18 Thankful Thoughts

Here's the list I wrote about in, Gratitude: Thanksgiving Day is more than turkey and football, it's a key to happiness

1. I'm thankful to be alive; to have a lifetime to explore, share, learn, grow and live.

2. I'm thankful for my good health; a sound mind and body that's needed to accomplish my goals and reach for my dreams.

3. I'm thankful for a place to call home; a warm bed and the security of having such.

4. I'm thankful for a healthy and loving son. My life would not be the same without him. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a mother and I cherish my parental responsibility.

5. I am thankful for two legs that are strong. Without them, I wouldn't be able to run and without running I would lose my sanity. Running and reaching goals has strengthened my mind and body so very much. 

6. I am thankful for those around me that love me. I am thankful for their friendship and their love. I am thankful for the time that they take out to talk, listened and be there in my life. 

7. I am thankful for every second of my past. I have made mistakes, but I live without regret. Life is a journey of experiences that make us who we are. I am forever grateful. 

8. I am thankful for the ability to work and earn a living. Not everyone is fortunate enough to live without disability and I do not take this for granted.

9. I am thankful for the smiles that people share along the journey of life. A smile is the easiest way to brighten someone's day, thank you.

10. I am thankful for warm clothes to wear when it is cold and for the shoes I put on my feet. There are people without this very basic necessity and I do not take this for granted.

11. I am thankful for my able hands. Without my hands I would not be able to play the game that has brought so much joy into my life, golf. Without hands, I wouldn't be able to type and it would make sharing my thoughts and ideas much harder. I would find a way, but I am thankful that I do not need to.

12. I am thankful for not having to worry about where my next meal is coming from. I know this is a reality in so many people's lives and I do not take this for granted. I want to do everything within my power to help those in need of food. No one should go hungry.

13. I am thankful for a family that loves me. I am thankful for a mom that still checks on me. I am thankful for brothers that look after their big sister. I am thankful for the memories of my late-sister that comfort me. I am thankful for her life and what facing her death did to change me as a person. I am thankful for my extended family and their love and support.

14. I am thankful for the love of a man that shall remain nameless. I am thankful for his soul. I am thankful for his love and for the time that I spent with him. I am thankful.

15. I am thankful for my freedom. I am thankful for every person that has ever done anything to protect it, enforce it and honor it. I am thankful for the freedom of speech and the freedom to live life without fear.

16. I am thankful for my son's loving and responsible father. His father and I are no longer together, but I am thankful for a positive post-divorce relationship that is focused on what's best for our son.

17. I am thankful for my sense of humor. Life wouldn't be as much fun without it. I am thankful for the ability to laugh and the use humor to deal with some of the BS.

18. I am thankful for you, yes, you. I am thankful for you taking time out of your life to read my thoughts. I am thankful for your support of my dreams. I am thankful for a connection with you. I am thankful for your friendship. I am thankful for you.   

Live a Life Worth Repeating!

Looking in the mirror after the shave!

“The ink is within you; write the story of your life.” ~ Augusta Golf Girl   

Within all of us is a desire to live our lives in our own special way. 

I cannot tell you how you feel or who you are as a person, but I can share with you my own thoughts and who I am trying to become. Maybe my thoughts will make you laugh, maybe they will spark something within you, or maybe they will simply be just thoughts. I’m okay with all of that. 

I’ve had a major mind shift within the past few years from living  a life of routine to creating a life I’d love to live again. This one mind shift has caused me to pay more attention to the things that really matter: happiness, quality of life, family, learning and growing as a person, and loving myself in a positive manner. 

Life truly is a journey.  We can decide to go on a magical journey of adventure and exploration or a journey simply filled with destinations. I want my life journey to be filled with exploring and adventure.  I am focusing my intentions on creating that life. It is my decision to make and my goal to accomplish. I do not want to do it alone, nor could I. I want to allow myself to be open to everything and everyone. That’s a life worth creating. 

Let’s get out our ink and write our story, together. 

{Cheers!} to living a life worth repeating. 

I would be honored to hear your thoughts. I can always be reached at sandie@augustagolfgirl.com or feel free to leave a comment here.  

Be Bold, Be Brave, Be Bald

Shaving my head...

For a few months now I've wondered what it would be like to shave my head. Why in the world would I want to do this you ask? Here are a few of my thoughts...

1.  Life is short; always take risks. {Hair can grow back, not a big risk.  My life as a bald woman living in a conservative town is risky.}

2.  Life is best lived in a simple way. Less is more, way more. By shaving my head I would eliminate the need for time consuming upkeep and shave (pun intended) time off of my already tight schedule of getting dressed everyday.

3.  I want people to like me, not my hair. If people only like or don't like me because of the way I look, then I'd rather not even know those people. 

4.  I want to know what you guys (or girls) feel like. (Ya know, the ones of you with the bald heads.) 

5.  I want to cross it off my 'Fck It' List.  I want to do it now when it's a risky move and not when I'm old and gray and it really doesn't matter. #BringIT! 

6.  I want to open my mind to new perspectives. I want to know what cancer patients feel like. I've worked on so many cancer charity events and it breaks my heart each time I see a woman that is bald because she has no other choice. I want to show her that she is all woman, with or without hair. 

7.  I want to donate my locks. I want to help someone brighten their lives by giving them what I have always taken for granted, my hair.  Pantene Beautiful Lengths looks like a great charity to help. 

8.  Life is meant to be lived without fear.  I want to face my fear of the unknown, always.  I am not afraid of shaving my head, but I will acknowledge the fear of the unknown.  I will face that fear and be bold, be brave and #LIVEIT!

FYI: September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month! October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month! {Cheers!} to fighting cancer, finding a cure and helping those with it! 

I'll be doing this soon and proudly posting pictures. 

Censor Me This

Today I walked into my local grocery store here in Augusta and as I waited to make my purchase I noticed something, Cosmo Magazine was hidden behind one of those ‘family shields’. 

Really? Cosmo? Are we in such denial about the real world that we must hide a cover of a woman’s body and the word sex? This surprised me. But it was only after I noticed that the Women’s Fitness magazine was also behind a ‘family shield’ did I get a little irked. WTF? A fitness magazine? Come on, people. How long do we have to live in denial? There is nothing wrong with a fit woman on the cover of a fitness magazine. Nothing. 

If I read Cosmo, which I don't, I would have felt very dirty trying to get a peek at the cover to even see if I wanted to buy it. I wonder just how many people don't buy magazines simply because they are hidden behind 'family shields'?

I thought about this as I walked out of the store for a good bit. Why must we hide behind our Sunday dresses and pretend that we are perfect? We aren’t. I’m not. Nor would I want to be. 

I grew up in a very strict church family and still have those values in my life, but I also decided to be honest about myself and my beliefs, thoughts and desires. 

I desire a beer after a long day in the office, but I do not care to get drunk. 

I desire a cigar to help me relax, but I do not care to offend someone with my smoke.

I desire the beauty of lovemaking, but I do not desire to make love to just anyone. 

I desire to have sex when, where and with whom I chose, but I desire to chose wisely.

I will not allow society to control my personal beliefs about what is wrong and what is right. I am a responsible woman and will make an honest attempt to live my life with integrity and desire.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on censorship. Reach me here sandie@augustagolfgirl.com  

NSFW {New Sexual Form of Woman}

"I consider promiscuity immoral. Not because sex is evil, but because sex is too good and too important." - Ayn Rand 


Sex, it isn’t a bad word. On the contrary, it’s a good one. 

Being raised in an ultraconservative Christian home in the South surely had a little something to do with my early ideas about sex. It wasn’t something that was mentioned in my family’s home and good girls didn’t dare say that they knew anything about it.  I even had it in my mind that I wouldn’t have sex until marriage. So much for that idea.  

I had sex for the first time at fifteen, yes, fifteen, to an older boy that told me he loved me and yada yada yada. I agreed to have sex with him as his birthday gift. (His idea. Yeah, I was fifteen and dumb.)  I thought it was going to be so very special. Boy, was I ever wrong. I showed up to his birthday party and later that night we had sex. What? That’s it? Really? Damn. The next morning my cousin called to tell me that after I left his house he also had sex with her best friend. WTF? Well, at least I was first. I was bitter, angry, hurt and confused to say the least. I again swore off sex until marriage. 

My high school and college years were typical and no, I didn’t save myself for marriage. I did however view sex differently and wasn’t willing to simply sleep with just anyone.  I had boyfriends breakup with me because I wouldn’t have sex with them. Their loss.  I didn’t ever want to feel cheap again like I did at fifteen.  My next sexual relationship was to a long-term boyfriend when I was 19.  I’m glad I didn’t go through high school dealing with sex issues. That’s the only good thing that came out of my horror of my first time.

It wasn’t until my thirties that I began to fully understand just what sex meant to me. I had always allowed other people’s ideas and needs to come before my own. I like most Americans have been married and now divorced. I’m 100% okay with this. I have a beautiful son and learned some very valuable lessons along the way. The one lesson that I learned it that you have to sometimes fight to be who you want to be. I am a sexually secure woman with old-school values and new-school ideas. I’m okay with this, it’s society that I sometimes worry about. Well, not anymore. 

This is a small portion of my true ideas and thoughts about life and sex. I plan on sharing more of those thoughts here.  If you enjoy reading, this makes me happy. If I offend you, I apologize in advance. Welcome to my true life, no MTV needed for this show.

Never ask a women to tone it down, but if you like what you’re reading please let me know at sandie@augustagolfgirl.com    

Graceful Balls at Play

Writing with a Guinness.

“Courage is grace under pressure.” - Ernest Hemingway

Do you have courage or are you just a cowardly lion? Do you hide behind your big mane even though underneath it all you’re just a *****?

Courage isn’t something that we are born with. It is something that we develop through difficult experiences. Looking fear in the eyes and not backing down is courage. There can be many fears in one’s life. Little fears and big fears both require courage to overcome. 

Recently I made a conscious decision not to allow my fears to control my life. I decided that I would face my fears one by one and embark on a journey to find my own inner-strength, my courage. Girls in the south aren’t really brought up to be courageous. We are supposed to make sure our hair and makeup is always just right, and charm the world with our smiles. That doesn’t require much courage, nor would I change that about myself for a second. I adore being a woman and all the things associated with it.

We all need courage in our lives. We all need inner-strength. Without it, how do you go after your dreams? You don’t. You sit there making excuses and being unhappy. You sit. You wait. You dream. Why waste away like that? Don’t. Get off your ass. Even if it’s just a small step towards facing your fears, do it. Live your life. Live it well and without fear. 

One of my biggest fears is writing. I have the thoughts and ideas in my head, but putting them down on ‘paper’ is the hard part.  I’m always afraid of the ‘grammar police’ and the ‘cowardly critics’.  Screw them. I’m putting it out there. If it helps one person, then it’s well worth it. 

Don’t be afraid of life. Life is beautiful, if you allow it to be.


Did you grow a set? Share your story, sandie@augustagolfgirl.com  

  

OPM {Overly-Superficial People Mature}

“You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.” - Rosalynn Smith Carter

If you don’t believe in yourself, then don’t expect others to believe in you. 

We live in a world filled with superficials. People can tout anything they want and puff themselves up. I have been guilty of this. I grew up being admired for my beauty (I don’t think I’m all that beautiful, but I am thankful that others do) and allowed people’s opinions to inflate my superficial confidence. Then I matured and realized that I’d much rather be known for what I do than what I look like. It’s easy to live off the admiration of others and go through life never questioning your true self. 

Some people that have never met me and may only read a tweet or two of mine will draw assumptions that I am ‘full of myself.’ Not true. Those that know me, know that I have a sense of self and will never back down from being true to myself. That is something that I am proud of. I was never proud of being superficial, nor should anyone be. 

Why am I writing all of this? Maybe for no other reason than to set the record straight, or maybe you’re reading this and struggle with this very same thing. Maybe it will inspire you to develop your true self and gain confidence in your ability. 

Golf is a world that is perceieved to outsiders for its arrogance. Yessssssss, it is. I’ve dealt with defending it since day one of stepping up to the tee box.  This is something I’d love to see change so that we may open the doors to more new golfers.  Let’s be confident, but let’s leave the arrogance at home. Smack talk is great, but who you know and what you know is far less important than what you do with those contacts and that knowledge. 

This week I was honored with the names of ‘a girl with swinging balls’ and ‘hot yoda’.   Yeah, I dig it. Thanks.

{cheers!} to living life to the fullest and yet doing it with class. ; ) 

Wanna put me in my place? Anytime. sandie@augustagolfgirl.com   

Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness!

Greetings Golf Lovers & Friends! 

This morning someone on Twitter tweeted to me that I was 'too happy for a Monday.'   I kindly disagree. I want to be happy no matter the day, the year or the circumstances in my life. I've decided to be happy, no matter what life throws my way.  I say, #BringIT! ; )  Here's some food for thought, I hope it helps you to find your own 'happy place' in life.  

Are you living? Are you making the most of each and every second of every day? 

Most of us aren’t. Why? Are we afraid? Are we un-motivated? Do we require a reason to live or a swift kick in the ass? Most do.  I did.

Two years ago I was deathly afraid of water and here's a picture of me on the Savannah River this past weekend taking part in Paddlefest.  I made a decision to face my fears and LIVE, happily. We all have that power within ourselves if we simply take the time to bring it out. 

The most important part of our day is the moment we decide to live, to fully live, not just to survive. What’s the fun in simply surviving? None. 

It takes two seconds in your day to change your attitude towards life, is your happiness worth two seconds? The old saying of ‘you can’t buy happiness’ is so very true because you can’t buy two seconds. It takes two seconds to decide to live your life happy.  Aren't you worth two seconds? Yes, you are.  #LiveIT! 

Wanna share your own #LiveIT! story? Reach me at sandie@augustagolfgirl.com  

Here's to a {Happy Life!} ~ Sandie