Week in Photos

kiddo books/ Breakfast in the Classroom data collection in Dallas/ Starbucks break/ accident

kiddo breakfast- data collection/ storm damange/ striped shoes/ tasty lunch

 run/ couch kitty/ <3 this movie/ smoothie dinner

box of old postcards and letters to Kyle/  also this/ DC trip shopping/ obsessed with a new rug

outfit planning/ baked fries/ much needed wine

lap kitty/ Cafe Cap/ internship visit/ Waco town

a favorite picture of husband/ Darwin/ Hux stretching out/ Hux likes Ann Taylor too

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Before Washington, DC

I wanted to get down some of my thoughts on hunger and food insecurity prior to this trip I am soon embarking on. For me, right now, hunger is abstract. I have read so much about it- news articles, books, reports, and studies. I have analyzed and organized data, watched documentaries and YouTube videos, talked about it, planned an event around the issue, and, I still don't know hunger. I went to an elementary school in Dallas and talked to kiddos, collecting data on school meals, and I think I got a little bit of a better idea, though I wouldn't say I know hunger. I know that there are 50 million food insecure Americans; I can tell you about the negative impact going to school hungry has on students; I can share with you some displeasing facts about how the government has addressed the issue by simply shifting funds from one federally funded food assistance program to another, but I still don't know hunger. I'm not even sure what would be required or what it would look like to know hunger. I think it can look like a lot of different things, and it is important to know each individual and each family might experience hunger differently from the next. Hunger is complex and tied in to issues of poverty, education, family planning, homelessness and health care, to name a few. As with any issue, we look at it through our own lens, formed from our values and experiences.

My lens is still a bit blurry; the picture is, too. I don't expect that from this trip alone they will become crystal clear, but I think it will help bring the image into better focus. I am hoping to learn more about policy and the perspective of the decision makers in Washington. I think it will be very revealing to volunteer with a couple groups, see hunger firsthand, and act on it. I'm very much looking forward to visiting with different advocacy organizations to hear more about their efforts. To be honest, it is kind of my dream to, at some point in my career, work in DC for a hunger organization or food policy group; something to lend my social work perspective and skills to the political arena. I just can't get this idea from the A Place at the Table book out of my head: "...what if we were to create a Department of Food Policy, as many experts have called for? Such a department, comprising federal and state agencies, would take over the distribution of the food discarded by America's food industry and carry out federal and state policies that provide incentives for supermarkets to open up in food deserts and regulate the advertising of junk food to children on the Internet and all media platforms, as it does with television," (p. 10). What if, eh? I would like to find out. 

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Welcome to the World

This is probably definitely a bit of a downer among all the cheery mothers day posts, but Why Poverty? posted this video; I hadn't seen it before and had to share. It is sad, and honestly terrifying to watch some of the scenes, but usually these important things are not easy to watch. Just try to imagine how difficult it is for those actually living these lives and experiencing this pain. Warning: there is nudity, blood, and babies being born, alive and dead.

- From the desk of Mrs. M

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