Bank Accounts And Babies - Better When They're Fat.

I have started reading a blog by a guy who calls himself Mr. Money Mustache.

It's pretty serious.

He- and others like him- call themselves Financial Independialists- of FIentists. Their "thing" is saving massive portions of their income- like, 50% or more. By minimizing all spending and investing like crazy, their goal is to reach financial independence as soon as possible- and well before the average retirement age.

Mr. Money Mustache followed that strategy starting when he was 20 and "retired" at 30! "Retired" because he still has some sources of income (besides investments)- he does contracting work and "fixer-upper"-ing, but he does it because he likes it, and not because he needs the money.

It seems totally impossible, and there are some things that he does that I'm not willing to do. For example, he lives in the suburbs, outside of Denver, where living expenses are a lot lower than they are in DC. I'm not doing that- both because I love big cities, and because both Ron's and my job can only be done here (or NYC, which doesn't help in the broke-ass ninja department).

Salt is my favorite flavor

I love salt. If they had salt licks for humans, I would buy two.

Mmm...deeeliciooooous....

My friend Christian likes to ask impossible questions as a drinking game- usually a version of "Would You Rather". Like, would you rather be covered in pinstripes, or explode confetti out of your orifices when you sneeze? Or, would you rather have ears you could remove and leave lying around for spying, or have wheels instead of feet?

And then, "Would you rather....give up sweet snacks and coffee, or salty snacks and beer?"

Easy peasy. I'd give up sweet snacks and coffee. I'd miss them, for sure. And I don't need the beer (that's why God gave us gin and tonics). But give up salty snacks? NEVER.

So I was relieved and gratified to read in the NYTimes of a recent study showing that, not only is there no correlation between low-sodium diets and lower rates of heart disease, it's actually possible that super-low sodium diets are bad for  you.

YESSSSSS.

Sad News!

I tried the NYTimes seven minute workout aaaaaannnnnd....I'm sore.

That is nothing but sad.

That is all.

Vegemite, Anchovies, and Olives, Oh My!

This is classic- slow mo video of kids trying new foods for the first time.

I love the little girl trying the olive. C'mon, kiddo, you know you love it!

Were you an adventuresome eater as a kid? I always have been- my parents talk about watching me eat oysters on the half shell as a toddler, so it seems it's part of my nature.

Good News!

Guys! Great news! It turns out, there's no need to work out for, like, eons. Or even 30 minutes. 

There've been a number of studies recently that indicate that short bursts of intense activity are at least as effective at reducing weight and increasing fitness as well as longer, less intense workouts. 

For those of us who have slogged through marathon training, this seems like information that would have been helpful several hundred miles ago.

The concept, sometimes called High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), is the basis for the trendy CrossTraining workouts.

The NYTimes has an article this week recapping a study that showed that a high-intensity workout, done for only SEVEN MINUTES, "produces molecular changes within muscles comparable to those of several hours of running or bike riding."

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR, Y'ALL!*