What I've Been Doing and a Birthday Recap

I feel like I've neglected you guys. Let's catch up!

At the beginning of August I was recovering from having two dental implants. On top of having surgery, I was nursing one of our two cats back to health. He was not in good shape... he had diabetes and heart disease. I syringe fed him three times a day for nearly eight weeks and checked on him multiple times throughout the course of the day/night but his disease ended up taking over. He passed a blood clot so we had to put him down on August 8th.

August was also a very busy month for us at work. We were working at a remote location so I was driving back-and-forth to our shop multiple times a day to retrieve parts and tools. We also had numerous meetings with our customer and we had to move one of our locations. It was absolute CHAOS.

Then smack dab in the middle of all of this, Tyson decided to go to New York to reclaim his title for the Bermuda Challenge. The weather was clear for them to go on August 21st... this weather window is very tight and they can not go until they get approval from the Coast Guard. August 21st just so happened to be the day that we had to have our friend's boat delivered to Lake of the Ozarks for the Shootout. This would normally be no-big-deal but this boat is not easy to haul. A good friend of mine ended up hauling it for us and everything worked out even though I was sweating bullets the whole 6 hour drive.

But in the end, Tyson and Chris got our record back! Woo hoo!

This kicked off my birthday celebration and the Shootout!

We had a blast at the lake and I can't wait until next year!

Tuesday the 27th was my actual birthday. We had dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant, El Vallarta. It was low key and perfect!

The following weekend was Labor Day. My old boss from the gas dock asked me if I could fill in a few shifts for the holiday weekend. I couldn't say no! I missed the gas dock so much and loved every second of being back. It was so much fun!

And then the next weekend (I feel like a broken record) was Rachel's bachelorette party! Rachel and I were very good friends all throughout middle and high school and we have stayed in touch very well over the last seven years.

Friday night was our Girl's Night. We went to a winery and then to Shady Gators while the guys went to Frankie and Louie's. Later that night we all came together at Rachel's parents house where we set up camp! It was so much fun having everyone packed in to the house with their air mattresses and staying up late like high school again.

Saturday we went out on the boat. (Both guys and girls.)

The whole weekend was so much fun until I got news that some guys we know from Joplin died in a boat accident. I could not believe it. My heart stopped for what felt like the whole day.

The last few weeks have been a little more low-key. We went to Michigan to tour the Skater Powerboats factory which was very neat.

(That place is full of secrets so I couldn't take any other pictures.)

Then last weekend we celebrated Tyson's late father's 70th birthday party.

So that's what I've been doing for the last eight weeks. A lot of ups-and-downs but that's life... and I have to live it. Hopefully I will get back in to the groove with my blogging. I sure miss you all!

Miami Boat Show and Randoms

Hi friends! It is absolutely disgusting in Missouri right now... apparently we had a thunder-snow-storm. I don't know and I don't care what that means but I do know that I don't like it.

Snow = Gross

Now that it is clear that I don't like snow let's get on with this.

The day my dad passed away I ordered a necklace with his monogram. It came in the mail the day before we left for Florida and I could not be more happy with it. I ordered the 18mm Double Hole Gold Disc with the Vine Interlock font. I also had "1-21-2013" engraved on the back. I absolutely love it and I have worn it every day since I got it.

 We left Friday the 8th and drove all the way to Atlanta. That drive freakin' sucks. We made it to the hotel where we met Chris (the crazy guy that did the Bermuda Challenge with Tyson). He had to rent a car and drive from Virginia Beach because he had to bring a bunch of the gear they use for these world record runs. This "gear" includes life rafts, medical kits, and fuel bladders. Yes I said fuel bladders. I walked in our room and it reeked of diesel fuel. Sweet. I'm gonna get high on diesel all night long!

I was so tired and wanted to go to sleep so bad but I did manage to get a pic of my jewelry dump.

 We made it to Miami on Saturday night. My dear friend Farrah invited us to stay with her and Allan in Coconut Grove. I love staying with friends. It's so much more comfortable than staying in a hotel room. Plus I get to do my own laundry which I might enjoy more than the trip itself. (haha)

Sunday we went to the sand bar on this beauty.

She's a 90' yacht named "Mia". Allan is the captain and Farrah is the stewardess. There is also a chef and a first mate on board. I was honored when they asked me if I wanted to help work that day! Farrah and I were both "stews" for the yacht owner. He had about 20 of his friends on board and we had so much fun! All we really had to do was serve drinks and clean up after the meals. Easiest $150 I have ever made!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we ran errands and picked up friends from the airport. We also picked up Farrah's new car and some crazy lady almost wrecked in to us the FIRST NIGHT she had the car. Looked to me like she was texting or something STUPID. Driving in Florida is crazy!

Wednesday and Thursday we went to the boat show. Tyson and Chris accepted an award from Boating Magazine for their Bermuda Challenge record.

There were some crazy boats!!

I love the teak wood floor in this Skater. So elegant!

This 52' MTI is named "Black Diamond". It was a custom build but you can have one for yourself for around $2.5 million dollars. No big deal.

A couple of friends from Oklahoma bought Cigarette Center Consoles. We were testing the boat out to make sure it was party-worthy.

(If you give one damn about professional football, towards the bottom right in this picture, the guy in the pink button-front shirt is Albert Haynesworth. He's mostly known for his career with the Washington Redskins.)

Saturday it absolutely POURED. ALL DAY LONG.

Sunday I got to work on Mia again. It was an interesting group that chartered the boat. They were nightclub owners from Las Vegas and strippers. They were mostly hungover and exhausted from partying til 6am the night before and I overheard one of them say they spent $98,000 at the club that night. Freakin' ridiculous!

Anywho... me on Mia...

The sunset that night was gorgeous...

Monday we ventured to the boat show for a few hours and I finally got to go to the Mac Pro store on Lincoln Road. Thank you Baby Jesus because I have been DYING to try the Studio Fix Fluid foundation. I blogged about road-tripping for it back in August.

I'm NW20 if any of you care...

And I got to go to Ikea! It was absolutely NUTS in there. People are CRAY! I was searching for all the pieces for my vanity room... remember that wet dream I had a few months ago where I thought I could get Tyson to help me build a vanity?

It's slowly happening. They didn't have most of the pieces I needed but I did leave with the Alex 9 Drawer unit and a bunch of drawer organizers.

The trip was a pretty good time but we didn't get to stay for the poker run. We have way too much stuff going on at home to be gone for over two weeks. I actually didn't even go for a boat ride that was faster than 20mph. I was not about to hop in the boat with these two fools.

If you are patient enough (I'm not) to watch the whole video you will see where they stuffed the boat through a wave and lost two of our GoPro's. $800 dollars overboard. Sweet.

And about my vlogging... I filmed A LOT of good stuff. Now comes the hard part... editing.

I'll let you know when the video is finished... hopefully by the end of the month!

Wish me luck!

THEY MADE IT!!!

Chris and Tyson are the new Bermuda Challenge record holders with a time of 21 hours and 39 minutes!!

Tyson text me:

"New record holders"

"We are beat to hell, you would be able to write a book about that trip, next time I'm going to do something like this stand me in front of the soccer teams at the Olympics and let them kick me in the nuts"

"Let them kick me in the nuts so I will remember how bad it hurt so I won't do it again"

he likes to give a detailed description

Boating Magazine stated on their Facebook page:

"Best time ever. First monohull ever. First stern drive ever."

Great job guys!!

Now get home so we can write that book!

Guess who's not going to sleep tonight!?

THIS GIRL.

When your boyfriend is on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, you don't tend to sleep well.

They are doing really great though!!

They are well over halfway there and making really great time!

He called me around 4pm and said everything was going well. He couldn't hear me very well but I was still glad to hear his voice.

Anywho...

You probably are wondering

"What does one do while her b/f is in the Atlantic Ocean?"

Well I go shopping.

oops

It's not like I could just sit at home in front of the computer watching that little red dot update every 10 minutes. Talk about nerve-racking!

Soooo last night I might or might not have went to Target.

I got these amazeballs tank-tops that I practically live in.

I freakin love these tanks. They were on sale for $7 bones.

So I watch beauty gurus on YouTube and found this nifty dupe for primer.

Yup. "Intimate Care" crap on muh face!

I guess it has the same ingredients as these $25 primers at Sephora.

For $6 bucks, I'll give it a shot!

Then I got one of these:

For $21.25.

What?

I didn't know they went on sale either.

Then I got Ty's sister a pair of these bad boys for her birfday.

I got a pair last week and wore them to dinner last night and she fell in love.

Clearance! $15 bucks ladies!!

I got this adorable earring/necklace set. I really only liked it for the earrings but the necklace grew on me and I really like it, too.

$2.98 or something!?

After lunch today I made the awful decision to go to the mall...

on the Missouri Tax Free weekend...

when everyone and their dog/baby/grandma/sister goes shopping.

It was frigging nuts in there.

I wandered in to Charlotte Russe and got this blouse.

It's sheer, hot pink, and really long. It reminds me of something Kourtney Kardashian would wear. I plan on pairing it with some black skinny jeans. I'm excited.

*Disregard our "liquor cabinet"... we really are not alcoholics, I swear. We just collect massive amounts of alcohol after poker runs. We stock the boat and then always end up with leftovers that I refuse to throw away.

Then I went to my favorite store ever, TJ Maxx. It was nuts in there and of course I was being extremely selective so all I found was this adorable white ceramic mug that has a teal inside. It's very similar to this one:

I plan on trying that crafty project floating around Pinterest where you write on a ceramic mug with a Sharpie and then bake it... supposed to make it permanent and stuff.

It was on clearance for a dillar.

Of course I wandered all over that dang store and found NOTHING. I was not about to stand in line for 15 minutes for a $1.00 mug sooooo I picked out some fancy wrapping paper. I love wrapping paper and wrapping gifts. After wrapping Neely's birthday gifts I realized I need something that is appropriate for birthdays and not Christmasy.

After my five dollar splurge at TJ, I went to Macy's. I was on a mission to form a birthday wishlist so I was perfume shopping. I picked out a few goodies like BCBG, DKNY Be Delicious, and Dolce & Gabbana. They smell yummy.

In my attempt to leave Macy's, I saw this massive table loaded with purses that said CLEARANCE. Damnitall, I had to go look!

Then it happened. I found this beauty.

This bad boy is a hot pink, quilted, leather, crossbody, shoulder bag.

I am in love.

It is the most awesome color pink!

It reminds me of Chanel.

And considering it was clearance and then another 20% off, I was even more in love. I was going to stick her on my birthday list but when I looked around it was the last one.

I couldn't let her go!!

Got her for less than $30 bucks!!

Yes. I'm that girl that distracted herself by going shopping. Could have been worse, I guess.

Now I am going to lay in bed, watch the Olympics, and wait for Tyson to call!

Nighty night y'all!