43 37 80

No, these aren't my measurements - golf score from today.

I played horrible on the front 9 this afternoon. I even told Wade that he is my kryptonite....that his presence alone nullifies my golf powers. It's true. Look it up. I blasted my way to a woeful 43 on the front nine. At the turn, I thought about stopping and just going home....or going to range and making myself hit golf balls until my hands bled. I opted to finish the round instead.

I got it going on the back 9 and shot a 1 over 37. My only bogey was when I three-jacked #14 - the easiest hole on the course. Figures. It was a steam bath out there today but the cloud cover was nice and we didn't have the sun beating down on us like usual.

I'm having trouble with my putting. Since I switched to putting left-handed, my short putts are fine, but I struggle with my lag putts. I'm close to going back to putting right-handed. Flip-flopping can't be good and putting is a seriously vital part of anyone's golf game.

My mom came over tonight for dinner and pinochle. We LOVE playing cards and pinochle in particular. Our running score for playing cutthroat was 8 for mom, 8 for Janae and 6 for me. By the end of the night, we were all tied at 8. I had won both of the games we played. All in all, it was a good victorious day. I HATE to lose at anything.

I plan on playing the next 2 days, and then take a break on Sunday. I'll get after it again next week hard. I like playing in the afternoon when it nice and hot. My joints don't ache so much with the heat - or maybe it's all the vitamin D I have been taking? I'm out in the sun pretty much every day, and my bloodwork came back last week saying I was deficient in D....strange. Another pill for me to take. I could actually use a spreadsheet to figure out all the stuff I have to take each day. Doc Eells has me taking niacin to lower my cholesterol....this is after the red yeast rice didn't work. I did drop 3 points though....plus I stopped eating french fries on Tuesdays.

As always, I'm looking forward to Oceanside later this month. It will be different this year - Jake is in Ecuador and I will miss his energy, his sense of humor, and our tossing the football together. On the other hand, we will have Alec back at the beach after missing the past 2 summers serving a mission in Peru. He will be there with his lovely wife Tiffany and we're excited that our family has grown by 1 new member. We will miss Amy, AJ, Justin, and the rest of the crew this year but extend an open invite if you feel like coming down for a day, or the entire week. You are always welcome.

I'm debating on how many days to play golf down there...I'm thinking at least 2, 3 at the most. It's always so hectic down there and to drive anywhere, you fight traffic all the time. I prefer to settle in, grab a diet pepsi, lather on the #4 sunscreen (Coppertone - just like when I was a kid, plus it smells great), grab a couple of books, and hang out on the beach. I dig the beach but the water is another story. The Pacific Ocean is fickle. Sure it's ocean, and it's summer....but that doesn't mean a whole lot. The water is usually green and occasionaly root beer colored. Underwater, you can't see an inch in front of your face. Plus the water is so cold, all the guys have to turn sideways to enter the surf and hold our breath until a wave hits our bits and pieces. It's excrutiating for me. I'd much rather go to Hawaii, the Gulf of Mexico, the Sea of Cortez or the Caribbean Sea...even the Atlantic is warmer! I think perhaps the Black Sea and the North Sea are colder this time of year, but that's about it.

Going to read now.