Quick Catch Up: End of 2014

I'm going to make this quick and try not to bore you with long posts about where I have been the last two months. I know. I've been slacking major time. But that's about to change!

// We went to Branson back in November. If you don't take a little family getaway trip once a year you SHOULD! We had a great time and it really kicks of the holiday season on a great note.

// I started an Etsy shop making custom baby headbands.

// I hosted our 3rd Annual Bake-Off. We made lots of cookies and drank wine. It was uber fun!

// I started a gift-wrapping business and actually had some customers! I probably wrapped 100 gifts this year!

// I went to the PRI show in Indianapolis and then went to Michigan to check our new boat.

// I got engaged!

bling bling!

// And had an awesome Christmas.

// Neely and I hit up some after-Christmas clearance sales.

And we both got awesome "holiday trees"!

// For New Years Eve we enjoyed time with family at Neely's house where we all made artisan pizzas and drank champagne.

And that's where I've been! I had such a great holiday season and was so thankful I was able to be at home and not traveling. Sometimes, I can be such a homebody!

Anways... stay tuned for more posts and regular blogging around here. I truly miss my random rants and filling this little corner of the interwebs with silly ramblings.

My First 5K

Remember that thing we did at the beginning of the year?

Resolutions or something?

I am totally rocking mine!

One of my 14 New Years Resolutions was to run a 5K. My first 5K ever. The only time I have ever ran "competitively" was in high school. I was only on the track team because there were no other sports for me during that season and I had friends that were on the team. The only reason I actually ended up running at track meets was because our coach was a hard ass and he kind of knew what he was doing.

This 5K business is way different.

1. No friends running with me.

2. No coach yelling at me.

3. Requires complete and total self motivation.

which I really suck at

SO

I found the Joplin Memorial Run a few months ago and thought it would be a good first timer 5K. It's local, good time of the year, a good cause, and a lot of people run in it so I definitely won't come in dead last.

I asked Tyson's sister to run with me and she agreed. She's been running balls-to-the-wall since she had Sam about 18 months ago. I, on the other had, have not. I run sporadically. I get these random bursts of motivation and run a for about and hour each day over the course of a week and then it fizzles out.

Oh and when I say run I mean mostly walk with an occasional jog. ha.

AND THEN I had surgery... three weeks ago.

Running + nose surgery = blood

There is no way I would even consider training until I know my body is healed.

So I called my doc and she said I'm good. whew!

I said "Good thing! Because I am heading to The Run Around to buy some legit running shoes!"

I tell you what... if you have never been fitted for running shoes, go do it. It's free and they have some really great advice. They have you stand on this cool pressure thing, then you try on a bunch of shoes, then they have you run on a treadmill to see how your feet move in the shoes, then they take all of your money sell you some really damn expensive shoes.

I got these.

And I love them! I've only ran walk/jogged in them once but so far, so good!

pasty legs, yuck.

They are Asics GT-2000 and apparently they are pretty badass. After I got home with them I read a bunch of reviews and everyone loves them. Sweet! I did good!

I also signed up for the 5K... minor details...

So I think the important part is done. I have cute shoes and I'll have one of those cool papers they pin to my shirt on race day... oh and a free t-shirt.

Last Post of 2012!

This will be my last post of 2012! What a year!

NOW...

Let's talk about this crazy-busy Christmas that just flew by!

I made those banana bars and cookies I talked about in my previous post.

The banana bars were soooo moist and sooo delicious. The icing was killer! I couldn't stop eating it!

I left Joplin on Christmas Eve Eve and got to have dinner with Mallory!

no she isn't bald

love you Mal, lol

Christmas Eve was different for us this year. Since my dad is not at home, and I had to leave the lake around 2pm on Christmas, we decided to have Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve. Needless to say, it was pretty lonely without my dad having dinner with us.

But Santa Bonz cheered me up!

Christmas morning my dad got to come home to open presents and relax.

He thoroughly enjoyed witnessing my horrendous Christmas.

What better to wear with my red sequin Uggs than an oversized, sequined, old lady sweater straight out of 1985?

Christmas night I made it to Joplin with enough time to stop at Tyson's before we went to his sisters for dinner. Of course he had my amazing bright orange luggage setting on the pool table! Then he told me to "shake" one of the bags. I was so confused... so I shook it and nothing really happened so I unzipped it a little and pulled out a dollar bill.

I'm all like...

WTF?

While he's sitting there grinning ear-to-ear.

So I open my suitcase and it's FULL of dollar bills with a print-out that says "Invisalign"!!!

THIS GIRL'S GETTING INVISALIGN!

or something of that effect

He said he couldn't think of a better way for me to open my "grand-finale" Christmas present.

I think it was pretty clever.

I have been wanting some orthodontic work for a while but it is sooo expensive. I've had one consultation but didn't care much for the doctor so I've been shopping around for a different doctor. Now that I know it's going to cost me well over $5,000 dollars, I want the best doctor for my money. I watch YouTube videos of peoples' experiences with Invisalign. Basically, I'm obsessed with getting my teeth straightened.

I can't wait to get started!

Anywho... after all that awesomeness, we went to his sisters for dinner. It was very fun opening gifts and drinking wine!

The next day, his sister and I braved the mall and Target for some post-Christmas bargains. We scored some great goodies! I also ordered Tyson and I new stockings from Pottery Barn.

Two velour stockings with names embroidered from PB for $32 doll-hairs.

YES PLEASE!

I got these totally cute ornaments from Hob Lob today for 66% off!

Anything nautical/fish/boats... I'm in!

One of my Christmas presents was a cute monogram bracelet. It makes for some great armcandy stacking!

And I got the Lorac palette with a gift card from Ulta. If you don't have this palette, and you like nude/natural eye shadow, go get it, RUN!

After some deep thought and a few returns, I invested in my first pair of Sperry boat shoes.

Which is perfect because tomorrow I am going to Miami!

Out of the blue. I know. It was for me, too.

Yesterday, Tyson came in the office and talked my ear off about hauling boats to Chicago, Texas, St. Pete, Miami and driving and flying and engines and all this crap for ten minutes before he cut to the chase and told me we were going to Miami with Jim on Saturday morning...

at 8am...

Gee. Thanks for the early notice.

I'M KIDDING.

I love flying with Jim!!

Don't have to go through security...

No smelly people...

No layovers...

No lines...

A little getaway sounds great right now!

So I won't see talk to you guys until 2013!

Be safe and have a Happy New Year!

Hello Holidays!

Source: my-blueberry-jam.blogspot.com via sharon on Pinterest

Is anyone else under an extreme amount of stress right now?

No?

Just me?

Okay...

I haven't blogged in 10 days and as I look back, I have no idea what I have done in the last 10 days. Thank goodness I keep notes for that stuff!

Looks like I bought some goodies at Ulta.

I baked some cookies.

Oh and I have a question... How does one (me) find a Kitchenaid Mixer in her (my) boyfriend's house? This thing works wonders on my dough.

Don't worry... they weren't good. I am an awful baker.

I drove from Joplin to the Lake to pick my dad up from the hospital.

Then the next day I had to take him back to the hospital. He was only home for about 14 hours. Ugh.

trying to stay positive!

I made some peppermint bark.

I visited Dixie, Caity, and the Babies... and I found these SWEET baby glasses!

I did some "personal shopping" for Tyson's business partner, Tim. This guy never never knows what to get his wife for holidays!

every lady (with four children) deserves a nice (waterproof), black (stain resistant) purse, right?

Then I drove back to Joplin and met Tyson for dinner right before he left for St. Petersburg with this gorgeous beast.

got to see him for a whole hour!

Then it "snowed".

I got my Urban Decay order.

And yesterday I ran errands and wrapped a bunch of presents.

and now my back is killing me

So looking back on the last 10 days, I am glad I take photos because my brain is SHOT! Between driving 2.5 hours back and fourth, Christmas shopping, CLEANING, hospitals, a sick dad, bills, crappy weather, laundry, and trying to wrap "inconspicuous" Christmas presents so that people won't know which ones are theirs, I am exhausted!

Today it is almost noon and I am still in my pajamas. I have this strange urge to bake things (even though I suck at it) with this sweet mixer I found.

I wanna bake this:

Source: justbakedbyme.wordpress.com via Tristan on Pinterest

And these:

Source: sallysbakingaddiction.com via Tristan on Pinterest

I don't know... we'll see how much energy I can muster up.

Tomorrow I will drive back to the Lake, have dinner with my lovely Mallory and Seth, and then relax at home.

Christmas Eve I will visit my dad...

and Christmas Day I will go pick up my dad, bring him home, open our gifts, eat some food, then I will drive to Joplin, try to be at Neely's by 5pm for chili, and then I will open gifts with Tyson's family.

jam packed day!

So everyone just pray that my next blog post won't be from a nut house because I keep trying to fit 30 hours into a 24 hour day.

Merry Christmas, my lovelies!

Designing My New Makeup Vanity Room!

THIS HAS CONSUMED MY EVERY WAKING MINUTE OF LIFE!

AND SLEEP!

Okay kidding... but I have been thinking about it A LOT.

So in case you haven't picked up on this yet... I live with Tyson in Joplin part time and I live with my 'rents at the Lake part time. So far, so good. With that being said, Tyson's house is rather...

manly

Which I'm okay with...

I have changed a few things, thrown a lot of crap away, cleaned some stuff that ain't neva been cleaned, and so on... you get the point.

So he has this random room... upstairs... with the our bedroom, the spare bedroom, and the bathroom.

We call it the "crap room"... you'll see why.

It's the "crap room" for two reasons.

1. This is where we put the crap we don't have a place for.

2. The cats crap here.

Makes sense to me.

So this crap room used to be WAAAAAY worse. When I met Tyson, I couldn't see the floor.

It had two more shelves in it, crap laying on every surface (including the floor), and all of that wire was sprawled all over the floor.

I nearly had a coronary.

I slowly started cleaning it and this is where I am today.

much better... trust me

(this is the wall to the left of the doorway)

SO.

I have this disease where I can never "fully" get ready. I take a shower, lotion up, brush my teeth, do my makeup, and then...

screeeeeeeeeeching halt

Hair never gets done.

(or sometimes the hair gets done and no makeup)

(or sometimes neither get done)

I never ever knew that most girls SIT DOWN to get ready.

SAY WHAAAT!?

I stand at the dang sink and do my thang.

My feet start to hurt, I get hot from the shower steam, I'm blocking the sink and Tyson can't do anything...

I NEED A VANITY!

The crap room is the perfect size to transform into a makeup vanity room. I went to Lowe's and started looking at cabinetry, lighting, paint, and instantly started pestering Tyson to finish the sheet rock and put a damn light fixture in there.

Here is my working-vision!

SWEET RIGHT?

Once Tyson finishes the sheet rock and the overhead light fixture, I get to paint!

Ikea has most of the furniture pieces that I am going to shove in this tiny room. This "room simulator" is for a kitchen, so I had to use their cabinetry pieces and not the actual pieces I will be purchasing.

These are the pieces I have picked out.

All that shoved on one wall hopefully!

I'm gonna jam those theater system components in the Pax wardrobe along with all those damn wires.

(Wondering about the wires? Tyson used to do home theater systems so when he wired his own house, he never really finished the job... clearly.)

The cleaning supplies, clear tote boxes, and that other crap will go in the Pax wardrobe, too.

The Micke desk will house my makeup...

and the Alex unit will house more makeup along with my hair and beauty items!

Here is my inspiration!

I have to find a leopard chair!

So what do you think? Do you like? Do you have any suggestions?

Let me know!