Arachnophobia is a specific phobia, a fear of spiders. With an estimated half of all women, and one fourth of all men in the United States, it is among the most common of phobias.

"...Recent studies of spider phobia indicate that fear of spiders is closely associated with the disease-avoidance response of disgust. It is not immediately clear how spiders might have become associated with this response, although examination of the relevant historical literature does indicate a close association between spiders and illness in European cultures from tenth century onward. The development of this association between spiders and illness appears to be closely linked to the many devastating and inexplicable epidemics that crossed Europe from the Middle Ages onwards. Spiders were found in great numbers in the same areas of the house where rats lived. The fleas on these rats were actually the carriers of the plague. Not the spiders but the fear was passed down through our culture."



Eric doesn't understand why the sight of that spider (actual size) caused goosebumps to shoot up my arms this morning. I couldn't stop the initial impulse to shrink away when I laid eyes on it. It was too close for comfort and twitching it's legs. Not the first thing I want to see when I first wake up and roll over in bed.

"oh my god...it's huge..", I whispered. I rubbed at my upper arms. I felt like I had to brush off invisible spiders that were beginning to crawl over me.

"It's just a cute Daddy Long Legs, they're harmless"

"that's not cute...look it has fangs"

Eric just laughed. He reached over and let it crawl rapidly onto the palm of his hand.

I jumped back and pressed my body against the wall. "Don't you dare come near me with that thing!"

"What...like this?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

That was my morning.

I don't understand why the sight of any spider evokes terror inside of me and causes no reaction within Eric. His expression doesn't change... He's fearless. I wish I could be the same.

It's pouring right now. The cats love to sit on the windowsill and listen to the rain splashing on the leaves outside. They press their face against the screen. Fiona is making bird sounds again...

I haven't been updating this photoblog as often as I used to with my own pictures because my old camera was on it's last legs and dying. The flash is broken, it's falling apart and pieces are missing. It shuts down for no reason and gives error signs.

I received my Camera two and a half years ago.



It cost 130 dollars and was a scratched floor model. I loved it and carried around with me everywhere. Almost all of the pictures in this photoblog were taken with that camera. The zoom never worked but it didn't matter, I was happy to just have a camera at all. When it started giving me serious problems, I was really upset.

This morning I received a birthday package in the mail from my mother.

When I opened it and saw the contents my eyes filled with tears. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't even move...



I was looking down at my dream camera! A new Sony Cybershot. 6.0 Megapixels, 12x optical zoom and an image stabilizing system. It seemed too good to be true. I had to pinch myself...I was just so happy.

I have a new camera!!

I know to most people this probably doesn't seem like that big of a deal but I've wanted this camera for over a year. I never could afford it (Even though it's reasonably priced) We've just been financially struggling lately.

My Mother is amazing! I can't even begin to say how much gratefulness I feel inside.

I can start taking pictures again!

This is the first one I took with my new camera, just to test it out.



I'm floored by how vibrant the colors are and how clear the image is. I could go on and on about this, but I just wanted to share my good news. Eric feels like it's his birthday too, He's playing with the new camera right now as I type this. We're both like two overjoyed kids with a brand new toy.

This has been such a happy day for me.



********



Today we visited a very familiar home...


My friend from highschool moved to Florida and she's selling her old house. She and I grew up together. I would ride my bike over to her house on the weekends and I spent countless summers there. Her basement was the main hangout for our group of friends.

That house is filled with beautiful memories and it's sad that she's selling it. It's strange to think that she no longer lives there.

Since she's currently in another state. She asked if we could help her fix up the old property a bit for the future owners.

First task: Mowing the lawn



Eric mowed and I walked ahead of him removing all the debri from his path. Branches, Big rocks, and pieces of wood.



Unfortunately it was a more difficult job then we anticipated because the bag kept falling out and the sun was pounding down on us.



But we'll suffer for a good friend...(who just happens to be reading this)...that's how much we love her.



That's a few pictures of Eric after a hard days work on that sweltering front lawn... The hours of toil definitely beat down on him. *as you can see*. No... he didn't ham it up for the camera at all, I swear. :)

We tried to get into the backyard, but the poison ivy and vines prevented us...

see?

I really think my friend shouldn't sell her house and just move back to New York...

we miss her here.

After Italy (see previous entry) My parents flew to Prague for 5 days. My Mother said that Prague was a completely different world from Italy. It was darker, more moody and the buildings pointy & Jagged. It looks like a city out of an old gothic fairytale. Italy was bright and cheerful with cherubs. Prague had gargoyles.

Here are more photographs taken by my father.











That's the hotel my parents stayed in.




Prague had a lot of statues sitting on the buildings and faces carved in the architecture. There was artwork everywhere.





A soldier standing guard in front of a castle. My father said he was stiff as a rod and stared straight ahead. It wouldn't respond to questions or even flinch.



My Father's dream car. A rare vehicle to see outside of a showroom. (of course he had to take a picture) I'm posting it for my guy friends to see.



This photo made me miss Germany so much, it reminded me of the town we lived in. Prague has a very German feel to it in certain areas.




My father had a safe flight back to Iraq. He called my mother to let her know that he was okay. My Mother misses him so much right now and it was hard for them to separate again after this vacation together.

My father will be leaving Iraq and returning to the states for good (hopefully) in October.


******

One last thing. I have a question and I was hoping someone that reads this could help me out

This is my favorite pillow



It's soft and conforms to the shape of your head. It feels like a big beanie bag and the outside is made of a satin-like material. I can't sleep without it.

The problem is... I have no idea what that symbol means. I assume it's Asian, but I can't find the translation on the internet. I always just figured it means something generic like "good luck" or "fortune". But I just realized it could mean something twisted like "War" or "Hate"

So the question is: Does anyone know the meaning behind the symbol on my pillow??

I take it with me on all my plane flights and had it for a long time... so I'm just really curious.

My mother returned from her two week trip to Europe. She said the entire experience felt like a dream. She returned with over 500 photographs.

I've always wanted to travel to Italy, so I found the images fascinating. My father took all of them and he has a unique eye when it comes to photography. I thought I'd share a few of the pictures taken during their vacation.
















This picture was taken during the train ride to Florence.











































Next stop was Prague. It has such a different feel, I'll just post them in another entry later on this week.

It's nice to have my Mother home again. She's still glowing from this romantic trip with my father.