Cruisin'

Cruisin'
Originally uploaded by CameronMagee

Today wasn't too eventful. I got to go to FBC Bentonville this morning, but then it was ON THE ROAD. I spent the majority of the day on the road, only stopping for gas and supper.

I timed it to meet Caleb in Little Rock for some Church's chicken. After doing a very in-efficient job of navigating through the ROCK, I made it back to Arkadoo around 7pm. I've been doing un-exciting blog-innapropriet unpacking and sheet changing and laundry for the last 5hrs now. I'm hitting the hay.

It's good to be back, and I am thankful for safe traveling today. Surely the LORD had his hands on the wheel of my car during today's adventurous drive.

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I'm looking forward to Aubrey arriving tomorrow. She got a couch for Christmas that is currently residing in the back of my Rainier. I can't WAIT to build that dang couch with her. It's going to be A BLAST! (I'll be sure and snap a few shots of the team in ACTION)

Shaky Shooters

Dad and Wyley
Originally uploaded by CameronMagee

This morning Dad and I drove down to Tontitown's "Ozark Sportsman Supply". We met Mr. Elliott there to do a little handgun range shooting.

I'd never shot a gun before, and I was up against Wyley Elliott, Mr. ex-Military. My Dad has been known to be a solid shotgun shot as well.

They handed us a 9mm.... wait, about that....
We just walked in off the street, and said "we want a gun and 150 bullets", and they just gave them to us. We signed some goofy piece of paper, but they just handed the gun right over! We had no idea where the safety was, how to load it, if it had a safety, how many rounds it held, how to cock it, how to release the clip or ANYTHING!

Anyway, we got in there and started acting like a couple of real amateurs, firing off a few rounds at a time down range at a paper target. We tried it at 5yrds, 7yrds, 10yrds and 20yrds. My Dad would have definitely been the Top Gun pick of the day. You can jump over to my Flickr page if you REALLY want to get details, but I really doubt it.

Anyway, it was a ton of fun, and terrifically scary. I was shaking like a leaf the whole time, which probably accounted for my less-than-awesome marksmanship.

Pretty Dad Gum Fun

Steak N Shake Friends
Originally uploaded by CameronMagee

I would say today was a good day. I woke up and ran around shopping with my Mom a little this morning. We had to go pick up a print that Tim Donar did for me from Hobby Lobby's framing shop. Then, Aubrey and I met 15 other friends at Steak N Shake for lunch.

After lunch, my friend Hunter needed a man with certain skills for an hour, so I obliged. His Dad's car was in the shop in Fayetteville, and needed to drive a professional driver like myself down to drive it back. (if you ever want to see a photo bigger, like this tiny one, just click on it to enlarge) It's actually complicated enough to make a 2:03 story out of:

Then my Mom and I did a little bit more shopping, which included a Guitar Center stop. Guitar Center is a dangerous place for certain people like myself. I have really no intentions of spending any money when I go in, and I almost ALWAYS leave without spending a dime. I say always because one time I bought a $2.37 egg shaker in there. I say it's dangerous because the beautiful store contents linger on my mind for a few days/weeks. I'm not going to buy them, but I just THINK about them... weird.

Then tonight the Elliott's invited me to tag along to the BHS vs. Rogers basketball game. We got beat, but I was proud of Bentonville, they played hard, all the way to the end. Then, Andy's treats compliments of Aubrey's Dad Wyley.

In the morning, Wyley, my Dad and I are all trucking down to Tontitown. There's a handgun range down there with our name on it. (There's also a 9mm pistol, and 100 round box, too.)

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Winter Days
Originally uploaded by CameronMagee

I've been flipping through old photos, and found this little nugget from almost two years ago. Look at my "are you about to take the pict... oops" face. Look at Aubrey's gloves! Hard to believe this was two years ago. Aubrey and I celebrated our 2-year, 2-month anniversary in December.

At 5:45pm, I'm taking her out on (what I hope to be) a fun date for both of us. She saw "The Day the Earth Stood Still" when she was little, and says it's worth watching. And, as you may know, the remake is currently in theaters (for not much longer). I'm going to go pick her up in about 20mins, for us to watch the 1951 version, go out to eat, and then catch the 9pm 2008 version.

Hopefully it will be a blast. I honestly don't know if I can stay awake through two whole movies. I did nothing but act like a bum all day, so I really have no excuse to be tired. It should be great. Of course, this is all a big secret to her. I typically keep our date plans secret until I pick her up. That keeps the excitement and the suspense high throughout the week.

I need to get this posted so I can run around and make last minute preparations, but if I post too early, she'll get on here and read. hmmph... We're 20mins out at this point, I bet it's safe... thanks for reading! (I hope you can keep a secret)

I found a new Friend

Garvan Gardens
Originally uploaded by CameronMagee

About a month ago, Aubrey and I visited Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs. Ever been there? It's kind of like the yellow Monopoly property, Marvin Gardens, but not as pricy, and way prettier. Aubrey gets the credit for the find, it was one of the top 20 most beautiful things I've seen in my lifetime. The place is normally just a colorful garden in the springtime, but in the dead of winter, they resort to Christmas light decor. They go as far as zip-tieing lights to individual branches of trees, instead of just draping the strands.

Anyway, in the lobby of the complex, there was some photography on display. It was good, like, really good. The most unique thing about it though was not the photos, it was the printing technique. The photographer had done all the printing himself, and chosen a really unique way to do it. I usually just send my stuff to good old Wal-Mart, something this guy is obviously way above. The photos were printed on canvas. Maybe you've seen this before, I suppose it's not out of reality, but it blew my mind. I had no idea you could do that. Canvas, hand stretched over wooden frames, printed in nice big 11"x14" prints.

Well, the guy was smart and taped a business card next to each photo. I emailed him, just to pat him on the back about how COOL I thought he was with his canvas photo printing. He responded quickly, and politely, offering to do some prints for me. Nice guy.

I thought, "oh sure, what-ee-ya charge, $6,000?". Well, let me just tell you, it was way less than that. Way less. I took him up on the offer immediately. Tim was really quick about emails, informing me that he received my emailed photo, and replying two days later that it was DONE!

Let's review. We found a guy in Conway, AR, who prints photographs on canvas, does it at very fair rates, and has a quality 2-day turnaround? And we're talking like, less than $50 here, by the way. Tim Donar, you are the man.

He mailed it to me, and I gave it to my dad for Christmas. He did such a nice job (the photo looks incredible) that I had him do me another one, and bigger. Again, fast turnaround, 1-day shipping from Conway, and a COOL product. This one was a print for my grandparents. My mom and I ran it over to Hobby Lobby for them to frame it a few days ago.

If you have a photo you really like, you should look into having Tim run a print for you. He could print it up nice and big, and make it look like a piece of art. The guy does fine work, plus he's super nice, and super fast at returning emails. I wish I could show you these prints. Anyway, end my plug for Tim. If you want his contact information, leave a comment and I'll get it to you.