New love

Soo, ever since I was a teeny tiny little girl, i have had one dream. Unlike wanting to become an astronaut or artist like most children, I just had one simple desire. That was to own a dog. I adore my parents to no end and I couldn't have asked for a better up-bringing, but they severely lacked in the Fido Dept. They always told me as a child, "you can get a dog when you are an adult." Lamecakes. When you're 5 yrs old, being 20yrs old does not seem possible in such a simplistic mindset. I decided to rebel. In my own brilliant mind, I had a scheme to get a furry, happy, and tailwagging dog.  Now,  I am about to share a secret from my childhood that I am not particularly fond of, but I am told its freakin hilarious. Ready? Ok.... My grand Plan: Go outside, stare into the direct sunlight for a long period of time, go blind, and get a seeing eye dog. Bingo, its flawless.  I remember being out on the front porch and my mom came up and shook my shoulders saying, "LAUREN! Why on earth are you doing that?!" Yeup, never got my pooch.

Well, it finally happened... no i didnt get a seeing eye dog, but I did do my good deed and rescued a pup from the humane society. I was very close to love at first sight. I had been looking at just about every HS in the Milwaukee area, on what seems to be an hourly basis. Joey and I debated names for awhile and finally settled on either "Driver" or "Jordy." We love our GBP. I texted 5 random people for a vote, and "Jordy" won. I saw Jordy online at the Rock County Humane Society on Saturday night, and was at the shelter the following afternoon to pick him up. I was nothing but smiles ALL trip long. I had dreamt of this day for so long! I went to the local petstore to pick up all the supplies. It got to be rather pricey because I decided to prepare for the worst because I had not a clue on what this 50lbs and 1yr old lab/terrier would be like in my house. I bought all all my dog supplies for their sheer strength. Kong toys, an indestructible collar, leash for a dog up to 80lbs....

The whole ride home i couldn't stop petting him.  We got home and I showed the puppy around the house and then we set out for a stroll in the neighborhood. OMG. I woke up Monday morning with shin splits and sore arms, Jordy has the exact attention span from Dug the dog in the movie "UP." I guess I hadn't fully put it together that this dog had never really seen the outside world aside from the limited trips to the running pen at the shelter. Squirrel! Bunny! Little Kid! Water! Tree! Tree! Tree! Squirrel! Football being thrown! Uf da. I literally had to make the dog sit and hold him so he would stop wheezing from choking himself for our 2 mile walk. I wish i could get that excited about anything in life....! ha. Ok, so we have to work on a leash to do.

I was waiting for Joey to get home to introduce him to our new addition. I was baking pumpkin bread, I decided to become distracted by the dog and sliced my pointer finger on the rim of the can, leaving my with a bleeding finger for over an hour. I waited and waited and waited, and still bled. Ok-- maybe its time to get it checked out. We went to the ER and saw the waiting line. I was rather hesitant knowing it would be till at least 1AM... while checking in at the front, I asked an EMT standing next to me if my finger needed stitches. He stated, "no." that was that, joey and I agreed to head out and go get frozen yogurt instead.... I guess this is where my life's irony steps in... I wait nearly 24yrs to get a dog, slice my finger super deep that same night so I can't pet my puppy, call it a false alarm at the ER, and got delicious frozen treats instead. Just a little "Lauren twist" on the evening....

Joey broke him into swimming at the beach yesterday. Apparently, he took off after a seagull shadow and was hard to catch after that.  He also came across another female dog on an empty beach, did his little dance on her hind quarters, and stole her ball right after. Typical guy :P

Its been a learning experience everyday since bringing Jordy home. Today we took him for his first trip to the dog park for some doggy socializing...what a great place to meet other dog lovers. And he only humped 7 other dogs... we're sure proud of our boy...

You could probably call me an insane dog woman or just simply infatuated with my puppy...Whatever the case, I am stoked to finally know that there is a creature out there that can keep up with my boyfriend's energy level. Yeeesssss.

Hi fall, i've missed you.

Happy Saturday all you gorgeous people out there-- soooo,

You are probably welcome to call me more nutzo than i normally am, but I just got home from work after being paid to creepily watch people sleep and returned to my house where the temperature was close to 58 degrees. Typically, that is ridiculously chilly for a house, but this morning I can't wipe this big goony grin off my face because I have finally settled into my passion for fall. It comes at a different time every year, but I believe after such a fabulous weekend in the UP for Labor Day, I have finally came to the conclusion that summer is done. I know more hot days will be on the way, but right now I am completely and utterly content sipping my warm chai and marveling the morning sunshine through the dining room windows listening to the wind chimes.

I have a very exciting and hot date with myself planned for later today. You know those afternoons alone where you belt your guts out to Stevie Knicks' "Edge of 17," wear comfy clothes that don't match, get sidetracked by 5987439 separate things, clean everything, light candles, watch "Night at the Roxbury," and eat yourself completely silly on freshly baked dark chocolate espresso cookies. Oh wait, I'm the only one that considers that the ideal day alone! If your name is Lauren Jean Slattery, this is utterly heaven. Ahh :)

At this point I should probably attempt to get some sleep so I can be a normal human later tonight and the rest of the weekend. I guess in general it doesn't matter that much because I have never been "normal." Because really, what is "normal?" This question has been pondered by many theologians and philosophers without answers.  That's ok, its better unanswered. Ha.

Go rock your weekend.

Down and Dirty Weekend

Greetings to all you fabulous readers who find my life slightly more exciting than attempting to get yourselves motivated for another work/school week after another way too short holiday weekend :)

My father told me this weekend that I should blog more because apparently its the talk of his work day with his co-workers. Boy, talk about a bunch of boring, old fogeys ;) (Note: all the fellow Pioneer Credit Unioners know how fond of them I am) Anyways, I decided now would be an appropriate time write because I am tucked away in the beauty of the back in the woods in the UP during a massive rain storm. Bingo. Plus, its now 9:53PM and i have just started to begin to sip my coffee-flavored liquid motivation. Here goes.

Friday: I decided it was the perfect night to take some PTO (i.e.- night shift+full moon= nutzo patients that dislike sleeping). The Labor Day weekend plans were for the Slattery's to host the Janzen's for their first ever weekend living the yooper life. Slept the day away to prepare for a rather filled evening. We hit up Waterloo for Joey's youngest brother's high school football game. Sitting on the bleachers watching all the teeny boppers made me miss that time of my life for a split second-- No worries, hang out with your friends, mom has dinner ready on the table every night, no bills, no rent $ due, so little responsibility. However, i would never trade what I have now for being 16yrs old again. Ohh, to be so naive and inexperienced in my sheltered sweet little high school life. The night ended with a Waterloo HS victory and road tripping into the wee morning hours.

Timing:

We hit the road from Waterloo, WI at about 11:15PM. 

Arrive Bark River, MI at 2:45AM

Official bedtime: 4AM

Saturday: Woke up with heavy eyes and a big ole grin. There is no better feeling than waking up to the glorious sunshine in Michigan woods. I slowly meandered along the trail between the two houses to greet my parents before everyone else woke up. The set up had the kids in one house on the neighboring property to the original place we built where the "old folks" resided. We started off the day with some breakfast and made a quick run into to town to buy groceries for brunch the following day. My cousin Eric had shown up with one of his buddies to hang out for the afternoon. The parents happily took the day to four wheel while leavingthe kids to kayak and swam the great Lake Michigan.

Twas an absolutely gorgeous day to be out on the water. Official head count for the kids: Joey, Greg, Matt, Eric, Adam, and me. That equals loads of testosterone and Lauren. Seldom do I ever have an afternoon that I  wade in the river to catch crawdads, attempt to dig up a shipwreck in Lake Michigan, have mud fights, and sing Rhianna. My mom professed about a year ago that she purposely never bought me dolls while i was growing up, she said its more fun hanging with the boys. Rock on mom, you're right. After close to 3 hrs of hanging in the water we headed back to shore. My dad had impeccable timing because right as we paddled in, he pulled up with the trailer. 

Dinner was a complete delicacy. Grilled food galore. Ribs, corn on the cob, veggies, and beergaritas all brought together with great company. The evening closed with a classic sit down around the fire pit telling embarrassing childhood stories and ridiculous jokes. Quick and easy to fall asleep that evening.

Sunday: Woke up to eat another fine meal to power our afternoon. Matt went hard to work cooking the tequila shrimp as it is traditionally prepared at La Estacion in Waukesha. I was not warned the first time he set the pan on fire with the blow torch, therefore the screaming can not be totally blamed on me :) Pile on the fresh fruit, swedish pancakes, and garlic scrambled eggs and call it a power meal. We all discussed options for the afternoon activities. The parents proceeded to road trip to Munising to tour the pictured rocks while the kids four wheeled.

The "Janzmen" and i were pretty upset about being forced to fourwheel on a beautiful 70 degree day. Let me just begin by mentioning how difficult and painful it was to move this morning. I felt like i had aged 70yrs overnight. I must have been so tense in my hands and wrists while driving that it even hurt to button my pants while getting dressed. The pain was oh so worth the 5hr round trip! It was so exhilarating flying over the moguls into the dust trails. We made it to our halfway mark to the Cedar River tavern where we got something to drink and threw some horse shoe for a bit. I road with Joey for about half the ride back. It was a slight break for my sore back, except my abs started to hurt because i was laughing so hard. In all, it was a 55mile + round trip that left us all dirtier than ever. Each of the guys looked like they were growing five oclock shadows that started at their eyebrows. ha. And i look like i attempted to snort campfire ash. 

I hadn't felt that good after showering since our 6-day Canadian boundary waters trip last summer. Mustered up enough energy after that eat rare steak, play light up frisbee in the dark, and sit by the fire with everyone. Boom. Another successful day.

Monday: Today was bittersweet in knowing that summer is ending, but freakin sweet being able to hang on to the memories made this weekend. It was the most perfect type of day to lay low. It began to pour outside and we spent some of the later afternoon watching it come down on the front porch, as well as nap my brains out. I would once again like to thank the Janzen clan for making the drive to hang out for a rather boring and losery weekend with the Slattery's at the Simpson Place....

Tomorrow's back to the mothership (commonly known as Aurora St. Luke's), but as long as I am awake tonight I am going to soak up that of my childhood roots and familial upbringings of the northern woods. There's something about this place that will always keep my coming back, every time I am up here I realize how much i adore it. There is so much of my little brother that is alive up here, especially in the summer. Brings one back to home plate before the at bat begins again. Now I just have to try to bring some of this inner peace back to the south. One more relaxing sleep ahead of me, now that is has taken me close to 3 1/2 hrs to finish this post. 

I also would like to thank all of those people out there who were working today including the all branches of the armed forces, firefighters, emts, docs, RNs, health care workers, cooks, etc. You guys are rock stars. For as bad as the world may seem to be, I will forever remain a glass half full kind of individual, partially because living a life without that mentality sucks, but also because it would mean that i would berunning low on coffee, and that would be horrendous. Yeah, we'll just skip the pessimism altogether :) 

Easy Breezy Beautiful Saturday Afternoon

There is only one way to wake up on a Saturday post a 13hr day the night before, and thats SLOWLY. Today was perfect :) I woke up at around 0900 for a bit to hug Joey before his 12 hr day and then that awesomely restful sleep part 2, where all my dreams are beyond me in strangeness and you wake up completely refreshed. Done and done.

I woke up around noon to the ever so relaxing whistling of my "don't worry be happy" ringtone. The first thing i noticed when i opened my eyes was a wagging black tail. Aww, Reggie.  I walked through the dining room into the living room to wake up a bit and the breeze and sunshine through the windows was so perfect, it didnt take me long to get my butt out the door. I had left with the intentions of walking the dog and soaking up the weather. Along the way, i ever so easily convinced myself to swing by my fave alterra to replenish by soon-to-be-deceased coffee stock at home. I parked Reggie around a tree just outside and went inside to get my beans. I was checking out and ordering my iced coffee, when i bunch of people sitting at the bar next to the window got up and started looking concerned. The lady sitting outside where I tied Reggie was also out of her seat. I quickly ran outside to see what the ruckus was, praying that it wasn't something the dog did. I saw a man sitting awkwardly on the curb next to the tree and dog with a bunch of people asking if the old man was ok. For a little bit i thought he tripped over the dog leash and went plummeting to ground where hit gluteals caught him.... I was relieved when i was informed that he had just gotten to close to the curb and stumbled over his own feet. ok, partial problem solved. The real problem was getting the man up. He reminded me of a few of my elderly patients that have difficulties using their hands to pull themselves up. Before i knew it, i was snapping quickly into "RN-ACTION!"

With the help of two other people we easily got this man to his feet. My first question for him after he was stable on his feet was, "are you ok?" He informed me with a smile that he was. My second question to him was, "are you lying to me?" He looked at me with the same goofy grin and said "yes." The woman whom was with the man informed me that he probably was lying, but i further assessed the situation. He walked fine, and just had a couple scrapes. Mission accomplished and closed. I felt like a good Shorewood citizen and proceeded to smile as the dog and i kept moving along.

It was super peaceful strolling among the beautiful neighborhood houses. Thats one of the charming qualities about Shorewood, every house is so unique and unlike the next one. We ended the walk with a trip to Atwater Park  and we sat on the grass and watched the sailboats do their thing over the bluff as i sipped my iced coffee. Gosh, what a perfect way to start a day... wait, there's one other thing that Reggie informed me would make the day just a smidge better. This big black dog rolled all over in the grass and then proceeded to shake off all the excess grass clippings all over me. Icing on the cake :) Thanks, pooch.

A lot of the walk i was running thoughts through my head. I feel so gosh darn lucky to be where I am at this point in my life. The endurance, stamina, motivation, friendships, profession, etc. I have been told a number of times by my father, that i have my Grandma Slattery's perspective of life. I wish I would've gotten to meet her at a point in my life i remembered. From what i understand, she was nothing but love to the world. Nothing was ever as good or as bad as it seemed. She was a pediatric nurse that continued to work through her diagnosis of metastatic bone cancer until about a week before she was promoted to full time angel. What a woman :)

I kept thinking to myself how awesome it feels to breathe, and feel the lakeside breeze. Maybe this is just a calming before the storm when i start work at 3pm?! hahaha- whatever the case, i will take it and run.

One last comment before i close today's session of "What on Earth is that Slattery girl thinking?!" is how proud I am of a friend of mine. She received a double lung transplant at the end of June. She has been making leaps and bounds in rehabbing since then. One of the greatest sources of joy this life can offer is watching people get stronger in any and all aspects of their lives. Keep rocking Katie, you're amazing! :)

So as i end this random, yet light hearted post I would like to include a song to get stuck in your head so every time you sing it, you will think of me... please enjoy. And also, go rock the day.

spontaneity

Woke up this morning, clocking around 9 hrs of sleep. jackpot :). Not only did i bank a solid night's sleep, but i woke up next to a big ole pair of brown eyes. Brown eyes and big ole happy tail. I have since the beginning been in love with my brother and sis in laws lab/great dane mix, Reggie. We're dog sitting for the next 2 weeks. This is a huge teaser because once we have to give him back its only a matter of a month or two before I am going gung-ho in rescuing a fido. Can't wait :)

Its my midweek weekend and couldn't come at a better time. Last night had my sprinting on my toes, playing "Super RN" in every direction that I past (E.I. 9 hrs of sleep).  Its sooooo nice to wake up slow, enjoy some hot coffee, open the windows, and soak up the start of the day. I keep running through my head what i would like to accomplish today, but i am not going to make my typical list because then there's no disappointment or expectations for the day ;) Well thought out. ha

I will take care of a few bills- but thats pretty much mandatory. Otherwise the rest of the day is planned to take Reg for long stroll by the lake. Spontaneity is sort of the theme of the day. We'll have to see where it takes us. With that, I believe that is all my mind has to state at the moment. 

Take care people, be more productive than I ;)

Packers on my mind

I woke up this morning and thought to myself, "hmm its strangely dark in this bedroom." I walked out into the kitchen to realize its cloudy, rainy, and 60 degrees out. I have been awaiting a day like this for quite some time. The kind of day where I whip out my favorite whole bean yooper coffee and prep my french press as I stare out the window and awe as the world turns right before my eyes. It reminds me of fall time. Fall is my fave time of year, however i will enjoy every last day of my summer.

It is a Wisconsin summertime tradition to visit the State Fair. The idea of holding a state fair is slightly ironic because WI does so in city nicknamed "The dirty stallis." The official name found on a map is "West Allis." Let me allow Urbandictionary.com to enlighten your thoughts:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=West%20Allis
(apologies to my friends and coworkers who live in West Allis... it was a topic of conversation at the nurses' station one day and i thought it funny to share). It just seems as though it would make so much more sense to hold such an event in an area like Madison or Northeast Wisconsin because the agricultural community is must stronger in those surrounding areas. Whatever the case may be, state fair is a complete blast.

You will never find a a better place to eat horrendously hazardous for your health food and people watch. In attendance this year was the "Slatzen Haus"-hold. Thus being, boyfriend (Joey) and best friend (Hillary). The first stop at the fair is to the expo center, where you are given the chance to purchase just about any type useless junk/kitchy decor your wildest dreams could ever imagine. It doesn't take long to get my yearly fill of the expo center. I decided it was time to leave after we walked past a booth with dancing marionettes. The worker decided to start chasing Hillary and I with a cat puppet attempting to climb up the back of my calf as the worker started to geek out. Yeup, that was enough.

Next stop was food. Oh to glorious deep-fried goodness of foods you never thought deep-friable. Hillary was the bravest to try the talk of the media, "The Fat Elvis." This includes deep fried peanut butter cups with bananabread-like breading, topped with chocolate drizzle and bacon bits on top. I snipped my nose at first, and then i took a bite. Holy amazing, batman! Its that perfect combo of sweet and salty that makes your face smile :) Another honorable mention (none of us purchased) was the "krispy kreme bacon cheeseburger." So just imagine, 100% Wisconsin grade angus beef with slow roasted crispy bacon with melty cheese, in between 2 classic krispy kreme donuts. Gag. If that doesn't bring you to the ER with a massive myocardial infarction, you are invincible. Hands down.

To accompany the delicious food hitting your stomach, the people watching at this event is top notch. Official count: 7 fanny packs, 3 butt cracks, and 2 boob grazes. This was the first hour we were there. I stopped count after that with too much to keep track of. Proudly,  I will announce that there was only 1 sighting of a kid on a leash (Thank goodness). I don't care how cute they try and make those ropes that attach to kids, in the shapes of monkeys, frogs, kitties, etc. Its still wrong.

To end a fabulous evening of digesting, strolling, around and good times-- we ended at one of the microbrew tents with big screens to watch the Ally Raisman snag another gold on the floor routine. Rock on USA!  Just an all around fabulous evening.

Not only has it been a great day to lie around and sip coffee under a warm blanket, but it also sparked my excitement because today is the grand opening of Packer preseason. Oh freakin happy day! A beautiful start to a season full of cheeseheads, "go pack go's", Rodgers belts, and smiling Drivers.  What beauty.

Week full of Golds

Let me just begin by writing that I am not a TV watcher. Joey and I recently bought a TV back in May and before that I hadn't watched since I was still living at home with my parents in high school. That is close to 5 yrs ago without any real TV... (who had time for that in nursing school?!) Let me just tell you all the hours I've been in front of the boob tube since Sunday..... actually not, its kind of embarrassing.

how is ANYONE suppose to get anything done with the Olympics on??! Holy crap, I cannot get enough of the men's swimming, women's gymnastics, 2x2 sand volleyball, sychronized diving, and even the kayaking! its soooo motivating!

I was home this past weekend and my mom woke me up on Sunday morning at 10:30ish by yelling up the stairs, "Lauren, you're swimmer boy's on TV!" Ryan Lochte. Man, what a way to wake up in the morning :D That only started the day off. It took until about 2pm that my mom and I built up enough motivation from all the athletes in front of us to make it out for our 28mi bike ride all around Green Bay on the fox river trail. Some of my fave memories cycling are with my mom. We always love to hit up the trails in the country, play the music loud,and be really ridiculous and  obnoxious singing when its just us! I will proudly say we were surging almost the entire time we were out amongst the corn.

We made it home in time to eat grilled salmon burgers and nap. THEN it was gymnastics time. I stare at some of those 15yr olds and wonder to myself what it must be like to be that young and that impressive. Gabby Douglass, she is an inspiration to anyone. Her whole story about having to move away from her family to get professional coaching with a single mom and group of sisters at home... wow. She had mentioned after the all around tryouts the reason she smiles so much. She stated that she had been focusing on Scripture about "being confident." All those incredible versus we skim over and never fully meditate on. This girl is going to grow up into a huge role-model of so many young people. So cool :)

After my much needed beloved 3 day weekend was over I had to come back to reality. It was off to work on Monday afternoon. I got home Monday night about 8:30pm and as i was pulling up into the driveway, I found the grill out.... Joey making grilled chicken. Then i walked upstairs and found Hillary (my best friend who moved in with us about 2 wks ago) making veggies and rice. I had a huge grin flood my face :) They waited until that late to have family dinner with me! I have the two best housewives in the world! Hillary and I were talking last night about how strangely normal it feels to all live together. I think its the way the personalities mesh. It feels like such a healthy and positive environment. We love Shorewood :)

I was in a patient's room yesterday afternoon and I realized it is already August. That is so bizzare. We still have a 1/3rd of summer left, but it went so stinkin fast! I feel like i have to start planning for fall and where travel plans will bring. I have a few goals:
1. Jog a 5K
2. Travel with my big mama
3. buy a food processor (this will happen before then! ha...)
4. Stage for nursing status at Aurora
5. Finish the dirty whore trilogy: 5 Shades of Gray

We'll get there. For now, i just finished my coffee and am need of getting things done. I love these midweek weekends of random days off :)

Go rock the world folks.