Moonshine & Wanderlust

... a cosmopolitan view from a southern perspective

A Southern Girl in Paris Part 1: Destination – Paris!

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Friday, May 22, 2015 @ 1:17pmEST – Atlanta, GA

I’m sitting in the Atlanta airport – North Terminal Gate T12. I smell ketchup… Someone near me is eating some nice greasy fries with a bucketload of ketchup. I’ve developed a highly trained sniffer these days. I can smell everything…. Well, everything bad. Grease, oil, sugar, salt… My stomach relives vicariously through my senses. 

This morning started out perfect…. Well, almost perfect. After a nice bedtime of 9:30pm I found myself waking up at 2am with a debilitating headache. First thought: brain tumor. Second thought: pulled muscle and need drugs. My neighbor and friend, AJ, is my go-to drug dealer for early morning/late night headaches since I can’t seem to manage to house any drugs in my home besides Pepto Bismal and prescribed veterinarian medicine. AJ brought the Mack daddy of pill bottles over and gave me a few extra for the road. Here’s hoping it works. 

Speaking of drugs, I know not to make the same mistake of taking Dramamine before an international flight in hopes of sleeping. My last experience was not a memorable one – eight hours of feeling wired to the gills and high as a kite. No Dramamine for me. Just a prayer I can sleep as I arrive in Paris first thing Saturday morning and will hit the ground running. Who needs sleep anyways? 

Paris… City of Love, City of Light. Paris… Butter and bread. Croissants and crepes. Coffee and cheese. All the wine. Museums and Monet. I’m no stranger to solo traveling, but this will be my first time traveling solo overseas. I feel… at peace. Content. Ready. I am going to visit my friend, A, who is nannying in France. She has planned three days of fun…. I am just ready to be there. 

Dad picked me up and we headed to our favorite place – Starbucks – before I literally ran through Publix to purchase the biggest box of strawberry Pop Tarts to join the boxes of Sour Patch Kids in my luggage – A’s only request when I asked her what I could bring over with me. Speaking of Dad, he went straight Liam Neeson on me wanting any and all contact info.      

We got to the shuttle with a couple minute to spare… Time for ussies and hugs and promises to be safe. First time I’ve felt emotional about my trip. I hate goodbyes… even just for a few days. 

  
Our shuttle group had the sweetest driver, James – a retired railroad worker and Navy veteran who drives shuttles every now and then to get him out of the house. His wife appreciates it, he said. We had a van full of other international travelers and everyone was helping everyone else with questions. None of us were really sure if I should leave out of Domestic or International. After incorrectly going to International, I hopped in the front seat with James and we chewed spearmint gum and he told me a little about himself while he drove me back to the Domestic terminal. 

I have two plane changes – one in DC and one in Montreal. My first time in Canada! 

By now I’m very familiar with the Atlanta airport so I took my time getting through security and to my gate… All with 20 minutes to spare before boarding time! I’m not a big fan of waiting around an airport terminal. Coming back is gonna be a long day as I have a 3 hour layover in Montreal. Don’t think I’m not wondering if that’s enough time to get out and go see something. 

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I’m now in our plane… It’s really nice. Not a “puddle jumper” as my Mom likes to call the smaller planes. Although having access to the power outlets would be pretty sweet. First Class Probz. Aaand, I just remembered I forgot to exchange my money. Meh. I am sandwiched in between four children but hey… If I had a kid I’d want them to be little travelers, too. Or, maybe they just couldn’t find a babysitter. 

Next stop? DC! 

  
Friday, May 22, 2015 @ 4:17pmEST

I’m sitting in the Dulles airport being stared at pretty heavily by a man. He’s got dark hair and bright laughing eyes and dimples. He’s about 3 feet tall and sipping on a Captain America sippy cup. I don’t think it would work out though… I think he was just attracted to the pita chips I had in my lap. 

Unfortunately, between my writing the above paragraph and coming back later to finish it, Captain America became a little less charming. His mommy was kissing the wet tater tot crumbs off his mouth in between chasing him around the gate and letting his scream in the floor. Very progressive. And, across from me sat an electronic device screaming “Let it Go Let it Go”. Something about got let go… my sanity. 
In good news, I got a seat upgrade! Pays to travel solo when you’re surrounded by couples and families. In bad news, I was seated next to a nice portly gentleman who somehow melted part of himself into my seat so I was nestled up in the fetal position. Remember, I don’t like being touched by strangers. And, bless him… Within 5 minutes of boarding he was sawing big logs. That’s what earbuds are for, my friends! 
Friday, May 22nd, 2015 @ 6:45ish – Montreal, Canada
Unfortunately, between my writing the above paragraph and coming back later to finish it, Captain America became a little less charming. His mommy was kissing the wet tater tot crumbs off his mouth in between chasing him around the gate and letting his scream in the floor. Very progressive. And, across from me sat an electronic device screaming “Let it Go Let it Go”. Something about got let go… my sanity. 

In good news, I got a seat upgrade! Pays to travel solo when you’re surrounded by couples and families. In bad news, I was seated next to a nice portly gentleman who somehow melted part of himself into my seat so I was nestled up in the fetal position. Remember, I don’t like being touched by strangers. And, bless him… Within 5 minutes of boarding he was sawing big logs. That’s what earbuds are for, my friends! 
Friday, May 22nd, 2015 @ 6:45ish – Montreal, Canada
Hardly any time to do anything in Montreal but priorities? Food. I was able to finally exchange my money and get a quick bite to eat before boarding my flight to Charles de Gaulle.

Cost of “healthy” airport pizza with spinach and artichoke hearts and pine nuts and bell peppers? $16

Cost of Evian water? $3

Cost of cramps you get from said pizza at 2AM in the morning sandwiched in between two other plane passengers? Priceless.

  
Next time someone needs to remind me it is worth the extra money to spend for a window seat if I can’t pick it ahead of time. I always get the window and to end up in the middle during a six and a half hour flight when you’ve got intestinal problems is not fun. TRUST. ME. 

Saturday, May 23rd, 2015 @ 9:45amCEST- Paris,  France 

Arrived!

Part 2 Coming Soon! 

                                                                           Until next time, xoxo patty lauren 

Do Any of Us Mean What We Say Anymore

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Words. They can be beautiful. They can portray happiness, love, sadness, passion, anger… We have so much power within our tongue. And, take it from me – once it flies out you can’t take it back. We have the ability to hurt, to comfort, to love, to humor, to breakdown, to destroy, to humiliate, to set on fire – all with our words.

We all talk too much. We’re too busy talking or filling the air with meaningless words we forget words are only a piece of what makes up our intentions. I love words, of course. I enjoy writing them, I enjoy thinking of things to say to illicit reactions, responses… it’s much more fun to write when you’re not doing it because you “have” to. It becomes easy. It becomes so easy it’s dangerously simple to have a diatribe of words and nothing to back it up.

Nothing to show you care. Nothing to show you mean what you say. Nothing to back up what you say – who you are. We’re all guilty of saying “Let’s get together!”, “I’ll call you soon!”, “I miss you!”… And, yet… we never get together. We never call. We don’t go see the person we miss. We have become hollow words.

This is probably going to be a terrible example but I’m going to use it anyway because it makes sense. I’ve always been the girl the guys like to have as their friend. They tell me their woman problems, they jab me in the side when something funny happens, they ask me for advice. Someone once told me guys are intimidated of me… Maybe some are but the ones worth dating aren’t. So… yeah! Anyway, this is not about my dating life. This is about the fact that because I have, at times, had the “inside track” on how men work and they all say the same thing when it comes to doing things… if they really want to do something, they do it. You don’t have to twist their arm, you don’t have to beg them, you don’t have to wonder what’s going on. If they want to ask you out, they will. If they miss you, they’ll tell you. It’s not usually a “muddy” scenario. Women don’t seem to grasp this. At all. It’s not hard!! Hell, I have a hard time remembering it and I’ve been told first hand that and a lot of other gory details. Gosh, maybe this is turning into a dating post. Anyway…

So I say that to say… when we really want to do something we do it. We’re all that way – not just men. We should mean what we say and we should follow through with it. I’m terrible at returning phone calls. Horrible. So, I don’t tell people I am going to call them unless I am going to pick up the phone then or very soon and actually call them. Some people don’t care if you follow through with your words or not, but most of us do. And, if you’re friends with someone or you care about someone – you will follow through. You will show them you care and you’re making an effort. Because relationships – all of them – are a two way street. If you haven’t heard from someone in awhile and you’re sitting around thinking, “Well, I’m going to let them call me.” Please don’t be that person. We all have been at some point but maybe they’re waiting for you to call? Maybe they think you don’t care? Don’t always make it about yourself.

Actions. They take time. They take dedication. They take selflessness. They’re not as easy to demonstrate as words. They are the tangible body of our literary creations – whether they are simple or complicated. They are who we are.

Humans need to stop playing games with each other. Life doesn’t need to be so complicated. If you miss someone, tell them. If you love them, tell them. Stop waiting for the perfect moment. Stop being scared. Stop being petty. Stop being selfish. In the words of Nike: JUST DO IT.

 

The Windy City Diaries Part 1

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Part 1

At the present moment I am writing this blog from our hotel, The Park Hyatt. I really can’t say enough amazing things but more about that later. They are in the process of fetching me (I love that word – fetching) some batteries for my wireless keyboard but any on-the-go writer knows it’s a pain in the you-know-where to finger type on your portable device.

So… Chicago! Like any good story I will start at the beginning. My dad, who I haven’t written a whole lot about on M&W (but that’s about to change – he’s been warned!) is an amazing person. My mom and I are so lucky to have him in our lives. I can’t really say enough nice and good things about him except for he is a wonderful man and anyone lucky enough to have him in their lives are immensely blessed. He’s shown me the epitome of selflessness, unconditional love, humor, grace… the things he does for others no one else will know about it because he’s too humble to say. I could never be an actress because I can’t cry on command but when I think about my Dad and how much I love him and all of the things he has done for our family… Waterworks. One of my coworkers would always say, “He is going to make it really hard for some man to live up to!” Isn’t that the way it should be? Dads play such a huge role in their daughters lives… Major. I’m beyond fortunate – of course I’m biased but if you’re reading this and you know my Dad I think you’ll agree he’s a pretty cool guy.

Anyway, out of the rabbit hole! I had been wanting to visit Chicago for awhile and the only thing keeping me from taking the trip myself was the fact Dad had been here before several times and I knew he would like to probably go, too, and it would be a fun father-daughter trip.

The opportunity to go finally came in the way of the NRA Show (no, not the National Rifle Association although that is what I thought when I got sent the ticket information. This NRA Show is the National Restaurant Association Show which basically boils down to… FREE FOOD SAMPLES. Just kidding. But, I swear some people just bought the $50 tickets to gorge on free samples of lobster and cheesecake and beef and alcohol for three days. Whatever floats your boat, man. More about the show later.

Our trip started Saturday afternoon but I was up way before time running hill sprints at 6:30AM. One point for early morning dedication because I was about to blow it with the deep dish pizza I had been lusting after in my dreams.

While flying out of Chattanooga is well and great it is not what I’m used to so I found myself having to slow my roll. I found myself driving way too fast to get to a destination we had plenty of time to be at and I also found myself stripping my clothes way too early in the TSA line while everyone else just mosied along and slowly undid their belts and slowly took off their shoes and slooooowly went through the line. It’s just completely different from Atlanta. I can’t tell you how many cans of dry shampoo I’ve gotten through Atlanta (jk?) but somehow I don’t think that would fly in Chattanooga. Too much time = extra thoroughness.

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I’m a one bag traveler. Ready to go!

 

I think the whole ordeal threw off my travel mojo as I then started dropping all matter of crap on the floor and had to have people help me pick it up. Struggle. I get worked up before trips and sometimes get a little ADD. We made it through security (not without Dad getting pulled aside for using his middle name as his legal name. He’s never gotten over the fact his middle name is what he’s known by instead of his first legal name. It was entertaining – I was amused, he wasn’t. Typical.)

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I get my inner nerd and tech loving ways from my Pops

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Ready for takeoff!

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one of my weird little habits… I also have to have a tomato juice with ice when I fly (I NEVER drink it any other time!)

 

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But, first… let’s take an ussie and be white girls and get our Sbux cups, too.

 

We arrived in Chicago Saturday afternoon and much to my pleasant surprise, he announced we would be being “adventurous” and taking the train. Music to my ears! I love me some public transportation while traveling. The train took us down into the city where we had our first Uber experience. And, I use the term experience genuinely. With Uber you can track the location of your arriving ride on your phone. You even get a picture of your driving and their cell phone number! It’s the Tinder of transportation! Well, we saw one, two, three rides go by we thought was ours: “Here he comes. Aaand, nevermind.” So we stood outside for about 30 minutes waiting on our ride only to realize someone-who-shall-remain-nameless put in the wrong address.

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perfect time to take some more ussies!

 

A few things I first noticed about Chicago – it is nothing like New York City! I guess I was expecting another NYC type atmosphere but Chicago could not be further from the city. There is grass, there are flowers, there are tall buildings but you’re not surrounded by humongous skyscrapers so big you feel utterly consumed. People were SO NICE. Men opened doors for ladies and everyone said “please” and “thank you” and “excuse me”. No one was blaring their horn in the street too much. No yelling at pedestrians. It was SO CLEAN. I’d been prepared for machetes in the streets after knowing Chicago is so crime ridden but I didn’t see any of that. It was not what I expected at all and that was a good thing. Of course, it’s never good to expect anything out of life period because what does expectation get us? That’s right, let’s all say it together… disappointment -playing worlds smallest violin- However, that wasn’t the case in this story.

We found a Jamba Juice on the way to the hotel… a must when any of my family travels. We love our Jamba Juice.

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We arrived at the Park Hyatt and got settled in. Everything about the hotel was perfect. The staff, the room, the view, the amenities, the location. We were on the 15th floor and it overlooked The Water Tower and Lake Michigan. My favorite thing about the room was the seating area in front of the big picture window.

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isn’t that beautiful?!

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I spent a nice amount of time reading in front of the bay window and having the windows open. Which, apparently, I’m not old enough to do on my own. I laid down on the seat and got my iPad to read the rest of Gone Girl and I opened up the little window to hear the city noise and get some fresh air. I also took the screen off so I could see outside without being restrained by the black netting. That’s when I was rudely met with:

“Put the screen back on that window!!”

“Uh, why? I want to see outside without the screen in my way.”

“Knowing you, you’ll drop your damn phone out of it.”

I can’t even.

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“the window”

 

The bathroom (you all know how I like my bathrooms) was gorgeous… I think we both were pretty geeked it had a TV in it, too! But, that wasn’t my favorite part… Upon visiting the restroom I was perusing my surroundings when I saw a telephone on the wall. I mean, why does anyone really need a telephone in the bathroom?  “Help, I’m out of toilet paper!” (Okay, that would probably be me so nevermind.)

I picked up the phone and dialed the room. *Ring Ring*

“Hello?” (I thought for sure he would know it was me)

“I can call you from the bathroom!”

“You’re retarded” *CLICK*

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Giordano’s
Since I’m pretty well-versed in the proper way to use Pinterest and like to use it to my advantage while traveling, Dad let me recommend some places to eat. Saturday night led us to a pizza place I had read a lot of amazing things about – Giordanos. The wait just for your pizza is typically around 45 minutes. However, when you put your name on the waiting list you can go ahead and order your food so the time is reduced. We went with a traditional stuffed Chicago style pepperoni pizza and two caesar salads. The salads were just enough until the main dish.

OH. MY. GOD. Okay, so some people know this about me but my favorite food is pizza. I love it. Feed me pizza and pet me and be sweet to me and that’s all I ask, honestly. I haven’t had pizza in months so I was really, really, reeeeally looking forward to this. And, it was everything I could have hoped for… perfection. The pepperoni were snuggled under a thick layer of cheese which was topped with the most perfect sauce and baked into the most crispy, hard, thick crust. I found my true love pizza match. Good thing you can also get it shipped to your house, right?! #christmasgiftideas

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THIS IS FOOD PORN YA’LL!

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I’m gonna need a moment alone with my pizza…

 

After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel.

“What time is it?” Dad asked.
“7:45pm”
“What a bunch of losers”

It was at some point in this conversation he proceeds to say something like:

“You’re going to be 31 this year.”

“No, I’m not! I just turned 30! Thirty one isn’t until next year.” 

“Whatever. Same thing. I’m getting older and I want you to feel like I feel.”

Like… what do you even say to that? He kills me.

—

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The Park Hyatt has a fantastic spa and fitness area on their 7th floor so I decided to check out the pool when we got back to the hotel. Lucky for me no one else was in there so I had the whole place to myself. The pool is a lap pool but a great size to accommodate several swimmers. I made a couple of laps and found myself sunk down in the jacuzzi. I could see part of the Chicago skyline, it’s quiet… relaxing. It was a good way to end my first day in the Windy City.

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And, just because it was funny I decided to text Dad an SOS for the directions to our room since he thought I was inept earlier in the evening:

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until part 2… xoxo, patty lauren

 

For the Days of Weakness

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 “In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”  – Gordon Hinckley
I am tired. I feel like this guy:
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This whole week has been exhausting. From the busiest season of my “real job” to GK running away from me to and straight into traffic to last night’s 911 call because I was sure my house was being broke into and everything else in between I’m just pooped.
I need to go camping. I need to be outside. I need to be at the beach. I need to just go take a long drive on some long road with the windows down and the music up and just relax. I need a lot of things. Yes, I’ve gone lots of places this year and yes I am about to go a couple more but I need some grounding time. I feel like I have output so much and there’s not been a lot of input. I’ve recently learned the importance of feeding my body after a workout so what about the feeding of everything else when you feel absolutely depleted? It’s a fine balance. I tend to swing hard one way or another when I’m working towards something so I think I’m hitting that wall with a needed outlet.
I’ve spent most of this week thinking about throwing together a bag, getting a tent and just going somewhere one night after work to regroup. Once this month settles down I think I’m going to make a pact with myself to just get away one night during the week and go somewhere and just re-lax.
Everyone is busy. We are all busy. We’re too busy for each other, we’re too busy to have fun, we’re too busy to go after our goals/dreams… As important it is to push yourself and do your thing and work hard and do the grind of life it’s just as important to slow down once in awhile and recharge. If you don’t recharge you’re going to end up depleted and frazzled and frustrated. If you are being depleted by negative sources – cut them off. Your sanity and your spirit depends on it.
Acknowledge how far you’ve come. Even if you are the only one who sees it. Give yourself some space to breathe. Be kind to yourself. Appreciate what’s outside of comfort zone. Take time to find peace with where you are and what you are doing. It’s OK to slow down.
until next time… xoxo, patty lauren

Finding Your Roar

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Over a year ago I wrote a post with this quote:

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

The post had a lot to do with me getting into running and races, etc. I also mentioned that I felt like the gazelle in the above quote on most days. Not anymore. These days I don’t just feel like a lion I am the lion. I’m still a baby lion but I wake up every morning ready to run life. This is probably going to be a mix of a couple different things today but hopefully it will all come together at the end.

I stopped running sometime in the middle of 2014. I’m not going to get into the whys and hows because it really doesn’t matter – the point is I stopped. I wasn’t running with lions… I was running with gazelles and it made it way easier to quit. I’m not a quitter by nature but sometimes when you get too comfortable/complacent/frustrated with life that switch in your brain that says “feed me all the pasta and Netflix” switches. Anyone have that switch? I did. I killed it. Okay, not really… I’ve found a good balance of downtime and grind time but I can count the days on two hands I’ve had “down time” in the past two plus months. Which is craaaaazy because as one of my friends recently put it, whenever they asked me what I was doing I said, “Oh, just playing with my dog and listening to my record player.” I mean… it’s kinda true.

People who know me have heard me say I need my “introvert time” but it’s just crazy how I need so much less of it now. I work, I go to the gym or go train, and I sleep. And, I write. I think it makes the down time moments that more special. It makes me appreciate taking the time to slow down and just let go and relax. I have been going a lot of places but that just goes hand in hand with me saying yes to doing as much as I can. I want to do so much this summer I can’t even stand it!! Time is a wastin’! Come the end of this month that Bucket List is going to start getting busted.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve stopped or you’ve been working on your goals for years… if you do not have the drive and the dedication to want what you are working towards more than anything you will get burned out because none of it is easy. You will want to quit and there will be circumstances around you that will make it easy to quit. You will falter and give up because you feel like you have failed. People will constantly try to bring you down and you will be tempted to let them. You will get tired.

Life is every day. Your goals are every day. What you want is every single day. And, it’s hours of your days. As cheesy as it sounds this is your lifestyle. THIS IS YOUR LIFE. Nobody is gonna take your butt to the gym, nobody is going to take that cannoli out of your mouth when you’re bored and eating for the sake of eating, nobody is going to slap you when you’re being a bitch (okay they might but it’s not going to teach you anything), nobody is going to lift your two hands and put them around someone who needs a hug or help, nobody is going to physically move your body to sit next to someone who just needs you to be there for them. It’s all on you, baby.

A common misconception is that once you reach a certain goal you are finished. Ummmmmm… no. Sure, you will get to a place where you are satisfied or you’ve reached a certain achievement but then what… you’re just going to stop? NO. You keep going! The lion doesn’t stop or it’s going to starve. Until I’m cold and dead in the ground I am not stopping what I’m doing. I have been blessed with health and a body that is capable of more than I even know and I can’t imagine not living every day of my life pushing myself.

That’s why it’s so important to run with other lions if you want to be a lion. You must surround yourself with people who are working just as hard as you are. It doesn’t have to be the same goals but running with people who are going just as hard or harder than you is vital. I have so much to learn and so much I want to learn I have recognized I can’t do it alone. I don’t want to do it alone.

You will lose some people along the way – they won’t understand the time, the commitment, the struggle, the joys. And, it’s okay. It doesn’t mean they’re bad people it just means they can’t go with you on this journey. Maybe they will leave you forever or maybe they will watch from the sidelines for awhile. You will find or reconnect with those that have that passion and it will be better than the mediocre you settled for before. It’s your job to keep moving forward. To continually better yourself. Honestly, I think I’m a lot more fun to be around now than I was before and it’s been a game changer. You will attract like minded people to you when you are pursuing who you want to be.

Stay focused. Keep moving. The rest will fall into place, I promise. It takes time but anything worth having or doing is going to take time. It will always be worth the persistence and patience.

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