A colleague and I have decided there should be significant research on why we are better at golf after approximately two beers.  Not one beer or three beers, but exactly two beers.  One beer just doesn’t seem to make a difference.  Three beers (or more) and our game starts to decline and then continue on into the sloppy stage after more beer is consumed.  For example, a few years ago I went golfing (and beer drinking) with some friends.  I consumed two beers and hit my ball perfectly on the green with my 7 wood on a par 3 hole.  One putt and the ball went to his home.  Thinking I could continue my great game of golf, I thought I should keep drinking the ice cold beer I had stashed in my cheap nylon golf bag.  The next thing I remember doing was baseball slides into the weeds with my buddies so we could relieve ourselves without hiking it back to the clubhouse.  My excellent game of golf became a distant memory but the beer drinking was inspiring. 

Branson golf
    

My husband and I were shopping for safety cutters one day when as we looked at the stock on the shelves a neighboring shopper walked up and stood right behind us.  He was maybe only an inch or two from our backs and insisted he look at the exact same shelf we were looking at.  We both turned around and gave the guy a dirty look in an effort to send a message that we wanted him out of our personal space.  Unfortunately for him he didn’t get the message and got words from my husband instead. 

 ”I can’t look at this stuff with this guy standing right up my ass,”  My husband said.

The rude shopper scampered off.  At first I was shocked that my husband actually said that out loud but then it was the funniest thing because I never saw someone run away from us that quickly.  We are harmless really, just don’t stand up our ass when we’re trying to shop.      

I could sit here and rant all day about how the price of a gallon of gas was only $1.46 a gallon when president Bush took office but, I won’t.  What’s the use anyways?  Instead I will dream about all the trips I plan to take since I will not allow the high gas prices to keep me home.  If you are a traveler then you know how important it is to escape your surroundings sometimes.  You just gotta get away and explore so you can escape the daily grind every once in awhile.  One of my biggest dreams is to visit all the National Parks in the U.S.  Okay you can add Hawaii, California, Maine, Vermont, and maybe even Branson Missouri even though I’m not a huge fan of country music.     

I love the new show on E! called Pop Fiction where celebrities play practical jokes on the media.  The obsession with the train wreck lives of Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, and the Olsen twins is just way out of hand.  I know it seems like every other day one them is back in drug treatment but somehow we need to stop the media feeding frenzy.  Why?  Half of the smut in the magazines isn’t true and published merely to make money.  I guess some believe that exploitation is the price of fame but I think celebrities are still just human beings like you and me no matter how rich they are.  Really, they are just people.  Why do we worship them?   

So what makes a great marriage really?  It’s truly so much more than just being in love and doing more than just getting through everyday life together.  It’s so easy to get caught up in responsibility and forget about just having fun with each other.  Things like the checking account balance, life insurance quotes, and what we’re having for supper can get in the way of spontaneity.  Any relationship requires cultivation, patience, and not just throwing in the towel when things get tough.  I think so many are giving up too quickly and taking the easy way out by just getting divorced.  I don’t remember anyone ever saying that marriage or life in general would be easy.  My husband and I have been through many hard times that would have split even the strongest of marriages.  We ultimately decided it was better to face the hardships of life together.  We make a better team standing by each other than by being divided or against one another.     

Today I prayed that I wouldn’t lose sight of how great my life is.  I got to spend some quality time with my 10 year old nephew playing ping pong, pool, and seeing the new movie Horton Hear’s a Who.  Which by the way was a hilarious movie, definitely a must see.  I know that I wish I could vacation more and spend money on the house but really I can’t complain about my life so far.  So I can’t afford a $13,000  IWC wrist watch, a mercedez benz, or designer jeans but who cares anyway when I have such a great family and husband?  I am so thankful for everyone in my life and they mean the world to me.   

Sometimes the daily grind just gets to me.  Have you ever wanted to do something out of the ordinary just to shake things up a bit?  I have.  What I mean by shaking things up is to take one year off from your normal life and move somewhere cool to hang for awhile.  For instance, I would love to be a snowboard bum in Colorado or Utah for a winter.  Or maybe live in The Netherlands for a summer with my friends.  Or even just road trip down south on a motorcycle complete with a pair of Panoptx sunglasses.  Anyways, whatever your dream is I think everyone should be able to escape their daily grind for more than a few weeks a year.  Sometimes a measily 1 or 2 weeks vacation just isn’t enough.   

I am so proud of my sister because she is finally out of plus size clothing.  About 1 year ago she elected to have gastric bypass surgery in order to lose weight and regain her health.  Before her surgery she was dangerously overweight and contracted a life-threatening infection which then caused her heart to fail.  She was in the hospital for nearly 3 weeks on the strongest antibiotics in order to beat the infection.  Once she was well again, her doctor recommended she have the surgery.  She has lost over 120 lbs. and can’t believe how great she feels.  Gastric bypass surgery does have its risks but the reward for my sister has been a completely new life.

I’m addicted to Oprah so naturally I Tevo it every day so I can keep up on the latest and greatest in the world these days.  Just recently Oprah featured a new breed of people choosing a lifestyle free from traditional consumerism.  Meaning they spend very little on basic necessities and root through the garbage to find clothing, furniture, and yes even FOOD.  Freegans, that’s the name they go by.  It seems crazy at first but really I admire this lifestyle.  The idea of not participating in the “work more to buy more crap” mentality we have all been brainwashed to believe in.  In the episode Oprah asks the question, “What are we really working for anyways?”  Are Americans in competition with each other to buy luxury SUV’s, marble bathroom vanities, plasma TV’s, and the biggest house on the block?  Truly, I believe that many people define themselves but what they can buy.  Anyways, I think freegans are cool but I just can’t see myself rooting through the garbage for food anytime soon.     

I’ve always been a firm believer in finding little things everyday that bring true happiness and contentment.  My best friend and I have been taking time out of our busy schedules to meet for dinner and then head to a small cafe for desert, decaf coffee, and reckless conversation with no topic off limits.  It is truly one of the things about my life that I cherish right now…this time with her.  Politics, global warming, Las Vegas hotels, relationships, and everything in between we have brooded over a Starbucks decaf.  Lately we have talked each other through so many confusing things, the things in life that don’t make sense.  We also have great plans ahead and maybe a discount trip to Iceland.  Who knows?