The Final Post...

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?

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

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

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!

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!

Cookie Deocorating

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

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

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!

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.

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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.