Only I Do the Things I Do...

I was really proud of my recent purchase for my caddy. He looks like a fan!

113th to 45th to 14th. That’s how I played in this past week’s tournament in Syracuse, NY. Who in the world does such a thing? Talk about putting yourself in a MAJOR hole. I had my caddy Paulie worried. He won’t admit it but I could tell he was one frustrated “parent” with his child at dinner following my awesome performance in the first round.

I was struggling with my swing early on in the week and had no clue how to control my golf ball. I was praying for a miracle that all I needed was to go to bed and wake up with a new golf swing. It didn’t work but thankfully I made it through my first 10 holes in even par. #11 decided to hate on me and gave me a triple to really set the tone for the back 9 of the first round. I finished my final 8 holes in 7 over par. There was a pond to the left of 18 green and I thought about chunking my ball in it after I putted out. Instead, I saw a nice little grandma sitting in her wheelchair watching us come in so I walked over to her and said “I thought about throwing this in the water but instead I’m going to give it to you. Thanks so much for coming out and supporting us.” She was thrilled and so was I…to be done with that round.


#11

Paulie and I escaped to a Mexican restaurant and I decided to have a strawberry margarita because I needed something good in my life that day. I’m a bit superstitious…when I was in Denver in June for the Colorado Open I had an awful round and decided to have an adult beverage or two and the next day went out and shot 66. That was my thinking after Friday’s performance, what could be worse than sitting in 113th? The next morning, Paulie and I went out and shot 3 under to put us in 45th and playing on Sunday! It wasn’t a perfect round but clutch coming down the stretch. I made the putt of my life on my 17th hole because I knew I needed to get it back to four over par in order to know for sure that I was going to make the cut. It turned out that I didn’t need to make the putt but it felt good to know that I did it. I stood over that putt and never prayed so hard in my life. I actually pray A LOT over putts. It’s not a swing thought so I figure it’s a good place for your mind to go during the process.



I teed off bright and early Sunday morning off the 10th hole for the final round. I got off to a steady start with a lot of pars and found 3 birdies in a row on 16, 17 and 18. The back nine is really goofy so getting through there at even par is a great goal. The first round I was 7 over on it, second round 1 under and final round 3 under. Much better. The front nine has two back to back par 5s that are reachable in two so those are legit birdies if not better. Sunday was my best opportunity for birdies being just short of the green in two but walked away with two pars. I was not a happy camper. Paulie and I got to the third hole, which has one of the goofiest greens on the course. I was looking at a 20 footer and read it the complete opposite way that Paulie did. I trusted him and hit it the way he wanted me to. It went in. I looked to him and yelled “you suck!” That’s how we work. It's a love/hate relationship. That was a gift from him because that was not a birdie putt. He probably had a few cuss words for me which makes me laugh and gets me going. I could now forgive myself a little for the two par 5s that I played in even par. I found my one and only bogey on the 4th hole but got it right back by almost holing the 5th par 3. I had a few more opportunities for birdie coming in but finished the day at four under and the tournament at even par. I was really fighting for one more birdie because I thought that would be great to be 7 over at one point in the tournament and coming back to finish under par but getting it back to even was pretty good I guess.


25 yard elevation...not an easy par 3 but birdied it the final 2 rds!

Enough about golf, more about what we did off the course! Syracuse is a cute town with some nice suburbs. We stayed in Fayetteville, NY with the best host housing! They had a big family with a full house of other relatives, friends, and pets. The place had its own golf simulator room, ping pong table, movie theater, hot tub, and every sport equipment you could think of. My heaven. Lucy and I played about 100 games of ping pong during the week. I won a total of 4 games and gave it my all. I’m not a bad ping pong player!!! That’s the thing. I consider myself decent to good. She’s just really really good. It’s a secret talent of hers and I really dislike her for it. It was a blast though and I found my love for the game all over again. We conquered the left-handed golf swing during the week. I’ve always said that I wanted to get good at left-handed golf but now I really think I can get it down, I just need a set of clubs. Also, what was most exciting is that I learned how to play lacrosse. In my 23 years of living, I’ve never touched a lacrosse stick (or whatever you call it.) I learned that if you are good at lacrosse, you come from Syracuse. It was a lot of fun but I only have one speed at throwing it and I’d like to compare it to the movie Rookie of the Year when the kid breaks his arm. I was zipping it to Lucy and she didn’t appreciate running down the street to retrieve the ball…my bad Lou! We are planning on buying some sticks in the next town to use during any free time we have. I’m bringing the sport down to Oklahoma!


My first time at Lacrosse


Where we spent most of our downtime


I couldn't decide which sport I wanted to play.


We drove around forever so we could jump the fence to get a picture with the bear.

We saw Salt and Dinner With Schmucks. Don’t waste your money on Salt but I thought Dinner With Schmucks was hilarious! We ate at the famous Dinosaurs BBQ in downtown Syracuse so I could get my weekly ribs. It was delish! I was able to get on the Aric Lee Show on ESPN Radio last Wednesday night. My caddy is a good friend of his and they claim I get to be on weekly now. Everyone should tune in! ESPN is a dream place for me to work so anything to do with it, I’m all for it. I only had one major "uh oh" during the week at the house and that was yesterday. I was going to use the family’s big TV to show Lucy some videos from my camera. The plugs weren’t working and the TV had a slot for my Sony memory stick. I stuck it in there but it was too small for the opening. CRAPPPPPPP!!!! I used tweezers, my own mouth, a cuticle utensil, and a return address sticker to get the dang thing out. Don't ask. It was a miracle. Lucy watched me from afar for cheap entertainment and came to the conclusion that I shouldn’t stick my things in places it doesn’t belong. …that’s what she said.


My enemy...but I outsmarted it!


I'm a happy girl


The host family's dog Ashley! This was her every morning.


Lucy loved this cat and the cat loved her...can you tell?

We are currently on the way to Philadelphia to run the steps of Rocky and see the Liberty Bell. I want to visit this cute market place and then we will head over to Harrisburg, PA for the week. I’m crashing at Lucy’s host housing for two nights then Mama Dye is flying in for this tournament and the next. I can't wait to have my mom back out here with me! I have my aunt coming to watch as well as my high school teammate Rosie. I’m excited to see some long lost faces. Kris Allen (my husband in my next life) is coming to Hershey, PA Friday night with Daughtry so I’m planning on stalking him to score some free tickets. It’s been in my planner for many months…I gotta see him!

Hope everyone is enjoying their last few weeks of summer. I get sad thinking that I have missed my entire summer in Oklahoma but I can’t be too selfish, all I know is summer and nice weather all year round.

On to the next one!!!


I found this hilarious...people who know me will understand

What I’m Reading: Eat Pray Love
What I’m Listening to: A little bit of everything right now!