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Yesterday was an odd day. I was sick. I say it was strange because I was very nauseous, kept getting dizzy and having hot flashes. And all I wanted to do was lay flat so the world would stop spinning.

I hadn’t felt good the previous day either. But I had attributed that to post-party malaise (aka a hangover). Hubby was confused because he felt fine and had imbibed much more than I.

But then my body can be weird like that.

I never got sick, sick. No hugging the porcelain god, if you know what I mean. But I sure felt lousy.

Maybe it was my body reacting to my brain’s assertion that I plan to run a 10-mile race in October.

“You’re going to do what? Ha, think again! Take this…” my body said.

Today I feel much better. So far anyway. Of course, I felt fine on Monday morning, too. It hit all of a sudden.

Hopefully, today will be different. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

On another note, I’ve worked out a plan to train for this 10-miler. It doesn’t start with a three-mile run either. It starts SLOWLY. With walking. So my muscles and bones can get used to the added stress before I try to run. It seems logical enough. And way more realistic. I’ll let you know how things are going.

Last night, Hubby and I spent a wonderful evening with two dear friends and eight of their closest friends. A real dinner party where we got to meet not-quite-strangers. I say “not quite” because we’ve heard so much good stuff about these folks that it was just a matter of meeting them in person and putting faces to names.

It was really very nice. The food — paella made from scratch, salad and bread — was fabulous. There’s was lots of wine, too. Including a bunch of sangria, which I consumed far too much of as usual.

It was really a fabulous evening. Except for the part where Kathy (the dear friend/hostess) asked me if I would run a 10-miler with her in October.

“Um. Maybe?” I replied.

“Great, we can start tomorrow. We’ll just do three miles. It’ll be easy. Are you in?”

“Um. I guess so,” I agreed. I hate peer pressure. Of course, I’d already ingested quite a bit of sangria by then.

So, by the end of the evening, I’d somehow agreed to go to Kathy’s house and run three miles this morning. When I woke, I thought it was a bad dream. Then I remembered it was real. And if I didn’t get my ever-widening ass out of bed she was going to call me and say, “Well, are you coming?”

I actually got up, got dressed, drove to her house and attempted to run 3 miles. I think I succeeded in actually running three feet. But she was a good sport. I wasn’t the only one drinking sangria the previous evening after all.

And it is a gorgeous morning. Spring has definitely sprung here in Maryland.

I did not run three miles. But I did walk with her. I am just so horribly out of shape that I couldn’t do it. I WILL run the 10 miler in October, but I just can’t start with an “easy” three miles. I need to take baby steps, work my way up to it.

I can do it, though. I am determined. I have to make some serious changes and get this aging, out-of-shape body back in the swing of things. Shed some pounds and MOVE. Not doing anything is what will kill me.

It’s still pretty early. I need to plant some stuff I bought at the nursery yesterday. And Hubby and I may take a bicycle ride later. For now, though, I think I might need a nap.

It’s Spring. Know what that means? According to Hubby, it means time to ride this…

That’s Hubby’s motorcycle. He’s really ready to start riding again. There’ve been some days here and there this winter when it was warm enough to ride. But since our garage at the Maryland house is so tiny, we keep the bikes in West Virginia. And while we’ve had a couple of warm days there, the two miles of gravel road between our property and the main road has just been too wet and muddy.

Anyway… wanna know just how ready to ride that Hubby of mine really is? He’s planning a trip to Oklahoma. You know, that place where the wind comes sweeping down the plains?

It’s a long ride. The “short” route, via interstate highway, is over 1,400 miles (2,253 kilometers). Each way.

But short routes are no fun on a motorcycle. You need back roads. You know, those smooth, windy, uncrowded 2-lane roads through the mountains and countryside that we like so much.

Here’s a dandy image to give you an idea as to just how far Oklahoma is from Maryland…

The green line represents the short route I spoke of.

Why would Hubby want to do such a thing? He’s a guy. They do weird stuff like that. That’s way too far for me to want to ride my motorcycle in a short amount of time (three days in each direction). So I am going to take the easy route. I’ll just fly to Oklahoma City and meet him. We’ll tool around Oklahoma for a bit then head east into Arkansas. I’ve been wanting to see the Ozark Mountains anyway. Then I’ll fly home from Little Rock a few days later.

This map represents all the states where Hubby has already ridden a motorcycle. The white states are the ones he has NOT ridden a motorcycle. So, once the trip is all said and done, he’ll have a more-colorful map.

And I’ll have something exciting to Blog about. Cool pictures to share, too, no doubt.

When Hubby was in the Army, he spent some time in Oklahoma. He really liked it there. He speaks of it often. So I guess it’s time I see the place, too.

This is still in the planning stages. As time draws nearer, I’ll give you more details.

My Mom called me last night. She knows I don’t want TV hence am not always on top of current events. “I just wanted to make sure you knew your volcano erupted,” she said.

I’ve mentioned Alaska’s Redoubt volcano here previously. It’s been acting up for months now. I was amazed that it didn’t warrant much news coverage here in the lower 48. But this time, it has actually been discussed on CNN.

Because it erupted. Like five times. Spewing a cloud of ash and steam 60,000 feet into the atmosphere.

People aren’t panicking. They have masks. They know what precautions to take. It’s just another fact of life in wild and wonderful Alaska.

I did check-in on my favorite photographer couple who have become virtual pen pals over the past year. All is well. They live about 60 miles from Redoubt across the Cook Inlet. Their biggest fear is that it will remain cloudy and disrupt their upcoming trip south to Homer to take Eagle pictures. These folks have taken some of the best Eagle images I have ever seen. So I, too, hope the ash continues to move away from them.

We did not go to WV this weekend. Instead, we stayed at the MD place so we could attend a retirement party for Jim Stewart, a former co-worker of Hubby’s.

Hubby and I don’t get out much. It was a nice change.

Jim is one of the nicest people in the world. I’ve only been in his company a few times. But I know of him through Hubby. He and Jim have known each other for 27 years. Hubby thinks very highly of Jim. He’s got a pretty cool wife, too. And a lovely family.

Hubby told Jim last night, “You know, ever since I’ve known you, I’ve been making fun of you for being old. Tonight, I’m envious.”

We spent the night in a bar together, drinking beer, surrounded by lots of people. Most of which Hubby has known longer than he’s known me. That’s definitely a different kind of thing for us to do.

And you know what? After we left that bar, we went to another bar. For dinner. Hubby had promised to feed me. He’s been craving a bar burger for weeks. So he indulged his craving and fed me at the same time.

I can’t remember when Hubby and I were last in a bar together. Much less two bars in one night. It was fun.

Today is proving more normal. More mundane. I went to Lowe’s and bought door and drawer pulls for the WV place. FINALLY. Only ’cause Hubby was threatening to install bolts as pulls. I went to Wal-Mart, too, for doggie drugs. Next, I’m going to the dump. And to the plant nursery to buy some pansies (I hope).

Spring is on the way! Maybe I’ll even get the camera out later. Time will tell, I guess.

Some days it’s hard to find stuff to blog about. My life is good, it’s just not always that interesting.

I stumbled across a blog the other day that posts poetry regularly. So I thought I’d follow suit and post my favorite poem of all time.

Don’t worry, it’s short. I’m just not that deep.