Seven Days to Stand

Nearly a week ago (last Thursday) it occurred to me that I was having this foot surgery on the upcoming Thursday (9/12) and that once I had this surgery, I wouldn't be able to walk for weeks.  The realization made me panic.  Sure, I'm pretty lazy, but walking is something I have done for quite an exceptional amount of my life and losing that ability for an unknown amount of time was a very scary thought.
I decided that morning that I was going to make the most of my feet and legs in the week leading up to my surgery, to make them so tired and worn out that the only thing to remedy severe legs cramps would be to sit, and lay down for the next week.  And that's exactly what I've been doing.
On Thursday morning, I went for a walk, I used an elliptical and when it was time for work, I parked as far away as I could.  This day wasn't exactly what I was expecting and I really wanted to my legs good and worn out.
So on Friday, my friend and I went to a Mumford and Sons concert called Gentlemen of the Road in Guthrie, Oklahoma.  Without knowing, we parked our car about a mile and a half (or at least it felt like that) from the camping entrance.  We then carried, pulled, and dragged a 40 lb tent and a 50 lb ice chest along with the rest of our gear, to an open area and set up our tent.  My legs were tired, but this was just the beginning.  We went to the concert and stood for three hours.  When it was over, we went into town and walked all around, inclines, alleys, and bars.
The next morning was rough, I had a rude awakening to my alarm clock at 5 am.  Guess who works at 7:30 on Saturdays? This girl.  Yes, I had to trudge back to my car, though this time with sore muscles that could only be produced from, drinking, dancing, and sleeping in the dirt.  What a rough walk that turned out to be.  I proceeded to work for six long hours.  When that was over I hesitated going back for more walking, and standing and sweating, but somehow, I convinced myself that I had to. (Mainly because my friend would otherwise be trapped) I made it back in all my sweaty and sore glory and it only got harder, and worse.  It was hotter, things seemed farther, there was more time to spend waiting. and standing. and waiting. and standing. and sweating. and shaking. knees buckling.  I felt awful. I was listening to one of my favs, The Alabama Shakes and I wanted to leave.  I wanted a chair and a shower and a bed.  The Shakes finished their set and we stood and stood and stood, sweating the whole time waiting and waiting for the glory of four attractive Brits to hit the stage.  They finally did and relief flowed through my body a distraction despite my better and efforts, and their talents, I still felt the pains, but it was well worth it for the experience.
After another night in the dirt, we rose early to pack our camp site and head back home.  Another daunting and heavy journey.  Relief hit us as we pulled into Sonic for a drink and a bite to eat.  We were so exhausted and sore and dirty.  The rest of that day is a blur to me honestly but I do remember my dad dragging me into the pool, pushing for me to not give up in my fight to stand and be active.  I somehow made it through the pool experience without drowning and slept soundly that night.
The next day was Monday, my least favorite of the week.  I worked for 8 hours which is a chore in itself and I even worked out when I got home, despite the hardships of ragweed in my sinuses.
Today, now Tuesday, I am nearly done with my week of standing, with 4 hours, of work, and 7 hours of school standing in my way, I still intend to perform three activities later tonight.
If this week has taught me anything, Its that you need to live life to the fullest and cherish everything you have, because you never know when you're going to lose something or someone.
Though I had a very difficult weekend, it will take place in my memory, as a great experience and one I will never forget.

Life Update

Hey Kiddos!

Welcome to another life update blog, which seems to be all this blog has turned into!  Oh well!

Since I've been away, I have been to Aruba, been stung by jelly fish, watched my mom turn 50 and started another semester of school.  Needless to say, I have been living quite a lot away from my computer!  I even got a bit of color on my skin!  I have graduated from pale to second from pale in both foundation and powder, I'm sure this surge in pigmentation won't last long, but currently, I am extremely impressed with myself. 

Just today I had a thrilling decision made in my life, my best friend, Abby showed interest in blogging, I told her I had recently claimed some new domain real estate on blogger and she jumped at the chance to join and I couldn't be more excited!  So we will share "For the Love of Local" and "Everything that Glitters"  I could not be more excited about it!  

So head on over to both new blogs we won't disappoint!

http://keepitlocalokc.blogspot.com

and

http://everthingthatglitters.blogspot.com

Life Update

Hey Guys! 

This is a long overdue update blog! 

So hello, I know this blog has been full of several empty promises, and for that, I am truly sorry for anyone (if anyone) that was upset by my hiatus.  
Believe it or not, but I'm a human, despite my inability to decipher captchas on the internet.

Side note, if you DO understand this, you're probably an alien.  And if you're an alien, cool, wanna be friends?   
I'm sure there are however humans out there that are saying "Kate, I'm not an alien and I totally understand that"  well congratulations, seemly human life form, as far as I know, that classifies you as a super human, so good for you.  Some of us (me) are not that high functioning, its hard enough for me to put my pants on one leg at a time. Ha ha ha I don't wear pants. 

Well despite that tangent, I am determined to get back on track!  I am a human, which means, I can't sit in front of this computer and amuse you for every second of everyday.  Unless, of course, you read my archived blogs over and over again, in which case, what? why? go outside, smell a flower, get off you computer crazy!
Ok serious time, since we last talked....since I last wrote in your general direction, I have started working a full time job, that monopolizes more of my time that I am happy to think about.  I am also still in college.  So lets add this up:  
over 45 hours of work a week
about 30 hours spent on homework a week 
so right there we have 75 hours out of 168 in the week, leaving only 93 which sounds like a lot right?
well let be generous and take out 35 hours for sleeping, 15 for playing mine craft because I'm THAT kind of nerd and honestly, probably 5 if not more for watching youtube videos not to mention the time I spend THINKING about doing things, thats a solid 30 hours a week (the time I would be sleeping if I wasn't an insomniac.  And then 8 hours that I dedicate to showers, baths, and primping.  
Whats that? I ran out of time? 
What's also that? I'm horrible at managing time? 
You are absolutely right about that.  Rearrange my priorities? Nah, I'd rather not.  But I will take twnety minutes, from Minecraft, youtube, primping, homework, and sleep in order to write on both of my blogs every week
WHAT? Another blog? Yep.  You could say its the only reason I'm writing this post, and you would be right.   
Don't even worry about it, I have already acknowledged my bad track record on the new blog, so go there to read it and subscribe!  It should be really cool and I'm super excited about it!!
Guys.  I'm gonna try my hardest ok? Ok. 
I was gonna write more but my mac's about to die and I have an hour before work and nothing to do but check out the new blog: keepitlocalokc.blogspot.com
Love you guys! New blog next week! Stay awesome! 

New fun and healthy snack!!

Hey lovelies!!! Twice in one day! Woo! Go me.

So announcement: I work as a weight loss specialist. And I'm always looking for fun, healthy snacks and meals and I'm trying to create some of my own to share with people! Today I came up with a really fun and filling snack that I want to share with you!

Rice cakes with peanut butter and trail mix!
For the base, I used two plain, sodium free and gluten free rice cakes (brand: mothers)
I then made my own peanut butter with the ever easy PB2 powder and water and spread two tablespoons evenly over the two cakes. I then took some backcountry trail mix from whole foods and sprinkles a serving (1/4 cup) over the top.
This snack was delicious!
It's low sodium, low fat, low calorie and high protein! Perfect for mid afternoon hunger strikes!
I hope you try this out for yourself! It's awesome! More fun recipes to come! :)

Can I do this? Pretty sure I just did!

Hello beautiful lovelies!!
Oh how I've missed you friends!
Remember that one time when I said I would post weekly? 
This is me absolutely failing at that.
:)
Still love me? Good. 
Go here. Live it. Love it. Buy stuff! :)
http://www.etsy.com/people/fayestudios?ref=owner_profile_leftnav

This sexy ginger is so talented and deserves a lot of love so blow up her page and I promise, you will love all she has to offer!
New Post will be up SUNDAY!!!!
See you then :)
LOVE. DONT FORGET TO BE AWESOME <3

A Little Bit of Love Goes a Long Way

From reading my blog I'm sure most of you have found that I am not an extremely serious person.  If something can be fun, I would rather take the fun route.  But certain things exist in our society that have a severe depletion of "fun", and all surrounding synonyms.  
War, poverty, sickness, and sadly so many other categories are plagued by this deficit.  Its hard to have any effect on such huge, world wide problems. And its hard to sit back while people are suffering through them.  But sometimes, just sometimes, there is something we can do to help.
It may be a donation, an event, or even just a letter of support.
This past weekend I was lucky enough to participate in a fundraising event that's goals were not only to raise money but also to bring in a wave of fun to the people that need it most in my community.  The Kids.
Soonerathon was the event I participated in along with a couple hundred of my closest friends.  It was an event that's goal was to raise over 100,000 dollars for the OU Children's Hospital, taking the form of a 12 hour dance marathon in which we were required to stay on our feet and shake it for the kids, and with the kids, the very patients we were raising money for.
Being around these children that were fighting an array of diseases was way more than just inspiring, it was such an amazing experience that I'm actually at a loss for words.
Good thing I have pictures, I hear those are worth a thousand.

As you can see, even dealing with the struggles of sickness, they are able to keep these extremely positive, happy, and fun demeanors, something I can strive to always have. 

One of the great joys of doing good works, is doing them with the people that you love.  And I certainly experienced that.  I've heard that the friends you make in college, are the friends you keep for life, and based on the friends I've made in college, I certainly hope thats true.  I have never known more selfless, and giving people than my closest friends.  Doing this event with them meant more than I will ever be able to admit.  Sharing the love, the overwhelming happiness and this great memory will bond us forever, and for that, I am eternally grateful.  

Overall the event was a huge success in so many ways, and I was so happy to be a part of it.  Thank you to the sponsors, the staff, the coordinators, the donators, the dancers, the families, and of course, the kids.  By the end of the night, the fundraising total had an unreal number:

196,034.62 dollars.  Raised by normal students with a dream to bring the fun and happiness and needed research and funding to the deserving youths of our community.  

This is a memory I will never forget and I intend to keep in the forefront of my mind so that my entire life is driven by hope and success of this event.  

I hope you all strive to find the love and fun where it normally wouldn't be found, or where it isn't easy to have it.  Every little bit can really go a long way.  

I love you all.  Thank you for staying with me through my hiatus and still checking my blog, your traffic to this blog did not go unnoticed and it will be rewarded, I intend to post at least one blog a week, if not more.   I think this is a reasonable goal to start out with and I will strive to accomplish it!  

I hope all of you are doing well <3

Lies of Omission

I mean come on, technically we have all been guilty of omitting something for the better of the majority.  Sometimes, you want to spare feelings, prevent drama, or even just keep a little mystery in your life.
But what about those things that could be harmful to other people?  For me at least, thats a no brainer, you tell them.  Say you have pink eye, simple enough, super annoying but not too hard to handle.  If I had pink eye and had been exposed to my friends or strangers, I would immediately tell those certain people that needed to know.  Sure I would be embarrassed that I had contracted such a thing but in that circumstance, I would feel worse if that thing I had was spread to my friends and I hadn't even told them about it.  How scary would that be?  To just have something wrong with you but not know what it was or where you got it from?
That would be bad kids, very bad and highly irresponsible.
So I am here to tell you this: If there is something wrong with you that is contagious.  TELL PEOPLE. If you don't you're being an inconsiderate asshole.  Sorry, but it's true.
It may be a simple as pink eye, or as severe as a transmittable disease
Be honest, be upfront, and don't be embarrassed.  It will be better for everyone if you just get it out of the way.

Obviously this is something in some form or another that I am currently experiencing, I will not go into details but something like the above is currently having a large effect on my life,  and I do not like it.

I hope you are all having spectacular weeks and that if you are in school you are nearing the end and are about to move on!  Yay.

Have a super lovely day!
Song of the Day: Mercy By: Kanye West