keepin it real in a random manner!

the babies have hatched!!

the best barbecue in town!

my new stove! I want to marry it!

morning walk!

Where do I begin?! Well, the other day I went to the Drs office and they did blood work and called me in to the office to discuss it with the Dr. I about had a panic attack, because that never happened before, but the Dr just wanted to talk to me about the results instead of playing phone tag if I had any questions. My cholesterol was high which I expected and he told me that I had three months to lose some weight before medication would be prescribed. My blood sugar was sightly elevated and since no one in my family has had any Diabetes, he said that even a 10 percent weight loss would normalize that. He nicely told me that when you get to be around our ages we can't just have this extra weight on without it affecting us. So, I need to increase the intensity of the exercise I am already doing and I have been thinking of joining the YMCA or a gym. This morning I walked to the Y and got some brochures with the prices and hours. When I walked in it was hot and stuffy so...I wasn't sure I could survive a workout there. Then later on I drove to a nearby town to check out Absolute Fitness a 24/7 gym which was 12 dollars a month cheaper and much nicer. When I pulled up in front of the place I had to tell myself, yes, I can do this, I can walk in to a gym as a chubby old lady even if all young buffers would be wondering what on earth I was doing there. Two men in uniforms ran past my car, yelling in a drill sergeant manner at a young guy in gym shorts. Yikes, is this what it is going to be like in there?? Boy was I re leaved to see them go in to the army recruitment center.
Of course, a young athletic man greeted me giving me the brochure and pointing out the pricing and gave me a quick tour of the place. I never felt fatter and older. The only people I saw were young, thin , muscle-y people, but I was hoping for the Biggest Loser kind of crowd. There was a Women's Only Area that was in a separate room, small but OK I guess!
I just don't know what to do... maybe just try harder on my exercise bike or do my DVDs again this summer...I just don't know...
Another keepin it real subject I want to tackle today is my neighborhood. See the picture above of a sketchy looiking convenience store with bars on the windows? It is two blocks away from my home and has the best BBQ in town! You see, we live two blocks away from the historic district which is where I take my walks, and we also live two blocks away from a more run down part of town. Apparently that is the case when you live in a downtown area. We don't really mind that though, we love our street and our house. Friends live on the other side of the street that we knew in Florida and our next door neighbor on one side teaches art at the Community College and our neighbor on the other side is a dean and Phd that works for the University of Alabama branch in Gadsden. With that being said, the two houses directly across the street from us have been empty for over 6 months with the grass majorly overgrown and being a total bummer to look out at from our cozy porch. Well, today they were both finally mowed by the city because a few of us called to make a complaint about them and the city will mow if the owner doesn't do it after two weeks notice. Now ,we are not picky, anal people about yards or anything but these houses had mini trees and shrubs taking over their yards. Now that they are freshly mowed, I feel like throwing a party!
Another random fact is that we finally got rid of our 1970s relic stove and got a brand spankin new one that brings joy to my heart when I use it! I am in love with it!!
And the baby birds hatched, all 5 of them and they are the cutest lil guys!
I really do love our little corner of the world with all the trees, flowers,birds, bungalows and eccentric characters. It has character and charm which makes the little annoyances seem small!!