Life

Where I’ve Been Since January

ACK!

Ehehm.

Excuse me.

They say that life is what happens between plans. Life is what’s happened between blog posts!

This blog has been silent for FAR too long. I apologize. Here’s a recap of what’s gone on for the last six months.

1. The Frost or Fog 5K – January

This was the first 5K I’d done in a little while. I’d decided that I would run a race each month this year. I hadn’t trained for it, and it was cold. Very cold. Like there was ice in Upper Bidwell Park cold. Brr. About halfway through the race, my legs were hurting pretty bad, and I wanted to give up. I didn’t. I kept going. I came in near last place, but at least I finished. Sometimes, you just have to push through when stuff gets hard and get it done. I immediately got sick – really sick – right after the race. I was out for the count for two weeks.

*Sigh*

2. The Habitat Home Run

So…after running and getting sick, I had a brilliant idea: Let’s run again to help raise money for charity. This time, I signed my husband up as well. In 2011, I worked with Habitat for Humanity‘s Women’s Build project. It was a lot of fun working with these women, and I’d planned on doing it last summer as well – except that life and a severe reaction to an antibiotic (Ciprofloxin) kept me from it. So, I decided I was feeling well enough to try to run the race. Wining Husband and I both finished – though I was majorly bummed at our time – though it wasn’t terrible. We also decided to join a gym so that we could work out more regularly.

But then…my legs were still bothering me. So much that I was limping a good bit of the way to the finish line.  We went into our doctor who noted some swelling in my right leg. I was sent to a physical therapist to work on tendonitis. Really bad tendonitis. Ouch.

3. Valentine’s Day

We had a wonderful Valentine’s day at a wonderful restaurant and enjoyed a fabulous meal with great wine. It was a lot of fun. I also managed to score with a Kitchen Aid mixer – so um yum. There will be lots of awesome baked goods in our future.

4. Wine Tastings and Table Mountain

We also managed to get out to many wine tastings during February. We went to a barrel tasting at Hickman Family Vineyards and visited our favorite hotspot, Creekside Cellars. Wining Husband and I also got out to Table Mountain with one of our good friends to see the wildflowers and hike around. It was gorgeous up there, and the wildflowers were just beginning to bloom.

5. The Bidwell Classic

So we did another race when the physical therapist said I’d achieved enough flexibility in my ankle to run again. So…we went out again to run. We ran for a good bit of the race.  But then, during the third mile, my left leg (the one that had not been bugging me) began to burn in the calf. I began to limp…I may have cried. The whole process of training my body to be active again has been an incredibly painful one – both physically and mentally. Prior to the tendonitis, I had been running 4-5 times a week, walking everywhere (literally) and clocking in about 35-40 miles a week total between running and walking. Following the reaction to Cipro, I was unable to even walk the 20 minutes to the corner store near us without excruciating pain. Believe me, I wanted to give up, but the voice of Claudia Weber, the Firewalk instructor, echoed in my mind “What is your purpose?” I struggled, but finally found it in me to finish the race. What should have been our best tandem time yet turned into our slowest – but at least we finished. Wining Husband was right there with me as I limped and struggled internally…and we did run it in at the end. By far, it was the hardest race I’d done. I’m really excited that we’ve got the picture above crossing the finish line.

6. Easter

Easter was great. We went to our little church, made a wonderful dinner of ham, roasted sweet potatoes, and sauteed greens. It was a perfect meal, accompanied by a Louis Martini 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a special day topped off with a very special meal.  It was also a day to catch up with each other after some very busy weeks!

7. Washington D.C.

Wining Husband and I went to D.C. for a conference he was presenting at. It was my first time there. I surprised myself by being able to walk around the city – 9 miles total. Had I worn better shoes, that would have gone better. My feet were torn up!!! We enjoyed great wine and food at Old Ebbit Grill, and we got to try out the Obama family Chili recipe at Kramerbooks and Afterwords Cafe. We had an absolutely amazing time.

8.  …and Why I Won’t be Tasting Wine for a While

I suppose the next bit of big news happened a week after we got back from DC. We woke up to run the Poppy 5K and…well…

It turns out I’m growing a human being. At this point, I’m 3 months along and due in mid-December right around the time Santa is getting those toys ready on his sleigh.

Don’t worry. I’ve got *plenty* of tasting notes to share with you all while the Little One is getting ready to join the world.

I can’t wait to meet him or her.

9.  Moving

On account that our family is going from 3 to 4 by the end of this year, we’re going to be moving into a larger house. I’ll be posting some of the decorating projects that I do as we get the house set up.

Oh…and if anyone has any tips on safely packing wine…

That's a LOT of wine to pack!
That’s a LOT of wine to pack!

 

 

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Ronda Bowen

Ronda Bowen is a writer, editor, and independent scholar. She has a Master of Arts in Philosophy from Northern Illinois University and a B.A. in Philosophy, Pre-Graduate Option, Honors in the Major from California State University, Chico. When she is not working on client projects from her editorial consulting business, she is writing a novel. In her free time, she enjoys gourmet cooking, wine, martinis, copious amounts of coffee, reading, watching movies, sewing, crocheting, crafts, hanging out with her husband, and spending time with their teenage son and infant daughter.

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