Just Keep Swimming...

Oh what a week.... wait tomorrow is Thursday? Not the weekend?

These past 3 days have been insane. Literally insane. I wake up, go for a run, come back and get in my suit, and teach till about 4:00 then hop in my car and drive to Dallas to go to my other job at Scottish Rite Hospital- Summer All Stars. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my jobs. I have the best jobs in the world... but 14 hour days in the hot sun are tiring!!

Yes Grandmama I am wearing my sunscreen and reapplying it every 60 minutes :)

I am loving seeing the progress in my kiddos!!! A couple of my 4 year olds could not even float on monday and today they are swimming across the shallow end!!! I am so happy for their progress!


Each night I come home and read a little bit for my Graduate class then answer emails for scheduling lessons.
It keeps me busy for sure!!! Just keep swimming just keep swimming...

I am excited for my next day out in the water!

Happy Swimming everyone!

Crazy Beautiful Life

Lots to update on. It has been about a year and a half since my last update. Lots can change in a year... let alone a year and a half.

Here are the large highlights:

• I got accepted to Grad School! I am attending the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond Oklahoma. I am living by myself in a cute one bedroom apartment and I have been getting lots of cute things to make it "home" I am really looking forward to moving and starting my life there. I have several friends who live there already so it will be nice to be around them more. I am beginning my first class June 3! (thats tomorrow!) It is an online class so I will not be in Edmond yet but I will have 3 hours under my belt before August. I am also enrolled in 11 hours for Grad school. Probably overloading myself once again but thats how I always do :)

• I chopped my hair off!!!! Well ok, not totally! I did take 5.5 inches off and donate to Wigs for kids. I had to make a change in my life. A new start! Plus I needed my hair healthy again!! Since I am in the water so much I thought it would be a good change. Here is the before and after!!!
  
  
    
• I graduated from OSU! I walked across that stage on May 4, 2013. I DID IT! It was 5 years but it was the best 5 years of my life. It was also the hardest 5 years of my life. I went through lots of ups and downs but walking across that stage to get the empty diploma case (don't worry it will be mailed to me in about 6- 8 weeks haha) was a fabulous feeling :)
  
  
  
• My degree is Therapeutic Recreation basically means nothing unless I pass my certification exam. I have to be certified by the National Council Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC). So if I pass my exam I will be a CTRS- Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. The exam is only offered 3 times a year and it is an extremely hard test. My mom helped me study and she was a trooper. Seriously.... a trooper. With my freak outs of worrying about not passing  and my high anxiety I am surprised she didn't murder me!! She is such a good mama- may be a crazy mama but shes the best :) The good news is I passed!!!!!  My mom was the first person I called. She was amazing... Praying the entire 3 hours I was in there. The moment I called her was probably better than walking across the stage at graduation. All my hard work paid off. 5 years of studying for my degree then my 3 weeks of studying for my certification exam (after NCTRC processes all my paperwork and internship placement) I will be--------wait for it......------- Katelyn Elizabeth Green, CTRS (but not until I get my certification paper!)  and Oklahoma State University Graduate :)    Thank you so much Mom and Dad for putting up with my insane freak outs, crying fits, random outbursts and mean streak and Madeline appearances :) Without your support I could not have done anything or accomplished what I have. I am thankful for all you do and I love you both so so much

• My senior Internship began on January 7. I moved from the small town of Stillwater, Oklahoma to the large city of Dallas, Texas. Mind you I am from Fort Worth so I was basically moving home :) I got to live with my awesome and amazing Aunt and Uncle. They were simply amazing. Providing me with a roof over my head and food in my belly. My aunt always joked and asked if I actually lived there cause I was always so busy and at work or the gym. But I am so grateful for them for providing a wonderful place for me to live :)
• My internship was at the wonderful hospital for Children called Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Seeing kids in different struggles made me see how blessed I truly am. I was able to look at life in a totally different way. I may have my bad days, my EXTREMELY bad days, my good days and my iffy days but everyday I wake up I am able to put my feet on the floor walk in the other room and hug my parents, and go to work doing what I love. Not everybody can do that and I take it for granted. 
•  I was extremely blessed to have another amazing supervisor. Albert taught me more than just Therapeutic Recreation... He taught me life lessons, ways to handle different things, how to have a positive outlook on each thing that happens and he did more for me than he realizes. I am extremely grateful for all that he has done. He wrote this short passage that I taped into my planner- and everyone knows that I look at my planner about 24 times a day so I figured that was the best place to put it. 

                                    Be Positive
Each morning you wake up you have two choices.

You can choose to be in a good mood or... you can choose to be in a bad mood,.

I choose to be in a good mood.

Each time something bad happens, you can choose to be a victim or... you can choose to learn from it. 

I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes complaining, you can choose to accept their complaining or... you can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life

Albert Estes

Albert, I am blessed to have you in my life. I learned so much from you and you impacted my life in so many ways. Thank you for teaching me to look at the positive side of life and to enjoy each moment.

• I am doing my summer swim lessons again! I am already booked for a couple weeks so I will be spending about 8 hours a day in the water teaching kids of all ages how to swim! This year we redid our back yard. For about the last 6 weeks our entire back yard has been torn up and completely demolished. Concrete was jack hammered out,  a tanning ledge was added to the pool to change the shape and add a place for us to lay down in the water :), new drains were put  in, a new waterfall, new coping, and a new texture at the bottom. We are on the last stretch of the remodel... they are finishing the deck and then the backyard will be complete! I am so excited to spend the summer floating on a raft and soaking up the sun with a margarita in hand :) I will just close my eyes and imagine I am at the beach!

• Bikram Yoga- Yoga done in 105 degree heat. You sweat out toxins in your body, go beyond your flexibility, learn things about yourself that you had no idea you could do. It is a 90 minute class and it is seriously the best thing I have ever done. I bought a 10 class card for mom and I for mothers day. We go together and my mom is seriously a rockstar!! She can still do the splits at 29 years of age!! ;) With  my anxiety it is extremely helpful. You have to focus on breathing. JUST BREATHING. You do each pose twice. It doesn't matter if you do each pose all you have to do is breathe. I learn something new every single time I go there If you ever want to test yourself mentally and physically... try bikram yoga! You wont regret it!

• Last but not least I have another job! While I was interning at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children I was working for free for 15 weeks. It was hard but totally worth it. well I am now an employee!!!!! Only a temporary position for 8 weeks but it is still exciting! I am overseeing the adaptive sports program for patients of the hospital. It is called Summer All Stars and they provide 3 different sports taught by professional in the field. Monday night is Basketball, Tuesday night is Golf, and Wednesday night is Tennis. It is amazing to see every kid who has a disability feel like a "normal" (as normal can be) child. They are learning how to play the sport that they love or want to pursue. They are able to participate without ridicule of other kids and are learning to be good team players. It is an amazing program and an amazing hospital. If you ever have a chance to volunteer for this hospital I guarantee it would be worth it!

I believe that is all the big news that has happened to me in the last 6 months. It is extremely overwhelming but what part of my life isn't overwhelming? I am looking forward to a crazy amazing summer with my best friends, Catherine and Riley, and my parents and my friends here in Fort Worth before I move back to Oklahoma. 

Make the most out of everyday. Look for the beauty in the smallest things and never take anything for granted. Stay positive even when things get rough and remember that you have a purpose in this crazy world. Be kind to one another.

Until my next blog-- which wont be another year and a half away :)

Katie

Busy Busy Bee!!

Lots of things going here in Stillwater. I have met with my advisor about enrolling for my... FINAL SEMESTER!! I only have to have 4 hours to graduate. 4!! I think I will take one extra class so I can get a jump on my masters... That will put me at a whopping 7 hours for next semester. I think I will try to get another job because I will only have class on monday wednesday and friday. So why not get a little extra cash and work :)

I have been meeting mom in Ardmore the past couple weekends. I also went home to run in the cowtown race. I have been doing great on my training. I am so excited for my race... 8 weeks left!!

Time to head to work, the gym, then homework!

XOXO
Katie

Graduate...School?

I am overwhelming myself so much by all this talk about Graduate school. I am either going to OSU or UNT. I will apply to a few others just in case but I have so much to think about. Where I will live, GA position or not, close to home or far away again, roommate situation, money, out of state or instate... It is just O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.I.N.G.
Hopefully I will get answers soon about the GRE test, different positions I could have, etc. I told myself that not going to grad school was not an option. I HAD to do it. NO questions, ifs, ands, or buts about it! I have had to call mom and dad numerous times freaking out trying to get everything sorted out and basically having them calm me down. Everybody should know that I get really worked up about stuff haha

Just wanted to send everybody a quick update on my crazy hectic life :)
XOXO
Kate

HUGE NEWS!

Hello everybody!
I hope everybody is doing good on this beautiful friday afternoon... I know I am! I have offically gotten word about my internship and ITS FINALIZED!!! I will be a Therapeutic Recreation Intern at Cook Childrens Hospital in Fort Worth, TX. I will be working in the behavorial unit and I cannot wait!! What really makes it special is because there are only 3 Rec Therapists in the DFW area. I am SOO blessed to be able to have this opportunity.
I have known about this since Thanksgiving but I didnt want to say anything until the contract got finalized. Working in the Mental Health side of Recreation Theapy will be different then what I have normally been doing... I have mostly been doing Rehab. This will help me step outside of my comfort zone for sure!

When I had my interview I was so nervous! (I even arrived 45 minutes early!!) I met with him and he was pretty blown away by my resume already (not to toot my own horn ;)) and then he showed me around the Behavorial Unit and then at the end of the tour he offered me the internship! I did everything I could do to keep my composure.. calmly shake his hand.... calmy walk out of the hospital ( I didnt want them to think they just let a mental patient out onto the streets) and the immedialty got into my car called my mom (naturally!) and scremed at the top of my lungs! I could not believe it! It was a great moment for sure!! Internships in my field are hard to come by because there are not that many in Texas and in Oklahoma it is difficult because all TR majors want to stay in OK so they fill up quick.
I also wanted to come home for my internships to help save money and live at home. I am sooo excited I got to be in Fort Worth AND have a fabulous internship! I am sooo excited!


It will be a great 10 weeks working at Cook Childrens. I cannot wait to tell everyone my experience and how it goes.

XOXO
Katelyn

Don't you worry your pretty little mind people throw rocks at things that shine..

These past two weeks have included:
Bookstores, staying up late, going to bed early, sleeping in, waking up early, reading a tons of chapters, attending class, walking across campus multiple times, going to the union a humpteen billion times, a quiz, working a ton, cooking a lot, and cleaning my room. Plus a ton more other things but That kind of sums it up. It has been a crazy two weeks for me for sure! I am so blessed to get encouraging notes from my mom and sweet texts from my dad. My brother also chips in a few silly texts too :) I am having to remind myself that I just have to keep my chin up and I can do anything I set my mind to. I am really trying to keep up to date with all my reading and stuff this semester. So far so good!  Lets hope I can keep it up though!

This weekend I am going home to go to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. I am SO excited to go! I never miss a Rodeo! :) It always makes me miss competing in the Rodeos.
Tonight Kristin and I are watching CSI and it is keeping me on my toes!! I love this show! This is about the only time I ever get peace to just sit and relax haha I love that best friends can keep such a close bond even over 350 miles away!
I will update about the rodeo when I return but right now its time to get back to my show! :)

Until next time,
XOXO
Kate

Sweet dreams are made of these...

Good Morning!
Yesterday started a new semester! It was pretty busy for only having 3 classes. I had to go get books, then go back and get books cause I didn't get them when I got my first set of books, so on and so forth. It doesn't make any sense.... I have 4 classes... and about 7 books! cha-ching cha-ching cha-ching! (Thanks Mom and Dad!!) I am so grateful I am able to get an education. I really appreciate it when I am swiping the credit card for those books! Looking back on the last 3 1/2 years at OSU absolutely amaze me. I have grown so much from all of my experiences I have encountered.
I am trying to see the beauty in everything and remind myself how blessed I am. This morning the little boy I take care of made his breakfast all by hisself! That is a HUGE step for him!! All I had to do was pour his milk! It amazes me how far he has come in the past 6 months. I am so grateful to be apart of his growing process. Its little things like making my meals all by myself and being able to do my own laundry. It truly changes my perspective on things!

This week has been good in my training. I only had about 20 minutes to run on Monday so I decided to go for a quick run instead no run at all. My knee and lungs didnt give me much trouble at all! I am very thankful for my inhaler and knee brace! I am not going to let a silly knee problem or lungs aching get in the way! (although I will rest if they start to hurt again!)

Today I only had work from 7-9 this morning and then class at 10:30. I may go on a short run in the Colvin cause its a little chilly outside. Then its time to hit the books! I have a few reading assignments due wednesday. Then its back to work around 4 until his mom comes home. I did not get much sleep last night. I went to bed around 11:30 then woke up at 3:00 and could not fall back asleep until about 5! I was wide awake! I finally fell asleep around 5 or 5:30 then had to wake up at 6:30 for work. I may have to sneak a nap into todays schedule for a bit :)

Its time to head to class! I will post in my other blog later :)

ta ta for now! XOXO
Katelyn Elizabeth