sick day

Nutmeg Muffins: A Thanksgiving Family Tradition

In Red: Bertha Klug (nutmeg muffin creator).

When teaching a Pilates class, while participants hold a 90-second plank, I try to tell amusing stories. A few years ago on my last day of classes before Thanksgiving, I jokingly said to my last class, “I only have two Thanksgiving-themed stories. You are probably all sick of hearing them year after year. Something interesting better happen this Thanksgiving so I can get a better story for you guys.” I got my wish from a seemingly inconspicuous nutmeg muffin.

Nutmeg Muffins

I have a family recipe for nutmeg muffins from my great, great, great grandma. My family makes them on the regular, but I have been gluten free for 8 years. In that time, I’ve enjoyed nutmeg muffins less. Though I’ve experimented with g-free flours, it seems gluten-free products suck the flavor out of everything. In an attempt to improve the quality every time I make nutmeg muffins I add a little more nutmeg. This year as I preheated the oven on Thanksgiving morning and pulled the beaters out of the drawer to make my bland muffins, I said to myself with the air of hyperbole: […]

Nutmeg Muffins: A Thanksgiving Family TraditionMaggie Downie2019-10-16T12:33:12-04:00

Plank Story: What Ails Me

I often hear people say that men act like babies when they are sick. That is not the case in our house. Matt could be violently ill, he will try to push through and then he wants to be left alone to feel miserable in private. I will push through too, but when I cave to the illness I want to be rubbed, and have homemade soup at exactly the right temperature fed to me, and a bell I can ring when I want to be told that it is unlikely I’ll die from whatever currently ails me.

My poor mother. I used to ask her that too when I was sick. “Do you think I’m going to die?” She never did. Matt never does.

Plank Story: What Ails MeMaggie Downie2018-02-14T17:39:24-05:00

Warrior Dash Prep

Okay—so I’m supposed to run the Warrior Dash in Pennsylvania tomorrow. It is my second physical challenge of my 30th year. And here is what I’ve done to prepare for it:

That empty space about sums it up: a whole lot of nothing. I didn’t prepare for the Ragnar Relay as well as I wanted either, but I thought lesson learned; I’ll do better next time. It wasn’t entirely my fault since I got sick, but I hadn’t even looked through the course. Then a friend said to me, “You do know you have to run through fire, don’t you?”

“Um, no,” was my response. I looked at the course and it appears that I will actually be trying to leap over fire, which I think I’ll be able to do fairly well. So I’m a little less concerned. Plus I’ll have shoes on, so it should be as bad as it sounds.

Point is, I’m going to have to double time it for challenge there in order to make up for one and two. My challenge idea is still cool, but right now it isn’t serving its original purpose.

Warrior Dash PrepMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:02:46-04:00

Last week I started to feel really run down. By Friday I was completely wiped out and needed to rest. My weekend was filled with activities I’d been looking forward to, but knew I didn’t feel well enough to do. Still, I felt guilty canceling. I thought I had a really bad cold and was just being a bit of a baby and that everyone would think I was being ridiculous (a feeling that is probably at least somewhat in my own head). After a rough night I went to a walk in clinic and was diagnosed with an ear infection and pharyngitis (tonsillitis of the pharynx—basically a throat infection). And instead of a normal reaction of being bummed and probably moaning, I was relieved. When the doctor said, “I think you’re sicker than you think you are,” it was music to my ears. How screwed up is that? The problem was I felt like I could now cancel all my plans and everyone would understand—I had a doctor saying I was really sick. It wasn’t just my own body telling me I was sick. (Plus I was happy to find out I wasn’t a fully fledged baby.) It sounds […]

Sick DayMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:02:50-04:00