Crash

Kyle and I have not been having the best luck with these Texas roads lately. Yesterday, I was in Dallas with a small research group doing data collection, and we made it back through the rain to Waco, and I made it back driving to Temple from Waco, and as I was close to getting home, stopped behind several cars at a light, I was rear-ended. I should mention, I made it back to town driving through what I think is the worst rain storm I've driven through, and that's saying something considering PA weather and how much I commute down here. Alas, when you think you're out of the worst of it, the accident happens. What happened was the KCEN news van (on their way to report on the fallen Taco Bell sign) actually  ran into the car behind me, which then slammed into me. The van tried to break, but it's a big vehicle and the roads were slippery, and it just didn't make it in time. The car in between us could not be driven. My car had damage to the back bumper, but I could drive away after all was said and done. Everyone was very nice; the newsman and a reporter were friendly, and the pregnant driver of the car behind me and her passenger were nice too. The firemen came out, and then the police a little later, as there were several accidents around town due to the weather. The accident happened on a busy street through town, and several passers-by were waving as they saw the news van, haha. Everyone was OK.

Apparently there was a lot of hail here in Temple; it looked like there were piles of snow on the side of the road. When I got home I discovered the storm did some damage to the house. Texas weather can be quite intense.

hail at my door

- From the desk of Mrs. M

The Week in Photos

beautiful Baylor/ social work field education lunch/ last day at internship SEE YA/love

sweet dinos/ last day of class cupcake/ cafe/ ALL DONE

me n' sweet D/ in need of a new penguin/ hunger reading/ look up

finally cleaned the car out/ breakfast/ dry/ probably won't get food from here again

my old passport is so cool/ morning trip to the vet/ summer reading/ starting watching this...

backup life plans with sister/ I think this is the last name tag for a while/ sweet gift from my Field Instructor/ pretty flowers

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Blogsy Test Post

Hiya, just testing out this blogging iPad app for my upcoming travels to DC!

 

-From the desk of Mrs. M

 

Posted with Blogsy

Hunger Reading

No, I don't mean The Hunger Games (though I'll probably reread that this summer, too). For the DC trip in May, I will be taking an accompanying class, with assignments due through the summer, and content tied in to our activities and events in DC. We have to read two books (A Place at the Table and Nickel and Dimed), and another assignment is a book review, for which we were given a another selection of a few books to choose from. Well, I ordered all of the books. All the books! I'm looking forward to reading them through the summer. Also, I guess now's as good a time as any to announce that for my concentration year internship I will be with the Texas Hunger Initiative! Yep, I've been a graduate research assistant for them through this semester, and I'm very excited to continue my work with them in an additional capacity, working at the Waco Regional Office. So, I'm going to be starting to think about and plan what my research project for next year might look like, and these books, and this trip, will be a good start to get me pumped.

Here are the books I will be starting off with. I will be reading A Place at the Table first, as it accompanies the documentary and will be a good starting point for the trip. I will write reviews and post them here, in case anyone is interested/ to organize my thoughts.

don't mind my rug that needs to be vacuumed

A Place at the Table: The Crisis of 49 Million Hungry Americans and How to Solve It
Begging for Change: The Dollars and Sense of Making Nonprofits Responsive, Efficient, and Rewarding for all
All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty

- From the desk of Mrs. M

A Few Photos around Campus

Today I was glad to be distracted by and hang out with my crazy friends in Waco. The unplanned day just kind of evolved into what it was, and even though I was in Waco for 14 hours, the fact that I laughed a lot today helped when I got home to my husband-less house. 

- From the desk of Mrs. M

The Week in Photos

 late night tea/ Phi Alpha/ a little bit of Spring in TX/ hot chocolate on a chilly day

 pretty TX sky/ bundled Huxley/ professional presentation/ BSSW Family dinner

 Hux's first kill/ my favorite card company/ Army everywhere/ Abuya making me Kenyan chai

spring rolls/ Daddy Daughter time/ tasty/ new color

Liz Lemon coping strategy/ sun kitty/ beer kitty/ Army kitty

just hanging/ Kyle's last dinner/ diving into summer Netflixing/ cutie

- From the desk of Mrs. M

My New Toy

I'm not usually one to make big purchases, but I might have a weakness for apple products. And really, this is only my second apple purchase ever; and I got my iPhone 4S in October 2011. Anyway, I decided to treat myself ("treat yo self!") to an end of the semester, yay it's finally over gift of an iPad. I hear there may be a new one coming out this summer, but I wanted one for my trip to DC in May, and needed some motivation to make it through this challenging semester (group projects. So many group projects). 

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Week in Photos

Greek lunch/ successful presentation/ heels I didn't actually wear/ spazz cat

this charger is great/ scary Darwin/ WIC aware/ preparing for travel photography!

gift for husband/ Last to do list for the semester/ delicious/ my most fun books to donate

late night/ toy shopping for West survivors/ boost for me/ volunteering in West

 at the West fairgrounds/ heaps and heaps of stuff/ Sister keeping a sense of humor in Boston/ Saturday at the ER

still super photogenic/ IHOP as trauma therapy/ basket kitty/ treetop kitty

Sunday afternoon work/ salmon dinner/ cute cat/ new toy

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Saturday at the ER

As a wife to a military man who commutes via motorcycle to work every day, rain or shine, there are a couple calls I dread getting every day, as you can imagine. One of those calls I received on Saturday. Kyle was calling to tell me he was in an accident on the highway and was being taken to the ER. Luckily it was Kyle himself calling; if it was the police or the hospital I would not have reacted in nearly the same way. 

Kyle was on his way down to Austin for a motorcycle event, actually. Traffic on 35 came to a very sudden stop; the car in front of him screeched on the breaks, nearly slamming into the car in front of them and swerving a bit to avoid it. Kyle braked as well, but couldn't reach zero in time. He ran into the back of the car, went over the handlebars, onto the hood, and rolled off the car and into the median. Someone else called the police, and they were there shortly. People in the cars around got out to help him up; everyone seemed surprised that Kyle got up himself and seemed to be OK. The bike was not rideable, and the ambulance took Kyle to the ER at a hospital in Round Rock, where I met him. MRIs and X-rays were done, with results coming up clear. He had scrapes and bruises, lots of pain and a sprained thumb, but was otherwise OK (though very frustrated). He was very lucky. Motorcycle crashes do not usually end with the rider walking out of the hospital. If Kyle had been wearing his open-face helmet instead of full one, his jaw would probably be broken. Kyle is a safe driver and adheres to all of the military rules for riding- helmet, long sleeves (leather jacket), boots, gloves, safety vest, etc. In TX you do not even have to wear a helmet, which has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard, but I guess that's the choice some people make and we can only trust that natural selection will take the reigns from there. 

And now, since he has worried me so, I get to show pictures of Kyle in his hospital attire. 

What a week, eh? :/ 

- From the desk of Mrs. M

My Side Project

On top of school, work, and internship, I decided to tackle another project this semester, after watching the documentary A Place at the Table in early March. Unfortunately, the documentary has been on limited release, and wasn't showing anywhere around here. I felt that it was important enough that it needed to be seen by as many as possible, and so I decided to try to make that happen. Luckily, as my knowledge of how to make things happen in Waco is limited, I was able to team up with a professional in the community who had the same idea. We have been working on getting it organized, and have just about finalized the event details. It has been quite a process so far, now we just have to focus on getting people to show up! :) Stay tuned for a full fledged advertisement campaign, and if you live in the area, consider coming out to the event. Here's a look at the write-up I just completed, about the screening.  

"50 million Americans exist without enough to eat in a nation with more than enough food." This is just one of the startling realities presented in the new documentary about food insecurity in the United States, A Place at the Table. A Place at the Table introduces the viewer to Barbie, Rosie, and Tremonica, three individuals who, with their families, and like many around the country, are struggling with food insecurity. Barbie, a single mother of two in Philadelphia shows us the cyclic struggle of poverty and hunger that many parents experience, with little hope of providing a better life for herself and her kids. Rosie, a sweet fifth-grader in Colorado, is direct proof of the negative impact food insecurity has on school-age children, as she speaks about her difficulty concentrating and doing well in school. Tremonica is a second-grader in Mississippi, the state with the highest rate of food insecurity and obesity; her story shows us the unfortunate reality of an unhealthy diet made up of empty calories, because that is all her hardworking mother can afford. The film also covers policy, politics, and how the actions, or often inaction, of those in Washington have thus far failed to make healthy foods accessible for all.

Activists, experts, policy makers and ordinary citizens alike have responded to the film with resounding support. Despite its limited release, the film has been deemed a must-see for all, with the aim of raising awareness about the inexcusable poverty and hunger faced by 1/6th of our population. It is in this spirit that the Texas Hunger Initiative and Baylor School of Social Work are teaming up to host a community viewing of A Place at the Table. In addition to viewing the documentary, a panel discussion will follow. Speakers include Matt Hess, Executive Director of World Hunger Relief, Inc, Dr. Gaynor Yancey of the Baylor University School of Social Work, and Cheryl Pooler, from Waco ISD Homeless Outreach Services. These experts will be able to speak to hunger as it is experienced more locally, and answer questions that may arise during the film. This event will give members of the community an opportunity to engage, educate themselves, and find out what steps we can take to help make our state and nation food secure. 

I'm excited to see what further insight I gain regarding hunger in America, after my trip to DC in May!

- From the desk of Mrs. M