Papa's Homemade Lasagna

Yesterday, my Papa didn't have to go to work. So he stayed home and played home-maker. When Mama and I got home from work, we found him in the kitchen making homemade lasagna for our dinner!

It was his first time making it, and it was absolutely delicious! (And since there were plenty of left-over's, Meg and I will be repeating it for lunch in an hour or so...yum.)

He didn't even use a recipe, and he was so proud of himeself. We gave him the go-ahead to make this whenever he felt like it, cuz we really loved it!

Today, I don't have to go in to work, so I'm taking it easy at home. Here's a sample of things I've been doing lately since I've last posted: ultimate frisbee with the youth, sleepover at my old friend Callie's (felt like we were in high school again), swimming-a lot, reading, finished moving all my stuff back into my room here, catching up with old friends! This afternoon, I will be updating my recipe book, which I love doing, and then cooking dinner for my family tonight.
Also, FSU football starts real soon, and I'm super excited! I'm trying to get tickets for the first game, FSU v. Samford, because I LOVE football games! And I'm looking forward to seeing my best friend ever, Ochuko, play his senior year of college ball. (The picture is from our senior year of high school, in 2005. Forever ago, at the homecoming game, when senior girls didn't have to cheer And it's my favorite picture of us, maybe ever.)

Oh, and I ordered my TOMS! They should be here today or tomorrow, so I'm excitedly awaiting their arrival. Yay!

Purchasing TOMS

So I've been thinking about buying some of these shoes since last December-ish. When I first saw someone wearing them, I thought they looked funny, and didn't really like them. But then I learned a WHOLE LOT about them when I did a group project on the company. The more I read, the more I was impressed. They really are a great company, doing really great things all over the world. And now, everyone I talk to is becoming fans of them as well. So I will finally be purchasing my very own pair of TOMS. (The ones pictured below. I figure I'll wear them most often if they're neutral.) And I'm really excited about it! I am excited to support their mission, and aid them in their incredible goal of providing shoes for children in desperate need of them.

Here's one quick story of something we take for granted. A single mother of three children in South America only had one pair of shoes to share between all three of them. In order to attend school, they were required to wear shoes. They would rotate the one pair, and take turns going to school with the one pair of shoes. When they each received a new pair of TOMS, all three were finally able to go to school.These are things we take for granted, and something I'm excited to change.

Penguins, Pasta and Polka Dots

I own all of these penguins, including the penguin cookie jar. (You can make fun of me if you like, but I love my penguins...) My PJ pants are here. Mine and my sister's comforter's are both polka dots. (Mine the aqua/green combo and Meg's the pink/orange combo.) Those are also my books. And those are pasta recipes I like. ♥

Preparing for Meg's Homecoming

So, I haven't seen my little sister in what feels like forever. Even though I lived away from home for 3 1/2 years, 3 weeks seems like far too long when we're used to being with each other every day this summer. But I went on the Great American Road Trip, and now she's returning from a mission trip to Guatemala. So I'm ready to see her! They arrived in Miami this afternoon around 2:30, and then left for Tally soon after that.

Well it's taking them FOREVER, and they won't be home till around 3 am! (Due to customs, extra stops, and Lord knows what else...) So now me and the parents are sitting around waiting to pick her up from the Florida Baptist Children's home, which is who she went on the trip with. In the meantime, I made her these awesome signs for her welcome home surprise! And I think they look awesome. Also, I would like everyone to note the polka dots on her bed as well. We're twins. And this is appropriate for my blog.

Post from my email?

I found a place where I can update posts directly from an email. So this is simply a test to see if this will really work out. So, we'll see how this goes, and if I will do it again sometime in the future.

Also, here's something interesting and random: I'm at home watching "Oceans 13" with my parents for my dad's birthday. About 10 minutes ago we heard a shotgun go off. Then 5 minutes after that, we heard a police car and an ambulance. Interesting. Curious...

Paint Night

Luckily for me, this starts with a "P," again. Appropriate.

Tonight the youth had Extreme Paint Night. And it was amazing. I got there early to help Duncan, the youth pastor, set up for the night. We had special t-shirts made that said Paint Night 2010 on the front, and had a real cool splatter effect on the back. Everyone wore them during the night, and it was fun seeing the plain white t-shirts transform during the games!

Our first game was messy kickball, where we slid from base to base, on plastic coated in paint, water and dish washing soap. Fun sliding, bubbly making, painting fun. Next we moved on the Capture the Flag. We each coated our hands extensively with our teams paint color, and then proceeded to play a regular game, only when you got tagged, you had giant smears on your shirt. Which looked awesome.

Then we played another game, that honestly didn't go as planned, but the kids didn't realize it, and they still had a good time trying what we had set up!

Then we each had a squirt gun and filled it with paint infused water, and just had an all-out-war! There were also sponges and sqishy balls for soaking up the paint, and then pegging other people with. It was an amazingly messy night, and super fun. It will definitely be a repeat event every summer, I can feel it...

There are only a few post-event pictures, due to the messy-ness of the event, but enjoy the few!

Putting first things first

Hello Internet world and my favorite friends! (Aren't you glad that title started with a "P" as well? I certainly am.)

After talking a LOT about blogging on The G.A.R.T., I decided that I should indeed have one of my own. Here is my first post. Your all very welcome. Or Cally-- "Welky." I will try to only post interesting things, but cannot make this promise completely. So, here goes nothing! More to come very soon about The G.A.R.T., as I'm sure all of you who were not a part of it are on the edge of your seats in anticipation to hear more about this amazing-ness.

Night for now, my lovely friends and family.