Mandy Knits a Lot and other musings from a pastor's wife

For people of my generation, there was never a day without TV. My dad remembers getting a TV when he was young. I remember having a black and white TV in my room, but I've never been without one. Usually I can find something on that's decent to watch. However, since the writer's strike seemed to want to linger, I've been a little more hard pressed to find the shows I like. OK, just one show. Some of my favorite things to watch don't really have writers that write scripts. I love What Not to Wear and lots of old shows. But just before Christmas, Dave and I caught a rerun of The Office. We ended up buying all 3 past seasons on DVD. Both of us have watched them at least twice--I've watched them much more. I've watched all the on-line episodes from the website. So it took no time at all to watch them all. But the thing is, there's no new episodes because of the writer's strike. They want more money for new media, like on-line episodes and DVDs. That'...

After a 2 day break from running, I jumped back in again. We've got a 9/10 path of road that we run. Today I ran almost as much as I walked. I covered the path 3 times. That's 2.7 miles. I covered it in about 35 minutes. According to Runner's World, the first 2 miles of running is the hardest to work up to. After that, adding more miles is not as hard. I'm not sure if I believe that or not. The first 2 are hard, but I'm guessing that others are just as hard. For now I will try to run/walk for at least 30 minutes each day. I really want to be able to run the entire 5K. I'd really like to win. Matt wants me to win a trophy. I'd rather have a cash prize. Maybe, I'll at least get a t-shirt.

These are a few pictures of my new computer bag made from my favorite old polo. This is how I did it, if you are interested: 1. I put the shirt on one last time and determined that I would no longer wear it ever again. 2. I folded the shirt in half (tail to shoulders) and put my laptop on it to determine where the side seams would go. I marked those spots with pins. 3. Then I unfolded it and sewed across the front of the shirt near where the bottom front of the new bag would be and where the bottom back would be. This is so that I could use the inside of the shirt for pockets, but keep stuff from going under the bottom of the bag. 4. Then I sewed straight down from top to seam in step 3 on each side of the collar. This is where I will store the power brick. 5. I did the same thing on the back to make pouches for cables and the cordless mouse. 6. I then refolded it and sewed the side seams. I double checked to make sure the computer would fit before I cut. 7. I cut the excess fabric o...

I have this realy great shirt. It's a pale green polo that I got from LLBean. It's official name is seedling. About a year or more ago, it got splattered with bleach. There are about little white spots on the front, so I couldn't wear it anymore. It's just been hanging in my closet, all dejected and lonely. It's color and fit are so nice that I couldn't bear to throw it away. So in the closet it hung. Until I had an idea to bring it back to life... I needed a bag for my computer. I had seen a picture of a computer bag that someone had made out of an old t-shirt. So I thought, "If it can be done with a t-shirt, wouldn't a polo shirt make an even better one, especially since the color is just great?" So I did. It turned out great. My computer and it's accessories have a home and my favorite shirt got a new lease on life. Whenever I figure out how to post pictures on this site, I'll put one up. It's really cool.

Yesterday was quite a challenge to parenthood. I put Elizabeth down for a nap like I've done everyday for the past year. After I thought she was settled, I went to the shop to burn some screens. Dave called me after an hour because Lizzie was screaming. When I got home, she was still screaming and it sounded like she was in pain. She didn't want me to hold her and she didn't want me to put her down. She couldn't get comfortable in her bed and kept bending and straightening out. About 3:00 she settled down enough to get to sleep. She slept until about 5:00. When she woke up, she started screaming again. After about an hour, I decided to take her to the emergency room at UMC. With all the ovarian problems she had as a baby, I didn't want to take any chances. The surgeon had said something about the ovary twisting and hurting her badly. It would be unconsolably crying. That's what this sounded like. So I threw a few things in a bag and off we went. Dave stayed here...

I'm writing this for my brother Chris, but anyone can read it. When Dave and I were in college (Dave at William Carey and I at University of Southern Miss), we were dating. Dave was working during the day and taking classes at night. I seem to recall that he was going to be unable to attend his nighttime statistics class and was out of absences. So, me being the supportive girlfriend, I went in his place. I told the professor, Dr. David Allen, that I would be there to take notes for Dave since he couldn't be there. He told me that was fine, but there would be no notes. It was a test night. He told me I was welcomed to take the test if I wanted to. So I stayed just for fun. (Dave had to make it up later.) I took the test and knew quite a bit of the stuff on it. It turned it in and went to tell Dave the news. The next week we both went to the stats class. I just had to see how I did. I made a 74 on the test. Not such a great grade, but it was the highest grade in the class. I...

I've been using Dave's iPod when I run and it really makes the time pass faster. Today, Dave took both children when he took Matt to school. I ran while they were out. I walked for aobut 5 minutes to get warmed up. I have a path of 2 square blocks that I ran around. I walked the length of one block and then ran the length of another. I went back and forth like that for about 10 or 12 times. After I was absolutely exhausted from running and felt like I could not bring myself to run another cycle, I walked. The last five minutes I moseyed and it felt good to do so. I think I'm progressing well. I'll probably stick with this plan for a week or so before I try to add too much more running. I'm afraid I'll get burned out if I push too hard. Since I've never run seriously before, I don't want to hurt myself. It's turning out to be more fun than I thought. I'm still sticking to my goal of 5K in 20-25 minutes.

After last night's run, I'm a bit sore. Maybe "bit" doesn't accurately describe how my thighs feel. Jello-ey comes to mind. This morning after I got back from taking Matt to school, Dave and I took Lizzie out in the big stroller and we walked (she rode) for a brisk 30 minute walk. We did about 2 miles. It was brisk and I was tired. I was less sore than before the walk, but now I'm stiff again. I really did enjoy running and I'm going to try to stick with it. I am, however, going to revise my 5K time goal to 20-25 minutes. I figured out the 5 kilometers is 3.1 miles, not 2.5 like I thought. It's going to be great if I can win, but still good if I can finish within my goal.

Today I officially started training for the 5K run in May at the Carthage Square Affair. I've always wanted to try running and now that I've been surgically altered, I can. Since the only time I can get away to run is at night, I'll be using the gym. We are having worship services in the gym while our sanctuary is being renovated. It makes for an interesting walk. I have to dodge pews, piano, organ, pulpit platform, and sound equipment. Tonight I started with a full 30 minutes of walking and running. I warmed up with 6 minutes of walking and then started 2 laps of running and 2 laps of walking for about 20 minutes. I finished with just walking. For not having done anything in a while, I think that was pretty good. My goal is to run the 5K in 15-20 minutes. That doesn't seem too unreasonable. I also want to win, so I'll be pushing myself. After I finish this blog, my next stop is to dig into the Carthaginian archives to find out last year's winners and their time...

This week has been a roller coaster of illness at our house. The week started with Matt waking up about 1 am Monday. I was awakened by the sound of him throwing up beside my bed. After that all stopped, laundry started and child asleep in my bed, I go crawl in Matt's bed, only to discover that he'd thrown up in it, too. So in the dead of night I'm changing sheets so I'll have a place to sleep. Monday being a holiday, I couldn't take him to the doctor. He ran a fever a lot of the day, but didn't throw up again until... Tuesday morning at 2:55 am, we repeat pretty much what happened the night before. Except this night, he made it all the way to our room before he threw up. After cleaning and getting him back to sleep in our bed, I tried to sleep in there, too. His congestion was so back that he was snoring. Who can get to sleep with that?! So I spend the rest of the night on the couch. He goes to the doctor Tuesday morning. He's not got strep, but most likely ...

No, we are not moving to a new house. We are just shifting rooms within the house. This is how it was when we first moved in: BR1: Dave and I BR2: Matt BR3: Junk BR4: Computer and workroom Then Elizabeth was born. Her crib went up in our room since our room was the largest. I also didn't want her crying and waking up Matt. After she started sleeping all night long, we did a little rearranging again: BR1: Matt and Lizzie BR2: Dave and I BR3: Cleaned out and turned into my craft/sewing room BR4: Computer/workroom/junk Now Matt is wanting his own room. Since we are fortunate to have 4 bedrooms, he can. So I've spent the better part of today packing up my craft room so he can have his own room. I've moved all his toys, his bed, and all his other assorted stuff into my former craft room. He can now shut his door and keep Lizzie out of his stuff. Tomorrow, Dave and I will pack up the computer/work/junk room and moved Lizzie into that room. Here's the new configuration: BR1: C...

I've done pretty good with keeping up with the folding. Right now, there is one basketful waiting to be folded, one in the dryerm and one in the washer. I'm working on it.

Dave said in his sermon this past Sunday that 25% of New Year's Resolutions are broken before 2 weeks have past. I haven't made it that far yet, but I'm doing pretty good. Right now, the only unfolded thing in the laundry room is the dirty laundry. I'm not folding that. Not everything is put away, but everything clean is folded and stacked or hung up. It is a good feeling to know that I can find exactly what I'm looking for, unless it's dirty. It's great!

Our house is taken over by The Office. We love it and watch it every night. Dave got all 3 seasons on DVD so we've watched them over and over. Although I know what happens with Pam and Jim, her stomach just drops whenever they don't get things right. I know what happens. Anyway, the writer's strike has got to stop soon so the show can get back going again. It's just so funny and good and all that. If you haven't watched it, you should. It's awesome!

As of now, both the dryer and the washer are empty. That's unusual for me. There's no piles in baskets. In fact, all the baskets are empty and piled up themselves. There are small piles of neatly folded clothes for each of us. All clean clothes are folded. There is quite a pile of dirty clothes in front of the washer, but those don't count in the resolution. It is so nice to be able to find any piece of clothing that I have and it's right where it is supposed to be. I also hung up a rod in the laundry room for hanging up hanging clothes. Dave went through all his clothes and got rid of everything that doesn't fit or he just doesn't wear. I think he's got about 3 button-up shirts and 2 dozen t-shirts left. The closet is much emptier, and so less laundry. This is probably the most boring blog in the world, but folding laundry is a big deal because it had become so much of an issue to me. It's like Clean Sweep or How Clean is Your House. Getting rid of the ...

New Year's Resolutions have always been a big joke to me. Last year I resolved to not drink any coffee. I detest coffee. But this year, I'm going to try one. Laundry is a huge issue for me. I don't enjoy it. Washing and drying is easy. Putting clothes into one machine and then into another is a simple quick task. I don't mind that. I only have to remind myself that my grandmother had to haul all the clothes outside and wash them by hand--she had 6 kids. However, after the dryer comes the problem. I'm usually looking for a shirt or jeans that I know is in the dryer because I washed them a few days before. After I pull all the clothes out of the dryer, Elizabeth finds me and gets all under my feet, so now I have to leave the pile to tend to her. After 5 or 6 loads, that makes quite a pile. It's hard to find 2 little baby socks in all that. It has gotten so bad that I put a box in the laundry room to put in clothes that I find that are too little for the kids. Some...

Dave and I recently had a second child, a girl, join our family. Her big brother Matt is incredibly protective of her. He tells EVERYONE, "Don't look at Elizabeth!" And he means it, too! The jump from 1 child to 2 has been quite an adjustment for me. I had almost a year to adjust to not working before Elizabeth was born. Most days it was just Matt and me. I was able to spend quite a bit of time with him. I've come to realize that one more child does not just double to work--it's multiplied. Despite all the extra work, I wouldn't trade these days for anything!