C25K: Week 1

I'm happy to report that Matt and I have completed week 1 of The Couch-to-5K Running Plan. The goal is to go from not running at all to being able to run a 5K in 9 weeks. Seeing that I actually have been working out regularly since 6 weeks after Grace was born and have run 5K's a few times without any sort of training I decided I could handle this challenge. My workouts this last year have consited of spinning and strength training classes at the gym. After taking a couple weeks off because I was babysitting I decided I needed to change things up a little. I also felt as if I was lacking a good cardio workout. So the running began. I don't have a 5K that I want to run, I don't even know if I will complete week 2 but this week felt good. Feel free to visit the link above to see what this weeks running plan was. I'll try to keep you updated on my running progress over the next 2-8 weeks depending on how long I last.

Matt's New Shoes

Tonight I had to run to Target to pick up one thing and as I was heading out Matt said to me, "Buy me a present." We often say this to each other and come home with a bag of candy, something from the super cheap bin at whatever store we're going to, or nothing at all. Tonight I decided to take the challenge and get something nice. So $15 later I bought Matt a pair of shoes. I love them. He gives them weird looks. I think he can wear them with shorts or khaki's this summer. He thinks they can be his summer slippers or yard shoes. I told him I was going to post a picture on the blog and get some feedback from real people who understand real fashion. Please take time to let us know what you think about Matt's shoes by commenting and/or voting in the poll on the right side of our blog.

In case you were wondering, I did marry Matt for his legs;)

Thankful Thursday: Meadowbrook Park

This is Pennyrile's best male blogger, Matt, taking the reins for Thankful Thursday. This week I'm going to give thanks to God for my favorite park in the area: Meadowbrook Park. I frequent the park throughout the year to take walks on the nature trails. I enjoy spending some quality time enjoying God's creations on the numerous paths that aren't heavily trafficked. There are also a few weird sculptures in the park that I tend to ignore mainly because I don't understand them.

To state my political perspective: I have no problem that a portion of my tax money goes to support this park. Well done, local government. Well done.

My Sunday Morning Phone Call

I was relaxing this morning before church, reading a book while sitting on my recliner.  I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize and this conservation ensued:

Caller:  Good morning, this is Laura from Family Video.

Me:  Hello.

Caller:  Hi, we notice that you haven't come in and rented with us for a couple months.

Me:  OK.

Caller:  What have you been doing the last two months?

Me:  Ah, I've just been living life.

After I confirmed that I still live in Champaign, the lady proceeded to give me a free rental for our account.  But the takeaway from the phone call is that I summed up the last two months of my life with the phrase "I've just been living life."  Well done, self.  Well done.

Pennyrile Exclusive Interview with Matt

A lot of recent activity on Pennyrile has been devoted to catching up with Anne and her anecdotes and pregnancy happenings. Well, many readers have asked for information on the whereabouts and events related to the life of Matt. So we now have an exclusive interview that took place recently with Matt. Here is the full transcript of the interview:

PENNYRILE: Matt, how are you doing? We haven't heard much about you in the blog world.
Matt: Oh, I am actually doing great. I've been having a great fall season, really enjoying apple cider, the leaves changing, and my wife getting fatter.
PENNYRILE: Yeah, about your wife...any thoughts about how the blog seems to revolve around her?
Matt: I'm glad you asked. There's some speculation going around the World Wide Web that I have resentment for my wife or feel some hostility towards her. That's not true. That is absolutely not true and I want these rumors to stop now. I expect more from your journalistic abilities than to allow this nonsense to be spread about.
PENNYRILE: OK, let's move on from that subject. What has been going on at your job?
Matt: Well, I've been writing some code. Then I compile the code. Then I run the code to test that it works. Then the code gets released. That's about it. Also, I have been considering bringing slippers to wear at work.
PENNYRILE: We've heard that you have recently acquired a new pair of slippers. Can you give us any details?
Matt: First of all, let me say that I love slippers. I mean, I LOVE them. I wear them all the time and I recently wore a hole in my old pair. So on a trip to Kentucky, Anne and I were at an Outlet Mall in Indiana and I saw a pair of amazing slippers at the Bass Outlet store. So I bought them and I am falling in love with my new pair.
PENNYRILE: Any comments on the sports world?
Matt: Yes, I have lots of them. First of all, the Packers absolutely destroyed the Bears last week. Make sure you write this down....the Packers KILLED the Bears. It was awesome. Also, college football is stupid because they decide their championship game by computers and human votes rather than using a playoff system. Finally, the NBA is better than college basketball. Done.
PENNYRILE: Christmas is coming up...any thing you're asking Santa Claus for?
Matt: For the record, I do not believe in Santa Claus. But I do have an Amazon wish list that contains various books, DVDs, CDs, and even a computer game. Only one more question please, I have to go back to checking on my Fantasy Football team.
PENNYRILE: Sure, of course, Matt. And again, we thank you for your time. OK, any clues you can give us on possible baby names?
Matt: Yeah, I can give you the scoop. For a boy, we're leaning towards Frodo and for a girl, we're thinking of Anne Jr.

Feeding Bag

Let me just start this post with saying that one of the things Matt deals with at work is something called data feeds. I don't really know what this means but I do know when Matt dreams about work funny things happen.

At 1:30 am last night I was awoken by a tapping on my head so I sat up and realized Matt was sitting up tapping me on the head! The conversation that followed went like this...

Anne: Matt, what are you doing?
Matt: I'm waking up the feeding bag.
Anne: What?
Matt: When is the feeding time?
Anne: There is no feeding time.
Matt: Aren't you supposed to feed something?
Anne: Do you know what you are talking about?
Matt: Yeah, I'm awake. (Then starts snoring 2 seconds later).

I assumed Matt was dreaming that we owned a farm and there was a bag of food I was supposed to give the animals but after talking to him in the morning he informed me he vaguely remembered the conversation and was dreaming about work. That made it more funny to me.

My New Job

So I'm a month and a half into my new job and I wanted to let you all know how it's going...

First of all, I'm thankful to God that I am employed and I'm excited to continue my lifelong pursuit of being a nerd for the glory of God.

Secondly, there are certain "perks" that come with this new job that I'm slowly acclimating to....

• Free vending machines -- including soda, snacks, candy, even cereal
• 24" widescreen monitors
  
• Free fruit on Tuesdays
• Free Fantasy Football stat tracker
• Linux desktop machine + Mac/Windows laptop (that's two computers for one person!)
  
• Free beer on Friday afternoons

That last perk is not a typo. On Friday afternoons, beer and food gets wheeled into our office. Our motto: eat, drink, and be nerdy!

Side story: This morning, the FedEx guy came to our house to drop off a package. Upon seeing the George Washington bust on our front porch (which we proudly display), the FedEx guy proclaimed his adoration for our nation's first president (he's currently reading 1776). The bust of George Washington will remain on the porch of my home forever. I hope Anne doesn't mind.

I love America.