a relaxing lake weekend turns snake-a-phobia

Our neighbor across the cove mentioned seeing 2 snakes earlier this spring, well... we uncovered the wave runner today to find one sitting on the back, look closely below:

We were charging the battery anyway so chased it away and left to go for a boat ride and swim. We went to our favorite spot and I grabbed my raft and jumped in. Next was my husband, but instead... he stopped and said "we have company"... , on the outboard engine, right next to where I had just climbed in on the swim ladder. Hmm... I really did not want to be swimming with the snake and had to get back on the boat first before they sent this one scurrying into the water. So I got back in the boat, the whole time feeling a bit creepy and keeping an eye on our visitor for any movement. We lifted the anchor, scooted the snake off into the water and took off. We decided to try another favorite spot about a 1/2 mile away from where we were, dropped anchor and we all jumped in to relax on our tubes and float around and read, enjoying our glorious weekend weather. After ~ an hour, my husband went back to the boat and climbed aboard. Guess what he found... right! Another visitor in the engine well, eekkk! So again... Alex and I got back on, keeping an eye out for our unwelcome friend. We lifted anchor, scooted the snake into the water and took off... fast!
No more swimming after that. We went back to the dock, home on dry land, but only to find another snake on the waverunner in the same spot sunbathing. They like to sunbathe b/c they are cold blooded, great!
We sent him into the water too.
Last night as it was turning dark I decided to walk down and check everything out, only to find 2 beady little eyes looking up at me from the engine again. Ugh!
So... what type of snake is it? Non-venomous snakes are a protected species in Georgia. A $1,000 fine for messing with them. Better than it being venomous of course, but still I don't want to share my boat with them!

Now, what do we do?

Hilton Head Island golf...

... wish I were back there this weekend, now that it's sunny and beautiful!

the blogging world: a repost

this world is huge! From what I can tell so far, it's mostly, ~ 99%, women who are bloggers. (I'm giving the men 1%, but I've never actually read a guy's blog, okay, truth be told I have read a few now).
Why do you think that is? What is this blogging world? Is it a social phenomenon?
With our new found technologies, guys have gaming and girls still have each other. Kinda like the good old days, before the Internet was invented, when women had coffee clotches and playgroups, and girls night out. I think women have always done a good job of "networking", seeking each other out to share feelings and findings, vent and brag, be there to listen and support each other through good times and bad. Now, in this new world, we have so many more ears to hear us! So many comments to give to strangers who have become our cyberfriends.
Girlpower is stronger than ever and alive online!

I looked it up and from wikipedia the definition of Blog = web log = a commentary, news or a personal diary of sorts, that combines text and images with links a must and the ability for the reader to leave a comment (my edited version of the wikipedia paragraph).
Still curious though, I've researched the history of blogging and where and when it all started. Come to find out, it was started by men! Who would'a thought! Take a look:

The Early Years

January 1994
Swarthmore student Justin Hall creates first blog ever, Links.net.

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December 1997
Online diarist Jorn Barger coins the term “Weblog” for “logging the Web.”

April 1999
Programmer Peter Merholz shortens “Weblog” to “blog.”

August 1999
Blogger rolls out the first popular, free blog-creation service.

January 2000
Boing Boing is born.

July 2000
AndrewSullivan.com launches.

February 2002
Heather Armstrong is fired for discussing her job on her blog, Dooce. “Dooced” becomes a verb: “Fired for blogging.”

August 2002
Nick Denton launches Gizmodo, the first in what will become a blog empire. Blogads launches, the first broker of blog advertising.

December 2002
Talking Points Memo highlights Trent Lott’s racially charged comments; thirteen days later, Lott resigns from his post as Senate majority leader.

December 2002
Gawker launches, igniting the gossip-blog boom.

March 2003
“Salam Pax,” an anonymous Iraqi blogger, gains worldwide audience during the Iraq war.

June 2003
Google launches AdSense, matching ads to blog content.

August 2003
The first avalanche of ads on political blogs.

September 2003
Jason Calacanis founds Weblogs, Inc., which eventually grows into a portfolio of 85 blogs.

January 2004
Denton launches Wonkette.

March 2004
Calacanis poaches Gizmodo writer Peter Rojas from Denton. Denton proclaims himself “royally shafted” on his personal blog.

December 2004
Merriam-Webster declares “blog” the “Word of the Year.”

January 2005
Study finds that 32 million Americans read blogs.

and there you have it girls... your history lesson for the day! Of course since 2005 women have surely taken over the blogging world, right?

PS... if you write a blog post and no one comments, is that like talking to yourself?

I originally wrote this after 1 month of being in the blogging world... oh my have I learned so much from all of you!

to those who have served...

remembering you with thanks on this Memorial Day

you've come a long way baby!

my... we have come a long way ladies!

I found a wonderful post about ladies golf clothing through the years over at
Fuzzy lizzie vintage clothing
check it out

She wrote about "the history of women's golf attire" dating back to 1894 as in the photo above. It was so much fun to see what women had to put up with wearing back then, let alone the antiquated equipment. Do you think you could have played back then?

In 1925 the one piece dress was very big! It stayed "the in style" until the 1950's when separates came into play and women started wearing Bermuda shorts! How risque'!
Funny, the one piece dress is big again today, supposedly. I'm too short to wear one, and come to think of it none of my gal pals wear one either. But we all wear "dri-tech" and skorts and stretchy fabrics that move when we swing. Our grandmothers and great grandmothers had it so rough!

If you love fashion and are a vintage clothing lovers of all types of clothes, not just golf...
check out her site Fuzzielizzie Vintage Clothing: Perfect Pieces
love the bathing suits!

thanks for the education Fuzzy lizzie!
My fave from your golf pics is the yellow check golf jacket circa 1960.

it's the birthday fairy's birthday!

This is Margaret, our Gal Pal birthday fairy

Tomorrow is Margaret's birthday... and even though we celebrated as a group last week and shared our celebration, I still want to be Margaret's birthday fairy tomorrow. She is one of those people who you know who are always so much fun to be around.
Let me give you a little history... what the birthday fairy does is play in the foursome with the b'day gal and present her with a gift at each hole, before you tee off. We were all very amused the first time she did this for our tee time coordinator and originator, Glynis. At the first hole, the fairy pulled out a tall plastic glass, a stalk of celery, a mini bottle of vodka and a bottle of bloody mary mix, and mixed up a drink right there with the ice on the cart. At each hole after there was something given that was just as fun and personal. I was lucky enough to be in the b'day foursome that day. What fun! So tomorrow, I want to show M the good time that she has so selflessly shown all of us!

happy birthday birthday fairy!

rainy day in Georgia

I could have used this rain suit today,

or this umbrella I designed and never ordered,

because when we started out to play, it was fairly nice... but by the 4th hole it looked like this:

and it was my idea to keep playing to finish up nine holes.

Drew says I've turned the corner,
translation: I'm a "real golfer" now, or else just plain crazy!

I shot a 50 even though it was tough to keep hold of the club being all wet, a few sloppy shots but my putting was on!

try this on for comfort...

FootJoy LoPro Collection
LoPro Active#97077
A shoe construction technique often found in running shoes. This unique construction allows a shoe to be made without an insole board, producing a more contoured underfoot platform and vastly increased flexibility.


I just bought these at the PGA Tour Superstore here in Atlanta.
What a comfortable golf shoe! You've got to get a pair.
$89.99 the the PGA Tour Superstore

my dog goes to the dog park

we recently fenced a section of our lake house yard so when the grandpups come to visit, their parents can relax a bit and not have to leash them up

here are the lake house dog park rules:

no ganging up when you get rambuncious
no pouncing on the Chihuahuas
no hording the water bowl (Jax!) or the toys (Link!)
no escaping (Link and Tessa!)
and most importantly... clean up after yourselves!

and remember... the park is always open!

you'll find me in the woods...

see what I'm holding here...

personalized golf balls with Margaret's and my photo on them! What a great way to mark your ball! Thanks G!
So with that said, you never know where I'll turn up, or Margaret for that matter... it may be in the woods on the right side of the fairway, or... in the pond on #11, or... in the creek on # 14... or in your backyard... who knows where you'll find us.
But just thinking ahead to Father's day and what a fun gift these would be for the golfing Dad of the household. Find them at www.personalizationmall.com
and look for us when you're searching the tall grass...

a pinkalicious celebration!

Wednesday's are our Gal Pal golf day. Margaret and I showed up this morning and were surprised by our "pimped out birthday cart" the gals had decorated for us. Our birthdays are 11 days apart this month, and little did we know they had planned a joint celebration for us.

We had 4 foursomes that played amidst the drizzle, but a little rain didn't stop the good times. We finished up our round and headed in to lunch like we always do only to find the room all decked out in pink and black.

Margaret and I donned tiaras, boas and pearls as the birthday princesses of the day!

The birthday gifts were all heartfelt and personal... golf gags of personalized balls and coasters with our pictures on them, the finest rootbeer for M and wine for moi, "tee time" mugs, hand bedazzled hats and wine glasses... I'm proud to say the gals were all very creative!

It's been a fun birthday for me for sure... 2 days of back to back Gal Pal fun!
Thanks Gals, you truly are the greatest pals and bring so much to my life!

happy birthday to me...

I'll be spending my birthday morning on the golf course with a few of my favorite Gal Pals.

I'll be wearing this Lilly P. outfit... one of my mother's day gifts:Thank you Drew!

We're playing away at a new course. I'll let you know how that goes later, but it's a beautiful day!

The course was shorter than ours, but full of tall grass off the fairway and the hills and turns made it quite interesting. We could/should have had a tour guide!

The pals and I at the 19th hole

After golf, I'll be spending the rest of the day with my husband and daughter, then my daughter #2 and her husband are coming over for a home cooked dinner.

the best kinda day... spent with the ones you love!

Swordfish for dinner and chocolate molten cake for dessert, yum! Thanks Alex!

No, Bay you can't have it!

Kel and Linc

I'll miss you K&R but seeing you this weekend was great! Thanks for making the trip!

never enough argyle

Luco Sport golf head cover set in black and pink argyle
to go with my black and pink trimmed bag, oh boy!

thank you Alex!

many other patterns and colors available...
to go with your bag, take a look and find your fave!

they also have these microfiber golf towels to match for the uber-coordinated golf gal!

a gal's gotta look good!

wishing you a fabulous Mother's day!

hope all your drives are straight
and all your putts go in the hole in one!

100th for Grey's /100th for Golf Gal

it's the 100th episode for Grey's Anatomy
and the 100th post for Tales of a Golf Gal
on the same day. today. May 7th! What a co-ink-y-dink!
I have watched now and then through the years, but the best part of the Grey's 100th show is Izzie's wedding website and the the bridal registry she has set up. The purpose... if you feel compelled to give a gift to this imaginary couple, is for you instead to give a donation to these worthy foundations and associations:

In Lieu of Gifts, Your Support for the Following Charities is Appreciated!

American Academy of Neurology Foundation

The American Academy of Neurology Foundation helps people with brain tumors, dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, autism, headache, stroke, and hundreds of other neurologic disorders. To donate or learn more, visit www.thebrainmatters.org/buyabrain

American Skin Association

100 Million Americans Suffer from Skin Cancers, Diseases and Disorders. American Skin Association is dedicated to advancing research, educating children and expanding awareness of the skin's vital role in good health. For more information, visit http://www.americanskin.org/donate

Alzheimer's Association

As most of you know Meredith’s mom Dr. Ellis Grey had Alzheimer’s before her death in 2007. The Alzheimer's Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. The Association’s mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Their vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. For more information, visit http://www.alz.org/Meredith_and_Derek

watch the show tonight and enjoy, Thursday May 7th at 9pm est, but more importantly... click on the above links and educate yourself... and... donate what you can!

Congratulations to Meredith and Derek

let's see if they really go through with it!

update: there was a last minute switch up for the bride and groom to Izzie and Alex. Izzie has another tumor in her brain. Not such good news. Anyone I've known in the real world with a brain melanoma hasn't survived. I'm thinking this is her last season.

puppy love: who's your fave designer mutt?

Doxador

Now... I'm not a big dog person, but my first choice in the cuteness department: Dachshund and Labrador mix

love those eyes!
we had a black Dachshund growing up, and my sister now has two

Chackhussell
okay... I have 2 Chihuahuas and my daughter has
2 Jack Russells... so this is what their offspring would look like?
Good thing we had them fixed!
A bit too rat like for me... but... the more I look... the more it grows on me!
what's with the "so ugly it's cute" factor?
the pups above are just two of the mixed breed "designer" mutts found in this photo essay book by Amanda Jones. She's changed the names to her own whimsical version, but...
you'll know who they are.
Click on the book... take a look... and let me know what's your fave designer mutt!

Gal Pals & their Guys Tourney 2

Amidst the storms this weekend, we managed to get in our rained out spring tournament. Ten couples participated in the fun. Tourney rules are: we pair up, no husbands and wives together, not as a pair or in a foursome. It enables us to meet some new people and get to know the guys that go with our gal pals.
We came in with a 4-way tie for first place, my partner and I among the four.

I guess our pro "Gilligan" did a good job pairing us all up!

Dotti was the big winner with longest drive and closest to the pin!

It was a great afternoon for golf... good times, as always, were had by all!

welcome to the world...

Grace Marie

born 9:02 pm May 1, 2009
8 lbs 10 ozCongratulations Robyn and Brendon!

May day... a celebration of planting season

I've learned to listen to Mother Nature and go with what works best for my yard's exposure and my ability to take care of my summer annuals. I always go with Begonias. I like to have lots of flowers around, but I'm not always around to water them so... I need something that doesn't require too much care. For me it's Begonias, they always bloom real well and do me proud.

Diggin' in the dirt, that's what I'll be doing this weekend!
what are you up to?

(that is... besides power washing and getting the lake house clean and ready for summer visitors)