Fall is Here!

The Season has changed! The air is crisp and cool and everything seems to be changing. Today was 63 degrees and I was freezing! I actually bought a coffee (which I hardly ever drink) to warm me up in the middle of the day. Caribou Coffee, which is like Ohio's Starbucks even though they have Starbucks out here (they're just few and far between), has this really tasty Pumpkin Latte that has white chocolate mocha and cinnamon in it. My breath was terrible after I finished it but a few breath mints took care of that. I didn't want to freak out the high school kids I was photographing today. Hopefully I can go buy some warmer clothes with this paycheck because I'm definetely going to need them!

Holiday Portraits!

This year will be the first year I'm advertising for holiday portraits. I decided to post my flyer for you guys because I thought it was pretty cute! I'll be home for Christmas (just like the song) so if you want me to photograph you while I'm in town just let me know! I'm not sure what the dates are yet. I'm sure this goes without saying, but in case you were wondering, I don't charge sitting fees for family and friends :)

Deer!

Last night Derrick and I were driving home and right when we were about halfway through our complex I noticed a large dog standing by the side of the road. I was thinking to myself, "Wow, what a large Great Dane. I wonder where the owner is." I was about to drive past it when Derrick yelled out, "Deer!" I hit my breaks just in time. Three large deer ran across the road right in front of our car and onto the grass on the other side of the road. Then one of the deer, I'm guessing it was the male, just stood there and stared at us like he was challenging us to a fight. I drove away. I've noticed deer in the field across the street from our apartment complex before, but I never thought they would actually walk around the apartments themselves. Now whenever I drive through the complex at night I pay extra attention. The last thing I want to do is kill a deer, especially in the middle of my new apartment complex. Not a great way to meet your neighbors.

Weekly Polls!

I'm starting a weekly poll on my blog. Every Sunday there will be a new poll so have some fun and participate! This week the poll coincides with my blog entry, Bugs, Bugs, Bugs. Thanks for reading!

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

At first I was going to spare you the pictures of my new neighbors but then I decided you wouldn't really get the full effect of what I'm talking about unless you saw them. I may no longer have centipedes, but now I have large, black crickets and wolf spiders. At least they're not in the house! The crickets come out at night and are near the garage and front porch. They're about 1 1/4 inch long (not counting the antennae). The wolf spiders are mostly in the garage but the other day I had a very unpleasant surprise when I had just sat down in the bathroom and one jumped out of a towel on the floor at me like, "Ta-Da!" I yelled for Derrick to put on shoes and stand at the bathroom door so as soon as I opened the door for him he could run in and kill it. I normally can handle spiders very well but these guys are huge! In fact we have what we call our "Spider Wall" outside by the garage where there are tons of spiders, I'm not sure what kind yet, that come out at night and catch mosquitoes in their webs. I've thought about spraying bug spray but after seeing how many mosquitoes they catch right near our front door I've made a deal with them (like they can understand me) that as long as they keep up the good work, they can live. I figure they have about til the end of September and then it will be too cold for mosquitoes. I may have a friendly report with the spiders now, but if they start coming in the house I'm cancelling our deal.

Another comment about bugs. Potato Bugs and Pill Bugs are not the same thing! As California residents (I don't think I have any Ohio readers) I'm sure you are fully aware of this very important fact. At first I thought it was just Derrick who was poorly educated in the nasty world of Potato Bugs, but when I was talking to Rebecca last night she said she calls Pill Bugs Potato Bugs too! I was so shocked that I looked up www.potatobug.com right there on my iPhone and showed her the horror that are Potato Bugs. She freaked out. I'm not sure if they live in Ohio or not, but that is the excuse I'm giving Ohioans for their misunderstanding. It could be a coincidence that both Derrick and Rebecca made this mistake and it's not an Ohio thing, I'll have to poll some random people and see. I will spare you a picture on this topic because Potato Bugs seriously freak me out. I personally think they are aliens because God wouldn't make such an ugly creature. lol.

*A special note: I did not take these pictures. I will not get close enough to take them even with my zoom lens. They are courtesy of a Google Image search.

Why I Love Hanging Out With Chefs

Last night Rebecca (Derrick's Co-Worker) and my Girl's Night was turned into a co-ed festivity when Derrick got out of work early (and by early I mean 10:45pm instead of midnight). That's ok though because as we were drinking margaritas they decided to make nachos. How would the normal tipsy person make nachos? Pour some pre-shredded cheese over chips and nuke them in the microwave for 30 seconds. How do tipsy chefs make nachos? One sets up a cooking station, shreds a bled of cheeses and melts them on the stove with heavy cream while the other digs through the entire kitchen looking for beans and other fun stuff to put on the chips. Gourmet Nachos. I'm glad I didn't volunteer to make them!

Some Oldies but Goodies

I found these pictures on the computer and thought they were too cute not to post. I love the little coat Zoey is wearing in the picture on the left. When she wears it she reminds me of one of those American Girl dolls. The one below gives you a taste of the craziness that goes on when I babysit. We have a pretty good time.

Yay Flowers!

Now that we have a porch and an area for a garden I can plant some flowers! Unfortunately, I've been told now is the time to plan for Spring. I think I'm going to plant pretty flowers anyway since they're all on sale. Here's my hanging baskets for the porch specifically chosen for the color and to attract hummingbirds.

A Special Shout Out

This post is dedicated to my mom's coworkers. I'm happy to hear you enjoy my blog! Now that most of the moving process is over (we're still unpacking) I'll be posting more frequently. I hope I continue to be your #1 choice for late night/early morning reading :)

Here some pictures from Port Fest in Lorain. One of the great things about Ohio is they have a festival for everything. This past weekend was the Corn Festival where I saw a sign that said, "Honk if your Corny." I thought it was pretty entertaining, especially when the owners of the sign were being arrested hours later. Probably for being drunk in public or something of that nature.

Goodbye House Centipedes!

Scary huh? Try seeing these guys throughout the house on a regular basis! For those of you who don't already know, my entourage and I moved last weekend to a townhouse in Avon, Ohio. That means no more House Centipedes, nightly mosquito bites and other nastiness. As I'm sure you can tell from the picture, these guys move fast! They live out their entire life cycle in damp basements. Thankfully, they actually aren't that bad since they eat other bugs. Once I found that out I wasn't as terrified of them but I still wasn't happy when I found out one was crawling on the wall next to my head when I was sleeping. Thank goodness Derrick stays up later than I do and he killed it without even waking me up. What a guy. lol.