Drives Me Crazy, Drives Me Insane

Oh bonjour! 

Dear anyone who is considering learning French because they want to speak the 'language of love' and all that good stuff, 

French is hard and sounds anything BUT romantic when anyone other than native speakers and people who have had many years of lessons use it. 

I sound like a mess and often use German words when I'm not quite sure which French word I'm looking for. 

It's quite the mashup, believe me. 

Just know what you're getting into- French. Is. Hard. 

And I have an exam in 3 hours. 

I decided it would be wise to wake up really early to study and clearly that was a good idea since I'm now updating my blog... 

So I was inspired last week and did this really wonderful thing. 

I created an iTunes playlist with all of my favorite lovey-dovey, daydreaming, futuristic, folky, singer-songwriter music. 

I listen to it pretty much non-stop. 

It's becoming a problem. 

Seriously one song is called 'Daydream' and when it starts playing I automatically stop whatever I'm doing and just sit with a big smile on my face. 

Then I continue to waste away 4 minutes and 1 second of my life just sitting and smiling.

I know what you're thinking- Caity that is NOT a bad thing to waste time sitting and smiling and possibly humming along to a song that so clearly defines your life! 

Yes friends, but it becomes a bad thing when I have a French exam in a few hours followed quickly by a Communication Theory exam, class until 7 and then the CMA awards show at 8. 

I just don't have enough of time in each day to allow so much of it to go by so unused on such a regular basis, you feel me? 

But I do love this playlist. Yes, it's playing now. 

Are you a daydreamer? Maybe a hopeless romantic who enjoys a nice fluffy song about the good things to come in life? 

My new favorites are Tori Kelly and Olly Murs. 

They make up a good majority of this new playlist. 

Ben Rector too- he's singing to me right now about how he likes me.

Thanks to my good friend Harry who sent this broke college girl 10 of his very own CD's. I am quickly falling in love with them all. 

Oh my, I just love Tori Kelly. 

So this past weekend was Cornhuskin' - the last one of my Meredith career! 

Since Friday couldn't get his crap together and refused to stop raining, the main event was moved to Sunday night. 

That meant the fam couldn't stay and watch. 

They got to see the parade though- the wet and rainy parade. 

Bathtub Ring rode on a "Tis the season to be corny" float. 

We had a bathtub with makeshift bubbles and we loved it. 

Then we all ran back to my apartment where we threw our wet clothes into the dryer and waited for either the rain or the dryer to stop. 

The rain never stopped, but the dryer did. 

The parentals were a bit bummed that they wouldn't get to see Corn and watch BTR perform afterwards so we decided to have our own private concert for our out-of-town families on Friday night. 

Dad proudly recorded every song we sang and started the waterworks during our first song (Wagon Wheel, or as he likes to call it- "Rock Me Mama"). 

Mom, Grandma and MC sat very ladylike and smiled along throughout.

Dan spent his time half listening because he was too interested in finding his blue-eyed blonde with a thick southern accent. 

Grandpa and Lynda sang along with what songs they knew- Lynda the more recent pop songs and Grandpa the old traditionals. 

After our first song Grandpa started chanting, "SING MORE, SING MORE!" 

And I said, "Grandpa, we will."

Carter was there too, sitting and smiling along like Mom, Grandma and MC but in a less ladylike way. 

Dad sent me all of the videos he took of us that night, then I promptly deleted them all because I think through my actions.

No, no I don't. 

Saturday we started off at the farmers' market.

MC and I weren't going to go, but then we wanted to be with everyone so we went. 

Boring.

Unless you're there to buy fruits and vegetables or maybe candy or strange pickled things... the farmers' market is boring. 

So MC and I made our own fun. We invited Dan, but again he was on the hunt for a southern lady-friend.

The trees were all such fantastic colors so we wanted to take pictures with them- duh. 

Too bad it was in a parking lot. We just had to get really creative.

We love fall! 

There were a lot of other fun things too, but I forget and I need to get back to French so details and specifics are going to be limited right now.

We're just going big-picture. 

Dan and Grandma were super cute...

And so were MC and Grandpa...

I was super annoyed because all weekend my phone decided to be stubborn and refused to take pictures. 

"Cannot take photo. Not enough space available." 

BUT YOU'RE AN IPHONE. MAKE SOME SPACE! 

So I took very few pictures. 

None of the parentals =(

and none of the pups. 

Shasta and Iris made it down but I failed to document any of that cuteness. 

But we did do some sibling selfies...

Aaaannd they might kill me for those. 

Then Sunday they all left and the weekend was over. 

Except it wasn't because we had corn all day on Sunday. 

ALL DAY. 

Not really, but it felt like it! 

It was all fun and stuff- seemed to go really fast! I even did some dancing guys! I know, right? 

Getting fancy.

And guess what? 

The senior class won! 

It's a big deal. 

That was a good day. 

And here is one of the songs Bathtub Ring did after all the festivities ended. We each tried to have a friend record one of the songs and this was the one I was responsible for. 

So here we go, Cigarettes and Whiskey for your listening pleasure. 

Apparently it's MC's newest favorite. She tells me that a lot- she must really like it.

I'm really disappointed in the lack of photos from this year! I did a terrible job! 

Last year I had SO many pictures, what the heck happened?

My phone got stubborn, that's what happened! 

Oh well. Maybe next year I'll get snap-happy again. 

Yes, next year. 

Oh Mary Catherineeeee! 

Study, study, study! 

Ready or not, here I come French exam! 

Only 20 days until Thanksgiving break!

Gardening and Gallivanting in Raleigh

It's officially spring!

And just like that it's summer. At least here- because it's suddenly super hot all the time and my leather seats seem like a really bad idea. 

Also, there is pollen. Everywhere. 

Go outside and put your phone on a surface next to you. Within 10 minutes, covered in pollen. 

Same with computer screens, books, sunglasses, etc. etc. 

And vehicles not moved to shelter? 

Covered. In. Pollen. 

Every time I get in the car I have to turn the windshield wipers on so I can see. It's almost like a small amount of snow- yellowish green snow... so that's weird. 

Poor Orville. 

Spring/summer also means Durham Bulls games with the Crains and that is ALWAYS a fun time! 

This year there was a man in front of me who helped himself to most of our conversations. Want to talk about an eavesdropper- this dude had the skill mastered. 

Things got awkward during the 7th inning stretch. Pretty sure had I made eye-contact I would've been considered his new girlfriend. Poor guy, I'm sure he's... nice. But for real- there's nothing like a baseball game in the spring! 

I'm pretty sure I've never wondered if my family loves me. 

Except for that time when mom made me sweep the basement steps. She claims I had an "attitude" and needed an "attitude workout" and that's her justification. 

Literally no one sees the basement steps. Why I needed to waste my precious time sweeping them, I'm still trying to figure that out. 

But anyway, no- it's hard to feel unloved when your family is constantly traveling 7 hours south on I95 to spend a few days with you. 

Yes, Dan and MC were here only a few weeks ago, but that doesn't mean that mom and MC can't come 2 weeks later with more laughs and adventures, right? 

Duh y'all.

Mom and MC actually had a legit reason to come last weekend- besides me missing them and wanting to see them and all that. 

Mary Cat went to the Junior Visitation Day at Meredith- FINALLY. 

We'll get to that part later, but let's just say I'm pretty sure if you want to hang out with the Martin clan in the future you're going to have to seriously consider getting your butt to Raleigh. 

So what did we do? A weekend with my favorite ladies and favorite Carter? 

What didn't we do. 

First we drove around the Crains' development like we thought we knew what we were doing, but all we really wanted was pizza. Things got confusing but I'm pretty sure it's just because the three of us kept talking and weren't so much focusing on actual directions. You know. 

Then we got ice cream after pizza- because it's kind of tradition and mom wanted to be outside. We compromised. 

How cute are they?

Then mom got something on her shirt, and I kindly pointed out the fact that this something was actually bird-poop. 

Mary Catherine found it pretty entertaining. 

She laughed a lot- couldn't stop. Even threw her head back! 

It was intense. 

Anyway, after that incident, we were off to an evening at Meredith for Stunt. I'm sorry you don't know what Stunt is, but I really don't know how to explain it. All you have to know is that Bathtub Ring sang. 

We did a few of our favorites and debuted our newest song. 

 And because you can't hear a picture...

Mom and MC were champs even though they were completely exhausted after leaving the house at 4 in the morning.

Friday morning mom sweet-talked MC and I into going to a green-house thing with her. We should've known it was a bad idea, but we agreed to go with her anyway. She claimed it would be fun- we figured it would somehow turn disastrous.

Turns out, we weren't too far off... 

Just a little background- as we were walking in, we had to pass in front of an attractive employee who was operating some machine thing. Immediately MC and I were on alert- hot guy in the vicinity? Must be on best behavior. You get it.

So the first issue surfaced when mother asked MC and I to get her a flower cart (it's like a grocery cart, except it's for flowers). The two of us, trying to ease the shopping experience and make it as quick as possible, reluctantly headed off in the direction of the flower carts. Mary Catherine must have gotten there first because she was the one attempting to acquire a flower cart. I just stood and watched and tried to offer helpful suggestions. 

These carts were stacked together (as grocery carts typically are) so MC had to use her muscles to get one free. 

So she gave the cart a good yank, and nothing happened. Being MC, she started to make a dramatic show of it by pulling with all her might and really putting her body into it. She dropped her butt to the ground as she pulled; she did a little dance; she turned around... all the while the stupid cart did not budge. I was dying in fits of laughter at this point- the kid can put on a good show! 

Then, out of nowhere, she starts yelling "What? Where?" Her face immediately flushed and I started looking around to see who we were suddenly talking to. 

Turns out MC wasn't just giving me a show, but also a kind flower-shop employee as well. 

I know what you're thinking, but no... this was not the attractive male we saw when we first arrived. We'll save him for later. 

So anyway, this guy was shouting about a brake and he kept telling her to push it down. So MC pushed the brake, let go of the brake, and pulled the cart. 

She did this a few times as I giggled and the employee started jogging toward us. 

"RESCUE!" I thought to myself. 

Turns out even the punk employee with giant gauges in his ears couldn't free the cart on the first try. Yes, he did on the second try but that's irrelevant. 

So he freed the cart for us, and then MC (having given up on the cart system) walked away giving me no choice but to push the cart to mom. 

So I pushed, and nothing happened. 

The employee, who was still watching our charade, rolled his eyes and said, "You have to use the brake. We're on a hill." 

I couldn't even tell you the thoughts running through my head at this point- I have to use a brake to go uphill? Are you stupid? After coming to terms with how backwards the whole system was, I finally managed to get the cart up the hill and to our very confused mother. 

She just wondered what all the laughing was about- apparently she heard us. 

Anyway, mom had a good time. MC and I mostly enjoyed keeping an eye out for the attractive man and running around like idiots in a flower shop. At one point, hot guy walked by us and asked how we were doing. MC and I almost melted. I responded with a pretty shaky, "Good". Mom ignored him. She was focused on other things.

There she is, with the infamous cart. The only reason she's pushing it is because I ran away and mom needed her services. 

We also struggled to pay for our purchases. Apparently the sign that says "Checkout" is very misleading. 

We became pretty close with a few of the employees. The cart guy, this guy, the hot guy... you know. We're just friendly people. 

So after this guy wrote mom a ticket with the amount she needed to pay (not like a cop ticket, but like a flower shop ticket), he took our cart down to the "loading area". This was one high-tech flower shop. So mom was all, "I'll go pay, you girls drive the car down to the loading area and let them start loading the car." No big deal right? 

Would've been fine had hot employee not been the loading guy. 

So we roll up, all giggly and feeling pretty stupid about the whole cart thing. We were being pretty obnoxious as well. Definitely almost stalled my car too during the "rolling up" process.

Hot guy walked up to my window and said something about how he had to finish loading the other woman's car and then he would be right with me. 

I still don't see why it was necessary for him to tell us that. Unless he was simply flirting. 

Omg... was he flirting with me? 

Then I popped the trunk and tried to play it cool. 

I really don't remember much else about hot guy. Besides showing off and maybe attempting to flirt, we really didn't have many other run-ins with him. 

Oh, and he tried to impress us with his stomach at one point. 

I'm pretty sure this guy was just trying a little bit too hard.

So we finally left the flower shop and made it back to the Crains and it wasn't even noon! 

That's what I call a very busy morning. 

After all that out-doorsy-ness, MC and I needed a good indoor fix. Since Sharon was occupied with her newly purchased flowers, MC and I headed off to the mall for the afternoon! 

I think I just held myself to one new dress at that point. 

MC seriously considered buying these earrings because they could almost double as a sort of wind-breaker for the neck. Like a scarf. 

She didn't get them though. A missed opportunity if you ask me. 

We weren't gone too long, and when we got back the Crain's house was transformed! Mom was hired to do their gardening and she did a great job! Of course she loved it- playing in dirt? That's right down Sharon's alley. 

Soon after we got back, the 3 of us were chilling on the couch watching One Tree Hill re-runs (my kind of afternoon) when an Old Navy commercial came on advertising "Buy one get one" T-shirt sale. 

Suddenly we found ourselves at Old Navy. 

Where we literally cleaned out the store as well as my bank account. 

Just kidding, but I did make a few more purchases than necessary. So many lovely things that I just HAD to have! If I don't buy it, then who will? The clothes, they NEED me!

I might have a shopping problem. 

Then Friday night was a lovely cook-out on the deck followed quickly by even more ice-cream. 

We might have an ice-cream problem as well.

Saturday morning was MC's visitation day. We were supposed to be at Meredith at 8 for tours, but it's hard to expect the Martin girls to be ready much before 10 on a Saturday morning. 

After a general session in which President Allen opened her speech by saying "I chose Meredith because my older sister went here!", parents and students split. 

Mom and I stuck together and ditched the parental session- we just weren't feeling it. Plus, it was GORGEOUS outside. 

MC was a good girl and stayed in the student session- met new people and I think enjoyed it! 

Mom and I just played outside. 

In the amphitheater.

Prettiest day ever with the prettiest lady ever! 

Plus we felt so rebellious for skipping our session. Nothing like a good ditching to make you feel good about yourself! 

After getting back to the Crain's, mom begged us to go see the wisteria. 

Only issue was we had to GO see it. 

In the woods. 

Deep... deep into the woods. 

MC and I do not do woods. 

At all. 

Ever. 

Except this time, because mom was so cute and really, really wanted to see the wisteria. 

So we went along and played Nature Walk.

You can tell this is a pine, because of the way it is. 

You can tell this isn't a pine. 

It's not everyday you get all this neatness in one place. That's called nature. 

Then the wisteria- the purple beauts. 

Rhonda was 100% in her element. Very, very, very, oh so very happy with the wisteria. 

 I mean, isn't that just a picture of pure beauty right there? 

A woman and her wild wisteria. 

The walk was neverending, but we somehow made it through the woods and back to civilization. 

Actually, I am the one who found the trail back to the Crain's house. I was pretty proud of myself because I'm definitely NOT the one to lead the way in the woods. 

I think I was mostly just very ready to be finished outside. 

After finishing our walk, they left me. 

MC had to be home to sing with chamber singers on Sunday and since she's so dedicated and wonderful, our weekend was cut seriously short. 

Stupid. 

But it was a fun weekend. I added a few dozen years to my life from laughing so hard. My mother and sister are probs the funniest people EVER. 

Seriously, if you like to laugh, you should probably befriend them ASAP.

They're good people. 

And now I'm struggling to find the motivation I need to finish these last 2 weeks strong. 

Next week is the last full week of classes- crazy? Def. 

Just a quick question- how necessary is the last week of classes anyway? 

We won't do anything but prepare for finals which is stupid. So I can just skip, right?

Nope. Still can't find justification for skipping. 

Guess I am sorta studious after all. 

Nuts.