Kinanes in California

California!!!

Finally, the west coast!!

This trip spawned from both Jimmy and I being stressed to the max.

One day he came home and without even saying 'hello' to me blourts out,

"On your Spring Break you wanna go to Sonoma?"

My reply was quick, "YES! Can we leave now?!?!"

Well after finding some amazing deals on flights, hotel, and a rental car; our trip was booked!

We flew into San Fransisco on the 26th.

When we landed we then had an hour and a half drive to Sonoma County.

When we finally got to the hotel it was bedtime so we'd be ready to play the next day!

Jimmy had planned our first day in California.

After a little drive around where we were staying and found Virginia's version of Shonney's; Sherrie's.

ah, breakfast!

After breakfast we planned a trip to Safari West.

It was really amazing!!

We took these huge safari trucks all over a wildlife preserve in the middle of wine country!!

How cool is that!!!

Here are a few pics that were my favorites...

(to see some more pics you can check out my facebook page :])

One of the male giraffes. There were only 2 males but quite a few females.

I name this 'Lost'. There were several adult zebras and 2 baby zebras.

That night we ate at the hotel's restaurant and had a delicious dinner.

The next day we chose to do some wineries in Sonoma County so we spent the day in Healdsburg.

We started at J Vineyards and then proceeded to Rodney Strong (which was right next door).

Then we went to Family Wineries; which is a co-op of six vineyards.

We originally went there to taste Forth Winery but ended up falling in love with all the wineries!

A few of my favorite shots from our second day...

J Vineyards

Rodney Strong

Kokomo Vineyards

After our wine day in Sonoma County we decided to have a chill day.

So we were told by many locals to check out Bodega Bay.

And they didn't steer us wrong.

It was only a 25 minute drive west and what we saw was completely worth it!

Some of the favorites...

Don't mind Jimmy's "beard" but hey we are on the west coast!

So freaking beautiful!!

On our last full day in California we saved the best for last; NAPA!

We went to so many different wineries. Grgich Hills. Folie a Duex. Napa Cellars. Hess. And of course Hendry!

Hendry is the reason I got into wine.

The first bottle of wine I had that changed my experience with wine was Hendry's Block 4&5 Pinot Noir.

Sooo, being in Napa we had to stop into Hendry.

The hitch is; it is by appointment only.

We called. Got no call back. So we just chanced it and hoped for the best.

And by the luck of it all they sat down with us and did a personal tasting right in front of their wine room!!!

It was an AMAZING trip!!!

And was so happy to have spent it with Jimmy!!!!!

When we were heading to the airport in San Fran we got to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge!!

So just a little scenery I will leave you with...

My Funny Valentine

It's all about love...

He may not be tall.
He may not be tan.
And he definitely doesn’t have “The Situation’s” abdominals.
But he is my idea of perfect!

In honor of Valentine’s Day this post is ALL about LOVE!!!

The picture posted above was taken when Jimmy and I first met (look at how young we look!).
Jimmy and I have an ongoing infatuation with each other. Simple. Pure. Honest.
Our love is still considered young but I feel like my heart was waiting for him to come into my life all along.

I feel blessed to have a husband that is such a positive force in my life!
Jimmy Kinane you are AMAZING, no strike that PHEUNOMINAL!!

So cheers to all the husbands, boyfriends and fiancés that love your women whole heartedly without judgment or “just cause”!

(oh yeah and MY husband is the all time BEST husband EVER!!!)

Word Salad

I honestly had no clue about what to name this post because it covers so much. I stared at a blank screen for roughly twenty minutes before it came to me.

Word Salad.

Word Salad seemed to fit.

Word Salad: a mixture of random words, while arranged in phrases that appear to give them meaning, actually carry no significance.

While my thoughts carry significance, they are coming at me so fast it's like driving on the wrong side of 264 and I just cannot seem to process the information in a constructive manner.

Just for you all I did my best to organize my thoughts as best I could:

Thought #1

Baby making is tough.

Yes, we are just in the beginning process.

But all the "prep" to get to the baby making is already making me anxious.

(There is a list of annoyances in this thought so it gets bullets!!!)

*Daily Temperatures

Taking your temperature every morning @ the same time, typing it into computer, assessing [how do I put this lightly...] ones self. A great tool that has assisted me with this is fertilityfriend.com check it out if you are on the path to procreation.

*Vitamins

I HATE vitamins!!! They make me sick to my stomach and I am not even pregnant! Then even finding one I can take is a battle. Most vitamin companies use gluten as a filler in their vitamins. So finding a prenatal vitamin that is of a chewable nature and does not include gluten was a less than desirable task. Now bring on the Iron. Due to my wonderful genetics I am massively anemic, so they are a MUST for me and the future Kinane.

*Decrease in the Vino

Well apparently according to "some" doctors women who are trying to get pregnant should limit their alcohol intake. No more beer, fine. No more liquor, no problem. No more vino? AHHHHH.

This baby may never get made. That is actually really horrible of me to say.

But hey we all have to make sacrifices for our children.

Limited adult grape juice is my first for the future Kinane.

*Doctors

Those who know me well know I'm not a fan of doctors because whenever I go there is something ALWAYS wrong! And speaking of doctors we have a prenatal counseling appointment with my "lady doctor" at the start of March to determine weather we keep her as the "deliverer of life" or if we get to go to the scary doctors with the big-big lights at EVMS in Norfolk.

*Timed "Go-Time"

Well its a part of baby making. "Go-Time" as we will call it. One, we have to put our sex life on a chart. Two, when ovulation is a happening we are basically "Go-Timing" it a lot. I know Jimmy won't mind at all but I have a very hectic schedule and to schedule "Go-Time" into my regular schedule just seems weird to me.

Then "the thought" hit me. What if it what happened with Gregory happens again?

Nope. Don't go there Angie.

Then another thought hit me. What about my mom?

Thought #2

Mom has cancer. Her stage III adenoid cystic carcinoma tumor was removed with good margins and no lymphnode involvement. BUT, and this is a big but; she is refusing radiation.

Mom is choosing a holistic cancer treatment method over other "traditional" cancer treatment methods. I am proud of her for finding her own treatment path. I support her choice although it wasn't easy to accept. What can I say I'm a little bias and I'd like to keep my mom around as long as humanly possible. Although I support her decision and remain optimistic; I am still scared as s%&! that her cancer will come back.

Ok. Angie get yourself together you are becoming DRAMATIC!!!

Just think about March...MARCH, MARCH...I start my preceptorship in March!

Thought #3

GRADUATION. NCLEX. RN

This wonderful thing has now caused me undue stress and abnormal thought. There is so much to do in so little time. I got my preceptorship on the unit I wanted; cardiac step-down at Norfolk General. Awesome right? I know. Enter stress. We are finally on our own working under our precepting nurse doing NURSING duties. STRESS.

Since we started nursing school we've had our instructor right there whenever we did something other than bed baths and vital signs to our patients.

We are now on OUR OWN! Yes, we have a nurse with us but this crap is serious man. Patients lives now actually rely on me and my actions. STRESS.

And I decided to do my preceptorship on a cardiac step-down! AM I NUTS?!?!?!? these patients are really sick. There is a reason the nurse: patient ratio is 1:4 and not 1:6!!! What the hell was I thinking!!!!

I am excited so excited for this journey but I am freaked the f*&@ out!

Then it all just became sooooooo overwhelming.

Gregory. Future Kinane. Mom. Graduation.

I cried. In the dark. As Jimmy slept so easily next to me. Then Jimmy did the unthinkable!

He let out a snore.

How the hell could he be off in dreamland doing Lord knows what and I am staring at the ceiling fan with tear-filled eyes on the brink of a mental breakdown?!?!?!

That's it. I couldn't lay there anymore.

So I got up, walked to the bathroom and took my temperature. Seemed like the right thing to do.

Just a seed but so much more

Warning LONG post!!!

I was homeward bound from Starbucks the other day (hmmm that reminds me my caffeine level is dropping). After divulging in a Very Berry Coffee cake and a Venti Soy Chai Latte (no water of course) in the solitude of my vehicle when it happened; a cute little blackberry seed got stuck in my teeth!!

(Insert annoyance here.)

As I continued my drive down 264 I tried my best to remove such seed with no such luck.

Until finally; success!!!!

SOOOO where this is going is as I was doing my damnedest to suck out the seed I was thinking about where I had come from, where I am now and where I am heading to.

Where I had actually been before the Starbucks trip was a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. I had to attend for school and am by no means about to blurt out "Hi! I'm Angie and I am an addict!" But my 'field trip' did direct me back to a time where I very much could have made such a statement.

So where I have been.

Through my knowledgeable 26 years of life to date I have taken on many roles; wife, daughter, sister, student, role model (save your chuckles), friend, comic, confidant, enemy, partier, etc.

The partier is what most people seemed to focus on when the thought of me arouse to them.

And boy could I party.

After awhile I realized what the party was doing to me. I also realized the people I partied with didn't care about me they only cared what I brought to the party!

I decided I didn't want to be involved with the 'party' anymore and re-directed my life towards a positive path.

(Mind you it did take several negative events for me realize I needed a change of pace.)

Enter Jimmy and where I am now.

Meeting Jimmy couldn't have come at a better time for me.

In the re-direction my life was taking I was not looking for a relationship when we met but I took the leap and as they say the net appeared.

Jimmy has never asked me to change to fit his idea of a perfect woman.

He lets me be me.

Jimmy has supported me through some of the toughest of moments a couple can handle.

The loss of our son. My mom's cancer diagnosis. Nursing School (it's not for the weak of heart).

I believe Jimmy to be one of the best gifts life has allotted me.

And plus he still gives me the butterflies.

I couldn't ask for a better partner in life.

And now where I am going.

On May 19, 2011 at 7pm, I will be graduating from Nursing School!

(Insert screaming cheerleader voice here!!!)

It has been a long time coming. With several bumps and a couple of stops along the way.

If I didn't have the support of my husband, mom, additional family and friends I would not be on the brink of graduation.

With graduation insight Jimmy and I have discussed our future.

Kids. House. White picket fence.

So, yes to clarify your inquiring minds Jimmy and I are now actively trying for little Kinanes.

(By the way I can see all of your shocked faces!!!!!)

Our future is bright and we are excited to reap its benefits!!

And to think all this sprouted from a little seed that got stuck...

Well hello there...

We have jumped on the family blog bandwagon!!! A light introduction about who we are:

Angie: Wife (who slacks off at wifely duties)
Jimmy: Husband (who picks up wife's lack of wifely duties)
Marley: Spoiled pup/King of The Kinane Household

We three make up The Kinane Experience.

Cause that is what we are; an experience.

So WELCOME to our blog!!

Enjoy the reads and the humor along our journey through this crazy thing called LIFE!!! :)