Here’s pics of my baby cousin Jacob and family, in the hospital.

I’ve got the itch. When the season hit I was awful. I mean I couldn’t hit the ball to save my life. But somehow, thank God, I’ve got my swing back. Granted, I’m playing small courses, like Oakway. But I don’t think I’ve shot 44 on 9 holes in two years. Feels good. And I want to get back out again. That’s the itch.

Golf courses fall into categories for me - Affordable and special occasion. Honestly, I am in no way good enough to pay $20+ on 9 holes of golf. So, most of the time, I play the courses that fall around $15. RiverRidge is just down the street. My mom and I walk there sometimes. They have a little shorty pitching course that we play about once a week. They also have an executive 9 holes that’s nice and challenging because of the trees and rough everywhere. They have a ladies’ night on Mondays. We can play for $10, when it’s normally $16. The shorty course is only $6.

Oakway is not as well maintained but the course is wide open, making it decent for us duffers. Plus, it has a good feel to it. People are nice and the atmosphere is pretty. I don’t recommend Middlefield in Cottage Grove only because the whole course runs along I5 and it’s really noisy. I like to be among nature when I play. It’s one of the perks of playing golf. To me, it’s no fun to hear the roar of the freeway the entire time you’re playing.

Fiddler’s Green has a better pro shop than golf course, but it’ll do if you’re out on Hwy 99. And there’s an old course in Cottage Grove called Hidden Valley, I think. It’s ok. Lots of hills and brown where there should be grass.

Are there any other decent ones I’m missing?

Let me briefly introduce First Place, so you know what I’m talking about when I refer to it down the line. It’s a healthy living bible study and support group that my mom and I lead at our church, First Baptist of Eugene. It’s part of a national organization and is about living a balanced life - mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually - with God in first place. We strive to follow commitments involving accountability, a healthy eating plan, food diary, exercise, bible study, scripture memory, prayer and encouragement. It has become a way of life and the members are a family. This summer we have an alumni-only program that is much more casual. We’re still striving to follow the commitments but the weekly meetings are less formal and more discussion-based. We spend half the time talking about a wellness topic and half the time discussing the bible study that we’re all doing daily (hopefully). This session’s study is on Healthy Boundaries. Although I don’t think we have really gotten into the meat of it yet, it’s already good. On July 24th, my mom and I will go to Houston (FP Headquarters) for a National Leaders’ Training. The whole program is being revamped to take into account more recent findings on food, exercise, etc. We’re excited to learn the new program, but it will be a lot of work. We then will train our leadership team and launch the new program in the fall. Stay tuned for more details.

The family’s coming over for Mother’s Day. We’re playing this game along with others. And there are prizes involved. See how many you can get right WITHOUT looking them up. Honor system here! And you’re more than welcome to share the questions. Maybe it will liven up your Mother’s Day Celebration.

1. What mother represents the life-giving and nurturing aspects of the environment?

2. Which mother went to the cupboard to fetch her poor dog a bone?

3. Who lived in a shoe with so many children she didn’t know what to do?

4. What name were those nursery rhymes written under, among many others?

5. What famous mother is royalty?

6. Who is the famous Catholic mother who helps the sick, poor, and hungry?

7. Who is Bart, Lisa, and Maggie’s mother on the Simpsons?

8. Who was Fred’s wife and Pebble’s mother on the Flinstone’s?

9. What was Mrs. Brady’s first name on the Brady Bunch?

10. Who was Richie & Joanie’s mother on Happy Days?

11. What pop singer’s name means ‘mother’ in Italian?

12. What actress has one natural child and has adopted three others with actor Brad Pitt?

13. Who was the mother of Rickie, Jr?

14. Who was a famous grandmother and mother who started painting in her 70s?

15. What was the name of JFK’s mom?

16. Who was the first Mother in the bible?

17. Who was the virgin mother of Jesus?

It’s Friday night. I rented some movies from Blockbuster. Just wanted to relax and veg out. Do you know the feeling? At what age do you stop wanting to go out on Friday night and truly long for the couch? Makes me feel old.

The first movie, I Am Legend, was pretty good although left me wanting to know more. Where did the deadly virus come from? Was it from the supposed cancer antidote? Why did Neville feel it was his problem? And lastly, why was there grass growing in the street?

The second movie, The Good Night, was stupid. I couldn’t get into it. So, I stopped and am here instead. Probably just as well. I’m behind in my blog writing and online investigations this week.

I used to subscribe to Netflix and was a staunch user and supported until they throttled me. Yep, it’s true. The more you use Netflix, the worse the service gets. I couldn’t get movies turned around in a week and I couldn’t even see many first rate movies to add them to my queue. So, I switched to Blockbuster and, for the most part, am much happier. I like being able to trade in my send-in-the-mail movies with ones in the store. That way, if I get a stinker like I did tonight, I can get a new one in the morning. Netflix ruined a good thing and Blockbuster woke up and beat ‘em.

Time to say good night Gracie.