Liberty and Equality for All!!

I woke up this morning and  I am still so happy/proud/ecstatic for all the positive energy I felt from yesterdays Supreme Court Rulings. I could not stop reading all the updates on my Facebook newsfeed of all my friends celebrating.  I know the change is going to keep on coming and I just hope it doesn't slow down after this huge success.

I am sure that most of you reading this blog know my passion of being an Ally for the GLBT community. It all started when I was in 5th grade and my sister told me she was different, she was gay. I remember crying all the way to my tumbling practice in the car. It was something I always thought but to have her validate it made it real.  She was shopping in the boys section for shorts and I remember feeling frustrated because she was a girl! Like me! Why weren't we shopping in the same section? Through the years it was a kind of a hushed conversation because my family did not know how others would or wouldn't accept my sister.  I am proud to say that not one of my friends every loved Vanessa any different. I became prouder than proud of who she was and how she carried herself.  Although I was emotional and possibly even sad when she told me she was gay  I am happy to say that her coming out has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my life.  I will never be able to express how happy I am that she is my sister and YES she is in fact Gay.  I don't even want to think of what may have become of me if she wasn't. I would hope I would still be on this side the right side of history but honestly there is no telling.

 

While at A&M I was involved in an organization called Aggie Allies.  It started with a training that made you a safe haven for GLBT Aggies. Your name was put on an email server so anyone if they needed to could get in contact with you. I was involved with this for two years and then in my first semester of Graduate School, I met Lowell Kane in one of my classes.  Lowell is just the most AMAZING person ever.  He founded the GLBT Resource Center at Texas A&M and has recently moved to Purdue University and he started another Resource Center. He works tirelessly and with his whole heart to help anyone and everyone.  He asked if I would be interested in a Graduate Assistantship with the center for the following year and I happily agreed! My last year in grad school was fabulous and it was because I met so many passionate human beings and was involved with so many projects.  I was so sad to leave but I left with that fire still in me.  I will be forever grateful to Lowell and all that he has taught me.

 I remember when he first hired me he told me it might be a good idea to watch some of the documentary dvd's we had at the center. As the year went on and I learned more and more I accompanied Lowell to A&M classrooms to present facts and also issues that the GLBT community faces.  I remember being SO nervous talking and he told me " Amanda, you're going to be a teacher. You can do this and talk in front of people". I still do. Some friends still ask me questions and I get so excited to answer them the best that I can.  I got a text from a friend a few weeks ago that asked what the entire GBT acronym stood for.  In case you are interested it it GLBTQQIAP. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and Pansexual. :) One of my favorite things we did was the Guess Who's Gay Panel. There would be 6-8 people on the panel and there was a mixture of identities. The group could ask anyone or the whole group a question like " What is your favorite movie? How many pairs of shoes do you own? What were you for Halloween? Any question other than are you gay, straight or bisexual? We would leave the room after 10-15 minutes of questioning and the audience would vote and give reasons why they voted the way they did. In all the times I did this probably 10-12 times I was only voted straight once.  It is a way to show you cannot judge a book by its cover.

My time at The Resource Center was golden.

Also, if you have never heard of the NOH8 Campaign check them out! NOH8 Campaign
The founders Adam Bouska and Jeff Parshley started the campaign in reponse to Prop 8 which is now gone!! WHOO. I was lucky to get to help out two times with the campaign. Once when they came to College Station and once in Austin.

Volunteers in College Station: October 2010

Volunteers in Austin: May 2011

There is still so much more to fight for but we do need to celebrate the victories from yesterday. Here are some pictures that touch my heart.  Love all of you, thanks for reading! Love is Love.

Our friends that are family. Elise and Amy Briones. Married in Austin on June 8, 2013.  It was the most beautiful ceremony I have ever witnessed.  Amy said in her vows "Growing up, I never fit in. I never had the homecoming or the prom. Today it's my turn.  Its our happy ending".  There was not a dry eye in that audience! 

Fellow Aggie, David Elizondo. David now works for the Human Rights Campaign in D.C. I love to see all the amazing pictures he gets in the press! Keep up the great work, David!

San Francisco City Hall

Karla and Haley recently moved to California. They were out celebrating last night!

US Airforce over California...... 
Just amazing that the united states government would prepare for a historic day and tell their pilots, tomorrow we will load your planes with color smoke and form a rainbow in the sky showing support to lgbt community. Taken from Lowell Kane fb page. 

Hands Across Aggieland march in my last weeks at A&M. 

Quinoa Stuffed Avocados and Roasted Cauliflower

Made this for dinner last night and it was  delicious and pretty nutritious if you ask me!

Quinoa Stuffed Avacados

Need
-4 large Haas avacados.
-can corn
-can black beans
-1 package taco seasoning mix
-1 tsp apple cider vinegar.
-1/4 cup chopped cilantro.
-red pepper chopped(optional)
-1/2 red onion chopped.
-1-1/2 cups cooked quinoa

Cook quinoa according to package. I use veggie stock instead of water to give the quinoa more flavor.

Mix corn, black beans, taco seasoning, apple cider vinegar, cilantro, red onion and red pepper.
Add cooked quinoa little by little and mix thoroughly with taco seasoning mixture. Depending on the quinoa you use, you might have some left over which you can eat by itself or use for another recipe later.

Cut avocados in half and peel off skin. I took out some of the filling to give more room for quinoa mixture.  Place avocados on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking oil.  Spoon mixture into avocados- again you may have extra mixture!

Cook for about 15 minutes at 350. If you wish you can top with cheese after 15 minutes and bake again  until cheese is melted.



Roasted Cauliflower

I have become addicted to this. SO easy and SOOOOOO good.

Need:
-1 large head of cauliflower
-1/2 cup olive oil
-juice from 1 lemon
-1 tablespoon of minced garlic(I use almost double of this because Holland and I are garlic freaks!)
-salt and pepper to taste
-parmesan cheese.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Chop up cauliflower into florets. I like to make them bite size.  Line baking pan with foil, put cauliflower in and drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt and pepper. Toss cauliflower with hands to make sure everything is evenly coated. Bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes. Take out and top with parmesan cheese and bake for 2-3 more minutes.

Hope y'all enjoy these! Let me know what you think!

-Amanda

Our First Automobile Accident Together...

I am very saddened that the first blog posting from my first week of summer vacation is about a car wreck. I woke up today and will still thinking "wow".  That really happened!

Holland and I went to pick up his go pro camera from Ranger Creek. We were driving back home on Austin Highway and right before the intersection at Perrin Beitel is where it all happened. A F150 started to slowly pull out in front of us and Holland immediately held down on the horn and slammed on the brakes.  Since it had just rained, Bonnet(my Jeep) just skidded and we had no where else to turn to and no other way to stop our vehicle.  The truck never sped up or go off to the side. I really don't think she had a clue of what was going on.  My side of the car hit the leftt side of her truck, so yes in the end we were the ones that hit the truck but she did not yield to us before she turned.

We pulled into a  shady lovely gas station and Holland told me to call for the police. I did not even need to get out to look at my car because I felt the impact and I knew there was going to be something wrong with my poor 'Ol Bonnet. I heard Holland talking to the lady that we collided with and I heard her say "But you hit me!". Then Holland with frustration in his voice saying" BECAUSE you pulled out in front of us when we had a green light!" I told the dispatcher our location and right as I hung up the phone with them Holland looked at me and mouthed the words "Get her license plate number". I frantically went into my car to get some paper and a pen and when I look up and start walking to her vehicle, she is already moving. Holland is fumbling with his phone trying to get a picture of her drivers license plate and then I see him grab on to the back of her tail gate and hop in the back of her truck.

I started yelling "HOLLAND, I GOT THE NUMBER!!!!!!!!!!! But it was too late. She fishtailed and screeched her tires and fled out of the gas station almost hitting another car as she did.

For the next 7-10 minutes I have no idea where Holland is and if he is okay. As I stood there in complete shock I did what any girl would do... call my dad! My phone wasn't letting me make any phone calls because it was still in Emergency mode from dialing the police.  So I went to some strangers and they let me borrow a phone. I called my dad and told him everything and he said "Sheeeeesh" when I told him the part of Holland getting in the truck and leaving.  My parents are out of town so I wanted to get someone with me or to go look for Holland. I restarted my phone and dialed Holland mom and for some reason I immediately started crying when I heard her voice. I couldn't get words out because then Holland was calling me so I told Jayne we were okay, but we were in a wreck and that I would call her back.

I continued to cry as I answered Hollands call and I heard in his voice that he was okay. As soon as I said hello he just apologized over and over for doing what he did. He told me that he got the woman to pull over and they were up the road not too far away. I waited about 5 more minutes for the police officer to get to the gas station.

During this time the people I borrowed the phone from (there were 2 girls and 2 guys) were still there watching me.  I told them thank you for letting me use their phone and they were very kind and said no problem and asked what had happened. Then one of them asked "How old are you?".  I looked at one of the guys who was just looking me up and down and I thought Oh. my.goodness... I really hope they aren't trying to make a move with me and this guy. DID THEY NOT JUST SEE MY BOYFRIEND TAKE OFF IN THE BACK OF THAT TRUCK!?  I told them "26" then I felt very old.  One of the girls said " Can you buy them some beer?" I looked at them very strangely and said " I was just in an accident and the police are on their way, I am not buying you beer." They started laughing and said "okay" and left.

The police officer arrived and I told him everything that happened. He asked what Holland and her were saying to each other before she drove off and I said I had no clue. We drove up to the location where Holland was with the woman we wrecked with. As soon I got out of the car Holland just hugged me and kept apologizing. I told him next time he is thinking about making a move like that he needs to picture my face. Probably an angry one. I told him I was just worried but glad he was okay.

Then I got to hear Holland side of the story.

 When I was on the phone with the dispatcher and Holland was talking with her, she said "Let me get my information from the truck". Holland saw that she had her keys ready in her hand and that was when he mouthed to me to get her license plate number. That crazy lady never intended to give us ANY information. Holland said she had no clue about him being in the back of her truck as she drove on the access road of 410 and all the way back around the Walzem.  He said he was hitting her truck and was yelling "Pull the F*** over". (That stands for pull the Ford over ;)

Once they stopped she told him to get out of her truck and he said no.  Not until the police get there. She started begging "Please don't  do this, I don't have insurance, I am a single mom." Holland said you just did a Hit and Run! You just made this whole situation much worse for yourself. Then she said " I didn't do a Hit and Run, you are still here!" Yes, Holland was still there because he jumped in the back of your truck!!!!!She also told Holland and the police that she left the scene because her father in law owns that shady  lovely gas station and she did not want to make a scene..... REALLY?!

The funny thing about the ending to this story was the woman had insurance all along. The officer gave us her information and told us her version of the story was that she turned and was hit. She ended up leaving when we did and ironically ended up again at that lovely gas station to get gas. I am unsure if she was charged with a Hit and Run or if she was ticketed at all.

In the end of all of this I am trying to do my maybe scenarios. Maybe she is really going through a  hard time. Maybe she needs a drivers ed refresher course. I am doing my best to look at the positive of this whole situation which is that Holland and I are okay. We have no damage to ourselves and with both of those situations we very well could have been in terrible shape.  My poor Bonnet got the worst of it all and in the end she can be fixed.   I was surprised that no one stopped to be our witnesses because that is what really could have changed the end result.  When I made the first phone call to my dad the first thing out of his mouth was " Are y'all okay?" In the end thats all that really matters.

Here are some photos of our girl, Bonnet. She held up and is in pretty good shape.