Hoover State of the City Address
Earlier this month Hoover mayor Gary Ivey gave his State of the City address at the Hoover Library. I wasn’t able to attend and I have not seen any recaps online or in news outlets (please share if you know of one). But the mayor’s office says that Mayor Ivey is on the calendar to give the Address again two more times. So if you are interested, maybe you can catch one of these:
January 24, 2012 – at the Hoover Senior Centerat 11:00 a.m. This is a luncheon so you need to call ahead to snag a seat.
February 13, 2012 – at the Egg & I at 11:00 a.m. This is a “Friends of Hoover” meeting which is being held at the restaurant.
Back on the Scale
The holidays are over. That means that I am climbing back into the driver’s seat at the table. I was doing good the last half of last year: exercising more and making smarter food choices. But then Thanksgiving rolled around and I didn’t quit eating until this weekend. I’m full. It’s time to get the fat-burning train rolling again.
I personally believe that being healthy is 70% diet, 20% exercise and 10% genes. So since diet is number one, here’s how I am getting it back in control:
1. re-reading Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. This is a must read for anyone trying to eat better. It ties in the right amount of sociology, biology and “how the man is trying to keep you down” through grocery store planning and business strategies. It’s a very easy and amazing read. I know our local libraries have many copies.
2. I am using the LoseIt! app (iTunes). I really like this one (it’s free). They have a great website too. It lets you enter what you eat and then spits back all of the numbers for you. They have a very impressive database of restaurant and grocery store foods. I use it to track calories, carbs and protein. No need to be more specific, at this point. You should also log your exercise in the app too so it can chart your input/output of calories. I mean our bodies are just machines anyway, right?
3. I am also using the RunKeeper app (iTunes) to track all of my exercise. They also have a website. I’ll input this data into the LoseIt! app to help stay organized.
That’s it. No New Year’s resolution. No deadlines. While I will track everything (mantra: what gets measured gets done) i don’t have any real goals to speak of. I’m just tired of being tired. Tired of my back hurting and so on…
so far I have consumed 450 calories today… let’s see where I end up.
Hoover Police Ticket Talley
There is an article today talking about the number of tickets Hoover PD wrote back in November. Ready for this? During a nine day period (November 14-22) they wrote 400+ tickets between Alford Avenue and Valleydale exits. Amazing! That’s more than 45 tickets a day. Now that section of I-65 is the part in and around all of the crazy construction. It’s a place where lots of commuters get tired and stressed out and start speeding. I think that’s the cause of the massive increase in accidents. A 45% increase from the year before, according to that article.
One good thing about Bluff Park is that you hardly ever have to get on I-65. You can cut through and get to downtown or the Galleria and never have to deal with interstate traffic. But then that is also the downside. That means everyone who knows this will often see our neighborhood streets as nothing more than a cut-through on their commute, causing the speeding and stop-sign-running that is prevalent at certain intersections.
So maybe they key is get some road construction up here so the Hoover PD will be forced to patrol more? Not sure that’s a good idea either. I know there are parts of Hoover that require more police attention. I’m lucky to have my family up here on the Bluff where things aren’t so unsafe. There just has to be a way to get folks to slow down while passing through our neighborhoods. Speed bumps? Cameras? Crossing guards? Toll booths? I’m open to any idea these days. . . maybe I’m just getting to be an old curmudgeon.
The Boot at the Preserve
We have a new favorite “go to” spot for a bite to eat and it’s just down the hill in the Preserve Village. It’s called “The Boot” and would probably fall in the Pub/New American column. I have had salads and sandwiches there. All around $8-$9 a piece. All very tasty. Most of the food has a spin on it, like the Banger sandwich has an Andouille sausage but instead of mustard they used pimento cheese. Also, the BLT I ordered had a fried egg on it. For the $8-$9 you get a side and fries. All very tasty. The kids have gotten pepperoni pizzas every time and they seemed to like them (but then they’re 3 and 5… they think GoGurt tastes good).
They have a full bar with 3 or 4 bourbons, etc. Also, you walk in and order from a window. Then they bring the food out to you. They help always seemed very friendly to us as well. Even when we went with a large group.
During our last visit I hurriedly snapped the attached images of the menu. They are kind of fuzzy. Let me know if you want to see better versions and I’ll think of some way to get it to you. I do know their menu has changed and been tweaked a few times, so I can’t promise this menu will still be in effect, but it’s been the same every time we’ve been. They also have a Facebook page as well as post to Twitter. I signed up for their newsletter and so far it’s been a good one with menu specials and $10 coupon kind of things. Let us know what you think of The Boot!
Hoover State of the City Address
It’s a new year and the new Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey is set to give the State of the City address this Monday, January 9th at 10 a.m. The event is at the Hoover Library. Their site says that refreshments will be served at 9:45 a.m. with the meeting kicking off at 10 a.m. Wish I could go. Please let us know if you see any “better than average” coverage.
The Alabama Shakes
I’ve been on a bit of a music binge since coming back from the holidays. One group that’s been in heavy rotation for me is the Alabama Shakes. The singer’s voice is intensely amazing and the guys on the instruments kind of have an blues groove, but different somehow. It’s nice to hear something unique these days.
I think their first album is due out sometime the first half of 2012. Until then, you can get their digital EP for $4 and YouTube is full of live performances as well to help with your Alabama Shakes fix.
Alabama Shakes “Going to the Party & Hold On” (YouTube)
Alabama Shakes “I Found You” (YouTube)
Coyote Watch 2012 in Bluff Park
We have one (or maybe more than one?) new furry resident in Bluff Park. According to the Bluff Park Forum, they moved in back just before Christmas. We haven’t seen him yet, though I don’t blame the coyote for hanging out around Mr. P’s. They have some really good food there!
We’re on the lookout!
Moonlight on the Mountain Mention
The Birmingham News and al.com have a piece on the struggles facing our neighborhood’s local music venue. Apparently, things are tough over at Moonlight on the Mountain with less than $100 in the bank, month-to-month. I admit that I have never checked it out, but hope to do so. It’s an interesting idea, giving unknown names a place to be discovered and play. Moonlight on the Mountain doesn’t sell food or drinks. So the only revenue seems to be ticket sales
Here is there calendar of scheduled performers. They even have open mic nights. Hopefully 2012 will be a good one for this unique venue up here on the Bluff.
Tree Recycling in Bluff Park and Hoover
It’s time to take the tinsel down and start vacuuming up the pine needles. I just swapped some emails with the Hoover Trash & Recycle folks. They said that we have two choices for tree disposal this year:
- 1. we can place our tree out by the curb on our normal trash day, or
- 2. starting Thursday, December 29th we can drive it over to Municipal Lane (across from the Lake House) and drop it off. They said that the banners marking off the drop off area will be up by Thursday.
I hope you all had a great Christmas and found some time to enjoy the season. It was a fun one for us. We’re very thankful this year for good friends and a healthy family.
Now, time to start looking to 2012 . . .
Local Chef Traveling the World
Bluff Park resident Drew Robinson is down in Uruguay this week learning from the locals about how they do BBQ and grilling. Robinson is a chef for the Alabama-based Jim N Nicks BBQ chain and a member of the Fatback Collective which placed third in the 2010 Memphis in May competition.
It sounds like Drew and crew are learning lots and taking good notes. He is posting about their travels over on FoodRepublic.com. If this first appetizing update is any indication of what’s on the menu, it’s a quick series that you are going to want to keep up with. The Fatback Collective is also posting to their Twitter account.
Safe travels, y’all!