New drapes

Well, not exactly new... I've had them since college, but the material was rather thin and so Bob and I went out to buy some brown suede and with the new sewing machine, I put them both together. It took a few tries and they still don't quite look right, but it does the trick. The bedroom was nice and dark for the weekend to sleep-in in. :-) Only one more drape to go for the guest bedroom.
As for the white patches... it took a few extra attempts to put the rods up. I guess knocking on the walls isn't quite the most scientific way to find the stud :-) But, nothing spackling and a little free sample paint from Lowe's can't fix!!!

Thumb report - Week 15

I was carefully examining my thumb today and it looks like the new nail has magically merged with what was the underneath of the old nail plate. Really strange... so now it looks like the entire nail has an indentation in the middle of it. Almost 4 months have gone by and the nail is still looking strange! :-s

Fallen flower

I must have jinxed myself. When I walked out yesterday into the front yard, there is was... on the ground... my hibiscus bud! It was like a sick joke - that someone had sniped it off while I wasn't looking. As I took a closer look, I guess the flower bud had just fallen off it's joint, perhaps being blown by the wind. I'll have to just wait for the next flower bud to bloom... hopefully before the first frost!

Home update

Doesn't feel as if I've accomplished very much this week. The garden is doing well so far although not very organized. I'd like to get a border around it and start teaching the cucumber plants to start climbing a fence! And oh, the first hibiscus (bunga raya) is starting to bloom. Looks like... pink?

Futures Tour qualifying school is coming up early November. I should start getting motivated to practice again. The weather has been really nice lately.

Thumb report - Week 14

Can't believe this is only the first full week that I've lost my thumb nail. Since the thumb is no longer protected by the fallen nail, it actually hurts a little bit more than it did before. And you forget how much you actually use your nail until you actually lose it! I was trying to pinch a few things off this week while sewing and obviously, I could not get a grip of it because I don't have the nail on my thumb! And progress on the new nail is reaaaaally sloooooooooow....

New sewing machine

Watch out, world!!! She's armed... hehe... Can you believe it, these sewing machines come with instructional DVDs too! I guess I better start there. The machine says "simple" on it. Hopefully that's true!

I bought an antique sewing table too :-)

New bird house

I bought a plain birdhouse recently and decided to add my own personal touches to it. Unfortunately, the only tree available was the one in our frontyard. Almost feels like I need to buy some fake leaves! Maybe we'll get some birdies from New Jersey :-)

Thumb report - Week 13

It's OFF! Yes... the nail came off! Well, it was on the 6th hole today when I accidently snagged on it and thankfully, it really didn't hurt at all! Now, my thumb just looks really ugly. The new nail is barely halfway out. And against Bob's will... I'm going to post my last nail picture :-P

Hungry Praying Mantis

Bob attended a Supply Chain seminar yesterday in Fayetteville, AR - a quick 2-hour drive from Tulsa. We decided to go to a Japanese restaurant for Happy Hour. There was a praying mantis on the corner of our table where we were seated. He seemed harmless at first until, with lightning speed... he grabbed a fly that was on our table and started munching on it!!!
Thankfully our food had not arrived yet and when it did, Bob knocked the praying mantis over the table with the menu. By then, the fly was history. YUCK!

Thumb report - Week 12

3 months!!!... and I've snagged on the nail enough now (with the help of Bob, of course) that the left side of it has actually come off from the nail bed! The right side is still somewhat attached. I tried to clean the underneath of the old nail and it is rather sensitive on the nail bed. So, looks like I won't be trying to pull the old nail off anytime soon! There's also a weird sensation when I put pressure on the tip of the nail.

I decided to put the nail on video instead since it is really nasty now. Viewer discretion is advised. :-)

Hurricane Ike

Looks like we moved in time before Ike came into town! Houston is being hit right now with a lot of rain and strong wind. Just talked to a couple of friends that decided to stay at home rather than evacuate. The power has been out since about midnight... trees have fallen, the golf course is underwater and I-10 is flooded!
We are expecting Ike to come up towards Tulsa early next week. Hopefully my garden won't drown!

Home update

Just a quick update on the house. The garden is coming around slowly but surely. Been busy pulling out grass in the back lawn so I can plant some new veggies. Right now, the tomato plant is doing really well. I've added some strawberries, some cantaloupe (I saved the seeds from a sweet cantaloupe that I ate!), and also planted some cucumber, brocolli, and basil from seeds in some pots. Hopefully winter won't come so soon!

In the living area, I've been busy decorating! I made "Pridgen" out of wire and Bob carved out the heart at work during his training a couple of weeks ago... of course, I had to spray-painted it red :-)

Dad went to visit sis up in MN in August. I thought this was the cutest picture. Nothing like grandpa and grandson bonding over a bottle of beer! Hehe...

Thumb report - Week 11

I've had to trim more of my thumb nail from the bottom up this week. I snagged it a couple of times while playing golf on sunday... OUCH! The new nail is growing out nicely. About half of my old nail is almost gone. At this rate, it probably looks like it will be another 12 weeks before the old nail finally drops off! That's 3 MONTHS! CRAZY! Hopefully sooner though... the nasty level has gone up a few notches. :-s

The Last Cut

After a long drought of missed cuts... I finally made the last one! Yay! I really needed to do well so I could jump a few ranks up in the money list. Still not quite sure yet if I need to go back to the FUTURES Tour qualifying school. I will need to double check on this. Hopefully NOT!

The off-season has sort of started for me as of today. There is an event in Georgia in October, but it's by invitation only - Top 70 players on the money list (I'm at #96). If enough of them will drop out, I'll be able to get in. It's a 3-day event, no cut, and everyone gets paid! That will be sweet for some christmas shopping money :-)

Nonetheless, it will still be a busy off-season. Of course, time to work on my garden, finish unpacking the house, working on some new equipment perhaps, getting back in shape, and then the misc. - eye exam, dental, health, etc. Fun, fun, fun! And oh, can't forget to put in my application for my greencard (PR). My visa expires next year! That should be my first priority!

Thanks to everyone this year for their support!!! I really appreciate it! Cheers!

Thumb report - Week 10

Can't seem to take a good picture of my thumb. Bob is probably appreciative that the picture is a little bit blurry. There's been several times this week when I was so close to pulling my nail off by accident! So I've trimmed it where its closest to the cuticle and now, you can really see the new nail growing in. I wonder how much longer I have to wait before it finally comes off...

New garden

Probably not a good thing to work in the garden before playing golf. I was hooking the ball so badly that Bob said that I could catch a whale with it!

Anyway, I had to dig a hole yesterday in the backyard to plant my tomato plant... only to find out that the ground is full of rocks! It probably took about 45 minutes just to plant the tomato plant! So looks like the strawberries will have to wait. I'll be leaving for Albany tomorrow for a week. Hopefully the strawberries will still be alive in their pots when I get home. I did buy a new hose and sprinkler so all Bob has to do is turn the water on. Simple enough, right...? Hopefully so! He has been spending a lot of time on the X-Box playing Grand Auto Theft!!!

I also did plant the sunflower seeds in front of our bedroom windows. We'll see too, if they will grow...

By the way, here's a pic of our frontyard - with the "free" rocks from the empty lot next door :-)

Landscaping day

I decided to work in the front yard today after purchasing a few items from Lowe's. We bought a couple of solar hanging lights, an aloe plant, and also a hibiscus plant and a trellis. The hibiscus or "Bunga Raya" is the national flower of Malaysia. Figured that would be a nice touch :-) Hopefully it will survive long enough for me to at least see one flower and discover what color it is!

It was also a busy day pulling weeds that had overgrown through the mulch in other parts of the front yard. We were planning on putting up some mini white picket fences along the border but the ground was more like clay underneath and nothing was going through it! Instead, I discovered some large stones from the empty lot next to the house and I have to say, it looks rather good! I'll be sure to post a pic tomorrow. It was getting really dark when I was finally done walking through the weeds at dawn. I was almost wondering at times if I was going to find a dead body out there!

1 1/2 years into the marriage and Bob finally decided to make a special trip tonight to buy an X-Box. You can almost see that glimmer in this eyes as he walked through the door. Gone are my days of Home & Garden TV...! And hopefully he won't get any crazy ideas about car-jacking and robbing people from playing Grand Theft Auto!

Busy Bee!

I've lost count as to how many boxes I've unpacked now! After day 1, the kitchen is finally in operation. After end of day 2 today, the bedroom is manageable, the living room is much more livable, and the golf room... is non-existant at this moment. The guest room is ready though, so friends and family are welcome! :-)

Bob did his share today as well. He was busy mowing the backyard in 90+F heat! We've yet to start on our veggie garden. My tomato plant is still in its pot.

While doing my 5th load of laundry today (yes...5!!!), the water hose came loose and was spewing soapy water EVERYWHERE! The water was overflowing into the garage as well!

Home Sweet Home in Tulsa, OK!

Finally made the trip back to Tulsa after 2 days/24 hours of driving. I probably saw about 6 cop cars in TN and maybe 4-5 dead armadillos in AR. It sure feels good to be home, although the house is a mess! There are moving boxes everywhere and the furniture is not quite arranged very well in this 1,500 sq ft house. We have so much stuff considering we did moved out of a 4-bed (and 1den) 3-bath home in Houston!

I'm unpacking the kitchen right now. It's taking such a long time :-( Here's a before picture. Look at the mess!

Off to Tulsa, Oklahoma!

It will be a long drive home starting tomorrow. I will drop my friend/caddy Bill back in Richmond, VA so he can catch his flight back to Tampa, FL... and then I will start my journey home. I can't wait to get home! Although, the house will probably still be in boxes since our move a few weeks ago. Can't wait to unload my car either. I've picked up quite a few more items since our last break in NJ :-)

And I can't forget the tomato plant! There's actually a new little baby one growing in the pot. Yesterday, I had Bill cut a couple of big sunflowers from the fields, on the way out from the golf course. Hope to get the seeds growing in the garden too before the cold weather arrives!

Thumb report - Week 9

This week, I've almost lost my nail a few times. The left side of the nail is detached from the thumb and I've caught it several times during my daily chores. Talk about OUCH! I didn't post a picture this week because it is starting to look really nasty. You're welcome, honey :-p

What the...?!?

10 shots within the span of 5 holes... that's a first in my professional career. I was losing so many golf balls that I had to stop at my car when I made the turn to pick some more up! I lost my golf ball in the hazard 4 out of those 5 holes - leading to two double and two triple bogeys! I was able to par the rest of the way after that (all 11 holes), which was good... but not good enough.
Such a disappointment! It will be a long drive home to Tulsa, OK :-(

Traveling Tomato Plant

Looks like the time taken for lunch yesterday may have taken a slight toll on my tomato plant. I didn't realize how hot my car was and how my poor plant was suffocating in the car! It was wilting when I took the plant out of the car and into the motel yesterday. It looks a lot better today thankfully. Only 5 more days to go before we finally make our way back to Tulsa!

Thumb report - Week 8

2 months have gone by and progress seems so slow! The new nail continues to push the old nail out. And the dried-up blood from under the old nail is breaking off and falling out from between the gap of the old nail and cuticle. So the nail doesn't look as blue-black as it did before.
And don't ask about the band-aid on the index finger!

Colonial Williamsburg, VA

My friend/caddy Bill this week suggested that we take a little trip to Williamsburg, VA on Sunday. It was a cute historical town with homes, shops, and buildings reconstructed from the 18th century! Of course, I couldn't pass up a photo op with Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence.
Yes, honey... the vacation is going very well :-P

Trunk-slamming Saturday

Another week and another early exit. It's amazing how quickly a swing can change within 24 hours. I don't get it! Am I really getting old???
Well, off to Gettysburg, PA tomorrow. Only 2 more events left for the season! Wow!

And... we're off!

My tomato plant and I are off to Richmond, VA tomorrow (Monday) morning. It will be about a 9-hour drive. I better start straightening my game out soon. There are only 3 more events left this season...!!!
And oh, I seem to have lost a pair of my cargo shorts. I'm pretty sure I left them on the chair in the room here, but I still can't find them. Really REALLY weird...

Thumb report - Week 7

The new nail is starting to grow out and the old nail continues to be pushed away. It's such a weird feeling to see 2 nails on one thumb! Occassionally, there would be an odd, dull pain.

Kentucky Horse Park

Since missing the cut (again) this week in London, KY... Stephanie and I decided to drive out to Lexington, KY. It was about an hour away to see the Kentucky Horse Park. There is so much ground to cover and so many horses!

Car window

Driving to the golf course this morning, I wound down my window to tell the volunteer at the entrance that I'm a FUTURES Tour player. And then I went on my merry way to the parking lot, except I was distracted by the fact that my window would not wind back up! I attempted to fix it but of no avail. The glass panel had somehow popped off its track and was getting stuck going up within the incorrect rubber seams.
I had to warm up before my tee-time so I decided to wind the window back up as much as I could... and I clamped a white towel in my door to cover my window. It was quite a sight in the parking lot. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me!
When I got done with my round, my first assignment was to find a mechanic in the phone book. Of course, no service centers are open on the weekend. But lucky enough, the title sponsor for the golf tournament this week is Falls Auto Group. The head pro of the club got in touch with the owner of the auto dealership (who is also the owner of the golf course!) and sent one of his mechanics to the golf course! Earl started taking the door apart and 30 minutes later, it was fixed!
Thankfully, it was a sunny day and best of all, the service was FREE! Perhaps I should only wind down my window Mon-Fri. And perhaps I need to think twice about going to a Waffle House for breakfast. The last time I was at one, I slammed my thumb in my car door. And now this...!

Cumberland Falls - Corbin, KY

The so-called "Niagara of the South" is only about 20 miles down the street from this week's event in London, KY! The 150-foot-wide waterfalls drops 67 feet. It's the largest fall east of the Rockies and south of the Niagara. Who would have thought!

The traveling tomato plant

It was a long 12-hour drive today from Livingston, NJ to London, KY. And it wasn't easy on my car, which just graduated to 192K miles! 192,109 to be exact! There was a good stretch of the trip where I had to turn off the a/c of my car so it could get enough umphhh to get up the hills of West Virginia and Kentucky!

And I've added a new driving companion for the next 3 weeks. Yup! A tomato plant. The one in Houston isn't doing so well, so I've adopted a new tomato plant from mom-in-law's garden in NJ. First-class seating! :-)

And I'm not sure if there's one wasp or 6 wasps in my car! Everytime I let one out of my window, another comes out from the backseat! One of them flew by me and surprised me. I almost drove off the road!

Thumb report - Week 6

I wasn't going to post a picture since both my sister and Bobby were disgusted by the last thumb picture... and who knows who else! But their decision has been vetoed by Bobby's mom :-)
So here's the pic:The old nail is being pushed out so if you look close enough... there's actually a void empty space where the new nail is trying creep out! NASTY!

Welcome to Tulsa!

Flew into Tulsa yesterday and the quest began almost immediately to look for a house to rent. 3 hours and 6 houses later... we found it! :-) Of course, it had to be the very last house of the day. The house is only about 1,500 sq ft, but should be nice for now. No more big tub in the master bedroom though! Pictures to follow in a month when I finally get back to our new home after my next 3-week road trip.

Thumb Report - Week 5

The "nasty factor" of the nail just keeps increasing as the weeks go by. As you can see, the indentation is more obvious now as the nail continues to grow... :-s

Made the cut!

After a long drought of missed cuts, I finally made one! Yay! Thanks to my CLP Cheering Squad - Tammy & Shawn Perreault and their friend Dan! And not forgetting my housing host too, Hugh... and I guess I can't forget about my caddy as well, Jay. And yes yes... I bet my hubby is reading this, so I'll have to thank him too :-P

It sure feels good to be able to play on Sunday, although they are expected some bad weather tomorrow. 7:40am tee-time so it's going to be an early morning! I suppose I could finish up my leftovers of Guiness beef stew for a quick easy breakfast :-)
(Thanks for buying dinner too, guys!)

And as for my bee sting, it started to itch early this morning while I was sleeping and during the round, I accidently scratched it and then it really started to itch! Sure isn't looking very pretty. I'm such a mess...!

Stung by a bee!

I sat on the chair at the scoring tent and OUCH! I felt a sting and saw something fly away! Well, I've come to find out that I'm not allergic to bee stings and thankfully so because the EMT that arrived at the scoring tent didn't even have a bee kit! I had to roll my shorts halfway up my thigh to check on the sting and my caddy Jay was quick in reacting and rubbed some dirt on the sting (while I was standing up and reciting my playing partner's scorecard..!). I felt the pain for a few more minutes but once I was done at the scoring tent, the sting was gone! AMAZING! Thankfully the bee didn't sting me on my butt! :-) I'm not sure if I would have stripped down at the tent. Haha!

So close to $1,000!

The Yes! Putter challenge was held today on the practice green at Beaver Meadow GC, NH. I came in with the lowest 18-hole score at 3-under. The top 3 scores and ties go into a play-off. There were a total of 7 of us for the play-off. And when it came down to just 3 of us, the 2 other girls made their putts on the 4th play-off hole... and I didn't! :-(
I was actually trying out a new Yes! Putter today, just a couple of hours before the challenge - the same model but I'm back to the short one (instead of the belly putter). We'll see how it goes tomorrow during practice and if I still like it, I'm going to use it for the tourney this week :-)

Thumb Report - Week 4

Week 4 and it's obvious now that the nail has grown. Last week I mentioned that my cuticle was sticking to my nail. Well, that's no longer the case. I can see that my nail has concaved at the bottom of the cuticle and there seems to be blood clots. Nasty!

Another stay-home sunday

Bob was able to come out and caddy me this week as he is currently in-between jobs. We started out with 1-over (72) on Friday and on Saturday, I ended up 6-over par after 9 holes! I was able to make one birdie coming in but that wasn't good enough. I missed the cut by 1 :-( Nonetheless, I did hit some great shots this week! Will need to carry those forward to NH next week.

Thumb report - Week 3

It looks as if my nail has grown a little bit but the cuticle seems to be stuck to the nail. Guess the impact of the car door really did do some damage here! The nail is still attached though. The suspense continues...

Grrrr....!

I was confident coming into Bloomfield, CT last week to play well, but unfortunately the golf course got me again! I watched the leaders play on Sunday and it looked like they were struggling as well (especially with the wind blowing)... all the leaders except for Vicky Hurst of course. She just won her 3rd tournament in a row! Amazing! It's too bad the FUTURES Tour does not have the "battlefield promotion" similar to the Nationwide Tour, where she then could be promoted to the LPGA tour after her 3rd win. Speaking of Nationwide Tour - Rick Price won the Nationwide Tour Players Cup yesterday. After 9 years on the Nationwide Tour and 19 times in PGA q-school , Price finally graduated to the PGA tour next year at the age of 40! Looks like there's still hope for me :-)

My housing worked out really well this week. Rich and Ann made me feel very much at home and I think I've continued to gain a few pounds since the week off at my mom-in-laws! Rich gave me a little putting tip as well! By the way, on our night out for dinner, I saw this HUGE door...!!!

Lola

Two hours into my drive today towards Bloomfield, CT... "Lola" - my GPS unit... quit working! Fortunately, I took a glimpse at the turn-by-turn screen to get a quick idea of where to go before I lost satellite reception, so I had a brief idea of my next exit. But nonetheless, during the half hour that Lola was out, I was trying to read my road atlas while driving and was hoping she would say something soon! And what a sigh of relief when Lola was finally revived within the last half hour of the journey. Phew! I did have the driving directions provided by the FUTURES Tour as back-up, but I wasn't expecting Lola to quit on me like that!
My phone battery died out too when I arrived at the golf course today. I'll have to figure out this new phone soon! I had already deleted some of my contacts from my SIM card by accident. Hmm... what else could go wrong??? Oh, that's right - my bluetooth earpiece wouldn't work either during my drive today. Sigh...

Week of July 4th

The off-week started with unloading my car into my mom-in-law's living room. And as you can see, I haven't quite figured out how to travel light :-) Mom-in-law was trying to figure out how I managed to fit everything in my little 2-door honda! Yes, quite a system to my madness!
The other reason why I had to clean out my car was because I was taking it in for service. I figured it was time for a major service/maintenance at 190,000 miles. Let's not talk about how much I paid... :-s

Bobby arrived at the Newark airport wednesday night. After filing for a lost luggage, his golf bag finally arrived on the belt an hour and a half later, just as he was walking out of the claims office! Of course, it would have helped if he told the airline right at that time that his baggage actually did arrive because I kept receiving voicemails on my phone that they were still tracking his golf bag! I hope they were paid double overtime for that!

The weather held up pretty well during our golf days on Friday and Saturday with Bob's brothers. We were able to play at Liberty National Golf Club where his brother Kenny works at. What a golf course! Just beautiful... and with only 80+ members, the golf course does not get very much play on it and so the conditions were just immaculate! And how about the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop!

Since we had all of Bobby's family around this holiday weekend, we decided to eat our wedding cake. We defrosted the 9-month old cake from his mom's freezer and amazingly, it still tasted really good! We weren't sure if we would be back in NJ for our 1 year anniversary in Oct, so we figured 9 months was close enough. Plus, techically... we were married on Jan 6, 2007. :-)

Thumb report - Week 2

Well, another week has gone by and I don't think I've made much progress with the healing of my thumb. It doesn't hurt anymore, which I guess is a good thing now but it still looks really bad. The blood clot has not moved up the nail... which means... hmm... is the nail dead? I'm sure I'll find out soon enough when it does finally fall off. Thinking of that just makes me cringe! :-s

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...

Unlucky "8"

According to the Chinese, the number 8 is suppose to be a lucky number. But if you have an 8 (or the "snowman") on your score card... it's definitely not a good thing! Yup... Snap hook off the tee with out-of-bounds left is not a good combination. It happened on my 16th hole (#7) so it was very disappointing. I could not convert my birdie putts on the last 2 holes either. So, no birdies for today :-( We did have a snapping turtle in the middle of #8 fairway and a deer that almost tried to run across the 9th green. That might have made the round more interesting today!
Well... back to Houston for the week off. Looks like some chipping practice will be on the agenda.

Chilly Wisconsin!

After driving by a bison farm, 2 dead raccoons, 7 cop cars, 11 dead deers, ... and watching a wild turkey cross the road, I finally reached my housing host in Lake Geneva, WI. The weather was beautiful here yesterday. Wish I could say the same for today. It's currently 46F... feels like 39F according the weather.com... and windy too! BRRRRR...!!! Guess I shouldn't have complaint about MN! Well, it's suppose to warm up again as the week progresses, but then rain is fore casted for Friday and perhaps Saturday. This tournament has had rain delays 2 years in a row now. Just need to make it to Sunday, where it's going to be sunny 79F :-)

Broken string

I was trying to tune my little guitar yesterday when the string broke. Almost seems like you need safety glasses when tuning the guitar...! Looks like I just added another item added to my to-do list now. Does anyone out there know how to change guitar strings???

Little nephew

I decided to spend my week off with my sister and bro-in-law, Scott in MN... and not forgetting my little nephew, baby Michael. He's almost 5 months old now and is just adorable. Ok, perhaps I am bias... I mean, I am his favorite aunt! :-)
Being away this week instead of going home to Houston has been a little rough on my loving hubby though. He'll just have to wait another 12 days before I finally fly home again. And I will be missing his birthday on May 30th. Sorry honey!

Ye ol' faithful driver!

Guess I should have used my old driver the first 2 days for this event in Kansas City! Today, it was a great round of 72 (1-over par), with the help of a friend on the same tour - Stephanie Ruiz. I hit 7 fairways today - 100% better than yesterday (a comment made by Bob!) and for the fairways that I did miss, I could at least still see the ball in the rough. And the putter worked beautifully today, despite 3-putting the first hole. Moved up from T-48 to T-24 for the tournament... can't be happier! :-)

Another cut made!!! :-)

3 cuts made in a row! Yay! Can't be happier... wait... I could be. If I could only hit more fairways and greens! Yesterday, I was only able hit 6 fairways and today... only 4!!! For tomorrow's round, I've decided to switch back to the older driver. Perhaps it will produce better results. Wait... not perhaps... IT WILL! Need to keep it on the short stuff. The rough is thick out here!

Attempt at US Women's Open local qualifier

One of the sites for the US Women's Open local qualifier was recently held at one of our home courses here in Kingwood - Forest Course. We figured it would be an advantage to come home and play here, but the course was set up at almost 6800 yards! It definitely played different... and long obviously. Yesterday, I saw parts of the golf course that I've never seen before. And I guess it probably would have helped if I didn't put my ball into the water not once but TWICE! Oh well,... guess it's not meant to be this year (again). It's my 3rd attempt at the US Women's Open qualifiers. I was able to advance to the sectional qualifier in 2005 and 2006.

If anything, I suppose the long setup will prepare me for this week in Kansas city. And I'll need to keep it on the short stuff this week. Let's just say the rough in KS is VERY HEALTHY!

Flowers... for me?!??

I arrived at Bush Intercontinental airport yesterday evening and Bob greeted me at the baggage claim area. Well, actually, I had to wait for him because he was at the wrong terminal! Anyhow, he showed up with FLOWERS! For the first time ever... Bob actually bought me flowers!!! So of course, my first reaction was.... Ok, what did you do wrong? What did you break? What did you buy? The thoughts were just endless!

Back in the house, everything looks fine. The plants are all still alive. The garden is healthy. The gecko did lose his straw hat. Hmm... I wonder who took it. Either the birds have it as part of their nest or a squirrel is running around with it showing it off to his buddies. Now THAT would be quite a sight!

Rain, rain,... Go away!

Started out of Dallas this morning, heading towards Kansas City... and it basically just rained ALL day long. So I finally got tired of the rain... and tired of only being able to drive at 55-60mph... so I decided to stop over in this little town called Blackwell, OK. The city only has a total area of 5.5 square miles, with the population of 7,800.

As I'm checking into the hotel here, the local tv news is on - reporting on possible tornadoes touching down and strong winds in Oklahoma county. Yikes! And I was there just a couple of hours ago! The hotel attendant then proceeds to tell me that if the sirens go off tonight, just come down to the lobby with a blanket. And use the stairs, not the elevators. Grrrreeeaaat...! I suppose I can't forget my passport either!

On my way through Kansas City today, I decided to stop by in Shawnee, OK to see a friend that also plays on the FUTURES Tour. Stephanie's grandfather passed away last sunday and the service was at 2pm in Shawnee, OK - about 1/2 hour away from OK city. Ben Dee Curtis was 86 years old. Included in the program was this poem, which hit near to my heart...

-- To Those I Love --

When I am gone, release me, let me go,
I have so many things to see and do.
You mustn't tie yourself to me with tear,
Be happy that we had so many years.

I gave you my love, you can only guess,
How much you gave to me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you each have shown,
But now it's time I traveled on alone.

So grieve awhile for me if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It's only for awhile that we must part,
So bless the memories within your heart.

I won't be far away, for life goes on,
So if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can't see or touch me, I'll be near,
And if you listen to your heart, you'll hear.
All of my love around you soft and clear,
And then, when you must come this way alone,
I'll greet you with a smile, and "Welcome Home."

Get me out of this bunker!!!

So it took me 3 shots to come out of this greenside bunker on #8. I quit my swing on the first shot, so the ball did not travel very far. REMEMBER - ALWAYS FOLLOW-THROUGH on your bunker shots! Anyway, the ball ended up falling straight back into the sand divot, or should I say "crater" that I had first created. So I hit it again... and this time it got a little bit further but the ball still caught the slope and trickled back into the bunker. And of course... back into the now bigger and deeper crater! Just my luck! So by now, all I want to do is GET IT OUT!... which I finally did on the 3rd try. The ball rolled about 30 feet pass the pin and then I proceeded to 2-putted for a 7. OUCH! This was a rather painful lesson.
I suppose I will still have to look at things on the positive side. I did have 2 good days and if not for the triple bogey today, it would still have been a decent day. I am $567 better off than what I started with so perhaps I could think about either fixing the transmission or the struts of my car :-)