As the daughter of a (former) Southern Baptist minister and a special education teacher, I moved with my family throughout the South during my childhood. I was born in Martinsville, Virginia (most notably known for its Speedway, which is the shortest track in Nascar racing), but I spent most of my childhood in several small towns in eastern North Carolina — Greenville, Ayden, and Wilson (pronounced Wilt-s’n).  During my senior year of high school, my family moved to Gainesville, Florida.

As eastern North Carolina barbecue (Parker’s) was a regular part of my weekly diet, my parents felt that our first meal out in Gainesville should be at the local barbecue chain, Sonny’s.  I felt I was in another country when I received my dinner.  The barbecue did not look or taste the same, and the iced tea was not nearly sweet enough.  I immediately felt homesick and thought I’d hate life in the big city.  After high school, while I still longed for eastern NC barbecue, I stayed in Gainesville to go to college at the University of Florida.  After I graduated with a degree in Human Resources (yes, seriously), I worked for a couple of years and soon entered my quarterlife crisis when I was offered an opportunity to move and work overseas in New Delhi, India for two years.  I’ll admit that I was a bit scared to move to the Third World after having never left the US, but I accepted this adventure.  I am so grateful I did because it was life-changing and I deeply explored emotions I never knew existed.  When it was time to return to the States, I returned home to Gainesville where I spent the next seven years before joining the Foreign Service as a Human Resources Officer. I'll be learning Russian in Washington, DC until March 2013 before heading to my first post in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. I have a pretty cool job.

My name is Mandy.  I am a 34-year-old fan of all things plaid and argyle, lego fanatic, dog mom to Hannah the golden retriever, wine and latte connoisseur, world traveler, driver of Martin the Mini Cooper, Florida Gator, and HR nerd.

I have loved writing since I was very young and have owned the MyPlaidPants.com domain for many years in hopes that I’d eventually use it as an outlet for writing.  I suppose this Web site is a hodge podge of my writing including (but not limited to) my life experiences, tributes to loved ones who bring value to my life, and my very random thoughts.

Thanks for visiting MyPlaidPants.