My Birthday!

April 6th was my birthday (so I guess this is a bit late). I am now half of almost a third of a century old (15)! Which, according to my grandparents and parents, means I have to get a job.

Since we were doing standardized testing on my birthday, we decided to wait to celebrate until Thursday. Some friends of ours came over and I had bean enchiladas with a gluten-free carrot cake, covered cashew frosting and  whip cream. Yum-yum. After finishing the carrot cake, I started on some individual caramel cakes that our friends gave me. My parents installed shelving in my closet for me and got me a Nikkor AF-S 55-200 mm DX SWM Lens. This will allow me to zoom in much more than I could with my previous lens. I also got a nice Eton FR400 Weather radio from my aunt and uncle. It has four different ways to power it (rechargable battery, disposable battery, crank dynamo, and AC power). It also has a light, siren, and, most importantly, a radio that recieves TV channels (audio only) and AM, FM, and weather. My great-grandpa got me a nice book about National Geographic photography (at least it sounds very nice, but its not here yet). My grandparents both got me money. Thanks to everyone for their gifts!

This Saturday I helped with a DDF sushi fundraiser. While I was on my trip, my team mates took pre-orders. Then this Saturday we cooked and sliced ingredients and rolled Sushi. We are raising money to pay for state, which was in February. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go (I got to go to New Zealand instead) but next year I should be able to go.

We recently bought a laser point for our cat to play with. He will play with it for about five minutes before he gets bored. But for me, its a endless source of amusement. For example, a few nights ago I set up my camera on my tripod and took long exposure shots. I wrote my name, tried combining it with a flashlight, tried waving it around really fast, and more. Here are a few examples.

It also started snowing again just last night. When I woke up this morning, everything had gone from brown to white. For part of the day it poured down snow, but it now has warmed up a bit and some of it has melted. It took a few pictures, simultaneously trying out my telephoto lens. The first one is all the way zoomed out on one lens (18mm), the next all the way zoomed in on my other lens (200mm).