3 in a row...

3 missed cuts in a row... The wind was howling yesterday afternoon! The day recorded winds blowing 20-25mph with wind gust up to 60mph! CRAZY!!!

I was, however, very happy to find more fairways this week. Figured out what I was doing wrong during the last 2 events. So now I just have to put it all together during my week off! Spending July 4th weekend with Bob's mom in NJ. I'll be seeing my hubby later on Wed and we can't wait to watch Wall-E in the theaters! :-)

I have 5 more hours to go in my stinky car tomorrow. My laundry hamper is sitting on the front seat, with over one week's worth of clothes :-s

Thumb report - Week 1

1 week after slamming my car door on my right thumb,... it still looks rather nasty! My thumb is just slightly swollen now and thankfully it doesn't hurt as much anymore. Dad told me last week to peel a hard-boiled egg and roll the egg on my thumb, but I didn't listen. It's suppose to help with the swelling. An urban myth perhaps?
As you can see, the blood clot is under almost half the nail. I was told yesterday by a friend that it will take months for the nail to heal. MONTHS!!! :-s

2-week Notice

Bob just put in his 2-week notice yesterday with Ceva. He has accepted a new job with Hilti in Tulsa, OK. And yup... we are moving... again. That's 3 different states since summer 2006 - New Jersey, Texas, and now Oklahoma (or 4 if you count May/June 2006 in Baltimore, MD).

Bob will begin his new job on July 21st. I didn't think my last time at home in Houston a month ago would actually be my LAST! Since I've signed up to play in the remaining season on the FUTURES Tour, I won't get a chance to fly home in time during a break to pack!

And grrr... this means another visit to the Department of Motor Vehicle for a new Oklahoma driver's license and car title. And of course, we can't leave our garden behind. Bob will have to dig the plants up and bring them in his car :-)

Horseshoe Casino

My friend Stephanie wanted to buy me a belated birthday dinner this week, so since we're out in Hammond, IN - I decided that we should check out the buffet at the Horseshoe Casino. Bob thought that the idea was cliché but isn't that the whole idea of going to a casino? Oh... to gamble??? I don't have money for that!! Well, nonetheless, when we got done with dinner, we decided to check out the slot machines and finally found the nickel slots. I started out with a $5 credit and after about an hour, I was up by $100! After a few scares and winless moments, I finally decided to cash out at $101.75. Hey, at least we will have 2 more buffets taken care of these next couple of days. It will be seafood night both Friday and Saturday :-)

Welcome to Hammond, IN!

Nothing like the smell of oil refineries early in the morning. Thankfully we are only here for a few more days. The golf course - Lost Marsh Golf Club is located next to a large BP refinery. And oh, did I mention that the golf course is also built on a landfill? A new club house is also in the works, but unfortunately you can still see the foundation of the building! The current club house is a trailer in the parking lot. :-s

Looks like rain, rain, and more rain this week. I was soaked this morning during practice as my rain gear did not work as well as I hoped.

While we're on the smell topic, I forgot to mention the smell of soy in Decatur, IL. It almost smells like burnt milk. But of course, to ADM... it's the smell of MONEY!

Back online!

I haven't had a chance to update my blog recently, as my housing host last week in Cincinnati, OH blocks blog websites. It's great that they are protecting their young daughters (Jen & Jackie) at home from the crazy people out there in cyberspace!

I got up at 5am for my saturday early tee-time last week. Guess I was still half asleep when I slammed my thumb in my car door. I decided to stop over by the Waffle House not too far from the golf course this morning. As I'm trying to figure out if the restaurant is open, I step out of the car and slam the door - except I forgot about my thumb! YYYEEEEAAAAAOUUCCCHHH...! I looked at my thumb and it had turned blue-black instantly. Needless to say, I stuck my thumb in a glass of ice as I waited for my breakfast.

Thankfully, the round wasn't too bad with the sore thumb. I made some great putts to save par several times today, but continued to wonder hole after hole how I was going to straighten out my driver. On the 7th hole (my 16th) I put my approach shot in the bunker. As I was raking the bunker after my shot, I accidently caught my thumb in the pocket of my shorts and OUUUUUUIIIII...! Now, that really hurt! I actually had to stop raking to take a few deep breaths.

My housing from Lima, OH from 2 years ago came out to watch me play on Sat. Janice was "thanking" me when her alarm rang at 5am this morning. After showing them my thumb, Charlie suggested that in order to release the pressure in my thumb, he would - if he had one - put a little drill bit in the nail... NOT! We stopped by the EMT parked in the parking lot on the way out and they couldn't help me, but the driver kept nodding his head in agreement when I told him about the drill bit theory. :-p

Just drove into Hammond, IN tonight from Angola, IN. A bunch of the FUTURES Tour pros played in a fund raising pro-am organized by the Junior Achievement program. Ended up coming in 3rd with my rowdy amateur players! We parred a Par 5... what a big NO NO in a pro-am!

Staying in a Red Roof Inn in the next state over in Lansing, IL. The internet here keeps dropping and it's driving me crazy! Can you imagine that just a few years ago we were using dial-up?!!?

Last Thursday was mom's one year anniversary. It still feels so surreal at times as I feel as if she is still around. We talked about how she would travel with me on the road so it still hits me at times especially during those long lonely drives. Nonetheless, I know she would want me to keep playing. She always told me that golf is not an 8-to-5 job rather a 5-to-8 job! I've yet to wake up at 5am every morning though :-)

Happy Father's Day!

I put a blog entry on the FUTURES Tour website this week for Father's Day:

Even though he's thousands of miles away, I know he's there -- watching my every move. And although he never says much, I know he's thinking of me and worries about me. And even though he teases me about finding my name, starting from the bottom of the results list each tournament week, I know he's always there to encourage me to do better and to rise to the occasion. And when he finally did shed a tear... on my wedding day, I knew that he truly does love me and hopes only the best for me, for I am “Daddy's Little Girl.”

Missed the cut by 1 shot! Arggghhh...!!!

I made bogey on the last hole to miss the cut by one today. Grrrr... I'm so mad! Thinking back, I guess I could have saved a few more strokes here and there as well. It wouldn't just be the last hole. I finally found my rhythm on hole #10 and was striking the ball much better. Oh well, now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do these next two days. What? Practice...? Yeah, guess I NEED to do that!

Happy Birthday ... to ME! :-)

When the alarm rang this morning at 5:15am, all I could think was... "Please! Let me snooze for 10 more minutes!!". And then when I finally did get up to brush my teeth, only then did I realize that it was my birthday today. It sure seemed just like another day at "work".

I got dressed and went downstairs to make breakfast. My housing host greeted me with a birthday wish and also a present! She said the bracelet was "so me" and she was right :-)

When I got to the golf course, a handful of my golfing friends wished me happy birthday including Christine that shouted it across the practice putting green. So by then, I think everyone knew it was my special day. Unfortunately, nothing too special about my golf today though. Although I suppose a score of 4-over 74 is pretty decent for only hitting 5 fairways and 5 greens in regulation. The birdie on the last hole did make my day. I hit my 89-yard approach shot to within 2 ft, with the gallery watching in the grandstand. I made my birdie putt and got to do my little wave, just like the way the girls do it on TV. Ha ha!

When I returned home at the end of the day, I received a Fedex package from my dearest hubby. Overnighted... was my birthday card and my favorite dark chocolate. Where are the flowers??? Just kidding, honey ;-)

All in all, it was a good day. I'm blessed with a loving husband, a supportive family, and wonderful friends. Life... is good.

Who dun it..?

So we know who won the race, but the question now is... was it the tortoise or the rabbit that has been eating up the vegetation in the garden???We found both of them munching in the garden last Sunday. The rabbit was acting weird in a way that it was jumping around like it had fleas (or rabies perhaps!) and the tortoise just went it's merry way along the fence. They both disappeared as quickly as they had appeared that morning.

12 1/2 hours later...

I started the day at 9am this morning - traveling to Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston) to catch my flight to O'hare Airport, Chicago where I had left my car for the week. There was a slight delay departing as the plane was having problems with their A/C. Nonetheless, 15 minutes after the announcement, we were on the plane. About an hour into the flight, the pilot comes on the intercom and tells us that there's a bad storm in Chicago. So we were in a holding pattern for 45 minutes. I was able to sleep during this time (with my mouth wide open, of course). Once that was over, he comes back on again and this time he tells us that we will need to land in Indianapolis! We were suppose to be in Chicago by 1:15pm and now at 2:30pm, we're sitting on the tarmac, waiting to park the plane,... in Indianapolis.

The crew tells us that we will only have about 15 minutes if we decide to de-plane while they refuel. So I waited on the plane... used the toilet on the plane and it would not flush. I later find out that it's being serviced. Thankfully, I wasn't making butterflies. Anyway, back at my seat, we wait... and wait... and about ONE HOUR later, we finally get our turn on the runway and take off. I thought I heard the pilot say that the flight was only going to take 30 minutes or so, but then after 30 minutes had gone by, I finally feel the plane descending. That means it will be another 30 minutes before we land in Chicago.

Once on the ground, the baggage took forever to come out on the belt. With my golf bag and small carry on, I make my way to Door 2 at the Shuttle center about 2 par 5's away. I see the hotel shuttle... but the driver doesn't see me! I get close enough to bang my fist on the vehicle, but the back wheel of the shuttle catches my carry on and tips it over while he's pulling away into traffic. So ok,... I wait for another 15 minutes for the next shuttle.

After paying my parking ticket, I find my car where I had last left it. I'm glad I was able to park inside a parking structure. My car was nice and cool when I got in. Once I got everything loaded in, I turned on my new GPS - an early birthday present from sis and my bluetooth earpiece - a gift from Bob. I felt so high tech!
I'm glad the GPS found its way to my housing because it was getting dark and I was getting tired. I had a 3 1/2 hour drive from O'hare to Decatur, IL. About 30 miles left into the drive, I drop my earpiece on the passenger side and did not attempt to retrieve it. A few minutes after that, a couple of deers run right across the freeway and thankfully no one got hurt. And finally, less than 2 miles to go before I get to my destination, I see in a distance what appears to be warning lights for a train. Yup... just my luck. It's 9:13pm... and the slowest and longest train is going by. The train took about 7 minutes before I was finally able to cross the railroad. And finally, I arrive at my destination at 9:30pm. WHAT A DAY!!!

My housing - the Skeffington's were nice enough to keep my dinner warm when I arrived. Pork chop wrapped in bacon and mash potatoes... YUM!!! :-)

Locked out!

So Bob drops me off back at the house after lunch today. We walk into the house through the door in the garage and then we both walked back out - to get my clubs out of the car and Bob went to pick up the mail. I walked back towards the door... turn the knob... and IT'S LOCKED! After a few minutes of "blame-storming", Bob heads towards the back of the house (in a manly attempt to break in) as I walk towards the neighbors to call the locksmith.

As I chat with the neighbors, I see Bob walking in. We probably waited for about 40 minutes at our neighbor's before the locksmith finally arrived at the house. He started picking at the door in the garage. After about a minute, he decided to work on the front door instead. And in less than 30 seconds, I heard a click and the door was opened! The charge was $55 but with only $35 in cash available between Bob and I, the guy agreed on it and took the cash. I'm so glad Bob didn't break into the house. It definitely would have cost more than $35!

As for who locked us out, the blame-storming continues...