Reverence

There’s something about a Catholic church that I deeply admire. It’s more than just the statues and stained glass windows.

My Family Just Keeps On Growing

Trey and I had a wonderful time visiting family in Port Lavaca, but it’s good to be back home.

The weekend was packed with swimming, dancing, celebrating a marriage, and having just about everyone in my family ask Trey and I when we’re going to have a baby. Did I mention I have a big family? Yes, all my cousins are around the same age as me and they have “at least” one child running around. It’s great.

No Streaking Here Folks: 101 Portrait Photography Lesson

Before you jump to conclusions, I promise I didn't go streaking. This picture is the result of my husband being a dork.

Everyone knows that if you're going to take a photo of a woman wearing a strapless dress you zoom out so it won't appear to look like this. Trey thought it was hilarious.

A Long Drive

It's been almost a year since Trey and I have visited my family in Port Lavaca. I'm excited because this weekend we'll jump in the car and make the long drive. I'm actually looking forward to the drive. I'll be the pilot and Trey will be my navigator. The main reason why we're going is for a wedding Saturday.

Planning the Kidnapping of a Smiling Dog

A few months ago we had to find our loving beagle a new home. You see, we downsized to a smaller living area and with us both working all day we wouldn’t be able to leave her alone for hours by herself. So, with her best interest in mind, we found a loving family to take over where we left off.

Since we’re moving in a few months, I’ve been jokingly planning the kidnapping of Daphne. No, I would never kidnap her, but I sure do miss her smiling face. Yes she was a smiling beagle, I promise.

Trey is already talking about the next kind of dog he wants and it’s hard for me to even imagine another dog when I know Daphne is still out there. He’s talking about getting a welsh corgi. I don’t know maybe one day you’ll check-out the blog and see our cogi smiling back at you.

If you don’t know what a corgi looks like here is a picture.
(photo from Silvermine Corgis)
Funny looking dogs. They make me smile just looking at them.

The Benefits of Living in a Small Space

I can stand in the middle of my efficiency apartment and see the kitchen, sitting area, sleeping area, bathroom, and closet. I always look at the upside of everything, including my current living situation. So, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are many benefits of living in a small space.

1. Cleaning is a snap
2. No lawn to mow
3. Utility savings
4. Unbelievable Rent

Art of the Trade in the Form of Tools

When Trey had to be on call this weekend I think he understood it to mean that WE were on call. Saturday morning, I hadn't even got out of bed and he was insisting I go with him. "Come on dom, it'll be fun. Come with me. Please."
I caved. "Okay, okay I'll go."

So, there we were at a no name store. I hovered over his shoulder as he worked and occasinaiolly he’d say hand me the thing-a-ma-hopper, which in English means a ratchet or something to that nature.

After we completed the first call, I jokingly said I was an apprentice learning the trade. Not even a minute after that remark I picked up the tool belt and every single thing-a-ma-hopper scattered on the dirty convenient store floor.

So, this weekend I didn't learn the entire trade of HVAC, but I did learn that Trey has a rigid personality when it comes to his tool belt. According to him the placement of the tools are key to an orderly belt.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

I lost Trey in the store and found him in the sports section. As if hours of NFL network aren't enough.

Last week Trey asked, "Do you know what today is?" I scrambled to think...anniversary, birthday, holiday? No. It was the first day of the Dallas Cowboys training camp. I guess I should've known that.

A $5,000 Dollar Gift Comes With a 6 Inch Compromise

Mistakes happen all the time, but this last mistake someone made was a generous gift valued at $5,000.

A few weeks ago Trey and I selected the lot for our house, which we couldn’t believe didn’t come with a premium. The builder encouraged us to select that lot because our patio would always be shaded in the evening and it is also a corner lot, which for some reason people really like and I guess it doesn’t hurt for resale purposes.

So, with no premium attached and all the options for a better lot, Trey and I selected that soil for our house to be built on. Well, a few days later we found out that someone working in the office made a BIG mistake because the lot was actually worth 5 thousand dollars not ZERO. In the end we’re getting the better lot, but we have to compromise by deducting 3 inches from each side of our house, which is really no big deal because we’ll get those inches back in the patio area.

By the way, I’m so ready to move and start cooking in a real kitchen again.

Canon In Action

Here are some of the first personal photos I've had a chance to take with the Canon 30D. All together I'm impressed with the image stabilizer lens. Although, I've realized it doesn't always mean a clean photo.

Entertaining In A Small Space

This weekend my mom and sister stopped by and stayed at our place. As we were there I could feel the walls closing in on us. The space is just right for Trey and I, but when you add two extra bodies to the mix it becomes too much. Luckily, we didn’t spend much time there; instead we spent time all over town and even had a chance to show them where our future home will be. We have everything lined up for the builders to start and soon enough we’ll meet with them to select the design elements of the house.

Well, no weekend is complete without stopping by the Cowboys stadium.

In Town

My mom and little sister are in town and I already know it's going to be a busy day tomorrow.
This evening Trey and I took them to Central Market to eat and watch a band. We eventually ended up downtown at Sundance Square. As I was walking around I was wearing my camera around my neck and a street evangilist asked me if I was a tourist. I live here, but walking around with a camera apparently makes me look like I don't belong.

Building the American Dream

After viewing dozens of homes in the surrounding DFW area, we decided it would be in our best interest to build one. Well, I’m not literally building the house instead we’re having a professional build it in a developing community.

The best part about this builder is he’s designing the exteriors of the homes to look like older homes. Sounds like the perfect match for Trey and I. We selected an elevation that looks similar to a brick bungalow. It’ll be so cute.

Another big selling point for us is the house will be a very green home, which means our electric bill will be low. Also the HVAC will be nice too, but Trey could probably go into more detail about that than I can. All I know it will equal nice utility savings.

I’m excited and can’t wait for them to start building. I plan on documenting the entire build and if the weather plays out right we should move in by mid-November. Wow, these builders move fast.

Enjoying Life

Can you tell she had a great time at the zoo?

It's Here! It's Here!

Yesterday I went to the local camera shop, walked to the closest salesman and said, “I’m here to buy a camera and I know exactly what I want.” My co-worker was with and just laughed. I haven’t had a chance to take many photos, but the few I have look spectacular. Now that I have this camera Trey thinks I’m going to neglect my other one, but I know I won’t. Especially since the 30D is for work. Originally, I was looking into buying a Nikon, I’m glad I selected the Canon. It’s nice to already be familiar with the Canon brand and to be able to pick it up and start shooting.

Impromptu Slumber Party

Despite all of Amy’s indecisiveness, she made the trip. She also invited Ray at the last minute, without letting me know and he was unable to make other sleeping arrangements for that night. So, Saturday night was like one big slumber party at the Anderson’s. But we all had a good laugh Sunday morning about it. We laughed about how Trey and I were comfortably sleeping on the oversized bed, while Amy slept on the hot leather sofa, Angelica slept at her feet, and Ray ended up on the floor with no covers. When you live in a shoebox an extra comforter takes up much needed room and Amy failed to tell Ray to bring one. It was okay because he laughed the whole thing off.

Well, Trey was on call most of Saturday, so I was the official Fort Worth tour guide. Some of the main highlights: the zoo and later that night Sundance Square. We did however stray from my tour agenda when Trey mentioned the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. He insisted we drive to Arlington at 10:30 to admire it. Ray is a Cowboys fan as well and he encouraged the drive. Once we got there the stadium was not lit very well, but the guys managed to appreciate the beauty of the shadows. Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and great memories were made.

Here are some stills I snapped at the zoo.

Don’t Be Indecisive, Just Come Over

For the past week, Amy and I have been talking on the phone. She’ll tell me one day, "okay I’m coming this weekend to visit you and I want to go to the water park, the zoo, the mall," etc. She’s bringing my niece with her and a friend. To my understanding her friend is making sleeping arrangements for herself, but Amy and my niece will be crashing on our couch at our apartment. Yes, the shoebox of an apartment. This should be really interesting. So after about four different conversations of “I might come, I’m not coming, well okay maybe,” she finally decided she will make the trip.

Optometrist appointment

Trey went to his appointment yesterday and he was told he didn't do any severe damage to his eyes. The damage that did occur will heal with time. He was given some eye drops and has a follow up appointment soon.

A Contactor Exploded in Trey's Face

HVAC can be a dangerous job.

Sunday Trey had to run a service call and while he was working on the equipment a contactor exploded in his face. The explosion was so bright that he had to sit there for about two minutes waiting for his eyesight to return. Even with his sight back, he said everything had a yellow tint to it. This morning he’s still feeling the effect of the explosion and is trying to make an appointment with an optometrist. To begin with Trey already has sensitive eyes.

Well, while Trey was out of town working, I stayed behind to look at open houses. I drove all over Fort Worth. I even went into houses that were ridiculously high just because I wanted to kill time. I’ve always had that kind of curious nature, where I want to see how other people live. I think it’s fascinating.

As you know, I want an older house. But can I be honest for a second? I’ve been so disappointed with the historic neighborhoods. They are so inconsistent. You’ll see a beautiful house, a good house, a run down house, followed by a vandalized house. Once we buy, we have to consider resale value even though we don’t want to buy and then move soon, it’s just something that has to be seriously considered. Looking for a home is exciting some days and other days it’s frustrating. For the most part it’s been exciting, but when I first realized how bad some of the historic neighborhoods were it was definitely a let down. This is good news for Trey because now I’m seriously considering newer construction.

Lights, Camera, Action

I finally pulled out the light kit. For weeks I’ve been trying to find time to experiment with lighting and well, basically just get familiar with the lighting equipment. I got the camera stuff down, but I really want to polish my lighting skills.

When I was going through the grip equipment, I found about half a dozen C-stands. I love using C-stands for production and I've already managed to put them to great use by using them to hold my backdrop.

Other than playing with lights, I'm looking forward to the weekend. Originally, my mom and sister were coming to visit us, but at the last minute declined due to weather. Trey is on call this weekend, but I'm sure we'll find some free time to do something fun.