plank

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

Plank Story: A Scarlet Macaw for Halloween

Pirate and a Scarlet Macaw, well, maybe.

I’d only left three days to plan my Halloween costume this year. So on a whim I decided Matt could be a pirate—a costume we basically had—and I could be a parrot. In my mind I was going to be a beautiful parrot, red like a scarlet macaw. I hunted on Pinterest for easy ways to transform myself into the spectacular bird.

Then I placed an order on amazon for red, orange, yellow and aqua boas (these would be my wings and feathers); a red bird mask and beak (the don’t sell parrot beaks); a rainbow-colored feather wig and a red unitard. I had my doubts about the unitard as any sane person should, but I figured I could pull it off with everything else for one night.

All the costume parts arrived the day of the party with little time for adjustments. I attempted to get myself into the unitard, and I can’t quite express how bad it was. It was tight, shiny and somehow didn’t fit anywhere. Important parts couldn’t fit in it, my back didn’t even make […]

Plank Story: A Scarlet Macaw for HalloweenMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:10-04:00

PLANK STORY: The Competitive Spirit Starts Young

We met friends in the Poconos last weekend. Their seven-year-old daughter is a blast and abnormally easy going for a human being. But I saw a whole new side of her when we rode Go-Carts, an activity I haven’t done in years, but highly recommend. It’s so much fun. Evelyn had to ride with an adult, so for the first ride she picked Uncle Matt. We drove the course. Matt and Evelyn did well. On our second ride, she opted to go with me. I told her that if she wanted to win she should join Uncle Matt or her father. After a brief consideration she opted to stay with me.

Picture this one in hot pursuit of every single go-cart that zoomed passed us.

We get in the car. Keep in mind I’m changing from the single passenger to a double. Before the race starts they have you drive out of the shed and stop. I pull out behind the other doubles, but when I need to break, the pedal is so much farther away on the doublewide […]

PLANK STORY: The Competitive Spirit Starts YoungMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:12-04:00

Wednesday Challenge: Plank

Do plank every day this week. You get to decide how long to hold and what position is best for your body. Remember, if you feel pain in your back or shoulders, stop and take a break. To make it more fun grab a friend or relative and challenge each other to see who can last the longest. Make it a little plank Olympics.

Here is how to get into plank position:

On Knees

Lie down on your stomach, propped up on your forearms like you are reading a book at the beach. Bend your knees and lift your hips slightly off the floor. Hold for as long as you can.

On Toes (More Challenging)

Lie down on your stomach, propped up on your forearms like you are reading a book at the beach. With your legs straight curl your toes under and lift your hips off the floor. Hold as long as you can.

What is your longest time?

Wednesday Challenge: PlankMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:03:16-04:00

Plank in Italy

So while I’ll admit I didn’t do as much Pilates in Italy as I might have liked, I did take time to do a side plank in front of the Colosseum! Every vacation I intend to take a shot of me doing Pilates somewhere significant and every vacation I forget, but not this one.

Where is the coolest place you’ve done plank?

Plank in ItalyMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:11-04:00