Reviews and More

I used to golf quite a bit when I was in high school, but haven’t had much of a chance to play in recent years. However, now that my son is in preschool, I have six blissful hours of freedom per day — which is definitely enough time to head out to the driving range or play a quick round at the par-3 course near my house. With summer here, this is a great chance for me to get back into the game again.

One of the first things I’ve got to do is buy a new set of golf clubs. I don’t have my own anymore, and have actually been using my husband’s on the few occasions that I’ve played in the last 10 years or so. He has Ping clubs, but I’ve never really liked that brand. I used to use Taylor Made when I was in high school, but I don’t know if they’re any good anymore.

Golf club technology has changed so much in the last 10 years that it’ll take me a long time to figure out which brand is right for me. Should I go with Nike clubs since that’s what Tiger Woods uses? How about Callaway? They’ve been around forever. What do you think? Who makes the best golf clubs these days?

I just read over on People.com that Isaiah Washington was “let go” from the cast of Grey’s Anatomy. Washington has played Dr. Preston Burke for three years, and has recently been in some much-publicized scuffles (both physical and verbal) with castmates. First, he got into a fight with Patrick Dempsey on the set, and apparently grabbed him in a chokehold. Second, he referred to T.R. Knight as a “fag” not once, but twice.

After that, there was obviously a lot of tension on the set, with most of the other actors rallying around Knight — especially Katherine Heigl.

So anyway, Burke’s gone. As far as the storylines go, it’s going to be easy to work that one in since he basically cleared out of his apartment after breaking off the wedding.

I wonder who will step up to replace him? Will Mark Sloane get more screen time? Or will we see a whole new character come in to shake things up.

Either way, I’m really surprised at what happened and can’t wait to see how this affects the show!

The Christmas season is my favorite time of the year, mostly because of all the traditions involved. Beyond the tree and presents, I love the way that everyone places such an emphasis on family. My parents had several great Christmas traditions that I’m looking forward to passing on to my own son now that he’s old enough to appreciate these things.

For instance, one of my favorite Christmas traditions was getting dressed up in my nicest clothes to go see The Nutcracker Ballet. Everyone in my family loved the ballet, and attending the show was the highlight of the season for us. I was always amazed by the grace and beauty of the ballet, and thought the dancers were the luckiest people in the world to be a part of the show! It wasn’t until years later that I learned we just went to local performances with amateur dancers; but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment at all.

Nevertheless, I have always wanted to see The Nutcracker performed by a renowned troupe, which is why I’m already counting down the days until the Moscow Ballet comes to Chicago. Their performance is scheduled for December 9, and I’m going to make sure I buy tickets early so we can get good seats at the Rosemont Theater.

In the meantime, I’m going to head to the official Moscow Ballet gift shop to maybe buy a CD or book to get myself psyched up for the performance. I can’t wait for December!