I am not my MRI...

I guess it's my turn to plead forgiveness for such a long hiatus from blogging. I could give you a long list of excuses, but the best one is I really should be writing a travel blog. After all, this year I have spent over six non-golfing months in fabulous destinations both out of town and country. I rediscovered my hometown of Chicago, found culinary discoveries (mostly potato...as in spud ice cream) in Slovenia, took a breath-taking bike trip in Croatia along their coastline and wine country, found mystery and intrigue hunting down James Bond in Montenegro (only to find the real Casino Royale is in Bosnia), got an insider view of Acapulco and the best marguerita's in the Baja, and my personal favorite, a month-long adventure in China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Vietnam. It didn't add a pearl of golf wisdom that is worth sharing, but the thousands of blog hits means you missed or stumbled upon us, so we will pick up where we left you. As Kim chronicled for you in our previous blog, this past golf season was a physical challenge to both of us. If you didn't know, you might think we are a couple of broken down ole ladies, but I beg to differ! I am not my MRI! You wouldn't even recognize either one of us from our "inside" self. My doc said, "Patti, you have the MRI of an ex-NFL football player but you'd never know it from looking at you." Geez that was comforting. But he had a point...Even though both Kim and I have a few kinks in our internal armor, it doesn't hold us back. I know I will survive and go on playing golf (and skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, biking, and whatever else my fanatically fit friends invite me to do) until they pry the club and/or ski poles out of my hands! Kim will keep on golfing, volunteering, being a mom, cheerleader to her family and friends, and of course shopping, shopping and shopping (she is going to kill me for this dig) and we will provide you with the best products, fashion, and style know-how to keep the "bling" in your swing.


I'm in Naples Florida this month so I am getting a much needed headstart on my golf game this season from my friends and family in the Mid-West, and particularly those of you who are in my current home state of Utah.  Eat your heart out...it was sunny and 75 degrees when I teed off this morning.


Good Health to You!
Patti

WE'RE BACK!!!!!

Well friends, it has definitely been a long time since we posted our last blog…July 8, 2010 to be exact.  Can you imagine our surprise when we logged on after a very long hiatus and realized that we had received over 400,000 hits while we were in our non-blogging, hibernation phase?   So as we both pondered this number, we came to the conclusion that people may actually want to hear what we have to say about golf, friends and life…as crazy as that seems.   Our apologies for the break, and we hope you enjoy this posting and look forward to many more!

Part of the reason for our extensive break in blogging has been due to health issues (namely back and neck) for both of us.  You know it’s not a good health year when you get excited to receive a medical bill from a provider that says zero owing because you have reached your maximum out-of-pocket expenses of $10,000 on your health insurance policy…”look honey-it’s free!”.  Since the beginning of August, I have spent my post-golf season in and out of various doctors’ offices and ER’s.   After one of many MRI’s, I finally received the unfortunate diagnosis of five bulging discs in my neck, four of them having significant bone spurs, with no options for surgery.  So as Patti was offering her sympathy, and still struggling with her own back issues, she decided to get MRI’s and xrays herself.  She also had the unfortunate diagnosis of a similar neck issue, but with bulging discs and bone spurs in her lower back as well, for a total of nine compromised discs.   While I have spent every Wednesday for the last five months at a physical therapist’s office, Patti has been experimenting with various “cutting edge” back procedures (no pun intended).  Fortunately, physical therapy has given me some relief, but Patti is still unsure about her treatment options and prognosis.  

As you can imagine, all of this has really put a damper on our LPGA aspirations, but there are still the hopes of simply improving our handicaps (and I mean that literally, not figuratively).   So some of you might be reading this and thinking “this is coming from two girls who are supposed to be writing a golf blog?”  Trust me…it seems crazy to us too.  But as the golf season approaches, Patti and I are both somewhat optimistic regarding our potential.  I actually golfed yesterday…breaking out new golf clubs, wearing double fleece and 1600 milligrams of Ibuprofen for my morning snack, with the attitude of “how bad could it be, right?”  Golfing from the men’s tees with my dad, I have to say I was extremely happy with a golf score of 99, which will probably bring my handicap down ever-so-slightly.  Fortunately, Patti is headed to Florida this month for her own “physical therapy”…golf, relaxation and sun with family.  I am assuming with that kind of therapy her handicap will trend downward as well.  

So while one of our original ideas was how to put some “bling in our swing”, we are still hopeful that this won’t end up being a website for bedazzled neck and back braces.   However, we do have some great news!  Our golf product that was originally inspired by our bling swing attitudes will be available soon (whether or not you are a golfer) on our “under construction” website.  

And always remember…”golf is a game that is played on a 5-inch course – the distance between your ears”.  –Bobby Jones

Cheers,

Kim