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!

And their off!

Tyson is underway, headed to Bermuda!

Watch the live streaming video here:

www.boatingmag.com/bermudachallenge

Here are some pics he has sent me:

Last night they checked over the whole boat. Looks ready to me!

Chris and Tyson

 Gotta love the Jersey skyline!

Quite the journey!

 Hello Ms. Liberty!!

Wish them luck! They will be boating for about 20 hours straight.

The BF is Heading to Bermuda...

in a boat.

Yup.

Tyson is getting on a boat with two other guys and they are going to attempt to beat a world record known as the Bermuda Challenge.

It's a 780 mile one-way trip from New York City to Bermuda.

They will be in a 37' Statement Marine Center Console.

You may recognize this boat from my post here.

Chris, the boat owner, Nick Buis, co-owner of Statement Marine (the company we work closely with), and Mike, a former offshore-racer attempted this challenge last year. On September 21, 2011 they departed NYC and made it about halfway and then had to turn around. They were faced with 12'-14' seas.

This is what they were attempting to get through:

Nasty!

The boat is equipped with GPS, live streaming video, and a sat-phone for communication which is nice... until the sat-phone and video gives out. Last year, me and thousands of other boating enthusiasts sat in front of our computers watching this:

Basically, the GPS on the boat pings a satellite and records the location to an online server. Anyone can log on to the website to view their location. But the sat-phone not working was making everyone pretty nervous. We were worried that they had:

1. Hit something in the water and had broken the drives/props,

2. The fuel bladder had burst so they would not have enough fuel to make it to Bermuda, or

3. Something terrible had happen and someone was injured.

We were all frantically updating the website to watch their progress and posting on the boating forum what "might have" happened.

When the seas are 10' plus, you are technically going a longer distance. Instead of driving a straight shot on a level surface, they were maneuvering around waves that were similar to hills, making their trip longer and therefore burning more fuel.

They made the right choice and came home safely.

This time it will be Chris, Nick, and Tyson. Tyson is perfect for this because he isn't scared of anything... oh and he knows a lot about boats and can fix damn near any problem they might face.

He flew out of Fayetteville, AR this morning at 7:30 and will get to New York around 4pm. They will eat dinner and then hit the hay. At 9:06am they will depart. They will be escorted out of New York by the Coast Guard and a helicopter will follow them for a few miles off shore to get video/photos. Then they are on their own to Bermuda.

If they have good seas at 1-3', stay on track, and keep their speed around 40mph, it will be a 19 hour journey.

Talk about stress a girl out! I am with Tyson 24/7 and when I'm not with him, we talk on the phone every few hours.

I am confident they will be fine and Chris assures us that the video and phone will work this time!

Ain't nothin' like a glitch when you are 400 miles offshore!

So if you have room for an extra prayer, these guys would sure appreciate it!

Adios chicas!

Holy crap I suck at this!!

A MONTH!?

SERIOUSLY!?

Oops...

Anywho... the  month of February disappeared... has anyone seen it?

I went to FL to prepare for the Miami Boat Show with my friends at "Statement Marine".

Total. Blast.

Caitlyn and I at the boat show.

Have you ever heard of "Guy Harvey"? He was there!!

That is Caitlyn's mom, Priscilla, and brother, Owen. He's the cutest thing ever!!

I got to go to my favorite night club ever!! MANSION!! I love this place... their performers mesmerize me!

We were walking to dinner down Lincoln Rd in Miami and this dog was the "security guard" at this boutique! Adorable!!

Beautiful beach!!

I love my new Mizzou Tervis tumbler... we may or may not have brought our own wine to the pool. :-)

POKER RUN!! We did the first run on Thursday. (More time in the Keys!)

We rode with a friend back to the lunch stop on Friday in his 50' Outerlimits. A couple million dollar boats in this picture!

Me in my lil' red bikini!

I spent three weeks in Florida... one week in the Tampa Bay area, another week in Miami, and then the last part in Islamorada. It was definitely not a "vacation" though... I like to call it "glorified work".

I'm in FLORIDA!

Yay! Tyson and I just got to Florida yesterday. We had to haul a boat down from St. Louis. The drive isn't that bad if you like being cooped up in a truck with a seat that won't recline for 20 hours...

anywho...

We made it just in time to go to a super bowl party. This party was FAB! It was at a friends house in their back yard. They had a projector showing the game on a big screen, a chili cook-off, door prizes, food galore, drinks, kegs, wine, and a band! Very well executed. Kudos to those who put their sweat and blood in to that party!

We are staying in Land O' Lakes with our friends that own Statement Marine. They are so hospitable!! They have a daughter who is a senior in high school and a son who is three. I have so much fun with them!

I'll post pictures later. Tonight we are making this for dinner:

Dorito Bake

I'll let you know how it turns out!

My Year in Review: 2011

A loooooot happened in 2011. I traveled more than I ever had in my entire life!! Here's a break down of my year:

BEWARE

photo OVERLOAD!!!

January

I left the country for the first time! Tyson and I went to Toronto and Mississauga, Canada. Let me tell you... it's cold up there. Don't go in January. :-P

This was from the balcony of our condo in downtown Toronto.

February

Miami Boat Show!! Yay!! I love boats... we also did the Miami Boat Show Poker Run with the Florida Powerboat Club. That was my second time to Key West in four months. We had a blast!

Kelley and I on South Beach

You gotta be kidding me. I would live on this thing!!

From our condo balcony in Key West

(I have a sweet sunglasses tan line!!)

I love Key West!

March

In March we had this killer snow storm. The snow weighed so much it sank the docks in Grand Lake, OK... just so happens that is where Tyson kept his 56' Bluewater Yacht.

The docks were completely destroyed!

That's the boat. The back ropes broke but the front ropes held on.

We also went four-wheeling. Not just any four-wheeling--redneck four-wheeling.

Sweet Jeep!

April

In April I got to take my first ride in a private plane... a Bonanza. It seats six. I was only slightly freaking out but I knew I was in good hands. Jim has THOUSANDS of hours in this plane.

The Bonanza with a beautiful sunset.

Taking off in Wichita!

We also had to deliver a boat to a customer in Minnesota so I got to visit the Mall of America!

The Lego store. So cool!!

May

Summer begins!! A local boating group called Midwest Boat Party throws an annual theme party and they chose my idea! Kentucky Derby!

We had so much fun dressing up and wearing big floppy hats!!

At the end of May was the Joplin tornado. Tyson lives in Joplin and we were there the night it happened. It was terrifying. We hauled a boat straight through the storm and made it home about an hour before the tornado wiped out Joplin.

The aftermath. Piles of debris filled the streets.

It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Worse than what is in the movies.

June

Tyson and Jim did the Bimini Challenge-- driving a boat from Miami 90 miles to the Bahamas and back. In 2010 they won first place in the 46' Skater "Freedom". This year "Freedom" was in the shop so they took the 29' Skater.

Here she is! "Lee Aerospace"

Here is the beautiful yacht I got to hang out on while they were go-karting to the Bahamas and back. It's a 98' Westship.

The flybridge. Perfect for laying out and enjoying some cocktails!

Love a double rainbow!

Do I look like the Little Mermaid? Haha

The offshore races were the same weekend so we got to sit on the beach and watch Miss Geico beat everyone.

A good boating friend of ours, Ronnie, decided he wanted to have Skaterfest (a party for anyone who owns a Skater) at his house in Detroit. We couldn't say no!!

He has got the most awesome boat lift!

Aerial shot of his house.

It was a little cold so Summer and I rode with Ronnie. His boat has a hard top so no wind!

Always time for a little photoshoot! Jay is the best offshore photographer but he gets a few good ones of us being silly, too.

Jim and Tyson in the Baby-Skater!

This is Ronnie's house from the street. Absolutely stunning!

July

We have a couple really great friends who build boats down in St. Petersburg, FL called "Statement Marine". They needed an awesome stereo system in one of the boats so Tyson and I went down and helped them finish build the boat.

Here she is! Saddle Up is the name of the boat. Her home is Lake Cumberland, Kentucky!

Beautiful Florida sunset.

4th of July in the Gulf of Mexico. We could see about 20 different fireworks shows off the beaches.

I also got to attend my very first MLB game. Go Rays!

In June we also went to the Osh Kosh air show in Wisconsin.

Jim loaded up the 441 Cessna and we took a day trip to Wisconsin.

Someone had a bad day.

August

The Shootout is the last weekend in August which just so happens to be MY BIRTHDAY!!

"Freedom" is red, white, and blue and we found this guy at the bar. I think he should be our manscot. :-P

Here's a few of my favorite pics from the summer!

Our party-barge: 60' Sunseeker

No seats left on the golf cart so I sat on the front bumper!

Rusty's birthday on the Sunseeker!

Me and Miss Davi

Good times with Steve & Sierra

September

I work on the gas dock at the Horny Toad and when I found out Nelly was going to do a concert on Labor Day weekend, I could NOT miss it!

We were packed!!

The stage is to the right of the TV... we didn't have the best view but I can say I saw Nelly!

September is also the Lake Cumberland Poker Run! Since Tyson and I helped finish "Saddle Up", we drove to KY to see the maiden voyage of the 42' Statement.

Tammy, Me, and Angela

Shots!

State Dock was PACKED in front of our house boat. We were throwing out Statement t-shirts and the weight of everyone sunk the dock!

Tammy & Anthony in the "Saddle Up" shirts are the boat owners. They have great friends! ie- cops. Lol

The party cove at Lake Cumberland is INSANE!

After a crazy weekend we embarked on our houseboat journey.

And we might have put a few bubbles in the hot-tub. :-)

October

Sarasota Poker Run!

View from our hotel room

"Freedom" looking fresh and so clean, clean!

We also went to Los Angeles... my first time west!

We found the Hollywood sign!

That's me with Tyson's engine at SevenStock... a Mazda enthusiast car show.

November

Key West Poker Run

Here we are headed to Key West from Miami. "Freedom" broke down so since Jim keeps this boat (the Cigarette) in Miami, we had back-up. Thank the Lord!

Unfortunately, two good friends of ours flipped their boat during the races and both of them perished in the accident. Jim used to race with Bob (on the left) and JT was a good friend of mine. Both were from the Lake of the Ozarks so this hit home for all of us. Just a tragedy.

Here's a photo I took of them on my birthday before they raced in the Shootout.

While we were away in FL, Tyson's sister had her first baby, Sam. This is Tyson's first and only nephew!

Precious baby boy, Samuel.

Near the end of November, I drug Tyson to watch the Mizzou vs KU game in Kansas City. This was the final Border War game before MU joins the SEC so I had to be there!

Mizzou-Rah!

Everyone breathes, right?

Mizzou fans took over that stadium!!

December

At the beginning of December Tyson sporadically decided we would attend the Performance Racing Industry Show in Orlando. Our friends from Statement were there so I got to hang out with one of my favorite boats!

Saddle Up!

Of course Christmas is my favorite part of winter. (I don't like winter. I like summer!)

Steve & Sierra had a Christmas Party so I visited them in St. Louis. We had a blast!

Me and my baby boy Bonzai on Christmas!

I must have been a really good girl this year because I got SHOES!!!

So that was my year! 2011 was so great. It was the first time in my life I had a whole year to do what I wanted. No school, flexible job, and no kiddos. Everyone always tells me "Travel while you are young, aren't married, and don't have children!" so I did!