Day 31

One month down. Eleven to go.

Today I went to the park with little Katy. Her and her brother love being outside and playing. The park we go to has a pool, beach, splash pad, boat docks, tennis courts and much more. It's great going with them to the park, because not only do they have fun, I have fun as well.


I did not bring my bathing suit to work today, so I could not go in the pool with Katy. She settled for running around on the splash pad in the 90˚F (32˚C) weather while I watched her and caught a few sun rays. My favorite part is watching the kids under the buckets. There are four buckets and each of them are filled with water and fall at different times. It is cute to watch the kids have expressions of surprise on their faces when the water falls on them.

And you better best believe when I play on the splash pad with them, my surprised faces are similar to the kids'. 


Kimmik

Day 30

For the third day in a row, I was at Comerica Park. But today was different, I was able to watch the game and enjoy it.


I usually enjoy myself while working, however, today I watched the whole baseball game with Fuat and my mother. It was a lot of fun. We sported our newly purchased sun glasses and the reflection in Fuat's glasses was awesome so of course, I pulled Irwin out of his bag.


Click. Photo taken.


I know I have written as much as I have in the past and I will try to change that. My days have been so packed and I usually return home late. But at least I keep to my plan of taking and posting a photograph a day. My plan was not to write a novel each time that I post, however I like to write about the photograph. I think it is a little better than just throwing a photograph on here and letting the viewers fend for themselves.


Unfortunately, today will be a short post because I am on the way to a Memorial Day bbq/bon fire to get my eating on =) Woot!


Kimmik

Day 29

I photographed my first double-header baseball game today for the Detroit Tigers. As a matter of fact, it was my first double-header game period. It was a long 10-hour work day, but it was really fun.

I love working at the Tigers game because everyone is (usually) in a great mood and friendly. The staff of photographers and managers is full of such wonderful people who I truly enjoy working with. It makes long days like today very enjoyable.

Each time I work, I pass this statue of Ernie Harwell and cannot help but to return his wide smile back at him. Today, I noticed something at the statue's feet from far away. Thinking it was trash, I walked over to clear it, however, I quickly realized that it was memorial flowers for him. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted that to be my photograph for today because it represented my day at work and it was an incredibly thoughtful idea.

One shutter click later -- and we have today's photograph. Another memorial for Mr. Harwell.

Kimmik

Day 28

I just came to say "hello."


After hearing the song by Martin Solveig & Dragonette, I always get it stuck in my head for the rest of the day. But not in a bad way because I enjoy that song.

When bowling with some friends today, the song came on and I saw the lottery ticket. Its number of sections matched the number of letters in the word "hello" so I decided to put my artistic abilities to work. (Please note the sarcasm) I filled in a few bubbles and spelled the word that is repeated in the song. So clever! (More sarcasm haha)

Other than bowling, I went to see my BFF Sarah's band play tonight. GREAT JOB SARAH! They were so fantastic! They are an all girl rock band and I have nothing but compliments for them. Naturally, I took a few photographs of them...but I thought the "hello" photo would suit me more for today's post because the song is still stuck in my head.


Kimmik

Day 27

Cheap sushi is not good and good sushi is not cheap.

Tonight I went to Little Tree Sushi Bar with Fuat and had some great food. I always love eating there because a lot of my friends work there and also my brother, as a chef. The sushi is not too expensive, considering customers usually pay a little more at sushi restaurants. It is a really nice treat. Fuat says that he loves eating sushi because when you are full, you do not feel "heavy" and I understand him. Because when you eat a huge burger, you feel really "heavy" and slow...or at least I do haha. It is always really nice eating here with nice friends.

The above roll is called a "Mad Chef" and I believe it is a specialty of Little Tree. Basically, it is a California Roll deep fried. I know California Rolls are not "real" sushi with the raw fish, but I really like it. 

Nom. Nom. Nom.

Kimmik

Day 26

This morning, I had a boo-boo.


It hurt. Really bad.


Really, really bad.


For the past couple days I had this weird bump on my forefinger. It was fine on the first day because it did not hurt, but now, it does. And I do not know why. I am hoping that it will go away soon.


Nothing really exciting happened today. I worked for twelve hours and it rained for most of the day. Fuat came to visit me at work and that really brightened my day. It has been raining on and off here for about a week now and I am ready for sunshine.


Let's hope that tomorrow does not rain.


Kimmik

Day 25

Today's photograph was made possible for you by FrankFuat.


The weather was incredibly bad today. Rain. Rain. Rain. The streets were flooded and it was tough to drive through. 


Thinking of what to photograph today was about as difficult as the weather. I wanted to get the rain dropping from the roof or maybe capture the raindrops in a puddle. But the pictures did not turn out as good as I wanted them to. 


As I pondered today's photograph, my friend, Fuat, from Germany made a suggestion. "Take a picture of my Scooby Doo key!" What a great idea because that little key is a big representation of his stay in Detroit.

It represents the next two months where he will be staying with me. We went to get a key made today and he chose the Scooby Doo key. It also represents his personality because he is very fun and laid back. He loves to make jokes and it is nearly impossible to stop laughing when you are with him.


I say that today's photograph comes from FrankFuat because it is a little wordplay about his hometown, Frankfurt. I must thank him for his suggestion on today's photograph.

I cannot wait to spend the next two months with him. Richtig geil!


Kimmik

Day 24

Welcome to the tea party, so glad you could join us.


Every morning I wake up, I try and think of what I want to photograph for the day's blog post. I usually never use the ideas I think of. The reason is because usually something more interesting comes along. 


This was the first exposure I made today and out of the hundred or so photographs I took today, I decided this would be featured on today's post.

My little one wanted to have a tea party outside. And while I'm not the most likely to jump at the idea of having an imaginary tea party, I played along. It was pretty fun, but I would much rather run around at a park or go swimming. In the middle of "having tea" she said, "Kimi, where's your camera?" I think it was so cute of her to ask. I went inside, got Irwin and took this photograph from the doorway. I thought it was really interesting with the background being green and all of the colors on her clothing and on the table. Oh, and of course, her big sun glasses. Too bad we did not have the chance to have tea with the Mad Hatter or the March Hare. There is always hope for next time.


I'm very happy that I have kept up with this for three and a half weeks. I think completing this will be a great accomplishment for me and a great way of remembering the year that had passed. But what I'm even more happy about...well more thankful for, is the over 750 views I have had on my blog over those three weeks. That is really great. I am constantly getting great feedback from everyone and I love it. Speaking of feedback, do not hesitate to leave a comment =) I also take constructive criticism. If you do not like a picture, let me know why! I promise we will still be friends.


Beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder. I realize that not everyone has the same artistic tastes. So leave me a comment and I will try and photograph something that is more appealing to you. Suggestions are always welcome too! Remember, I am shooting a photograph a day to try and push myself as a photographer and experiment more. I await your challenge haha ;)


But in all sincerity, thank you so much for reading my blog and checking out my photography. It means a lot more than you will ever know.


Kimmik

Day 23

Hello from the world famous Eastern Market in Detroit.

Though thoroughly exhausted from my trip this past weekend, I went down to The Market with my mom to meet her friend, Tom. He the owner of Ronnie's Meat, named after his father. Upon arrival to The Market, we were greeted by Ronnie, Tom's son who introduced me to his father. After walking around and looking at the wide selection of fresh meats, Tom introduced me to his father, Ronnie, the man who started it all. They were all really nice.

It was really interesting to see the store because it had so much history behind it. Old school black and white photographs lined the store's walls depicting the family behind it.

My mom and I walked around with Tom as he showed us more of his store and asked us what types of meat we liked. After we told him, he would tell his employee to put ____ pounds of ____ meat into a bag for us. We went home with a significant amount of fresh meat. It was very nice of them to do that for us.

I am very excited for the kebobs. Ronnie's Meats has three types of kebobs and they all looked delicious. I prefer chicken over red meat, so I am looking forward to having a barbecue tomorrow. It will be a special barbecue because a friend is flying in from Germany. Then the kebobs will be savored. I cannot wait.

Kimmik

Day 22

Today's post is the limited edition camera phone special! How lucky are you?

I did not have the chance to photograph something with my Nikon, so I took a quick picture from our car as we were departing Washington D.C. and heading back to Detroit. 

At first I thought I was cheating by doing this, but my goal is to photograph and post a photograph a day...not necessarily with my Nikon. Well, technically that is cheating because in doing this project, I want to push myself as a photographer and taking a picture with my camera phone is not doing so. But for a camera on a phone, I do not think that my T-Mobile GarminFone's camera is not that bad...I am very happy with the results.

The photograph is the street that our hotel was on. The far left there is the blue awning and that is the cafe we visited during our stay. It was a really nice little coffee shop. I wish I had more of them near my house. Yes, I have the Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, BigBy and whatever other consumer-driven large coffee chains there are, near my house, but it is not the same. Going into a small cafe is really great and one of my favorite experiences. In case you have not figured it out by now, I really love coffee. haha

After a really GREAT weekend with my friends and an interesting drive back (I got sick and we drove through tornado-like weather in Ohio), I am now safely at home and was excitedly greeted by Pongo. Plenty of sloppy kisses and tail wags. It was nice to see my puppy again. I always miss the little bugger when I go on trips.

Thanks for the great weekend girls!

Kimmik

Day 21

Have you ever seen the White House at 6am? I have and now you have too.

The above photograph was taken after we arrived to Washington D.C. a lot earlier than we expected. Our hotel was not open at 5.30am for us to check in so we had to decide what to do. We drove around The District, parked and walked to some major sightseeing spots.

It was very nice because there were not a lot of people out and we were able to see the sights with ease.


This photograph is an HDR photo. I did not bracket my shot too much, because I do not like the "fakeness" of some HDR photos. But I do like capturing the different ranges of intensity levels.


My two friends and I had a great day. Being in D.C. at 6am was probably the best part of our day; though we had many great moments throughout the day. The weather was perfect and it was even better that we did not have to push and shove to get our pictures taken in front of the monuments. 


Later on in the day, we went for a swim in our hotel's pool, took a nap, went on a tour more monuments and retired early to our room. Other than my knee pain (from a previous hockey injury) from all the walking, I have no complaints about today. It was a fantastic day with my friends.


Kimmik

Day 20

Today's photograph comes from the grill of my lovely Ford Focus. I wanted to do something related to my car before I left on my weekend road trip to our nation's capital, Washington D.C.


The last time I visited D.C. was on my eighth grade field trip in '02 or '03. Looking back on that trip, my 13 year-old self used the journey as more of a social experience then an educational one. Which I think I can safely assume that in this case, most teenagers would.  I did not take the time to appreciate neither the history nor beauty that the Capitol City holds.


I believe I have done my fair share of international traveling and was fortunate to visit the capitol cities of Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Philippines. It was while visiting Berlin in '08 that I realized that I had more appreciation for the Reichstag than the White House. Maybe it is not more appreciation, but definitely more of an interest. I believe it is because traveling to a new place is exciting and intriguing. 


But what I failed to realize when experiencing/dreaming about foreign countries is that traveling around your own country can be exciting and intriguing as well.


Being 22 and having been a resident of the U.S. for the majority of my life, the number of countries I have traveled to is higher than the number of states I have visited. And I would really like to change that.


Now, I know that Washington D.C. is not a state, but there is no better place to start my exploration of the U.S. Fortunately, I will not be traveling alone; I will have two great friends as my co-pilots on our 530 mile trip to D.C.

I spent the day with my mechanic, making sure all is well with my car, also I cleaned and washed it. It's pretty.


We are departing less than three hours from this post, the only thing left to do is pack clothes and food. Naturally, my camera bag has been ready to go for hours. Expect some D.C. related photographs tomorrow and Sunday.


See you on the east coast,


Kimmik

Day 19

My little Van Gogh. 


The other little one that I babysit is Charlie, he is eight years-old and is an incredible artist. He has a very creative mind and I love watching him paint, draw or sculpt. If he imagines it, he can create it.

Sometimes I bring crafts for the kids to do and today Charlie painted a birdhouse I brought for him. He had managed to get paint every where, including his hands. When he was holding a paintbrush and paint in his messy hands, I thought it would make for an interesting picture. Kind of like the picture I posted of his little sister drawing with chalk.

They are both very artistic little children and I hope they continue to be so. They have a natural talent and love creating things. 


It is refreshing to be around such imagination and creativity each day. I really do think it helps me to be more imaginative with my photography. Especially with Charlie. If he is looking at something interesting he never fails to say "Hey Kimi, take a picture of that!" And most of the time I do and the photograph turns out to be pretty neat. Who knows, maybe he is the next Ansel Adams in the making and I do not even know it haha.

Kimmik

Day 18

I see the above sign each time I open my gate. It always give me a chuckle because Pongo is not a dog to "beware" of. Yes, he is a big dog and has a deep bark, but he is a sweetheart.


Pongo can be overly excited sometimes, causing him to jump and wiggle. But he is not a mean dog. He likes to bark at people walking by the house and one of his favorite activities are barking at the mailman.


There are a lot of dogs in my neighborhood and they like to bark. And once one of them starts barking, they all start "talking" to each other. Naturally, Pongo chimes in.

Leaving the sign on the gate is my little dose of comedic irony. I do not bother to take it down probably because it is a constant source of laughter.


Kimmik

Day 17

I used to be an avid reader when I was younger, but I've been so submersed in my text books that I have slightly neglected to read for fun.


The above photograph is one of my brother's favorite books. His friend recently came back from Germany and brought him the German version of the book. Super geil! haha. And I have a lot of friends in Germany who often read my blog, so maybe they'll enjoy a little bit of German on here.


Since my semester is over, my brother encouraged me to start reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (in English) in an attempt to get back into reading. I am enjoying the book so far and anticipate it can only get better. It makes me realize how much I have missed bringing the words on the page to life in my imagination. And it's a temporary escape from reality; sometimes I need that. I think everyone does.


I hope I can keep some time free in my schedule to continue reading. Something I intend to work on.

Let books be your dining table,
And you shall be full of delights
Let them be your mattress
And you shall sleep restful nights.
~Author Unknown

Bis Morgen,


Kimmik

Day 16

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend quality time with my Chocolate Lab as we went to the vet today. I hope you could sense the hint of sarcasm in that last sentence.


Going to the vet with Pongo is an event neither of us enjoy. He does not like it, for obvious reasons; the poking of needles, getting blood work done and having strange looking people give him cookies in exchange for sitting while they check out his body.


I do not enjoy going to the vet with Pongo because he does not like it. Since it is not his favorite activity, he is nervous while in the office and he restlessly paces back and forth. He does not like his yearly check-ups; but they are needed. 


All of his tests came back clear today and Pongo is very healthy. Though, he did gain 10 pounds since his last visit in April '10. Now he weighs 86 pounds...he is a big boy. The vet said that he is not overweight, but they would like to see him around 75 pounds. Especially because I said that his leg had been giving him a little trouble lately, but the vet said Pongo probably stretched a tendon in his right knee. Losing weight would help with his knee.


Like mommy, like puppy. We both have knee problems and the funny thing is that it is the same knee.


Regardless of my dislike for taking Pongo to the vet, I enjoy it. Because it is more time I get to spend with the little guy and it is comforting now that it is over. I know he is healthy.

"A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if your rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?" J.Grogan

Kimmik

Day 15

Coffee. Coffee. Coffee.


A word I use at least three times day and coincides with the number of beverages I have a day. And after thinking about it, this happened to be my third coffee of the day. I'm on schedule.


One of my favorite jobs I've ever had was being a barista within a bookstore. It was great getting to know my customers and even better seeing my "regulars" on a daily basis.


Coffee is great on a number of different levels. I believe that the greatest thing about coffee is how it brings people together.


Today, I had the opportunity to meet a couple of great friends for coffee, who I have not seen in a while due to my crazy schedule. It is always refreshing seeing them after a little while and catching up on everything. They are awesome. Our times spent together are always filled with laughter and smiles never fade from our faces.


I am sure everyone feels the same about their friends, but I truly have an incredible support system from my friends and family. Without whom, I would not be the person I am today. Each person in my life has played a significant role, and for that, I am thankful. I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart; you know who you are.


So today's picture is brought to you from our little meeting at Caribou Coffee; the cafe is always as comforting as the company.


Kimmik

Day 14

Lately I have not been listening to as much music as I normally do. Usually, when I get into my car, I select a song, then I am off. But nowadays, I find myself listening to NPR Radio and catching up on the news of the world.

While driving around during this rainy morning, a CD labeled "songs to review" fell from my sun visor. Curious of its contents, I popped it into the CD player and music filled the car. The CD was full of music that was sent to me by artists. I often get music via e-mail, mypace and twitter because I write about and review music for FanBolt; a great website. I have not written an article since December, which coincides with the time that I stopped really listening to music. 

It was nice to get back in touch with music. And I'm not talking about mainstream music...I'm talking about music from under-appreciated artists who compose music because they love it, not to please the masses. And no auto-tune. If I wanted to listen to auto-tune, I'd listen to a T-Pain record.

I will not be solely listening to music in lieu of NPR; I will try and find a happy balance between them.

So, for today's photograph, I let the rain fall on the CD that fell on my head. And I let the light capture the colors and reflections of the water droplets. All I did was push a button to release the shutter.

"To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.” Aaron Copland

Kimmik

Day 13

Today is Friday, the 13th. But why is this day considered to be so unlucky?

National Geographic has the answer.

"Thomas Fernsler, an associate policy scientist in the Mathematics and Science Education Resource Center at the University of Delaware in Newark, said the number 13 suffers because of its position after 12.

According to Fernsler, numerologists consider 12 a "complete" number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles of Jesus.

In exceeding 12 by 1, Fernsler said 13's association with bad luck "has to do with just being a little beyond completeness. The number becomes restless or squirmy...

Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.

As for Friday, it is well known among Christians as the day Jesus was crucified. Some biblical scholars believe Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit on Friday. Perhaps most significant is a belief that Abel was slain by Cain on Friday the 13th."

I thought that was a pretty interesting article. I love National Geographic. If I could have any job in the entire world, it would be a National Geographic photographer.

A very wise man once said "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live," Albus Dumbledore/JK Rowling.

But I can still dream a little =)

I cannot say that I believe in the "Friday the 13th" superstition nor did anything "unlucky" happen to me today. Though, I did wake up with a wicked headache...but that is because of the constant weather changes in Michigan. 

Today's photograph has nothing to do with dreaming or Friday the 13th. I just thought I would try something different because the flowers and trees are finally starting to bloom. 

Hurray for photosynthesis!

Kimmik

Day 12

Another day of nannying, another photograph of my little one. They (whoever "they are") always say, "Photograph what you know." My little one tends to be the subject of most of my photographs.

I was once asked why I do not show her face. I do not show her face because it would not have the same affect on the photograph. Not knowing what she looks like (she's a very beautiful little girl) leaves the viewer to their imagination. And it also lets the viewer imagine themselves or someone they know as the one blowing bubbles.

I like this photograph because it's simplicity. Anyone who knows me, knows that it's the little things in life that I enjoy the most. My puppy annoyingly barking at me in the morning to let him outside, mother calling me four times a day just to say "hello," receiving a postcard in the mail from a foreign country, or someone holding the door open for me.

It is hard not to focus on the negatives in life; believe me, my life has its fair share just like everyone else. That is why I adore little things so much, because a bunch of little events in your day eventually lead up to create a very positive day.

I think world could use a little more positivity and simplicity.

Kimmk

Day 11

Final exam week is coming to a close. I have completed three out of four exams for this semester and cannot wait to finish my last one on Friday.

Today was my last Intro to Photography class. Since we took our exam on Monday, today we presented our final "Mini Portfolio's" and our awesome professor brought in coffee, doughnuts and bagels. 

A woman in my class made the buttons above with catch phrases from my professor. My class found them hilarious; as did I.

The first one is in reference to my professor's "Golden Rule" that when hand holding your camera, your shutter speed must be greater than or equal to the focal length of your lens; in order to reduce camera shake. 

Whenever something he lectured about was very important and would later show up on an exam, he would use his "foot stompers" and, obviously, stomp his foot. Three times to be exact. An example of this would be, "So when hand holding your camera, your shutter speed must be greater than or equal to the focal length of your lens." **STOMP STOMP STOMP** Then everyone's pens would hit their notepad, scribbling down his instruction.

Another thing my professor did was teach us how to use "The Force" while photographing in the studio. And it's quite funny. When we had a headshot model for the class, we would use our hands, (most likely our left hand extended out, our first finger and thumb making and "L" shape) to direct the model's head without touching him/her. When directing the model, we would move our hands in the same direction as we told them to move, and it was just like using "The Force." Quite amusing.

Catch lights are the glint in a subject's eye or that little "spark" you see. It's caused by the reflection of light in the subject's eye and is used a lot in portraiture photography. Specific light patterns can be recognized by the position of the catch lights in the eyes. When acting as our headshot model in the studio, our professor asked us what type of light pattern he was using and said, "Look into my catch lights." Another funny antic from my professor.

This class, having been my first formal photography class, I would have to say it was very informative and fun. My professor made the class a great and comfortable environment for everyone. Each day was full of laughter. And I believe that is rare in a college-level class. I'm looking forward to taking more photography classes at my college and hopefully seeing my professor again.

Below is my final Mini Portfolio I turned in for the class, I thought I'd share it with you, but especially for my youngest fan who lives in Minnesota. This little one reads my blog everyday with her mother and I couldn't be more thankful to have a constant support like that. So this one is for you Trista! Hope you it, especially all the animal pictures!!

Kimmik

Day 10

Hurray for double digits.

Today I had the opportunity to play with two pretty cool kids. One is the three-year old girl I normally nanny and the other is her 1 1/2 year-old cousin. First, we painted little birdhouses, had lunch and then we spent some time outside. After playing on the tricycles and little cars, we moved onto sidewalk chalk.

It is always fun hearing the kids say "HEY! Look at the doggie and kitty I drew" and seeing a bunch of lines on the driveway.

In the above picture, my little one was successfully drawing a rainbow. She's becoming quite the artist. It is great.

Kimmik

Day 9

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good...


66 days until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.


Not that I'm counting down or anything...


Last week, I went to visit my former journalism teacher in high school. I try to make it a habit to visit her often because Ms. T is nothing short of amazing. She was the person who introduced me to photography (upon our first meeting) by trusting me to photograph a swim meet with the school's Nikon D70. Luckily, I did not drop the camera into the water. Since then, I was a member of the Lancer and picked up a couple awards. More details on this story can be read here on my photography website.

As with all of my visits with Ms. T, we spent the time talking about what each other has been up to and my crazy antics. I mentioned to her that I had an interest in taking a film photography class next semester and she asked me if I had a camera. My response was "no." She directed me to a file cabinet with an unmarked box that contained a bunch of her old camera stuff. I pulled out a film camera body and she said she would let me play with it. She's the greatest.


I'm sure today's picture wasn't what she meant by "playing" with the film camera. But I couldn't resist myself. Anyone who knows me personally knows I absolutely LOVE the Harry Potter series and I LOVE Lego. Throw that into the equation with my passion for photography and the solution equals the above mentioned photo.

As much as I am against massive amounts of Photoshop in photographs, I took this photograph into Photoshop LightRoom and played with it a little. Just to make it look like an older film photograph. Thought I'd mix it up a little today.


Mischief Managed,


Kimmik

Day 8

Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there!


Today, I went to the Detroit Zoo (again), but this time, I went with my mother. Going to the zoo with my mom is always a wonderful experience. As a kid, I remember going there with her often. And now, being 22, it's still as magical as the first time. My Nikon DSLR replacing the juice box that was once in my hand. My mom told stories of when my brother and I were kids and our past experiences at the zoo.

I had a really great day with my mom. Especially since we work a lot, and I have school, we rarely get the opportunity to spend an entire day together. So it was a lovely change of pace. Our day was bestowed with great weather and homemade cheese filled crepes with a strawberry sauce and whip cream on top and other breakfast foods. Then we ventured off to the zoo and met my brother for a late lunch, coffee and dessert at an upscale Japanese restaurant where he is a chef. Unfortunately, he was working today, but we were able to spend a little time with him.


Today's photograph reminds me of "Lion King 1 1/2" where the meerkats sing "Dig A Tunnel" such a catchy song! Don't know what I'm talking about? Check out the video here on YouTube.


Kimmik

Day 7

Today I went to the Detroit Zoo with some friends. The zoo is always one of my favorite places to visit. Maybe it's the little kid in me, but I love the animals and learning about them. 

At the zoo, there is a Prairie Dog exhibit that is really neat. We watched the little ones run around...Then a quick, sudden movement caught our attention. These two Prairie Dogs were fighting each other. Later we found out that their quarrel was over the food in that hole. So, I kept my camera focused on them and was fortunate enough to capture a few nice action shots. 

So, in honor of Manny Pacquaio's fight today against Shane Mosley (and myself being Filipino), I decided to put this photograph up. GO MANNY!

Kimmik

Day 6

I was shopping at Trader Joe's today and saw these tissue boxes sitting on the shelf. I am not in need of tissue, but I found the box's sayings hilarious. I believe it was worth the $0.99 investment to have a laugh each time I reach for a tissue. 


I enjoy the sayings the cartoons from Trader Joe's. As sill as it may be, they are one of the main reasons I shop there. Who doesn't love laughing? 


Kimmik

Day 5

Since the weather was very nice today, I took the little girl I nanny to the park. I have many friends in the area who are nannies/au pairs and we often take our kids to the park for play dates. Today we had a play date and other then my little girl getting hit by a boy on a swing (she accidentally ran in front of the swings), it was a great day. I like play dates because I get to be in the company of my friends too.

The weather continues to be pleasant here in Metro Detroit. I woke up this morning feeling great, the sun was shinning. As I do each morning, after my alarm goes off, I roll over in my bed and check my e-mail, facebook and twitter pages.


No new e-mails.
No new notifications.
But I did have an @ Reply on Twitter.


When I read who tweeted me, I was stunned. Kat von D?!?! I thought I was still sleeping. I sat up in my bed and checked it again. It was not a dream, but reality.

Kat von D is my inspiration for my 365 project. My inspiration for pushing myself to be better at what I do. She has a "Sketch a Day" project that she is doing and posts her beautiful sketches on her Twitter page. After last night's tweet, I tweeted Kat that she is my inspiration for this project. I couldn't believe she tweeted me back! Especially since two weeks ago, I wrote an entry in my personal blog about how much she inspires me. It's very motivating to hear from someone I admire so much...even if it's only two words.


Below is a screenshot of the tweet that leaves me smiling.

Also, don't be shy to leave comments =) I noticed that I have visitors from the U.S., Germany, Brazil, Canada, Bulgaria, France, Lithuania and Norway...I'm super stokked about that it would also be nice to hear from all of you and get some feedback. Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog! Hope you're enjoying it.


Kimmik