How many times can I title a post worst blogger ever??

Ok so sorry fans...

See how am I every going to be famous if I neglect my fans now? What am I going to do when my fans consist more than just my mom, dad, and my grandparents?! lol jk :)

Ok so what has Kat Swick been up to lately? Well a cute guy just opened the door for me into my apt. complex :)...so that was exciting...ummm let me think...

I had my last Photography class/final presentation last night. It went alright. I decided to do minimal photoshop (none on most) b/c I think it defeats the art of true photography...anyone can take a picture and make it look glamorous in photoshop, but to be able to capture really amazing glamorous pictures on the spot is more of an art I believe. BUT when you go into a presentation when everyone has photoshoped the crap (am I allowed to say that word on here?) out of their photos so the original is unrecognizable...well it makes your photos look not so glamorous anymore...but they did turn out nice I thought...Hopefully they will upload and you can see them...

Ok So I have my last accessories class on THursday and I am freaking out a little due to the fact I think I won't finish but can't go into the lab b/c we don't have permission...next time I come...I'm coming as a real student...(even though I am paying three times as much as their normal students...lol). And then I give my internship powerpoint on Monday and turn in my essay. Then I have my last draping class on Wednesday and graduation on Thursday! And then I'm done! It has gone by soooooooo fast. Last semester seemed so much longer it's really strange.

Ok and now what you've all been waiting for....SCOTLAND! yay!

Well It was incredible....and I want to move there and never leave...what I am finding is travel and new places become addictive...I just want to go every where now! Please send funds to kat's travel funds @hotmail.com...Just kidding :)

Well how we got to Scotland was quite entertaining...It was Amanda, Christy, Melissa, and I (M & C are go to LAMDA with Amanda) and we boarded a train at 11:30 PM headed for Doncaster...where we had a 5 hour layover...only to have the ticket checker man on the train tell us that the Doncaster station closes after the train arrives and doesn't open till our train at 6:30am...aka we would be wondering the streets of Doncaster from 1:30-6:30am...but luckily he was nice and let us ride the train one more stop to Leeds were we were able to sit in a glass box on the platform till 5:30am where we could then take a train back to Doncaster and change to our train....We then arrived in Scotland at 9:30am...it was the longest night of my life...I tried sleeping in every position possible on those metal chair in Leeds...but who ever invented the fixed arm rest has obviously never had to sleep in a train station...

So after our 9 hour journey...we arrived and lugged our luggage around until we found a sign that said Full Traditional Scottish Breakfast. And that was the first time I ate blood...and intestines...let's just say the Scottish don't like to waste any of part of the animal...and so they invented "black pudding" and Haggis. It really just tasted like sausage. But I won't be eating it every morning for breakfast. :)

We then had to figure out where our Hostels were (we had to say at different ones b/c there was a huge rugby game going on and they were full which turned out to be good b/c there were then lots of men in kilts supporting their teams!...I'm not going to talk about the gust of wind that came by right as I walked behind one...let's just say they don't wear much underneath...). Of course though our hostels were up an insanely steep hill...not joking...I could like reach out and touch the road. Try being tired and thinking why in the world did I pack all this? But we made it! and Amanda and I arrived at Castle Rock Hostel sweating...:) But it was worth it, because we were also standing right next to Edinburgh castle! It was literally across the road! And it was rated Scotland's #1 Hostel for 2008 so it was really nice and a fun environment. We took a 30 minute power nap and then set out for the day! WE explored around where we lived and went to the National gallery and then we met up with the other girls (they took a 2 hour nap...:) ) We went out and explored and ate dinner then went and got ready for a Saturday night out! It was a lot of fun. We went to a bar that played music turned Irish (in honor of St. Patty's day). It was hilarious...I'm kept thinking I never noticed this song had an Irish jig in the background...

Sunday was the best day. We went to the Castle :) and invested in some Princess crowns :). Which we wore all day! Well I did...the other girls bought hats later and traded in their crowns...

After we went to the castle we went to this really yummy baked potato place, to fuel up for our next adventure...and trust me we'd need that fuel by the end of it. We titled the journey "Thank you potato" half way through it. We decided to climb Hollywod Mor (I can't exactly remember how to spell it...but it was close to Hollywood). We walked toward the huge rock/hill/mountain until we ended up at the base of it...we then could see a path about 200 ft straight up, but we couldn't figure out how to get up to the path (where it started down below) so Christy had this brilliant idea that we should just climb up to it...now to Christy that didn't seem dangerous at all...but she hangs out with Navy Seals back home... So up Christy starts to climb and she gets a 1/4 way up and Amanda and Melissa decide that if she could get that far then they could do it...now remember this is literally straight up and a giant rock that has been covered in grass where someone before has made foot holds and hand holds into the dirt/grass 200 feet up....I stay standing on the road until they start yelling at me to come up. So up I start to climb. Christy was worried about me so she told Melissa to go behind me...little did they know of my rock climbing skills... So even without my glitzed/bedazzled blue and orange super cute rock climbing shoes...I ended up passing then and doing some pretty nifty foot work if I do say so myself in my pink converse. Zev would have been proud... Then Christy announces half way up that she is afraid of heights and can't move. So I climb back down a little and Melissa talks her into keep going and I let them ahead of me. Amanda pops up over the edge as a man/boy walks by and I think she scared him a little...and I think his manhood was hurt a little as well b/c his comment to her was "Nice short cut." I wish it would have been me that popped up first...I climbed this entire thing in my crown AND in a skirt! (Now that is talent.) Can you imagine walking along a cliff and a girl in a crown and skirt just popping up over the edge out of nowhere saying in my voice..."which way to King Aurthur's seat?" It would have been quite comical. lol So up and over the edge we all came and started to walk along the path only to come to realize that this path goes down...so we climbed all the way up to go back down...we climbed the wrong rock...the one we wanted...was the one behind ours. So we walked down and then up millions of rock steps to get back up to the top and on King Authur's seat...so 4 hours later we made it! Just before dusk :)It was gorgeous! We could see the sea and all of Edinburgh. It was totally worth it and SOOOO much fun. I really enjoyed it and think I might have to get into hiking now...lol who would have thought?! My dad would have been speechless at my performance. I then preceded to run/skip down the other side of the mountain it was an absolutely brilliant adventure in my eyes. It was also incredible to stand at the same place King Aurthur stood...pretty cool. By the time we made it back to downtown it was dark about 8 and we were ravenous. We decided on Tequila Joe's for Mexican food and two for one Margarita night! We ended up being the only ones in the restaurant and ended up making friends with Alexis, we called him Lexi, the bar tender/waiter and the cook Matt. They ended talking us into moving over to the bar from our table and staying for 5 hours! It was hilarious and we ended up only paying for a 1/4 of our drinks. lol We then said our farewells to our new friends and headed back up the giant hill to our hostel...but by this time it seemed more like a bump in the road than a giant hill when compared to our rock climbing adventure...lol

The next morning we work up early and went for breakfast and picked up a few last souvenirs before we headed for our train. We passed out for the majority of our only 4 hour train ride back to London...yes...only 4 hours this time...not 9...:)

And were back in reality...

Well I'm off to work on my presentation! Hope you enjoyed catching up on my life...I wish I had time to write more!

Lots of Love,

KL

PS the picture of me climbing does not do me justice AT ALL...the angle it is at does not show the steepness of the mountain...but if you look at my hair...you can see where gravity is pulling it...STRAIGHT DOWN....:) xx

Literally Kat's Crazy Life...

Sorry it's been so long! But I'm here and breathing! This last month has flown by! I've been so busy and my fam was here! So much to tell. This is me trying to be concise...

Ok so the Family was here and we had so much! I really needed to see them, but it was a bit of a shock when they they left b/c Amanda was gone on a trip for school and I was all alone! But it gave me time to recoup and get homework done and put in some extra time at my internship. But is was a tad miserable...London can be very lonely...

So they were in London for 5 days which was quite hysterical. They are pretty entertaining to watch ride the tube. Or even plan a journey...actually even read the map! :) Thank goodness they had me! We had lots of fun. Things included eating fish and chips, Kat getting hit on in front of her entire family by the guy working in the tube on V-day (my dad thought it was sooooooooooooooo funny...and loved to remind me how red I got...), riding the bus and the tube, and going and seeing Big Ben and parliament the first day. Sunday we went to the V and A, and then to the night service at Hillsong, and then out to dinner! Actually you can read all about our day to day outings on my mom's blog berninaclubcda.blogspot.com...I'll just tell you the high lights...

Highlights:

1. Seeing my dad walk off the plane in his golf/cowboy hat and then wearing it everyday after...

2. My sister and my mom informing me that my style is now boring and I wear too much black. They apparently like my old bright color style...but if I remember correctly the phrase most used during that part of my life was, "Are you really going to wear that?"

3. The amazing construction orange patten leather heels my mom bought me...I've now been inspired to be a traffic cone for Halloween! I'm going to be soooooo cute!

4. My dad attempting to say Merci to the automated walk up call in Paris...it sounded like mer-say....priceless...he had us all saying it by the end of the week

5. All the palaces...I realized why I've never quite fit in anywhere...it was b/c I was meant to be a princess duh! I felt right at home...and I already wear a crown great we all know so...now I'm just waiting for my Prince. :)

6. Sac de Coeur....So incredible...I want to live there! All the winding streets and artists everywhere...so amazing...the fact that it is on the top of a hill you have to hike up...not so amazing...good thing I had my dad to push me.

7. Seeing Marine and her family and exchange student. It was so fun they are hilarious and so sweet. We all just pretended to know what everyone was saying...it was great...I attempted to say a few things in French to them but failed miserably. But it definitely inspired me to learn it again! (for the third time...) :)

8. Seeing my sister wear skinny jeans...she complained the first few days and announced I could have them...but when she left I was jeanless....I mentioned that they looked cute one day and as soon as the words were out of my mouth I thought "Crap! what am I thinking! I'm ruining my chance for free cute pants!"...so it was true...my endeavor was ruined...

9. Taking my mom shopping and pretending to know where we were going...I knew we were in the right area ok! Plus nothing was open yet so it was a nice excuse for a pleasant walk and some mother daughter bonding that consisted of..."Kat where are we going? I thought this was just down the street...are we there yet?...where are you taking me?...we are lost aren't we...you have no idea where we are do you." But I totally got us there! And I even found us a Starbucks...ok my mom found it...
But she got a very cute porcelain cow milk dish out of it from Liberty!:)

10. I think the moments I enjoyed best were doing it all with my family. Even though we argued over which train to take, why Lindsay got cheek bones and I didn't, and why no one was on time, we still did it together and I am starting to realize how few moments I will have left to spend with my family. I'm growing up. I'm 21 in 13 days...Lindsay will be 24. We are getting to that point in our lives where we are away from home and not together often. I will always cherish this trip and remember all the laughter, memories, ups and downs...and hope to one day take kids of my own on the same trip and be able to say Grandpa pushed my up on those Lions in Trafalgar Square but Aunt Lindsay was too scared...you should have seen me coming down...I had to crawl on Grandpas shoulders...:) But hopefully that day will not be for a long long long long long long long long long long long long long time :D...

11.and my favorite...my mom embarrassing me in front of my entire apt building by yelling "KAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT...KKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!" through my mail slot thinking I could hear her all the way up three flights of stairs and through three doorways....and pushing all the call buttons asking for me...I had to inform her that the signs are true...Flat 24 doesn't have a buzzer...:)and I'm not going to even mentioned how my really cute neighbor followed me down the stairs and witnessed it all...probably to meet the cops and report a crazy lady disturbing the peace outside his apt building... And to think I got choked up when I but them on the plane and exported them back to America...:)

So that was our trip....if I think of anything else I'll write them in another post. :)oh I almost forgot...waiting with my sister in line to go to the summit of the Eiffel Tower...the really cute boys in front of us that we kept getting caught staring at...and then I saw the cutest one a few days later in Notting Hill Gate Station in London! NOT JOKING! It was crazy and definitely him. oh and I also forgot my journey to attempt to attend Hillsong Paris on Sunday! I went by myself...got off at the wrong metro stop...prayed...asked a lady directions...she spoke a little english and took me around Paris for 40 mins till we found it. She was sooooo sweet and though we didn't know what the other was saying half the time we laughed and laughed and I've never had so much fun being lost before. But we finally found it and she dropped me off and continued to the market to get her groceries! She was my angel that day and so sweet. People just don't do that anymore...then after church these two girls came up to me and started apologizing for not helping me find it. I realized the lady and I had asked for directions from them and they said they didn't know the street. They had been coming for so long that they didn't realize it was the address of Hillsong. :) They were really kind and so sweet and they walked me to the metro and made sure I got on the right train and made sure I knew what stop. We talked all about Twilight are now friends on facebook :). So God was definitely looking out for me navigation wise that day! :)

Sorry I can't upload picture for some reason, but if you'd like to see pictures please contact my family and I'm sure they would love to show you some of the 800+ photos they took...(they all had their own cameras...that's another story...you should hear the commentary between my parents when one is taking the picture...priceless...)

So fast forwarding...This last Sunday I went to Brighton and it was incredible! The seaside was beautiful and I went and toured the Royal Pavilion, King George IV's seaside palace that he built to spend time with his mistresses at...

Amanda and I took a bus there at 7am and had a bus back at 9pm...what were we thinking?? At least that is what we thought as we were leaving...but actually it was perfect! We got to see the seaside and pier when it was gorgeous out and at night! It rained in the middle of the day so that is when I went and toured the Pavilion. It ended up being a wonderful day. We started it by getting splashed with sea water (very salty...my open mouth can contest) and ended with fish n' chips and rain!.

This weekend we are heading to Scotland and I can't wait! It is going to be amazing. And our first time in a Hostel...my mom isn't so keen on that :), but like Amanda said we are just going to sleep with our passports and valuables...

Well au revoir! I'm off to finish homework and go see a movie with my connect group. Oh Amanda and I went and saw The Young Victoria on Student 1/2 off night at the Theater across the street...so good...you should all see it! and we got popcorn or a drink for 1.50! Who knew they sold alcohol at the cinema...xx

Lots of Love,
KAT