Meet Mr. Stud-ly. We found him on a street corner in an old gas station parking lot in Naples. If I only could have this same car in turquoise. I'd be in head over heals in love. And not even necessarily to drive but to use as a prop. Ha ha! I loved the look of this one and suddenly had visions of bringing Brennen back to pose on top of it with a skateboard in hand or something. Don't know why - just did.
Notice how the side of it reads "Truly Nolen?" Well Truly Nolen is a major "pest control" company down here in Southwest Florida. The owner places old cars such as this one all around town on different street corners with his business name down the side of it. You can't think of pest control in Florida without thinking of Truly Nolen. The owner has done a phenomenal job of marketing his company. His actual service cars...they are even better. All of his service vans, trucks, and little VW bug cars all have big mice ears and long black tails custom made to stick up and off each car. They are also bright yellow in color. What a hoot! Again, you know when you've got a pest problem, to call Truly Nolen. Their name comes to mind first and foremost. I'm still half tempted to make a call to the owner and ask him if we can have permission to use a car or two of his in a photo shoot while down here this summer. What fun!
It's now 7:20pm and we are off to dinner. We've had quite the eventful day here in Florida and I'm ready to relax at this point. We've seen two snakes in less then 24 hours outside the house. The 2nd one is now dead. Yes, I ran over it four different times with the truck before the thing finally died. And when it did die, it blew out and popped like something was exploding. In fact, it was so loud that Brennen actually panicked and thought that the snake bit our tire and popped the tire. Hilarious! Now...all of you animal activists...please refrain from emailing me and telling me that there are only 6 venomous species of snakes in Florida and that I should never kill an animal. I know that already. Really, I do. However, I don't care whether it was venomous or not. It's life span was up according to me. With two young children who play out in the driveway, I refuse to take any chances. That first snake is lucky he got away yesterday before my truck tires made permanent skid marks across his back. And oh yeah...I know they are here to help eat the rats and mice in Florida. I've seen three rats outdoors already this trip and although I don't like them either, I'd rather have rats then snakes. So...even though the neighbors now probably think I'm a crazed lunatic after they watched me back up, turn around, and run over a snake 4 different times until it was dead, I feel better. And that is all that matters, right? I'll probably have the police show up at my door or something for killing the thing because it will be my luck that it's against the law or something here. In the end though, they can put me in a jail cell and throw away the key. Snakes are just not allowed within a 100 mile radius of me or my kids. P-E-R-I-O-D! With Kenidi's special needs, she would walk right up to a snake and not know any different. By the time I could get to her in a situation like that, it would be too late. So...4 times, 16 times, 52 times..however many times it takes to run over it and kill it - I'll do it.
Although Brennen got a huge kick out of it as he hung out the passenger side window and directed me which way to drive to ensure I was running over him with the tires, the whole event really stressed me out. This particular snake was about 6 feet long, red, and all out gross. The thump was large enough each time we ran over him that it made me that much sicker with each pass I made. Ewwww....!!! In the event that you should need a snake killer, I'm your girl.
Happy 4th of July! Celebrate safely! I'll be dodging snakes no doubt. :) Hugs, Angie
Just because I love her ever famous look of concentration as shown above. People who know her well - know this look - these flaired lips. This is Kenidi. And tonight...after all of her voluntary hugs and kisses this evening, I just want to gobble her up. :0)
And as for Brennen, I want to gobble him up tonight too. However, I'm not able to shoot photos of him for about a week. He came in the other day 2 seconds away from tears. I sent him for a hair cut with his Dad and Papa Ron. The normal salon they typically go to down here was closed. Therefore, they ended up at a real barber shop. A real barber shop with a 119 year old barber who cut his hair as though he was preparing to send him to Iraq. He came home with a military cut - literally a flat top of sorts. It was awful. I'll admit it. Like him, I was 2 seconds from crying when I saw it as well. He was crushed. As was I. In the end though, it's just hair. It will grow back - in like 2 weeks even. With the help of the sun, salt water, and chlorine...his hair should be as good as new real soon. Needless to say, he will never go back to that barber shop again. I can't say that I blame him.
Ever have one of those days in life where it feels like it just goes on and on FOREVAH? Kind of like the rows on a white picket fence? Well, I had one of those days yesterday and the day before. Many of you probably read about it on facebook. Therefore, I'm not going there again here. The good news is...all is well now. Therefore, I am finally catching up on some blogging. I got some emails yesterday and today reminding me that I had forgotten to blog. Ha ha! I didn't forget you guys...never would I forget about you. :)
The above home is one of my favorite houses here in Naples. Their backyard is the sea. Yes, it sits right on the ocean. Can you imagine their views every day and night? Simply gorgeous! Now, if it just didn't have a $15-$20 million dollar price tag...ha ha! Brent and I love mediterranean style homes and this one really caught our eye. It's still under construction at the moment. I wish I could get a tour...
And how about these big boy yachts? One of these would be nice to park out back of that house, right? Hee hee!
We hit the Naples city dock and checked out some of the boats they had lined up there. Here is Brent (shown below) carrying some of my photography gear. He makes for a really awesome "assistant" and "driver." :) Love you babe!
I took this shot below for Brennen. He loves anything to do with police and firemen. This boat appears to be the property of the Naples police.
These are some luxury homes/condos over near a marina in the Naples area. They have little shops/boutiques that line underneath them on the bottom floor. They also have a great little cabana bar too that overlooks the bay. Very cool spot! I love their coloring and thought they would make for some great shots.
The above and below shots were taken back in a Naples neighborhood called Pelican Bay. I love the entrance with all their palm trees so Brent stopped and let me grab some quick shots.
There is your little picture tour of some fun areas here in Naples. I'm actually signing off so that I can go and close the garage door now. Brennen found a snake in the drive way moments ago and I'm scared it will end up in the garage. Not fun! Ewwwww....!!! Thanks for being patient with my delays in posting over the past day or two. See you later tator!
When Brent and I had our date day on Sunday, we hit the Naples pier and did some sight seeing. Any boy were there some sights. I love Naples but I love the beach in Bonita much more. Sunday just confirmed that. Ha ha! Bonita Beach has pristine beach areas with very clean views. Naples has very upscale homes and exquisite shopping but boy does their beach get a tad bit, well ummmm...let's just use the word "crazy." Especially by the pier. Ha ha! We'll just leave it at that.
While enjoying our time there, I snapped some of these shots. I apologize for any individuals that ended up in my pictures with just a bathing suit on. Word of advice to the ladies, unless you are laying down in the sand or at a pool catching some rays, put a cover up on when you get up to walk around. Especially when walking down a pier. I've never understood the reasoning behind why girls and women walk the streets or similar areas near beaches & pools half dressed. (i.e., no top over their bathing suit on their chest, no bottoms over their bottoms, etc.) God invented designers of cover ups so that we'd wear them. Don't walk around with your chest hanging out and then question why guys are such dogs when it comes to them staring at you with their tongues hanging out. Poor guys, as women half dressed, we leave the guys nothing else left to look at. How can they help from staring when that is all there is in their sight? I'm a female and couldn't look any which way without seemingly landing on some women's chest because they were just e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e! Brent and I got such a kick out of the sights and the total disregard for lack of clothes. There were so many young teenage girls getting pawed over and it was incredibly sad. I also saw so many women my age or older though who were apparently getting a kick out of the pawing. They too were half dressed. Wear those cover ups, sarongs with a cute tee, etc., when you are up walking around sista's! There is nothing attractive, classy, or lady like about walking down the street or a crowded pier in a bathing suit with nothing covering you. In my opinion, we are somebodies daughter. Therefore, we should act like it. Wouldn't we want that for our own daughters? Just my two cents!
I had to step around all of the individuals hanging out underneath this pier in order to get this shot above. Again I say just a wee bit "crazy."
The clouds were my "besties" on this day. They were amazing. Love what some cool clouds and a wide angle lens can do for an image. Good stuff! Makes my heart skip a beat. A few beats actually.
If you look really closely in the shot above, you can see a dolphin swimming along in the water. He is right above the G and the R in the word photography. He was just as fun as he could be.
This is a shot of the pier that I stood back and waited FOREVAH to get so that I could shoot around all the half dressed women coming at me head on with their ta ta's hanging out. I'll say it again...cover ups ladies, cover ups. They are a GOOD thang'! No one wants your boobies in their vacation pictures. Wink wink! ;)
So there you have it, the Naples pier - minus the ta ta's. HA! I should have just used a mega-phone and stopped everyone by going..."Everybody listen up...I'm trying to take some pictures here but I can't because of your lack of clothing. I've got a blog to run and cannot post pictures of your hooters on my blog because I have sweet, sweet, young girls as some of my readers and they don't deserve to see all that - all of you. This is a PG rated blog - not triple XXX. Everybody get some clothes on - PRONTO - so that I can snap some shots without feeling like I'm snapping pictures of your boobs or your heiney being so prevalently revealed. Understood? Oh...and stop walking so slow or deliberately stopping in front of my camera lens as if you WANT me to get a shot of your hooters. If you are in need of attention, I'm not the one to give it to you. Neither is BIG PAPA (a.k.a. my camera)!!!
It's a done deal. Next time we head to the Naples pier, I'm packing a megaphone. :O) Happy Tuesday friends! xoxoxo, Angie
Brent has found a new honey. Someone that makes his heart swoon and his palms sweat. He's found someone that makes his heart race and his feet go numb. He's found his love. He found "Lola." Let me introduce you to her...
Yeap, this yellow and oh so stunning vehicle is his new love. It's an Aston Martin. For those of you who haven't frequented our blog for very long, you won't understand the joke to this car lot. See, Brent and I peruse this lot together each time we are in town. Sometimes it's a late night jaunt down there on a warm Florida night, other times it's during the day such as the trip with camera lights blaring. Last May, this same lot helped me make my decision on my new car. It all started there. This year, Brent is in store for a new vehicle soon. He's trying to decide whether to go for an SUV again or a car this time. Needless to say, when he saw "Lola," I think his little heart had made a decision. At a $280,000 sticker price though, I think his wallet begged to differ. Ha ha!
One of the other reasons why I love Bonita Springs and Naples is for this reason right here. I love to see the amount of "rare" (or rare considering we don't see this stuff rolling around Indy much) cars that line the streets here like candy. Eye candy! I'm not a big car girl but I can appreciate a nice ride. And these vehicles are nothing short of a nice ride. The car key alone for this Aston Martin is $2000. Yes, you read that right...$2,000.00. The key is laced in sapphires and is truly just there as a "hey, let me show you my key" kind of detail. Most people spending this much money on a vehicle have more dollars then cents. And in Bonita, that equals out to be just about every 35-60 year old man at each intersection. Brent just recently turned 35. Enough said. :o)
I do have to say...he does wear it well...Wouldn't you agree? I was holding on for dear life down in a ditch while trying to get this shot of him below. As I was whining about how to do it, Brent says to me..."Do your job...this is what photographers do!" HA!
And oh yeah...I was down on the ground in a skirt mind you - getting these shots. Thank goodness the dealership was closed. I didn't care about all of the other hundreds of cars passing by on U.S. 41/Tamiami Trail behind me. Ha ha! They were all going just fast enough that it didn't matter. Never saw a thing. They might have suspected that they did, but I assure you that they didn't. HA!
There is that handsome stud of mine. Like his new shades? Those were a Father's Day gift from the kids and I for him. He wears those well too. Yeah, yeah, yeah...Mama is trying to rub her sun glass fetish off on Daddy now too. Big deal! Guys need a few really good pair of shades just like we girls do. :o)
Beings that we frequent this dealership a ton...this day was no different. However it was a blast this time because I had my camera with me again and could snap Brent in action.
Action, "what action" you ask? Well, take this moment for example...
He tried telling me that he thought that this silver Bentley "might make a good family car." Note...it is only two doors. Ha ha!
Then...how about the persuasion that came with this one below...???? This Ferrari. "Look Ang...you can see the engine via glass on the back of the trunk lid. Now that is cool, right?" Oh yes, very cool babe! Very, very, cool!
Brent: "Oh but what about this one (shown above and below) babe...?? It has 4 doors - it would DEFINITELY make a good family car."
ME: "Oh really, what is the cost on this one b-a-b-e?"
Brent: "Here is the sticker. Let's just get a picture of it why don't we? Ha ha!"
ME: "Why? What does it say? It can't be any worse then $280,000 for the Aston Martin. (a.k.a - Lola)
ME: "WHHAAATTTT? That is the price of someones house rolling down the road!" What in the world? $440,050.00 - That is just pure craziness my friends. Pure craziness. Someone is smoking some heavy wacky weed if they are buying a $440,050.00 vehicle. And don't you just love the and 050.00? Like yeah, $440,000 and $50 dollars. What is the $50 for? Why bother? Let's just round it up to a mere $441,000.00 shall we?
At the end of the day, we got in some good laughs. Brent and I spent the day out shooting - well I was shooting - he was my get-a-way driver. We had lunch and walked the Naples pier together. All the while I was snapping shots with my camera. I'll be sharing more of those shots tomorrow. It was a beautiful "date day" and I'm so thankful that my in laws offered to stay behind with the kids so that we could go enjoy ourselves for the afternoon. We hit the marina's, tin city, some residential areas, stopped to snap some old cars on top of the new ones you see above, and so forth. It was great fun! Brent has really taken an interest in the photography world with me and it's a ton of fun to have him there by my side while doing what I love to do. I'll leave you with some more random shots surrounding the cars before I sign off. First up, Mamasita's choice...ummm...yes me. The Maserati. With a smidge of tinted windows on this car and some different wheels, we'd be stylin'! :) Enjoy...
And some other Bentley colors...
Good times~good times! Thanks for an incredibly awesome date day babe! I had a blast! Love you, Ang
For now I am off to plug in and take a new photography class online for two hours today. It starts at 12:30pm and runs thru 2:30pm. It's my first ever online and live class. (I'm taking the course - not teaching it this time) I've got headphones and a mic all ready to go. Should be interesting beings that I have never participated in this type set up before. Wish me luck. Especially considering the other classmates in regards to the two crazy kids I have roaming in the background. Thank God for mute buttons, eh? Ha ha! Enjoy your Monday. Talk tomorrow...Ang
