Dress In Layers

The Final Post...

2010-04-08T19:31:00.008-04:00

Two years ago I told my family I was moving to Ohio. I told them I was sick of the crowds, sick of the high cost of living and even sick of the constant sunny weather. In reality, I felt lost. I didn't know what I wanted out of life or who I wanted to be and I felt like the only way to figure that out was to move away from everything I knew and start fresh. The idea of leaving terrified me but the idea of never experiencing life outside of California scared me even more. It was now or never.

There was one person who picked up on my fear more than anyone else and of course that person was the only one who really had a chance at changing my mind, my Dad. We had many conversations about my decision to move before I left, but there was one particular conversation that I will never forget. He told me, "I know what you're looking for and you're not going to find it in Ohio. You could move anywhere in the world and you're not going to find it. What you're looking for is here." Then he pointed to my heart. If you know my Dad this conversation may shock you. He's not a mushy, heartfelt conversation kind of guy. He doesn't even say, "I love you." But he was right. I was looking for myself and my purpose in life and the only place I was going to find it was within myself. What he didn't know though, was that it would take almost a year of living away from home and pushing myself to try new things before I would be able to hear what my heart was telling me.

So I, along with my boyfriend Derrick and our two dogs, Mya and Stitch, drove across the country via Route 66 to the Promise Land. Grafton, Ohio. LOL! What a big shock that was. I went from Orange County, California to a small town in Ohio where the nearest thing was Walmart and that was a decent drive away. The next few months were filled with tears, sad phone calls home, long drives and lots of loneliness. But through all the struggles, I learned to rely on myself and the more I relied on myself, the more my confidence grew. I started to explore new places on my own, driving down roads just to see where they led. I had conversations with strangers (a big California no-no but a common occurrence in the Midwest). I even went to events all by myself, which is something I had never done before.

The more I put myself out there the more people I met and the more I learned about myself. I was able to form a relationship with Derrick's Mom who I didn't know at all before moving. Now she's like a second mother to me (which is good since one day she probably will be). The people of Cleveland are an amazing group of people and I am so thankful that I pushed past my fear and became one of them. Clevelanders have taught me it's ok to fail, as long as you get up and keep trying. They've taught me it doesn't matter what other people think. That no matter who you are you should stand tall and be proud because YOU have something to offer that no one else does. These were the things I needed so badly to understand and it was the city that so many people disregard that taught them to me. In addition to Cleveland, each city we lived in, Grafton, Avon and now Lakewood, have brought to life parts of my soul I never knew existed. I now know I could move anywhere and thrive.

Thank you for going on this journey with me the past two years. If it wasn't for your comments and requests for more pictures I probably wouldn't have stayed committed to documenting and sharing my experiences. I hope you've enjoyed the past two years as much as I have. You can continue reading about my life and viewing my pictures at my Kimberly April Photography Blogsite: www.kimberlyapril.com. I really appreciate your interest in my journey. This was only supposed to be a 1 year adventure. Two years later I now know my whole life can be an adventure. It doesn't matter where you live as long as you get out and live.

Thank you Cleveland for helping me find myself.

Love,

Kimberly

What's A BlogSite?

2010-01-29T23:32:00.004-05:00

In an effort to make reading my blog and viewing my photography website more enjoyable for you, I have started a BlogSite. At least that's what I'm calling it. It's basically my blog and website merged into one happy location. I've only been working on it for the past two days so it's not finished yet, but you can view it here if you would like to see my progress. Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Snow - The Natural Alarm System

2010-01-17T19:12:00.010-05:00

This evening I went down the the Cleveland Metroparks to see if I could capture the amazing fog we are having. There was hardly anyone in the park which made the fog and increasing darkness a little eerie. I tried to keep my imagination in check while I was walking along the trails with my camera and tripod. Maybe watching scary movies with Derrick the past two nights in a row wasn't such a good idea. After a few brief encounters with some runners, I felt more at ease and started to enjoy the quiet stillness.

There were some cool tracks in the snow. I think maybe these are from a raccoon?

On the way back to the car I decided to set my tripod up with my back towards a snow covered trail so I could get a different angle of the Lorain Bridge. As I was bending over with my face in my camera, I suddenly heard a, "CRUNCH" in the snow directly behind me. I whipped around prepared to defend myself while letting out a quick gasp. Behind me was a man who happened to be taking an evening stroll on the trail I set my back towards. I think my reaction scared him as much as he scared me because his eyes opened really wide he and muttered, "Sorry," right before he put his head down and walked away.

Snow Angel

2010-01-03T21:45:00.007-05:00

Ever since I moved to Ohio I have been dying to photograph someone in the snow. I would plan the photo shoot in my head; beautiful young woman, cute winter clothes, bright colors and fresh snow in the Cleveland Metroparks. Well, today my dream came true. Katie met up with me in the Rocky River portion of the Metroparks and modeled in the snow in below 0 temperature! She was totally awesome and even laid down in the snow for some pictures. It's so exciting to see something you've dreamed about come to life. Thank you Katie for being awesome and smiling like it was summer. You're way tougher than I am!

Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie!

2009-12-29T19:59:00.009-05:00

Derrick's birthday was the 23rd and to celebrate we went to A Christmas Story House! I love this movie and it just so happens that a portion of it was filled in Cleveland not too far from our house. The house it was filmed at has been turned into a museum. We had a total blast at the museum and we even met the mean woman elf from the movie. We met the guy who delivers the leg lamp too. The gift shop was really entertaining. A mom and her daughter were arguing because the daughter really wanted her mom to buy her one of the hats from the movie. The one the kid in the mall wears with the goggles and says, "I really like Santa." Super creepy (the kid in the movie, not the daughter). Their conversation went like this:

Daughter: "Mom, will you buy me this hat?"

Mom: "Why? So you can wear it once and never wear it again?"

Daughter: "I'll wear it more than once!"

Mom: "You're not going to wear it to school."

Daughter: "Yes I will! I'll wear it every day!"

I'm not sure how it ended since we finally made it to the front of the line to buy our tickets for the museum, but I'm thinking the daughter didn't get her hat. Either that or she was really embarrassed on Monday when she went back to school.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T16:21:00.002-05:00

Cookie Deocorating

2009-12-20T12:32:00.011-05:00

Last night I decorated Christmas Cookies with Derrick, Zoey and Johnathen at Derrick's Mom's house. I forgot how fun it is to mix all of the colors of frosting. I might need to add frosting cakes to my list of hobbies. I tried to make fashionista gingerbread women but it was hard using plastic knives as decorating tools. Derrick taught Zoey how to use sprinkles without dumping them all on one cookie. She seemed to be doing a good job of keeping everything on the table until it was clean-up time and we saw the floor. At least the walls were frosting free!

Icy Photo Adventure

2009-12-17T23:28:00.007-05:00

Today Derrick and I braved the cold and went on a photo adventure to Cascade Park in Elyria. It's been so cold that the mist from the waterfall has been freezing layer by layer on all the branches nearby.

Derrick was such a trooper. He absolutely hates the cold and yet he bundled up and guided me through the park.

Here's me playing on the playground. The plastic was so cold I thought I was going to freeze permanently to it.

Since it was so cold we didn't stay for very long. I need to invest in gloves that I can handle my camera while wearing. My cotton mittens don't really cut it.

My Favorite Christmas Ornaments

2009-12-17T22:47:00.006-05:00

When I was a kid we had a peacock Christmas tree ornament. It was my favorite ornament and every year my sister and I argued about who was going to get to put it on the tree. We actually kept track of who put the ornament on each year so it was fair. Well, now I have my own Christmas tree and the very first ornament I wanted to buy for myself was a peacock. That way every year would be my turn! The sad thing is, my ornament is only a few years old and it already looks more used than the one my sister and I fought over. Here's a few of my other favorite ornaments from my Christmas tree this year.

I Have A New Lens!

2009-11-29T14:22:00.007-05:00

I'm super excited because not only did my parents bring me home for my favorite holiday, but they also gave me my Christmas present early. I know I sound like such a spoiled punk right now. They gave me a Nikon 60mm Macro Lens. Here's some pictures I took right after I opened it. Luckily, California still has flowers in bloom. I'm looking forward to photographing some portraits and snowflakes!

Vacations Are Always Too Short.

2009-11-29T14:12:00.004-05:00

I was fortunate enough to be able to go home for Thanksgiving (thank you Mom & Dad). I bought my plane ticket back in August and have been counting down ever since. It's amazing how fast a week goes by. I had such a great time with my family I wasn't even close to being ready to come home. Thank you to everyone who made my vacation great!

Last Visions of Fall

2009-11-15T21:38:00.006-05:00

Except for a few trees here and there, the fall leaves are officially gone for the year. Well, the leaves aren't, they're piled along the street in front of people's yards, but the color is. I had this idea in my head for a photograph to spell out words with the fall leaves. The day I went to the park to accomplish my idea it was super windy. Every time I spelled out a word, the wind would blow and I would run all over the place chasing the leaves. The fishermen must of thought I was crazy. With Derrick's help, I was able to photograph one word before the wind blew the whole thing away. I guess I'll be spelling out words in the snow instead.

Halloween in Lakewood, Ohio

2009-11-01T21:58:00.006-05:00

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! Derrick and I went to Maize Valley Winery for their Carnage in the Corn Haunted Corn Maze. It was a total blast! I didn't want to risk dropping my camera so I don't have any pictures to share with you. What I do have however, are pictures from Lakewood's Spooky Pooch Parade. Every dog that entered the parade looked awesome and I had such a hard time narrowing down my pictures to a select few. My favorite costumes were the Matador and Bull. They actually won first place in the costume contest. Enjoy the pictures!

Design Improvements to the Blog!

2009-10-20T22:56:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to let you know I'm in the process of improving the design of my blog so if you see anything that looks off it will be fixed shortly :)

Sea Glass Convention!

2009-10-19T00:20:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday Derrick and I drove to Erie, Pennsylvania for the 2009 National Sea Glass Convention. It was a fun and educational experience. I had no idea how serious people take Sea Glass. There were "Sea Glass Experts" that would identify the glass that people brought to the show with them. Kinda like Antique Road Show for Sea Glass. There were also venders who sold jewelry they had made. There was a lot of pretty stuff. My favorite vender was Suncoast Sea Glass from Florida. Her jewelry was elegant and not clunky like most of the jewelry I saw. We actually talked to her about designing an engagement ring.

After we left the convention we went to Presque State Park. It was beautiful! We explored the park for about an hour before we headed back home. It looks like a really fun place to visit in the summer.

Bigfoot in Ohio!

2009-10-15T12:46:00.004-04:00

Noreen, who is basically Derrick's Aunt, is our fellow Ohio Adventurer. She always finds out about awesome events going on around Cleveland and then invites us to go. Her latest find was a presentation sponsored by the Lorain County Metroparks:

"Join us for an interesting night with Big Foot investigator and enthusiast, Marc DeWerth. Participants hear stories and investigate evidence that might suggest that the legend is real and then take a short easy hike!"

Well, how can you say no to that? I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard! I felt like the, "I'm too cool for school" kids who used to sit in the back row of class. The speaker was awesome! He was so entertaining to listen to and his passion for Bigfoot really came through in his energy. The highlight of the evening was the night hike after the presentation. We walked into the woods and he made us turn our flashlights off. So there we were, a group of about 20 adults and children, standing in the woods, in the darkness. If we weren't already freaked out enough, the guy said he was going to show us how he calls for Bigfoot. Then he screamed! LOL! I almost peed my pants. The kids started crying, the adults were freaked out and Noreen, Derrick and I were in the back dying of laughter.

When we made it back to the parking lot the fog looked really cool so Noreen posed against the fence for me. One of those times I wished I had remembered my tripod. I had to use the fence instead. Still pretty cool though.

For more information on Bigfoot, contact the Ohio Bigfoot Organization at 1-877-BFT-Ohio. Yes, that's a real phone number.

The Bridge Project

2009-10-15T11:50:00.004-04:00

Words can't explain how amazing The Bridge Project was. We entered the Veterans Memorial Bridge by going into an old building and walking downstairs. When we reached the bottom of the stairs I felt like we were walking into some secret VIP club. There were colored lights, a fog machine, a DJ, films projected onto the walls and a million other details. Artists lined the length of the bridge and at the East end of the bridge there was a live band. If under the Veterans Memorial Bridge was turned into a public space, I would visit every weekend.

While Derrick and I were walking back to the West end of the bridge it started to rain. We sat on a bench made of recycled material and watched it pour. How many people can say they sat inside a bridge and watched it rain over a major city? It was one of those moments that takes your breath away.

Going on Safari in my Backyard!

2009-10-15T10:17:00.004-04:00

The other night, Derrick and I came home from the grocery store and took the dogs out to go potty. While we were in the backyard I noticed the biggest slug I had ever seen! I ran back upstairs to get my camera and let the dogs back in the house (I was afraid they'd eat the slug) and then came back down to photograph this crazy slug, knowing my family would never believe me without a picture. It just so happens Derrick works in Pest Control, so while I was photographing the slug, he was doing research to find out what it was. This, my friends, is a Leopard Slug. Apparently it's common in the backyards of Ohio. We put a $5 bill down next to it so you could see it's size but when we set it down he got scared and scrunched up a bit.

While we were in the backyard one of our dogs, Mya, was upstairs eating 1/3 of our Amish butter we had just bought. That's a whole other story.

Tis Pumpkin Season!

2009-09-19T12:10:00.004-04:00

Fall is here and that means Pumpkin Season! I have decided to dedicate my blog for the next couple months to all things pumpkin. This means pumpkin patches, pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes and anything else you can possibly think of that involves pumpkin. Consider me the Forest Gump of Pumpkin. I even like the word "pumpkin." Anyway, if you have a pumpkin recipe you would like me to try out and share or know of a great pumpkin patch let me know!

To kickoff my pumpkin adventure I ate Pumpkin Pancakes at The Original Pancake House. They were very good and I would definitely get them again. What's awesome is there's an Original Pancake House in California so my family and friends out there can try them too! After eating breakfast, Derrick and I drove down to Amish Country for the day. On the way down we stopped in Wayne County at the Walsh Family Farm. They have an awesome pumpkin patch with rides for kids, mazes and giant pumpkins. It made me wonder if I was looking at The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown was waiting for. lol. I've been told other farms have Giant Pumpkins so let me know if you think you've found the biggest pumpkin of the year. If you happen to have a camera with you, take a picture and email it to me at vargievarg@yahoo.com and I'll put it on the blog. Don't forget to include your name, who's in the picture and where you found the pumpkin!

Fall Preview!

2009-09-10T23:37:00.004-04:00

Today my friend Ariana gave me a tour of where she grew up out in the country. We stopped at Mill Hollow Metropark to skip rocks and while we were walking down to the river, there were tons of colorful leaves on the ground. On the way back to the car we collected a few and I arranged them on the hood of her car. I actually remembered to bring my camera with me so I was able to take a picture of my moment of foliage arrangement excellence. I love how the light reflected off of her car.

Veterans Memorial Bridge Tour

2009-09-06T12:22:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, Derrick and I had the awesome opportunity to take a free tour of the Veterans Memorial aka Detroit-Superior Bridge in Cleveland. The tours are hosted twice a year and by some miracle we both had the day off! This definitely ranked up with the top experiences I've had so far in Ohio. There were lots of informative volunteers that were able to answer questions and I was really impressed with the details of their set-up. When you first walked into the old subway portion of the bridge there were tables set up with old pictures and information about upcoming events. There was music from the 40s playing from a stereo and two different old films about the trolley system projected onto screens set-up inside the subway. I felt like we walked into a time warp. I was a little freaked out at first walking across the bridge because you could see through the grate down to the Cuyahoga River. There were wood panels along the middle to walk on but of course Derrick and I had to freak ourselves out by walking on the grate. Plus, that was the only way to look over the edge of the bridge at the awesome view! Yet another, "This would never be allowed in California Moment."

After we made it to the other side of the bridge we walked around the flats and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Seeing all of the bridges and cool architecture while soaking up the sun made me fall in love with Cleveland even more. There's an upcoming event at the bridge on September 25th that you can get information about at www.clevelandbridgeproject.com.

Madison Library

2009-09-06T11:26:00.004-04:00

Last month Lakewood had an Art Fest and the Lakewood Photographic Society (which I'm a member of) had a booth. After the festival our photos were put on display at the Madison Branch of the Lakewood Library. I wanted to check out the library all month to see my photo on display and I finally made it last week. Here it is in all it's glory! Thank you again to Alyssa for being a beautiful model!

It's Harvest Time!

2009-08-25T21:31:00.003-04:00

The end of Summer is wonderful. There are all kinds of fresh, local produce available. My favorite place to go is Pickering Hills Farm in Avon on Detroit Rd. They not only carry their own produce but also local goods from other families. You can buy 5 pound boxes of blueberries for $20. Plus, when you buy your groceries there they give you two free ears of corn. lol. I ate a whole peck of peaches all by myself over the course of 1 week.

Take the time this week to try out a local farm. If you don't know where to look try www.localharvest.org. They're an awesome resource and you can even buy products from farms online! I ordered my sister's birthday present from Blossoms Wild Herb & Lavender farm and would recommend them to anyone looking for high quality lavender products.

Corn Festival!

2009-08-25T20:59:00.014-04:00

A couple of weeks ago Derrick and I went to the Corn Festival in North Ridgeville with Derrick's mom, step dad and Zoey. It was a lot of fun watching Zoey learn how to roll down grassy hills. I had this great strawberry shortcake with ice cream and hard shell chocolate sauce.

The coolest part of the festival was when I met one of the local photographers and his wife. I love his photography and I read her blog. You can view their website at www.rowephotography.com.

Derrick and I also did one of those inflatable jousting games where you put on helmets and try to knock each other off of moving pedestals. Derrick totally kicked my butt! The only time I knocked him down was when I cheated and pushed him with my hands. He thought it was hilarious.

The Creative Princess Bag

2009-08-25T20:42:00.005-04:00

Here's some quick pictures of my latest creation. I was in the mood to sew the other night and really wanted to use up some scrap pink fabric so I sewed this cute bag for Zoey. I got the idea from a bag I saw in a sewing store in Lakewood that I thought was really cute. I've had the pink star fabric since college. The girls at work think I should make the bag in different colors and sell them at craft shows. What do you think?

Go Browns!

2009-08-25T20:18:00.004-04:00

The other day Derrick and I were trying to decide where we wanted to watch the Browns game when all of a sudden Derrick's uncle called. He asked what we were up to and Derrick told him we were trying to figure out where to watch the game. Then Derrick's uncle said, "Do you want to go to the game?" Of course Derrick said yes, so we ended up watching the game at the game itself. We started out at the top of the stadium but about halfway through the game Derrick's uncle called us from his seats (9th row up from the field!) and said there was room for us! So, not only did we get to go to the game for free, but we also ended up with a free upgrade to "The Dawg Pound." The pictures are from our two sets of seats. After the game we walked around W. 6th st. which reminds me a lot of Pacific Beach in San Diego. We danced at The Barley House for a few hours and then drove home. Pretty exciting Saturday night considering we didn't have any plans when the day started.

Tortilla, Tortilla!

2009-08-13T22:55:00.002-04:00

I made tortillas tonight for the first time since I moved to Ohio. I learned electric burners are not superb for making tortillas because they make burn circles and cook all uneven. They still taste good though! Here's a picture of my little stack of tortillas. I made a quesadilla with one and it was awesome!

Feed Me Seymour!

2009-08-02T13:04:00.006-04:00

Back when I was a park ranger I learned about Brown-Headed Cowbirds and how they lay their eggs in the nests of other species of birds. These eggs hatch and then beat out the other chicks for food. There used to be cages in the park specifically made to catch the Cowbirds in order to keep them from lowering the population of other bird species. They're actually considered a parasite. I always thought it was sad to see these birds trapped in cages.

A few years later on the other side of the Country, there's a Brown-Headed Cowbird chick who is being raised by a little Chirping Sparrow right outside my apartment. It's the weirdest thing to watch because the Chirping Sparrow is half the size of the Cowbird but it rushes back and forth from the bird feeder the the chick in order to satisfy it's never ending appetite. The Chirping Sparrow can almost fit it's whole head inside the Cowbird's mouth. I've decided not to interfere more than I already have by providing the birdseed and just observe the live example of Darwinism.

My Grandma is Awesome!

2009-07-22T20:12:00.005-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I went up to Port Huron in Michigan to visit my "Aunt" and "Uncle" (we couldn't figure out how exactly the relation works so we agreed on aunt and uncle). lol. I thought I was just going up to visit some distant relatives and celebrate my Uncle Paul's 90th birthday. What I didn't know is that my Grandma loves surprises and she flew in from California and arranged with my mom to keep it a secret from me. When Derrick, the dogs and I arrived at Aunt Nancy and Uncle Mike's house, we were given the tour of the house. When we reached the top of the stairs, my Grandma was sitting there with a huge smile on her face! I was so happy I cried. I'm very impressed with my Mom who kept it a secret from me for the past couple of months.

I had a total blast at my Aunt and Uncle's house! They took us out on their boat and I swam in Lake Huron for the first time ever. It was as the locals say, "Refreshing." I actually wasn't planning on touching the water at all because I remembered my cousin Tiffiny telling me about the time she visited Michigan when she was younger and Uncle Mike told her to jump in the water without warning her that the water is freezing. Seasickness got the best of me and I ended up spending a large amount of time in the water since it was the only way to keep from throwing up.

Port Huron is a really cute town so if you're ever in Michigan you should check it out!

Jenn & Geoff's Wedding Pictures!

2009-07-17T22:00:00.006-04:00

Last night I finished editing the photographs I took at Jenn & Geoff's wedding this past Saturday. It was pouring rain in the morning but the weather cleared up just in time for the outdoor ceremony. By the time the ceremony was over, the clouds had completely gone away. It was a really beautiful wedding and I was extremely impressed with the decor which the bride made herself. One of the highlights of the wedding for me was when my man caught the garter (the groom is his cousin). Here's a few of my favorite pictures and an extra one at the end of my future in-laws.

Getting Ready for Jenn & Geoff's Wedding!

2009-07-10T00:07:00.004-04:00

This Saturday I will be photographing Jenn & Geoff's wedding at Tom's Country Place in Avon, Ohio. I picked up the cards I designed for the guests, so they can access the photo gallery online, from the printer today and they turned out great! I'll be sure to post a few photos after the wedding is over. Pray for great weather!

I Saw a Mink!

2009-07-07T23:07:00.004-04:00

Today I went to Lake Erie with Derrick and Stitch to practice some new camera techniques and watch the sunset. We were walking along the little pier in Avon Lake when all of a sudden Stitch started freaking out. We looked in the rocks and there was a mink looking back at us! I have never seen a mink before. They are really cute! I think the fishermen must feed them because he wasn't afraid of us at all. I didn't even have a chance to check my exposure, I just pointed my camera at him and took a picture. It must be my lucky day because it totally came out. I think minks are my new favorite animal. He doesn't even look real.

The Bat Farm

2009-06-28T15:52:00.005-04:00

Derrick and I are always looking for random things to do and this weekend we went to The Bat Farm in Auburn Township for a fundraiser for a new Bat Condo. We were able to see the mother bats and their babies sleeping in a shed. I didn't want to blind them with the flash on my camera so I don't have any close-up pictures of the bats but if you want you can google "Little Brown Bats" and see what I saw.

I learned the female bats mate on their way down to the caves to hibernate for the Winter but don't actually become fertilized until they wake up in the Spring. Then they fly to this barn to give birth and raise their babies. Totally interesting. We arrived at the barn a little before 7:00pm, saw the sleeping bats, roasted marshmallows and watched the birds until sunset. The bats flew out from all sides of the barn a few at a time and flew right over our heads. We were really entertained watching them eat the fireflies. The most exciting part of the night was when I woke up the next morning and realized I didn't have a single mosquito bite!

Duct Tape Festival

2009-06-28T10:51:00.006-04:00

After over a year of waiting I finally went to the Duct Tape Festival! It really is amazing what you can do with duct tape. On my way to the parade in the morning the police had blocked off the street you need to drive down to access the park where you park your car for the festival. I wasn't sure what I should do so I went up to one of the officers and asked him where should I park since the parking lot was blocked off. He looked at me like the answer was obvious, just drive around the police barricade and drive into the park. Duh. Apparently I take police barricades too seriously. The Duck Brand Duct Tape employees did a great job with the duct tape part of the festival. There was a craft tent with different colors of duct tape and Duck employees teaching kids how to make wallets and roses. They had photos of duct tape prom outfits (go to www.stuckatprom.com to vote for your favorite) and a guy that makes duct tape art. They had a guy demonstrating Frog Tape, duct tape for painters which was pretty cool stuff. Throughout the festival there were duct tape art pieces that were part of a scavenger hunt. Everything was covered in duct tape! I feel like I've typed "duct" and "duck" way too many times for one blog entry so I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

New Bird Feeder

2009-06-20T22:58:00.005-04:00

I bought a new bird feeder a week ago that is especially made for finches. It's one of those weird looking sock ones that is supposed to be easy for finches to cling on to. It took less than 24 hours for the goldfinches to figure it out. Today I sat at the living room window for an hour and photographed Señor Gato (our regular goldfinch who thinks he owns the whole tree), and one of our 2 doves that do a great job at picking up the mess the other birds leave behind. All I need now is a birdbath and some more plants and my little bird sanctuary will be complete!

Magee Marsh

2009-06-15T23:22:00.005-04:00

It wouldn't make sense to blog about Magee Marsh without posting pictures of birds. So here is a follow-up post to my previous one. What was really cool about Magee Marsh is they have a wooden observation tower you can climb and watch for birds on the tops of the trees. I was told May is the peak of migratory season when the marsh is full of tropical birds flying to Canada to breed for the summer. In Fall, they fly back down to South America but they're not as vibrant as they are when they come up in the Spring. Even though I missed the migration by one month there are still lots of cool birds in the area. Next time I go I'll have to wear bug repellent because I was so busy trying to keep the bugs out of my face I couldn't really enjoy watching the birds.

Why Did the Snapping Turtle Cross the Road?

2009-06-15T23:06:00.004-04:00

Derrick and I had Sunday off together so we took a drive along Lake Erie towards Toledo. On the way we stopped at Magee Marsh which is one of the top 10 birding sites in North America. It was awesome! While we were driving through the marsh this snapping turtle started to cross the road. I jumped out of the car to take a picture while Derrick warned me to stay away from it. Apparently they can be pretty aggressive and can easily remove fingers and toes. It looked so prehistoric to me. I felt like I was watching The Land Before Time in real life!

Rib Cook Off!

2009-05-28T23:48:00.004-04:00

Last weekend I went to my first Rib Cook Off. It was a total blast! We went with our friends Brandon & Rachel and spent most of the time stuffing our faces with tasty food. I had no idea what a big deal Rib Cook Offs are. Each group had a huge booth showing off all of it's awards. There were even trophies on display and people walking around giving out stickers with their BBQ brand on it for people to wear. Rachel was laughing because I kept taking pictures of everything. It felt like summer had arrived early and it made me really excited for all the festivals that are coming up.

Zoey's Princess Smile

2009-05-28T23:35:00.002-04:00

Hope you had a great Memorial Weekend! I had the most social weekend since probably my sorority days in college. Friday night Derrick and I went to my first Rib Cook Off with some friends (more on that in a later post). Saturday night I met up with a bunch of people for a bonfire after I was done photographing a prom. Sunday we went to a cookout with Derrick's family and played outside all day. Monday we went to another cookout at Derrick's Mom's House and I played with Zoey. Here she is giving me her "princess smile." lol. The flowers behind her are peonies and they smell wonderful! Derrick's Mom has them all over her house. The blooms are the same size as hydrangea blooms. I've been trying to teach Zoey how to do a cartwheel which is pretty entertaining. I don't think I was able to do one until I was in high school.

I'm becoming more stalker friendly

2009-05-14T10:12:00.004-04:00

I've decided to give twitter a try. I've been very against it since I feel no one really needs to know what you're doing all day long but there are so many people I want to follow on twitter (Sarah Petty, Local Harvest, Derrick and his mom) that I feel it is only fair that I am on twitter too. We'll see how it goes but for now you will be able to read my twitter updates (tweets, I need to get with the lingo) here on my blog in the column on the right. If you're on twitter, let me know so we can stalk each other! You can follow me at twitter.com/kaprilphoto

Westside Market

2009-05-07T22:27:00.004-04:00

Derrick and I went to one of my favorite places in Cleveland the other day, The Westside Market. This place is so cool and I know I've talked about it before but on this visit I got to do something new. I walked up the stairs and sat on the balcony where you can sit and watch life go by in the market. I could sit up there for hours but I had to go to work so we were only there for about 30 minutes. Before we left we bought the first local produce of the year, asparagus! We had some with dinner tonight sauteed in butter and seasoned with salt and pepper. In-season asparagus isn't stringy and taste almost sweet. All I need now is my mom's asparagus recipe...

Missouri Cookies!

2009-05-07T22:21:00.004-04:00

This is too good to be true and if I didn't see it with my own eyes I wouldn't believe it. The gas station across the street from my apartment complex now sells Missouri Cookies! They call them No Bake Drop Cookies but they can't fool me. I read the ingredients to make sure they were the real thing. This is probably going to be bad for my figure.

A Sneak Peak of Summer in the Midwest

2009-05-07T22:14:00.004-04:00

This is our local ice cream stand that opened last week. It was a beautiful night and tons of people came out to stand in line to buy the first ice cream of the season. How cute is that? It's things like this that make me love the Midwest. It's like a Hallmark movie. Derrick is standing in there holding my place in line while I take a picture. Their Taylor Shortcake is to die for! It's like a Strawberry Shortcake with soft serve vanilla ice cream. Num, num, num!

I'm At Prom!

2009-05-07T22:07:00.004-04:00

I photographed a prom last weekend. For entertainment I had my coworker take a picture of me so you can see our beautiful set-up. It's always amusing to work proms because you get to see all of the drama unfold (the conversations in the bathroom are hilarious!) Plus, the girl's dresses are always really pretty. I love my job!

I.E. Girls Stick Together

2009-05-07T21:49:00.004-04:00

As you may or may not know, Cleveland's basketball team is in the playoffs. On Tuesday I was at work and Derrick sent me a text asking what time I would be home because he had tickets for the Cavs Game. He recently starting working for his uncle and they happened to spray the Assistant Coach's house for bugs. Derrick, being the social person that he is, started talking with the wife and found out that she grew up in Riverside. He told her I grew up in Chino and when he went to leave she gave him two tickets for the game in the 4th row! She gave one to his uncle too. It was awesome! We had a great time and got to see Labron James receive the MVP award. The woman who gave us the tickets sat by me for a little bit and we talked about how we like Ohio even though the winters are cold. She is such a nice, friendly woman.

Here's a picture taken with my phone from our seats. I didn't want to bring my big camera and look like a nerd. You can see Labron James on the left (he's number 23). I feel like an official Clevelander now. I've seen the Indians, Browns and the Cavaliers all at home games.

April Showers Bring...

2009-05-07T21:18:00.014-04:00

My beautiful May flowers!

The Dog Pound AKA My Parent's House

2009-05-03T20:20:00.016-04:00

My parents have three dogs, Lola, Biscuit and their newest member of the family, Scooter. I love to take my dogs to their house so they can have puppy parties and turn the backyard into a kennel. Here's Lola, Biscuit and Scooter on a day when they had the backyard to themselves.

Gorgeous!

2009-05-03T19:58:00.005-04:00

This is my favorite model who also happens to be my cousin Alyssa. She was nice enough to let me borrow her during her spring break so I could take some pictures in the wildflowers. Isn't she beautiful? While we were hiking the dirt trails she almost stepped on a rattlesnake. I don't think Alyssa expected to go for a hike during our photo shoot but she did an awesome job of posing in the brush even though there were bugs and animals that freaked her out.

Let's play Catch-Up

2009-04-30T23:04:00.003-04:00

I've been informed that I did not make a single post in the whole month of April. I have 1 hour left of April and here I am! This has been a super busy month but I have been taking tons of pictures to share with you and hopefully on my next day off (Monday) I'll actually have time to sit and upload them all.

As most of you know, my Grandpa passed away this month. He was a really great person and I miss him already. No matter what the situation he was always joking around and laughing. In my whole life I only heard him raise his voice once. I still remember it was because my cousin was being a pain and after my Grandpa raised his voice I made a mental note never to make him upset. lol. He taught me not to take life so seriously and his stories and chuckle (he would say something funny and follow it with, "Ho, ho, ho" will stay with me always.

After spending a week in sunny California (and taking lots of pictures) I arrived back in Ohio to discover Spring has arrived and blanketed the land with green! We have grass now and all of the trees and flowers are blooming. This includes...drum roll please...my bulbs! The daffodils and tulips are in full bloom and they are gorgeous!

Hope you are all having a great week and I'll be posting some photos soon!

Crocus Blooms (Finally!)

2009-03-22T15:41:00.008-04:00

So far the Liquid Fence is working! I have two new sets of blooms and I'm thrilled! These ones came up yellow which I wasn't expecting at all since the package only had white and purple ones on it. They're still pretty so I'm happy either way. Here's a few pictures to make up for not having any in my last post.

Also, just in case you were wondering, if you want to order some of my photos as greeting cards but want to have words across the top or bottom, you can always email me at kimberlyapril@gmail.com and I can customize a photo for you. If there's something in particular you would like a photo of, I'm always open to requests :)

I love this picture. I held a bloom that Mya stepped on and broke up to the sky and took a picture of it. I love how the light filters through the petals and the clouds made a solid background so the sky doesn't distract from the flower. Please excuse my unmaincured nails.

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Let's be from Vermont...and let's have an emerging maple syrup conglomerate!

2009-03-22T14:41:00.005-04:00

If you haven't watch Wedding Crashers a few times the title of this post will probably be more confusing than funny but that's ok. Yesterday, Derrick and I went on a tour of a Maple Syrup Farm! Do you know where your maple syrup comes from? Did you know that if you buy regular syrup in the grocery store it probably has more corn than maple in it? I never really thought about these things until yesterday. I was looking for something to do Saturday since Derrick and I had the day off together. I went to www.localharvest.org and clicked on "Events." Then, I typed in my zip code and one of the events listed was;

"From tree to table, come out and see the new technology in the collection of sap through tubing and learn maple syrup history and get a taste of the wonderful product from nature."

Well that sounded pretty awesome to me so I called up the contact number, talked with the farmers wife, Donna Divoky and arranged for a visit. The Divoky Family is one of the most friendly and welcoming families I have ever met. Donna met us up at the house and gave us a tour of the farm where they grow vegetables and raise chickens and sheep. It was a really cool experience for me because I just recently finished reading The Omnivore's Dilemma and this farm was like experiencing parts of the book in person. After she showed us the farm, Donna walked us across the street towards the Sugar House. We walked through more farmland and Donna pointed out where each crop grows. She also told us funny stories about their sheep. Quite different from the docile lambs I always imagined!

Once we made it to the Sugar House we met Donna's husband, Dave Divoky and their son, Nick. The Sugar House is a little wooden house at the end of the farmland near the beginning of the woods with tons of white smoke coming out of the top and once inside, it smells wonderful. It's a combination of burning wood and cooking sugar. The land has been in Dave's family for over 80 years and it was a pleasure to hear stories about Nick's grandfather and the old ways of collecting the maple tree sap. Dave and Donna took us on a hike through the woods and showed us the tubing that draws the sap out of the trees and then up to the Sugar House where they boil the moisture out of the sap which turns it into syrup. We even got to taste fresh sap! How cool is that? It looks and taste like sugar water. After they filtered a batch of syrup, we each were handed a cup of it to sip while we visited. The Divoky's made us feel like family even though we just met them.

After a few hours we decided to start our 1 hour drive back home. Donna gave us 1 dozen eggs from their farm (for free!) for visiting. I can't say enough good things about this family. If you're ever in Ohio I strongly recommend visiting the farm. They also offer CSA shares (more about CSAs in another post). If you don't plan on visiting Ohio anytime soon, check out www.localharvest.org and see if there are any fun events going on near you. You might be surprised. I know I was.

Before anyone asks, I did not take pictures at the farm. I didn't want to seem rude since it was my first visit. I plan on visiting again so next time I'll ask if I can bring my camera :)

Thief!

2009-03-18T20:56:00.003-04:00

I finally had the first blooms of Spring in my garden. HAD is the key word. Yesterday, when I got home from work, I saw two beautiful Crocus blooms fully open. I was so excited, but in a hurry to go my photography club meeting, so I thought to myself, "I'll take some pictures tomorrow." Something made me change my mind and I ran outside really quick to take a few pictures before leaving. Thank goodness I did! This morning I went to leave for work and I noticed the flowers were missing. I looked around and it was as if the plants never existed. Rabbits!!! If you look close at the Crocus shoots that are left you can see the little nibbles. I've seen at least one rabbit who comes at night and eats the birdseed that falls on the ground. Apparently he's rounding out his diet with some greens.

So today, as soon as I got home from work, Derrick and I went to the garden store down the street to find out how I can humanely repel the nibblers. I bought this stuff called Liquid Fence. It smells terrible! It has garlic and rotten egg in it. So gross, but it's supposed to work. I sprayed all around my bulbs while holding my sweatshirt over my face. I really hope this works because my daffodils are sprouting and I'm going to be really sad if I never get to enjoy the blooms I have been anxiously waiting for.

Here's my best picture of the two first Crocus blooms. May they rest in peace (or give the rabbit indigestion).

Captain Planet Would Be Proud

2009-03-15T17:09:00.007-04:00

I made my first Eco Friendly Handbag this past week. This one is a cute, boxy bag made from a pillow sham I had in my apartment. Huge improvement from my last bag. To make The Alyssa I used a pattern and my bag didn't look like the one on the package at all. I made this one without a pattern and just used what I learned from making The Alyssa and from this really cool blog www.u-handbag.typepad.com. Much easier! I'm actually going to leave Lisa from u-handbag a comment about how awesome her blog is since I used her "bag making for newbies" post to understand the world of interfacing. A few more practice bags and I'll start selling them! If you have any requests or comments let me know.

Alyssa Turns 15!

2009-03-15T16:39:00.004-04:00

My cousin turned 15 on February 28th. She's the baby of the grandkids on my dad's side and it seems so crazy she's almost old enough to drive. I still remember when she was born and we were all at the hospital. lol. I sound so old. Next, I'll be calling her and telling her, "When I was your age we didn't have cars..."

So to celebrate her birthday, I made her a handbag with my birthday present, a sewing machine! My birthday was the 15th of February and I was pumped my parents gave me a sewing machine. This handbag was my 2nd sewing project. My goal is to have an Eco Friendly handbag business (in addition to photography). Not bad for my first one :)

My Familia is Awesome!

2009-03-07T17:00:00.004-05:00

The grocery stores just recently started stocking California Oranges and they're 99¢ each! I called my family and whined that I wanted Oranges from Papi's tree so my wonderful Aunt Ester went to Papi and told him what I wanted. He climbed up into the tree (his 80th birthday is in June) and picked me his last two oranges. Then, my Aunt Ester shipped them out to me. I received them in 2 days! I was so excited I took them to work to brag before I ate them. They tasted even sweeter knowing all the trouble my family went through so I could eat them!

My Bulbs Have Sprouted!

2009-03-07T16:19:00.004-05:00

A few of my Crocus’s had sprouted about a month ago but then stopped growing. With the warm weather the past few days they have finally decided to start growing again and they passed the message along to the other bulbs that it was time for them to grow too. Here’s a picture of them today that I took with my camera and an older picture of them poking through the snow that I took in the morning with my phone on my way to work. I planted over 100 bulbs (Crocus, Daffodil and Tulip) in 6ft x 10ft area. With a tree taking up the center of it. It’s my first time ever planting them so I’m hoping I did it right. So far so good!

Looking For Spring...

2009-03-07T16:12:00.005-05:00

It seems that Spring is starting to make it’s appearance. As you can see, the animals are starting to come back out and the temperatures are getting warmer. As I write this I’m sitting in my apartment with the windows wide open and it feels great to have the cool breeze sweep out all of the stale winter air. It’s 60 degrees! Can you believe it? Yesterday it almost reached 70. The dogs are loving it too since now we go on longer walks and they can sit at the window and bark at all of the other dogs walking by in the evenings. Everyone is outside enjoying the change in weather. I even saw kids playing with water guns yesterday on my way home from work.

These are pictures of my latest bird feeder guest. No exactly what I was hoping for when I set it up but it was still pretty entertaining. As long as the rabbits and deer don’t eat my flowers when they bloom I won’t mind the extra visitors.

I'm Back!

2009-02-16T21:28:00.007-05:00

I celebrated my 27th birthday this weekend and one of the things I have decided to do this new year in my life is to not let myself be held back by fear. One thing that I have been wanting to do but was too chicken was go down the Toboggan Shoots in the the Cleveland Metroparks. Well, in celebration of my new goal in life, Derrick and I went Tobogganing in the Metroparks today. It was a total blast! My knuckles rubbed against the concrete walls and were skinned open but other than needing to buy a new pair of gloves, I'm ok. Hope you enjoy the video!

Snow Day!

2009-01-28T15:27:00.004-05:00

Today is my first Snow Day! Not only are all of the schools closed, most businesses are too. My boss called this morning to let me know the office would be closed. So what have I done all day? I watched the birds outside my window. Today was a special day because there were 3 new types of birds at my feeder. A Tufted Titmouse (which flew away when I got my camera), a bird I'm having problems identifying and finally...Cardinals! I have been impatiently waiting for Cardinals to find my bird feeder and then, in the middle of a snow storm, they appeared. I have 2 pairs that have been eating at my feeder today. When I saw them I was so excited I didn't want to get my camera because I was afraid I'd scare them away. Derrick said it was crazy not to try to photograph them and he was right (as usual, but don't tell him that). This picture is through my bedroom window.

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So This is What Cold Feels Like

2009-01-28T09:31:00.003-05:00

This is an actual temperature reading from The Weather Channel on my phone. I've learned that wind chill really makes a difference, even when it's -12 degrees outside.

When I lived in California I always asked people, "What does below 20 feel like?" No matter what they said to me I just didn't really understand. Well now I understand and I'm going to try my best to explain it to you.

Imagine what it feels like when it's late at night and you walk from inside somewhere to your car and the wind cuts through your clothes. When you get inside your car you clench up and shiver a little bit and wait for the car to warm up so you can turn the heater on. Your nose, fingers and thighs are cold. Can you think of a time when you felt that cold? Now think of what the cold air feels like on your face when you open the freezer and how your fingers feel when you reach inside and grab some ice cream.

Cold weather (at least to me from a Ohioan standpoint) kinda feels like a combo of those two sensations. After a certain point, the only difference is how long it takes before your hands go numb. For example, the other day at work it was around 12 degrees. I was outside shoveling a path to our office door when my ear started to feel like something was stabbing it. I thought one of my bobby-pins fell out of my hair and was poking me so I went inside to fix it. My bobby-pins were exactly where I put them that morning. The stabbing feeling was my ear freezing. That happened in about 5-10 minutes. Another day, I took my dog outside at it was around 5 degrees. My fingers went numb in 30 seconds.

The average temperature of a household freezer is 0 degrees or slightly below. (Thanks Google for your access to random statistics). I've experience -34. One thing I've also learned is cold weather is all relative. When living in CA I thought 65 was cold and anything in the 50's was freezing. Now that I live in Ohio in the middle of winter, if the temperature rose to 50 today I would go outside without a sweater on. However, if it was August in Ohio and the temperature all of a sudden dropped to 50 I would wear my winter coat.

I'm not sure if my blood had actually thickened (I could Google it), but to me it seems if you just keep an open mind and go with the flow (and pray your heater works) the cold isn't so bad after all.

But that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to Spring :)

More Birds

2009-01-19T00:59:00.013-05:00

I'm really enjoying trying to identify the different birds I photograph. The people down the street from me have tons of bird feeders and their apartment faces the woods. When I walked the dogs in the morning last weekend I couldn't believe how many different birds I saw! I ran back to my apartment and grabbed my camera. It was freezing but I captured some cool pictures :)

Female Northern Cardinal

House Sparrows
Downy Woodpecker

Blue Jay
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Winter Birds

2009-01-18T16:18:00.009-05:00

I've developed a new hobby for the winter since it's too cold to go outside for long periods of time, bird watching. I have a bird feeder outside my window and now that it's freezing cold outside and everything is covered in snow, the birds have decided to grace me with their presence. I've been using different websites to identify the birds in my apartment complex. This morning I started using www.whatbird.wbu.com which is really helpful. Here's a couple birds from this morning.

Dark-Eyed Junco

Black-Capped Chickadee

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I Love Snow!

2009-01-10T22:27:00.017-05:00

Happy New Year! It's been snowing for over 24 hours and now we have about 1 1/2 feet of snow. I love it! Derrick, who is totally awesome, held the rope attached to my toboggan and ran down the street with it so I could go sledding. Then, he compacted this 5 foot pile of snow and held my toboggan on it while I climbed up and sat on it. Once I was ready, he let go and I went sliding down the hill and down the street. It was so much fun! I can't wait for tomorrow because I have the day off so I can play all day. A picture is worth 1,000 words so here's some from today :)

My Morning Commute (I wasn't driving)

The MetroParks
The river by the marina and a picnic table.

Target Parking Lot

Our Apartment Complex
The bushes look like gumdrops!

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My Bird Feeder is Not in Vain!

2008-12-21T11:34:00.002-05:00

Finally! I've had my bird feeder up since October and had no luck attracting birds to it. I even upgraded the seed after doing some research. Yesterday, I checked the feeder and noticed some of the seeds were gone. I wasn't sure if it was because birds were actually eating them or if the wind just blew some away. Well, this morning I was sitting at the window when I noticed a cute, fluffed up bird sitting on the air conditioning unit. I went to grab my camera but once I was all set to take his picture he flew away. I was totally bummed but then I noticed where he flew to. My bird feeder! He ate a bunch of seeds while I tried to take his photo by climbing between our Christmas tree and the window. Of course, he ate on the side where I couldn't get a good view of him but at least I know he was there and maybe he'll bring friends with him the next time he visits. I identified him as a male Dark-eyed Junco. Since I couldn't get a decent picture of him, here's a link to a collection of photos another woman in Northeast Ohio has of all the birds on her farm. It's pretty cool to see the variety. Northeast Ohio Birds

What do Pyros do for fun in the Winter?

2008-12-21T10:08:00.002-05:00

Melt things. I ended up with this candle from a White Elephant gift exchange (which was totally fun) and instead of just throwing it away, I decided to use if for entertainment. Did I mention my dad is a Firefighter? It's genetic.

Icicles Everywhere!

2008-12-21T09:57:00.002-05:00

Well I didn't get to go to the park to take pictures of how awesome everything looks covered in ice, but I do have this photo of our Crabapple tree. We had an ice storm the other night and when I woke up in the morning everything was covered in a layer of ice. The trees along the highway look amazing! We had 2 inches of solid ice. It's like an ice skating rink the parking lot at my work. What's kind of entertaining is when you walk everything goes, crunch, crunch, crunch. Unless you step on the more slippery patches where the ice is compacted down. I try to avoid those.

Artic Air = Very Cold!

2008-12-21T09:44:00.002-05:00

Guess what today's windchill is supposed to get down to . . . -15 degrees! Yes, that's NEGATIVE 15 degrees. There's actually a warning that if you're going to go outside have all exposed skin covered to prevent frostbite. When I took Mya out this morning the wind chill was -2. It was so cold my mind didn't really register how cold it was. What's kind of funny, well to me not to most people, is when you walk outside when it's snowing and windy you get plastered with snow like you were rolling around in it. I also shovel and scrape ice off of the driveway for fun so maybe my idea of fun isn't exactly normal. Here's a blurry picture of me the last time we went to the outdoor mall (like a small Victoria Gardens) and it was windy and snowing.

Winter vs Spring

2008-12-08T23:18:00.006-05:00

I stopped at Berea Falls today which I posted about in the Spring. I'll have to photograph it again in Summer and Fall so you can see all four Seasons. Isn't it amazing how different it looks? Comparing Spring with Winter makes the Winter photo look like it's black and white.

The Best Part About Naked Trees

2008-12-08T23:11:00.007-05:00

Now that all the trees are missing their leaves you can see right through the woods. This makes it so much easier to spot deer. Today I saw a large herd all eating together. See how many you can find in the photo of the group. Another hiker and I counted 8 but I don't think I captured them all in the photo.

Snow in the Metroparks

2008-12-08T23:04:00.004-05:00

Derrick and I drove through the Metroparks today. The beauty of the snow makes up for all the leaves missing from the trees. I have a lot of pictures so this post is going to be broken up into 3 posts. Check out the frozen water! On the sides of the cliffs where water normally trickles down icicles have formed. I was going to take a picture but we're supposed to have an ice storm tonight so Derrick told me to wait for some better ones.

Snowflakes!

2008-12-07T23:46:00.004-05:00

I was sitting at a red light on my way to work this past week when I looked out my window and noticed I could see snowflakes collecting on my windshield. I had no idea you can see snowflakes without a microscope! The next day I had off from work so I had Derrick stand outside and hold up a pair of my black, cotton shorts while I photographed the snowflakes collecting on it. The picture above is made up of all the best looking snowflakes I photographed. I pasted them all onto one picture in photoshop. You can fit about two snowflakes on your pinkie nail.

Seeing snow really is amazing. I never understood when people talked about the different types of snow until I saw it for myself. The snow I photographed looked like confetti. When the snow has more moisture to it and all the snowflakes stick together it looks like God was washing dishes, scooped up the bubbles in His hand and blew them down onto the Earth. Then, there is this really weird snow that looks like little styrofoam balls. It bounces when it hits the ground. People keep asking me how I'm doing with the snow and they're surprised when I tell them I'm having a great time. Life is an adventure.

Winter is Here!

2008-11-17T11:45:00.009-05:00

When I got out of bed this morning I did what I always do, peak out the window to see what the weather looks like. But this morning was not like every other morning. This morning, there was snow! I don't know why I was so surprised after the ice storm last night but for the second time in less than 12 hours I was running outside in my pajamas with my camera. My neighbors must think I'm crazy (the ones that don't know I'm from CA).

Here are a few things I learned from my morning in the small amount of snow we had:
1. I need gloves, like today
2. Ear muffs are not just fashion for old men
3. When your fingers are cold, it's hard to use your iphone
4. Cold + ears = pain
5. My dogs like snow better than wind or rain
6. Socks are always a good idea
7. It's hard to write messages with your finger in fresh snow
8. People from Cleveland think it's gross if you eat snow, even if it's not yellow
9. Toboggans require much more snow than 1/2 an inch
10. Cold dog paws in your bed are not ok

Ice Ice Baby!

2008-11-17T11:23:00.006-05:00

I was laying in bed at 1:30 in the morning when I heard what I thought was loud pouring rain. I got out of bed and peaked outside the window to see the rain bouncing off of everything. Now, rain doesn't bounce, so what was it? Ice! It's different from hail in CA because it was a mix of ice and snow. Like hail that rolled around in snow. Being the California Girl that I am, I put on a coat and shoes and ran outside in my pajamas with my camera (at least I stayed on my porch). I was so excited when I came back in the house I started to get the computer ready so I could blog about it. Then I realized, it's 1:40am and I should be going back to sleep. Lame, I know.

Our Neighborhood Cat is Crazy!

2008-11-07T21:00:00.003-05:00

This is a picture from my bed on a Sunday morning. The cat in the window is obsessed with my dogs. He waits for them in the morning outside the front door and if he misses them, he looks inside the window and meows for them. He's actually bigger than they are. Poor Stitch, the other day I took him out to go potty and while he was peeing the cat snuck up behind him (I was looking for birds in the tree) and whacked him on the butt. Stitch of course freaked out. I carried him back inside while the cat followed us to the door. How sad, a dog being bullied by a cat. Mya gets along with him pretty well but Stitch wants to kill him. He hasn't quite figured out that the cat could totally take him down in a fight.

This is Not a Joke

2008-11-07T20:49:00.004-05:00

This is the gas station across the street from my apartment complex. I was so excited on the way home when I saw gas was under $2 that I pulled over to take a picture. This is actually from a week ago, gas is currently $1.93 at this gas station, $1.86 by my work and around $1.79 or so closer to Downtown.

Another reason why Ohio rocks my socks.

I've been meaning to post this picture since I moved here. Ohio has this picture posted at every gas pump. I think it's hilarious, mostly because of the hat, which all police out here wear on a regular basis. He's holding a driver's license if you can't tell since it's kinda small. He looks so serious but funny at the same time.

Happy Belated Halloween!

2008-11-07T20:34:00.004-05:00

Halloween was a lot of fun. This was the first year I got to decorate and pass out candy. Stacy brought Zoey over for Trick-or-Treating in her princess costume with a jumpsuit underneath to keep her warm. This picture really shows what a little punk she is. She cracks me up. She won't share with anyone except for her Auntie :) As you can imagine, I ended up wearing the crown by the end of the night because she wanted to dress me up.

Check out our cool lawn chair for furniture :)

Mya had a Halloween costume too!

You Knew This was Coming...

2008-11-07T20:14:00.007-05:00

What can I say? This was an exciting election and it was awesome to be in Ohio for it. I watched the results come in at Derrick's Mom's house and when they finally showed Ohio we cheered :) Both Obama's and McCain's speeches were inspiring and I'm really excited to see what happens next. I waited in line for 45mins to vote at 8:45am. The average wait was around 2 hours but I heard some people waited in line for 3. On Monday people were waiting in the rain to vote early.

Sunday I went Downtown to hear Obama speak but after waiting in line for an hour I was so cold I decided to go home. I would have had to wait at least another hour before he spoke anyway since Bruce Springsteen was also there giving a free concert. I'm glad I left since it started raining as soon as I got home and I didn't want to fight the 80,000 people (actual amount, I'm not exaggerating) to get on the public transit back the the west side (where I parked my car). Here's a picture of the line I waited in and the stage he spoke on.

More on Lola

2008-11-07T20:06:00.002-05:00

This is a clip of the show No Reservations from the Travel Channel when Anthony Bourdain was in Cleveland. The bald guy in white is the guy who interviewed Derrick. I love Micheal Symon's laugh! Hearing him laugh makes me laugh every time.

Iron Chef Derrick!

2008-11-07T19:45:00.003-05:00

Well not really, but he's going to be working for one! Derrick was offered a position at Lola in Cleveland which is Iron Chef/Host of Dinner Impossible Micheal Symon's restaurant. We're totally pumped! It's a little bit closer to home and he'll have Sundays off for the first time in forever. We ate there when my parents were in town and the food and service were incredible. Check out their website www.lolabistro.com.

My dream job is to have my own show on the travel channel. My wild imagination has this idea that by Derrick working with someone who is on the Food Network I'll get discovered and have my own show. lol. Why not?

I'm a Slacker! :(

2008-11-07T19:36:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's been so long! Work has been crazy busy. The deadline for high school seniors to get their photos taken for the yearbook is the end of this month so everyone and their mother is coming in because they all waited until the last minute instead of being photographed during the summer when they didn't have school and the weather was nice. Not that I can complain since I'm the queen of procrastination. I did a photo shoot at the lake today and it turned out beautiful! Unfortunately, I can't post any of the pictures here since they were for work and not myself. The sky was a pretty mix of blue and gray and the water looked like glass. The girl was a trooper too which made it a lot more fun. I had her standing in the water in her jeans and sitting in the mud.

I'm in the process of backing up my itunes files to DVD so I can take them off of the computer and get to making some videos! I have some footage of a groundhog eating that I think is pretty funny. The first disk failed so hopefully this one will work.

More post are on their way!!!

Field Trip!

2008-10-27T23:29:00.006-04:00

This past Sunday my Photography Club took a field trip to Lanterman's Mill. This mill is still functioning after over 100 years. It was really cool and absolutely beautiful. I'm too tired to type a lot about it but here are a few pictures. I'll fill you in on the details later. In case you are wondering, I did not change the color of the leaves, they really were that amazing.

I Have a New Car!

2008-10-27T23:07:00.003-04:00

Today I bought my first new car! Thank you to my awesome parents for helping me out big time! I work late the next couple of days so I won't be able to take a picture of it until later this week so here's a picture and a commerical from the Honda website until then. My Element is Atomic Blue :)

Snow!

2008-10-24T18:38:00.003-04:00

Well, not really. But imagine just how shocked I was when my coworkers told me it was supposed to snow tonight! Thankfully, it's just going to rain all night instead. However, the news is saying there's a chance of snow on Monday. There can't be snow before Halloween! That's just not right. Derrick said the last time he remembered it snowing for Halloween was when he was in 4th grade. Figures this happens for my first winter. Some interesting post sure to follow...

My Parents In Ohio!

2008-10-20T21:25:00.004-04:00

My parents were here the past few days and it was a total blast. I had so much fun showing them as many reasons why I love Ohio as possible in just a few days. I was bummed to see them leave but I'll be home for Christmas in two months so I'm ok. Here's some pictures of their first full day in Ohio. Check out the amazing fall colors!

Poll Results!

2008-10-14T21:39:00.002-04:00

This weeks winner for "What is the coldest temperature you've ever been in?" is UNDER 10 DEGREES! God bless you! I know I'll be joining your group soon but I'm so not looking forward to it. This weeks' poll goes with my only post this week "Road Trip!" (sorry guys, I'm slacking).

Road Trip!

2008-10-14T21:18:00.006-04:00

A miracle happened this past Sunday. Not only did Derrick and I have the day off together, it was 80 degrees and sunny! To celebrate being a normal American couple, we decided to take a road trip. Now you may be thinking, "Road trip? But gas is so expensive!" This is where living in the Midwest has its advantage. Gas by our apartment this weekend was $2.79 a gallon (today it was $2.73). We decided on West Virginia since it was about 15 minutes closer than Kentucky. Ohio is really cool because it's driving distance from so many other states. In about three hours you could go to; Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York or Canada to see Niagara Falls. West Virginia was slightly disappointing since it seemed really run down. Of course, we only went to the cities along the Ohio River which seemed to be old steel towns so I'm sure West Virginia has more to offer than just what we saw. The drive there was absolutely beautiful! I love Southern Ohio. It looks like a postcard. I don't think I would want to live so far away from everything but the open fields and trees with the fall foliage was amazing. Every 5 minutes I would point out the window and say, "Derrick look! It's beautiful!" and he would say, "Yes, Kimberly, more trees." I can't help it if I've never seen fall colors before. My parents are coming out this weekend so at least I wont be the only one in amazement. This picture is from a lake we passed along the way in Ohio. I forgot what it was called but it was huge! I haven't worn a tank top for about a month so please excuse my pale arms.

Poll Results!

2008-10-07T22:05:00.003-04:00

Last weeks poll, "If you saw a bug and didn't know what it was, would you make the effort to identify it" winner is...Yes, I like to learn. Yay for all of you who are willing to experience creepy crawlies in order to learn something new!

This weeks poll goes with my post, It's Cold!

Something Funny from Myspace

2008-10-06T18:07:00.002-04:00

I hope I don't offend you if you're a Palin supporter...

It's Cold!

2008-10-05T18:03:00.006-04:00

I know you are all going to laugh at me for this one but, it's cold! The people who live here may laugh at me but they're more bundled up than I am. So what if they know what's coming and think I'm in for a rude surprise. Let me give you some numbers to help explain the weather. The past few days the high was around 58 or so. Yesterday morning around 8:00am when I took Mya outside to go to the bathroom, it was 38 degrees! How do I know it was 38? Because as soon as I went back inside I checked the weather on my phone specifically so I could whine about it. A new JcPennys just opened down the street from me so after pay day I'm totally going to buy some warmer clothes. Everyone has been telling me that this winter is supposed to be a cold one. Aren't all of the winters here cold? I asked Derrick's Mom and Step Dad what do they mean by cold? They said colder than normal. I asked them to give me a temperature and they said they're expecting it to get in the single digets plus wind chill. Expect lots of whining and funny pictures in the months to come!

You know that kid in A Christmas Story? Yeah, that's gonna be me.

Best Vacuum Ever!

2008-10-05T17:51:00.003-04:00

I finally had the money to buy a vacuum (thank you rent.com!) so I went to Target to find the best one I could for the least amount of money. Vacuums are expensive! I remembered my sister, Marie, telling me she loved her new vacuum and it was only $50. I gave her a call and walked out of Target with the same exact model. I'm so glad I took her advice! The Dirt Devil Featherlite vacuum cost me $45 on sale and it works better than any vacuum I've ever used. I thought my carpet was pretty clean but seeing how much dirt it sucked up totally grossed me out. The only problem now is it's making me a little obsessive compulsive about cleaning. I guess that's not really a problem until it gets out of control. Actually, it's probably a really good thing since my parents are coming to visit in less than 2 weeks. If you need a new vacuum I definitely recommend this one. It looks worthless next to the big fancy ones in the store but it is awesome!

Poll Results!

2008-09-29T21:53:00.003-04:00

The result of this week's poll, "If you were pregnant, would you let someone photograph you in your underwear?" is a tie! Yes, it's beautiful and No, I'd be embarrassed.

This week's poll coincides with my Serious Heebie Jeebies post. Hope you can read it without getting the creepy crawlies!

Serious Heebie Jeebies!

2008-09-29T21:34:00.007-04:00

WARNING! IF SPIDERS FREAK YOU OUT, SCROLL QUICKLY THROUGH THIS POST!!!

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Don't say I didn't warn you!

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I was talking with some of the girls at work the other day about spiders and I told them about my spider wall. They tried to convince me that they were Brown Recluse/Violin Spiders and then told me about all the people they know who have been bitten by them. Now, I may be a California girl and slightly naive to the dangers of the Midwest, but don't they call them Brown Recluse for a reason? Still, they did freak me out so I bought a long broom and tore down my spider wall. Not that it made a difference, the spiders are just pissed off and rebuilding. Just to make sure my limbs aren't in danger of rotting off, I went outside tonight to take a picture (with my zoom lens!) so I could identify my live mosquito repellent. My skin is crawling so much right now it's ridiculous! Not only did I have to take pictures, I then had to go through my bug book and look at all of the spider pictures to figure out what kind of spiders I have. Then I had to google the names of the 3 I narrowed them down to. My guess is the Hammock Spider. Take a look at these pictures and let me know what you think. The second one is the underside of the spider.

At least I know they're not the dreaded Violin Spiders! If you're looking at the pictures and thinking, "Wow, those look big," you're right, they are big! The bigger one is about the size of a quarter (counting the legs).

Photography Competition!

2008-09-29T21:05:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow I'm entering my first photography competition. It's with the Lakewood Photographic Society which I joined last week. They're a really cool group of people and have a lot of information to share. I'm entering a picture of a butterfly for the "Nature" category and one of the pictures of Stacy for the "open" category. Wish me luck!

Fun with Ice Cream

2008-09-27T20:29:00.005-04:00

Zoey's been at different relative's houses all week while her parents take care of her new baby sister. I thought I would help tire her out for her Great-Grandma the other night by running around with her, but all I did was get her so excited she couldn't fall asleep. It was so cute because when I drove up the driveway she ran to the screen door and started yelling, "Auntie! Auntie!" Here she is making a mess with a fudgesicle. She's my favorite two year old this side of the Mississippi.

Indian Food!

2008-09-27T18:20:00.003-04:00

I went to Cafe Tandoor for dinner last night and it was awesome! It was so good that I ate the leftovers for lunch and dinner today. I was convinced I didn't like Indian food because I had something with curry once and didn't like it, but Derrick works with a lot of guys from India and they made some food for him to take home so I could try it. I'm hooked! It's probably one of the fattiest foods I've ever ate since it has a lot of butter and cream, but the flavors are so different from anything I have ever had before it's like a party for my mouth. Here's what I ate:

Garlic Nan - Nan topped with garlic and butter (Nan is kinda like pita bread without the pocket)
Saffron Pullao - Basmati rice steamed with spices and saffron threads
Chicken Shahi Korma - Boneless breast cooked in a mild cashew cream sauce
Butter Chicken - Marinated chicken in a fresh, creamy tomato and butter sauce

It was served family style which was cool because Derrick and I each picked an entree and split them. If you've never tried Indian food before, you should really give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised.

Poll Results!

2008-09-22T01:30:00.003-04:00

For this week's poll, "If you had the chance to go to a Political Rally, would you go?" we had a tie between Yes and No Way! I'm excited how many people voted this week. Twice as many as last week! I'm glad to see you all participating :) This week's poll goes with the My First Maternity Photo Shoot post. This week is going to be a busy week but hopefully I'll get some more posts in for you!

My First Maternity Photo Shoot!

2008-09-22T01:22:00.010-04:00

I photographed Derrick's sister, Stacy, last weekend. It turned out to be pretty good timing because her water broke early this morning! Here are my favorites :)

Poll Results!

2008-09-15T19:55:00.002-04:00

And the winner is...Pill Bugs! With Potato Bugs and Roly Poly tied for 2nd. Although, my cousin Tiffiny proved that Ohioans aren't misinformed. According to Wikipedia;

"Common names for woodlice vary throughout the English-speaking world. A number of common names make reference to the fact that some species of woodlice can roll up into a ball. Other names compare the woodlouse to a pig.

Names include: armadillo bug, cheeselog, doodlebug, pill bug, roly-poly, parson's pig, potato bug, roll up bug, slater, Carpenter, Wood Bug, sow bug, Chuggy-peg, Chuggy-pig, Granfer Gravy, butchie boy, and butcher boy."

So there you have it. If you're a cute bug that doesn't bite then everyone wants to make up a fun name to call you. Good to know if you believe in reincarnation.

This week's poll coincides with my Ohio! Obama! 08! entry. I couldn't post it last night because the weather was crazy and knocked out the internet. Thank you hurricane Ike! or is it Gustov? I'm not sure which one we had the tail end of yesterday but the wind was crazy!

Ohio! Obama! 08!

2008-09-15T19:30:00.006-04:00

I saw Hillary Clinton speak! Thanks to my handy-dandy emails I get from the Obama Campaign, I found out she was speaking at a rally held by the local Junior College. Derrick and I went even though I had the flu (a mild case of it, I'm already recovering). It was such a small space! I thought we were going to be in an auditorium far away from her, but we were standing in a common area and she was about 25ft in front of me.

It was kinda funny because they had so many political people speak before her and most of them were pretty annoying. Then, the last person to speak before Hillary was a local woman who worked in the Ford Plant and was recently laid-off. She was the best speaker out of all of them! She had most people ready to cry. She wasn't dramatic, just honest. I told Derrick how amazing it was that all the politicians have tons of public speaking experience and instruction and then this poor woman who does manual labor showed them all up. Hillary, of course, was great. Very enthusiastic without being over the top. She was pretty funny too. I felt like she was preaching to the choir, but it was still pretty fun. Now I'm all pumped to see Obama speak. The fun part about living in a swing state is all of the politicians come to speak numerous amounts of times trying to persuade even one more person to vote for them. I might go to a Republican rally just for kicks. Plus, maybe I can meet a rich man to marry me and then Derrick can be my man on the side. lol!

I didn't take my camera because I didn't want to get to the front of the line and be told I couldn't bring it in so these are pictures from my cell phone. The title of this entry is the cheer we chanted :)

Fall is Here!

2008-09-10T21:47:00.002-04:00

The Season has changed! The air is crisp and cool and everything seems to be changing. Today was 63 degrees and I was freezing! I actually bought a coffee (which I hardly ever drink) to warm me up in the middle of the day. Caribou Coffee, which is like Ohio's Starbucks even though they have Starbucks out here (they're just few and far between), has this really tasty Pumpkin Latte that has white chocolate mocha and cinnamon in it. My breath was terrible after I finished it but a few breath mints took care of that. I didn't want to freak out the high school kids I was photographing today. Hopefully I can go buy some warmer clothes with this paycheck because I'm definetely going to need them!