1. The changing leaves. I just noticed this week that the leaves have really begun to change. Did you notice? Take time to slow down, look, and enjoy the most beautiful show Mother Nature puts on each year.

2. The weekend forecast. Sunny and in the 70s -- it doesn't get any better here in Erie in October. I'm really thrilled because my race -- the big Erie Runners Club/Her Times women's 5K -- is Saturday and this will be the first year we've had decent weather. You can still participate -- sign up Saturday at the Rotary Pavilion from 7 to 8:45 a.m. $20 per 5K entrant (but...be aware that you'll probably have to wait for a shirt...we're almost out).

3. ErieAlityTV.com. I find people fascinating -- which is why I loved the first reality shows -- like the original "Real World" and "Road Rules" on Mtv. Now, however, most of the "reality" shows are stupid -- they're silly, scripted and feature ridiculously well-endowed, gorgeous women and body-builder men with issues. I want real reality TV...so I was happy to stumble upon www.ErieAlityTV.com — on online reality show following three local — and very different — men for six weeks. You have to register to watch the episodes, but it's worth it....and they're only 10 minutes or so...so you can easily watch them on your coffee break.

You can simply surf around and see what's going on --- read blogs, discussion, etc. But, you need to register/join the site (it's free, of course) to comment, post your own discussion or join in the conversation.

Today's topic: A U.S. Passport

What it is: A necessary travel document if you are traveling to another country and wish to return to the United States. Historically, travelers were allowed to move between countries with a birth certificate embossed with a state seal and a government-issued photo I.D. 9/11 changed all that and passports are now required for U.S. Citizens wishing to travel internationally (the current exception being Canada).

What it is II: A little blue booklet with your name, photo, signature, passport number and pages and pages of space for visas (ohhh..a world of travel awaits).

Why I got it: I'm planning to travel to Mexico...or the Caribbean...or whatever tropical locale my friends want to go to in January. A giant group of my running friends (couples) get together and go on some exotic vacation every year. This year, the Cass' are joining them...or, at least, I am. I'm not sure about the husband who STILL has not even made the appointment to get his passport. And...well...no passport, no travel to sunny shores. And, don't think for one minute I won't leave home without him.

What you need:
1. Your birth certificate with the embossed seal (a copy is not acceptable...has to be the real deal...if yours is MIA...go here)
2. A driver's license (or other government-issued photo ID).
3. Your filled-out passport papers (get them online here)
4. A few checks -- if you're going to have your photo taken at the post office (which I highly recommend) -- you need a check for the passport fee that goes with the application and one check for the post office for the photo ($40). If you and your spouse are getting passports at the same time, be aware that you need a separate check for each application fee (you can, however, pay for the photo fees together).

How much does it cost? Passport books are $100 for adults ($85 for kids) and it's $40 per photo if you have them taken right at the post office (we figured it was worth the hassle).

Where to get one: The U.S. Post office -- note that not all branches do passports and ALL require you to have an appointment.

Where I got mine: Griswold Plaza U.S. Post Office which was, frankly, my last choice since the workers there always seem so mean, but...it's also a block from my office, so I made a mid-afternoon appointment. The lobby was dead which was good because...despite having to have an "appointment" you are waited on by the counter staff (which means the people behind you usually sigh loudly and try to bore holes into your head for taking so damn long).

What they did: Carefully read over my application, witnessed as I signed it, took me in a side room to shoot my photo, stuck it on the application and collected my checks.

How long the application process took: Less than a 1/2 hour since I had my forms already filled out (but unsigned..you must sign in their presence).

How long it takes to get the passport: They say 4 to 6 weeks. Mine took less than 2.

What you need to know: Your birth certificate must be mailed with your passport application, so...you may want to make a copy before you go to the post office. They'll return it to you (in a separate mailing from the one containing your passport).

Need more info? Everything you need to know about the U.S. Passport process can be found here.

As I'm turning, I noticed the guy in the car waiting at the off-ramp for me to turn...he's pissed. I mean, yelling, screaming, gesturing, hopping up and down...all red faced. It took a few moments for me to realize, I was the one who pissed him off.

When I realized what he was so upset about (apparently, I signaled too late and held him up for...what an additional 8 seconds), I laughed out loud. Literally laughed in his face...it was an honest reaction -- I thought it was hysterical that this guy would get so upset about something so terribly inconsequential.

I decided to throw him a hand signal -- a peace sign -- since he was still yelling (through his rolled up car window) and making his own hand signals that were definitely not signs of peace.

As I drove along, bewildered and sort of humored by angry-driver-man, I realized how terribly sad it must be to live with that kind of anger and temper inside of you. I mean...really, dude, chill. In the grand scheme of things...does it matter?

I can only hope angry-driver-man is as outraged by crack dealers, pedophiles and mass murders, but...it's probably just stupid woman drivers who really get his goat.

I've never touched a gun before Saturday when met up with a few of the board members at Gem City in the interest of trying something new, conquering my fears and getting a good story for the "Adventure" column in the December issue of Her Times.

I had heard -- and talked to several girlfriends -- who enjoyed target shooting. Not necessarily hunting, but shooting for sport (at targets...not living things).

I have to admit I was pretty intimidated and...well, when it came time to fire with actual bullets (after all the safety lessons, dry firing, etc.), I was sort of shaking.

But, once I got used to it — it was really pretty cool, and I did well. All ten bullets hit the target — three of them were very close to the bullseye.

My sister-in-law, Kristie, came with me and she, too, was right on the mark.

Not unusual for women, said the gun club guys who were teaching us....women tend to be better target shooters because they're more precise and more patient.

I'll resist the temptation to scoop myself and tell whole shootin' story here, but...suffice to say it was an adventure. Read more about it in the Dec. 14 issue of Her Times.

Oh...but before you read that one...read the one that's coming out this Sunday, Oct. 12!

Here's a photo of my sister-in-law Kristie shooting a 22-caliber rifle with one of the instructors — Joe Paradisi — who so graciously spent their entire afternoon teaching us.

Here are my targets:

22-caliber rifle -- from 50 feet (rifle on sandbags on the table)

22-caliber ruger pistol -- from probably 20 feet

1. Grapes. Concord grapes to be specific. Yes, the kind that slip out of their skin and look like little eyeballs. Yummy little eyeballs — skins, seeds and all. If only the Farmer's Market were still in Griswold Plaza (sigh).

2. John Reep. I loved "Last Comic Standing" (well, at least the later episodes of the show...I don't like it when they make fun of people in auditions) and John Reep was a favorite of mine from the beginning. He ended up winning the thing and I think it's really cool that he's performing at our own Jr's Last Laugh Comedy Club this weekend (Friday and Saturday at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. each night). Tickets are less than $20...so there's no excuse not to go see this top-notch funny man.

3. Pumpkin Dip. This is the dish I bring to every gathering I'm invited to for the next two months -- it's yummy, seasonal and fairly low-fat if you serve it with low-fat graham crackers. It's also great with gingersnaps, 'nilla wafers, animal crackers and pretzels.

PUMPKIN DIP
2 c. confectioners sugar
1 (8 oz. each) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin pie filling mix
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Combine sugar and cream cheese. Beat in remaining ingredients. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Serve with gingersnaps, animal crackers, graham crackers, pretzels, etc.

The other day she came downstairs carrying her case babbling about a chrysalis. I looked inside and, sure enough, there was a black chrysalis hanging on a stick nestled in a bunch of ragweed she'd stuck in the case. She had, apparently, found the chrysalis while on a walk in the woods.

She told me she was sure it was going to be a Monarch. I said, "Uh...yeah, maybe, honey," but I was thinking..."yeah, right...it's probably a moth."

What it is: A hair product that you spray on damp (or dry) hair that promises to make your hair look and feel fuller and thicker. Or...in my girlfriend, Jen's words: "You know how all the stars say hair is best to style when it's dirty...well, this gives you that 'dirty hair' feel and texture without greasy, dirty hair."

Why I tried it: I'm growing my hair out and it is just...ugly right now. Not short, not long...sort of shaggy and dark and ragged looking. I was telling Jen that I don't know why I try to grow my hair out because it's never as full and thick as I hope it will be. She told me about PM Volumizer and gave me some to try.

What you do: You spray it on -- sparingly -- damp or dry hair and then use your hands to scrunch it in. Then, blow dry your hair. The spray reacts with the heat from the hairdryer to thicken hair.

Does it work: Yes. I definitely noticed a big difference when I used the Volumizer (big, thick hair) versus the flat, limp hair God gave me.

Did I like it: Yes and no. I like the thickness of my hair, but I didn't like the feeling of the spray...it made my hair feel dirty (even though it didn't look that way). It should be said, though, that I am the kind of woman who isn't big on any kind of hair product or elaborate styles. I do not own a curling iron and it takes me about 2 months to use a bottle of hairspray. So...it could be that I'm just not used to "product" hair at all.

Would I recommend it: Yes...if you're looking for fullness..you will find it with this stuff. Just be aware that if you're not the kind who typically uses a lot of hair products, you may not like the feel of it.

Cost/Where to get it: Paul Mitchell is only sold at Salons...but it's sold at most salons (even Wal-Mart's salon). An 8.5 ounce bottle is about $10 or so.

Here are some photos of the cider press.

The press works like this...you stick the apples in the top...someone cranks the grinder thing (that's not an easy job!)...When the barrel is full of apple pulp, you move it to the front of the press where it is, well...pressed and the juice runs out into the silver buckets you see there at the bottom. It's then strained through cloth and bottled.

This year's cider season -- locally -- will be quite different without Fuhrmann's Cider Mill which burned to the ground last year and was not rebuilt in time for this year's cider season. The good news is -- there are lots of places, locally, to get your cider fix. Check out this story -- which ran in the Erie Times-News last week and contains a list of places you can still get cider.

Unless you have a friend with his own cider press.

Cheers to cider season! (and, uh...no that's not cider...and today...I'm really, really wishing it had been.)

All the while I'm standing there thinking...what's your point? I can't return her now. I'm pretty much stuck with the kids God gave me so...um...thanks for your support.

The truth is, I wanted another girl because I desperately wanted Kelly to have a sister. And, frankly, girl stuff (clothes, activities, crafts, etc.) is much more interesting to me. So, I was thrilled to have two daughters.

Here then — for all you parents of girls — are the top 10 things I love about having daughters (and then 5 things I don't..which I'm sure you can all relate to...and that all of the parents of boys can thank their lucky stars they don't have to deal with).

1. The colors. Each week I have an entire load of pinks and another load of purples. Life -- and certainly laundry -- with two girls is quite colorful. In many, many ways.

2. Playing dress-up. Though both of my girls have outgrown their umpteen princess dress-up dresses, I will always cherish the days they wouldn't take them off. We went everywhere in princess dresses -- the grocery store, birthday parties, the doctor's office -- I let them wear them anywhere they wanted to because I knew it wouldn't last.

3. Arts & crafts. I love making macaroni bracelets, cardboard-box puppet stages, egg-carton flowers and glitter-covered pinwheels almost as much as the girls do.

4. Hair accessories. I could spend my paycheck on hair accessories at Claire's -- headbands, bows, hair clips, combs ... I get to live my goddess-hair fantasies through my daughters.

5. Chick flicks. Though my girls are too young to appreciate a real chick flick, we have a shared love of little-chick flicks like Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and my all-time favorite, Mary Poppins.

6. Giggling. There's no sound on earth more beautiful to me than my daughters giggling over some grade-school knock-knock joke or some silly thing one of them keeps doing just to make the other one laugh.

7. Cuddling. The girls relish any opportunity to hug, cuddle or show affection. Though, I've heard that boys are just as affectionate as girls (if you can catch them and make them stop running long enough to sit), particularly once they are teens (that's what all my friends with teen boys say anyway).

8. Shopping. They both love to shop. This will probably be a bad thing one day, but for now..it's nice to have a pair of mini-me's to take to the mall that are as excited about the new Halloween soap dispensers at Bath and Body Works as I am.

1. Dress pants from New York & Co. They offer several different "fits" (from trendy young-adult fits to more mature real-woman fits) and most are available in tall, regular and petite sizes from 4 to 16 (possibly 18). Most of New York & Co. pants are washable and if you get them out of the dryer right away -- you don't even have to iron them. If you hit the store at the right time, you'll even find their pants on sale for buy one get one free. The really cool thing? Depending on the "fit" -- their pants tend to run big...so you can usually count on wearing a size smaller than normal. And..um...what woman doesn't love that? I have at least 16 pairs of dress pants -- including three pairs of my fave black ones.

2. Card-table fruit stands. I pass by a few folks on Hannon Road (in Harborcreek) selling produce from their own yards on my way to the local big-box grocery stores. I always stop at the tables first and pick up whatever fresh fruits and veggies I need. My favorite card-table stand is a little old guy who sells everything from apples to grapes to pumpkins to gladiolas. There's a coffee can you're supposed to put your money in, but he usually appears before you pay to say "hello" and chat about the produce (or the weather or the economy). This week I bought a 1/2 peck of Gala apples (about 20 apples) for $2.

3. The North East Wine Festival. It's always nice to kick back, relax, buy some overpriced wine (to support the local wineries) and suck in the scents of the vineyards while you soak in the atmosphere at Gravel Pit Park. They always have great local talent on the stage, too. Get all the info. you need about the Wine Fest here (though it appears most of the info. buttons take you nowhere).

What are they: Drinks -- usually cold -- that you mix up in the blender. They're usually the consistency of a milkshake, but contain healthier ingredients like yogurt and peanut butter.

Why I tried it: Last night's Daisy meeting ran long (very long) and it was nearly 8 p.m. and I was faced with two kids who hadn't had dinner and needed to get to bed....and, they're not going to bed without a snack.

Why I tried it II: I thought...hey...why not combine dinner and a snack and mix up a healthy smoothie. My husband has been making low-fat milkshakes with them as a snack & I thought I might be able to sell them on the packaging.

1. My car heater. I refuse, of course, to turn on the furnace this early in the season so our house is quit chilly. And I'm always freezing at work (year-round). My car is my warm, cozy haven. I blast that heater until I can't take the heat anymore and travel around toasty warm. My husband hates riding with me -- he calls my car a traveling sauna. You know what I say? If you can't stand the heat, get outta my car.

2. The full moon. As a 5 a.m. runner, a full moon in September means the ability to see at least 5 feet in front of me (as opposed to 5 inches on a sliver-moon morning). Once the snow falls (not that I'm wishing for that), it actually lights the way pretty well because the moonlight (sliver or full), reflects off the snow.

3. School mail. I'm sure this will change once my kids get old enough to have homework and bad notes from the teacher, but...for now...I look forward to looking through their backpack every night to see what treasures await -- a handwritten card with "to mommy, love Kelly" written on it...a note from the teacher...a flyer about the latest school fundraiser...a finger painting from art class....a handful of leaves from an afternoon "nature walk"... It's all fun news to me.

Watch SNL's Sarah & Hillary here.
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/

3,254,742 (and growing) viewers can't be wrong. It's absolutely worth your six minutes of time.