Exciting news! I’m up for Twistys Treat of the Year! You know, that site that I’m on every month where I’m interviewing all those hot models? Yeah that site! I was a treat back in December of 2005 but they never did a Treat of the Year before, so they included all the past Treats that were interested in being a part of the contest. I’m up against 27 smoking hot girls (I would know…I’ve interviewed almost all of them for Twistys!) so I really, really need your help! The winner not only gets crowned as the Treat of the Year, but also gets $10,000 in prize money as well as a custom pink Rolex.

All you have to do is click on the banner above and vote for me! Super easy…they don’t even ask for an email or any other information. And you’re allowed to vote every 24 hours, so please bookmark the page and take 30 seconds out of every day to vote for me. The contest ends May 31st so no one knows how this will turn out. Every vote counts! Thank you so much for your continued love and support!

xo
j

I guess when you travel a lot, you’re bound to get sick. I flew to Phoenix a week ago to shoot for a couple days and then attend a webmaster conference. My second night there I started to get a sore throat. Luckily I was ok during my shoot days, but I was a mess during the conference. Today is the first day that I’ve felt a little back to normal. I think everything finally broke up in my chest last night. I absolutely hate being sick, especially when it interferes with my sleep. Because then not only do I feel like crap, but I’m also exhausted.

My trip went great, though. I shot for Aziani.com again and then shot content with Nikki Nova for both of our sites. I actually stayed at Nikki’s house for the first few days of my trip and it was really nice to see her again and hang out a bit. Nikki is one of my absolute favorite models in the biz and one of the few that I can call a true friend. Unfortunately we were both pretty busy so we didn’t have much down time to do anything together, but it was still nice to chat in the evenings and shoot together. We shot some really hot sets and videos.

I got a lot of business done at the conference. The one I attended is one of the best of the year and I’m happy I was able to push through and still attend my meetings. I have a lot planned for the coming year in terms of my site and career so I’m currently just trying to get everything in order and get a good business plan together. I’m confident that things are going to go well in the coming year.

Not much else is going on right now. I’m actually home for a full week so it’ll give me a chance to get some work done before I have to head to LA next Monday. I’m shooting with Ken Marcus next week as well as interviewing a new Twisty’s Treat of the Month. Then I’m home for a few days again only to fly back to LA the week after that for five days. The traveling never ends! I feel like I’m never home!

That’s it for now…I’ll write more later this week. Have to go make some lunch!

xo
j

Whew! It’s been a while since I’ve written because things have just been crazy. I had been traveling a lot for work up until my trip to Hawaii, which left little time for me. And my laptop died so I was traveling without a laptop. Not easy to do when you have work to do. So I got a little backed up with things…but I’m back and here I am! So much to catch up on.

Getting leid in Hawaii

I’m happy to say that I FINALLY visited Hawaii. I was supposed to go 20 years ago when my uncle lived there but my dad wouldn’t let me out of school for a month to tag along with my grandparents. So here we are 20 years later and I finally made it to the islands. I spent three days in Maui and 8 days in Kauai. I honestly have to say that Hawaii wouldn’t be my first choice in vacations, but I think that’s because it wasn’t really that warm and there were 40 mph wind gusts. Don’t get me wrong…I had a great time and really enjoyed my much needed vacation…but it’s not on the top of my lists.

About to bike down Haleakala

I did quite a bit on this trip. Normally most of my trips are full of time spent by the pool or on the beach if I’m in a warmer, tropical climate. But this trip I made it a point to get out and be a bit more active. In Maui I went on a 35 mile bike ride down Haleakala, which is a 10,023′ volcano. We did it in an hour and a half…the guy at the bike company was pretty impressed. Granted, the majority of it is downhill so you get going at about 30-40 mph. If it wasn’t for the strong winds we were riding against, I’m sure we would have made better time. I also went snorkeling and whale watching while in Maui. The Humpback whales spend their winters in Hawaii where they give birth to their calves and teach them how to breach and do whatever it is that whales need to learn how to do before heading back up to Alaska for the summer to feed. I was pretty impressed…there were TONS of whales everywhere! When you sit on the beach and look out at the ocean you can see spouts of water shooting up everywhere. It was quite the experience.

Helicopter ride over Kauai

I spent my first three days in Kauai down in Poipu Beach at the Hyatt Grand Resort. The Hyatt Grand has to be one of the most beautiful resorts ever. It rests on 52 acres right on the beach. My first day in Kauai we just chilled for the day. The second day we went on a Helicopter tour of the island. I’d never been in a helicopter before so it was pretty awesome to experience my first one over Kauai. They take you through Waimea Canyon, up to the Napali Cost and back across the island to the airport, all the while pointing out all the places that movies have been filmed and taking you right up to waterfalls. The day after that we went ziplining. Ziplining was definitely a lot of fun. It’s quite exhilarating to be soaring through the treetops while attached to a harness and cable. After we were done with the zipline course, we hiked over to a waterfall-fed lagoon. They have a 25 foot rope swing that drops you into the middle of the water, but it was so cold that I wasn’t about to do it. I went into the water and went up to my neck…but that was enough. Didn’t want to get my head wet and freeze my ass of!

Yup that's me on the zipline!

My seventh day there I went to my friend’s house in Hanalei, which is on the other side of the island. Poipu Beach is on the South Shore and Hanalei is on the North Shore. Aria Giovanni and Heather Vandeven were already there, as well as my good friend and photographer Ellen Stagg. Justine Joli got there later that night after I arrived. We had a lot of fun hanging out at the house and shooting. I shot for a day with Mark Daughn, who is best known for shooting for Mystique. We shot on some private land and a private beach, so all of you that are members of my site will be really excited when that content goes up on the site! I’ve wanted to shoot beach and ocean content for quite some time, but it’s never easy to do in California. So when I found out that I would have the chance to shoot on the beach in Kauai, I didn’t even hesitate! We got some really good stuff and I know you’ll love it!

Working double time...shooting behind the scenes of Aria while I wait for my turn to shoot

I also shot with Ellen on the beach. It was raining a lot the day we shot, as it does in that part of Kauai, but I was game for shooting in the rain. We unfortunately only had time to shoot a couple sets on the beach because Ellen had to fly back to New York that day, but we got some good stuff. Definitely very wet sets! I even shot a Fourth of July set for you guys!
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For those of you that don’t read my message board on my website, here is my Top Ten List for 2008 and what I’m most looking forward to in 2009…

Top Ten List for 2008…

1.  Finding my soul mate in a friend.  Sometimes that someone could have been there all along and neither of you realized it.  As they say, “it’s all in the timing.”  I know that some of you don’t like to hear it, but I’m open and honest and it’s a very important part of my life.  My entire being has never been better and I’d have to say that it was the most important part of my 2008.

2.  Re-launching the members area of the site.  It was long overdue and took half the year from start to finish, but it was definitely worth it!  I’m sure that you’ll agree with me that it was a change for the better.  It’s nice to have a smoothly running website that encompasses everything that I hoped it would.

3.  Finally partially figuring out what is ailing my dog.  Guess it really pays to go to a specialist…in this case an animal dermatologist.  He’s not 100% better but he’s doing so much better than he ever has.  When my dog is happy, I’m happy.

4.  Starting up snowboarding again!  I hadn’t gone since high school and was missing it.  So I started up again in January…got new gear and had a blast.  Can’t wait to go later this month…I’ve got the itch!

5.  Finding software that makes my life so much easier by saving me time.  There are a few programs that I discovered this year that really makes my life easier and helps me to work more efficiently.  All are in regards to running my site and working with my content, but I would have to say that I probably found 6 or 7 new programs that I use on a regular basis and I can’t imagine working without them!

6.  Moving to Northern California.  This was a huge move for me after living practically my entire life in LA.  But I’m happier than ever and am enjoying the slower pace of live and the peace and quiet.  LA can get to you after a while and since I’m down there so much for work still, I don’t really miss it.

7.  Finally finding a place I can call home.  I’ve moved around a lot in my life…20 times exactly.  11 of which occurred during my adult life.  Obviously you move around during college…just happens when you’re almost living in a new place every year.  But since getting out of college I just haven’t been able to stay put in one place for at least two years…it just never feels like home and I get restless and pick up and move.  But I can truly say that I’ve found home.  Don’t think I’ll be moving again for a VERY long time.  And I have a great house to live in right now so, once again, I couldn’t be happier!

8.  Going to Amsterdam and Munich.  I had never been to Amsterdam and had a great time there.  Europe is always fun and exciting.  And I hadn’t been to Munich either…I’ve been practically all over the rest of Germany but since I don’t have family in Bavaria there was never a reason to go.  I went to Oktoberfest a few nights while there and had a blast drinking and eating.  Can’t wait to go back this year!

9.  Making the final payment on one of my cars!  Always feels good to pay something off and not have to spend that money every month anymore!

10.  Going to Cabo for the first time.  I’d never been to any of the nicer parts of Mexico…the farthest south was Rosarito.  I had a great time and now understand why everyone that goes wants a vacation home there.

What I’m most looking forward to in 2009…

1.  Going to Hawaii for the first time in my life!  Less than two months to go…I can’t wait!  Don’t worry…you’ll all be there in spirit!

2.  Continuing to move forward with my site.  I still want to add a few features but right now it’s one thing at a time.  I’m going to try to shoot a lot more content this year to get ahead on things even more and I’m also stepping it up on the marketing front.

3.  Getting fit again…but more fit than I’ve ever been.  I’m making a conscious effort to really take my health seriously and get back into shape.  I know I’m not overweight, but I want to strengthen and tone my body and hopefully start taking Yoga again.  I just find it really important to take care of one’s body and I think I lost that for a while.  For the past year I’ve been doing really well with my eating but wasn’t going to the gym or taking Yoga and I decided it was time to get back into it.  I want to be more active.

4.  Obama taking office and the hope of improvement in our economy.  There’s so much going on with our country today and I’m anxious to see what’s in store for the US in 2009.  I’m looking forward to it…but to what that is, I’m not sure yet.

5.  Confessions of a Shopaholic…the movie I’ve been waiting for.  I’m a fan of the book series (weird, I know…because I don’t even like to read much and the characters are so unlike me, but it’s my guilty pleasure) and I’ve been excited to see the film.  Comes out next month and you can believe me when I say that I’m dragging my boyfriend to it!  Hahah!

6.  I’m hoping to go to Paris and London for work this year.  I’ve never been to either country and would love to visit them as well as work for a few photographers over there.  Aria is headed that way and I’m hoping to go with her…we’ll see if it can all work out.

7.  The second season of True Blood.  I got hooked on the show and can’t wait for summer to get here so I can commence viewing pleasure.  And as always, I can’t wait for CSI to start up again.

8.  Our backyard to be finished.  Hopefully by the end of the summer the pool and backyard will be finished and I’ll have a nice quiet outdoor area to relax in.

9.  Learning new things.  I’m constantly learning and wish to continue to do so.  This year I’d love to learn not only educationally but physically…maybe learn a new sport or two.  Just become a better, more rounded person.

10.  For once I want to go somewhere on vacation that is only VACATION…no work involved at all.  I haven’t done that in 3 1/2 years and I think this year will be the year that it finally happens again.  Cross your fingers for me!

xo
j

I’m not a “Heroes” watcher.  I know it’s a great show and a favorite of many, but I don’t like to start watching a series in the middle of either a season or multiple seasons because you have no idea of the backstory and can get lost.  I do plan on renting the DVDs for “Heroes” and catching up on all seasons…same goes for “Lost.”  But my boyfriend is a watcher of the show and sent me the following link from the episode titled “It’s Coming.”

http://heroeswiki.com/Bowl-A-Rama

Why did he do this?  Well…that’s because I was at the same bowling alley back in March for a friend’s birthday in LA .  My friends go to this total dive bowling alley in Eagle Rock (a neighborhood in LA) that’s fully equipped with karaoke and a shitty bar.  It was my first time there, even though my friends go often, and I thought it was absolutely awesome looking.  They informed me that it doesn’t normally look like this…it was just set dressed.  They were told that it was changed up for a commercial and I did recently see the same bowling alley in a commercial…just can’t remember what commercial it was.

Here I am at the Bowl-A-Rama bowling alley!

Just thought all you “Heroes” fans would get a kick out of that!  That’s what living in LA will bring you…sometimes you get to see a little movie magic.  Sorry to break it to you though…it wasn’t really a bowling alley in Tokyo…it was just a little dive bowling alley in Eagle Rock.  I had a great time that night…I bowled my butt off and actually bowled decent there.  Followed by some drinks, flying gummy bears and my friend Tara singing “Love is a Battlefield” by Pat Benatar at Karaoke.

xo

j

As cheesy or cliche as it may seem to say, I’m very thankful for everything I have in my life.  I’ve never really taken things for granted in my life because I’ve always been quite aware that things could always be much worse.  There were times in my life when things weren’t easy and I didn’t have a lot.  My life story is a novel in itself…so we won’t even go there…but I was never the spoiled child which caused me to appreciate what I was given.

I remember being in school as a child and when Thanksgiving came along, it never failed that everyone was required to write a paper on what they were thankful for.  I guess when you’re younger you only view material things as those things that you “have.”  But then as you get older your perception on life and the world changes and you start to value things that don’t have material value.  I know that now as an adult, I’m thankful for things that I wasn’t thankful for in the past because my view was different.

First and foremost, I’m extremely thankful for my health and physical attributes.  Health is something that I believe many take for granted, which shouldn’t be taken for granted at all.  There are so many things that can go wrong with the human body and I’m lucky that asthma and allergies are the only health problems I have to deal with.  Saying that I’m thankful for my physical attributes may sound shallow to some, but I’m not stating it in the context those might take it in.  If it wasn’t for my physical attributes, I wouldn’t be able to model, which has been my full-time job for almost 6 years.  There are many things that people can change about themselves to aspire to look a certain way, but I didn’t have to do anything.  I have never had any plastic surgery of any kind…I was lucky enough to get my parents’ genetics, which seem to have meshed well together.

I can’t even begin to tell you how thankful I am to have adopted the most amazing dog on the face of the planet.  I don’t think I could survive without him!  Since age 14 I had always wanted a Mastiff.  Finally three years ago, at age 24, I found the perfect dog.  It was seriously fate that brought us together.  His owners gave him up due to severe allergies…they couldn’t afford his medications anymore.  They were told to put him down and that no one would take such a big dog with health problems like his.  But they didn’t put him down and waited it out until they found a rescue that would take him.  A week after being at the rescue, I was the first person to see him.  I didn’t go there specifically for him…I just went to get a Mastiff.  I looked at all the Mastiffs that they had and he was the last one I was introduced to.  They almost didn’t bring him out because they didn’t feel that he was ready but figured he had to start meeting people at some point.  The two of us immediately hit it off and they allowed me to take him home that night.  We’ve been inseparable ever since.  He’s my shadow, my sidekick, my sunshine.  Nothing can melt my heart like my dog can.  He’s amazing and so well behaved.  All he needed was someone to be patient with his health problems and take good care of him.  I don’t think he could have picked a better owner…everyone will tell you how he’s a child to me.  I put him before everything else.  And it’s been a long road trying to get his health in prime condition, but he’s almost like a normal dog now.  We’ve come a long way together…he’s always been there for me and I will always be there for him.  I enjoy every moment with him and am so thankful to have the opportunity to experience unconditional love.

The one other thing I’m very thankful for is my boyfriend.  Not everyone is given the opportunity to experience true love which makes me ever so grateful for having it in my life.  It’s one thing to find someone you have commonalities with and you enjoy being around.  It’s another thing to find that one person that “gets it.”  Someone who can finish your sentences, who is on the same page, who understands where you’re coming from.  Someone who you can tell anything to, who you trust with all your secrets and who trusts you with theirs.  Someone who makes you laugh out of control, who brightens your day just by being themselves and who you can be yourself around.  Someone you can learn from, that will tell you how it is (even if you don’t want to hear it), that you can enjoy a comfortable silence with.  That one person who is your best friend, lover and partner in life all rolled into one…who makes you feel like no on else in the world can.  I’ve found that one person and I will never take him for granted and will ALWAYS be thankful for him.

There are obviously other things in life that I’m truly thankful for and reflect upon often, not just during the holidays.  My family, my friends, my house, being a US citizen, my intelligence and having an education, etc.  So I ask you to think about what you’re thankful for and to never take those things for granted.  Enjoy every aspect of life and try to live it to the fullest.  Find what makes you happy and hold onto it.

xo

j

This entry is long overdue, but I’ve been really busy with the relaunch of my website.  Some models say that they run their own site, but they don’t do everything themselves.  I, on the other hand, do.  And since I run the website entirely on my own, I have a lot on my hands.  I would have to say that the relaunch of my site was the most difficult thing I’ve done since taking over my site three and a half years ago.  A lot goes into relaunching a site…especially since I also moved my site onto a new server.

First I had to re-name and compress all of my existing content.  I’m OCD and super organized so I wanted the content on my site to be seamless, organized and concise.  Makes everything much easier in the long run so I figured that I should take the time to do it now as opposed to later or never doing it at all.  This was probably the reason why it took me so long to do the relaunch.  Only because I want it done right.

Then I had to upload all of the content to my new server.  My old host was awful so I got set up with the best hosting company on the planet (they truly are…the best customer service and tech support I’ve ever experienced in any facet of my life) and now my site runs much faster and has better support if any problems occur.  Definitely a bonus for me, as well as for the members of my site.

Next was having to set up the new content management software that my site now runs on.  I use content management software to run my site so that when I’m out of town I don’t need to manually update my site…it just updates on it’s own.  My site was run by content management software in the past but it wasn’t the greatest program.  The new software I have now is state of the art and the best in subscription site based cms.  I can’t even tell you how many things this new software allows me to do with my site.  I love it and it’s definitely not only made my life easier, but it has also improved the appearance and function of my site tenfold!  I’m now able to display tons of features on the members homepage…upcoming content, latest updates, featured store and auction items, polls, featured videos, my webcam schedule and suggested sites.

After setting up the cms and making the site appear the way that I wanted it to, I had the tedious task of scheduling all the content.  As I said before, I’m super organized and this worked out to my advantage.  I have kept publishing schedules since I began running my site.  So I had records of what content went up on the site on what date.  This made it easier to put the content up in the correct order of appearance.  If I hadn’t kept detailed publishing schedules then it would have been a huge pain to match all my content with the correct date.  Scheduling content is a little time consuming.  I have to input the title of the set, what date is appears on, the description, what categories it falls under, what model(s) appears in the set/video, and then I have to import it into the system.  After it’s imported I have to tell the software what thumbnails or photo zips I want it to create and then I have to wait for it to create them.  So a lot more goes into putting content up on a site than you might imagine.  Once everything is created I have to select the main thumbnail and crop it to certain specifications.  Then the set is done.  I had to do that for hundreds of videos and thousands of photos!

I also had to set up other areas of the site…move my message board from the old site to the new one, set up my webcam page, set up the girlfriend profiles and create the thumbs for that, etc.  I relaunched the site a month ago and have spent the past few weeks fixing little bugs that are expected when starting up a new site.  But things seem to be running smoothly now and I’m excited to have an amazing website for my members!

I’m currently updating every single day!  On Monday my members get a photoset.  Tuesday the previous week’s Camz network chat goes up to be archived so those that missed it can watch the entire thing.  Wednesday is a candid photoset…I travel and do all kinds of fun stuff and I’m always taking photos for my members to get in on the fun.  Thursday another photoset goes up.  Friday a sexy video goes up and once in a while I do a video diary for my members where they can ask me questions and I answer them on camera…so you know it’s truly me and not someone else answering them online.  Saturday my Members Only chat goes up on the site from the week before so that, once again, if you missed it you can view it on the site.  And Sunday is a girlfriend photoset where you get to see a sexy girlfriend of mine every week!  So as you can see, there are tons of photosets and videos for you to see on my site.  The photosets I post vary from glamour to amateur to fetish to artistic to soft girl/girl.  And my videos are just as varied as well!

I work really hard on my site…it’s a full time job!  And I try to make it the best that it can be.  So if you’re not already a member, go check it out and see what you’ve been missing!  I promise that you won’t be disappointed!

xo

j

I just returned home from Europe about 24 hours ago.  For those of you that had no idea that I was in Europe, I was in Amsterdam for four days and then went to Munich for three days of Oktoberfest.  I’ll save Munich and Oktoberfest for my next blog entry.  I was wanting to write last week but a couple of occurances kept me from doing so.   First was my awful jetlag.  I’ve never experienced it like I did this last trip.  I literally slept until noon the first few days because my body refused to adjust.  By the time I woke up, I didn’t have time for anything other than getting ready and heading out for convention happenings.  I was there for an industry convention (webmaster side of the biz) so I wasn’t really able to set my own schedule.  So even though my internet connection was fine in Amsterdam, I just didn’t have time to write.  Then when I got to Munich, the internet connection there was awful!  I couldn’t get anything to load online…couldn’t even check my email.  So here I am…back at home and ready to share my thoughts and adventures.

This was my first trip to Amsterdam.  I’ve been to Europe a few times but never made it to The Netherlands, so I was excited to be experiencing the city for the first time.  I left Sacramento at about 10am and didn’t get to Amsterdam until 9am the next day…due to the time difference, of course.  After settling into my hotel room I desperately needed to take a nap.  I slept for a few hours and then got ready to head out.  I went to dinner with a group of friends and then headed to a couple of bars for some drinks.  Then we ended the night at a small bar called The Cave…a bar that only plays rock and metal.  This is where I discovered my new favorite drink in Amsterdam.  I was ordering Vodka Tonics but unfortunately they don’t have limes in most bars in Amsterdam…so I wasn’t too keen on drinking them.  A friend handed me his drink and said to have a taste.  Oh what a glorious taste it was!  Hahahah!  Bitter Lemon…good stuff!  So the rest of the trip I pretty much drank Vodka Bitter Lemons when I wasn’t having a Heineken!

Since I didn’t wake up until noon the next day, I missed breakfast.  So off I went to lunch with a friend who is originally from Amsterdam.  I have to say that I truly prefer to be in a city with natives…you learn so much more about the city and the way of life.  This was my first time staying in a hotel in Europe…I’ve always stayed with friends or family.  So having my friend there to show me around and teach me a little about the city was fantastic.  He took me to one of his favorite lunch spots in the New Market and I had a great time.  I ate a few traditional Dutch foods…bitterballen and something that resembled raw sausage slices.

After lunch we proceeded to walk around the area.  My friend took me to visit Febo (http://www.febodelekkerste.nl/) which is pretty much a giant wall vending machine that you can buy fried food at.  But don’t worry…it’s not old food or anything…you can see the workers in the kitchen behind the wall and you see when they replace the food.

After walking around the city a bit, I went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner.  Went to dinner that night and ordered prawns…and almost had a heart attack when they set my plate down in front of me.  I wasn’t expecting them to be whole still…I can’t eat prawns when I can see their eyes and legs!  Thankfully they took the plate back and removed everything but the meat.  Afterwards I went to a party at Rain nightclub and called it a night after that.

The next day I slept until almost noon again…damn jetlag!  Went to breakfast/lunch…luckily I went to a place that serves continental breakfast all day…cheese, bread, meat, etc.   Then went back to the hotel and met up with Aria.  Aria and I went on a trek to find french fries (because you know how much I love french fries!) and we walked around a little and I headed back.  We went to a hip hop themed party at Mansion and I can’t even describe to you how much fun the trip to the club was!  We all were carted across the city in tuk tuks…which are like motorcycle rickshaws.  And we convinced the drivers to race!  Luckily our driver stepped it up and we won!  Hehehe!

Once there at the club we drank, ate tons of appetizers and watched some hip hop dancers and breakdancers get to work.  Afterwards we went to a bar in the Red Light District called Bar Second Chance.  We met a really cool bartender there named Ireen that I instantly bonded with because she lived in Venice, California for a year back when I lived in Santa Monica (right on the Venice border)…we never met in Cali but we instantly bonded.  She showed me how to make a penis out of a dishtowel!  After that we headed to another bar, San Francisco, and then headed home.

Thankfully on Saturday Aria and I were able to actually make it to the Van Gogh Museum.  We really wanted to see something famous and historical (other than the Red Light District…hahaha) and were extremely happy that we fit it in.  It was amazing to see his different styles.  Not having taken any art or art history classes, I didn’t know much about Van Gogh other than Starry Nights and him cutting off his own ear.  But I learned a lot about his work as well as his life through the exhibit.  After the museum, we headed to my hotel room to do a chat for our sites.  That night I didn’t feel like going out to the party that was going on so I went out to dinner with my boyfriend and then walked around the city a bit.  It was nice to have a night to ourselves and since he’s been to Amsterdam a few times, he knew his way around and took me to see some really cool areas.  And of course we had to walk through the Red Light District because you have to experience it on a Saturday night.  The place was packed!

The next morning we were off to Munich and I’m going to save that for the next blog entry…

xo

j

My biggest fear is spiders…don’t ask me why.  I HATE them.  They freak me out and they never fail to make me jump at the site of them.  I’ve always been deathly afraid of them and I don’t really have a traumatic story as cause for my fear.  I’ve just always been terrified of them…even the ones that pose no harm to humans.

Of course it’s my luck that my new house is CRAWLING in them!  Well…I should technically say “was” because Terminix has been out three or four times in an attempt to get rid of them.  Hopefully there won’t be a problem with them anymore because I may not be able to retain my sanity if there continues to be a problem.  My new house sat vacant for almost a year and there is a field behind it.  So of course all kinds of creepy crawlies were able to take over undisturbed.  It’s a really nice house and only two years old so it’s not like it’s run down or drafty, etc.  It’s just that it was the perfect place for these bugs, insects and arachnids to make their home.

The first time I viewed the house my boyfriend calls me into one of the bathrooms to “see something.”  He’s quite evil.  In the toilet was possibly the largest spider I’ve ever seen outside of an aquarium.  And yes…it was alive.  Come to find out it’s called a Sun Spider and it’s quite beneficial because it eats tons of bugs.  But do I care?  NO.  And of course the garage and exterior were housing loads of Black Widows.  Luckily after the first treatment by Terminix most of the spiders and other various bugs were killed.  I had the wonderful job of cleaning all their dead, shriveled bodies up.  Yay for me.  There were still a few spiders roaming around but luckily they’re pretty much gone now.

It doesn’t stop at spiders and your usual bugs and insects.  The other day we were working on some landscaping and I go to throw something away and I almost step on a snake in the driveway!  I jumped back because I wasn’t sure what kind it was.  It was small and last thing I needed as to be bitten by a baby rattlesnake.  But I checked the tail and it wasn’t a rattler so all was safe.  I called my boyfriend over and we watched it cruise around for a while.  Funny thing is I’m not afraid of snakes at all…I just don’t like the way that they feel so I don’t like touching them.  I’ve held a few but it’s just not my thing.  I’m just cautious around them in the wild because I’m not familiar with which are poisonous and which are not.  I used to work at a gun range in the canyon and we had tons of rattlesnakes around which has caused me to be extremely cautious around them.

So going back to the spider nonsense…it just makes me laugh that I’m moving into this amazing new home and it contains my BIGGEST fear!  Home is not a place you want to feel fearful…it’s a place that you want to relax in and enjoy.  Luckily it’s something that can be controlled by pest control so I’m sure that all will be fine on the homefront from here on out.  I will always hate spiders and be deathly afraid of them but I guess there are worse things to be scared of.

xo

j

Toronto was AMAZING! I love that city…though just like Chicago I have fallen in love with it yet haven’t gotten the chance to explore it because I was in and out…only there for a little over 24 hrs. My flight there was alright…it was a redeye and I got a bit of sleep.

I stayed at the Sheraton Centre and the best part about that was there was a HUGE fireworks show right outside my window! Right next to the Sheraton Centre, which is downtown, there is an ice skating rink outside…one of the most beautiful ones I’ve actually seen because they have a canopy of lights over it. I was told by a guy at the front desk that every Saturday night until New Year’s they do this big event there where they light up the huge Xmas tree, a big local band plays on this big stage, and they do a killer fireworks show. And since I was on the 21st floor I got the best view of the show! And it went on forever!!! It totally made my weekend!

Then my flight on Sunday was horrid! I flew from Toronto to Philadelphia, which was perfectly fine. The best part was that it was snowing when I left and we were on a really tiny plane so we had to walk out on the runway to board up the attached steps. So I got to stand in the snow while waiting to board the plane, which I loved every moment of! I think that’s the first time I’ve been standing in actual falling snow since I lived in Washington in 1994…everytime I’ve gone up to the snow to go snowboarding it’s never actually been snowing. It was a short flight…like flying from LA to Vegas…so that was good. I had a 2 1/2 hour layover so I ate and worked on some photos.

Then I got on my plane to LA which little did I know would I be on for over 7 HOURS!!! We were flying into a headwind the entire time which prevented us from going over 130 mph…so not only were we running late, but it depleted our fuel reserves so we had to stop in Vegas to re-fuel. Before this even happened I was feeling like it was the longest flight EVER!!! So to make it worse here we were landing in Vegas at about the time we were supposed to be landing in LA. We had to sit on the plane while they re-fueled which lasted a while…wasn’t as quick as I thought it would be. Then we finally took off and landed in LA. Luckily I was in the fifth row so I got the hell off the plane asap. And luck was on my side once again because my bag was one of the first ones to come out and the shuttle to my car arrived right as I got to the curb.

Didn’t get home until 10pm and I came home to my dog being sick. And I’m sick again too. And I have more traveling this week. See…my life isn’t all the glamorous! But at least I’m enjoying myself at my destinations and this week will be a ton of fun because tomorrow I’m going to see Tori Amos live in San Diego with Aria and Thursday I fly up to the bay area to shoot and to hang out with my best friend for her birthday! She still doesn’t know I’m coming…I can’t wait to surprise her!

So I’m going to have my laptop with me and hopefully I won’t be too much of a stranger! I’m going to try to post as much as I can right now because I have to go to the walk in clinic today for my throat and also go over to my grandfather’s to decorate the tree…he wants me to do it before I leave out of town. So I have a busy week ahead of me…

Love you guys!

xo
j