twentyfirst

First and foremost, a huge thanks to Ian and his family for giving me a 21st I'll never forget!

After the amazing trip to London, I wasn't expecting anything more. However, the sweet surprises kept coming and I ended the birthday festivities at an American themed birthday party...amazing!

Ian's sister Kayleigh and her husband Stuart planned an amazing party complete with USA balloons and flags and hot dogs.

 

I'll also need to notify the US Secretary of State immediately because we have drastically improved relations between America and Scotland. How?

By introducing the game of beer pong, of course!

It was not an easy task by any means. You see, instead of playing silly games in order to consume alcohol, the Scots like to skip the games and just drink. So waiting behind ten cups of perfectly drinkable beer for the opposing team to sink a cup was pure agony for them.

The first few games consisted of Ian and I versus grumpy, sober Scots that didn't understand the rules. Rather quickly, they started to enjoy it and soon the house was filled with familiar sounds of drunk cheers!

Ian's pals trying to figure it out. 

All that being said, what could be more American than hot dogs and beer? 

A Hooters girl!

Kayleigh's friends (who were pretty much the life of the party) came dressed in very American apparel.

We had a nerdy American, a Hooter's girl who doubled as a "thirst aid," and Miss Ralph Lauren who was wearing:

 American flag socks!

We ended the night with my favorites, Gizzie and Andy. Gizzie has promised to marry me so that I can stay in the UK. Might come to that one of these days ;)

 XOXO-Kels

London (Part 2)

The second half of my London trip consisted of a visit to Madame Tussauds, a big red bus tour, and last but certainly not least, Les Miserables.

Madame Tussauds was unreal...haha, literally. I was surprised at the number of wax figures and how real they looked. Being the sorawrity girl that I am, I nearly cried when I saw Audrey Hepburn. I think Ian was most excited about Cheryl Cole (to his dismay, Miranda Kerr doesn't have a wax figure).   The funniest thing happened and it actually annoyed Ian. We were taking pictures with one of the celebs and then started to walk across the room to look at others. Mid-stride, Ian realized he was about to step into a woman's picture, so he politely waited to the side. And waited. And waited. She just stood there with the camera to her face, like she was trying to get a good shot. After about four minutes, we realized it was just an actress pretending to be a wax figure...boy did we feel silly.

This is me trying to conceal my excitement. Ian was a bit embarrassed by my enthusiasm. 

What is more "London" than a red tour bus? The bus was ideal because you could hop on/off wherever/whenever you want. Despite the frigid temperatures, we sat on the top. W got many cool shots of St.Paul's cathedral. The best part about the bus was the recording you could listen to about various sports in London (and no, not because I had cute, furry headphones). It gave you snippets of information that you probably wouldn't find elsewhere.

For example, Cleopatra's Needle is not exactly a popular landmark in London. But, from the bus tour, we learned that:

1. It is an ancient Egyptian obelisk (monument) with identical ones in Paris and NYC. 

2. It is the oldest monument in London (perfect trivia question)

3. It has shrapnel damage from WWI

4. It contains a time capsule from 1878 that has cigars, a baby's bottle, a razor and 12 photos of the best looking English women of the day (ha!)

Headphones that doubled as warm ear muffs? Brilliant.

On to the highlight of the day: Les mis!

This was my very first musical, unless you count my appearance as a bird in my high school's Suessical the Musical (great times). Ian's family has been raving about the show, so I was partially excited to see it so I could be in the loop. 

We got all dressed up and had a sushi dinner in our hotel (with views of Big Ben/parliament!). Then, we made our way to Queen's Theatre. Queen's Theatre is special enough on it's own! It's a very intimate setting, holding only 1200 people. We were six rows from the stage (I know, he outdid himself!) The second I heard the first note from the orchestra box, I knew I was in for a treat! The story plus the unbelievable talent was remarkable. Ian's mom warned me that I would cry, and I did...It started out with just watery eyes, then my eyes started pouring, then I got the ugly cries. Ian tried to act like he didn't notice, but I think you would have to be deaf to not hear my sobs. 

The trip was everything I had hoped it would be! I am a very lucky (and spoiled) little girl!

XOXO-Kels

P.S.: Thursday I took back the digital camera that I had to purchase...got my money back! Oops!

Love from Georgia

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in

   my heart) i am never without it (anywhere

  i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by

  only me is your doing, my darling)-E.E.Cummings

Love hearts in my cappuccino on Valentine's Day.

The past twelve hours have been extremely warm and fuzzy. So, if you are not in the mood to read lovey dovey things about my family and sorority sisters, I encourage you to find another blog.


I received a call from my mom last night. She's always been my closest friend, so hearing her voice is always a treat. 


As usual, the phone got passed around to various members of the family.


First, it went to my youngest brother, Andrew. Andrew turned 11 on Friday (unbelievable). Last night was the first chance I got to speak to him and it was entertaining (like always). Here is the gist of our conversation:

Me: I can't believe you are 11. That's two hands plus a finger! It would be cool if you had an extra finger on one hand, that way you would still be two hands. 

Andrew: My fourth grade teacher was born with two extra fingers. They had to be "suffocated" off. I had nightmares when she told us. 

I die.




Then I talked to Ashley, who is just as funny. 

Ashley: What did you have for dinner?

Me: Pizza.

Ashley: Your birthday is so soon!

Me: Yes, it is!

Ashley: How old will you be?

Me: 21

Ashley: Ohhhh. So you can drink alcohol?

Me: Yeah, I guess that's what it means.

Ashley: Well, you can do anything through Christ who strengthens you. Philippians 4:13.

To add to this fuzziness, I received a birthday care package from my amazing sisters of Alpha Delta Pi.

The package contained two Easy Macs, a Reeses, a taco dinner kit, my favorite razor that Scotland doesn't sell, ADPi-tastic socks, koolaid packets that will be perfect for my 21st festivities, a magazine and, most importantly, letters. 

Right now, I am sitting on the bed, covered in glitter from Andrea and Kirby's letter, crying like a baby. Each person had such sweet things to say. 

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful support system back home. Thanks to everyone for your love. 

XOXO-Kels

London Times

Ian surprised me with a trip to London for my 21st birthday. 

Day One

We left Glasgow around 5 AM. I probably should have napped on the flight, but I was way too excited to sleep. Instead, Ian and I played trivia. For young lads, we love trivia (maybe a little too much). Throughout the week, we religiously watch trivia shows called Pointless and Eggheads. Unfortunately, playing trivia with Ian is a bit unfair because he is a stinking genius. Oddly, I can sometimes catch him with capitals of African countries. 

After the flight to Gatwick Airport, we took a 30 minute train ride through the outskirts of London, which were covered in beautiful blankets of SNOW! Ian does not understand my excitement over snow. Growing up in Georgia meant very, very little snow for me, so when there is even the slightest flurry, I am ecstatic. I was so ecstatic to see the London snow that I wanted to take a picture of it. That excitement quickly dwindled when I realized I left my camera in Glasgow. Of all the things I remembered to pack (curling iron, granola bars), why did I forget my camera?

On the verge of tears, we came up with a resolution over bacon McMuffins. We would find a cheap digital camera, purchase it, take pictures on it, then take it back to the store in Glasgow. Cheeky thing to do, but it was absolutely necessary.

We checked into the Westminster Park Plaza, which was situated directly across from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. The rooms were just as wonderful as the view!

Very swanky! It kind of reminded me of a hotel James Bond would stay in. 

After checking into the hotel, we hopped on the subway to the famous Oxford, Bond and Regent Streets.

Oxford Street is only 1.5 miles long but it is the busiest street in 
Europe with over 300 shops. Yes, as in 100 x 3!

Bond Street is one of the world's most expensive pieces of
real estate, home to Louis V and Chanel

Day Two

While the day of shopping was fantastic, our Sunday plans were brilliant! First, we visited Madame Tussauds, the world-renowned wax museum. It was unreal...literally. I was surprised at the number of wax figures and how real they looked. Being the girly girl that I am, I nearly cried when I saw Audrey Hepburn. I think Ian was most excited about Cheryl Cole (to his dismay, Miranda Kerr doesn't have a wax figure).

This is me trying to conceal my excitement.
Ian was a bit embarrassed by my enthusiasm. 

 The funniest thing happened and it actually annoyed Ian. We were taking pictures with one of the celebs and then started to walk across the room to look at others. Mid-stride, Ian realized he was about to step into a woman's picture, so he politely waited to the side. And waited. And waited. She just stood there with the camera to her face, like she was trying to get a good shot. After about four minutes, we realized it was just an actress pretending to be a wax figure...boy did we feel silly.

Next stop, Big Red Tour Bus! What is more "London" than a red tour bus? The bus was ideal because you could hop on and off wherever/whenever you want. Despite the frigid temperatures, we sat on the top. We got many cool shots of St.Paul's cathedral. The best part about the bus was the recording you could listen to about various spots in London.

Headphones that doubled as warm ear muffs? Brilliant.

What a handsome guy!

We stopped off at a few places. My favorite was Buckingham Palace. Ian was a good sport and participated in my photo shoot.

On to the highlight of the day: Les mis!

This was my very first musical, unless you count my appearance as a bird in my high school's Suessical the Musical (great times). For as long as I've known them, Ian's family has been raving about the show. I was so excited to see it!
We got all dressed up and had sushi in our hotel with romantic views of Big Ben and Parliament. Then, we made our way to Queen's Theatre. Queen's Theatre is special enough on it's own! It's a very intimate setting, holding only 1200 people. We were six rows from the stage (I know, he outdid himself!) The second I heard the first note from the orchestra box, I knew I was in for a treat! The story plus the unbelievable talent was remarkable. Ian's mom warned me that I would cry, and I did...It started out with just watery eyes, then my eyes started pouring, then I got the ugly cries. Ian tried to act like he didn't notice, but I think you would have to be deaf to not hear my sobs.

The trip was everything I had hoped it would be! I am a very lucky (and spoiled) little girl!
XOXO-Kels
P.S.: Thursday I took back the digital camera that I had to purchase...got all my money back! Oops!

Toby, we are not at Mercer anymore.

The Universtiy of the West of Scotland is very, very different from Mercer.

Semesters are called "trimesters," and every time someone says the word "trimester," I think of pregnancy, haha.

Instead of taking four to five classes, students can only take up to three classes. I thought this was odd until I actually sat through a class. Holy workload. For next week's classes, I need to read at least 27 chapters of material.
Oh, by the way, I'm taking Community Care Policy, Disease, Medicine and Society, and International Politics. My professor for Disease/Med & Society is an absolute nutcase. She said the "f word" at least ten times in thirty minutes. She mentioned something about society's dependence on medicine and said that "next time you suck a fecking fag, remember what the doctor has to say." I almost fell out of my chair. Then I remembered fag means cigarette.

Each class meets once per week, so I only have class on Wednesday/Thursday. That is ideal since it costs five pounds to get to the school and back.

The Student Government (SGA) here is called the Student Union. Their headquarters is a three story building on campus that has two cafes and "the biggest bar in Paisley." They pretty much do the same things that Mercer SGA did, however they get their funds from fundraisers. For example, the latest fundraiser was a "Frat Party" that included beer pong tournaments and a keg.

I laughed my head off when I saw the flyer!

The week has definitely been stressful and I am absolutely exhausted. Good thing there's a pretty bottle of white wine chilling for me.

XOXO-Kels