December « 2007 « The Official Site of Tiffany Faucette

Hi Everyone,

I want to wish you all much happiness, health, and prosperity in 2008!I have always found it interesting what different people do and believe to cultivate luck in the New Year. I have listed below some of the things that I found interesting from my web search. My advice to you is to surround yourself with good friends and a bag of doughnuts. I think I might be ready for my luckiest year yet…Dunkin Donuts, her I come! Oh, and you might want to get a pet rat. Read on:

For Luck in the New Year

Traditionally it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or what they ate on the first day of the New Year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of the New Year in the company of friends and family. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was especially lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man. (Sounds good to me)

Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating doughnuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune. (Ah, the Dutch must be good people!)

Black-eyed peas and cabbage are also thought to bring luck and wealth in the New Year. Black-eyed peas represent pennies and cabbage dollars. A lunch of Hoppin John's could be in order on Jan1. Hoppin John's is basically black-eyed peas and ham.

2008 is the YEAR of the RAT in the Chinese Zodiac.

The "Rat" is the first sign of the Chinese zodiac.
Legend has it that the Jade Emperor invited the animals for a party. The first 12 to arrive was the Rat, followed by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and lastly, the Pig. All the animals were named after the 12-year cycle that governs Chinese life thereafter.

Those born in the Year of the Rat are clever, ambitious, creative, hard-working, fastidious, charming and sociable, but can be a bit stingy when it comes to sharing their wealth or possessions. Rats are compatible with Dragons, Monkeys and Oxen, but should avoid Horses at all costs.

In the Year of the Rat, we can expect 12 months of plentiful opportunities and prospects not to mention being relatively free of turbulence, (which is great to know especially if you're planning on making some long-term investments, starting new projects, or keeping the home fires burning brightly).

January 1st officially became the first day of a new year in 46BC when Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar.

New Year's Resolutions began with the ancient Babylonians. They believed the best way to start off the new year with a clean slate was by returning borrowed items.

Now, my friends, you are armed with information to have an incredibly lucky year in 2008! As always, I will be wishing you good fortune!

Tiff

PS What do you do to bring yourself luck?

(I found the above information on wistar.com and squido.com – if you want any more information about the customs and traditions of the New Year)

Most professional athletes are doing extra preparation behind the scenes that other people don't see. Some of the things we do are fairly silly looking and that is probably why we do them when others aren't around. I have been working on my tempo lately using an XLR8R training aid. For those of you who aren't familiar with the XLR8R, it is basically a shaft with a ball on the end of it instead of a clubhead. The ball part of the club has velcro on it and you swing the velcro ball into an "impact" bag. This does several things: it works on your impact, your tempo, and your swing speed.

Anyhow, I was working on it in my backyard and I swung into the impact bag and the bag flew into the air and onto the roof of my house. It was very funny at the time. My dad had to get a ladder and climb on the roof to get the "impact" bag. It was hilarious watching him climb up there.

Needless to say, I think I will hit it up there again sometime soon just for the entertainment value.

I have hit balls blindfolded. Hit balls with shafts through my belt loops. Learned how to hula-hoop to work on my hip action. There is more, but some I still can't admit too

If you are working on something in your game…good luck, and take heart that others are with you – in looking silly at times in the quest to better themselves and their game.

Fairways and Greens, Tiff

If have any silly practice habits, drop me a line and let me know. It is good to spread the laughs.