WWII

My apartment has always had roaches. Usually, with the discovery of insect invaders comes guilt, but we have had roaches since day one. Before we had food anywhere near our kitchen we had roaches waiting to greet us in cupboards, on the floor, and in the sink. First I bought traps, then my mom sent this device we plugged in to our outlets that was supposed to repel them electronically through your wiring (somehow). Neither of these things fixed our bug problem. The other day I got a spray that kills them instantly so, while it doesn't seem to be preventative, I get to watch them die in seconds...which honestly does help a little with my aggression and frustration.
At our old apartment we had a 2% bug rate, that is we would see the occasional spider, but we could leave our kitchen floor and counter covered in crumbs and see no infestation of any kind. I've been keeping our apartment near spotless, but the roaches refuse to move out and move on.
Texas A&M has a page devoted to roaches and there I found out that:
There are approximately 3,500 species of cockroaches, but only 55 species are known to live in the U.S. In Texas, five cockroach species are really troublesome in homes and other buildings.
The most frightening of these (and I'm sure we've had at least two) is this one:

American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana)

The American cockroach is the largest of the common species, growing to a length of 1 1/2 to 2 inches. It is reddish-brown with a light yellow band around the edge of the head shield. Adults of both sexes have well-developed wings, but seldom fly. They are, however, capable of gliding flights.

This roach can live up to three years. The good news is that it doesn't produce nearly the amount of offspring that the German roach does.

German cockroaches are the most common insect pests for apartment dwellers in Texas.

German cockroach problems may persist despite careful pest control efforts. In some areas, cockroaches have become resistant to particular insecticides. They usually develop their resistance in apartments or commercial establishments where routine insecticide treatments are made over extended periods of time. If you have difficulties controlling German cockroaches, consider changing insecticide products in order to use a different active ingredient.

The German roach can produce 35,000 offspring in a year. If that doesn't make you feel creepy crawly, there's more: German cockroaches usually seek dark shelters near moisture and food, such as in kitchens and bathrooms. However, when populations become large and food scarce, they appear in bedrooms and other less likely places.
So here's my problem now: do I keep them fed in the kitchen so they stay out of my bedroom?

Cooking Country

I'm not sure if it's living in the south or if it's having lots of extra time on my hands, but I've been doing a lot of cooking lately. This is unusual for me because:

1) I don't cook.
2) Nobody in my immediate family has ever cooked in any way since my birth.

Thanks to allrecipes.com and a little help from Zach on some of my endeavors I've made the following items:

- Maple Salmon
- Garlic Chicken (I got this from a Southern Living Cookbook "Easy Weeknight Favorites" cookbook that Zach's mom gave him years ago.)
- Breakfast Tacos (with avocado, sausage, salsa, egg, and cheddar)
- Biscuits and Gravy
- Vegetarian Chili
- Nacho Chicken (courtesy of the Southern Living cookbook, it's chicken with a Dorito crust...surprisingly good)
- Curry Chicken Salad (also courtesy of Southern Living)

Everything has turned out pretty well. I, however, don't think that this makes me a "good cook." People toss that label around too often. I just follow directions well and attend to my food items in a responsible way while they're cooking. Anybody can do that. I think a "good cook" comes from years of practice and innovation. I imagine that I will never be an exceptional cook, but it's a rewarding way to pass the time and (when I feel like doing it) it's pretty fun.