The sleeve has been started!

Matt got started on my sleeve today. I loved the drawing right off, he used a pic I bought him. He laid down the outline and we took a break. We got back to it and below is the outcome. He did a great job! I love it and I can't freakin' wait to get started on the cardinal which will happen on April 20th.

Did a little shooting this weekend

Michael, Shawn, Byrd and I all went out Sunday to shoot a few rounds at
Bryd's house. I shot a shotgun for the first time! I loved it! Shot a 7mm rifle as well. I have a nice little bruise on my arm from it.

Also, I got my 33 round clip in the mail and wanted to try it out. I put 30 rounds in and shot all 30 without a problem. Having this clip makes it easier to practice and try out new things without having to reload and start all over again. Plus it just looks hilarious!

Mary's First Shower!

Mary had her first shower today! It was at the Downtown Grill and Brewery. Her maid of honor set it all up and did a great job! One of the bridesmaid's was acting a little wacky about helping after she agreed to. She went about handling it all wrong and didn't even show up! It REALLY upset Mary and I. That's another story and not really worth anymore time. So anyways...Mary had a great time! My mom and aunts were there and they even invited the guys to show up after it for dinner. My dad, Uncle Bill and Mary's brothers all showed up. It was a great time! Mary got some great stuff as well. We both can't wait to put it to good use!

Got AR Lower!

Went to Coal Creek after work to hit up the range (it was much needed due to some pathetic wedding drama). While waiting for a range spot I talked with one of the workers, asked him about a gun show happening the next day and told him about the part I was interested in. He said he hadn't heard anything about the show and that they just sold their last lower receiver earlier that day.

Well, after shooting only about 70 rounds I tabbed out. I asked the guy at the counter about the gun show and he hadn't heard anything either. But pointed another worker out and said he may know something about it. As I was walking out I decided to ask him. He didn't know a thing about it either, strange. I told him my reasons for going and he said, "Well, I have one of those here." I surprisingly responded with, "Yeah you did but someone bought it this morning?!" He said, "Nope got a few in the back, I hide them and put them out one at a time." I asked to see it. It was a beautiful Smith & Wesson M&P15 stripped lower. The price was right and it was meant to be, I said I'll take it! This piece is the main heart of an AR-15 and therefore calls for going through the process of buying a gun, paperwork and background check. While going over the paperwork he asked if my current address matched my drivers license. I doesn't but last time I bought a gun (3 weeks ago) car registration worked. He told me that person was wrong and should not of done it that way. Well, we agreed that I'd change my address online, print it out and bring it in the next morning. I offered to buy it right then but he photocopied my ID and taped it to the box and put it in the vault saying, "Don't worry it's yours."

I left to meet Mary at O'Charleys in Turkey Creek for some drinks after our "wedding drama." On my way Alex from Coal Creek called and informed me that he looked into the registration deal and want I gave them would work so I could come pick it up. I was so excited I couldn't wait, I called Mary and told her to jump in my car when I got there we were going back to Coal Creek. We pulled into the O'Chucks parking lot at the same time and I followed her to a spot and she jumped in.

On our way to CC we saw Jason and Tiffany in traffic and talked for a few. They had just bought a 50" plamsa TV!

I got to CC and secured my piece and her she is!

Now just 3 more months and it'll be complete :)

My new addiction, AR-15s

(Custom AR15 built by a forum member)

Well about 3 weeks ago I purchased my first gun (Glock 19) and as I was at the counter a beautiful AR hung on the wall right in front of me. At the time I didn't think much about it (besides its beauty and how I'd never have one), but man, since it has hit me like a ton of bricks. I get online and find this whole awesome AR community. Well, I LOVE shooting my Glock but I can't help to think how awesome it would be to have my own real AR15. Upon further research I discover the possibility of building my own. What better learning experience could there be?! Like all AR new comers I have been overwhelmed with info and options. So I started posting on the forums asking questions and reading reading reading. Of all the random forums I belong too the ar15armory.com has to be one of the nicest friendliest forums I have been a part of. All my
rookie questions are answered, recommendation are give and invites to ask more don't stop.
They all say building is a fun semi simple job, and the kit I want (Del-Ton) is a great kit. The thing is with an AR-15, you can buy everything for the gun, right down to ammo online, but the lower receiver (pircture to the left) is more difficult to obtain. If you can find one in stock you have to have it shipped to a FFL (Federal Firearms License) dealer and have the dealer fax a signed copy of their licence to the seller.

Well since the election gun sells are through the roof, espesically Ar-15 related items. Obama is a great gun sells men! But all politics aside (I could care less) I'm not wanting an AR because of those elected just a victim of circumstance, unfortuately. The wait on the Del-Ton AR kit (any AR kit) is over 3 months. I'm not to concerened with the wait, I'm just wondering if I should go ahead and get in line or wait it out. The only problem with waiting to order is that what if those crazy politicians put a ban on assault rifles or high capacity mags? So I'm thinking I'll put in the order (3 months from now has it arriving around our wedding date!) and wait it out. If something comes up, I talk myself out of it or I plan just plain decide it's not for me I can cancel the order. Plus it will give me time to take the carry course and learn more.

This weekend I plan to go to the Maryville Gun show and purchase a lower receiver and skip the hassle of ordering online.

I also found this little guy too.
It's a .22LR conversion kit for AR-15, meaning you can shoot cheapo .22s instead of bank breaker .233s. The bullets have the same diameter so barrel wear shouldn't be an issue.

Well, back to thinking and wondering if I should pull the trigger or not.

Michaels new to him but old to me car

Well, crazy story. All start from the beginning but I'll try to keep it short. The very first time I meet Michael Henkel was at Mary's Dad's companies Christmas party. At the time Mary hadn't chosen the best men and getting her brothers (all 3 of them) approval was going to take some time and patience. So in short I was unaware of this at the time but I was walking into war. Well about half way through dinner Michael and I discover we had the same civic and it we have both modified ours. He still had his reservations, but as they say the rest is history.

In 1998 on a cold raining Friday night one of my best buds Paul pulls up at Jason's house in a brand new, just off the lot, 1999 Honda Civic! We all piled in, 5 of us, with Paul yelling, "Wipe off your feer!" and headed out. Over the years Paul fixed that civic up, dressed it to the 9s. Got a full engine swap, b16a from a new 99 Si. It had 4 different types of wheels on it. The Spoons, which were my fav, the second set he had, I ended up buying them from him. I had them for years on my civic. I sold my civic to one of Michael's friends who turned around and sold Michael the Spoons.

Well Michael had recently sold his civic and all the parts he had and last weekend bought Paul's civic. He put the Spoons back on it and bam instead flashbacks.
Paul also still had the carbon hood, lip and wing which are all going back on. He also got the nav I put in the Evo.
Next is a supercharger which is on its way, haha.

Found a girl dog

Yup it's true found another dog. Thursday morning when taking the guys out they discovered a little girl door in the driveway. She came straight into the garage, was freezing and wet. I called Mary cause this little lady was ready to dart in. She came out and we agreed to hold on to her and look for her originally owners. Of course our printed was out of ink so I went to work and emailed the President of the homeowners association to see if she would print it and hang it at the mailboxes, like we did with Enzo. While this was going on Mary was on her way to work, and she actually took the little one with her. Everyone there loved her. She is a very good dog, well trained and seeming healthy. Well our pres was out of town as well as the treasurer. Mary ran her up to a vet close by to see if she was chipped. She is not and he said she was 2-3 and has had puppies and/or gone through a heat cycle.

Friday I emailed an Tinah (Aunt of a co-worker) who works with rescued dogs. See CC'd me on an emailed with 2 other recipients that deal with these things. Well I ended up posting her on craiglist.com (hate the site) and on Young Williams site. I have had 2 hits from craigslist, one looking for a different dog and the other wanting her if we didn't find the owners.

Saturday we discovered she probably has tapeworm and started freaking out that our guys would get it. I called the ER and they said if they were on a tape preventive they'd be fine. Well we got the idea to let the lady have here and assume responsibility. We thought we could take her to Young Williams (they would treat the worms) and after the 3 day period she'd be ours and we'd just let her have her. Also 10 days in ones possession legally makes them yours. We gave her both options. During this I was also emailing Beth, one of the ladies Tinah put me in contact with. She calmed me down about the worms and we ended up on the phone. She invited us to come by and she would give the dog and shot and a worm preventive.

Sunday we meet Beth at her house and she gave the little girl her nessisary meds. She now only needs a rabies shot and to be spayed. Beth did all this for free saying, "It's great you are doing this and I'm just helping your cause."

She gets along with all the guys here. Just Enzo doesn't really get it that she is way more fragile then his brothers but he is getting there. Hopefully we'll find a great home for her soon.

One last pic. :)

My Illustration book

I found out about this site called www.blurb.com from a co-worker, where you can create your own book. At first I was skeptical, but I thought why not? I was going to make a guest book for our wedding so I thought I'd make a book and see if it was worthy. Well...it is, very impressive. All you have to do is download there little program and create a layout. You can add a image wrapped cover, print full bleedm, premium paper and choose from several different sizes. Here is what I created.





It's a 40 page 7x7 inch book filled with my illustrations. I created the 2 pages to write on in the book to test out. I selected the premium page option and it's very nice. The image wrapped cover and premium paper are a little extra, but it was while worth it. I want to print more!

When and if I need to find a job after we move I may use this as a self promotion piece!

Also if you feel so inclined you can buy my book!

HCD close to 3 months

Diet is going well. I haven't been sticking to it all that great but I have managed to stay pretty level. All this week I have eaten horribly, but some how stayed pretty light. The 27th I plan to really get back on track (maybe the reason for my decline). It will mark 3 months til the big day so I defiantly have good motivation. I plan to lose another 15 pounds. Wish me luck!

Here is the scale shot from this morning, not to bad.

B-Day Beer Pong Bash!

We had a little get together Friday night to celebrate some birthdays. Michael and James had one last week and Mary's is on Sunday. We had a few folks over to watch the vols b-ball game and play some beer pong.Mary working on her famous pigs in a blanket.

Silas rockin his Jager gear...haha

Had to start off with some birthday shots!


Vance doin' the 3 cup waterfall. Pretty impressive!


Byrd doing his warm up dance.

Michael and Kim in evasive maneuver action. Notice the orange ping pong ball in their personal space!

Mary and Shaun's girl drinking after a 2 cup hit by the other team. During this game Mary hit the garage door with her heal and put a small little dent in it. She felt so bad about it and kept saying, "I broke the garage! I broke the garage!" all night. I kept telling her it was fine and he gave it some character, she demanded it needed to be fixed.

Michael?...you ok bro? Have a little accident did ya? haha Byrd got him without him even knowing.


Mary moving over to water to end the night.

The party was great we had a great time! I didn't end up sleeping in the bathroom or anything! haha...I woke up the next day feeling great. Mary on the other hand...not so much.


Later that night I went to the fridge for one last shot of jager and the bottle was gone! James had gone to the liquor store to get a new bottle (we ran got and he went and got more) and it's the huge $50 one! It had only a few drinks taken from it. We searched everywhere and knew no one would take it. We called and texted everyone and no one had any ideas.

The next day Jobe (one of our friends that lives in our condo complex) called the next morning. He explained, "I got up at 5am and tripped over it going into the bathroom and put it in the freezer here. Last night when I went home, cause I didn't want to stink up your bathroom, I took it with me. I completely forgot I did and left it in there...haha." Michael had even gone over there to look for it, but why would he look in the bathroom for it?...haha. Well, mystery solved. What a fun night!

Bought our first gun, the Glock 19 9mm

Mary and I decided that we should have a gun in the house after long discussion and thought. After shooting the Glock 19 we decided it was the one for us. We went tonight to pick it up and shoot. The range closed soon after we got there but we still bought it. Got the G19 9mm with 2 clips, cleaner, oil and 50 rounds.

After the purchase we went to Byrd's house and shot it for the first time. Unfortunately it was raining so we didn't get to go down to the targets Byrd's father has set up but we fired at them from a distance. I don't particularly like shooting and not seeing what I'm hitting but I emptying 2 mags into the trees. Mary shot a few too. This is possibly the luckiest craziest shot I have ever taken with my iPhone camera.
Pretty neat eh?

Well we now have a gun in the house and I can't wait to go shoot it again. Once it gets warmer and nicer we will be able to go over to Byrd's and shoot at the farm. I really want to shot cans of soda for some reason and I'm really looking forward to it.

Tuning Clifs Car

We took a trip down to Calhoun GA to Dyno4mance to get Clif's STi tuned. Clif, David, Michael and I took the trip. It is about 2 hours away right off the interstate. This was my first time seeing a car on a dyno.
The guys that worked there were very nice and it was fun hanging out. The tuner was more of a Evo guy and drove a new X.
The guy that owns Fastech in Knoxville showed up in his new-to-him STi.
After 2+ hours of tuning Clif's car was done! 329 at the wheels with about 15% loss, so around 360 to the wheels, not bad! On the ride back it was like a new car. Smooth power and very strong.

I hope to take mine down sometime soon. It needs a little love.

European auto garage car met

Clif and I rolled out to the car met this morning. We had a lot of fun. Michael, Clif's boss and one of his co-workers went with us. We saw a ton of nice cars

Big Update

I haven't added anything in while so here we go:

Clif bought a new car last week! An 04 Subaru STi. He picked it up in VA, traded his 636 and some cash for it. It's quite the beast, last dyno was 426hp at the wheels.
He stopped by today for lunch and parked beside the Evo.


The diet has been going well. I have gotten to a point of balance. Been cutting back on the work outs but eating good and running more. I'm weighing in around 204-206 but come late April I'm really going to push.

Wedding plans are going good. We had a guy to build us an arch are in place until he came to us with a $700-800 quote. Waiting on the alcohol quote still. Everyone has received there save the dates so its officially official.
Been working on cake, invites and other designs

The Titans are having a pretty good off season. Albert Haynesworth is gone, to the Redskins. Brandon Jones and Chris Simms are gone. We picked up Nate Washington from the Steelers and Javon Haye who seems to have people talking. I'm getting excited and its not even close. The draft even isn't just around the corner.

I think I have decided on a Titans groose cake.

In freelance: Did some business cards for Venture Builders and a mispelling slipped though final approve so we had to reprint them. This time the after lamination and scoring the UPS box was all beat up and water so they had to be reprinted again! Venture has been very cool about it and I have been working on there website in the mean time.
Designed a logo and working on a brochure for a shopping mall going in in Lenoir City. I'll post pics once it gets final approval.

After a week of trying I finally got a hold of Matt at Saints (Tattoo) and set my appointment for the beginning of my right arm sleeve. This is going to be my most important tattoo on me. I am starting of with a hummingbird on the inside of my bicep. This hummingbird will represent my Grandmother. I gave him several pictures and below are 2 I showed him to get him started. I go in Tuesday March 31st and should get it done in one 4-5 hour sitting. Next will be the cardinal for my grandfather.








Matt has also recently received the award for best tattoo artist in Knoxville for 2008.