SecretlyEloped

Christmas Deco

2008-01-04T19:09:00.001-06:00

I've been bad! - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2008-01-02T08:27:00.000-06:00

I've been a bad blogger and even worse, I've hardly taken any pics last month! : /

We had a good NYE last night. We had planned on staying home, but decided last minute that we would go to my husband's cousin's house. They live about 30 min away, so I was the DD for the night. Its never too fun when you're the only one sober! lol Luckily, we brought in the new year good and made it home safely.

Best wishes for the new year!

I don't make any personal related resolutions b/c I know its HIGLY likely that I will break them. But, I am setting some new photography related goals.

1. I want to be able to fully understand the correlation between iso, f/stop and ss to be able to nail my exposure.

2. Taking more pics of people, rather than only objects.

3. Stop worring about having every pic look pro and just take pics for the memories.

Christmas 2007 - at my brother's new house

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-27T14:58:00.000-06:00

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family. My poor husband had to hold down the fort and take care of our crazy pups. He spent Turkey Day with his family. It was a little saddening knowing that it was the first holiday we spent apart. I don't regret it though. I loved being able to see my family again. It has been at least a few year - way too long.

Sorry for the grainy pics... I've been working in manual mode on my camera and I'm still trying to figure out all the settings. I am just adding family pics on this blog.

To check out my misc. pics from the holiday, check out my photography board (link at top of the page).

What a Difference Photoshop Can Make

2007-10-29T14:58:00.000-05:00

This was taken back in 05 with my point and shoot camera.

SOOC (straight out of camera)

enhanced

black and white

black and white + worn

Halloween 2007

2007-10-23T15:39:00.001-05:00

Thank you Abi and Mike for hosting such a great party, as always!! And thank you for sharing the pics!! :D

You can't tell we had fun, can you? ;)

I did it!

2007-10-18T13:46:00.000-05:00

I started a new blog for my (hopefully) furture photography business. Please check it out and save it on your blog links. I am hoping to get some models and start skill building. I will not be charging a sitting fee while I am still skill building. Please contact me if you are interested. :)

http://allisonkathleenphotography.blogspot.com

allisonkathleenphotography@yahoo.com

Random Pics...

2007-10-18T09:34:00.000-05:00

Anni and Random Photos

2007-10-11T09:21:00.001-05:00

Here is a pic from our anniversary dinner taken by our waiter... We sat outside and it was so windy I had to pull my hair back. Why, oh why, did I do that?! Yuck! Oh well, at least we have a pic, right?

And here is a random pic on my p&s camera I found.

Our 1 Year Anniversary

2007-10-03T07:56:00.000-05:00

We had a good first anniversary. We have been giving our house a makeover, so we were painting all weekend. Friday, our anniversary, we took a break and went to eat dinner in Kemah. I love seafood, so we went to Babins. We sat outside and had a pretty good view of the Gulf and the Kemah attrations. I ordered Halibut (sp?) with lump crab topping, dirty rice and a sweet potato. David ordered a steak with lump crab topping (weird, but it actually came with it), veggies (which he never got) and a sweet potato. Mine was really good and his steak was average... not better than the meat we get at Wal-Mart, so we were a little disappionted seeing as how it was ~$30 for his plate! Oh well. The waiter was nice and so was the atmosphere... and we were spending time together, so all in all we had a great time. We walked around Kemah for a while until my feet couldn't take it and headed home. Great times, wonderful company - couldn't beat it.

And just to archive:

New header...

2007-09-26T15:33:00.000-05:00

Old one:

Our 1 year anni is FRIDAY!

2007-09-26T15:13:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! I can't believe it has been just under a year. I will be taking Friday off and I don't want to forget to post about it tomorrow, so you get it today! :)

Ok, pretend this is 2 days from now...
One year ago (-2 days)I was getting married to my best friend, my partner in life. We met in May 2004 on a blind date. My boss at the time set us up to see how things would go. We first met at a football field at a friend's HS game. From there, we took off and went to the Edwards mall? or whatever it is call. We hung out at Jillians (game place), played putt-putt and walked around... all the while, he kicked my butt at everything we played. :) We actually didn't even think we liked each other that night! ---sad, but I don't remember all the details of our dates until we actually made ourselves "offical"--- He called me one day and asked if I wanted to spend the weekend with him and some friends at our friend's parent's vacation house. I said yes. I believe that night we became "offical" - July 2, 2004. From that night on, we hated being apart.

In mid October 04, he game me a promise ring at the same place that we met, the football stadium. He said it "bought him 2 years" (to buy me an engagment ring. Funny thing is, we got married almost 2 years after he gave me that ring. We moved into our apartment October 31, 2004 (~4 months later). We bought the home we live in now April 29, 2005 (~6 months later). We got married September 28, 2006 Marriage Island right on the San Antonio River Walk. Check out the link below for pics from our special day. He is my honey and makes me smile every single day. I love the feeling I get when I am with him, I miss it when we are apart (which is hardly ever). I love the path my life has taken me and I'm enjoying the ride I'm on.

Here's to many, many more years of happy times.

http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/page.aspx?username=SecretlyEloped

Melinda's Baby Shower

2007-09-25T15:12:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pics from our friend's baby shower 2 weekends ago. Slacker, I know. She actually already had her baby on Sept. 16... I'm just a tad behind.

Obviously I need to work on my PP consistancy... :)

New Header

2007-09-21T14:35:00.000-05:00

Can you tell I have fun making these?? :)

Yuck!

2007-09-14T16:14:00.000-05:00

Yuck! I didn't realize when I would post my header it would come out that blury... YUCK! Guess I'll just have to make another one... darn. ;)

New Header - Archiving Old One

2007-09-14T16:13:00.001-05:00

This is so much fun!!! : D

Please help!

2007-09-11T15:15:00.000-05:00

Please let me know if you can help me! I am trying to figure out how to resize my header... any ideas?

For now, I'm going to change it back to my other header. Here is the one I would like to update it with:

Crap! How do I resize the header???

2007-09-11T14:47:00.000-05:00

I can't figure out how to change the size of my header! Someone please tell me!

Switching out Blog Header

2007-09-11T14:33:00.000-05:00

Just to keep in the archives...

Finally! South Padre - Part II

2007-09-11T09:54:00.000-05:00

Finally! Over a week later - here are my photos from our Padre vacation. Enjoy! :)

South Padre - Labor Day 2007: Part I

2007-09-05T13:04:00.000-05:00

After a much needed wonderful, crazy, fun vacation, I am now back to reality - back to work. We headed down to South Padre Island, Texas last Friday - stayed there Saturday, Sunday and came back Monday. It was a great trip with amazing friends.

The trip took us about 6 hours to get there - with 2 pee break stops. We didn't do too much Friday. We just settled in and took in the beautiful island.

Saturday, we spent a beautiful day at the beach. I never knew you were supposed to actually be able to see your feet in the water!! ; ) The water and beach was so pretty there! We don't have that where we live. Just muddy looking Galveston! I won't even dare to go into that water! Its not anything like that in SPI. The water is so clear, you can see you feet in the water even when standing neck deep! We bought some googles to play around in the water. I was amazed - real salt water fish right at our feet! There was a bunch of them swiming right around us.

Sunday, the weather was looking so great, so we decided to truck on down to --where else-- Mexico! The trip there took us about an hour (we thought it was only going to be 30 min). What can I say... Mexico was a blast!! Just check out the pics! We got a little shopping done while we were there. I bought a "Prada" purse for $23 and "Gucci" sunglasses for $5. Aw yeah! We went into a leather store (had to br the nices on on that street - it had air conditioning!) and I went to try on a belt. I was a little tipsy at this point and while trying on the belt, I dumped out my margahrita! Whoops! Needless to say, we got out of there real quick. We found a bar (refered to us by the people at the leather store - before I spilled my drink) across the street. There is where I tackled riding my first bull. I did pretty dang good, if I do say so myself. I was on there so long, I had to egg him on to make it faster. I'm good like that. ; )

On the way back to familar soil, we had to pass the border patrol. Lucky for me, I was tipsy enough where I kocked over the stop sign, right infront of the federalies (sp?). Luckily, they let me back over.

Monday was the sadest day yet. We woke up early and started packing. The weather wasn't great, so it made it easier to leave. All in all, it was a great vacation. Loved it!

Pics below are from our good friend, Abi. This is only a few of the ones she captured. I still have to upload mine.

And Another...

2007-08-30T14:25:00.000-05:00

Yet another attempt. :)

BEFORE

AFTER

Another...

2007-08-30T08:26:00.000-05:00

I took this pic using a makeshift tripod - my sister's car and a box. Too bad it came out blury! : { Well, at least we have a family pic... we don't get to take too many of those. My family lives too far apart. I love them and wish we could visit more often.

Do you think my edit is too, too bright? I think I may need to back off a little bit - what do you think?

BEFORE

AFTER

A couple more attempts.

2007-08-24T14:48:00.001-05:00

Ok... here are a couple more attempts. I'm using these from a little while back. I need to go out this weekend and shoot some more. I only know a couple tricks in PS, so I'm sure I could make them better with a few more tips.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

So fun!

2007-08-24T08:46:00.000-05:00

Now that I played around with the template yesterday, I think I'm getting the hang of layers in PS. I created the new header for my blog this morning in 30 min - tops. How fun!! Now, I can see what else I can do. : D

Christmas in August

2007-08-23T15:20:00.001-05:00

Thanks again to the lovely ladies on my photog board, I made this cute Christmas card. I made a few changes and added a couple sparkles.

I will be changing out the photo if I decide to use it - this one if from Thanksgiving last year! :)

My First REAL attempt with Photoshop

2007-08-22T13:26:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to learn how to enhance my photos with the help of PS. I joined a photo board full of lovely, smart, helpful ladies and I'm slowly learning.

Here is my first true attempt at PP (post processing) my photo with PS (Photoshop. CC (constructive critisim)please!

SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera - no editing of any sort)

AFTER

My camera won Camera of the Year!

2007-08-17T08:51:00.001-05:00

Editor's Choice 2007: Entry-Level DSLRs

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/4241/editors-choice-2007-entry-level-dslrs.html

By Russell Hart and Jonathan Barkey
July/August 2007

Click photo to see images of all the Editor's Choice 2007 products.
Our image of an "entry-level" digital SLR has blurred since we put together last year's Editor's Choice issue. This year's winner, the Sony Alpha 100, is such a full-featured, versatile camera that we initially planned to put it in the Advanced D-SLR category. We changed our mind when we considered its remarkably low price. Our point is this: You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a D-SLR you can grow with.

Camera of the Year: Sony Alpha 100
If you grew up with the big five 35mm SLR brands, it may seem strange to shoot with an SLR bearing the Sony name. That said, Sony's first interchangeable-lens digital SLR doesn't come out of nowhere. The Sony Alpha 100 inherits its ample capabilities from both the venerable Konica Minolta SLR system and Sony's own EVF line. Chief among these is a huge legacy of lenses. But it also includes the camera's sensor-based image stabilization, which steadies shots made with any of those lenses. There's no need to put stabilizing hardware in each and every lens that would benefit from it. The camera's image stabilization combines with good high-ISO performance -- speeds go up to ISO 1600, and we shot at ISO 800 with less grain than you'd get from a comparably fast film -- to give you more freedom with existing-light photography. We shot handheld at very slow shutter speeds to blur moving subjects yet keep static elements tack-sharp, which ordinarily requires a tripod.

The Alpha 100 incorporates a new Sony technology called Dynamic Range Optimization (DRO), which analyzes and manipulates RAW data in-camera, before processing and compression, to recover shadow or highlight detail that might otherwise be lost. (Such adjustments must ordinarily be made in RAW postprocessing.) Especially in its "plus" setting, it improved highlight detail in our Large/Fine JPEG files -- in some cases lessening the need for RAW mode.

Our favorite feature is the top-mounted function dial, used to quickly adjust settings that would otherwise require delving into the menu. These include ISO, white balance, flash mode, metering pattern, AF mode, DRO mode, and image parameters such as contrast, saturation, and sharpness. All that makes the Sony Alpha 100 an advanced D-SLR at an entry-level price.

Sony Alpha 100 Key Specs
• 10.2 Megapixels/CCD image sensor
• 1.5X FOV crop
• 2.5-inch LCD Screen
• Accepts most Maxxum-mount optics in addition to initial offering of 19 Sony-branded lenses, including three co-developed with Zeiss. Saves to CompactFlash Type I/II or Memory Stick Pro Duo cards with supplied CF adapter.

Summer/Fall Vacation - Check!

2007-08-17T08:03:00.001-05:00

We're going on vacation!!

Abi found and booked the place for us - thank you!! We are going to South Padre Island, Texas for Labor day! Woohoo!! I've never been there, so it ought to be really fun! I am SOOOO excited!! I wish the weekend was already here!

Condo $871
Gas $120
Food $100
Alcohol $50
Timeless Memories with Friends = Pricless

Let the Good Times Roll

2007-08-12T11:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we got together for some fun bowling to help a fundraiser. Friends, drinks and colorful balls... what more could you ask for? I almost beat my husband - I bowled a 123 and he bowled a 126. We really only played one game, but a few of our friends played some practice rounds.

Brittany (Mike's little sister) won a trophy for "Most Gutter Balls" and Mike won one for "Most Picked Up Spares"... I think. We went back to Mike and Abi's house to play some drinking games and the wii. I didn't bring my camera inside, so no pics of that fun.
[Photos taken 8.11.07]

Forgotten Photos

2007-08-10T08:32:00.001-05:00

I don't know why I forgot to post these photos. I took them at my parents house on my bday.
[Photos taken 7.8.07]

More Leaves of Our Tree

2007-08-07T09:19:00.000-05:00

These are my wonderful inlaws! I couldn't ask for any better. They truely took me in like one of their own and I love them!
[Photos taken 8.3.07]

Leaves of My Family Tree

2007-08-02T13:31:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, a few of my relatives came into town stay at my parnets for the night. We went over to visit and to also pick up their 2 dogs to puppysit. Its been way to long since I saw my family and it was well overdue. I was so glad to be able to see them!! If you are reading this, I LOVE YOU!!

I made a makeshift tripod out of my sister's car and a box... Hey, it worked!

Take 1...

Take 2 - Much better, yay!

Yummmmm : P ::drool::

Casey

Maggie Moo

I'm too late!

2007-07-27T15:59:00.001-05:00

Crapola! Everyone I wanted to tag had already been! No fair! I need new blog friends... :)

Tag! I'm it!

2007-07-27T14:25:00.000-05:00

By the beautiful Beth -

Players list 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, players then tags 8 people by posting their names and makes sure they know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at the tagee’s blog.

1. I am a constant nailbitter.

2. I am the youngest person out of my group of coworkers (the ones I work directly with)by at least 30 years.

3. I hope to one day become a prophotog.

4. My husband said I clean my glasses too much. He says it one of my "things." :)

5. My husband is not a cuddler, so I love to spoon my pit bull. He makes a great replacement.

6. I moved in with my hubby after knowing him for 5 months and dating him for 3.

7. I only have one pair of pants that fit and that I like. I wear them a few times without washing them. I through them in the dryer for a quick "freshen."

8. I am lazy and a procrastinator. I can not seem to do dishes the same night we use them. I pile the dishes in the sink before I put them in the dishwasher and wait for the next time I need to fill it to unload it. I hate doing the laundry too. I leave the stuff in the dryer and have to fluff it up at least once (sometimes 3 times) before I get them out to hang them up. I am horrible, huh?

Those are my confessions. Any of yours the same?

I'm going to tag -

April (Kevs_Beachbride)
Katie Sue (Kadysuu)
Meredith (RaleighsMom)
Miranda (MrsMrav)

Textures and Things Around the House

2007-07-24T20:21:00.001-05:00

More photos with my new camera! All photos have not been edited, straight out of the camera. I need to crap a few, but I don't have the right program on our home computer... : /

Below: The top of a pinapple!

Below: Pinapple roots

For the love of Softball!

2007-07-23T18:52:00.000-05:00

So, a few friends have started up a softball team! Brings back the good ole days... Here are a few pics from a couple games we've actually been able to play. The past 3 weeks (I think... at least we've had 3 nights rained out) have been rained out! Ugh! Come be our cheerleader!!

My New Camera!!!

2007-07-23T18:35:00.000-05:00

My amazing and wonderful husband bought me my first D-SLR camera for my bday (July 8th)! I love him!!

I have been clicking away ever since I opened it up. Here are a few pics from things around the house.

Below: Mushroom

Our new Harley!

2007-05-29T10:32:00.000-05:00

Suprise! We decided to trade in the 4 wheeler and get ourselves a Harley!! Its an '07 Dyna Street Bob and we love it!

When we got it, we had to order back pegs for me and we are going to have to order a sissy bar for comfort - and safety. My pegs should come in sometime this week or next. Until then, I am having to ride with my legs wrapped around him! I don't know how safe it is, but our sales guy suggested it.

PLUG - We bought it from Republic Harley-Davidson in Stafford, TX. If you are in the area and are looking for a bike, go through them. They are down to earth and truley nice people.

Fun at the Beach, Just the Two of Us

2007-05-01T13:17:00.000-05:00

We have gone to the beach two weekends in a row! These are pics from the previous weekend, when it was just the two of us. My camera batteries died before I could get any good pics.
(Photos taken 4-21-07)

Fun at the Beach 4-28-07

2007-05-01T12:56:00.000-05:00

We went out to the beach again this weeked, this time with friends. We went out the previous weekend, just the two of us. My camera ran out of battery, so I wasn't able to get any good pics. I'll have to poast the few that I did get after this.
To see the rest of the pics (all 248 of them) go to:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QcM3Dhs3ZsXQg
(Photos taken 4-28-07)

First nice day in a while. There was so much traffic!

My new computer background!

A baby hammerhead shark got washed on shore.

Out of all the beach, all the times.. it is such a small world. We ended up parking right next to my husband's aunt and uncle! We didn't realize it until we were there a good 20-30 minutes!!

Cameron's new 4-wheeler. He got it that day!

Mike's new tires.

My hott and sexy husband! : O

An weird pic of us...

2007-04-16T08:46:00.000-05:00

This was the best weekend we've had in a while. It felt like it was longer than my 4 day weekend, last week! Friday, we ate at a local sports bar and had crawfish and a couple beers. We order 4 lbs of crawfish, but it got cold before we could get 1/2 way through it. : / Saturday, we ran quite a few errand. Fisrt, we went to Target, then home depot, we ate at Buffalo Wild Wings, then went to visit my in-laws. Sunday, we washed the cars, rode around on the 4-wheeler and even took the dogs for a walk around the park. It was such a nice day yesterday!
A few pics of our in-laws. (Taken 04-14-07)

Oldies, but Goodies

2007-03-13T14:28:00.000-05:00

These are a few pics from before hubby and I officially started dating.
(Photos taken June 24, 2005)

More Old Photos of the In-Laws

2007-03-13T14:15:00.000-05:00

Photos of my wonderful In-Laws. I love them!! Sweet Kayla (14 months) kept running away from me, so it was hard to get good photos. : /
(Photos taken Feb. 3, 2007)

Whoop! His aunt fell of my hubby's 4-wheeler.

She is such a ham!

Drunk babies! Watch out mom!!

Old Photos, New Post

2007-03-13T12:32:00.000-05:00

Pics of our beautiful niece, Kayla Brie, at almost a year old. She is such a cutie!!
(Photos taken Nov. 28, 2006)

A Fun Day in the Sun

2007-03-12T11:13:00.000-05:00

We went to the beach on Sautrday and had a great time! We went with Mike & Abi, David, Amanda & Sydney and Cameron & Lori. The guys brought their 4-wheelers and we played all day. We got there around 3 o'clock and didn't leave until after 10!

David and Amanda brought their BBQ pit. Burgers, hotdogs and sausage, oh my! Plenty of food, drinks and nice weather. We tried to make a fire, but were having some bad luck. The logs wouldn't catch on fire, so it kept dieing out. Finally, my wonderful husband came to the rescue!...and so did Sydney's poor Sunday School homework! We finally got it started after my husband soaked the logs in a bath of gasoline.

Of course, I forgot to charge up my camera batteries before we left. It died after we were there only a few minutes, so I wasn't able to get any great pics. : /

But, enjoy a few of the ones I was able to get.

Our friends got stuck and had to get pulled out!

Whoops! : )

David (not my David) & Amanda's beautiful daughter, Sydney.

Quick pic before camera died!

Testing Counter

2007-03-06T11:19:00.000-06:00

I can't figure out how to add the counter to my blog with the darn HTML codes. I'm trying to see if it will at least work in a post.

Testing - My first blog post.

2007-03-06T10:32:00.000-06:00

Testing, testing 1, 2, 3.

Just testing this out. I've added some pics of our boat outing on Jan. 28, 2007.

My husband and I.