plank story – Page 4 – Personal Euphoria: Pilates & Fitness Classes in CT

Plank Story Natural Deodorant

I’m occasionally told I’m crunchy and I always sort of cringe. That’s not how I see myself, but then I tell a story like this:

All my siblings were in Connecticut a few weeks ago to celebrate my dad and stepmom’s 30^th wedding anniversary. We had a variety of activities planned—dinner, boat cruises, museum tours. And the weather was beautiful for outdoor activities, except for the fact it was 95-degrees with 100% humidity (perhaps slight exaggeration, but not much). With my brother and sister-in-law in front of the Derby House, Salem, MA

After picking my brother up at the airport, we met in Salem to tour the Derby House. I’d been teaching all day. It was hot and my sister-in-law asked if I used all natural deodorant. She was thinking of switching and wondered if I thought it work. “Yes,” I exclaimed exuberantly. It is moments like these where I’m actually excited to talk about my choice of deodorant that makes me realize I just may be a little bit crunchy. “Do you ever smell?” she […]

Plank Story Natural DeodorantMaggie Downie2017-12-29T20:26:26-05:00

Plank Story: TSA Rules No Joking

I like my little brother even though he almost got me arrested.

I was flying home from Dallas after visiting my brother who had been in Israel. He’s brought home some bath salts from the Dead Sea and given me some to bring back to Connecticut. I don’t check a bag and as I came through security at TSA, my suitcase was pulled off the conveyor belt for inspection.

The TSA worker rifled through my bag while I watched. There were two of them. Both friendly. Making small talk. When one found the bath salts the two agreed that was what the machine had red flagged. He asked what they were and I told him that they had made the trip from Israel. He said they would need to test them. I asked what he thought they were. Apparently, you can use flakes that look similar or have a similar density to make a bomb. Not knowing me at all, the TSA worker was unaware that I’m terrified of everything that has even the most remote chance of causing […]

Plank Story: TSA Rules No JokingMaggie Downie2017-12-29T20:49:07-05:00

Plank Story: Afternoon Tea

When Matt and I were in Alabama earlier this year we stayed at this cute, intimate bed and breakfast. One morning during breakfast we chatted with a couple from Scotland about Trump, a recent wedding they had been too and about the Microbiome Diet I was doing. The B&B owner had been very accommodating, always making sure I had hard boiled eggs and gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free options. When the woman from Scotland heard about my diet, it reminded her that traditional afternoon tea was making a comeback in the UK.

“Oh,” she said, “if you can’t have dairy, you wouldn’t want to come to afternoon tea. It’s so dairy laden.” (Note: If you haven’t started reading this in your best Scottish brogue, start now. It makes the story better. Think Mrs. Doubtfire and you’ll pretty much have it down.) “First, they bring out these little finger sandwiches and they are all lathered in butter. And then you get scones smothered with crème fraiche. And now, after that, they offer cream cakes the size of your first. There is so much food you don’t even need an evening meal. And it’s not even really about the tea anymore. Now they bring […]

Plank Story: Afternoon TeaMaggie Downie2018-01-13T16:09:28-05:00

Plank Story: Matt’s Birthday Nap

Matt is better at relaxing than I am. I’m improving though. This year on his birthday, as always, he got to pick the activities. So we napped in the living room. We napped in bed. And we napped on the deck. Sadly, this isn’t code for anything else. We actually just took three names in one day and then went to bed around nine. When we got in bed he said to me, “This was a great day. We napped on the couch. We napped in bed, and we napped on the deck.” Cheap date. I’ll remember that next year.

Clearly, we both needed some sleep. And I know I’ve gotten more chill because once upon a time that kind of day would have killed me.

My plan for Matt’s birthday involved a trip to Specter, Alabama—the faux city from the set of Big Fish. There he tossed his only pair of shoes up on the line running along the town limits. We had to drive to JCPenny in stocking feet to go buy a new pair of shoes.

If you’re a Tim Burton, Ewan McGregor or Big Fish fan, check out […]

Plank Story: Matt’s Birthday NapMaggie Downie2017-12-29T20:57:01-05:00

Plank Story: Frozen Pipes

While it’s been a mild winter so far, we did have one frigid day a couple of weeks ago. I was reminded of years ago, probably a decade ago, when Matt and I lived in a condo. I woke up one morning to find no water coming out of the faucet. Matt was asleep, so I decided to mention it later. Then I forgot. We had to run out and when we returned home and got out of the car you could hear what sounded like a waterfall inside our house. When we opened the front door a pipe had burst and was spraying freezing water, already inches deep.

We tried to close the water shut off valve but it was painted opened, underwater, and we were freezing. As the water sprayed at us, Matt yelled, “Bail!” I ran from the room to find a bucket. He thought I had bailed, leaving him there to handle the situation alone. I returned with a bucket, caught the spraying water and immediately tossed it out the front door where it hit the walkway turning immediately to ice.

The water company claimed they couldn’t help us […]

Plank Story: Frozen PipesMaggie Downie2017-12-29T21:51:32-05:00