So much to catch up on!!!

Sorry I have been M.I.A. lately in terms of this blog.  But there's been a lot going on since the last post.  Since then, I have left Monroe Clinic's Labor & Delivery unit (I spent a total of a month there and that was enough) due to the fact that I discovered I hate placentas and cervixes and pretty much everything having to do with the labor & delivery process, that I missed oncology greatly, and that certain rural MDs do not like their RNs to be experts in their field or question something that concerns them or have an opinion about anything.  Needless to say, I did not enjoy that and felt that I was not doing myself or the nursing profession justice by staying there.  Fortunately the nursing director there was very understanding and validated my concerns and wished me well.  So since July I have been back at UW in the outpatient chemotherapy clinic, where I belong :)  Plus now I never have to work weekends or holidays again, and no more night shift!!!  All in all, a really fortuitous ending to a few worrisome months... 

     Kenny is still at Sara Lee, and enjoying his EMS classes in hopes of becoming a paramedic at some point in the near future.  Our other big news... we found out in June that we are having a BABY!!!  Tate Cleaver Winkelhake is due on February 5, 2010, and we couldn't be happier.  I thank my lucky stars that I have felt great the entire time, with the exception of some nasty sciatica.  But my chiropractor is my best friend :)  Below are some belly pics from when I was 20 weeks along, and his ultrasound pics.  Sorry some of you have already seen these in a prior email.  

The first u/s pic is his two little feet together, the next is a profile shot where it appears he's blowing kisses, and the last is the "gender" pic.  Sorry they're so tiny...

We've been working on the nursery lately, and here are a few pics so you can see what we've been up to.  My in-laws and Kenny surprised me one evening by having the crib put together when I got home from work.  I found some great wall decals to put up behind the crib; the saying is "Guess how much I love you?", and I thought it would be cute to make it look like a plane was pulling the saying behind it like a banner:

Back in July one of my close friends from grade school and H.S. visited before returning home to Mexico!  Kim and I had fun going to the farmer's market on the Capitol Square and checking out New Glarus, among other things!  It was great to see her, but she had important work to get back to in Mexico, helping her sister's autism clinic incorporate new neurofeedback equipment into its therapies.  She bought me some beautiful flowers I couldn't resist posting a pic of:

Here she is in New Glarus at the Maple Leaf Cheese and Chocolate Haus, then the New Glarus Brewery:

My sister came up in September for a weekend visit, and you can tell we stayed really busy.  In her defense, Zoey is a great snuggler and convinces many people to nap with her:

We also checked out the farmer's market while she was here, and I found these gorgeous flowers, that included cabbage leaves and something that looked like coral from an ocean reef:

Well, I think that's about it... there are lots of parties and gatherings in the next few months so hopefully I'll have lots more to post!  Until then, love and peace to all of you!

Meredith

IRELAND!!!

We are finally back in Madison for good!!!  Hallelujah!  I am accepting a position as a Labor & Delivery nurse at the Monroe Clinic (near our 3 acres in New Glarus), and Kenny is starting back up at Sara Lee.  We had an amazing 8-day trip to Ireland, and I might have gone overboard with the photo-taking...500 photos.  Don't worry, I will not post them all here.  But Ireland was beautifully green and clean, and the people were welcoming and friendly.  The only crazy thing was learning to drive a manual car on the left side of the road, shifting with my left hand, and handling all the roundabouts they have there.  But now I can officially say I am at least proficient at it!  Kenny was quickly demoted to passenger after our first near-death experience while he was driving :)  Needless to say, I cannot describe all the wonderful things we experienced and saw, but here are a handful of favorite photos from our trip!  

Here we're at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, where we toured the facility and got a free pint!

We did a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Dublin, and one of the stops was St. Stephen's Green, basically a huge park in the middle of the city with beautiful courtyards and flower gardens.

This is St. Patrick's Cathedral, the most famous in Ireland.

The day we left Dublin, we drove south through Glendalough (pronounced Glendalock), which has a beautiful ancient monastic community.  This also happened to be near where they filmed part of Braveheart!  Above you can see one of the old stone churches, dating back to the 6th century!

After Glendalough, we drove further south to Kilkenny, my favorite town, which had great narrow streets with colorful shops and a stunning castle, Kilkenny Castle.  It just had a fantastic energy and atmosphere.

Here is the countryside just outside of Kilkenny, after we left to continue south to Kinsale, a village on the southern coast.

Kinsale is a very upscale seaside town that many Irish go to on "holiday".  Great little shops and restaurants, and beautiful views.  But a bit touristy.

We stayed just outside Kinsale in a very welcoming and comfortable B & B, run by the cutest couple ever, who we conversed with about Obama, the broken healthcare systems here and there, and made fast friends with their two dogs.  It made us miss Zoey quite a bit.  The cliffs above are near the B & B, and I think they rival the Cliffs of Moher in their beauty.

After we left our cute little B & B in Kinsale, we bypassed Cork but stopped at the Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone, which is purported to give its kissers eloquence!  I don't think it rubbed off on us :)  Kenny is hiding in the bottom right hand corner of this pic.

After leaving the Blarney Stone, we headed to Killarney, another great town near the famed Ring of Kerry, a scenic loop that passes through mountains, valleys and along the western coast as well.  It was by far the most beautiful and picturesque drive I've ever been on, and people say the views epitomize the various landscapes that Ireland is known for.  Above is a spot just outside Killarney.  Those yellow flowers are all over Ireland, and can you believe they're weeds?  The farmers hate them.

This was about halfway through our Ring of Kerry tour, where we had breathtaking views of the Atlantic and the Aran Islands.

We headed to Lisdoovarna after leaving Killarney, which was close to the above Cliffs of Moher.  The Cliffs are gorgeous and intimidating, especially with the plaque there that honors those lost at the Cliffs.  There is a path that continues past the "official" trail, and it is dangerously close to the edge.  We did not venture past the "Danger" sign, although many others did.

Our last planned stop was the Cliffs of Moher, so we headed back east across the country toward Dublin and our flight home.  Along the way we stopped at Clonmacnoise, another famous monastic settlement, which was the home of a prominent Christian sect from 500-1000 A.D.  They apparently were known as a great center of knowledge for hundreds of years, until the Vikings pillaged them relentlessly and they fell to ruin.  Amazing sights; we kept busy from dawn until dusk each day and cannot have asked for a better trip!  We highly recommend everyone to see Ireland, and if you need any suggestions or trip info we have tons!!!

Take care and Happy Spring!

Meredith

Grand Canyon!

So on our way home from Tucson, we went up through Flagstaff and stopped at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.   We were planning on camping overnight there, but there was an unexpected blizzard and luckily we found a pet-friendly hotel at the last minute!  The Grand Canyon is breathtaking, and these pics don't do it justice... but I hope you can get a glimpse of how beautiful it is!  We're glad to be home now, and excited about a few job prospects that have presented themselves, but keep your fingers crossed for us that they work out and we can stay in Madison!!!

XOXO Mere

Winter in Tucson

I've been lazy in terms of not posting anything in a while, but we've been busy!  Here's what we've been up to in the last couple months!!!  These first pics are from early February when it snowed in the mountains and almost snowed in town, which apparently was a REALLY big deal to the Tucsonans... lots of people reportedly drove up the mountain in their pick-up trucks and loaded their beds with snow so they could drive it back down and show their kids, who have never seen snow :)  

Adriane came to visit in mid-February; here she is hiking in the Catalina Foothills!  We basically vegged out a lot and sat by the pool, although we did catch a drag queen show and took a shopping trip to Nogales, Mexico one day :)  We were tempted to bring a few puppies back from Mexico with us...but we were strong and resisted!

In early March, Kenny and I headed up to Mesa, AZ to catch a spring training game against the AZ Diamondbacks!  Unfortunately the Cubbies got slaughtered...but it was a beautiful day and we ate lots of bad stadium food.

Just a few miles from our apt in Tucson there's a kick-ass street we found one day while running errands...I just had to document its existence!

My Mom & Dad came to visit in March, and we saw more on their visit than in our entire time here thus far!  We went to the Pima Air & Space Museum, the Kartchner Caverns down in Benson, AZ,  the Sonora Desert Museum,  the Saguaro National Park, Sabino Canyon, the San Xavier Mission, & the Catalina State Park!  They also went and checked out the South American butterfly exhibit at the Tucson Botanical Gardens.  We were all pretty worn out by the end of their visit!  This first pic is a little red wolf at the Sonora Desert Museum:

Also at the Desert Museum, this bobcat just posed so nicely for me:

Fat little groundhog sunning himself:

The San Xavier Mission is beautiful, dubbed the "Dove of the Desert".   It's just south of Tucson on the San Xavier Indian Reservation.  It's currently undergoing massive renovation to restore both the interior and exterior.  The Native Americans there set up tents just outside of the mission and sell frybread drenched in honey and powdered sugar.  Awesome.

 

Kenny and Zoey snuggling in our temporary sleeping quarters while Mom & Dad visited:

Mom & Dad are ready to hike down Sabino Canyon, almost 2.5 miles back to the parking lot!  (I have no idea why this is underlined, and for the life of me, I can't fix it)

And here they are catching the sunset at Gates Pass!

Yay for family visits!  We were sad to see them go.  Next up: our trip to Ireland!!!  I will definitely take lots of pics and post them as soon as we get back!  Our time in Tucson is almost done; it seems we'll be heading to either Seattle or Chicago next...but we're holding out hope to return home to Madison, if jobs miraculously appear there!

Take care,

Meredith

Exploring Tucson!

We've been busy!  First of all, the craziest thing about living here in Tucson is all the animals they have wandering around...I saw these bobcats right outside our window (not ocelots as I am informed by my vet siblings).  I have also heard the coyotes howling in the middle of the night on the golf course behind our apt.  It does make me sad, though, since this most likely indicates they are being pushed out of their homes...

Next, we visited Sabino Canyon on the NE side of Tucson and hiked up Bear Canyon to the 7 Falls area.  So beautiful, the 6+ mile hike was worth it!

Lastly, we visited the Tucson Botanical Gardens and checked out the African butterfly exhibit.  I could have filled up my memory card just with these butterflies; they were stunning.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Yes, I am a beautiful butterfly...A Bug's Life, anyone?  The big fat caterpillar, Heimlich?  All right, I'm out.  Time for Superbowl Sunday!!!

XOXO,

Mere