My temp gauge shows that I am a little over half.
Here is a photo of where I am at.
What was done:
-The previous owner did a timing belt/water pump change 10k miles ago at 70k miles
-The temperature was over half since I bought the car. I got it at 80k
-I changed the thermostat and temp sensor but the temp is still over half.
It doesn't go down or go any higher, it says at that point when the car is warmed up.
What could be causing this or is this normal?

 

Thats a poster for the correct temperature.

 

that's very normal indeed!
the halfway mark is actually unmarked, so the needle is a little below halfway which is normal.

 

Mine 99 LS runs with the needle right on the third mark from the bottom mostly idling on the city between traffic lights and slow speeds and ambient temperatures ranging from 70 to 85F.
Last time I did a long trip, 600 miles between 65 and 72F during the night pushing for hours at 3500 to 4500rpm the needle went half a needle's width below yours on that photo. But mine is a European version so perhaps there's some difference here. The dash looks exactly like yours by the way

 

Mine runs with the needle lower at full operating temp but I would say yours is completely fine. Yours is under the half way mark. No issues there. Like Yonny mine sits right at the 3rd mark (including the very first mark on the dial)

 

on my 98 the needle sits right on the 5th line ( the one right below the red marker) it started doing this a few months back. But my car is not overheating or running hot. I have verified operating temps to be between 190 - 200 degrees using an OBD scan tool. this is the exact same temp readings i had when my needle was resting on the third line a few months ago.

thoughts on what could be causing this ?

thanks