies can go into play in this game! I took to it like a fish to water.

Like I predicted, we were invited to join a group. We now have a regular game night! We have now joined a thriving community of nerds! We have a social life outside of church! Lol. I'm so excited! Not to mention we get to add our library of games to our new friend's library of games, plus the huge wall of hundreds of demo games (which are the full game shipped to the store taped shut instead of shrink wrapped). So many options! So much to learn! So much fun ahead! I look forward to meeting new people and learning new games and just having a blast! God is so awesome to us!

That's it for this post! Thanks for reading! If you have any feedback just leave a comment or email me at thehalflingninja@gmail.com

You're never too small to make a difference in the world.

The Halfling Ninja

Dodging Sunbeams

This Halfling ninja has had to stay in the hobbit hole apart from leaving to go to work or run necessary errands lately. Why? I fried like an egg at the pool the other day. I may have not mentioned this before. I am the second of five children. All my siblings have a different skin tone from me. When they get out in the sun they get dark. It comes from my mother's genetics. She's Hawaiian. I took after my dad. He's Irish and photosensitive. Dad raised me to be cautious and take care of myself in the sun. I know the best sunblock brand. I naturally reapply. I don't tend to swim on cloudless days or between 10am and 2pm. I even stand in the shade a lot when I'm outside for extended amounts of time.

So what happened?

I had one of those feeling young and invincible moments.

I had been going to the pool all week and had been fine. My roommate's sister was visiting and we have to be with our guests at the pool or they'll be asked to leave because they aren't residents. She loves to swim so I had agreed to go with her over and over. The day was cloudy and it looked like it might rain or even storm. We only got maybe 3 whole minutes of direct, unfiltered sunlight. However, my arms started to get red blotches and they spread quickly. Once I start to burn I burn fast! We had to get the heck out of dodge.

The damage? I lightly burned my face and legs, I had angry blotchy pink spots all over my arms, and I was bright pink all around my collar. We broke out the After Sun Aloe Vera. I even started storing it in the fridge so it would be cold. I was angry with myself for not picking up a section of my grandma's aloe plant when I visited several weeks ago. I decided to wait and I can't remember my reasons anymore.

I'm not likely to get one of the "invincible" feelings about sun exposure again any time soon. I've had to wear sunblock at work (the strong, spray on kind that makes you look stiff and shiny, bleh) and I've had to dodge the sunlight between 10am and 2pm. An already established burn doesn't need any encouragement to get worse. I've been walking faster in the sunlight and slowing down in the shade. I've even been holding my arms in shady spots in the car while driving. It's been interesting. I feel like a ninja trying to hide from the sun. Needless to say I've learned my lesson.

Ninja Lesson: Don't overestimate your abilities or toughness.

That's it for this post! Thanks for reading. If you have any feedback for me just leave a comment or send a message to thehalflingninja@gmail.com

You're never too small to make a difference in the world.

-The Halfling Ninja

Ninja Training Update # 1

I've made great progress in my ninja training since I started several months ago. My strategy has been to take one small, simple step at a time. Often what causes a lifestyle change to fail is doing too much too fast. We only have so much willpower and taking on a lot of change can sap that power and cause us to crumble. It's one of the wisest pieces of advice on health I've ever heard and it really works.

My first small step was taking caffeine out of my diet. I have an anxiety disorder and caffeine was just fuel on the fire. That one small step led to taking pop out of my regular diet. It's something I can only have as a treat, but funnily enough it's been over 6 months and I don't crave it. That step led to water being my main drink. Anything else is a treat. I never thought I could be a water drinker. I hated water and drank soda all day every day. The change is amazing! I love water now and pop doesn't even look desirable anymore. My next step from there was focusing on basic healthy habits. I was terrible at taking care of myself. The basic daily habits I worked on was eating 3 meals (I was averaging 1 and a half), drinking 6 glasses (50 oz) of water, and sleeping at least 7 hours. Creating solid habits in those areas taught me a lot about myself and my anxiety triggers.

My newest small step has been to tackle the added sugar in my diet. I took a week and just recorded my daily amount of added sugar in grams. At the end of that week I calculated my average: 61g. For several weeks now my focus has been to limit my daily added sugar. I started with 50g and slowly worked my way down. This has led to me naturally making small changes in my diet that limit added sugar. Sugar is hidden in a lot of foods and many foods that appear healthy have more sugar in them than you'd expect. I am now at my goal of 25g of sugar or less a day! I learned the hard way when I made the move to drinking only water that sugar is addictive. You have to take it slow to get off the stuff or you'll suffer. My final goal of 25g or less is actually the recommended daily maximum according to my research. And I just hit it so YAY!

It's been 9 months since I started. I have lost around 40 pounds and solidly built many healthy habits into my daily life. The best part is maintaining this is easy since my strategy is to turn the changes into habits. When I reach my weight goal, staying there will come naturally. But my main focus is my health and not just my weight. I'm so excited about my progress and the road ahead.

That's it for this Ninja Training Update. Feel free to send any feedback to thehalflingninja@gmail.com or leave a comment. Thanks for reading!

You're never too small to make a difference in the world.

The Halfling Ninja
thehalflingninja@gmail.com

Re: Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

5 Stars = Favorite, would read over and over again
4 Stars = Highly enjoyable, would read again
3 Stars = Enjoyable but would not read again
2 Stars = Tolerable
1 Star = I hated it

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies is a retelling of the classic Pride And Prejudice with a zombie spin. The essentials of the story stay the same, but with some added color, particularly red. Zombies make many appearances and normal scenes from the original version are spiced up a bit. Arguments become actual fights. Slight changes, inessential to the plot, occur here and there and serve to make the story more lively, action oriented, and gruesome. After reading the original so soon before reading this version, I also noticed that the story was more direct, with some unnecessary details and complicated phrasings taken out. The end product was a more direct telling of the classic story with a splash of blood-lust.

I'm not sure what was more fun, reading this version soon after reading the original or if I had read the zombie version first. Reading it second, I was able to see where the additions and omissions happened. But it would have been so fun to read the zombie version first. I wasn't a stranger to the plot. I'm a big fan of the movie. The movie is one of my 5 star ratings. I could watch it over and over. So I knew I would be a fan of the book, whether original or zombie version.

I enjoyed this book. In several places, particularly key scenes, the addition of sword fighting and zombies made things epic! Of course I say that after knowing what the original scene really was. But the additions were so funny and at times movie worthy. I actually wish this was a movie. I would definitely watch it! That said, this book does not make my 5 star list. In all, I give it 3 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed it but I probably wouldn't read it again. In many places the book read almost exactly the same as the original. The additions sometimes had a choppy quality, like they were just sprinkled throughout the story instead of made to be an integral part of the story. But there were moments when the additions made the story better or caused a normal remark from a character to change greatly in meaning.

Abuse Survivor Warning
This retelling involves a slight change in scene during the Lydia/Wickham incident that might be triggering to some. Also I use a triggering word beyond the spoiler warning.

SPOILER WARNING!!!

Okay, that fighting scene between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine was EPIC! I thought it might happen since so many of the big scenes were zombified, and I was so happy to see that I was right! It was so much better than just the argument in the original! Especially since Elizabeth bested Lady Catherine and then spared her life, letting her live with the humiliation of being beaten by someone of inferior birth and training.

The fight between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy was also great. It wasn't as epic, but I pictured it as being just as full of passion as the argument in the rain in the movie. Charlotte getting infected with the plague was an interesting long term plot twist. Mr. Collins hanging himself after sending his advice about Lydia was a nice touch, tragic, but given the tone of this whole retelling, it fit. I was a little confused about the twist in Lydia's running away with Wickham. At some points it made it out to be a kidnapping, rape, and murder. But Lydia wasn't taken against her will. Once Mr. Darcy found her, she refused to leave Wickham. They never said rape, but I took the term dishonor to mean that. I could be wrong. I do understand that Wickham taking her with him, her wishing for marriage and him having no intention to marry her, as greatly dishonoring her, especially in that day and age. Wickham being rendered lame was an interesting change in the story. I'm sure many fans of the story who hate Wickham got a lot of satisfaction out of that. It did make for some funny scenes. Also, yay! There were ninjas in the story!

That's all for this Re:View! Thanks for reading! Send any feedback to thehalflingninja@gmail.com or leave a comment.

You're never too small to make a difference in the world.

The Halfling Ninja

Re: Olive and Sinclair Chocolate

It's the best chocolate on the planet.

My roommate and I were at the grocery store picking up a few things. Near the artisan cheeses we came across a display for artisan chocolate. We love artisan bread and cheeses, so naturally this grabbed our interest. My roommate was the person that originally taught me that not all chocolate is created equal. She was the first to introduce me to higher quality chocolates like Lindt. Needless to say, after really only knowing Hershey, it opened up a whole new world of chocolate to me. But I wasn't prepared for what we just discovered.

Olive and Sinclair Chocolate is southern artisan. It is hand crafted in Nashville, Tennessee. They start with the raw cocoa beans and expertly craft them into bars of solid deliciousness. The beans are select single origin and taken in small batches. They are slow roasted and ground, but not just ground, stone ground. The makers combine traditional methods and modern European technique. The ingredient list on the package boasts only 3 ingredients: Cacao Beans, Brown Sugar, and Cacao Butter. It is also a fair trade item.

Now, this would all be pretentiousness and laughable if the chocolate was unremarkable.

But no.

This chocolate is the ABSOLUTE MOST DELICIOUS chocolate that I've ever had the pleasure to taste! I literally had to use a lot of self control to spread it out over several days. I wanted to eat the whole thing, but I loved it so much that I hated the idea of the bar being gone. That may sound odd, but here's the context: This chocolate bar is normally around $7.00. Who buys a chocolate bar that expensive? I'm not one to throw that much cash on a sweet tooth fix. The bars were on sale when we picked them up. The sign said $4.00 Buy One Get One Free. My roommate says that she thinks they rang up for regular price at the checkout. I don't know. I was returning an item to the shelf while she was checking out. We didn't check the receipt.

We got the regular 67% bar (there are a variety of flavors). It's not like your ordinary chocolate. It's a bit harder and crunchier. You can hear a person bite and chew it. The flavor is not super sweet like many chocolates. It runs closer to dark chocolate. There's a richness that's not bitter and not overpowering. To me personally, it's chocolate the way it was meant to be. I am a minority in my household however. My roommate didn't find it remarkable and says it must be an acquired taste. My other roommate didn't like it at all, but I suspect her hatred for dark chocolate influenced that considerably. This chocolate isn't for everyone. I totally get that. But for me, it is the king of chocolate bars.

That's it for this Re:View (can you review chocolate?). Thanks for reading! Send any feedback to thehalflingninja@gmail.com or leave a comment. And don't forget:

You're never too small to make a difference in the world.

The Halfling Ninja

Adventures In Cooking: Roasted Corn On The Cob

I have some great news! My family will truly rejoice. I have a reputation for not eating vegetables...or fruit...or anything remotely healthy. I can proudly say that I have a new vegetable that I like! Not only a new vegetable, but it has taken the new first place spot on my veggie list. It's roasted corn on the cob. I've hated corn for as far back as I can remember (which is pretty far back). But one day at a friend's house I decided to give corn another try. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I like it. But it wasn't until several weeks later that I really got hooked. I was introduced to roasted corn on the cob. Since then I have craved corn on the cob. Craved it over candy, and I was being offered candy at the time. I knew this was something I needed to learn to cook. Enter this first Adventure In Cooking.

I followed a recipe on the internet. I started with some unshucked corn from the grocery store (I so miss the days when I just picked it from the fields). I got to relive some of the glorious farm work days while I shucked all the corn in the kitchen. Then I pulled all that annoying corn silk off and cut off the end and the tip. I also cut out any bad places I found. Just like the old days. That marked the end of familiar territory.

Next I unraveled the last of our tin foil and placed it over a baking sheet. I buttered each ear of corn and lightly sprinkled them with salt and pepper. Then I placed them in the oven (I promise I preheated the oven lol). Every fifteen minutes I would open the oven and rotate the ears with some nifty tongs. I barely have cooking experience (at least on my own) and this was definitely my first time with corn on the cob.

Here is the beautiful result:

The browning is intentional. I love the flavor it adds when its browned. Call me odd. My roasted corn on the cob was a beautiful and delicious success! I'm so happy, first because I love roasted corn on the cob and now I can make it. Second, because I feel so accomplished to have successfully cooked something delicious on my own. This was the first of many adventures in cooking. I'm looking forward to the next one!

That's a rap. Send any feedback to thehalflingninja@gmail.com or leave a comment. Thanks for reading!

You're never too small to make a difference in the world.

The Halfling Ninja