McGladrey Team

Saturday night, Joe and I went to some friends' house for dinner (Hi Tommy and Roberta!).


Mmmm; the pork tenderloin is about to go on the grill. Delicious!


John and Teri were there, too (Hi John and Teri!!)

We had such a good time!
Good food, good conversation, good company... we've been friends with these couples for a long time - Joe has been golfing with the guys for years and years!



Before dinner, the guys went outside to do a little putting. Tommy and Roberta have a putting green out back that they share with their neighbor, the landscaper. How nice!


Not a bad setup for a "backyard green!" Tommy and Roberta's son, Dillan, is taking his shot. He just made the varsity golf team at his high school. Yeah, Dillan!

Tommy wanted to have "the team" over before heading up to Pinehurst next month. These guys won the McGladrey Team Championship Sectionals last April, qualifying them to play in the National Championship at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina next month.



Here are some excerpts from newspaper/magazine articles regarding their win and the event.

Naples Daily News ~
For the second straight year, Arrowhead Golf Course won the South Florida PGA Section’s PGA McGladrey Team Championship title Thursday at Weston Hills Country Club. Pro Mike Dopslaff teamed with amateurs Tom Hinkle, John Ziegler and Joe O’Brien for a 21-under-par total to win by 11 strokes.
The team earns a berth in the national finals, Oct. 20-22 at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort.

RSM McGladrey ~
Perhaps no competitor in this year’s PGA McGladrey Team Championship will be more representative of the McGladrey tournament slogan – “With the right team, anything’s possible” – than PGA Professional Mike Dopslaff of Arrowhead Golf Course in Naples, Fla. That’s because Dopslaff, who advanced to the inaugural National Championship at world-renowned Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort in 2007, will be making the rare return trip with an entirely different trio of amateur teammates.

Dopslaff and the Arrowhead team earned a second consecutive South Florida Section Championship on April 2 with a runaway victory at Weston Hills Country Club in Weston, Fla. Dopslaff, Tom Hinkle, John Ziegler and Joe O’Brien won by 11 shots on The Tour Course to become the first team to qualify for the National Championship, scheduled Oct. 20-22.

“It’s kind of funny that this is the second year in a row our club won the Section – and this year we did it with three new amateurs. But that’s one of the great things about this format: it’s definitely a team game,” Dopslaff said. “If you have teammates who understand that it’s not all about each person’s score; that it’s about the team, then you can play pretty well. And that’s what we did. We had one other guy who played really well, and the other two showed up when we really needed them.”

Joe, John and Tom, The McGladrey Team.

Pretty cool, eh?!

Dogs in the Bed!

Here's a funny ad for a Sleepnumber bed...

At least Joe and I agree; this guy's looking for wife number 3 and if her number matches the dog's, she's welcome to whatever's left of the bed!

(Often you can hear the video over the music, but you might want to scroll down and turn off the blog music.)

Have a good Friday!

She Loves to Snuggle

Emma, that is. She's a hugger, too. Really. Whenever I'm seated in a chair reading or watching TV, she puts her paws up in my lap and presses into me with her shoulders until we're ear to ear (mind you, she's 65 pounds). She proceeds to stay this way until I rub and scratch and pet and coo for several minutes... finally I have to ask... beg... plead with her to get down (she gets heavy after awhile). Then she's back in 10 minutes for more; and, of course, I comply.

This morning she hopped back up in bed with me when she heard I was awake, eager to cuddle for awhile before I got up. She's a doll. We're those kind of people that let the dogs sleep in bed with us...they're in and out of the bed all night. We're definitely not the kind of people that require 600 thread-count, Egyptian cotton sheets that smell like lavender! Of course, we enjoy that from time to time, but it's not mandatory. Nah... I'd be happy with a sleeping bag on a pile of hay, just give me the dogs to hug and kiss and love on. Joe and I get lost and separated from each other by a mass of paws and tails, but we love it ...and so what if a little hair gets in the bed! Every few days we change it and have clean-sheet night!




Isn't she pretty? Looks like we took her to the beach, doesn't it? No... this would be my backyard! There's a sodless, barren section that is their favorite place to romp. And here, beneath our sod, we don't have soil... we have sand.


She'll melt you with those eyes.

_______

So, what do you make of Dancing With the Stars, so far? Do you vote? I'm not a voter. I just watch and then express my opinion to Joe and the TV on whether "they" got it right. They didn't get it right this week. It was too early for Ted to go home. He had potential to get better... and he's just a nice guy, it seems.

If you could vote someone off, I might be tempted to pick up the phone. There's one whose sarcastic humor I find classless, obnoxious and undignified. It was amusing on day 1, but I'm weary of it already.

_______

And to contradict that critical attitude... I'm very excited that tonight my bible study group is starting back up after taking the summer off. I've been getting together with the same core group of women for a decade and it's really one of the highlights of my week. There's great fellowship and camaraderie among this group of girlfriends... a safe place to be your utter, transparent self.

We're going to study Beth Moore's Stepping Up, A Journey Through the Psalms of Ascent. It oughta be a good one!

_______

Oh, and long-sleeved pajamas with the fan on medium was purrrrrfect last night... it was another cool, comfortable night and morning! I actually blow-dried my hair without sweating.
Happy Day! (...by the way, is it blow-dried, or blew dry... ???)

Beautiful Morning

Hi! Pull up a chair and have a cup of coffee and a piece of cinnamon toast with me. I love cinnamon toast. I liked it even better when I was a kid and white bread wasn't my enemy, but I still enjoy butter and cinnamon-sugar on my whole wheat, multi-grain, Publix Premium toast.

It's such a nice morning. It feels like autumn... of course, today's date tells us it is autumn... but I mean it actually feels like autumn. There's a strong breeze; cool and crisp, not warm and heavy, and the sky is cloudless and deep blue. I don't have a thermometer handy, but I think it was actually under 70 degrees when I woke up this morning! I was thinking before I got out of bed that it might almost be time to break out the long-sleeved pajamas, as I was actually a little chilly! Of course, the ceiling fan was on full blast; that might have contributed to the chill.

"Even if something is left undone,

everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."

- Elizabeth Lawrence

Yes, on a morning like this, sit still and take time to enjoy it. For me, in SW Florida, it's not to watch the leaves turn, but to watch the palm fronds gently sway and the fish jump in the canal while the early morning glow of the sun glistens on the water. Those things I can honestly enjoy in any season down here, but on a morning like this when the temperature is cool and the breeze is pleasant...
it's wonderful. {{{ heavy sigh and a wistful smile }}}

Jolt...

Reality check...

Ack! Time to go to work...

Okay, well, that was nice... but I gotta go!

Have a wonderful day - and may it continue to feel like autumn (which, obviously, makes me feel a little dreamy).

Caio.

The Beach

So... yesterday I mentioned that Joe and I were going out to eat for my birthday. We decided to take a drive down to Fort Myers Beach.

We ate at The Beach Pierside Grille... it's right beside the pier, and right on the water. Delicious, too (I had grilled salmon, baked potato, baby carrots...yum).


After we ate we took a walk on the pier to watch the sunset and enjoy the seabreeze, even though the sky was a little ominous.


The sunset wasn't spectacular, but the breeze was great.


There's the restaurant... and Joe... and a stormy sky. Oh, yes, and those are my leftovers Joe is holding, which I'm eagerly anticipating having for lunch today!
See those people walking up the pier on the left? They were from England... vacationing (or should I say on holiday). We talked to them for about half an hour!


The pier's bait shop and gift store were still open, but we didn't venture down that far this time.


Deciding to head back home before the rain starts, here's a look at more restaurants and shops.


And a glance straight down Estero Boulevard.

It was a perfect evening, following an awesome day!

Here's the only negative thing that happened yesterday...

I didn't mail in my tag registration in time to receive it before it expired on my birthday. I also just realized on Friday, that my driver's license expires this year. I decided to take care of those two things on my way into work yesterday morning.

That's not the negative part...

After I provided the DMV clerk all my info, I "swore that the information I have provided is true and correct." I also swore that "I am not 100% mentally or physically disabled." Huh? That didn't make any sense; but is precisely what she asked me. (Yeah... I'm only 75% mentally disabled...!)

Then, the eye test. I put my face up to the view finder and saw about eight rows of letters and three columns. The first column was blank, the second and third columns had 5 letters each. She asked me to read row 5 and I did it without a hitch. Quite satisfied with myself, I looked at her anticipating what's next. She gave me a quizzical look and said, "What about the first column?" What? I looked again... I closed my right eye... I closed my left eye... I blinked... I squinted... There's nothing in the first column... Nothing.

That's the negative part.

I told her there's nothing there and she asked if I "have trouble" with my left eye. Ugh. Yes. I have ridiculously poor eyesight in my left eye. Something like 20/400 or 450. I would have expected some fuzziness in the first column, maybe. But the fact that the letters just plain weren't there was weird.

So, I have two restrictions on my license... 1) corrective lenses. (Yes, of course.) And 2) side mirrors are mandatory. Huh?? Okay, I can abide by that (don't all vehicles come with side mirrors?).

- - - - - - - -

What were your thoughts about Dancing with the Stars? Mine:

~ Cloris Leachman is a nut! And gutsy for 82.

~ Brook Burke has had 4 kids?! She must live in the gym.

~ Susan Lucci is too skinny... and seemed a tad loopy.

~ Warren Sapp was surprisingly good. What is it about big football players and they're ability to dance?

I'm a Happy Camper

It's my birthday.

My mom spoiled me to pieces yesterday with a yummy lunch, presents, my favorite pie (I was craving a berry pie instead of cake)...

My precious Kristiina called me first thing this morning and we talked forever... I love it when we talk forever. Things important, things non-important, and things just silly. We laugh a lot.

A little later, my brother and sister-in-law called me at the office and sang Happy Birthday to me... the whole song! And then we chatted on the phone for a long time.

The girls that work at Beacon Title presented me with a little bouquet of flowers, two birthday cards, and treated me to lunch!

I have received lots of email messages, e-cards, Myspace and Facebook entries from friends and relatives near and far. They all send love and good wishes...

This evening Joe and I are going out to eat... and I'm looking forward to a quiet evening with my dear hubby.

I feel blessed and well-loved!!

True love doesn't consist of holding hands;

it consists of holding hearts.

~O.A. Battista

There's been a lot of heart-holding going on today - and mine's busting! Thanks, All!! XOXO

The Lord's Prayer

Listen to this little 2 1/2 year-old sing The Lord's Prayer.
She really has the timing down! So cute.

(You'll want to scroll down and turn off the music that plays on the blog.)

New York City

Today on Miz Booshay's blog... she's wondering where Ree and MM might be off to... someplace 18 hours away from home (which is Oklahoma). Miz Boo says it could be Wyoming..??? I'd love to go to Wyoming! Someday...

She mentioned that she's never been to New York. I thought, hmmm... I have - I'm from New York! I'll bet she meant New York City, though. I'm from upstate New York, and only visited New York City once. It was 1989 - I'd already been a Floridian for 11 years.


It was during this trip... we were visiting Joe's sister for Thanksgiving in NJ.
Kristiina's first time to see snow was also my first (and only) time to see NYC.

It hadn't snowed in NJ on Thanksgiving in 20 years... yeah! So, Kristiina's snow experience was unexpected! Likewise, my NYC experience was unexpected... in that, I didn't know what to expect! I was bug-eyed, slack-jawed, and white-knuckled just about the whole time!! It's a very busy place, and we were exploring by car!

We surprisingly found a place to park and did a brief tour by foot. It's then that I stepped from the car onto the sidewalk and almost immediately bumped shoulders with Andre Agassi. That was cool. It would have been cooler, though, if he had acknowledged me... said excuse me, or something. But he just kept walking, never looking back, completely unphased by the encounter (unlike me)! For some reason Joe was under the impression that I didn't realize who he was... but I did.

I think we hoofed it past Grand Central Station... maybe St. Patrick's Cathedral... it's fuzzy. I have to ask Joe for clarification. He knows that place.

Later, we stopped at a pizza place for dinner and ran into one of my childhood friends from Syracuse. What are the odds?! That was cool, too.

So, more exploring by car... and we drove by the Twin Towers...




...by then it was dark, and this is about what our vantage point was. This is not my photo. I found it on NYCfoto.com, but this is similar to the image I have in my mind... without the Do Not Enter sign.

So, someday I'd like to visit NYC again. I want to see Rockefeller Center, Central Park, have a delicious dinner and see a play. It might even be fun to be one of the street crowd during the Today Show.

Mount Tom, Faulkner Trail

Kristiina sent this to me from her phone.

We talked on the phone today for quite a while and this was her view the whole time we chatted! Literally!! I called while she was hiking Faulkner Trail in Woodstock. She was just reaching the top of Mount Tom, so she took a seat and enjoyed her surroundings while we conversed.

She said she was wearing her new hiking boots and a warm fleece jacket (cuz it's only about 60 degrees), had her back-pack with a bladder full of water and probably a good snack, and her camera-in-hand. That's my idea of a morning well-spent!

Mid-way through the call, she said, "Mom, let me take a picture for you of where I am right now. I'll email it to you and call right back..."

She sent these two (from her phone, right there on the spot); the one above, and this one which is the view in the other direction.

{{sigh}} I wish I were with her... for the sake of being with her... and to be hiking in 60-degree weather with my camera!!

So, How's the Weather?

Don't you just hate it when you check in here and there's nothing new... sometimes for several days at a time?

It's disheartening to me when I go to my favorite blogs and there's nothing new for a few days...

So... something new... ummm...

What do you want to talk about? (Looking at ceiling... whistling... thumbs twiddling...)

I dunno.

So, how's the weather?

Well. Let me tell you. It's hot. The "weather channel" says that right now in Cape Coral, FL, which is where I'm sitting, it feels like 98. 98!

Shouldn't that be considered too hot for September? I think so. I'm really tired of HOT.

Right now in Windsor, VT, which is where my darling girl and precious son-in-law happen to be sitting right now (or standing... or riding... I'm not sure, actually), it "feels like" 75. Now doesn't that have a nicer ring to it? Doesn't that sound pleasant? [sigh] ...75. Near perfect.

_____

Breaking news... Okay, this is highly unusual. I just searched the weather channel for Crystal River, FL, which is where my grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins are sitting, standing, riding... you get the picture. Anyway, they're 3 hours north of us and it's always at least 10 degrees cooler up there than it is here.

Well! I just learned that right now in Crystal River, FL , it "feels like" (drum roll, please)... ... ... (long, pregnant pause like in those annoying HGTV shows...well, I like the HGTV shows, but I hate the ridiculously long pauses) ...99! 99!!!

Whew. It's true when they say misery loves company. I feel so much better now.

And that's not all, I also went to Virginia... more aunts, uncles, cousins residing up there (... yes, sitting, standing, riding at the moment)... just guess what the temperature is about 14 hours north of us... the pregnant pause, again... "feels like" ...96. 96, just 2 lousy degrees less than us.

hee, hee, hee... mischievious rolling of hands...

But, seriously, wasn't September once cooler than this? I always thought August was our worst month for heat. hmpf...



(Actually, on the subject of weather ...and kidding aside... I'm keeping Texas in my prayers today. It sounds like they got hit pretty hard by Ike. I remember the heart-heavy feeling of Hurricane Charley from a few years ago.)

Take Time...

"The smallest moments can have the biggest impact on a child's life."

This is an adorable video...

Bath-Time

...why do dogs hate it so much?

But first -

It's been raining here off and on since yesterday afternoon. The effects of Ike passing beneath us... we're feeling the outer bands of wind and rain. Here's a look:


FL Satellite Image from Wink News this morning.


Fox News Headline read: Ike Brings Flooding to Southwest Florida

Some of the roads were closed this morning due to flooding.



Okay, so with that in mind, you can imagine that our back yard is a muddy, puddly mess (at least in the dogs' favorite, sodless, play-pit areas), and Zeila and Bruiser were having a blast out there yesterday evening! They were running and splashing through those puddles like giddy children.

By the time we realized that they weren't avoiding the puddles, but rather seeking them out, it was too late... a bath was definitely in the future for at least two (thankfully, the others were in the house or it could have been a bath-time marathon last night).

So, Joe and I let them have their fun outside playing in the mud and puddles while we cooked dinner and ate... the whole time watching and enjoying their antics.

Then, it was time. I did the honors. "Okay you guys... one at a time. Come here, Zeila; you first. No, Boo Boo, you have to wait here for a bit. C'mon Zei, time for a bath... C'mon Zeila. Zeila. Come." She darts past me and leaves Bruiser outside wondering why he can't come in. "It's okay, Boo, I'll be right back." Turn to find Zeila. She's cowering now. I said the B-word and she heard it. We play a brief game of zig-zag chase in our bedroom until I get her cornered... she ducks past me. "No, Zeila! Not on the bed!" Ugh, I'll have to wash the sheets. More chase. Finally, I'm able to scoop her up and carry her to the bathroom, her long legs are stretched out spastically and hitting me in the shins as I try to walk.

We have a pretty roomy walk-in shower with a hand-held shower head which makes the job relatively easy... once you actually get them in there, that is. So, the process begins... nice warm water, a sudsy massage, very gentle with ears and face (never spray them!), I'm cooing and crooning all the while. What's so bad about that?

So, Zeila is done and dried off...unscathed, to her surprise. Bruiser's turn. "C'mon, Boo Boo. C'mon, Good Boy." He's not moving. He doesn't want to come in the house anymore. "It's okay, Booby. C'mon." He's lowered his head. Do you think it's because I just called him Booby? Maybe he doesn't relish that name. (Yeah, we pretty much call him everything but Bruiser... besides Boo Boo, two of my favorites are: Boobalicious and Boobalooba, Booby is short for those two.)

Finally, I persuade him to come in the bedroom. I'm baby-talking him to the hilt! He's not like Zeila. He doesn't dart and dash about trying to avoid the inevitable. He gets low to the floor and hangs his head. I have not mentioned the word "bath" to him since all of this coaxing began. But I know he's been dreading it since he heard me mention it to Zeila. Well, I can't pick him up - he's bigger than Zeila. So, I push and steer him toward the shower. He digs in his heels... he doesn't want to go!

"Geez. What's the matter, buddy? C'mon... It's okay..."
There... he's in! And the same process begins; he's lavished with spa-style treatment and sweet-talk.

So...Why do dogs hate baths so much? !


By the way...




Needs a bath...




Had a bath!

The Burrowing Owl

This little guy was in my yard one day when I got home from the store. He didn't mind that I drove right past him when I pulled in the driveway. And he didn't get flustered when I dashed in the house to grab my camera. I was surprised by that. I think I surprised him, though, when I squatted just a few feet in front of him to take his picture. He didn't get vocal or bob up and down, which are the usual tell-tale signs that they're not pleased, but his eyes sure got big!

He had a nest in our neighbor's yard across the street (of our former house). The owls "moved in" when the lot was vacant, and remained the whole time the house was being built (the builders had to be very careful of the nest, Burrowing Owls are protected in my town). They even stayed put when the neighbors moved in.

I haven't been to that neighborhood recently. I wonder if they still reside there and whether this one stills goes visiting...

Zoe at the Office

Mom has gone visiting this week, so Joe and I are watching Zoe. I thought she might like to come to the office with me so she doesn't have to sit home alone.


This was Zoe when we first arrived this morning. She looks ready to tackle the day, doesn't she? As if to say, "Okay, what's first on our agenda?"



The eager anticipation soon waned. I think she realized that what was on my agenda was, to her, quite boring!





Sound asleep.





Oh, time to switch sides...





Back to sleep.



Look at that dirty beard. Mom had just given her a bath before she left. That evening she got into something on the counter. The little stinker maneuvers chairs so she can climb up! I can't imagine what was there... since we know her habits, we always make sure the counter is clear. But lo and behold there was an empty deli container on the living room floor and she was sticky from ears to belly button! I got most of it with a wet washcloth, but I think another bath may be in order!



You know she's really zonked when the tongue pokes out!


So, that was Zoe's exciting day at the office... and pretty much how she'll spend each day this week.

Black-bellied Lamb

Joe and I travelled to Barbados to commemmorate our Silver Wedding Anniversary (that was in '06). More memories about that trip to come later... but something that struck me today was the memory of the black-bellied lamb (I saw this picture over there on my left side bar, on the Flickr Photo Badge).



I had been taking pictures of these beautiful creatures for days (okay, well this one seems to be more of the landscape than of the lamb).





They were everywhere; roaming freely in fields...





...and scattered along the sides of the roads and in people's front yards.





Everywhere you turned, there were clusters of black-bellied lambs.




The resort where we stayed (Sea-U Guest House) serves dinner family style. Sometimes we gave them our reservation in the morning to eat at the guest house with other guests, and sometimes we elected to eat elsewhere on the island.




The evening of our anniversary, we opted to eat at the guest house. Turns out there were two other couples that ate with us that evening, and we had a spectular time. Good food and good company. The couple on the left were from England and expecting their first child (she had a tiny little baby-bump), and the couple on the right were from Spain, celebrating their honeymoon.

The evening meal, prepared by Joanne, the resort's primary cook, was the best lamb I have ever tasted; not in the least bit gamey or greasy, which I had come to expect all lamb to be. Black-bellied lamb, I think they called it...

What?! Black-bellied lamb? Oh mercy, it took days for me to realize (and not until someone specifically told me, did it register; thanks Andrew) that the delicious lamb I had for dinner that night was the same as these precious ones I'd been photographing all week.

Our hearts sank... Joe didn't realize it, either.

It would not be much of a sacrifice for me to become a vegetarian! Seriously.

All About Dexie

Of our super seven, Dexter is our senior adult. He puts up with a lot of rambunctiousness from the others, the puppies in particular. They pursue him relentlessly and sometimes Dex just needs his space; so I'm giving him a little blog space today.

Things were good when it was just he and Jake. Ah, our precious Jake. He was 3 years Dex's senior and passed away suddenly, but gently 02/07. That's another story, though. Anyway, Dex was very content in those days. Then Zeila came into the picture and he was no longer the baby of the family. I think that took some getting used to. Things really got weird for him, though, when Jake departed and Bruiser came along. But, he adjusted.

He wasn't prepared, however, for the puppies! Whoa Nellie! Talk about a world turned upside down. They're hyper, for one thing. Plus, they constantly want to jump on him and lick him; poor guy, he gets so annoyed. He'll snarl and show teeth, which is his way of begging for mercy, but they're unimpressed. If he could just get a little peace once in a while... he's no whipper-snapper anymore.

Of the puppies, Emma is the one who gets away with the most. She adores him and is always near him, licking, licking, licking... he puts up with it pretty patiently (even if he could talk, though, I don't think he'd admit that he has a soft spot for her; but we know better).

I'm going to suggest to Joe that we have a Dexter Day real soon (we do special "dog days" every now and then - it's like having a couple of extra birthdays throughout the year. Oh, give us a break... we're not grandparents yet!). He deserves a day of special pampering and more grace (more grace because he tends to act out his frustrations... forgetting that he's a very well trained/behaved dog; and by act out, I mean getting into the garbage - he hasn't done that since he was a puppy - or being a little slow to respond to our requests for him to come and sit... those kinds of things; things he clearly knows better).

Here's to you, Dexie!

Something to do...

The weekend was windy and rainy... effects of Gustav passing by. So, we didn't venture out much. Instead, we stayed cozy indoors and beaded.


This is Aunt Mega (Hi Aunt Mega!). ... darn that shadow-making flash!... She's a bead artist/designer extraordinaire! Seriously. She sells her jewelry by word of mouth, but in my humble opinion, she needs to expand her horizons. Who can offer suggestions on how to get started with a website, or something?

When she came down, she brought all her beading paraphernalia with her. It's a lot of stuff... and we had fun with it!


Here's one that she created.


And another one of Aunt Mega's.


Completely unrelated to our beading frenzy... here's a quote I'm savoring today:

As we trust God to give us wisdom for today's decisions,

He will lead us a step at a time

into what He wants us to be doing in the future. ~Theodore Epp