Ridiculously Thankful

Somedays I feel as though my life experience should put me in an exhibit at the Milwaukee County Zoo for everyone to gaze upon and see what the wild "Lauren Slattery" is getting herself into now...

November is the month about being thankful, it should not be singled in on just one day that you eat turkey until you enter a trytophan-induced sleeping coma. Let me enlighten you as to why today was a fabulous reminder to be thankful for the little things, but first a little background...

Once upon a time,

When we signed our lease in May, the landlord stated he was going to be putting in a new front stoop because the one that was present was a death trap to anyone who did not to the deep nooks and crannies of the sunken concrete mess. Well, it took until this past week for the contractors to show. Today was the day they were actively pouring and laying the concrete.

I was busily playing my second life's role as "kitchen diva" and making some quinoa and fish dinner later tonight. I turned the burner on to the high setting to get the water to boil faster. The contractors have been using our power source through an extension cord running from the 2nd story front window and we've been paying frequent visits to the fusebox in the creepy basement because my kitchen appliances can't keep up with the worker's power tools. So, our flat was built in the 1940's and still has very much of the same old charm, which can sometimes mean you need to keep doors shut in order to keep the place warm. I attempted to get my coffee pot to brew my normal cup o joe and it wouldnt turn on, therefore I knew it was time to run to the basement and check the fusebox. I left the quinoa on the burner to boil and closed the door behind to keep the heat in and ran down the stairs to fix the power. By the time i got back upstairs, to my chagrin, the kitchen door was locked. Oh joy. 

Puppy was loose in the house, pot was at a steady boil, and there i stood helpless outside the door. I no cell phone, shoes on, and i looked as though i rolled out of bed. My immediate reaction was to knock on the neighbor's door downstairs. No answer. I went outside to talk with the contractors to see if i could barrow a phone. They were up to their knees in concrete and the most help they could provide was letting me barrow one of their cell phones. So i have a phone, now what?! I haven't memorized any phone numbers since I was in 3rd grade talking to my friends on the landline... Luckily I talk with Joey frequently enough that I do know his phone number in my memory. He was working so all I could do was keep calling, hanging up, and recalling. After 9x's i decided to try and figure out the next plan of attack.... try to break into the neighbors garage and see if they had a ladder. FAIL. They are smart people for locking their doors!...

All i could think at this point was the fire dept would let me into my black and crispy kitchen from the burnt quinoa.... and poor Jordy probably would've been so afraid of the smoke and fire alarm he would've took a dump on the couch....i guess i was smart enough to have renter's insurance at this point... as i stood in the front yard in my socks watching the contractors pour concrete God sent me a sign. There was big white van with a large multistory ladder on atop the roof across the street driving slowly past the coffee shop. I think adrenaline took over cuz I don't know where I mustered up all the energy to do so, but i ran across the street on the cold Wisconsin November pavement and knock on the ladder man's window. He was on his phone. I will never once again take advantage of the midwestern folk's friendly charm! He rolled down his window, hung up on his current phone call, and asked me what the matter was. I explained to him I locked myself out and the only option at this point was to try and crawl through the front window where the extension cord from the contractors snaked up into our indoor outlet. I can only imagine he felt so very compelled for me with my squirrel's nest hairdo, muddy socks, and anticipation to NOT burn the house down. He parked and brought his magical ladder to the front yard with no hesitation aside these contractors. I ran to the garage to grab a baseball bat, just in case. 

I am so very thankful I did not inherit my dad's fear of heights because this would've been the most opportune time to be set up for failure. Also, I was thankful for having recently hiked at Wyalusing State Park and their very steep trails filled with ladders along the western Wisconsin bluffs. The magical ladder man offered himself to climb up and I said, "No thats ok, I will take care of this one!" I hiked my sweats up, put the bat through my front pocket on my hooded sweatshirt, hoisted myself up the ladder to the window. Luckily, i did not have to break a single thing, the screen and window slid smooth as butter right on up. Also, thank you to my mother for instilling the love for cardio within me because I was able to fit through the window. I did accidentally knock the fake tree by the window on to the chair , but thats the most damage done. Once I was safely within the window, i waved down to the ground and thanked the wonderful, magical ladder man for his services and bolted for the kitchen to get the quinoa off the burner.

To my surprise, the grains were cooked to perfection! Holy sheisse. I ran to my phone because i was receiving a call from Joey simultaneously. I plopped myself on the couch to take a breather and voice the whole story to my boyfriend. Wow, how freakin ridiculous. We both agreed it is necessary to have an extra set of keys made and placed for safe keeping for such instances. I think Joey was proud of me for: 

1. not breaking any glass 

2. not breaking into the neighbors garage

3. not burning down the house

I decided to finish up my original cooking and share my "being thankful" story for you fine people out there because it is something that can never be emphasized enough. I think this whole 15 minute time of panic, my little brother was smiling upon me from up above when that ladder miraculously appeared. I often times tell my patients "its never over, till its over- you have to keep fighting and hanging on to hope." I felt as though I actively lived what i preach this afternoon. 

As I am taking a break at work later this evening, I am going to enjoy the hellz out of my quinoa and fish while i inappropriately giggle at myself for the whole story of how my dinner came to be. Amidst a sigh of relief, I am so very thankful that there is someone up there keeping an eye out for my ironic and ridiculous antics. Someday when i meet God i know its going to go a little like this: we'll be at a slight distance from each other and we will both throw our heads back in hilarity. He will then proceed to tell me, "you were one of my special humans that brought many a smiles to my face." Story of my life.

Ultimately, my never-ending thanks to that random magical ladder man for not questioning my motives and spotting for me as I climbed up 2 stories to a flat just as I had left it.

Whew.

Take a moment and see what Mr Harry's class is thankful for (take special note of Jacob's illustration of his dog)

lounging

I am going to make this a quick and happy little post because it is getting a lil later and i do work early... Let my just recap how the perfect Sunday goes:

1. wake up at 11:30AM, after getting close to 12 hrs of sleep.
2. Make brunch with your best friend. Even better, its pancakes and bacon.
3. Watch an the Packers dominate, after attending the Badger game the day prior. Gosh i love wisconsin football.
4. Meander around Kohls with your 30% off coupon and go. to. town. Note: i NEVER go shopping- this is the first time since probably May and i only saved $150.
5. Froyo :)
6. Hug my two fave boys.
7. Recipe hunt on foodgawker and pinterest.
8.. Go to bed reminding myself that theres only 9 more days until i will be lying on the beach with Patty Slattery in another country :D

The older i get, the more i realize how much i enjoy lists. They are just so practical and really make a logical flow of thoughts. I very much have Hillary Johnson to thank for this one. If she could have her whole wall be a giant white board, she would fill it from ceiling to floor. There is just so much satisfaction is crossing off things from a list-- just such a visually stimulating pleasure. Sometimes i wake up and make a to-do list and i'll put tasks such as "brush teeth" and "enjoy coffee." It is completely and utterly setting yourself up for victory! Win-win-win-win-win.

A little smile cracker that happened today amongst the daily insanity of being a cardiac RN, one of the nephrologists called me specifically to tell me "You are a good nurse." Made me grin like kindergartener who just secretly stole 2 birthday treats and got away with it.

Ah yes, last inkling-- I am very proud of Joey. He took a job as the assistant HS boys swim coach at a school in Tosa. Can't wait to see the swim meets and watch him in his true element!

Well, if you've made it this far in the post, you are doing much better than i would've anticipated. I have a cute yellow lab lying on my feet and snoring away with another early morning to come. Good night world, you sure are a beautiful place, filled with beautiful people.

Shifting from the Graveyard

Just so everyone knows, I am aware that the title of this post does sound slightly morbid/halloweenish, but let me explain, this is my night off from working night shift the last 3 weeks. This only slightly skews your normality of what time of day it truly is...So what does one do when they have been awake for 6 hrs and its midnight???! Umm, of course you make a ranch pork loin in a dutch oven while watching reruns of 30 Rock :) Also note, I have to limit my movement because it is hard to keep quiet in a 1940's, creeky floored upper flat while your best friend and boyfriend are attempting to sleep. Oh life's challanges...

Now, what could i possibly blab to all you fine people out there about that is more exciting than going out and rocking out a great autumn Thursday?? I recently read my friend, Katie's, blog that talked about how narcissistic the idea of blogging is. So true. However, I  choose to write about my life experiences to hopefully enlighten my loved ones that they are in fact, very normal people when compared to Lauren Slattery. In layman's terms, i write to make people smile. And so it goes :)

I woke up on Sunday with a strange feeling of maturity. Maybe it was the fact that I am now in my "mid twenties" vs. the early??... The big 2-4, ha. I am still an infant in most of my everyday life. Have to wait one more year to legally rent a car. It was most definitely a type of birthday I learned something from. One of those that reminds you of how freakin fortunate and truly blessed person is. Without too much detail, a greater part of the weekend was spent on the road to attend a funeral and visiting family in the hospital. Tends to put a good perspective another year of life.

Individuals are all so hardwired to keep on the crazy, busy lifestyle-- and for what??! This is a huge pitfall of mine that I have been working on very intently since this summer. Let these words sink into your mind, "Stop the glorification of busy." Kinda says it all. Why does my 2-do list for the week have to get accomplished in 4 hours? I know I am fully capable, but is it worth it? What did I solve? Yes I felt so very productive, but the next day I end up lollygagging around and get nothing else done, pretty much because I have nothing to finish at that point in time. When you lay it out in words like this it makes my mind boggle. Maybe its the fault within my inner RN thinking (as well with many of my co-workers and friends), you get so involved with the care of other people- you can't remember the last time you peed.  Why did I ever make myself that busy, I enjoy things so much more when there's no pressure. Guess its will continue to be a work in progress--! at least its one I can seen myself advance in doing so.

There's some of my inner crainial inklings of my mind. I did get to celebrate a little birthday time on Friday night... actually it was how perfectly how I envisioned it. It was me, Melissa, and the boys. There was no for sure plans until about noon of the same day-- but it was the old Whitewater crew hanging out and just talking. We eventually meandered our way down the street to the British pub- it was perfect. Dancing with Mitch Kroll to Mungo Jerry, everyone toasting to good times and your birthday, constant laughter, my cuz Aaron's failed ipad, the typical 0300 Toppers delivery.... awesome memories.

I was at the dog park one afternoon and was talking with my posse of regulars. One of the guys adopted his puppy around the same time we got Jordy and we were discussing how impossible it seems to envision your life a month prior, without the pooch. There's nothing that makes me giggle more than watching a cold, wet dog nose make a shirtless Joey squirm... or memories of the first vet trip with Jordy being batted in the face by a cat and followed by taking a dump in the corner of the exam room. My favorite is coming home after a long work day to a dog who wags his whole body and can't even stay on his feet cuz he's so happy to see you. I sincerely hope I am as cool as my dog thinks I am :)

That's all i got for now. Do my a favor, and make sure you get out there and enjoy the orange and yellow trees. Its so flippin gorgeous this time of year!!

                                             (just to make you crack a smile)

feelin warm and fuzzy

Here are a few things during today that i immensely enjoy....
1. waking up at 11:30am
2. Talking with my mom on the phone
3. Going on a sip and stroll with the pooch with my pumpkin spice coffee
4. Enjoying the beautiful autumn colors on lake drive
5. watching the waves crash from up on the bluff in Joey's arms
6. Dark chocolate sea salt caramel bars from Trader Joe's
7. The count down on my smart phone says "35 more days" until vacay in Puerto Rico
8. a quiet afternoon house nap

If you couldn't tell, last night was my day off. Gosh, I sound so pathetic when i go to work for one day and all i can think about it my next day off, maybe thats called being fully adjusted to being an adult. Nonetheless, life is going just peachily. I can't believe its almost October, that means my birthday is a little over a week away. You're talking to a soon to be ancient aged woman here, the big 2-4. I still remember the day of my 10th bday. I had a great day at school, brought dirt cups for my bday treat, get off the bus with a big grin on my face to come home to my mom's note that said i had to mow the lawn.... on my double digit birthday.... i was only mildly depressed. Hopefully my 24th bday is a little better than my 10th. Thanks a lot mom, you're such a punk.

I don't understand how people could not love this time of year. I went camping at Gov Dodge State Park with my college crew last weekend and it was gorgeous out! Afternoon hikes with the dogs, gorgeous colors, grilled food, sitting by the fire at night, everyone attempting to stay warm... so relaxing. And just to make the week more exciting, nothing beats catching up on all the new season premieres of Grey's and The New Girl with a tie blanket and cup of warm chai :) booyah.

Overall, its been a pretty chill week just hanging at the crib. I am slowly developing my little posse of people at the dog park during the afternoon. Everyone there is so down to earth and in love with their dog, you know your always in good company. We've had Jordy almost 3 week too. He's a pretty darn well behaved pup thus far. He met his brother, Reggie, last weekend. Good times. Its so easy to tire him out and he sleep so well at night after that. I always hear "a tired dog is a well-behaved dog." No taking for granted! At this point, i am just blabbing so i am going to curl up on the couch and catch a snoozer here, but hope everyone's enjoying their day, stoked for the weekend, and at ease with life. If not, you can follow my rules as a nurse. I always tell my patients my 3 simple rules:
1. No falling
2. No fires.
3. Keep your clothes on.
Bottabing-bottaboom. 

 Peace out :)

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 :)