My Bird Feeder is Not in Vain!

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?

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!

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!

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

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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...

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

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!

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! :(

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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

It's Cold!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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 :)