HDR: High dynamic range.
This was my first attempt at taking an ordinary image and turning it into an HDR image.
Before:
After:
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Front Yard Update
Since we weren't chosen to be on "America's Most Desperate Landscapes" we have started the landscaping ourselves. Here are two photos of our house before we started...it actually looks better in photos than it did in person.
Here is our house after day one of tree demolition.
Here it is after all of the trees were taken down.
It looks a lot different! The trees were pretty horrible and the roots were breaking our sidewalk and driveway and soon our foundation, so they had to go. We are going to plant new trees, hopefully some low maintenance palm trees. We'll keep you posted!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
One 6-Figure Town to Another
Check out this story on CNN Money.
I grew up in Western Springs, IL...see city #5. 
Western Springs was an AMAZING place to grow up. We lived on Central Avenue, which was a fitting name since we were located 4 blocks from everything...elementary school, junior high school, the community pool, the train to Chicago, downtown Western Springs, the town library...I could go on. I met my best friends in Western Springs. I remember walking to their houses in the summertime to play. I remember walking down the blocks of Western Springs in the snow on snow days. I only have fond memories of my hometown.
Western Springs was an AMAZING place to grow up. We lived on Central Avenue, which was a fitting name since we were located 4 blocks from everything...elementary school, junior high school, the community pool, the train to Chicago, downtown Western Springs, the town library...I could go on. I met my best friends in Western Springs. I remember walking to their houses in the summertime to play. I remember walking down the blocks of Western Springs in the snow on snow days. I only have fond memories of my hometown.When I turned 16 my family moved to Ponte Vedra Beach, FL...see city #21. 
I went to Nease High School here for two years. Nease is now known as the high school where UF quarterback Tim Tebow played high school. Ponte Vedra wasn't really my home until I moved back here after college. Grant and I rented a condo on A1A until we bought our first home together in Seaside. We really like it here. We love our home, our neighbors, our proximity to the beach and to my family. It's a safe, beautiful place to live.
I went to Nease High School here for two years. Nease is now known as the high school where UF quarterback Tim Tebow played high school. Ponte Vedra wasn't really my home until I moved back here after college. Grant and I rented a condo on A1A until we bought our first home together in Seaside. We really like it here. We love our home, our neighbors, our proximity to the beach and to my family. It's a safe, beautiful place to live. Grant came home today and mentioned that Ponte Vedra was on this list on CNN Money. I took a look at the story and noticed that Western Springs was on there too! Coincidence...I think not! I think I'd have to attribute it to my Mom's taste in her home-buying. She always looked to live where the best public schools were. She tried to find the most reasonable home in the nicest area. She's chosen well according to CNN Money!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
pawsup coming together...
I've been working on developing pawsupforpenelope.com lately. Above is the header I have created for it. The font will change and it will be a lot smoother on the site. the buttons change color on mouse over and for the current tab. I have the frame of the page done as well, I just need to create the pages and content now. It's not live yet but I hope to have my header up soon. I'll make a post when it goes live!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Our New Pet
Yesterday Grant and I were driving to my parents' house for dinner. As we backed out of the driveway we saw something in the yard...
it was an ALLIGATOR!! The gator was probably about 4 feet long. It moved pretty fast once our neighbor started chasing it. I was glad Penelope was safely in the car, because she would have wanted to play with the gator...and I doubt the gator would have liked that!
I think the gator was trying to find other gators to hang out with...so he came to our house! ;) Get it?!
Seriously, there is a pond down the street from our house. I hope that the gator found his was back there after we left!
it was an ALLIGATOR!! The gator was probably about 4 feet long. It moved pretty fast once our neighbor started chasing it. I was glad Penelope was safely in the car, because she would have wanted to play with the gator...and I doubt the gator would have liked that!I think the gator was trying to find other gators to hang out with...so he came to our house! ;) Get it?!
Seriously, there is a pond down the street from our house. I hope that the gator found his was back there after we left!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
House Update
Grant and I have been traveling a lot lately, but are now set to be home for a bit. So it's time to get stuff around the house done. Last week we had gutters installed on the house. They look great! Grant tried to do this job himself, but found it pretty difficult and quite time consuming. The people we hired to do the gutters managed to take down what Grant had put up and finish the entire job in about 3 hours. I was impressed.
Next on the list is the removal of several large trees in our yard. The tree guys are coming this Wednesday or Thursday to clear out at least 4 large trees. Once we have the trees gone we'll be able add more grass to our yard for Penelope!
Grant's new project started yesterday. He's building a workbench for the garage. He went to Home Depot and got a few tools and some 2x4s. He got quite a bit done yesterday while I was at the beach with my mom!
On the inside of the house I went look for tiles for our guest bathroom. I want to paint the vanity, get a new granite countertop for it, remove all of the floor and shower tile and re-tile it using gray 12x24 floor tiles, and gray/black/white glass tile in the shower. I think it will look really nice! We also want to re-tile the floor in the kitchen. My goal is to get all of this done before the holidays.
We'll keep you posted on our removations! :)
Next on the list is the removal of several large trees in our yard. The tree guys are coming this Wednesday or Thursday to clear out at least 4 large trees. Once we have the trees gone we'll be able add more grass to our yard for Penelope!
Grant's new project started yesterday. He's building a workbench for the garage. He went to Home Depot and got a few tools and some 2x4s. He got quite a bit done yesterday while I was at the beach with my mom!
On the inside of the house I went look for tiles for our guest bathroom. I want to paint the vanity, get a new granite countertop for it, remove all of the floor and shower tile and re-tile it using gray 12x24 floor tiles, and gray/black/white glass tile in the shower. I think it will look really nice! We also want to re-tile the floor in the kitchen. My goal is to get all of this done before the holidays.
We'll keep you posted on our removations! :)
Monday, July 06, 2009
Penelope Out of Bounds
This is my first attempt at creating an out of bounds image. As I've began developing pawsupforpenelope.com I needed to create a header. This got me playing with photo editing and I came across this and wanted to give it a whirl. In the future I will try to contribute more to the blog. Up coming post will be on my skydiving experience. ~Grant
Sunday, July 05, 2009
4th of July
This past week Grant and I were in Chicago. 
We came up for my Great Aunt Dorothy's wake and funeral and for some family time in Springfield, IL. The wake and the funeral were very nice. It was difficult to go through it all and come to terms that she was really gone, but I was glad to have the opportunity to be there with my family. 
My brothers all dressed up for the occasion. 
At one point I looked over toward my siblings and it hit me that we're all growing up so quickly! After the wake and funeral we all headed to Springfield, IL for our annual family reunion. 
The weather was pretty horrible, but we made the most of it. We played dominoes, 
watched some tv, 
ate great food, 
played video games, went to the movies and hung out in the pool and hot tub despite the lack of sun. 
Friday was Uncle Jim's birthday! Grant helped make his cake.
On Saturday night we had an amazing fireworks show in Jim & Sandy's backyard. 
Every year I look forward the the 4th of July. 
This year it was a bit different than normal, as we were all in a daze after Do's passing. 
It was the first year that Jessica brought her new husband Jason! We enjoyed getting to know him better and look forward to seeing him out there next year! 
We came back from Springfield today and are flying back to Florida tomorrow. Tonight we went to dinner with Jordan, Ryan, Marin and David.
Jordan and Marin are two of my best friends from home. Each time I come to Chicago Jordan and Ryan graciously open their home to me and Grant. We're lucky to have such amazing friends! I just wish we could spend more time together!
We came up for my Great Aunt Dorothy's wake and funeral and for some family time in Springfield, IL. The wake and the funeral were very nice. It was difficult to go through it all and come to terms that she was really gone, but I was glad to have the opportunity to be there with my family. My brothers all dressed up for the occasion. At one point I looked over toward my siblings and it hit me that we're all growing up so quickly! After the wake and funeral we all headed to Springfield, IL for our annual family reunion. The weather was pretty horrible, but we made the most of it. We played dominoes, watched some tv, ate great food, played video games, went to the movies and hung out in the pool and hot tub despite the lack of sun. Friday was Uncle Jim's birthday! Grant helped make his cake.On Saturday night we had an amazing fireworks show in Jim & Sandy's backyard. Every year I look forward the the 4th of July. This year it was a bit different than normal, as we were all in a daze after Do's passing. It was the first year that Jessica brought her new husband Jason! We enjoyed getting to know him better and look forward to seeing him out there next year! We came back from Springfield today and are flying back to Florida tomorrow. Tonight we went to dinner with Jordan, Ryan, Marin and David. Jordan and Marin are two of my best friends from home. Each time I come to Chicago Jordan and Ryan graciously open their home to me and Grant. We're lucky to have such amazing friends! I just wish we could spend more time together!
Friday, July 03, 2009
Happy Birthday Uncle Jim!!!
We're enjoying our time with friends and family in Chicago. Today is a special day for a couple of reasons. First, we're going to celebrate the wonderful life my Great Aunt Dorothy had. And, second, it's my Uncle Jim's birthday!! In addition, we're going to head down to his house later on today to celebrate the 4th of July. It has become one of our favorite family traditions!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE JIM!!
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