Home Alone

I'm all by myself today. Trey went to Arlington to watch a baseball game with his friend Sean. Sean and him have been friends since middle school. It's pretty funny hearing them talk about their old school days.

I bet Trey's having a blast at the game, but I can have fun too. Who says mowing the yard isn't a blast or how about laundry? Okay maybe I'm a little mad that he's having all the fun, but he deserves it after last night. Yesterday we went to the drive-in and watched the Lake House. I know it must've been torturous for him. It was so bad on him that he fell asleep. I on the other hand, loved it! But then again, I'm such a sucker for romantic movies.

Goodbye Digital Media Class

No more digital media class.


Yesterday was the last day and tonight we're having an end of the summer banquet. I guess we'll eat and they'll pass out awards to the students. I know for sure they'll be screening the video I stayed up editing until 4 am this morning. As a matter of fact, I'm sitting here while it's burning to disc. I hope Trey can come with me. He just called and told me how he's excited because he talked to a guy who restores 69' Chevy's, the same make and model as his truck. Let me fill you in, if you don't know... Trey bought a truck our first year of marriage. He's never driven the thing, however it is in a million pieces in our garage if you'd like to see it. I love Trey to death and want his dream truck to drive one day. One day it will.

Plumbers and Toilets

Last night started like any other, then all of a sudden our front bathroom was ankle high in sewage water. It was a horrible sight and disgusting smell. Trey was yelling at me, "Dominique bring me towels, bring me towels!" So, now I have to go out today and buy new towels. No way am I using gross sewage smelly towels to clean my body. Yuck! The plumber came this morning at the crack of dawn and said everything was a-okay. Oh, the joys of home owning.

The Best Coffee EVER!!!

Before I begin, I want to say I've discovered my favorite coffee all over again! I love H-E-B coffee called Taste of Abilene, but I never realized they sold it seperate from there coffee bar...You know where you can buy it grounded. Well, I found it and freaked out!

Now switching gears, I guess I've been dancing around work I've been needing to do, but I definelty had fun this weekend. The highlight: rockin' on the bass Sunday during church and of course the coffee! The Low: staying up late and waking up earlier.

Trey and I rented Running Scared. The movie claims it makes Kill Bill look like Sesame Street. Based on that claim alone, I had to see what all the fuss was about. Indeed, it was pretty gory, but I have to say it was much, much better than Kill Bill.

I just posted a new video on my website

I just posted my latest video online. I worked on it for about 3 weeks and it was screened at the Abilene Country Club a few weeks ago. It was a lot of hard work, but very rewarding.

Summer Fun

Yesterday we spent time with the pups in the backyard tossing the football around. As you can see our Doberman is almost as tall as Trey.

Well, I can't believe another week has flown by. My mom is out of town so this weekend Natasha, my younger sister is staying with us. I have tons of video projects I have to work on, but that's the same song I've been singing all summer. I'll try to pull myself away from the computer that chains me, if I can I plan on seeing at least one good movie and walking my beagle. Trey and I will be going to church this Sunday. I think we found a church we both enjoy. The church is out in Buffalo Gap called First Baptist of BG. Wednesday we practiced with the praise and worship band. Trey played guitar and I rocked out on the bass. This Sunday the praise and worship leader wants us to play with them so that's pretty exciting. I can't explain how wonderful it feels to play in a band again!

T-Shirt Reads: I Don't Need an Encyclopedia Because My Wife Knows It All

That was the T-shirt we gave our Dad for Father's Day, along with another one that read: For Sale: Make Offer. We spent our weekend watching movies and were caught in a rain storm. Saturday Trey and I made our way to the Drive-in to watch the Fast and the Furious followed by The Break-up. It looked like it was going to rain and sure enough it began to storm on us. It rained for a good 30 minutes and hailed for 10. Luckily we didn't have any damage to the car.


By the way, The Fast and the Furious was suprisingly decent and the Break-up wasn't bad either. Oh, I failed to mention I received my diploma in the mail Friday. Yeah, I piece of paper that says thanks for the money and here you can have a paper. Real nice!

Where'd the Power Go?

Last night we went over to our friends house and had a wonderful steak dinner and then later we went to see my favorite: Garfield. I don't know if the couple we were with wanted to see it, but they were good sports about it...Afterwards, when we exited the theatre it was beginning to storm, so Trey and I made our way home for the night. When we got home I started to brush my teeth and Trey was watching TV when the electricity went out. I was scared, but Trey and I found each other in the dark with the guide of our cell phone lights. 15 minutes later, we were still in the dark.


Our neighbor called and said, your small dog, Daphne is in my backyard. When I went to get Daphne, Stacey our neighbor, said she put her back over our fence. I called Daphne's name, but I had no luck. I ran to our fence near the ally and heard Daphne crying. She was soggy and muddy. What a night!

Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties

I'm not seven years old, but I'm super excited about the new Garfield movie. It comes out today and I'm gonna try to see it this weekend. Although I have to say I'm disappointed it's not showing at the drive-in. Tonight Trey and I are hanging out with a married couple from one of the churches we visited a few months ago. Trey said they were thinking we could watch a movie tonight. I'm pretty sure they want to watch the new Jack Black movie, Nacho Libre. OH BOY! That movie is either gonna be really dumb or really brilliant. Other than that I have to sort papers for class, work out, work, edit, and work on the yard.

Vet Visit

Poor Brusier is a sick puppy...we'll he's not ill, but he's having skin problems. He's been itching his butt bare. Yesterday we took him to the vet and they treated him. I hope he gets better. Last time I posted his weight he weighed around 75 pounds, he now weighs 93.

Entertaining An Idea

Last week Trey came home and asked, "What do you think about moving to Austin?" initially I said no way, I don't want to leave my house and family. Ever since he asked me I've been seriously considering the idea. I just hope Austin isn't a smaller version of LA because I swear if I have to pay 6 dollars a day to park my car I will freak out!

1,000 Miles Later

Can you believe I've put 1,000 miles on my little scooter? I think it's time for a tune-up. With teaching a class this summer and working on numerous video projects I haven't had a chance to ride it as much as I would like. I have to haul equipment and it's really hard to attach a light kit to my back.

P.S. I just posted this picture because I thought it was too cute.

Back to Normalcy...Sort of...

Last night my video was screened at the Abilene Country Club. I love making videos and it's so rewarding, but it's so creatively draining. Now I will move on to the next project on my list: Upward Bound Banquet Video....It never stops does it? At least I'm busy and not bored. Never a dull moment.

Sunday Morning

My younger sister had her first communion today so Trey and I went to church to see her. We spent the rest of the afternoon with my family. Trey and I ventured to take my niece with us to Target. That was interesting because usually its just us two, but it was fun.

First Day of Class

Upward Bound is officially in session. Today was the first day of class and I think I like this teaching business. Here are a few photos I took while the students were shooting. They had to shoot a short movie using no dialogue and no editing software. Monday we'll watch it so it should be entertaining. I can't wait.

Production Update

Production is running smoothly and it looks like I'm officially heading towards Post production. YES! I should reward myself with some sleep.

Production = Stress

I'm having flashbacks of the stressful life in LA. When I was in production for a movie I always had trouble sleeping. I'm currently in production and soon I'll start editing. This week will be trying for me. I have to shoot cover footage Tuesday and Wednesday, Wed. I start teaching, Friday I have a wedding rehearsal, and Saturday a wedding to shoot. I will not sleep, I will not eat. I hate it when my schedule is overwhelming, because I always try to do my best and when I have too much on my plate it's inevitable to cut corners. Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers.

I have a confession to make

I like watching South Park! There I said it (or wrote it/whatever), now I can sleep at night. I'm a South Park closet watcher. Is that bad? I've been spending my free time catching up on three of the seasons. I know it's a bad show, but it always has a positive message at the end...A moral lesson, if you will...But it's not suitable for the kids.

Obsession of the Month: Cooking!

The past week Trey and I have only ate-out once. It's safe to say I have rediscovered my kitchen! I feel so domestic and I'm loving every minute of it. A couple of days ago Linda and I made Rosemary Tortellino...and let me tell you it was delicious. I hope this obsession last longer than a month because Trey and I have saved a good chunck of cash, by saying no to fast food. I haven't been this inspired since I saw the movie Super Size Me. Well, I have to go now because I'm going to check out the food network website.

Too Cool For Abilene, Texas

Trey and I woke-up early to go to the Harley Davidson HOG Rally. Apparently, 5,000 bikers are in Abilene this weekend for this event. It was so cool this morning, watching all the people ride their bikes! Friday I was riding my scooter around town and several bikers saw me and just smiled. I'm glad I can make people smile.

Words From a Loving Soul

I'm so happy! I cannot express how happy I am. Graduation was absolutely wonderful. Afterwards Linda, Marilyn and I had a joint party that our parents hosted. We each had our own tables dispalyed with our college accomplishments and pictures of us throughout the years. Another thing we had on the table was an open book notebook for guest to write words of encouragement. Here is something Trey wrote to me:

"Hey babe, Dom,
I love you! You are awsome. Words cannot express how proud I am of you. Hope you have a great summer. Enjoy it because you will not have another one in a very long time. Relax and have fun. You are extremely talented you should not worry about your future. I will always be here for you in good times and bad.

Love your Hubby,
Trey"

The light at the end of the tunnel is drawing near

Who would've thought the day would come when I would graduate. I guess it still hasn't come, but it will tomorrow. I'm so excited and extremely emotional. When I was younger I always thought of college being a mystical place that seemed out of reach, but here I am graduating with honors and the top graduate in my field of studies. All I know is the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know anything about anything.

Only in Texas

Western parade in downtown Abilene. Trey and I went to artwalk this evening.

If my dog had a blog...

If my dog had a blog he'd write, "I enjoy smelling the grass and barking at birds." What a life!

Picture Happy

Happy Graduation to me! In the next few days I'm sure I will have tons of photos plastered all over this blog. For graduation Trey bought me a sweet camera. (Thanks, Trey). I love it! I love it! I love it! I've been taking pictures of everything. I hope you enjoy my temporary obsession with photos.





Trey and I have been visiting churches for the past couple of months. This Sunday for the second week in a row we went to First Baptist. I like how their is an opportunity to volunteer with the video production. The studio to this church is amazing! Everything is new and they broadcast in HD. Sweet! This past Sunday Trey helped with the audio board and I observed. I'm more interested in running a camera.

Big Baby

Can you believe he's only one.

Brusier's Crate.

Strange Dream

I don't know what I ate the other night, but for some reason I had this horrific dream about pregnancy. Yes, I Dominique was pregnant with 12 babies at once! It was the most random thing. During my dream I even went through labor. The 12 babies were just popping out. They were all small except one was huge and it had a massive head with bright blue eyes. It was so bizarre. I think the reason why I had this dream was because right before I went to bed Trey and I were talking about babies.

Paying Out the Nose For an Expensive Hobby

Despite my luck with electronics, I have purchased another external hard drive. I ask myself everyother day why can't I have another hobby that is less expensive. WHY? WHY? WHY? And Trey echoes the same question. It looks like this summer is going to busy even though I won't be working full time....yet.

- Today John, my boss, asked me to make a video for the radio station
- I'm doing some freelance video work for ACU online summer course
- I have to shoot and edit a wedding early June
- And I'm teaching a media class to High School students

Wow, I guess my major will pay for itself huh? I already have serious plans for my summer income. SAVE!

Prank Call

Yesterday Trey called his grandfather and told him:

“Mr. Jones, this is “some name I can’t remember” and you have been pre-selected from the White Elephant Casino to win $500,000 dollars. All we need is your social security number and your bank account to verify you are Mr. Jones.”

His grandfather is usually really gullible and normally falls for these calls that Trey makes, but this time he said, “No, way baby” and hang-up the phone. Trey immediately called him back and said in a not-so-nice-tone, “Do you know who this is? Your in big trouble!” His grandfather said, “No, sir…I’m sorry.”

We really had the old man going. Trey is truly the funniest person I know.

Summer

Every summer I make a list of things I want to do for the summer and here's the list for this year...

1. Lay out in my backyard
2. Walk my beagle more
3. Eat healthier and put that gym membership to good use
4. Attend several gym classes
5. Buy and watch a season of South Park
6. Play my guitar more
7. Get involved in a church bible study
8. Travel somewhere, (Clyde doesn't count)
9. Go bike riding
10. Go camping

The more I think about it, the more I want to go camping. You should see the way I camp, it's not rough at all. Last time we went I took my laptop, camcorder, and ipod, not to mention we were a few yards away from a bathroom with a shower. That's my kind of camping! Besides everyone knows the best part of camping is the food, especially the smores.

Hard Work

Okay, I caved-in and subscribed to a full year to dot mac, I hope it's worth every cent. I've come to learn that this website business is time consuming. I've posted one new short and one short documentary and a psa. I'm currently working on sound bites for the audio segment.

Earthquakes, Geology, and Howling Dogs

I'm sitting here studying for my Geology exam and I was wondering what does an earthquake feel like if you're driving? When I was living in LA, I swear I experienced an earthquake, but all my roomates said I was crazy. Maybe I was dreaming, but I promise my bed was moving in the middle of the night and I heard dogs barking, which is unusual for LA since hardly anyone has dogs in that particular area.

A Work in Progress

My current site:
http://homepage.mac.com/dominiqueia/Personal3.html

One Good Reason to Wear a Helmet

Gas prices are high and expected to rise this summer. Trey and I have been parking our car and he's been riding his bike and I've been riding my scooter. This morning I was driving to school and this guy pulled out right in front of me and slammed on his brakes when he realized I had the right-of-way. After he hit his brakes, and I safely passed his car I told myself out loud, "That's why I wear a helmet."

Changing subjects: Trey listens to talk radio and he recently subscribed to the Glenn Beck Program. He introduced me to the program and I am very impressed. It's SNL meets political-radio-sarcasm. Saturday I had to work and Trey brought me breakfast and we sat on the couch and laughed till we cried listening to sound bites. The show is amazing! One of the tracks we downloaded was the remake of Aerosmith’s "Janie's Got a Gun" to "Dick Cheney's Got a Gun." In the background you could hear a shotgun going off.

I Can See The Finish Line

I have so many things to do until graduation and their seems to be so many senior events. Last week I was inducted into the JMC honors society, Kappa Thu Alpha, this week I have senior sanctuary, next week seniors honor day. Oh, and I think we're suppose to be having some kind of senior cookout. Only a few weeks to go. I'm excited about tonight and I hope Trey can meet me for Senior Sanctuary. He hates going to stuff like that. Any excuse he can come up with to get out of it he'll tell me. I've been so busy I almost forgot to mention Trey quit his job, of almost 4 years. He was having problems with management. I don't want to go into detail, because I don't like to gossip, but the day he put his 2 weeks in, they basically told him to leave. Suprisingly, he left on good terms with management. Luckily, Trey's pretty smart he already had another job lined-up. He quit last Wednesday and started his new job the following day. He told his new boss he would only work there is they would pay him the same amount or more. Mangament agreed and from a financial view Trey never quit. He really seems to like working for this new business and they do more commercial work, in fact they don't do any residental stuff. He's still in the same field (HVAC).

Reading a Book on a Friday Night

Hey everyone. Well, I made it back from San Antonio. I actually won something...sort of. I got honorable mention for TV anchoring, which is really a nice way of saying I got 4th place, but I can live with that. Getting honorable mention is better than coming home with nothing. So, I went to the Alamo and all I could think of was Billy Bob Thorton...stupid pop culture. The hotel we were staying at was super close to the river walk, but still Sherri, Elizabeth and I managed to get lost. I think it was Friday night everyone from ACU wanted to go to a bookstore called Borders. We went and bought books and it must've been 10 pm that night when I was reading in the hotel room I thought "wow, I am so cool." At least it was a cool book. I bought Jack Kerouac's, Lonesome Traveler. Yes, I am a huge Beat Generation fan. So, far it's a really difficult read because the whole idea of Kerouac's style of writing is long and he has tons of run-on sentences. I also bought the book Everything is Illuminated.

Stuff

Well, everything has been moving along. The wedding I shot this weekend ran smoothly and I'm about to finish the DVD for HR, which means money, money, money (like the song). Other than that Trey and I are just taking it easy. I'm trying to let the time pass until graduation. It looks like I'll be out of town again this weekend. Trey asked me the other day, "When are you going to stop going out of town." I told him this will probably be the last trip I take for a while. So, where am I going? I'm going to San Antonio to compete in a broadcasting/journalism competition called TIPPA. We'll see how it goes. Right now I'm working, but I have a lot of stuff to do. I really want to go to the gym. I have to write a paper and I don't think it would be very easy to walk while I'm typing on my laptop so maybe I should just try to write the paper as fast as I can and then head to the gym. Last night I worked out and I was trying to do some reading on the treadmill and this guy was making the loudest racket while he was jogging. It was annoying the hell out of me! I wanted to tell him to quiet it down, but I thought that would be really rude, so I tried to take it as long as I could, but after 15 minutes I said, "forget this I'm leaving." I hope that guy isn't there the next time I go. What a jerk.

God Bless Apple!

Thank God my laptop is back. I would like to take this oppurtunity to thank the apple co. They were so generous they added 8 more GB to my hardrive and upgraded my operating system free of charge. God Bless Apple!I think their trying to make things better. So, far they're doing a good job. I'm glad it came back so soon because I have a video photo album I have to turn in tomorrow to ACU's HR department. Other than apple stuff I've been enjoying my week. Last night Trey wanted to stay home and watch Lost and I'm not a big fan so I went to the gym. I took my comm law book and huge neon yellow highlighter with me. Yes, I'm that girl at the gym that you see doing her homework. I thought it would be a waste of time taking my reading with me, but I really got a lot done, even more so if I would've stayed home. So, tonight I'm returning to the gym to get my studying on. This weekend will be sort of busy...I have a wedding to tape with Amanda. Yeah, these people contacted me last week and said hey we need a videographer. Crazy. Everyone always forgets about the videographer, but that's alright.

It's over

Yesterday was D-day. Yes, our documentary was due! Let me tell you anything that could've gone wrong with exporting did. So, it was 4:30 pm and we're trying to have a completed project so we can post mark it. Well, Express Mail closes at 4:30. We then resorted to our back up deadline which ended up being when fed ex closed which was 6:30 pm. You would think that would help. It did help, but at 6:10 the guys were still trying to export the movie so Liz and I drove over to fed ex without them, thinking it would save us time. The guys finally arrived at 6:21 with a finished project! I was so happy! The documentary is something I'm really proud of and I hope it competes well. It was a great experience, but I'm so glad it's over.

Drugs and a K9

So, a few friends and I are competing in this documentary film challenge. we're competing with 74 teams in 9 different countries. They gave us the topic Wednesday and we have until Monday to mail off the completed project. Our team agreed to do the documentary about seeing eye dogs. Late last night we contacted a police officer who had a K9 and he agreed to meet us at a gas station to stage a scence for our movie. You're probably wondering what does a seeing eye dog have to do with a K9 dog, but I assure you it goes with our storyline. So, we meet the officer at the gas station. We wanted the dog to search the car for drugs. Before we started shooting the officer told me to keep my distance because the dog will bite me if he feels threaten. Luckily the dog didn't bite me and the K9 didn't find drugs in Chris' car....obviously. It was really cool video taping the search. I felt like I was documenting an episode of cops. Today will be a full day. I work till noon, I'm meeting up to interview our main subject around 12:30, afterwards start capturing the footage, begin to edit, and finally meet Jessica this evening to record the voice over.

No Hell Was Raised, But Corporate Employment Looks Promising

I called apple and talked with a rep. The rep referred me to technical support and somehow I ended up talking with customer relations. No, there was no screaming or crying, but let me tell you I gave the customer relations guy a piece of my mind. I told the guy, "apple needs to resolve this issue once and for all!" He agreed and said, "we'll repair the computer free of charge." He then asked me if I was satisfied with the offer. I thought about it and said no I'm not satisfied because it'll just be a matter of time before something else goes wrong. Oh, well! I told him I would take the offer if that was all they could do for me. Tomorrow I will send off my laptop to TN. Did you know how much it would've cost me to pay for the repair? Up to $350 dollars. When they told me that I told them they were crazy and there was no way they were gonna get my money. Who do they think I am? So that all happened yesterday, but as they say today is a new day. This has really been a great day for me! I found out I'll be teaching a video class this summer for high school students. Another great thing happened. I don't like to blab my mouth about a lot of stuff so I'll say as little as possible because I feel like if I say too much I'll jinx the whole thing.........Here it goes...I'm pretty sure I have a full time job after I graduate! Sigh, I said it! Okay no more details until it actually happens. I probably won't even start until July. But I'm so excited I can barely contain myself!

IT'S A LEMON!

No big suprise, my laptop is freaking out again. My 3-year warranty has expired, therefore it will cost an arm and a leg to have it repaired. I really need my arms if I plan on shooting footage this weekend, so I'm not cutting anything off of my body. I consulted several people and they believe I have a lemon computer because I've honestly sent it in to be repaired at least 5-6 times. I'm so gonna raise hell when i call apple! I apologize in advance to the lucky apple rep who has to deal with me on the phone. It's nothing personal.

Home

I'm back home. Wahsington was great, the convention was super, and spring break was too short. The highlight of the trip was traveling to DC. I don't really feel like going into detail , but know it was worth the time and expense. This week I'm gonna be busy. A few friends of mine are entering this IDC documentary competition. We'll find out Wednesday what the topic is and start pre-production that night. Our entry has to be mailed by Monday so we have to work fast. My role in the production is director of photography and co-editor. I can't wait to get my hands on a camera!

Street Legal

I'm officially legal! I went down to the DPS to take the written and driving exam to legally drive my scooter. I read the 50 page book and spent over an hour at the DPS. Trey and I have spent the weekend riding all over town on the vino. We went to a few open houses just because, and we were disgusted and amazed at some of the houses we saw. We came back at the end of the day and decided we are very fortuned to have found such a great house for the right price. Other than scooter news, it's safe to say that spring break is here. I will be flying out of DFW Wednesday on my way to Washington DC. So if you don't hear from me for a while that is why. I'll be attending the National Broadcasting Society National Convention. Hope everyone has a safe and fun Spring Break.

Before and After

What a massive Dog! I took Bruiser to the vet yesterday and he weighs 84 pounds. He's slowly creeping up to my weight. Everyone at the vet's office was saying oh, my goodness Bruiser I remember when you were a little puppy and your ears were all floppy. When Bruiser and I went in the office to meet the vet a whole crowd joined us to watch and swooned over him. Bruiser is one sexy dog.

Screaming Under Bridges

This Picture is for all my LA friends. Yesterday, Trey and I cruised the Abilene streets in our scooter. We had a blast! I was wearing this funky helment with a bright neon green and orange reflective vest. I'm sure when Trey looked at me he thought wow, I've been married to this crazy looking girl for 2 years. Poor guy...No it was truly fun. We went to get snow combs and we rode under bridges screaming and honking the horn. What a great way to spend an anniversary.

Two Years Ago on This Day...

Trey and I got married. He woke me up this morning at 6:30 to tell me happy anniversay. That sucker always beats me at everything. We don't have anything planned for today (or at least that I know of), but last year we went camping so I think this weekend we might do the same thing. I want to go San Angelo over spring break becasue I hear they have a great bike trail. Yeah, spring break is right around the corner and the second half of it I'll be in Washington DC. Oh, I can't wait.

FYI: Last night I was sitting on the edge of my seat as I waited to hear who got best picture. I started screaming when they said Crash. I'm so happy Crash won and was seriously disappointed Robert Altman didn't get best director. Oh well, everyone knows best picture is what really counts.

Sleeping in a Van and Dreaming of the Moon

Trey usually works normal hours, but last night his boss wanted him to do some work out at Eastland late last night. I mean late... I didn't feel like staying home by myself, (partly because our house is kind of creepy late at night because it's so old)so I went with him on the one hour drive. By the time we arrived at Eastland I was so tired. Trey worked and I slept in his work van. There are only two seats in the van, so I curled up in a ball and slept for a few hours. When I woke up my neck was all sore. Ouch!But the drive was so worth it. Trey and talked about stupid stuff like traveling to the moon. Trey said he has no desire to go to the moon. I on the other hand would like to go.