The Alamo

Had a chance to go see the Alamo this morning. I've heard of it before but never really knew what it was about, so it was good that I had a chance to check it out this morning. It basically started out as a missionary in 1724 where the Spaniards and their Native Indian converts would live. Then in the 1800s, the Alamo became a major site of the Texas Revolution. Davy Crockett was one of the frontiersman/soldier involved in the siege against the Mexican army.

There's also this HUGE live oak tree at the Alamo. I believe it's about 120+ years old!
I then checked out the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio. It's pretty neat. There's a river that runs through town and you can walk along the river. There are tons of restaurants and you can also get on one of the tour boats. I wonder how many people have fallen into the water, since there isn't much fencing along the walkway!

Historic Brownsville Open

What a week! I shot 73 (2-over) the first day and on the second day, I shot 2-under and was tied for second place! I ended up playing in the final group on Sunday!!! I think I had a perma-smile when I was going to bed because I was so happy and excited!
On Sunday, I started out 3 shots back from the leader. By the 9th hole, I was only 1 shot away! But then, after a poor chip on hole #10, I was back to 2 shots away and then, by the #11th hole... I was 4 shots away! Yup, I made a double-bogey on the 11th. Not the best time to three putt! The wind was blowing really hard all day long and it was really difficult to putt! I NEED to figure this out eventually! Perhaps we'll have to rent one of these giant fans back in Tulsa!
Well, none of us in the group played well on Sunday. The leader shot 76 (5-over). I shot 78 and the other girl shot 80. Luckily the leader started out the day with a 3-shot cushion so she still won the event by one shot. I, on the other hand, dropped from 2nd to tied for 12th. All in all, it was still a good week. I had 2 bunkers shots to play on #17 and #18. I'm glad that I didn't send the ball flying over the green into the gallery as they were rather long bunker shots. So, I'm happy with the little successes :-) And oh, my picture ended up in the local papers today - on the front page... and in color! The winner had her picture on the second page, in black and white!
On a side note, my cucumber is doing well! I did have both of the seedlings sprout, but one of them went limp earlier in the week, so I pinched off the leaves. Don't think I was suppose to do that, but obviously it's too late now. The other one is still doing great, thankfully. One more week before I can put it in a bigger pot at home! And speaking of pot, I was really tempted to buy another planter today! Looked like they had some nice mexican ones along the Highway 77 today. But I already have a pot in the backseat of my car. Yeah... I just couldn't help it. I bought a heavy square one when I was in Lafayette. I think it did the trick though of holding my car down during the windy drive today! ;-)

Rancho Viejo, TX!

So the past few days here in Rancho Viejo has been nice and sunny, compared to all that rain last week! It's been rather breezy and based on the forecast, the wind is going to gust up to 40mph this weekend!
There are two golf courses here and we are playing on the El Diablo course, as you can tell from the hole markers :-)
My housing this week was really excited when they found out that I'm from Malaysia. They asked me exactly where I'm from and I told them - from the Borneo island. Mr. Lindeman was really excited and told me that he was in the Navy during WWII on the USS Cofer. They traveled to Borneo - participating in minesweeping as well as rescuing survivors. The USS Cofer received 8 battle stars for WWII services. How awesome is that!

Off to Brownsville, TX!

Well, looks like we're off to Brownsville next week... with less money in the pocket, despite the hole-in-one! That is just not right!! And no new car either! :-p
Anyhow, it will be a new golf course for everyone in Brownsville, so perhaps that might be a good thing. We'll have to build up some good memories from now on :-)
On my way out here last week, I did drive by Paris. No... not Paris, France but Paris, Texas! Who knows where else I'll be driving by later tomorrow.
And yup, my cucumber plant is coming with me! :-)

Hole-in-one!

YES! First hole-in-one during tournament play. It was on my second last hole - the 8th. 190 yards... I hit a 5-wood, wind blowing from left to right and the pin was tucked on the back right corner of the green. I hit a little stinger and it hit the fringe on the right, took a bounce or two and trickled into the hole!!! :-)
Not sure if it will help me make the cut this week. We'll have to wait and see since there was a 2-hour rain delay today. The afternoon wave of golfers will have to finish their rounds tomorrow. There is suppose to be a severe thunderstorm later this afternoon.
Yay!! Yay me! ;-)

Lafayette, Lousiana!

Arrived this past Tuesday afternoon and I've been sleeping in a lot. It's like I'm catching up on my sleep when I'm on the road. Haha! Thankfully, I have a really late tee-time on Friday - 2:30pm... the last one out. I was complaining about it at first and then a friend of mine said,... "well, just imagine you're leading the tournament!" So, that's the mindset I'm going to have on Friday. Last one out, leading the tournament :-) Weather forecast doesn't look very good, so hopefully we'll get to finish all 3 rounds by Sunday.

Bad Dream...

I can't remember too much of it, but from what I recall, it was pretty bad...
So, I'm at a golf tournament and my tee-time is at 10:40am. (Yes, can you tell where this is going???) I figured I better check my starting time, just in case. When I get to the lady with the tee-sheet, she tells me that my tee-time is at 9:40am. And of course, what is the time now? It's 9:45am! The lady asked me where I have been and that they have been calling my name through the intercom. Of course, it is as soft as it can be. So I rush to the tee box with my golf bag and I'm asking around to see if I can still go. They say yes. I put my bag down and whaddaya know... there are only about half a dozen clubs in my bag, most of them wedges! Obviously, I am quite frazzled by now. I declared to the officials that I can't play since I don't have all my clubs. I pick up my bag and go back to my room. On the way back to my room, I'm frantically trying to think what to do now - should I drive back to Tulsa? But that's a really long drive home. Should I just stay here the rest of the week? Or should I call my housing in Brownsville and tell them I'm arriving early? ARGHHH! And of course, in any dream, it's a maze to get back to my room. My clothes and other stuff that I have with me on my trip are all over the place, in different rooms. YIKES! And finally... I wake up, and thankfully it's just a dream? Or is it...?
Currently, I have about 7 wedges in my golf bag. I have one travel bag upstairs in the bathroom while I have my luggage downstairs on the kitchen floor. The new drapes for the bedroom are laying on the floor. The yard is overgrown with yellow flowers, i.e. weeds. I'm frantically thinking about what task to do next in the house. And I have house-guests coming over for dinner tonight. YIKES!!!
The only things I haven't done so far is miss my tee-time. Well, at least not on the Futures Tour. I did miss my tee-time once when I was playing in a mini-tour in Phoenix. Long story. And yes, that's an automatic 2-stroke penalty! (assuming you do have all your clubs and you are ready to play) :-s

Home sweet home!

It's good to be home again! Except it will only be for a short while. Yesterday's 10-hour drive was brutal - constantly fighting the wind. My arms were really tired by the end of the day!
During the drive home, there was a huge smoke cloud! At first I thought it was a bad storm cloud. I couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from and there wasn't quite a smokey smell either. Kinda weird...
My car reached a huge milestone yesterday - 200,000 miles! And of course, not too long after that, the on/off light for my cruise control went out. I suppose it could have been worse. At least the cruise control still functions.
Last week, I stayed with a new housing host in Daytona Beach. They didn't have the conventional dog or cat as a pet. Instead, they had a bird, some snakes, geckos, turtles and fish. I got a chance to watch feeding-time!
As for my tomato plant, it is growing really well! It is doing a lot better than the ones that sprouted at home. It's amazing how the amount of sunshine and warmth can affect the growth of the tomato plants. And oh, to my surprise, the second seed in the pot sprouted too! I figured the seed would have been lost since I did spill the pot more than once.

Daytona Beach

I don't get it. Everything was going so well during my practice rounds... and then, come tournament day, I end up with a "snowman" or an "8" on a hole and being in places that I've never been before. Grrr...! Sometimes I think I tire myself too much after all that practice earlier in the week. But Bobby always thinks that I don't practice enough!
Well, driving back to Tulsa tomorrow. Can't wait to see the house again on Monday night (yes, and to see my honey too :-) . I'll also have to re-remember all the different/confusing light switches again.

The week off

The week off started out by visiting a good friend, Ceci - who just came back from Norway for the winter. I was really glad that she had returned to Orlando because I wasn't sure what I would have done or where I would have stayed during my week off. We played a couple rounds of golf and I was able to earn myself a Haagen Dazs milkshake one day and strawberry shortcake for dessert the next. YUM! No wonder I'm putting on weight in the wrong areas!
Then, it was off to New Jersey for the weekend. It was Bob's mom's birthday. I was really struggling to figure out what to get for her birthday. So I was extremely happy when she really liked her new jewelry box!
The flight back to Orlando from Newark, on the other hand... not so happy. The flight was scheduled to leave at 6:10pm. We left the gate and proceeded to just wait on the tarmac for another 2 hours! But I guess I shouldn't complain because Bob's flight was delayed for a lot longer than mine! He did get to watch Tiger win yet another tournament on TV though!
Now it's back to business. Playing in Daytona this week. Although, hmm... I guess not quite all down to business yet. My housing host took me to an old theater tonight to watch a movie. The Athens Theater was built in 1922 and they play classic movies, independent films and occasionally foreign films as well. My housing host mentioned that it was going to be a Russian movie tonight, but it's actually a movie that's based in Russia. It did start out with people speaking Russian and with subtitles too, but then everyone started speaking English after that! Anyhow, I thought it was a pretty good movie. It was called Transsiberian.
And oh! Did I mention that I'm trying to grow another tomato plant! Yes... little Elvis is finally sprouting! I put a couple tomato seeds into a little pot and then into a cup, so I can put it in my cup holder. And 2 weeks later, whaddaya know! It's sprouting! I'll probably put it into the big pot when I get back into Tulsa. Bob mentioned that the seedling at home is sprouting too. I didn't think it was going to which is why I started out on this new quest. And so far, it's been a messy one. I had to go digging for Elvis in my car today. Thankfully after replanting from the mishap, I was able to find a carwash where the guy let me us their vacuum for free! :-)

199,000 Miles!

Yet another milestone for my little car... 199,000 miles! Eventually it will need professional detailing - a fancy wash and a nice wax. Will need to make a few more cuts for that!

Pantene Beautiful Lengths

It's a GO! During the week of the Duramed Championship event in Mason, Ohio... the tournament officials have agreed to assist me in hosting a hair donation charity event!
June 19th will mark the 2nd anniversary since my mom had lost her battle to cancer. Since her passing, I had already donated my hair once to Locks of Love, which provides wigs to children under the age of 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. Pantene Beautiful Lengths, on the other hand, will provide wigs to women who have lost their hair to cancer treatment.
Did you know that it takes 6 ponytails to make 1 wig??? What are you waiting for? Grow out that hair and meet me in Mason, Ohio later this summer (week of June 15th)! By the way, this event is open to men as well :-)
Here are the requirements:

• Donated hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long (measure hair from just above the elastic band of the ponytail to the ends).
• Wavy/curly hair texture is fine—you may straighten hair to measure.
• Hair should be freshly washed and completely dry, without any styling products.
• Hair may be colored with vegetable dyes, rinses and semi-permanent dyes. It cannot be bleached, permanently colored or chemically treated.
• Hair may not be more than 5 percent gray.

Made the first cut of the season!

Yay! Yay me! And I made a birdie putt on the last hole to make the cut on the dot! It was one of those Tiger moments, when the golf ball was just sort of leaning over the hole, but thankfully the wind and grain was able to give that ball one more little nudge! Bob said that I made a $500 putt, which is absolutely true! Hopefully someday, it would be a $500,000 putt instead! :-)
I hope our volunteer cart driver is feeling better. He started throwing up by a tree on the 4th hole and unfortunately, all of us girls saw him doing it. He was persistent about continuing on, but finally on the 11th hole, he was replaced by another volunteer. I shook his hand to thank him for helping us out that far. The other two girls were afraid to make any contact with him. Hmm... it made me think twice after. Oh well...
In other news... a bee landed on my wrist band and was crawling on my arm while I was on the 18th fairway. Come to think of it now, I'm glad it didn't sting me. Maybe I wouldn't have been able to make my birdie putt then! Plus, I was already stung by one last season in New Hampshire, when I sat on a bee at the scoring tent. Talk about ouch!

Let the season begin!

The Duramed Futures Tour is back in full swing. Today's event started at 2:25pm for me - the 2nd to last group. I got to sleep in again, which was really nice :-)
But I guess I was still out of it today... out of competitive playing that is. Walking up to my ball on the 1st fairway, I finally realized that I had forgotten to pick up my pin sheet for the day! Silly me! Thankfully my other playing partner was nice enough to share hers for the first 2 holes. I was able to have the volunteer cart driver pick one up for me before the 3rd hole, as the second hole came back towards the clubhouse. Won't be forgetting my pin sheet the rest of the season now!
Shot 75 today... not too shabby for not playing competitively all winter long. Will have to do better tomorrow, since I didn't win the lottery today! Darn!

Dog update

Ok... the dog's fine now. Phew!!!

On the way to the golf course today, I saw this sign:
Kenneth Brokenburr - 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist 4 x 100 Relay. That's pretty cool. I'll have to wait until golf becomes an Olympic sport :-)

Dog and Dental floss

Yes... my housing host's dog ate my dental floss. They were trying to figure out why little Tige wasn't feeling so well today. So, I decided to check the trash bin in the bathroom and yup, no dental floss. Tige had a near-death experience during the last holiday season when he chewed on some electrical wire. Hopefully this won't be another trip to the ER! We'll just have to wait and hope that the floss will come out the other end. Will keep you posted these next couple of days...

Made it!

Finally made it to Florida today! After 14+ hours of driving yesterday, I was not ready to drive again today. But I'm glad I was able to get pass Atlanta last night. I was watching the news this morning and traffic was bad and the rain did not help either.
I'm all moved into my housing for the week. Time to get back to the golf! Wish me luck! :-)

The first night and first meal...

Last night was our first night at our new house. I was so tired from the move that I slept like a baby!!! Unfortunately, I will only get one more night at the house tonight. I'll be leaving for Florida to start my golf season on the Futures Tour. I'm really excited to start playing again!
As for our first meal of the house, well... Bob actually fed me all day today. In the morning, he made coffee. Then, by noon, he made chicken salad sandwiches. By tea-time, we had some leftover meatballs with french bread. And by dinner time, he made chicken and mushroom pasta! The pasta was out of a box but it actually tasted like real food! Guess I'll know what my honey is going to eat while I'm gone! :-)

The Move

The move is finally over... Yay! Unfortunately, we did get a ding on our bed frame when the movers were trying to set the dresser in the bedroom. There are also scratches above the ding, which reminds me about the new scratch on the hardwood floors, right at the very front door! I think it probably happened when they were bringing in the fridge. I was just at Lowe's and we will most likely be able to fix them, but it's just a matter of how well. Talk about a frequent traveler to Lowe's. One of the guys said "You're back!" when he saw me. :-s
This home move also entailed a baby cut on my pinky (p.s. aluminium dryer vents are very sharp!) and tripping over the lawn mower and falling on your butt. Yes... I will be sore tomorrow. And the flight of stairs in the new house doesn't help either!

Day 10 & 11...

I didn't get to blog yesterday because we had to unhook the internet. The cable guy was suppose to show up yesterday but I guess there was a confusion with the date, but anyhow, we're back and running at the new place now! We had to unhook the tv cable too, which meant... no tv, no internet,.. so what do we do??? We ended up going to IHOP! I really wanted a strawberry milkshake and can you believe it... they stopped serving milkshakes 6 months ago! Although the new dessert - Crispy banana caramel cheesecake (with ice cream of course) was yummy!!! So it was not all a lose :-)
The carpet was finally installed today and it looks great! And speaking of today, it snowed! Can you believe that? It was over 70F on Sunday and now it's barely over 40F, with sleet and snow! I hope the plants and trees don't freeze. And speaking of trees, there's a tree in our front yard in full bloom with little white flowers. Bob says that it's dogwood. It's tough to believe him because he says it's a Dogwood for every other tree. I'm going to have to do some research on this one. Oh! And look! No more piles of carpet on the front porch! The guy that did the hardwood floors said that he would dispose of it for an extra $25 bucks. And yup, we didn't even think twice about spending that money! I'm just glad I didn't have to care take of that!
The movers are coming tomorrow to move the big furniture. We'll be able to sleep in the new house tomorrow! Yay! :-)