BIO:
1984 Toyota 4Runner
Stock Solid Front Axle
22R Engine
3" Lift with Leafs and Add-a-Leafs
Rough Country Shocks and Steering Stabilizer


To Come Tomorrow Night:
5.29 gears
Lock-Rite lockers front and rear
35" tires on alloy wheels


Before Pics:











To Come:

Well, I own a 1984 solid axle Toyota 4Runner whom I have affectionately named "Clyde". I got her about 2 years ago and haven't done much with her, but all that is about to change.

You may wonder why "she" is named "Clyde". Well I am big into horses. Clydesdales are a tank of a horse. She is a tank of a truck. Therefore "Clyde".

Tomorrow night I will be adding a front and rear third member to her that is equipped with 5.29 gears, lock-rite lockers and then redoing my front trunion seals. And of course putting her on 35" tires. Keep an eye out for pictures!

Well this weekend was pretty jam packed. Darryl had his girls this weekend, so thats an adventure in and of itself! Friday night we just hung around and watched a movie and had spaghetti for dinner. Saturday we ended up doing the Coors tour, climbing a rock wall and having a late dinner. Sunday we went to the water park down the street and then had a nice dinner before the girls went home. Then Sunday evening Darryl and I went wheeling.

I ended up breaking the FJ bad enough it will be parked for awhile till I can re-do the suspension with the aid of my boss. We are going to totally redesign it and make it alot stronger so I don't have this problem again. So now I am driving the 4runner daily. This coming saturday it will be getting new gears, lockers and 35" tires. So it will look alot cooler, and perform ALOT better offroad too.

This week has been dragging by, unfortunately. I need a vacation bad I think. No rest for the weary though. Anyways, I've gotta go.

Hope you are doing well!

~Una

We went to Boulder Carnage/Lefthand Canyon for a night run with a group of friends on 8/24/2008. We had 7 Toyota's on the run. It was a nice evening, and we all were in the mindset of pushing our rigs to the extreme, and when the night was over, it showed. 3 of us tried Guardian rock, most of us tried the harder lines on everything, and all in all had a good time. One of the guys had bought a new cab and bed for his truck and this was the last time wheeling it with the "old" stuff, so decided it would be fun to flop the truck (well, more like a friend decided it would be fun). When the truck owner didn't get it to flop, his friend did it for him. One of the Taco's busted a CV axle and got some dents. Another taco dented in the cab above the rear window. And Una's FJ really got hammered with a now "L" shaped lower control arm in the rear (when it should be straight), ripped out rear shocks and sheared off the swaybar link, not to mention her passenger side is pushed in even further. Everyone drove home though, so thats always a bonus. Not a bad run for the "last" run at Boulder Carnage before they close it. Check out the pictures and enjoy!

My full gallery is here.

As most of you know, I own a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. Most of you probably didn't know his name was "George" though. Why is his name "George" you may ask...

And I will answer you, 1 of 2 reasons.
1.) George, George George of the jungle, watch out for that tree!
This one for obvious reasons... Its an offroad truck and pretty fat... so its hard to watch out for trees sometimes.

2.) I will hug him and squeeze him and call him George.
I don't have a good answer for why this one fits, but it does. That and I like the name George. I had a fish tank full of George's (typically frogs though for me...)

Alot of people ask me what all I have done to "George", so this is a good place to answer all of those questions I think. George has the Toyota Package Option C if I remember correctly...

Right now, as of 8/21/2008, "George" has the following aftermarket add on's:
3" Skyjacker lift
~I wouldn't recommend it to anyone personally

33x12.50 R17 Mickey Thompson Baja Claws in rear & Baja MTZ's in front
~LOVE LOVE LOVE them. So far 35k+ miles and about 1/2 tread left, plus they do great on trail. I have not done the body mount chop, I do rub it some. You can run these without a lift, but don't expect to turn very well.

Panther EMR Wheels
~17" x 9" with 4.5" of backspacing. I wish I would have gone with a black steelie instead, but these will get painted eventually.

All Pro Sliders
~Really like them, the kickout has saved my rear glass and taillights a few times.

All Pro Front Bumper w/ Light Bar
~Really like it. It is simple, smaller than most, and effective. Plus it's alot lighter than most bumpers out there too.

Pro Comp Lights
~They blow out the first time I use them, EVERY time I change the bulb or light itself. Never lasts for more than an hour of continuous use, whether its a new bulb or whole new light assembly.

Bandi Antenna Mount
~Love it. Didn't have to drill holes in the truck or do anything special.

Cobra 75 WX ST Weatherband CB
~Love it. Its nice to have everything so compact and user friendly.

Warn M8000 Winch
~This thing has saved so many jeeps, I don't know what to tell you! It pulls fast enough for me and works time over time over time. I had 6 straight pulls on jeeps on one trail with it, not to mention pulling myself.. and it didn't bat an eye at the job.

A-TRAC/Locker Mod
~Who could live without it?

Magnaflow Exhaust
~This thing added low end power, like it alot. The sound is even better nowe that I accidentally ripped the tailpipe off on trail.

AFE Intake
~HOLY COW does this thing sound GOOD! Not to mention the low end power I got out of it was pretty noticeable.

Cal Trend Seat Covers
~They are neoprene, need I say more?


And I think that is it... There are ALOT of plans in the near future for "George", but they must remain a secret for now MUAHAHAHA. I will however be posting articles on each individual mod as of current with pictures eventually too.

Well yesterday, after much work, the site I re-designed for my work is up. It looks and functions great, so make sure to check it out. I am really proud of it. I have already had alot of people tell me it looks like a major corporation's site, not a small offroad shops. And I built it completely by myself. I think its pretty sweet.

So check it out!

Well, me and a group of friends went wheeling on Saturday. It also happened to be Darryl's birthday. Anyways, we had a blast. No-one broke anything, which is always nice. Some people got body damage, but nothing too major. And the trail was a blast. Gotta love being out in the mountains having fun with friends.

Here are some of the pictures, for the rest of them (and for fullsize ones) check out my gallery.

Well, today is Friday, thank goodness. Tomorrow is the BBQ at ORS. I have to get here at 8am on a Saturday, that's just plain crazy! The weather is supposed to be rainy, so hopefully that does not make the turnout horrible, I know my boss is worried that people won't show. Either way, it should be a good time. I will be relieved when it is over with though. Lots of hard work.

Last night I went up to Darryl's work to hang out while he put a locker in his truck (its a cool thing you can add to trucks to help you offroad better and slip less). Hung out with him and some other friends, then went and grabbed some beers. We are all probably going out again tonight which will be fun.

Sunday there are a bunch of us going wheeling at Boulder Carnage. Its a moderate trail and its pretty local, so that makes it nice.

Have a great day and an even better weekend!

TGIF!

Well things with work have been hectic. Getting ready for our big event on Saturday. We are doing a BBQ, sales promotion event. We have partnered with a local Toyota dealership (Go Toyota), and also the Toyota Trail Team. This event should hopefully bring in alot of business.

I cannot wait till its over though. Get my workload back to "normal". It has been cool helping out in the shop the last week though, that is kinda nice. So if that continues, I won't mind.

Well, today Rich and I met to get the divorce papers notarized. I drove Darryl's truck today because I know how much it would irritate Rich. I pulled up and Rich was already inside waiting. Had to stand around for 10 minutes to wait for the notary to be ready. Once he was ready, we sat down at the desk, went over all the paperwork again to make sure everything was good, and it wasn't... of course... Mine was great, Rich didn't make all the corrections about me on the main paperwork I had asked for, so we had to fix that. Then started signing stuff. The whole time the notary was asking if we were sure we couldn't work things out, and when I said I was sure, he started flirting ever so casually.
Finished signing all the paperwork, the notary finished up and we were off. Rich walked out to his truck in front of me, and I just so happened to be parked right next to his truck, in Darryl's truck... Needless to say that didn't amuse Rich in the slightest.
So all in all, it was a good day for me!

Something I HAVE to touch on is that Rich was clean shaven (that never happens... well of recently anyways) and his hair was dyed a darkish brown. MY GOD did he look silly. Or thats my opinion anyways! Just another reason I felt better about the whole ordeal... he's not even that cute, what WAS I thinking? LOL.

Well at least now I know I don't have to communicate with him any longer, other than to verify he filed the paperwork with the courts. On with the rest of my life.. as Una Schade! And withOUT the Reno family! (*throws myself a little party*)

Well this coming Saturday, my work is hosting a BBQ. The purpose is to get customers in here, get awareness out there for our shop, and hopefully bring in some new business. Well, we have partnered with a local Toyota dealer also for the event.

I have been getting ready for this thing for quite awhile. And with it just a few days away, we still have lots to do. In specific; finish building my boss's truck. We have until Friday to finish the rear suspension, finish sanding the truck so we can paint it, etc. ALL by Friday. I think we must be crazy, personally.

Anyways, hope your work days are not quite as busy as mine!

Friday night a friend came over to the house and we all hung out, and had some beers. Relaxed, chatted. It was nice.

Saturday I ended up working for about 7.5 hours to help a friend (my boss) try to finish his truck so it is drivable again. Man did we bust rear end, it's still not done, but getting closer. Saturday night Darryl had his girls so we hung out with them and I cooked a big dinner and watched TV.

Sunday, big breakfast, played video games, hung outside for a little while, went to the mall, played twister and then the girls went home. Then crawled on the couch, watched TV and went to bed.

Overall it was a really nice weekend. Busy but not busy at all, if that makes any sense to you.

Hope yours was nice too.

Una

Well, Friday I was to meet with Rich to sign the divorce papers, and get everything notarized. Some might think of it as a "bad" thing, however I see it as a real start to the divorce proceedings. Which is also a fresh start for me.

I have learned through all of my reflections that you should never change for anyone, be happy with yourself and if others cannot accept that then they are not worth your time. I have also learned alot about myself, my likes and dislikes in a partner, what I put up with in this marriage and will never do again, life is a blessing so enjoy it and do everything to smile and make the ones you love smile too. I have learned alot of other things, but I will not get into all of that ;-) .

And of course, for the "event" I got all dolled up and looking gorgeous just to rub it in a little how well I am doing without him, and how happy I really am. And make him think, WOW I AM AN IDIOT! Because, truthfully, he is. I am a catch, and he is going to have to live without me for the rest of his life!

Well, anyways he bailed. Not the first time, and boy did it piss me off. I have been nothing but pleasant and easy to deal with for all of this... up until Friday.

I gave him a piece of my mind, and I am pretty sure I got the message across that this is HIS divorce and he needs to get his act together to make it happen. If he didn't want it, he shouldn't have asked for it. Not only that, I am done being agreeable and working around his schedule/location/etc. At this stage it is all a big inconvenience for me and I am not going to inconvenience myself further to make the divorce easy on him. Because he most certainly didn't think of me when he asked for it in the first place.

So I have rescheduled everything for Wednesday, at a location of my choice, the time I want it, etc. If it doesn't happen Wednesday, he can forget about me cooperating for anything. This is all getting old, and fast.

Well, Off to work I am, have a lovely day.

~Una

So through all my reflection after Rich asked for the divorce, I realized that I stopped doing alot of things, that made me who I am, to try and keep him happy. Which I felt was an impossible task anyways, or I feel that way now for sure.

I have started hanging out with friends again, going wheeling, I got a couple of piercings, and just having fun in general without worrying about him being upset or bored or someone rolling their eyes, etc.

Whats really funny to me is that we met due to 4wheeling, and I couldn't ever really go after we got married.

So here's my new piercings; the one on my chin is called a Labret, and the one on my upper lip is called a Monroe.


It's nice being happy and having fun again.

~Una

Well this past weekend, I moved into my permanent address. No more staying with friends, and bouncing around. I am in Aurora, CO, the south east portion, right next to Buckley Air Force Base. Sharing a 2 car garage, 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with a friend, and every other weekend, his 2 daughters. The person I am sharing the house with, his name is Darryl. Darryl has a cat and a Husky. This is great because I have Chance still and Chance is going to love having a buddy to romp with. However Chance is still staying with some friends of mine for another week or so because they didn't want to give him up yet. I am not completely sure how well Chance will get along with a kitty cat though, that might be interesting...

Anyways, I will post some pictures later on of the house!

Well I wanted a change, so I decided to get my haircut. It went from below my shoulders, to now about chin length, maybe a little longer. Its cooler, I can still put it up out of my face, and its fun to style. And BOYYYZ is it easier to take care of in the mornings before work.

Well, I am not a newbie to blogging, however this blog is new. I had another one, but due to life circumstances decided to start fresh, and with a new address.

So here I am. Check out this blog for updates in my life, ramblings of random things I think of, etc. And there will be plenty of pictures to accompany everything.

A little about me:
I cherish my family. My parents are still married and I have a younger brother.I was born in 1982 (which makes me 25 currently). I was born in Ireland, spent most of my life in Ohio, and about a year ago (may 2007) moved to Colorado. I love horses, dogs, and truthfully any animal. I hate bugs. I love sunsets and stars. I use myspace and facebook.
www.myspace.com/OFRD_GRL
(dunno what my facebook "address" would be... but I am on there too!)

Enjoy.