Two days private and I miss being public already and seeing who comes around, haha. I decided to go two and two. I remained private on my-diary and LiveJournal but opened my Blogger and Prosebox blogs back up. 

I’m going to try to be pickier about what I say in public in general. I don’t care if I get comments or not, but I get sick of looking at a dead tracker. Would prefer it if the eyes of those I don’t care for would mind their own business but if I’m found on Prosebox (if I haven’t been already), then oh well. 

It is so fucking cold out there that I bumped the heat up to 72°. I usually keep it at 70° in the winter and 80° in the summer, but since I’m going to be on nights I’m going to warm it up during those hours. If I were asleep under my heavy blanket, then no. As soon as I crash in a few hours it’s getting dropped back to 70°. It sucks, though, as I am simply not used to this kind of cold. They’re saying it could even get into the 20s tomorrow night – ugh! But look at Klamath Falls, Oregon. It makes Massachusetts seem toasty warm. It’s why we only lived there for 3 years. 

After sleeping in late tomorrow, I’m looking forward to a fun birthday with lots of good food, fun and relaxation. It’s going to be a selfish ‘do what Jodi wants to do’ day. :) 

Later… 

Had, and am still having, a great birthday, though I didn’t sleep in as late as I thought I would. I know I said I’d skip my run today, but that was easier said than done. It’s making me feel too good to slack off now. My flexibility and energy levels are increasing big time. I even lost a few pounds, though I don’t expect much change there cuz I don’t diet anymore. I want to run a couple of miles every other day regardless. I’m focusing more on exercise lately than diet (I'm in my comfort zone of 1500 cals a day), but at this point, the numbers on the scale and measuring tape are just bonuses. I LOVE the way it makes me feel and that's more important. I hate it when I can't sit down on the floor and get up in one swift fluid motion. If you can't do that, you're not in shape or something's wrong. 

Maybe I’ll even try Carol Maggio’s Facercise sometime and see if it really works. According to her, if we exercise our 52 facial muscles, we can tighten droopy necks and jowls, slim faces and more. There’s an exercise that also makes the eyes look more open. As we age the skin around our eyes tends to sag, making us look tired and like we’re squinting. I’ve noticed this on myself. I have been known to have large eyes, but in my last set of pictures, I was like hey, why are my eyes half-closed? My wide cheekbones have always given my face a full appearance even at 100 pounds, but oh well. Can’t win ‘em all. 

So I got up and Tom arrived shortly after with some bulk items from Sam’s Club and our KFC. He hates chicken, but he got a chilidog right next door. He got me a bucket of 10 pieces of chicken, a container of biscuits, mac and cheese, and potato wedges. He had some of everything but the chicken. He also got a chocolate chip cake. I was dressed and ready to run, but decided I’d have a bite first. That “bite” turned out to be a whopping 5 pieces of chicken and half a biscuit! Didn’t realize I was that hungry. 

By 4pm I was out the door in 50° weather for my jog. I jogged all 14 blocks to the tire spikes at the front gate. :) I mostly walked back. I studied a map of the park, which I feel comfortable enough with now. Meaning, I’m sure I could find my way home no matter where in the park I was. There are only about 20 streets here. As I get stronger and in better shape, I’m going to want a longer route. But looping around the park actually looks to be a shorter route than doubling back. Also, my route is safer because it’s along the perimeter and I don’t have side streets on both sides of me. As Tom said, we live with old people, half of whom can’t drive, so you have to be careful. Someone got a little close to me today and I was thinking, you have all that space over there. Why you leaning in on me? 

I didn’t even let the group of turkeys deter me that I sometimes see here and there. I wouldn’t back down from a grown man, so why would I from something that weighs 40-50 pounds? I never heard of any turkey attacks, and Tom says they’re not aggressive. 

Hazel was sweeping away, as usual, and we chatted for a few minutes. She wished me a happy birthday and said I don’t look my age. It’s a good thing she’s too out of it to ask how the hell I knew her name. It was Ron and that other lady at the lake that mentioned her name. 

By the time I returned, it was 46°. Before 10pm we hit freezing. :( Freezing or not, I love how I am able to get outdoors more often here. There was nothing stopping me in other places, but still… I had potentially dangerous people in Phoenix, rattlesnakes in Maricopa, loose dogs in Oregon, along with skunks and the slight, but real possibility of bears in Auburn. Online and outside of the park, I don’t care who/what you are. I have friends of many countries, colors, races, religions and sexual orientations online and that’s fine. Now call me racist and very un-American sounding if you must, but I love living with my fellow aging whities. I don’t know that everyone’s “white,” though. I mean there may be some Hispanics as they have just as much right as anyone else to be here, but hip or not, I love knowing no outdoor dogs, kids, college animals or welfare bums can live here. The landscaping may be annoying, but everything always looks so gorgeous. They don’t even allow single-wides in here and everything must be 1977-made and newer, built like regular houses. 

It’s amazing how far I’ve come with the running. One of the biggest mistakes people make, as I once did, is they run too fast when they first start out. This causes you to burn out too fast and puts you at risk of cramps and injury. When you first start out your calves burn so bad, you feel like you can’t catch your breath, and you swear it’s not humanly possible to run very far. But it is! Just start with stationary running indoors to build those calves up. That’s the first and most important thing is getting those calves and ankles strengthened. 

Although outdoor running means I could twist an ankle easier if I’m not careful and don’t watch where I’m going, I find it way less boring than the treadmill. The treadmill was boring me even with TV, music or the Kindle set up on it. And once I reach my destination (the front gate) I can’t give up and say I don’t want to continue on cuz I gotta get back home after all. 

I noticed that in white paint at the edge of the street they wrote USA. Do they think we're so old and so far gone here that we forget what country we're in??? Well, I may roll my eyes at some of the shit I used to do that I once found hilarious which I now find silly or mean – prank calls, egging vehicles, leaving gum in all the wrong places, but the prankster in me that still lives on wished she had matching paint so every 20 feet or so she could add another country... Germany... Spain... Australia... Brazil... LOL...