Had a nice morning at the driving range (that's golf) with Dad. On my way home, I called J.T. to see what he was up to. He said he'd been "puttering around". (That's his way of saying he's just been doing stuff around the house). I replied - hey, I've been puttering too! Dad bought me a putter! *smile* First I got a putting lesson, then we checked out the clubs. Took 20 minutes or so to pick one. The selection is crazy! They make it hard to choose! First the lady started me out with a Frankenstein club that adjusted at the length and neck. This got us the right length. Then I putted with one after the other until I found "the one". Then she gives me Frank again and gets a measurement for the neck angle. She puts my poor club in a torture rack, cranks it down, then bends it. Ouch! But, the result is my very first, custom fit club. Pretty exciting. I have 30 days to find out if it's truly "the one".
Off to the side, Dad was chatting with another patron and I heard him say something important. He said I'm getting to the point where the club actually matters. Sounds like new clubs are totally justified. *grin* I'm buying a pitching wedge next, and predict I'll have a new set of irons before the summer is over.
The day was not all good. It started out bad in fact. At the Starbuck's drivethru, I was informed the "Toffee Nut Latte" is seasonal and won't be back until maybe winter. And that's all I go there for! A sad day indeed.
posted by hbt at 6:37 PM
Babies everywhere!!!
Last week was baby shower week. Thursday my good friend from work had her work-baby shower. Tons of fun, and she made out with tons of loot. It was fun going to Babies R Us with lots of dinero on behalf of the team. Her brother and I couldn't believe all the cool gadgets. Remote control swings??? Awesome! Then Saturday, another shower a couple hours south of here. A friend from college that moved away to live a double life: commute to Sun as an engineer, and live on the farm to help run the family cattle ranch. Talk about two lives. They've been married over 2 years now and are expecting in ~7 weeks, though by the size of things, it will likely be sooner. At least Kelly hopes so... Aside from the tent (sole shade provider) ripping in the wind and coming down, the shower was lovely. Nice day, nice home and yard, cute kittens everywhere (wild ranch kitties). And it was nice to see them again. We only see them at events anymore (weddings, showers and funerals). We talked about visiting each other more often, maybe before the baby comes. We shall see - hope so.
Eric carpooled with us, or rather we carpooled with him since he drove. His wife was throwing her sister's baby shower (her other sister is ALSO pregnant, both due at the same time!) I tell ya, day for showers.
Then back home to yet another baby shower. This was for the same work friend, only the non-work version. Fun stuff, great food. I mean yumm-y. Blackberry BBQ ribs, Frank's RedHot BBQ'd wings, grilled veggies, spicy pasta salad with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella - and chocolate rum cake for dessert. Her single, young brother brought over his personal food processor - any girl will be lucky to catch this guy with such culinary skills. J.T. had seconds of the ribs, and the cake. A true compliment to the cooks, most work being done by her brother. Unlike the traditional baby shower, no games. Just good food, conversation, and watching our basketball team lose. That part was not fun.
There was a gal there at the shower that looked so darn familiar. She has unexpected, deep set blue eyes that require a double take, so I figured it was her exotic looks. But there was something...
I never asked or figured it out. By the end of the night it was my friend, her hubby, her brother, sister & boyfriend, and us. Somehow this familiar gal came up and I said I'd seen her before, maybe at one of their gatherings. She'd only been dating their friend for 6 months, so that wasn't likely. Her hubby mentioned she did electrolysis for a living. After a few moments the light bulb went off. I had been a client!!! Oh man did I start laughing. And J.T. then says what everyone is thinking - "she did your bikini line, right?" I'd say utter embarrassment if it wasn't so comical. The next 5 minutes was funny comment after funny comment. I was relieved I didn't realize who she was before. What do you say next? "Remember me? You saw me in my underwear and ripped the hair off my bikini line before my wedding!" Well anyway, she was a sweet, sweet girl, and gentle. And even a little nervous about my wedding a week away - she wanted to do a good job. Got to respect professionalism.
posted by hbt at 10:12 AM
I joined my company's golf league. What am I, crazy?
No.
My theory was, if I forced myself to play, I'd get over this fear of playing with strangers. Any time I get paired up with a couple of strangers, I get nervous and play terrible, which makes me more nervous. It's a spiraling problem. There's so much unsaid pressure to "keep up"! And we always get a warning from the golf ranger to pick up the pace. How can I pick up the pace when I keep hitting from out of the trees??!!
So I've played twice now with the league, minus the 36 holes I had to play on my own to establish a handicap (which is incredibly high - 29). The first time I played, I didn't do so well. Sometimes I can really knock the heck out of the ball, and it feels good. Last time all I did was hit the top of the ball, walk 20 yards, hit the top of the ball, walk 20 yards... After 9 strokes you have to pick up the ball and record a "X-10", which in short means you suck. I had to do that three times. Believe me, after 9 strokes you want to pick up the ball - you want it to be over. But the weather was perfect and the course was nice, so my mood wasn't 00% spoiled.
Last week, we played again. I was much more relaxed this time. I didn't get "my swing" back, but there was some resemblance. I had a pretty nice game. 1 over par (with my handicap of course!) And I beat the other guy on 6 of 9 holes, allowing my team to win by 1! Hey, I'm cool! The three memorable moments...
1) The big pompous grass bush, standing in the middle of the fairway all by itself,
ate my ball, costing me TWO strokes. I got an X-10 on that hole...
2) At tee off, I accidentally tapped my ball off the tee. Without picking my head up, the guys on the side said "that's one!" See - anytime you touch the ball, intentional or not, it's a stroke. *sigh* AND you play the ball where it lies. I didn't tee it up again.
3) I had a classic sand trap moment where I felt like sport Goofy. A wonderful hit followed up by a sand storm. One whiff, one hit to the other side of the trap, one hit into the lip, and finally, the last hit popping it out on the ledge - 4 strokes later... Ugh.
We played at a golf course in a (rich) retirement community. In fact, the same community where J.T. and I got married. I love living so close to the site. It's sentimental. I quickly reminisce seeing our little rose garden, where I could hardly get any words out for fear of crying. Anyway, like I said, rich. The signs along the road say "this is a golf cart community". They aren't kidding! I parked and noticed a whole line of personally owned golf carts - all nicer than my car! Oh, to retire and drive around in your own golf cart. Now that's a goal in life!
posted by hbt at 9:02 AM
Showing Mom how to do a link.
My band.
posted by hbt at 4:18 PM
