Week in Photos

3 little babies/ fruit toppings/ flower in the yard/ dry earth

pasta/ squaking babies/ wreath/ playing with the new doodles

pottery painting and another bird shot

a couple favorite snacks/ dinner prep/ cute miss D

brussels sprouts with little popcorn/ movie night/ Hux/ tasty Indian in Round Rock

IKEA trip!/ Scandinavian treats/ new pillow/ baby bird fell out of the tree

Huxley over the course of two hours/ birds want to fly soon! 

watching the birds out the window/ FEED+Target/ 3 little birds/ summer

season premiere!/ empty nest/ morning nap/ social work is happy times

frozen grapes- the best/ outdoors/ '09 Niagara Falls/ when snails attack

- From the desk of Mrs. M

FEED + Target

Back in March I wrote about FEED and the bag I bought, which paid for school meals for one child for an entire year. Shortly afte I was excited to hear that FEED was partnering up with Target, store of all stores, my temptation, my weakness. Every FEED item you purchase also contributes food and meals to hungry Americans; the best part is each item has a label that tells you exactly how much you are helping out! I went out Sunday morning to check out the collection in stores. You can also shop the collection online. With all the red, white and blue, stars and stripes, it's perfect for July 4th! Ultimately I hope FEED's partnership with a major store will make more people aware that hunger is a big issue in America (50 million hungry people big), and not only that, but an inexcusable, solvable issue. You know you're going to go to Target anyway and spend approximately $25-$50 more than you planned, so be sure to check it out. ;)

I ended up purchasing a tank top and water bottle, for 22 meals total, and I quite like them both. The bottle is smaller than my nalgene, so it fits better to carry with me regularly.

- From the desk of Mrs. M

note: I was not compensated in any way for this post. I just like feeding hungry Americans. :)

Canada Day

Kyle at Niagara Falls, 2009

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Cats Return

Kyle wanted me to bring back Saturday cats so he can keep up with the kitties while he's deployed, so here we go! 

top: Darwin // bottom: Huxley

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Snacks V1

What I'm snacking on this week: Waco blend popcorn from Off the Cob, cucumber from a friend's garden.

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Painting Pottery

On Wednesday a few friends and I went to paint some pottery after work, at Practically Pikasso in Waco. It was a lot of fun, even though it took me forever to decide on what I wanted to do with my little asymmetrical bowl (something I plan to use, so long as the cats don't break it)! It's a really great activity to do with friends, as it takes a couple hours and you can chat the whole time. Somehow I don't think I've ever been to one of these places before, but I know I will be going again! I also learned it's a lot of fun to take pictures of art supplies- so colorful, and all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Our creations will be ready on next week; hopefully my little bowl will turn out well!

- From the desk of Mrs. M

15 Percent

My sister introduced me to a new tumblr yesterday, We Are the 15 Percent, which features photos of mixed couples and families. It was created in response to ridiculous backlash from the Cheerios commercial which features a multi-ethnic, mixed race family. I think it can be hard for a lot of people to understand how this might make me or other mixed people or couples feel. It brings tears to my eyes, actually. Because no matter where I am, what country or state or neighborhood, I am always the minority. I am almost always the only one that looks like me. I am the confusing one, the one that people struggle with more than usual to put a label on, usually assigning me the wrong one. Black people don't consider me black. White people know I'm not white. I've had Indian people think I'm Indian. White people say I'm "some sort of Asian," (direct quote) Latina, Hispanic, Black, Native American. Pretty much anything that could fit my dark but not too dark skin and sometimes straight dark hair. Being mixed, a mix of whatever and however many parts, is the real minority in the world. I have never had a community with which I could relate, where I was not a visual rarity. So to see these pictures, of people like me, babies like I was and couples like me and my husband, it really feels like I have a place, for the first time. And that, if you can imagine, is a pretty big feeling.

<the creators of the page- Michael, Alyson and little Alexandra>

And here is a picture of my family.

What a good day for love today is, eh? :)

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Deployment Number 2

As some of you know or kind of know, Kyle has recently left on his second deployment, this time to Kandahar, Afghanistan. We're told he will be gone for nine months, but with the military you never really know until they are actually on the plane leaving or returning. This deployment has been and will be quite different than the last, for both of us. I have experienced pretty extreme highs (feeling such kindness on d day, when anonymous strangers paid for our breakfast and friends checked in on me all day) and lows (pulling over on the highway because I was crying) already. But one thing is for sure, I don't think I've loved my husband more (or my cats; they're the best buddies).