Pizza Scarves

This weekend, one of my great friends, Nicole Ongalo, became Mrs. Brandon McKenzie. It was beautiful, fun, amazing, uplifting and loving.

My wonderful friends drove from St. Augustine Friday afternoon, picked me up in Tallahassee, and after yummy dinner at Moes, we finished our drive to Pensacola Beach. We didn't make it in time for the bachelorette party, so they brought the party to our beach house instead! We got to hang out with old friends, meet new ones, and laugh a lot. We played catch-up-on-life, and shared a lot with each other.

Saturday morning, we woke up casually -with zero food in the house for breakfast- and hung out together for a while. We met all the girls at Panera for delicious lunch, and then did some shopping at the mall. We got lots of girly things, spent time with Nicole, and had some great fun.

We spent some more time hanging out that afternoon, went to Target to get some food for dinner, and headed back to our house. We made pizza's and had movie-rest time while we watched "Casino Royale." Intense. And then we played Quelf. Awesome, and so freaking hilarious.
  Sunday was spent gloriously lounging around the house playing cards, eating turkey sandwiches, playing on the beach, looking for shells, and reading. We started getting ready, and it took us forever, but we looked great, might I say.
  

The wedding was winter-beautiful, and Nicole was stunning. We ate yummy food, laughed a ton, and danced even more. Like, we dance sooo much. And we loved it. And it was great. After we ate cake, clapped for the married couple on their way out, we invited others to our beach house. It was fun to continue our dance party, and we had a great night. We stayed up super late, danced a lot more, (with scarves) got really, really silly, laughed more than I have in a while, and just enjoyed spending time all together again.
  

Monday morning, Zach came in and woke us up at the ungodly hour of 5:40, we jammed all of our dresses and heels back in our bags, threw away our trash, packed the cars quickly, and were outta there by 6:10. We dropped off the keys, and hit I-10 East. We stopped for a very filling breakfast at Cracker Barrel where we all ate a little bit too much, had some coffee, and hit the road again. They dropped me back off at my car, and they headed back to St. Augustine.

The weekend was absolutely amazing, and I have the best friends ever. We literally could not have had more fun, except if ALL of our friends could have been there. I am so happy for Brandon and Nicole, and I wish you both so many blessings! Congratulations!

Pretty Awesome Weekend

Today is Sunday, the final day of a great weekend. Here's a recap, but it's gonna go all the way back to Wednesday, cuz it's just been that good...

Wednesday night was a great night at church with my favorite youth's. Then we of course went to Fuzions for some frozen yogurt, even though it was freezing outside. We hung out for a while, and then at home, Meg and I watched "Glee" on demand - so good.

Thursday was Veteran's day and it was glorious to sleep in a little. I hung out with my precious Sara Lane for a while, and then some of us met to play frisbee at Chiles. And I was given tickets to the FSU game! I went to dinner that night with my parents at a southern chicken pilau (pronounced per-low), and then went to Bible study. Which was so amazing. We dug in deep and talked about a lot, and all came away with a better understanding of scripture. Oh, and also on this day, my friend Robert camped out for the opening of a brand new Chick-fil-A, and was 15th in line, so he get's a free meal a week for the next year! Awesome!

Friday was rough going back to work, but I made it, and then Friday night was awesome. We had a bonfire for some of our youth at Jacob and Robert's house, with the Fantastic 4 (Robert, Me, Taylor & Sara) acting as adult supervision. We played man-hunt, played around with some archery, and enjoyed the cozy warm fire. After the youth left, the big-kids hung out for a while, and I met some new friends of Robert's that came. We had a lot of fun, and I really like these people a lot.

Saturday morning, Robert, Sara Anders, Duncan, Justin and I went to the cross-country regional meet to watch Sara Lane and Will Speirs race, and they both did so awesome, and now they're on their way to state! Nap time followed this, and was much needed.

Then it was game time! Robert picked me up, we made a stop along the way, and headed to the stadium to meet friends for hang-out time before kickoff. We had great seats (Thank you Chandler!), and had a great time. And the weather was awesome. AND WE WON!! Thank you Dustin Hopkins, you were amazing. It was a real exciting ending. After the game, we got stuck in serious traffic, and couldn't find anywhere to go. Checked a few restaraunt's, and finally landed at 4th Quarter. We shared some delicious food and drinks, and chatted a lot. Played Question & Answer time for forever, and then finally decided to call it a night.

This morning was church, and I love my church. I got to see friends, and youth, and family, and old friends, and I love it. (And I'm repetitive...). Now, I just got back from playing ultimate frisbee like we play every week, and it was of course followed by Fuzions.

Long post, but a great weekend. I love my friends and my life, and this wonderful time of the year. Fall is my favorite.

Prison Paperwork

So, I’m here at my desk at work – bored. Crazy bored. I’ve read over 25 letters today from inmates, lawyers, and family members. Some of them have been sad and depressing; some have been dumb; and some are just ridiculous and funny. Unfortunately, I can’t share any of these over the world wide web…

Luckily, I still haven’t been cussed out yet, but I most definitely have been yelled at numerous times by family members calling to complain because they’re angry about Lord knows what. Today, I even hung up on a man because he was being so rude and persistent. So that was fun for me.

Other than the boredom though, things are going good here at the new job. I’ve gotten two fabulously awesome paychecks so far, and they came just in time too. (My first payment on my giant student loan automatically came out of my account this morning. Yikes. Welcome to the big-girl-world.)

So for now, I’ll just go back to talking about prisons, looking at prison facilities, and reading letters from inmates in prison. And of course, waiting for 5 o’clock…

Past-due

I haven't posted in almost a month, and I actually miss doing it. A lot has been going on in my life, and I've been quite busy, and so I've neglected the computer all-together usually, but especially my little blog!

Here's a quick update for anyone who would like to know:

I'm actually really liking my new job! It's never boring, and I always have something to do. Oh, and I got promoted after being there only two weeks! So I'd say that's real good. And I got my first pay check last week from there. And it's definitely the biggest paycheck I've gotten in my life, ever. And that made me super, super happy :)

I'm making new friends, and hanging out with old ones more and more. And things are really going great. (Although I do miss my St. Auggie friends a whole, whole lot; and can not wait to see yall for the wedding!!)

I am oh-so-completely obsessed with Fuzions. We go at least twice a week, and sometimes more. It's just so delicious. At least it's semi-healthy-ish since we eat it so often!

We started a new young adult Bible study at church, and it's going really great. I'm so glad to be apart of a community again where we study God's word, and fellowship with each other. I thank the Lord for this new group, and what it's becoming for all of us!

Next weekend, my parent's are going out of town for their anniversary, so Meg and I will be alone for five days, and we're pretty excited about it. Oh, and we're going to the Florida State homecoming game during that weekend with our super sweet Granddaddy, and it's going to be great.

Oh, and this is Emma, the sweet baby girl I nanny-ed over the summer, and she's almost a year old now. Just wanted to share a precious picture of her.

I love you all...good night.

Pumpkin Pictures

Pumpkin Patch

Today my precious little family went to a local church to buy some pumpkins in order to support their missions. Megan dubbed herself the "Pumpkin Manager," and was therefore in charge of picking them all out. And she dubbed Papa the "Pumpkin CFO," so he was in charge of the pumpkin purchasing.

We took our time picking out all the most perfect ones, and took plenty of pictures to go along with it of course. We got pumpkins of all sizes and shapes. Pumpkins that sit on the front porch with Sally (see photo). A tiny pumpkin that fits with our tiniest scarecrows in the flower bed. And pumpkins that sit on our pretty dining room table.

We got around 10 pumpkins total. And they're all "perfect." It was a great day, and we had fun and laughed a lot. Oh, and fall is my favorite :)

*Check next post for photos. Now, when you click on it, it will open up larger. Couldn't fix it on this post.*

Praise the Lord!

I GOT A JOB!

For those of you who haven't heard, I just recently landed my first official "big-girl job." Since arriving home in May, I have applied for over 50 jobs, in a number of capacities, in maybe seven different cities! Sounds a little excessive right? Well I was certainly getting tired of it. And I was getting really discouraged. I was trying really hard to trust God, and wait for his plan. But I felt like I had been waiting forever...

At church the last few weeks, we've been going through a spiritual emphasis, and have been focusing on different basics of our faith. One week was worry. And man, did that ever hit me right smack in the face. All I've been doing lately is worrying about one thing or the other. So at the end of the message, we all wrote down the one thing that's weighing us down right now, and put it in a shredder on the stage. I wrote "JOB." And I felt better immediately, because it really did feel so symbolic.

Then that next Wednesday, Duncan emphasized worry in youth, and we did a similar exercise. And again, what did I write, but of course, "JOB." Then only a week later, after a quick application, interview, background check, and phone call later, I was offered a job!

So now I am the receptionist in the Classification division of the Department of Corrections. It definitely isn't the most fun thing ever, but it pays me, it's interesting, and I'm looking forward to learning a new job, and meeting new people.

So all this to say, PRAISE THE LORD. I got a job. And here's the object lesson: it really DOES pay to stop worrying, and simply hand over your problems to the Lord. Cuz our awesome God really does have this kind of thing under control.

"Princess and the Passenger"

This past weekend, I drove down to Orlando on Saturday morning, straight to Jenni's house (well after a few wrong turns of course...), for a wonderful evening of fun. Her Mama bought us Chicago style hot dogs for lunch, which were quite delicious, and we had some coffee to perk us up for a late night, accompanied by some delicious cupcakes I brought from Lucy & Leo's Cupcakery. We dressed cute but comfy, and headed to Tampa for the Rascal Flatts concert!

Our directions were perfect, and there was no traffic, so we were there 2 hours and 15 minutes early. Oops. OH well, because we had a ton of fun filling that time with our goofiness. Some lady knocked on our car window and gave us rediculous stickers, which Jenni was super excited about.Then we headed over and waited in line for a while. We saw a sign that said Kellie Pickler would not be performing due to illness, and I was quite OK with this, because that just meant more stage time for Rascal Flatts, which I was already dreaming about anyways!

Once inside, we got the most perfect lawn seats, spread out our blanket, took off our shoes, and marvelled at how well this was all going so far. We had a great view of the stage, and were not jealous at all of the regular seats. We were so comfy, had a ton of space, and had our own cooler and card games! Perpect.

We took a TON of silly pictures of ourselves, and had a TON of fun doing so. Here's an example:Then the concert started! Chris Young was the opener, and I had never heard of him. But I actually knew a few of his songs, I just didn't realize it at first. And he was quite good. I enjoyed him a lot more than I thought I would, so that was a pleasant surprise.

And then my beloved Rascal Flatts came on! This is their 10th Anniversary tour, so they are celebrating all ten years of their music! And to do so, they sang a few songs from each of their albums, from oldest to the most recent, and they were so awesome! I loved every minute of the show, and when it was "done," I didn't want to leave because I knew there just had to be more. And I was right. They came back out again, and sang some more great music. After an amazing night of great singing, laughing, pictures, and fun, we went to a nearby steakhouse for some line-dancing. It was quite spontaneous, but ended up being real fun! And, it was a nice way to wrap up our country-themed evening.

Side note: Rascal Flatts was the first concert I ever went to, when I was 13! So it was great to get to see them again for their 10th anniversary tour! Such great fun. Oh, and the title of this post is from one of my favorite songs of theirs, "Secret Smile." (Not a good video, but you can at least listen.)

Probably the Best

On the way home from church tonight, Mama says, "You know what we should do? We should take home frozen yogurt for us and Meg, and Papa."

And you know what I said? "OH YES PLEASE!"

So we stopped at the amazing Fuzions Frozen Yogurt, and made 4 cups, to go. And this was Probably the Best one I've ever made myself. Here was my "recipe:"
Mango yogurt--topped with almonds, mini chocolate chips, Fruity Pebbles, and kiwi.
And it was so dadgum delicious! I am hoping to re-create this flavor combo as soon as possible. Who's with me?!

Pancakes, Percussion, Pizza & Praise

Rock the Universe is always the last event of our Youth Extreme Summer Spectacular. And we just went last weekend. And it rocked. Quite literally. (Except on Friday morning: I had pancakes for breakfast, and no coffee. [Feelin' me Bridget?] So I was fading, quick. I had to load up on some caffeine to counteract that bad decision...but then I was ready.)

We arrived at our giant hotel Friday afternoon which is directly across the street from the park, checked in, painted my fingernails an awesome shade of Robin's Egg Blue, and then we all walked across to Universal!

First order of business was the new roller coaster, Rip, Ride, Rock It. And we did Rock It. That Friday night, my wonderful group was Chandler, Taylor and Aaron. And it was great.

We did a few more rides, ate dinner, and then headed to some concerts. That night we saw Jars of Clay, (I wasn't too impressed with them...) and Skillet. And they were real good.On Saturday, we went to Islands of Adventure, and went straight back to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And it was so amazing looking! It really looked like Hogsmeade, and I felt a little like I was on the set. (Aside from the hundreds and hundreds of people all smashing into each other.) We saw the whole "town," rode The Hungarian Horntail, and then decided to try Butterbeer. (For those non-HP fans, it is not alcoholic in any way.) But it was waayyy too sweet. And no one finished drinking theirs.We stayed in that park all day, riding all the most awesome rides, eating some delicious pizza for lunch, and laughing and having a good time. New and different people flowed in and out of our group for the day, and we had a lot of fun. Including Hannah, Meagan, Sara, Kristen, Kaitlin, Jacob, Daniel, Nikki, Will, and maybe a few more...We then met Duncan for our check-in time, and were back into Universal for another night of concerts.

After dinner, Chandler and I went to the Needtobreathe concert. And they were soo good! I'm going to be purchasing their new album this weekend, The Outsiders.

And then we waited for our beloved tobyMac! There were tons of people all around us, but it was worth it, because we were real close, and the concert was real great! I've seen him probably six times now, and every time I love it just as much!

We then saw some of Jeremy Camp, and just kinda hung out, because we were exhausted by this point. At midnight, we met up with the group, and walked back to the hotel all together.

Sunday morning we got to sleep in, and then had a small Sunday school lesson with Duncan. Packed up and left after 11, got gas, and headed home. The bus was silent as everyone was asleep, which it was nice for Duncan and I. After a few hours, lunch, and countless bathroom breaks, we were home. A great weekend in all. With great kids that I love.

Oh, and here's a picture of me and my weekend-roommates.

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.