Fall Break, Last Forever!

My class got out a good 45 minutes early and I have at least an hour to sit in the honors lounge until my next class starts so I figured I would go ahead and update my blog since I have one and all that. 

Can you believe we're already through midterms?

Well, can you believe that I am already through midterms? Because I sort of am.

Except for the one I have tomorrow morning. Who does that?

Midterms after fall-break? Bad idea dude. 

I wouldn't have studied for it anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter when I take it. 

Don't tell dad.

(So since I'm so great at updating and all that, I actually took the exam before posting this. One word for that exam: Easy. Aced it. You're welcome, Dad.)

We can tell dad about the random hockey game that I went to- that was fun. 

I went with a couple true hockey fans, so it made more sense this time. 

I went my freshman year too- remember that? I do. Good times. 

Anyway, this time we went down to watch the warm-ups and I was pretty sure I was going to die. Jennifer told me it would be fun though, so I was brave.

These guys were slinging pucks directly at my forehead which was 1. rude and 2. scary. 

I did a lot of ducking. But let's be real, I loved it.

Being that close to a professional anything is quite exciting in my opinion. 

Carter and I also got to meet Stormy. I told Stormy we wanted to have a funny picture so he promptly stuck his finger in his nose and motioned for Carter and I to do the same.

Nailed it. 

There were also some really chatty Charlies behind Carter and me. They had something to say about everything that was happening- from the new guy on the team to the opposing team's mascot. 

"What's a saber?" 

"It's a big sword."

"Oh, like a light saber?" 

"No dude, like a sword! Like with a sharp blade and everything!"

"Wouldn't it be cool if they had a buffalo holding two swords as their mascot?"

"Yeah, he could like skate out on the ice with his swords and wave them around."

"That would be sick!"

"They should make the buffalo a cartoon too. That would be so funny."

Go ahead and re-read that dialogue with a thick southern accent. 

Suddenly it's a whole lot funnier, isn't it?

Well Carter and I thought so too. We also wanted to see what they looked like without making it obvious that we were turning around to look at them.

So we took a "Selfie" which they gladly photo-bombed.

Mission accomplished.

What else have I been doing? 

You know, just hitting bullseyes and becoming an arching sensation. I had to make my own bow and arrow and with Carter's help, it actually shot straight and true!

Well, not so true... but it did go forward and therefore I passed.

I guess you could say I was pretty confident in my arching abilities, so when I was home for fall break I asked dad if I could check out his bow. 

65 pounds? No big deal dad, I got this.

Turns out 65 pound draw weight is actually quite difficult.

I couldn't do it.

Moving on...

Fall break sure was fun! 

Did a little negotiating, moved a midterm and skipped a class and made it home on Tuesday night! 

So fun. 

Wednesday morning I woke up before mom which was super weird. 

The neighbors have a hound dog who has a very peculiar bark. 

The dog sounds like a child who is in great distress. 

And he's loud! The dog... not the child (there is no child). 

So as Miss Neighbor is walking her hound dog right past my bedroom window, something happens which startles the moaning-child-like-dog and he breaks out in moaning-like-song. 

I was awakened on my first day of vacation at 7:45am. 

Ask me how pleased I was with this occurrence.

I WAS NOT PLEASED. 

So I figured I might as well wake mom and the dogs and start my Wednesday right!

Still super weird that we have dogs. As in plural. As in more than one. 

But I can't imagine home-life without Baby Iris.

Let's talk about how adorable she is because I miss her spunk and her sass. 

And yes, bottom left is Iris hoarding her toys.

Shasta is still the princess- naturally. She's just not as in-your-face as the little one. 

She does love having her picture taken though. Diva-licious. 

Anyway, we spent a lot of our time at home listening to Christmas music really loud, drinking coffee, eating baked oatmeal, and blowing our noses.

Mom and I both had really bad colds- weird. 

I also got to check out the Corner Coffee Shop, where little MC is now a full-functioning barista! I got my pumpkin spice and was happy. 

We also ran around Kitchen Kettle because MC wanted to take pictures of trees. 

Turns out the trees she liked were in the parking lot and were not nearly as pretty up-close. 

So we just walked around.

We almost got run over by Alabama while he was trying to back into a parking space right in front of where we were standing. 

He passed us later on in the afternoon and gave us a friendly toot- weird, but it was friendly.

You'd feel bad too if you nearly ran over the three Martin girls. 

We also waved enthusiastically to the pickle-guy. Well... I waved enthusiastically to the pickle-guy. MC was embarrassed because she was convinced she probably knows him. 

Mom wasn't looking at him because she was looking at someone's gardens or something probably. 

But for real- does anyone know who the pickle-guy in Intercourse is? Because I think a lot of people would like to figure that out.

Any information regarding the pickle-guy would be appreciated. 

I also met up with Carli Sue-lee-loo while I was home =) 

We chatted like 12 year old girls while we drank our seasonal coffees. 

She's one of my absolute favorites and I was so glad that we could make a coffee date happen so last minute! 

She calls this her Asian face. I call it her adorable Carli face. 

MC and I did a lot of giggling and all that too. 

Tuesday night when she got home from work, she came immediately to my side and started telling me story after story of school, youth group, and work happenings. 

One of my favorite things she said was this...

"Caity, Mrs Scheuer says I need to apply to colleges before Halloween. She told me that in her office and I was all, 'Yeah, okay-sounds good' but really I was freaking out because I don't know when the heck Halloween is! Do you?" 

So I giggled and told her it was October 31st and her eyes got real big and she said, "Oh shoot, it's in October?! I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME, CAITY!" 

Classic though- since when do the Martins celebrate Halloween? She really had no idea. 

That might not have been all that funny, but believe me when I say that it was hilarious. She's really the funniest person ever. 

She also asked me this, "Caity, what's that movie with the grinch? Oh! It's called The Grinch!" 

I just love her. 

Then just like that we headed off to Cardinal Hill for a weekend of bargain hunting and fall-foliage viewing.

It ended up raining literally all day on Friday, so our bargain hunting was moved to Saturday. 

It was so fun though- the whole Martin family, minus Kyle and Maria, was up. 

As for bargains- I didn't find anything particularly interesting. 

Except two DVD's which I completely forget now. 

Dan was even there- he was all giggly and fun. MC and I forced him into a dan-man sandwich and took pictures, much to his obvious delight. 

We missed you Kylie! You clearly would've balanced out each of our photos. 

We also went out for a drive on Friday because MC wanted to find some colorful leaves. So mom, Grandma, Aunt Melanie, MC and I packed into old grey and drove through the mountains of PA and took lots of fun pictures. 

Just farmland, mountains, and pretty leaves.

Oh and some cows because mom was positive, "This isn't a driveway, it's a road and it connects back to another road!"

It wasn't a road. It was a farm lane. 

Right now I'm listening to Brett Eldredge and I'm kind of dying inside. He's just such a fantastic country singer and I love him. 

Don't tell Tim Tebow. He doesn't need anything else to worry about right now. 

Seriously, don't say anything to him. He would be devastated. 

Anyway, Fall break couldn't last forever so Saturday afternoon we packed up and headed out.
Grandma loaded me up with some "Driving snacks".

"No grandma, those are peanut chews and I don't need more than 3" was my response.
10 peanut chews in my pocket later, we headed home.
And soon after arriving home, I drove even further south to Raleigh.

Fall break can't last forever.
So before I left, we all gave hugs and said sad goodbyes.
"Goodbye, dad. See you in a few weeks!"

"Yeah just hold on a second. I want to see this last drive."
Don't worry, I didn't take it personally.
And to be fair, it was a big play and I'm pretty sure the Eagles got a first down.
Speaking of Eagles, I'm really praying that their game will be broadcasted down here today.
Eagles v Cowboys- that has to happen today.

Today Mom, Kyle, Liz and I had a long conversation on facebook about how we want to visit The Netherlands real soon. So all afternoon I've been daydreaming about Europe and how awesome it is. 

Like seriously, I know we discussed a theory in Com theory but I couldn't tell you a single thing about it. And I just came from that class. 

I might actually have problems focusing.

And Liz guess what? In my next class my professor actually spent a good 20 minutes discussing the Netherlands! I'm not sure what he was saying, but I know it was about your people.
The class is about Mozart and Vienna, so the whole Netherlands thing really confused me. But I didn't ask questions!
I probably should have...

Freaking daydreaming- why must you be such a great escape?? 

Oh guess what? I got a little bit of a haircut. 

Remember that hair-obsession I used to have?
Yeah, me too.

Here's to hoping that it's not December before I post again!

I Think it Goes...

This is my 72nd post, can you believe that? 

Seems like just yesterday I was stressing over the fact that I was a college freshman, could not for the life of me think of a blog title, was worried that biology was going to ruin me, and confused with the fact that North Carolina which, contrary to its name, is actually a very southern state. 

North Carolina is the south. 

It's the real Carolina. 

(Or so I've been told.)

But here we are, on the home stretch and we now have 72 posts under our belt. 

Well, I have 72 posts under my belt. 

Not quite sure what you have. But the chances of you having 72 posts as well is highly unlikely.

And yes, the post title today is a lyric from a One Direction song. 

Best Song Ever. 

Look it up. 

Memorize it. 

Think of me- because it's fantastic. 

They're fantastic. 

You know what is frustrating me right now? My chair. 

This chair came with the room- it was a package deal- because believe me, if I had a choice (and a few extra bucks) I would have gotten myself a chair with an adjustable height lever. 

I seriously feel like I'm sitting on my desk rather than my chair. 

Talk about your neck-aches. 

I learned about ergonomics in Office Skills during my senior year of high school (shout-out to you, Mrs Wenger) and let me tell you... this chair/desk set-up has very terrible ergonomics. I may have just used that word in a very wrong context, but I don't believe I have used it in four years, so give me a break. 

I couldn't tell you many other legitimate terms from that class, but I do remember ergonomics for some strange reason. 

I remember the most random things. 

Like in Earth Science last year, for some reason the term "Albedo" was drilled into my memory. 

So now every time it snows or rains or something I'm all, "Hey mom, did you know snow and rain have a high albedo and that's why when it's raining or snowing you squint?" 

I'm such a random nerd. 

I think I may have referenced the albedo thing in a previous post. So sorry for the repetition but it just fit so perfectly and I couldn't help myself. 

Want to know what else is random? 

I have a box of Honey Bunches of Oats on my desk. Right beside me. 

Our cupboards are way too full. 

Food runneth over. 

This was the first year ever that I went home for Labor Day Weekend- isn't that good news? 

Lynda texted and was all, "Wanna go home?" So I responded with, "Duh." 

And it was settled. 

We drove up Friday night- that was exciting. 

Did you know they sell Turkey Hill in Raleigh now? They totes do and I was very excited about that. 

So I had a Turkey Hill tea to sip on in the car. That's basically irrelevant but you know- I'm an open book, baby. 

I took a couple of videos of Carter trying to sing all the lyrics to the pop station that we found in DC. They won't upload on here though, so you'll have to use your imagination. 

And if you're ever near me just ask and I'll show you. 

But it was good to be home. It obviously went way too fast, but what are we going to do about that? 

We might cry, but that's about it. 

And then our eyes are puffy and gross, our nose is nasty, and people think we're crazy.

Not that we care about what people think, but we also don't want to be ostracized by society. 

That's a whole other story. 

Anyway- the Blank family (minus the Randy Blanks) met up at Lapp Valley for a taste of the best ice cream on the planet. 

We also cuddled some 9 week old Yorkie puppies, considered buying a baby bunny for $10, watched a blind bulldog walk into a wall, and stared at some calves. 

This guy was borderline crazy. 

Do you see that eye? I think I may have gotten too close. 

But for real- this guy needs to learn to shut that eye. 

 

He's just going to freak people out with the intensity behind that eye. 

This cow was much calmer. 

She was all- "Oh we have company? Well they weren't invited and my legs are tired so I'm not standing up." 

 

It's a calf life. 

Aw shame, and MC took the cutest picture of the parentals. 

 

Dad told me not to mess with him after I asked if he got a vanilla ice-cream cone. 

I mean they have peanut-butter twirl, chocolate chip mint, and cookie dough. 

Nope. Vanilla for daddy-o. 

Then Daddy and MC boarded mom's new ride and rode on home. 

 

Mom's new toy is a 2013 Softtail. 

I would tell you the colors, but apparently I wasn't really listening to what Daddy was saying because I have no idea where to even begin. 

Metallic something? 

White? 

Good enough for me. 

Mom was all dramatic about riding before they get a windshield because apparently it's "Unbelievably loud" and "Unbearable" without a windshield. 

Drama. 

Just kidding mom! Totally kidding =D 

Dad loves riding his bikes so it doesn't take too much convincing to get him to break it in. 

Then the Blank family came over for an evening of hot-dogs on the fire, Aunt Darlene's tasty poppy-seed salad, pumpkin rolls from grandma, Aunt Lisa's perfect meadow tea, and Carter's ridiculously delicious kale chips. 

It was pretty fun. 

We missed Kyle, Vanessa and Alyson- boo. 

I sat down next to grandpa at one point and asked, "Hey Grandpa, we should probably take a selfie."

His response was, "I don't know how to selfie. Show me how to selfie, Cait." 

So we selfied.

He liked that he could see his face so he started to make it look funny. 

 

He's famous for throwing his head back and laughing harder than everyone else around. 

I love when I laugh like that- so hard that my head goes right on back. 

That's how I know I'm really happy. 

And I love, love, LOVE when he does it. 

 

Sam Brown (that's his Amish name- not even kidding) is officially a selfie pro. 

I'm not sure who it was (Uncle Randy) then shouted about taking a walk while it was pushing 3,000 degrees outside- so we leashed up the dogs and headed up the road. 

After making it this far (about 2 houses down from ours) we were all kind of wondering who suggested the walk, but no one was willing to take responsibility for the horribly awful suggestion. 

I sort of forget who was responsible too. 

(No I don't. It was Randy.)

Just kidding guys. We had a fun time.

 

It was just hot. 

Really hot. 

 

But we helped ourselves to the whole road and somehow that made the walk slightly more bearable. 

Then Jess and Jordan showed up, and we did this whole dramatic movie-scene run towards each other. 

No one was around to capture the moment, we were all running dramatically. 

But the lack of capture is a real shame because I'm sure we looked pretty hilarious. 

So to the kind folks of Kingsfield, you're welcome for the Saturday night entertainment. 

 

What else did we do over the weekend? Well no Amish lady donuts if that's what you're asking. 

But mom did make some PA style iced-tea. 

Not Southern, by any means. 

But still delicious and still one of my favorites. 

 

And then she makes it all fancy with her old-fashioned glasses and pitchers. 

She's just the cutest thing around. 

We also visited with Grandma Martin for a few hours on Sunday. 

She had knee-replacement surgery last week. 

But she's been a real champ- she's got spunk, that's for sure!

Her first question when I walked in was, "Do you want to see my knee?"

One word: Stitches. 

She's a real hero- strongest lady this side of the Welsh Mountain. 

No question. 

You keep doing your thing Grandma. 

She's going to set all sorts of records for healing and all that. 

No doubt. 

But the weekend is now long gone and I've been forced back into this weird routine where I wake up at 7am, two days a week, because I like to drink my coffee slowly and watch the news before I go to my 9:30 class. 

Who does that to themselves?

Latest happening: Caitlyn got her first Mr. Coffee. It's a beautiful relationship, really. 

 Mr. Coffee doesn't ask questions. 

Mr. Coffee understands. 

Mary Catherine laughs at me for waking up so early when it's not necessary. 

Hear me now: 

I don't care if you don't understand me, because most of the time I don't understand me. 

And now? Now I'm off to a meeting where they've promised to give important graduation information, to reveal our Cornhuskin' theme, and to provide free Bojangles. 

Who doesn't want delicious chicken and warm biscuits at 9pm? 

If I'm wrong, then you've never had Bojangles before and that's too bad. 

Nighty night! 

 

My (not-so-springy) Spring Break

I realize that it was only a few weeks ago that I last updated, but after getting called out in church on Sunday, I figured it would be best for everyone if I wrote some more. Real quick. Again. 

And yes, I was called out and yelled at in church. There was shouting, there were tears (mostly mine), and we caused a big scene.

Just kidding- but I sort of wish it would have caused a big scene. 

A little drama is good for the soul, right? I mean, that's what I've always been taught and I'd say my soul is doing pretty good. 

So there you have it. Drama is good for the soul. 

Any old who, I spent my 10 days of Spring Break huddled up in Lancaster with Amish lady donuts and the sweet smell of manure!

Seriously, I was greeted by mom and dad dancing in the driveway and an Amish lady donut on my Princess House plate. It was quite the homecoming! 

Then I woke up Saturday morning and had yet another donut. And that's all I'm going to say about that. 

Also, here is MC enjoying herself a donut. 

I might get in trouble for that. I'll let you know. 

MC's musical was also the first weekend that I was home. Seems like forever ago! They did Beauty and the Beast. Our little one was a dancing salt shaker!

I surprised her Friday night- that was fun. You see, I got home literally 10 minutes after she had to leave for the evening. So I texted her and told her I was just going to bed because I was tired and all that. We were going to see the show on Saturday night, but mom had an extra ticket for Friday, so I just tagged along. Anyway, before the show started I made my way backstage (just gotta look like you know what you're doing) and found her. I think we stood there for a good 20 minutes chatting before I made myself go find my seat. Also, I apologize to anyone who overheard any of our conversations during that time. Not that anyone else would have been able to follow along (because we move rather quickly and don't make sense half the time), but I apologize anyway. 

So that was a fun night. 

She kept saying "I've a-salted you!" 

We were also photobombed by some fun people- but those pictures aren't allowed on the blog. I'm pretty sure I did my fair share of photobombing as well- you're welcome. 

Saturday night I went again, and pretty much the same stuff happened- minus the whole surprise thing. Our little salt shaker did great, yet again, and in my opinion was the star of the show! 

Seriously though, she's a good dancer. 

(MC, you totes just read that line like the proposal guy.)

Kyle also came home that first weekend and made it along on Saturday night. His freshman year they did Beauty and the Beast for the first time, so he was really excited to see it again!

Then we found Joel and took our annual "Martin girls with Joel" picture. I'm thinking we need to end this tradition though. Joel, you literally make me look like a midget and I'm not okay with that. Unless we take the picture with you sitting down next year, it's probably not going to happen. 

Gotta stand up for myself. 

Little salt-shaker Mary Cat with the Beast. 

So yeah, that was a fun way to come home. It's always so weird going back to PV now. It's been 3 years since I graduated? Oh- because that's normal????

And now I feel old. Old and short- super! 

But anyway- after that we had a whole week of things to do! Monday mom and I did whatever we wanted. I think I may have actually stayed in my pj's all day. 

That's my kind of Monday! 

Tuesday we had a little tea party at Chattery's house. Mary Catherine (conveniently) wasn't feeling well and stayed home. We gave her some hot tea and fruit hoping that would clear up her cold and guess what? It did! 

We also got some play time in with the cutest kids on the planet. Too bad they're moving to Europe and MC and I aren't okay with that. 

Things got pretty intense during our play time. We wrecked the family room, jumped off of every high surface we could find, and messed up Caitlyn's hair. It was fun for everyone!

We also really like their mom. Liz, remember when we used to play house all the time? Because we did. And then you taught me that butterfly song that I no longer remember. But I know it was a cool song because you taught me. 

So you could say I'm a big fan of tea parties now. Not that I wasn't before, but you know.

Oh yeah, I found this picture on my phone. Probably from Wednesday. Our big nor'easter turned into a pretty nice day after some rain and weirdness. MC didn't have school again on Wednesday then because of the rainy weather. It was kind of embarrassing. Like this picture. But in my defense, she shouted "Take a picture of me because it's sunny!" 

So I did. 

And they say that I'm the dramatic one. 

It did snow on Friday morning a little bit. MC also didn't have school on Friday. I know- it's like we planned this. We didn't- we didn't plan it. But yeah- snow during spring break? I didn't like that idea so much, but it doesn't really matter what I think when it comes to weather patterns. I've stopped trying to influence the weather- it just gives me a headache. 

The princess also never missed a chance to sit on/at/by my side. She's... touchy like that. 

We also had some hug time in the kitchen. Dan was eating carrots and MC and I just decided to make the most of the opportunity. That's the thing with Danny- when he's doing one thing, he usually doesn't notice that something else is going on. Not so great at multitasking this one. So he was probably focused on Sharon taking pictures of him eating carrots.

Score. 

I also went out with Jessica and her friend Lindsey. It was Lancaster's restaurant week, which we didn't know, so there were people everywhere. 

Anywhere there was flooring, there was a person standing. 

People were also standing on chairs. Not really, but that would've been funny.

We met a "professional football player", so that was kinda cool. He plays for the Philadelphia Soul- the arena team- and he gave us nachos. 

Nice guy. Good time.

We also went shopping on Friday. Literally from 9:30- 4. It was the longest day of my life. I bought clothes. More clothes. I really am starting to think I have a problem, but I'm kind of okay with it. 

Shopaholic. 

Mom and MC both bought some things too- so maybe it runs in the family? 

So then Saturday we stopped in to see our new favorite barista! Gayle now works at the New Holland Coffee Company and she makes a pretty good smoothie. 

Look at her- Phillies hat and red pants. 

It was a good day. 

Then Sunday, after a pretty uneventful and even slightly disappointing morning, I headed south for the rest of the winter. 7 hours with a few trouble spots in Virginia- pretty smooth. The weather was gorgeous which was both nice and a little annoying at the same time- no one wants to drive while it's nice out- but you also don't want to drive in the rain. I also listened to lots of music- 6 CD's and various radio stations along the way. This morning my voice was a little hoarse- apparently singing for 7 hours straight, really loud, with little hydration will irritate one's vocal cords. 

Spring break was pretty great and I'm sad it's over. I have 2 papers due this week and an exam on Thursday, so it definitely kind of sucks being back. 

But now that they're finished mowing outside my window, I might just take a little nap and do some relaxing before my next class. 

I'll give myself plenty of time to be studious tomorrow. 

Bachelor finale tonight- I'm getting pumped. It's the most dramatic finale ever! I'm still pulling for Des to win. I know she's not on the show anymore, but I still want her to win. 

Things happen guys. And it's dramatic? 

We'll see ABC, we'll see. 

It's about time

Guys, guess who finally made time to sit down and make some changes??

I did. This girl.

The last time I updated my blog was when I created it- pretty sure. So it was time. Let's be real. 

I was also hoping that this time I wouldn't have a huge amount of stuff to catch up on, but again I was wrong. 

Not that lots has happened, but what has happened is pretty monumental in my opinion. Like a BTR concert with the UNC Clef Hangers- that was pretty cool. A bunch of preppy guys decked out in bow-ties, flair-filled vests and khakis can serenade me any day! 

We helped ourselves to their vests when they foolishly left their dressing room unattended. It was like they begged us to try their vests on. 

No one got any phone numbers- much to all of our disappointment- and I think everyone cried about it. But we did get a semi-group picture with BTR and some of the Clefs. 

Us girls decided to go stomping through Raleigh the other week- that was a fun time. We found a random wall filled with color and we asked a kind-looking passerby to snap a quick group shot for us. 

We also found a cow sticking out of a building and had to take a picture with that too. It's not every day that you see a cow's rear-end sticking out of a window in downtown Raleigh! 

Then we walked around and acted crazy and drank coffee. Good group bonding time- you know. 

You know what else was really monumental for me?

Turning 21. 

Since my birthday was on Monday, we decided to celebrate all weekend long. Doesn't everyone do that? 

Kyle surprised me by flying down Friday night in the middle of this freak ice-storm that Raleigh just so happened to be experiencing. His flight was delayed at least 3 hours and our previous plans were pretty screwed up by the weather stuff. Lynda was going to have him show up at dinner wearing a big red bow to surprise me. 

Since that didn't happen, we all waited up playing Mario on the Wii until 11pm, then headed out to the airport to pick him up. The weather men were advising us to stay indoors what with the treacherous road conditions and all, but nothing could keep us from rescuing Kyle from the airport! Not that he was in danger, but for real- who wants to be stuck in an airport on my birthday weekend?? Not this girl. 

We did so many fun things that weekend, it'll probably make you really jealous. So if you can't handle it, if you're going to get all upset and start to really hate us, then just stop now. 

I'm serious. 

So serious.

Okay so here we go. Saturday we started the day off right- with a trip to Jubala for coffee and biscuits with the Crains, John and Harry, me and Kyle. 

Lynda and I had matching outfit concepts, and that was enough for us to pose appropriately for a photo. 

Boots, scarf, leather jacket- very similar concept. 

This was Kyle's first visit to Jubala and I'm pretty sure it was a huge hit. I know he was a big fan of the ham and cheese biscuit, but they lost a good 10 points when he realized he couldn't order a caramel macchiato (his number 1 go-to-drink). But he ordered the brown sugar cinnamon latte, and I think that he actually liked it. 

He drank it down to the very last drop anyway. 

Then someone took another picture of Lynda and I. We don't ask for these things, they just kind of happen! 

Just kidding, we totally asked someone to take this for us. 

Deal with it. 

 

After coffee we headed over to The Alley for some good, retro bowling. 

No computers, oldies music, and the foam gutter-guards. 

Perfect.

 

Harry and I decided to pose like the bowling pin on the window. I think we did a pretty great job. 

Then Kyle had the brilliant idea of making me into the lumpy bowling ball beside the pin. Of course, how silly of us to have originally ignored the poor little guy! 

And again- nailed it. 

 

Unfortunately the bowling part of things didn't go well. 

In case I didn't tell you before, I can't bowl. 

We tried the same thing last year for my birthday with mom, dad and MC, and I had similar results.

Except this time I didn't drop my ball, so I guess you could say I'm improving.

So yes, Kyle beat me. He was nailing strike after strike and I was all, "Oh good, I got 4 pins!" 

So yeah, I was a little bit disappointed in the score- which I conveniently don't remember.

After bowling we headed to some very random shops and of course posed with the most outrageous things we could find.

 

First to Sugar Magnolia for some crazy colorful hats. Kyle was tempted to buy that hat- it was a great deal and I'm honestly shocked that he left it behind. 

At least I know what to get him for his birthday this year.

Then to Father and Son's- the world's most random store filled with everything from paintings to furniture to vintage clothes and hot-pink mannequins. 

Lynda found a great pair of sunglasses. Can't you just see her lying on the beach sporting these babies? She didn't get them though- too bad. I think she was looking for something with a little more pizzazz. 

Kyle came around the corner at one point and very seriously said to me, "Cait, I found your wedding dress! You have to come see this!"  He was all excited as he grabbed my arm and quickly led me across the store and into a room with this. 

I told you. Hot-pink mannequin. 

The fact that she's pink- kinda weird. Then we see that she's basically chewing on her bangs and is missing a left hand and... do you have goosebumps? Because I really do. From all the weirdness. Moving on.

The one good part of this store came in the form of a vintage couch that just happened to be my favorite color- mint! 

I want this couch. I want it in my cute downtown apartment that I don't have. 

Let's be real- this couch would make the look 100% complete. 

 

After the random shopping/browsing/entertainment, we headed off to Mellow Mushroom for some dinner. 

Kyle kept calling it "the mushroom". It was pretty cute. 

So there we are with our left-over potato pizza. It was literally a baked potato with sour cream, bacon bits, and cheese on a pizza. I didn't think it was possible either- but it is guys. It really is. 

Since this happened before my birthday, when Carter got a free fountain beverage coupon he quickly handed it to me and loudly exclaimed, "That's for you!" 

This is me being super happy for my free fountain beverage. 

Once again reminding me that I wasn't yet 21. 

 

Then after eating at The Mushroom (ha ha) we walked at least 5 miles down the street to the Cupcake Shoppe. Yes, it was 5 miles I'm pretty sure. All uphill too. It's like they wanted to kill me. Ugh. 

But the cupcakes were good- Kyle's never seen a fancy shmancy cupcake shop that only sells cupcakes. Apparently Lock Haven isn't into that?

They're missing out. 

 

 

Then Saturday ended. Saturday was a very long day- like never-ending, but in a good way. 

Then along came Sunday and whoever can guess how we started our day can call themselves special. 

That's right. Another Jubala start- pretty fantastic. 

 

Kyle and I enjoyed our lattes a lot. I actually look quite surprised to see mine. Kyle looks really excited. 

Basically that's exactly how we were feeling. 

We do get normal every now and again. Someone at school told me that they think Kyle and I look alike. I wondered if she had her eyes shut while she was looking at the picture. Just kidding- but I do think it's cool that someone things we look similar. It's cool.

 

 We also went to see a movie Sunday afternoon- Silver Linings Playbook- with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. 

It had 4 of my favorite things: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, lots of Eagles talk, and a lot of crazy. Seriously though- great movie. One of my new favs. 

Of course we did dinner in style- Bull City for some freaking amazing burgers. We were all big fans. Kyle told us that he liked Bull City the best of all the things we did that weekend. It was pretty cute.

 

There's all of us after devouring our burgers. Seriously, amazing. 

And then came Monday- my actual birthday. 

My actual 21st birthday! 

It started off pretty mild- Kyle and I had the morning/afternoon to ourselves so we went to the mall for some Gloria Jeans coffee. Kyle and I agree that it is the best coffee we've ever had.

So of course we took pictures with our favorite coffees. 

Then we went to Target because Kyle didn't believe me when I said that they have an entire isle of wine. 

There he is, in his isle of wine. He was in his heaven. 

Needless to say, he was pretty impressed. 

We did a pretty fantastic dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant with fabulous food and a waitress who was very attentive to my birthday needs. 

 

I don't know what I ate- some kind of pasta with chicken that was top notch. I'm actually sitting here drooling over the picture of that food.

My first drink was some kind of nutella something. Honestly the name was "nutella" so I didn't ask questions- just went with it. It was delicious! 

I was forced to wear some party glasses and a couple strands of garland. When I say forced, I mean someone literally put the garland around my neck and the glasses on my face. To be fair I really didn't fight it, I thought it was funny. 

You only turn 21 once, right? 

After dinner we headed off to sing some Karaoke and I had a blast! I picked some songs that really did nothing extra to highlight my vocals, clearly it was my first attempt at karaoke. There was a woman there named Lisa who really dominated and had obviously thought through what she was going to perform. I just got up there and had a fun time if I'm being honest. 

So that's how my 21st birthday went. It was a great time. Kyle left on Tuesday evening and I had to come back to classes and my new routine on Wednesday. Before he left he kept saying "I can't believe Christmas vacation is over already! I don't want it to end." 

At that point it wasn't quite February yet, so I guess that makes sense. I usually like my Christmas break to last through all of January too.

Back to reality, blah. This weekend is pretty quiet. I have loads of homework to catch up on after not having done anything last weekend. BTR is singing for some kind of high school leadership thing tomorrow morning at Meredith. We have to be at the Chapel at 9:30- please pray for me. 

Now I'm going to cuddle up and watch a movie. A girl just came by asking if I had Clorox disinfecting wipes for her to use. I don't know her, but I think she lives on my hall. I'm convinced that my life would win if I ever entered a "most random life" contest. Not that I would ever enter a contest like that, but I had to make my point. 

So there's that!