Moving to Sweden: An Update

Hello Everyone! 

I hope you all had a great week and now it is time for the weekend yay!!

This past week I had a big german test, uploaded two new videos (which can be found under the videos tab), went to the dentist, and had my interview for the swedish embassy. 

Wednesday was a big day for me last week. I had my german test that day and my interview, so my anxiety level was pretty high. After I took my test, which I think I did pretty good on, I had to drive into Houston for my interview. It was about a 35 minute drive to the building where the swedish embassy's consultant is located. For anybody who lives around the Houston area or has drived through Houston you know it is hell. I hate driving through the city. There are to many people who think they can drive however they want and it spikes up my anxiety. Anyways, I arrived there 40 minutes early, the one time I am early to anything. To waist time I sat in my car for about 20 minute listing to music and then I decided to go in, thinking they might be able to see me earlier. I was wrong, so I sat in there waiting room for 20 minutes.

 The two ladies who interviewed me were very nice and welcoming, which eased my stress a bit. I was very surprised by how fast the interview went. They asked me only a few questions, things like "Tell me a little about your self" and "What are your hobbies?". It felt more like a job interview than a possible life changing interview. They didn't ask me any question about Daniel and I's relationship. I thought I would have to confess my love for him in front of these people, but nope. 

After they were done asking questions I had to show them all my government papers like my birth certificate, passport, drivers license, and my single statues paper. Yes that is right I had to go down to the courts and get a paper signed by a judge saying I was not married. I had all of those things except my birth certificate and they also wanted pictures of Daniel, me, and any of our family members together. Without those two things my interview could not be sent in, so I had to return the next day. 

 I then had to make another half hour drive down to Houston to drop of the rest of the paper work. Before I left the lady assured me she would send the papers to the embassy in D.C. before she left for the day, which she did. This morning (Friday) I got an email from the board saying they will now look at everything and next time they contact me they will give me there answer. 

I am so excited that we are now getting somewhere with this process. I applied last year in July and was hoping it wouldn't take longer than a year. While I might get my residents card in the next few months, if accepted, I would not move until at least August of this year. I still have to finish school. I only have one more class after this semester until I can get my Associates degree in journalism. 

I am so excited that I might soon get to call Stockholm, Sweden home. Of course it will be sad to leave the place I have called home for almost 19 years, but I will always come back. 

I am finally in the home stretch of my application and I just thought I would share the process with you! I will add a few pictures of when I was in Stockholm just because I feel like this post could use some pictures. 

I hope you guys have an awesome weekend! 

xoxo Makenna

Short Stay in London

Hello Everyone!

I hope your weekend was great!

So like I promised in my last post I am going to be sharing my trip to London with you. 

My mom had a business trip in London, so me and my dad decided to join her. We left for the airport on Saturday January 10th for our flight to Washington D.C. at around 11 am, which was then delayed until 4 pm due to mechanical issues. We got to D.C. with about an hour until we had to board for our flight to London, which it didn't look like we would get on (my mom works for an airline so we fly on standby). The flight to London turned out to be on the same plane we had just gotten off of and was having the same mechanical issue. Now our flight to London was delayed until 1:30 am, but around 12 am they announced the flight had been canceled. After the announcement all 200 and something people started sprinting to the customer service desk to be the first one in line to re-book there flight and get hotel vouchers. So we just sat in our seats and tried to find another flight back to Houston to try and get on the 3 pm flight that left out of Houston to London on Sunday. We ended up taking a van from Dulles to the Reagan Nation airport at 3 in the morning to get on a flight to Houston that left at 5am. Once there our flight became delayed once again, I do not know why because I had fallen asleep as soon as I got on the plane. Once we got back to Houston everything was smooth sailing from there. 

We arrived in London on Monday, a day behind schedule, which sucked for me since I was only staying in London until early Wednesday morning. 

My first day in London, sadly I didn't really leave the airport, my dad and I took a nap while my mom went to her meeting at the hotel which was connected to the airport. Then we went to dinner at a restaurant in the airport and then back to the hotel bar for drinks with my mom's co-workers. I wanted to go into town and go shopping (we were 40 ish minutes from the center of London) since we finished dinner at around 6, but I lost on the vote. 

So the second day my dad and I did every touristy thing you could possible do in London. 

First we took a walk through Green Park to get from the subway station to Buckingham Palace. I must say I did a great job at navigating throughout the whole day, including the subway. Green Park was nice, and well green for it being winter. It was typical weather for England that day, which is my favorite kind, but I could have lived without the wind. 

However, the pigeons in this park were a bit on the crazy side. They would fly inches away from you, and I personally don't like birds ever since one pooped on my head when I was younger. I will say that they do have some pretty feathers. 

 We then got to Buckingham Palace, which I thought it seemed a bit smaller in person. There was quite a lot of people visiting at the same time we were, so it was extremely difficult to get a picture of the whole building without getting shots of other people. 

 They also didn't have any of the "typical" guards, with the big fluffy hats and red suits. I am not sure if they even have them at Buckingham Palace or if they still dress like that, but it didn't really matter either way to me. I am not the kind of person to want to try to mess with them. 

This is one of my favorite pictures, I just really love how the gate looks with the building.

 Now, I know this is the back of the statue, but we didn't walk all the way around the square or whatever you would call it. I have no idea what this statue is called or what it is for. If you know please feel free to tell me because honestly I am to lazy to google it. 

We then moved on from Buckingham Palace, and took a nice walk to Big Ben and the Eye. 

 We walked by another park that I do not know the name of. We even got to see some of London's cute little taxies, which I never did get to ride in. 

 One reason why I love Europe more than America is there architecture. These were just some of the cute apartment building we saw through the day. 

 This picture is tied for my favorite along with the picture of the Eye, which is shown below. It was just about to start pouring rain when I took these last few picture. I just love how the grey sky makes the colors pop out. 

We didn't end up going on the Eye because they were doing maintenance on it. It then started raining so we took cover in a building next to the entrance of the Eye for about 20 minutes. After it stopped it was finally time to go shopping!!!

 I went to Primark along with a trip to SuperDrug. I might make a haul post on the things I got from Primark, since there is quite a few. I went a bit crazy . . . the store was one of the biggest I have even been in. There was 3 or 4 floors I can't really remember because I only went on two of them. It seemed like this store was half the size of my local mall. The only things I bought from SuperDrug was some of Zoella's (Zoe Sugg) bath products and Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, since we don't have it in the US.  After all the crazy shopping we tried to find The Good Life to get a snack/small lunch, but this was the one time when I got lost so we head over to Nando's instead. I have heard many good things about Nando's and I will say they are true. The food was really good. I would love to go back and try other things on the menu. My dad even took the napkins we didn't use as a souvenir. 

This ended my day in London, and I loved it just as much as I thought I would. I will defiantly be going back to England as soon as I possible can. I would love to stay longer in London and get to see Brighten as well as other cities. 

On Wednesday I took a bus to Gatwick airport and flew to Stockholm. I then spent the next few days visiting my boyfriend and his family before leaving on Sunday to return home for school.  

Thus ending my trip, which was an amazing amount of fun even with the ruff beginning. 

I will talk to you guys later this week or next, depending on when I have time to post. 

I hope you all have a great week! 

xoxo Makenna

I Got A New Tattoo!

Hello everyone! 

I am now going to start greeting you at the beginning of every post because it just feels really weird that I don't. I only never did because after looking at other bloggers most of them don't greet their readers or talk to them on a one-on-one bases, so I thought was the thing to do, but now I am saying screw it! We are all friends here so I am going to treat you like a friend.

So how is everyone doing? OK? Great? Bad? If that is the case I hope you feel better soon! I am doing fairly well for someone who just had all four of there wisdom teeth removed yesterday (Friday). However, that is not what I am here to talk about, today I am going to tell you all about my newest tattoo I got about a month ago. If you watch my youtube videos or follow me on any social media website (which you can now follow me on Bloglovin by clicking here) then you may know that I took my last trip to Stockholm, Sweden before I move there in the next year, depends on if there government allows me, still waiting for the paper work to go through. Anyways (get back on track Makenna!), I was in Stockholm for two weeks before I had to go back to school and on the last week I got a new tattoo. I did know before traveling that I wanted to get my second tattoo done while I was there to make it even more meaning full, it will make more since after I explain what it is. (If you are interested in reading about my first tattoo then you can click here to be taken to that post.) The first week I went in Stockholm Classic Tattoos and asked them if I could get the three Swedish Crowns on my right pointer finger. This is what they look like if you didn't know, two crowns centered above one crown under them:

The tattoo artist who's name I don't remember at the moment told me that the crowns would not fit and at the most he could only do one crown. This was the second time I was turned down for this tattoo and was a bit pissed about it. The first was because I wasn't heavily tattooed, and then now this. "Well thats just great, I am never going to get this tattoo" I thought, but there was another design I had been thinking about getting. I had not though about it as long as I had about the crowns, but there was one reason shouting out in the back of my mind that just wouldn't let me say no. I was turned down when I walked in to get my first tattoo, which was supposed to be the crowns and ended up with the one I have now. As I stood in the shop arguing with myself weather or not to even get a tattoo after my idea had been turned down I made the rash decision to do so, and I pick one the one I have now, even though I had only though about getting it for about a month. For me when I make rash decisions like that they always have turned out to be the best decisions I make, so I did it again. 

For a second time I was standing in a tattoo shop with a rejected idea, so I picked my next best one. My second tattoo is three birds sitting on a tree branch, but not just any branch, the branch of my family on my family tree. Two of the  birds are larger, and are on either side of the small third bird. This is supposed to represent me with each parent on one side of me. The branch is also just as important; it has 10 leaves on two separated arms extending from the branch. There are 6 leaves on one and 4 on the other. The 6 stand for one person each in my immediate family: my grandmother (MawMaw), grandfather (PawPaw), uncle (David), aunt (Tammy), cousin (Sam), and my sister (Breanna). The 4 leave represent the pets that have been most important in my life: Zana, Noella, Sadie, and Dexter. Zana and Noella have both passed, Noella just this past Auguest while I was on my trip. She is the reason I got the leaves, at first I wanted the branch to be naked because my favorite time of year is fall/winter, but that all changed when I got the email about here passing. 

I spent a lot of time going back and forth between two different places on my body: my forearm right beneath the bend in my arm or on my back under my shoulder blade, but towards my side/rib area a bit more. I chose my forearm because I wanted to be able to see my family everyday, since I will be moving over 5000 miles away from home, I want to know that my family is always there no matter where I am. It is not just a symbol for me, but them as well. That I am not forgetting about them or trading them in for a new family, but that my life is taking me on the path less traveled by and I will never forget them or stop loving them.  

Here is a picture of the fantastic artist tattooing me: 

The whole process took less time than I thought it would. It took about a total of 40-45 minutes from the time I walked in to the door and out again. The tattoo part took only about 30 minutes compared to an hour and half to two hours for my first tattoo. My very lovely friend Nellie, who not only took time out of her day to take me to the shop, filmed/took photos the whole time. So now you can not only read about my experience, but you can also see it from start to finish if you would like. If not then you can skip the video and keep reading. 

It did hurt, but not as much as my foot. One thing that was different was I bled a lot more than my first tattoo not just during, but even after I was done and went home. This tattoo also hurt for a few days after, which was something I didn't experience the first time or even this time when I touched it up. It felt like my arm had been dangling off the bumper of a car and skid on the asphalt for a few miles. I could not unbend my arm due to the pain, and when the scabs grew I couldn't unbend my arm do to the fear of them ripping off. As gross as that sounds it is true; when you bend and unbend your arm your skin stretches and pulls, so when you have skin still healing it is not good to move it as much. The good news was I only had to deal with one week of discomfort before it healed, while even today my foot is still on its last leg of healing. This tattoo did also cost more ($220) than my first ($100), but it was well worth it. I am very happy with the final result and love it every more each day. Even my family has given me their blessing. I told no one in my family that I had got a new tattoo, nor that it was front and center on my arm. My mom was the first to know. I showed her in the car on our way home from the airport, although she wasn't to happy she understood why it was so important to me as have my other family members. I never really got the "your never going to get a job again!" lecture, until I brought it up with my grandparents. Lucky for me the industry I want to work in doesn't really care what ink you have on your skin, but the ink you can put on a page. I am 100% happy with my tattoo and love to show it off whenever I get the chance, which is a lot around here in Houston since it is STILL 90 something degrees everyday! Anyways, as much as I don't want to say it I must: this is probably going to be my last tattoo *awwws and booos*. I know, but I made a deal with Daniel that I would only get two since not only do I have to live with them the rest of my life, but so does he. This is what you do in relationships my friends, and it is called compromise. I do not hold anything against him for it either, I completely understand where he comes from and how much he had to give to be ok with the two I have now. 

Now the moment you have all been waiting for while I droned on, the final product! (without the redness of course)  

While I was there I also got my first tattoo fixed. As you may have read in my blog post about the first letter of the quote being not up to par. It was nothing that was done by the artist, but by my body: the ink was rejected on the bottom of the "L".  Here are before and after photos:
Before:

After: 

I would like to thank you so much for reading and watching, whether it is one person or a thousand it means the world to me. Thanks again and I will talk to you all again soon! 

xoxo, Gossip Girl 

Just Kidding! I just had to. I really do mean everything that I said though and if you have made it this far then THANK YOU so much again!! I know my post are long and I am sorry, but I can write what I feel/think better then I can speak them out loud. 

Talk to you soon,    

Makenna

New Things Always Scare Me

This week I made a big decision to try something new and scary; I made a YouTube channel. I filmed my first video with my blogging camera last Wednesday and edited it on Thursday. Let me just tell you it is not as easy as you would think. It was extremely weird to talk to a video camera and watch it back. The whole process was cringe worthy. It also took about 2 1/2 hours to get ready and film. I filmed the same video three different times, and each time got a bit better, but it still wasn't the best. I know that as I film more and become more comfortable with filming they will get better. The next step was editing. I used IMovie to edit, and it has been a while since I have used IMovie and I could not remember how it worked. I spent about an hour watching IMovie tutorial videos and still didn't figure everything out, so I just decided to wing it. I think it turned out pretty well for my first video. Although, there are a few things I will fix for next time. I chose to make my first video an introduction to my channel. I explained what I had planed for future videos and when I would be plaining to upload videos. I also said that I will be going back to Stockholm, Sweden for two weeks next Friday and I plan on vlogging while I am there. I will also be blogging as well, so don't worry I am not quitting my blog. Before I started my blog I was really considering on if I should start a YouTube channel or start a blog, and the blog won. I still very much wanted to start a channel, as it looked so much fun and was a good way to document what I am doing in my life. I wasn't going to originally post anything about my channel because I was nervous about it. Just like everybody else I am scared to make myself vulnerable to everyone else and blogging about my life was a big step, video taping my life and putting it on the internet is an even bigger step. This is finally a step I have gained the guts to take and I am pretty proud of myself. The video will be down below if you would like to watch it. It would also help me out a lot if you could comment on the video or this post if you would be interested in seeing a whats in my carry on bag video along with a travel vlog or if your would rather just watch a normal travel vlog. I would also like to say thank you to all the people who read my blog and are returning readers it means an amazing amount to me that you actually take the time to read things I wrote. I would also like to say thank you to anyone who watches this video for supporting me, as this is a huge deal to me.  Also I love hearing fead back from people so if you want to leave a comment with some tips or even just your opinion on the video. I am open to all types of criticism good or bad because it will help me learn and help me find a way to do better next time.




My first YouTube video:

Everything Must Come To An End

Over the past week I have done quit a lot. Let's just start with last Saturday shall we. My boyfriend, Daniel, and I woke up early (way to early) to catch a boat through Stockholms's archipelago to reach a certain island I don't remember the name of. Once we were there we went to a friends beach house were we ate lunch and had afternoon coffee out in a beautiful field in the woods. I really wish I had a taken pictures, but I just thought "Oh we're just going to drink coffee I don't need my phone or camera". Well I was wrong, we went to a beautiful field covered in bright yellow flowers surrounded by lush green forest. Do you ever have those moments were your life feels like a movie? Well that's what this felt like, the 3 of us just laying under the sun talking about life. After coffee we went back to the house and shot some arrows, and lets just say I wouldn't have been casted as Katniss in the Hunger Games. After that we took the 2 hour trip back home. Once we were home we decided to go out for dinner and drinks with some friends. We went to a bar called Harry B. James were we ate, had a few beers, and then went back home. Sunday was just a stay in your pajamas all day and watch Netflix kind of day. Monday I stayed home and watched Downton Abby while Daniel was at school, but when he came home we went to Urban Outtfiters. There I bought a high waisted floral skirt and a light cream sweater with a lace collar to pair with it. Tuesday I got to witness a Swedish high school graduation party first hand and I also learned I am not that fond of clubs. I really didn't take any photos of my trip, but I am working on improving for next time. Here is one photo a friend took of Daniel and I at the party. Please excuse the bad lighting I felt like I need to at least post one picture and this was the one I liked the most, even with the bad lighting. 

Wednesday was my last day in Sweden, so I spent the day just watching TV with Daniel. Thursday I flew home and was sucked back into the real world again. I've spent the past few days back at work and even started summer school. Oh what a fun summer, but it will be the last time I don't give myself a summer break. Just one more year. It can't be that long right?

And I'm Back

If you read my last post then you know I mentioned I would be traveling back to Sweden with in the next few days, well guess where I am now! Last Tuesday I left my house at 3 AM to go to the airport for my first flight of two flights. 

At around 6:30 AM I get on the flight from Houston, TX to Newark, NJ. After that three to four hour flight, I have about a six hour layover in Newark till my next flight at 5 PM. The reason why I don't take a later flight out of Houston is because I am flying on standby, so I have no idea if I will even get on the plane which is why I want to have as many opportunities to try to get on. It really isn't as bad as you think sitting in the airport all day. All I have to do is bring my computer and watch a few movies or play some games on my phone, the only hard part is trying not to fall asleep. This is where Starbucks comes in. 

After waiting for hours I finally get on the flight from Newark to Stockholm, which is a huge relief because I don't really want to stay the night in the airport again. As we were taking off you could see New York City in the distance. Now I have never been to New York, but it has always been one the the places I would like to visit most. I am always so close, but it is just not the place I need to be. One day New York, One day. 

As we were flying over Greenland I got to see the sun rise. I could not get over how beautiful the colors were so I tried to get a picture of it, but this is the best I could get with my phone.

After about five hours into the flight I start to get restless, as does almost everybody else. I was no longer tired, nor did I want to watch anymore movies, so I just listened to music and waited. I have always had no problem sitting and doing nothing for long periods of time, but as we got closer the more excited I was to see my boyfriend Daniel. 

After arriving I met up with Daniel and then we took the bus into the city. The past two days have been lazy days, since Daniel is still in school and I still don't know my way around I just hangout at the house. So for right now I am enjoying a cup of tea and watching Downton Abbey.

Later on I will be meeting up with Daniel and his friends for a late lunch. I must say it will be quite interesting because I will be taking the subway by myself for the first time. I know where and how to get where I am going, but it will just be fun to see if I screw up. Since I have no way of communicating with anybody I wont be 100% sure if they will be on time or I can't say if I am running late. Well wish me luck, this is just something I will have to get use to.