Uncategorized

Querulous Tummies

This has been an interesting, odd week.  First of all, Tim came down with the flu on Tuesday, which was an inauspicious start to a holiday week.  Fortunately, it was a pretty short-lived flu.  Well, I should say the really bad part of the flu (throwing up and body aches) was pretty short-lived.  Today is Saturday, and Tim still is not feeling like a normal Timmy Tee.

I was convinced that my robust primal meatbag would be immune to such a silly, niggling thing as a flu.  In other words, I was convinced I would not get sick.  However (yep, there’s a however) on Thursday morning I woke up early, and my brother and I did the 23 degree Turkey Trot in downtown Davenport.  It was actually a really great 5 mile run.  There were some windy sections, but overall the weather was great, as was the crowd.  There were even some blessed souls who bundled up and stood on street corners to cheer us on and to encourage folks by handing out Krispy Kremes!

After the race (which Nate and I did in a comfortable 52 minutes or so), we walked to Macs and joined the sweaty throng for a couple of tasty Blood Marys. Since Tim was still not feeling 100%, he dropped us off and picked us up, which really helped us stay as warm as possible. It was awesome!

We got home, and I started prepping this slow cooker turkey breast recipe.  I made myself an aeropress coffee, added a celebratory shot of Templetons and proceeded to play a rousing game of Tick with Mom, Dad, Tim, and Nate.  I started to notice that my belly was feeling uncomfortably tight, but I attributed it to being too busy to take off my leggings and running pants. I finally took a break and changed into comfy yoga pants, but my tummy didn’t improve.  I put a ham in the oven and then went back to wholloping my family at cards.  However, the longer I stood playing the cards, the more I realized that I wasn’t feeling quite right.

When the game got over, I sat on the couch and finally admitted to myself that I was sick.  I felt super foolish for not realizing it sooner and probably exposing all of my family to my germs while playing cards. I went straight to bed and just laid there staring at the ceiling, with my legs pulled up (stretching them out hurt my stomach).  My head hurt. My back hurt. My muscles that haven’t ran 5 miles in 6 months hurt.  I got sick.  I slept on and off from about 2PM until the next morning.  I woke up and felt remarkably better – good enough to go out for breakfast and to spend the entire day away from home, checking out the Figge, Bucktown, and LeClaire.  I still wasn’t feeling normal – still chasing a bit of a headache and dealing with a touchy tummy, but overall, I was pretty good.

So, while my diet didn’t wholly protect me from getting sick, I think it helped me get a very mild case of it and recover pretty quickly. Nate and I even did a yoga class this morning! I was afraid that all that twisting and core work would cause some issues, but I actually ended up feeling BETTER after the class than before it.  Although, SOMEONE farted during the class. I was convinced it was my brother who was right next to me, but he denies it.  And I’m pretty sure he would own up.  So, it’s possible it was me. I mean, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me, but who knows?  A fluish tummy is an unpredictable thing.  But, man, was it ever a smelly fart!!

And back to that recipe I made.  It got very mixed reviews.  Dad & Nate really liked it. Nate said the veggies were done perfectly.  Tim and Mom, on the other hand, did not like it at all.  Tim said he didn’t like the shallots with it.  I couldn’t be the tie breaker  because I didn’t try it.  Maybe because I had it in the Nesco while I was succumbing to the flu, the smell of it was no good to me.  Fortunately Nate liked it so well that he ate all the leftovers.  The ham turned out very tasty, and I had no problems eating it.

I also ate quite a few coconut chocolate bars before I got sick and one yesterday during the recovery stage.  And now they do not sound appetizing to me at all.  I should have made myself eat everything I crave (chocolate & sun-butter, Whitey’s ice cream, Panera scones, etc.) on Thursday  so that I could cure myself of the cravings.

And that brings us to today.  I was feeling pretty great, but now I’m getting a headache.  Writing a blog post while riding in the car seems to have instigated some motion sickness.  Blurg.  Wow. And now I’m pissed at my MacBook because I had to type Blurg 3 times before it stopped auto correcting it to Blur.

I hope you had a healthier Thanksgiving than we did!