I was introduced to country thanks to Bill Mack, the Midnight Cowboy, who was on WBAP Radio (40,000 Watts of Power!) and my grandmother. I can still recall the hot summer nights visiting my grandmother, with the windows open to catch any breeze. There were the sounds of crickets and the occasional howling tomcat coming from outside; and from a transistor radio resting between our pillows came the sounds of Bill Mack and country music.

Thinking back on on my early love of Country Music, I can’t help but think about Willie Nelson.   Nelson was from Texas and did a stint as a DJ in Hillsboro, Texas, which is a short 45 minutes from my grandmothers. He was a song writer as well, writing such classics as Crazy, Pretty Paper, and Hello Walls for other singers. His first number one single as a singer was Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain, from his Red Headed Stranger Album. Can you believe that Columbia Records questioned the album’s use of only a guitar and piano?

I could share a dozen songs from Willie Nelson that I can listen to today and still recall the wonder and appreciation of hearing it like it was the first time and long to sing along. I won’t share a dozen, however, but I will share this wonderful recording of “Always On My Mind“, which won a Grammy in 1982 as Song of the Year. The songwriter in him certainly certainly lends itself to just the right mix of instruments and pacing and I have to admit I like this version better than the Elvis version:

As I got a little older, I realized the Country Music wasn’t so popular with my friends. It’s funny, I grew up in a town where the Kowbell Rodeo had a rodeo every Saturday night between 1958 and 2004, yet the music that was popular was pop and rock. I could enjoy the pop, but I still went through spells of listening to country. By the time I was 13, I had begun singing in spaces outside of my shower (and my living room, where my sister played the piano and I sang). No matter how much I wanted to sing classical arias and popular songs, my voice was best suited to the music I had always loved, country and folk.

When thinking about the days of purchasing sheet music and scrambling for a piano or guitar player to serve as an accompanist, I can’t leave out the amazing Patsy Cline. The movie “Sweet Dreams” came out when I was in high school, and music from that soundtrack made it’s way into both performances as well as part of my audition for a scholarship for college. This is probably one of Cline’s most famous songs,and it was written by Willie Nelson.:

It’s funny, when I was surfing for videos to post, I ran across this song from the 80’s by the Judds. Funny, because I ran across the sheet music to this song in the garage a week or so ago. It’s also funny because the song is quite appropriate for me these days.

It’s been at least two years since since I’ve sung in public, unless, of course you count singing at the grocery store. I do that mainly in an attempt to embarrass children, though I think they find humor in it. I haven’t purchased sheet music in twenty-years. To be honest, I was never a reader of music. I learned everything by ear. These days, I just need to hear a song a couple of times to sing along. The IPod is a wonderful thing as is the ability to search for videos via Google. I’ve been on a habit of listening to CMT in the mornings when I am doing my morning emails, so an introduction to some of the newer faces in Country Music is part of that process.

In addition to the new faces, however, I am treated to hearing from an artist I would consider a real classic. Like Loretta Lynn. In 1994, a Coal Miner’s Daughter does an album with rocker Jack White of White Stripes, which was released when Lynn was 69. Portland, Oregon is one of the best songs in that collection. As I was pulling videos for this post, my youngest commented “her voice doesn’t sound old at all!”  No, ma’am, she doesn’t:

And now that I’ve shared some of the older voices that I’ve grown to love throughout my lifetime, how about closing this post with this sweet song from one of the newer artists, The Zac Brown Band:

I hope you are having a lovely Good Friday. I know that I am……

After coffee and chats, Melissa and I headed on to the nail salon for manicures and pedicures.  It seems like there is a nail salon in every strip mall in the area, but they are not all equal.  Besides, I am picky – and I believe Melissa is just as picky – as to the environment.  It’s amazing how relaxing putting your feet (and hands) in plastic bags filled with hot wax can be, as you would think it was some sort of torture.   Each little nail place is different, and this place does the paraffin as well as a hot rock massage as part of the “deluxe” routine.  Discussions turned a tad more serious when it was just Melissa and I as we discussed work and writing and family related stuff.    We always brainstorm and discuss where we are on All Things Girl when we do this, so it’s both work and pampering.  Two short hours later, we left with beautiful hands and feet.  I chose “I’m not Really a Waitress”, the classic red of OPI world.

By the way, when I grow up, I want to name OPI Nail Polish.  The names are always so clever.

I am having a love affair.  It may be an unrequited love, though I have this hope that one day, my love will be returned.  Well, if not returned exactly, at least rewarded.  Last Sunday, after losing about half a dozen balls to the Golf Water God, my love gave me what I had been seeking.  The flight of a little white ball up and over the twelve-foot creek.  My love?  My 7-Iron.

My clubs have only been with me for about a month.  I purchased them shortly before the New Year.  Oh, and speaking of love, I love how they look.  They are beautiful, all of their shiny little heads connected by flexible shafts to lovely grips.  I researched Ladies clubs and though I don’t quite understand every bit of science and mathematics behind their creation, but I do know that of the six sets of clubs I considered before making the investment, these sounded the best when I hit the ball.    They are much nicer than my first clubs, a heavy iron set of Wilson’s.  And the lovely sounding (and lightweight) clubs were packaged in a beautiful blue and green bag. Seriously, do I look like the kind of girl who would carry around a hot-pink golf bag? Do you know how hard it is to find ladies golf clubs that aren’t packaged in pink, hot pink, or purple?

On my first couple of outings with my new clubs, my hybrid 5-iron was my favorite.  But the  over-the-water shot moved the 7-iron to the top of my list.  It’s place in my heart was sealed when I hit off the tee box on a Par 3 hole and made it over yet another creek.    I am new at golf, so managing to get the golf ball airborne a feat, let alone combining it with distance.

I know, I know.  Don’t tell the other clubs that I am having and affair with the 7-iron.  I don’t want them to be jealous.

It came down to this:  would I rather play the “match”  game or would I rather work on my golf game.  No matter how I look at it, golf wins.

When I am playing golf, on the driving range, reading golf books, taking golf lessons, practicing my putting, practicing chipping balls onto a green or buying golf clothes I am focused and happy and content.  What started as a need to get a hobby (and do something besides work) has become something I can be passionate about.  No matter how badly I play, there is always one amazing drive, one laugh at my self moment, one smooth little putt.  I can tune out everything stressful in my life for the 3 minutes I am standing behind a ball with a club in my hand, even if I know things will still be there when I am finished with my time with my clubs.

Today is when I knew that the instinct of golf over trying to meet new men to date was right for me at this particular moment in my life:  It’s in the 30’s outside with a warm-up to the mid-40s today.  I had planned on playing 9-holes today with my regular golfing partner and 18-holes tomorrow with a group of folks we hang out with (we ended up with 6 of us playing Sunday if they don’t chicken out).  And I chose to go buy UnderArmour Cold Weather Gear instead of canceling.  Because I enjoy it that much.  It’s worth spending a little money to be comfortable and to play instead of staying home.

This is the girl who has traveled 800+ miles to have dinner with a man I was seeing even though we only had time in our long-distance-overworked lives to have form 6 PM to 9 AM to be together.  I like dating and the things that come along with it.  I love Golf THAT much.

It isn’t that I’m not willing to meet someone new or have a date with someone that I know already…I am just saying that when it comes to my time, Golf brings me Happiness and dealing with Match.Com was a time-suck.

So, yeah.  Golf.    I have never – in my entire life – been athletic enough to play a sport well til now.  It really does float my boat.

I look at what I wear on the golf course like this: I am not a great player, so I have to make up for my bit of suckiness with cute clothes. I figure it helps balance out my game. Unless it is Arctic cold, you will not see me on the golf course in anything but a skort (cause I do have good legs) and a shirt that matches.

It’s about an “outfit” – not just golf clothes.  I invested in good shoes (Nike) and even segregate my golf socks from the regular socks here at home (or else they would disappear). Yes, typically my socks will match my clothes.

Now, some things are necessities.  Like the visor.  I’ve never been a hat person, so it’s a difficult addition.  The Pony Tail is necessary when it’s windy, or my hair ends up in my eyes or my mouth.  Next time, I need to put my hair up before we hit the course (I attempted to just use the visor).

What you can’t see if the fleece pullover (that, of course, matches my skort as well as the other golf clothes living in my closet). The temps were in the 50’s when we teed off of the 1st hole, but warmed up to the mid-60’s and I was able to shed down to shirtsleeves by the 6th hole.

Oh.  And everything I’ve purchased has been on clearance of some sort.  I bought some things when the summer clothes were on clearance at Thanksgiving – and have bought a few things that are more wintery now that the spring clothes are coming into the stores.

So, there ya have it.  A snapshot of me on the course and a few thoughts about dressing when I head to the golf course.

I am already watching the forecast for another warm day here in North Texas.

Experts in different fields are needed at times.  A company may hire a consultant when their staff is either inexperienced with the process, when a company doesn’t have enough staffing for make a project succeed, or when they need a person from the outside to give an honest assessment and plan of action to meet a goal.  It’s often a combination of these – and a half-dozen other things that influence a decision to hire a consultant.  The hardest projects to execute are the ones that are going to require a restructuring.   While a consultant gets to know a company’s employees and culture, they are not tied to the emotions of either.   Stepping outside of the forest to see not only the trees, but the leaves is often the best way to affect change.   A consultant assists in putting together a plan of action, and helps the company follow the plan.   It’s a difficult decision to bring someone in that doesn’t live there, but it’s smart.

If you need a top notch project manager, hire me.  I am passionate about my work and I love challenging situations.  I’m also incredibly intelligent, as the rest of this blog will show you I know when to dig in and finalize a project myself, and when it’s time to call in someone with more expertise and experience.

I hired a consultant today.  The project I needed assistance on?  My body.

I took a good hard look at my body today in numbers (weight, body fat, cardio fitness, flexibility).  I also looked at the health numbers from the past year (increased cholesterol, high blood pressure) as well as my lifestyle (little exercise, too much dining out,  days of not eating enough, days of eating too much, not enough sleep).   I generally know how to work out and I know how I should be eating, but knowing these things does not make the change automatic nor does it make me an expert.

So, I hired a trainer today.  I need to get all the numbers relating to my body back in order.  (I also want to improve my golf game. ) My trainer is experienced in the fat loss and has sport-specific training experience (he has trained a  golfer that is on the PGA tour).  I want to enjoy playing golf and not be sore from all the flexing – and I was stiff after spending an hour at the driving range on Saturday.

“Constructive” in 2009 is about questioning myself and my choices.    Am I an expert at the restructuring that needs to be done to my routines in order to affect the changes I want in my body?   If I am true to my intent, then there is a requirement for getting a little expert help.