Just Drapes
Our Room
September 27, 2004 - Monday

Nothing special, just a shot of our drapes in our bedroom. We've been very swamped working on the house so my photos probably don't seem very interesting anymore. hehee. I plan to change that.



The house is coming along very nicely and we can almost see the light at the end of tunnel. We are both very excited and can't wait to see the final product.  
 

That's Texas For Ya!!
Out And About
September 26, 2004 - Sunday

While I was out and about today I ended up driving through a neighborhood on the west side of town when I noticed this caution sign on the side of the road. It is a common stereotype that all Texans own horses and cattle and this photo probably won't help change that perception. I just thought it was pretty funny so its my contribution for the day.

Playing A Little Horse Shoes
Oakland Farm And Ranch Club
September 25, 2004 - Saturday

Lisa and I attended a wedding for a couple that we met back in April on the cruise we were on. The wedding was very casual and laid back which is a great change from the typical events we had been to recently. I think this is our 4th wedding in about 3 months. The wedding was held outdoors at Oakland Farm and Ranch Club which was very nice and relaxing.

Break Time
Our Backyard
September 24, 2004 - Friday

Today I got off of work at 11am as I do weekly and I headed straight for the house with my grungy work clothes in hand. Today the plan was to remove all of the carpet on the first floor of the house and prep it to be tiled as well. This included cutting the carpet up in sections and removing the tack strips from the perimeter of the rooms.



During a little break of mine I took out my camera with the 70-200mm lens attached and took a couple of shots out of the kitchen windows. I have seen a ton of squirrels running around our backyard so I know this will make for a great photo blind. For some reason as soon as I got the camera out, there were no squirrels to be found. I guess they are a bit camera shy.
 

Work In Progress
Our Kitchen
September 23, 2004 - Thursday

After about 6 hours past me signing the papers at closing this is how the kitchen looked. My mother, father and Lisa all pitched in yesterday to pull down all of the wallpaper, and pull up all of the vinyl flooring. If anyone is familiar with any of these tasks there is no need to explain how much work is really involved.



There were actually two layers of vinyl flooring that had to be pulled up and even a layer of glue that needed to be scrapped off of the concrete foundation.  The entire floor had to be completely free of all adhesives and be completely bare so that my tile contractor had a nice clean smooth surface to work with. There's still a lot more to do throughout the house...
 

Finally Closed!!
Our Kitchen
September 22, 2004 - Wednesday

Well we finally closed on the house this morning and man am I relieved that it is finally over. The way I look at it is that we have about 7 weeks to get this home in the shape and condition that we want it in before ewe move in. My lease on my apartment is up December 1st and we plan to be in the house by mid November. Just in time for the holidays!



We have big BIG plans for this house and every wall will be painted and every floor refinished. Our biggest task first is the kitchen. We plan to have the cabinets painted white by a contractor that I have hired but my first step is to get it all prepped for them. The vinyl flooring will be replaced with tile and the wallpaper will be removed, walls textured and painted. So this is a BEFORE shot.
 

Hand Painted Art
My Office
September 21, 2004 - Tuesday

Today a coworker of mine brought in a painting that he made for a client of his. It was a recreation of a photo she had of her husband and thought it would make a great surprise birthday present for him. I took a photo of the painting so that it could be emailed to his client so that she could see the final product. In order to see more of Norman Key's artwork you can visit his website at www.NormanKey.com . 

Playing With Light
My Darkroom
September 20, 2004 - Monday

After playing with lighting tricks last week I thought I'd try another quick photo. This was done with a long exposure and I tried not to move too much but as you can see that it did not work out quite as planned. I think the blurred effect gave the photo a cool eerie feeling so its my entry for today.



I still plan to get a little more creative with this type of technique as soon as I get some more free time. With all that is going on with the new house, free  time is getting a little scarce! Hehee. I will do my best.
 

Cool Glasses
The Imax
September 19, 2004 - Sunday

Lisa and I went to the local Imax Theater simply because we like to wear the cool 3D glasses they provide. Hehee. Not really but I thought they would make for a great fun photo of us. This is definitely a photo that will be display in the house for all to see.



Speaking of the house, we spent most of the day there doing more cleaning and prepping for the many weeks of work that we have ahead of us. Closing is still set for Wednesday so hopefully all goes well.
 

Reflections
My Living Room
September 18, 2004 - Saturday

Today Lisa and I spent most of our day at the house we are in the process of buying doing some clean up work. We will be having the cabinets painted as well as a bunch of other woodwork in the house so we had to make sure they were squeaky clean before the painters came in. Since the closing has been pushed back until the 22nd, we thought we would get a jump start on the cleaning.



I can't wait until we get this deal signed and closed! Once we do, then we can go in there and remove wallpaper, carpet, vinyl flooring etc. This is going to be a very big project and we now have 7 weeks left to complete the house.
 

Sky On Fire
The Great Outdoors
September 17, 2004 - Friday

'Well first off, the closing on the house has been postponed, again. It has been a very frustrating dealing with all of the little knick knack paperwork problems but hopefully we will close soon. We are both crossing our fingers. Anyways, back to the subject. I noticed the sun setting behind the trees near where we live and thought it would make for a nice photo for today.



I ran inside, grabbed my camera and headed back out to snap a few photos. I think my creativeness has been kept down for the past week or so while Lisa and I have been very involved with the closing of this house. I know that we will be very busy working on the interior of the house for the next few weeks so hopefully my photography doesn't go down the tubes! Hehe.
 

Playing With Light
My Darkroom, Literally.
September 16, 2004 - Thursday

I've been wanting to experiment with this lighting technique for awhile and thought tonight I'll make a quick entry for my PAD Gallery. For this photo I placed my camera on my tripod and hooked up my shutter release cable. I set the shutter to be open for a full 15 seconds so that I had enough time to write out the words with a small pocket flashlight on the wall.



You can see the edge of the flashlight in the photo but I think once I get more practice, I will be able to keep that from happening. Since it's already 11:20pm tonight I did not spend too much time on trying to get it just perfect. Maybe I can try some different variations this weekend.
 

Dodge Ball
The Outback Pub
September 15, 2004 - Wednesday

I had heard there was a Dodge Ball League that played at The Outback Pub on Wednesday nights so Lisa and I made our way there to check it out. The setup was no very spectator orientated so that part was a little disappointing. We stuck around for about 45 minutes or so and checked out the action. I guess you can't beat a sport which consists of drinking alcohol and hurling round objects at other people. In fact, even the referees were drinking it up while they were on the court. 



The Dodge Ball Tournament was sponsored by a local alternative rock radio station and they had their signature custom Dodge truck on site for all to gawk at. This truck had a very cool custom paint job on it so I snapped a couple of photos with my little Canon S400.
 

Cutting It Close
The Cockpit
September 14, 2004 - Tuesday

Well lets just say I was cutting it a little close today. After we went out and about last night, had dinner etc we drove home and I noticed I was almost out of gas. So this morning instead of going straight to the gas station, I figured I could make the 15 mile drive to the station near my office. That way I did not have to deal with the tons of traffic in the area of the nearest gas station.



This is what the fuel gauge read once I arrived at the gas station by my office. I don't think I have ever had the gauge that low before. During the last couple of miles I was kind of starting to sweat a little bit and was already making plans on who to call to come get me since there were no gas stations around. Next time, I will make it a point to just deal with the traffic and fill up near my home.
 

The Guitar I Never Play
My Recording Studio
September 13, 2004 - Monday

I bought this guitar about 5 years ago with ever intention of learning how to play but have yet to fulfill that hope. I picked it up a few times and learned a few chords etc but put it down for a few weeks and forgot all that I learned. I just useless huh? Hehee. 



I have kept it this long hoping that I will be able to take some time to learn. Who knows, I may just have to sell it and accept the fact that I will not play lead guitar for a multi platinum rock group.
 

Sunbathing Palms
West Side Of Town
September 12, 2004 - Sunday

Nothing special here, just a large palm tree sunbathing in the evening sun. Today was another very busy day out running around looking for tile and paint etc. I wish that we could hurry and close on the house because I think that will make us make a final decision. This extra time before closing is letting us take our time and mull over color choices. I think that's a bad thing! Heehee 



Hopefully as the week goes on, my photos will become a little more interesting. I guess only time will tell. I'll try not to disappoint.
 

Little Steeple
A Friend's House
September 11, 2004 - Saturday

We went to a friend's apartment for dinner tonight which we hadn't seen in some time. While everyone got situated and got their drinks etc, I snapped off this photo of a steeple that was right across from their balcony.  



It was a little cloudy out so I thought I would cheat a little bit and make this image black and white. Usually when it is cloudy like this, colors are very hard to get correct so switching the image to a black and white is a quick fix that often works out ok.
 

Dinner And A Show
The County Line
September 10, 2004 - Friday

Lisa and I went out and checked out a few tile and carpet places today and ended up on the northwest side of town. We decided to stop and have dinner at a restaurant named The County Line. It is a very rustic looking restaurant that is situated in a very nice neighborhood so it seemed a little out of place yet it had a nice country feel to it. 



While we were having dinner, I noticed a squirrel right outside the window next to our table having a dinner of sorts himself. I had my camera bag in hand since I'm weary of keeping it in my car and decided to snap a few shots of the "wildlife". This guy was hanging from his hind legs stretched down to the bottom of the bird feeder stuffing his cheeks with food. I tried to catch a photo of him performing this act but as it turns out, as soon as I got the camera out, he stopped. Doesn't that just figure.