Only 11 days left until lucky November 30th!!!!
19 November 2008
12 October 2008
Einstein Math
Klaron was doing homework earlier this week and turns to me and says, "This is Einstein Math." I said, "Ok. have a good time."
My first time canning without my mom ever!!! My friend and I canned apple pie filling and apple sauce. And i did the apple sauce all by myself, AND THEY ALL SEALED. I was pretty excited. Now they are on my food storage shelf.
WE GOT OUR STROLLER/ CAR SEAT = TRAVEL SYSTEM. Very exciting, so we are now ready for this little man to come. Only 7 more weeks. We realized today that we bought the same stroller as someone else who just had a baby... Kraig and Melissa Cramer.
GO BUCKEYES. My first and last ever Buckeye football game. After I finished my last batch of apple sauce, Klaron and I went and bought Buckeye shirts for the game. It really is something to see. Almost everyone in the stands is in red or white. WOWZA, now thats school spirit!!
Belly update!!! Please don't judge me by my wardrobe. I didn't actually wear my BIG JUDS shirt to church, its just more comfortable than my maternity shirts i out grew about a month ago.
07 September 2008
Neighbor's Garbage
Ok, J, here you go!!! It took a little longer than expected but we finally finished refinishing the dresser. We decided to go with the two-tone to give it a more rustic cowboy look. We think it looks rather good. So Words of Wisdom: don't shun neighbors garbage because it may be covered in 4 inches of snow, carved in child graffiti and put splinters in your socks. It might just need a little lovin' for it to shine.
03 September 2008
1,000 Mile Weekend
Klaron and I, well we like to travel... see new sites and immerse ourselves in the local culture. I love post cards and gift shops. And when we travel, we travel. We are not like those sane folk who take vacations. The ones who drive to their destination, maybe a few hours or a plane ride away, and spend a few days relaxing and enjoying one singular area. OH NO, this is not the Cramer Way. We have got to see it ALL!! Example, 2 years ago in 2006 over Memorial Day Weekend, we drove our Durango over 2,000 miles from Hartford, Connecticut, north to Nova Scotia, then further north to Prince Edward Island. After spending about 2 hours on the island we turned around and drove home. Driving a different route of course because we never like to see the same thing twice. We have been to 44 states, lived in 7 states and last year we filed taxes in 3 states.
This Labor Day Weekend was no different, except that I am now 6 1/2 months pregnant with our baby boy who still does not have a name. I have always wanted to see the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I am drawn to places that few people have seen and I don't know of anyone whose ever been to the U.P.
On Friday, Klaron got off work early and we started our vacation, destination: Pictured Rock National Lakeshore in Munising, Michigan. Being the fabulous and well organized wife that I am, I had packed the car with all the necessary items for a 4 day camping trip. Like the postman I was prepared for rain, sleet, snow and every other type of weather. I had even pre-made chicken enchiladas to cook over the camp stove for dinner. We were ready!!! After 4 hours, we made it to the Mackinac Bridge (spelled Mackinac but pronounced Mackinaw, and the locals will laugh and point if you get it wrong).
I really wanted my picture taken on this rock, but a little girl kept playing on it, so I had to wait for her to leave to take the picture. This is a very cool bridge. It is just short of 5 miles long and is the only connection between Upper and Lower Michigan. It also separated Lake Michigan to the west from Lake Huron in the east.
SATURDAY: We spent the whole day in Pictured Rock National Lakeshore. This Lakeshore is known for its painted cliffs, inspiring rock formations and numerous waterfalls. We started at the Interagency Visitors Center for some information and then headed into the park.
The whole morning we spend hiking. We hiked to Miners Falls and then on to Miners Castle Overlook. At Miners Beach we stopped for lunch and a little play time in Lake Superior.
The lake water was so pristine and clear and freezing!! But we did get in. We have now seen all of the five Great Lakes. Lake Superior being the last one to see.
After lunch, we were both exhausted!! But in the spirit of the Cramer Way, we went for another 3 mile hike to see Chapel Falls. This is Klaron's "we hiked all the way here just to see this" face. He was so ready for a nap.
The highlight of the whole day was the Pictured Rock Sunset Boat Cruise. This cruise took us 17 miles up the coast along the Pictured Rock cliff face. Above is a better view of Miner's Castle.
This Labor Day Weekend was no different, except that I am now 6 1/2 months pregnant with our baby boy who still does not have a name. I have always wanted to see the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I am drawn to places that few people have seen and I don't know of anyone whose ever been to the U.P.
On Friday, Klaron got off work early and we started our vacation, destination: Pictured Rock National Lakeshore in Munising, Michigan. Being the fabulous and well organized wife that I am, I had packed the car with all the necessary items for a 4 day camping trip. Like the postman I was prepared for rain, sleet, snow and every other type of weather. I had even pre-made chicken enchiladas to cook over the camp stove for dinner. We were ready!!! After 4 hours, we made it to the Mackinac Bridge (spelled Mackinac but pronounced Mackinaw, and the locals will laugh and point if you get it wrong).
I really wanted my picture taken on this rock, but a little girl kept playing on it, so I had to wait for her to leave to take the picture. This is a very cool bridge. It is just short of 5 miles long and is the only connection between Upper and Lower Michigan. It also separated Lake Michigan to the west from Lake Huron in the east.
SATURDAY: We spent the whole day in Pictured Rock National Lakeshore. This Lakeshore is known for its painted cliffs, inspiring rock formations and numerous waterfalls. We started at the Interagency Visitors Center for some information and then headed into the park.
The whole morning we spend hiking. We hiked to Miners Falls and then on to Miners Castle Overlook. At Miners Beach we stopped for lunch and a little play time in Lake Superior.
The lake water was so pristine and clear and freezing!! But we did get in. We have now seen all of the five Great Lakes. Lake Superior being the last one to see.
After lunch, we were both exhausted!! But in the spirit of the Cramer Way, we went for another 3 mile hike to see Chapel Falls. This is Klaron's "we hiked all the way here just to see this" face. He was so ready for a nap.
The highlight of the whole day was the Pictured Rock Sunset Boat Cruise. This cruise took us 17 miles up the coast along the Pictured Rock cliff face. Above is a better view of Miner's Castle.
This is Chapel Rock on Chapel Beach, below Chapel Falls. The amazing thing about this is the lone tree atop the rock formation. Trees cannot grow in rocks, so the tree's root has grown over to the other rock structure to sustain the tree. Very adaptive those trees.
This is one of my favorite rock formations. Its a pirate!! Can you see it?
The Captain thought it would be fun to take the boat into this little cove. He was right, it was very swell.
The Pictured Rocks are known as "painted cliffs" and this is why. They are beautiful. I have never seen anything like it. There are so many colors on the cliffs. It really is something to see but can only be seen from the water.
Spray Falls... this was the last site on the cruise. When we got back to our campsite that night it was about 9:30 and dark. I had been waiting all day to eat those enchiladas, I was so excited. So while Klaron went to get fresh drinking water from the pump, I made the enchiladas. Now I say drinking water because you pump the water from a pump, one that you have to crank up and down to prim and then you get the water. It reminded me of that seminary video where the guy is walking through the desert and he sees a pump he has to prim but drinks the water meant for priming instead of actually putting in the pump. You know the story, now anyway... The water came out clear from the pump, but somehow in our buckets it turned a nice brown rust color and it was glacier cold. But beggars can't be choosers so we used it as face washing water. Oh, I should also add that the enchiladas were awesome!!!
SUNDAY: Now like I mentioned before, most sane vacationers would have spent another day in the park enjoying nature and the beautiful surroundings, BUT NOT THE CRAMERS. We drove 3 hours east over to Tahquamenon Falls State Park to see the largest waterfall west of the Mississippi. So here we are on the observation deck at Tahquamenon Falls.
Falls in the morning then another 2 hour drive further east to Sault Ste Marie on the Canadian border. Our landlord told us the Soo Locks were an absolute must see and it really is. Here's the story. Lake Huron is 21 feet lower than Lake Superior. So for the mega carrier boats to cross from Huron to Superior man created the Soo Locks. What happens is the carrier sails into one of the four shoots, then the gate is closed behind them. The water is raised the needed 21 feet to be level with Lake Superior and then the gate is opened and the carrier goes on its way. It really is a site to see. The carriers are mega gargantuous.
Klaron was on the digital camera and I took the video, so if you have a yearning to see the Soo Locks in action, I got it on tape. All 35 minutes of it.
MONDAY: Labor Day 2008!! Day of the 51st Mackinac Bridge Walk. Bright and early Monday morning we came full circle back to the Mackinac Bridge, this time to walk across it. Crazy? It's 5 miles across! Tell that to the other 30,000 people that gather to walk across the bridge every Labor Day. We started at the Straits State Park. First let me tell you reader about the magic pass we have. Its a Michigan State Parks pass and it allows us to go everywhere, I love our magic pass. We just drive up and the ranger waves us in. Its great!!
We started the walk about 9am in St. Ignace. 10:30 we made it to the other side of the bridge in Mackinaw City. We were exhausted. To get back to our car, the local school district graciously gave their school buses to carry walkers back to the St. Ignace side for a nominal fee of $5.00 a person. We figured that if 30,000 people paid $5.00 for a bus ride, it turns into a pretty good day off for the school district. To get to the bus was another mile walk, but there were gift shops along the way, and of course we bought the "I Walked Across Mackinaw Bridge" T-shirt, so I didn't mind.
When we finally got back to the car we were exhausted, my feet hurt, my belly felt like the size of beach ball. We were both ready to go home. So we crossed the Mackinac Bridge for the 4th time, said farewell to the U.P and went straight home.
17 August 2008
New Photography Site
This is the official announcement of my new photography site. I love to take pictures and play around with the features on my camera. SO, if you want to see a little silliness and creativity from the imagination of Amy Cramer go to http://amysphotobucket.blogspot.com/ and dive in.
New Hobby
Klaron Kool and I have recently discovered the world of refinishing our furniture. In Columbus, Klaron found a dresser in the garbage pile of one of our neighbors. The dresser, was covered in 4 inches of snow and had child graffiti engraved on the sides. So, in the dark of the night, Klaron drug it over to our house leaving behind him the parallel tracks of a stolen dresser. Luckily it snowed even more that night and our tracks were covered.
After 6 months of me refusing to put my clothes in it because it leaves wood shaving on my shirts and in my socks, Klaron decided to refinish it. We went to the local Walmart and bought all the necessary supplies: Stain, Polyurethane, 180 grit sandpaper for the in between coats, 100 grit sandpaper for the hard to smooth areas and of course brushes of various sizes.
When we got it all home, I decided I wanted to refinish my nightstand that I had bought at the beloved DI, oh how I miss the DI, and painted about 3 years ago. So we each had our projects. Then we ran into 2 unavoidable dilemmas: 1. Where are we going to do this project because we live in an apartment? 2. Sanding with sandpaper is not very fun!!
To resolve dilemma #2 we made another trip to the local Walmart and bought A POWER HAND SANDER!! oh baby. After bringing it home we found the solution to dilemma #1 in our own living room. Here's what I mean:
By opening every window in the house, turning on a fan and putting down a little newspaper, our living room was magically transformed into a workspace.
We found we could even watch movies while sanding on the laptop.
After 2 days of inside refinishing in the living room, we started to find dust ON and IN EVERYTHING!!! So on Saturday we brought our projects down on to the driveway and there we spent the day sanding and staining. I wore a protective mask to shield my growing baby from the dangerous fumes and dust.
Klaron sure does love his sander!!! What a fun new hobby we've found. Hopefully someday we'll be able to have a real workspace to do some serious woodworking!!
After 6 months of me refusing to put my clothes in it because it leaves wood shaving on my shirts and in my socks, Klaron decided to refinish it. We went to the local Walmart and bought all the necessary supplies: Stain, Polyurethane, 180 grit sandpaper for the in between coats, 100 grit sandpaper for the hard to smooth areas and of course brushes of various sizes.
When we got it all home, I decided I wanted to refinish my nightstand that I had bought at the beloved DI, oh how I miss the DI, and painted about 3 years ago. So we each had our projects. Then we ran into 2 unavoidable dilemmas: 1. Where are we going to do this project because we live in an apartment? 2. Sanding with sandpaper is not very fun!!
To resolve dilemma #2 we made another trip to the local Walmart and bought A POWER HAND SANDER!! oh baby. After bringing it home we found the solution to dilemma #1 in our own living room. Here's what I mean:
By opening every window in the house, turning on a fan and putting down a little newspaper, our living room was magically transformed into a workspace.
We found we could even watch movies while sanding on the laptop.
After 2 days of inside refinishing in the living room, we started to find dust ON and IN EVERYTHING!!! So on Saturday we brought our projects down on to the driveway and there we spent the day sanding and staining. I wore a protective mask to shield my growing baby from the dangerous fumes and dust.
Klaron sure does love his sander!!! What a fun new hobby we've found. Hopefully someday we'll be able to have a real workspace to do some serious woodworking!!
02 August 2008
Inside Amy Awesome and Klaron Kool
We're not against a little blog borrowing...thanks Aubrey. I thought this was really cool, so Klaron and I both did one. Here's what you do: You type in your answers to the questions below into Google image search and you pick a picture from the first page that comes up then paste the URL into the mosaic maker at http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php
HERE WE GO!!!
AMY AWESOME
KLARON KOOL
What is your first name?
Amy
Klaron. Look closely at the picture for Klaron's name, its hilarious.
What is your favorite food?
Right now I CRAVE mashed potatoes!!
Tacos Al Pastor
What high school did you attend?
GHS, Oh Baby YES!!! Westside League Dogs, WHOOAAAA!!! That means Gridley High School
Gabrielino High
What is your favorite color?
Sea foam green
Klaron says "Green," just green!!
Who is your celebrity crush?
Matthew McConaughey
Evolet from 10,000 BC, not sure what her real name is.
Favorite drink?
Chocolate Milk, all day everyday!!! MMMMM
Cactus Cooler
Dream vacation?
Antarctic Cruise, I want to play with the penguins and feed the walrus. Oh and see the glaciers.
Aspen, said like Lloyd Christmas
Favorite dessert?
Really good Key Lime Pie
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake, no substitutes
What do you want to be when you grow up?
A Renaissance Woman!!! I will know everything about everything.
Filthy Rich. Like walk my dog from a helicopter rich, you know the type.
What do you love most in life?
Family, its unanimous!! We both love our family.
One word to describe you?
Carmex Addict. I know I broke the law and used two words but I had to. I have to have my Carmex!!! I have tubes everywhere, at least 3 in my purse, one by my bed and probably a few in forgotten coat pockets.
Klaron says: Weird
Your Nickname?
Merlin. I am a victim of permed hair. As a child I used to perm my short hair multiple times in a year, making it one lovely, voluminous, puff. My loving brother compared my hairdo to our pet ram, Merlin, and to this day threatens to teach his son to call me Uncle Merlin.
Klaron says: Nernon
HERE WE GO!!!
AMY AWESOME
KLARON KOOL
What is your first name?
Amy
Klaron. Look closely at the picture for Klaron's name, its hilarious.
What is your favorite food?
Right now I CRAVE mashed potatoes!!
Tacos Al Pastor
What high school did you attend?
GHS, Oh Baby YES!!! Westside League Dogs, WHOOAAAA!!! That means Gridley High School
Gabrielino High
What is your favorite color?
Sea foam green
Klaron says "Green," just green!!
Who is your celebrity crush?
Matthew McConaughey
Evolet from 10,000 BC, not sure what her real name is.
Favorite drink?
Chocolate Milk, all day everyday!!! MMMMM
Cactus Cooler
Dream vacation?
Antarctic Cruise, I want to play with the penguins and feed the walrus. Oh and see the glaciers.
Aspen, said like Lloyd Christmas
Favorite dessert?
Really good Key Lime Pie
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake, no substitutes
What do you want to be when you grow up?
A Renaissance Woman!!! I will know everything about everything.
Filthy Rich. Like walk my dog from a helicopter rich, you know the type.
What do you love most in life?
Family, its unanimous!! We both love our family.
One word to describe you?
Carmex Addict. I know I broke the law and used two words but I had to. I have to have my Carmex!!! I have tubes everywhere, at least 3 in my purse, one by my bed and probably a few in forgotten coat pockets.
Klaron says: Weird
Your Nickname?
Merlin. I am a victim of permed hair. As a child I used to perm my short hair multiple times in a year, making it one lovely, voluminous, puff. My loving brother compared my hairdo to our pet ram, Merlin, and to this day threatens to teach his son to call me Uncle Merlin.
Klaron says: Nernon
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