A New Year

Hi friends,

I cannot believe it is almost February. Wow, how time flies.

I had a busy and restful (a forced rest :) holiday season. My brother, Andy, and sister-in-law, Mary, joined my mom and I for Christmas for a few days and we enjoyed some family time including trips to Tampa for a Tampa Bay Lightening Game and a day trip to St. Augustine. Mom and I headed north to Cleveland, OH for a few days right after the new year for a baby shower for my sister-in-law. In between all of the family activities I was working part-time at TPC Sawgrass and doing some substitute teaching. A sinus infection sidelined me for a few days as well as an unexpected cat bite that put me on antibiotics for ten days. Too much excitement!

After our return from Cleveland I started to put on my game face :). I learned that I have "C" status on the Duramed Futures Tour which should allow me to play in every event that I want. With that in mind I began my workouts and practices again with focus. In this vein, I decided to supplement my strength program with spinning classes in the gym. It's challenging but very satisfying to burn 500 calories in an hour or less! I am thankful for my friend Deb who calls me at 4:45AM so that I can be at the gym on time for my 5:30AM class on Tuesday and Thursdays!

My coach, Tom Lynch, was in town for a few days this week on his way to Orlando and will be returning for a few more days before he departs for Pennsylvania. His visit has really helped me refine some things on which I am working and getting me prepared for the season ahead. I plan to head to Orlando on Sunday, February 8th for my first event of the season on the SunCoast Tour. After that I plan to play in the Florida Women's Open in early March and the first two Duramed Futures Tour events in Florida (Winter Haven and Daytona Beach) in March and early April.

I will keep you posted on the rest of the winter and spring as my schedule comes together but I do expect to spend most of my time based out of Jacksonville this year. For various reasons, it's been tough to move up north every spring and then move south again in the fall. Bottom line, I am trying to stretch my budget as far as possible and being in one place for the whole year makes a lot of sense. I will continue to work at TPC Sawgrass part-time and commute to Orlando to play in a lot of SunCoast Tour events.

I am looking forward to a fruitful season and an opportunity to compete. I am especially excited about the prospect of qualifying for the US Women's Open which will be held at my home course where I learned to play the game, Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Personally, I feel very refreshed after some time at home and an opportunity to get more invested in my church community and friendships in Jacksonville. I am very thankful for two groups of women who I am currently participating in a bible study with...the women of Christ Church and the women of Neptune Baptist Church. They have helped me "stay the course" and reminded me of where my hope and purpose is found.

Looking forward to sharing the year with you! More soon...

Mary