Sorry it’s been too long…I’ll try to give you the quick version of life in the last few months.  Finished the season and was pretty disappointed with the end result.  After season I moved from Greenville, SC to Wilminton, NC.  After moving I worked really hard to get ready for q-school, but it just wasn’t my week.  After a week of bad weather, bad rulings, and just bad luck, I decided to go home to Idaho for awhile.  I surprised my family for Christmas which was really nice.  I was there through the new year where I flew from home to Phoenix.  I went to the Tostidos Fiesta Bowl, where I met up with some good friends from tour.  I was cheering on my Boise State Broncos who played the TCU Horned Frogs.  I was sitting with Angela Stanford (TCU Alum) in the TCU section, so I was a little outnumbered.  My boys pulled it off though and it was a really fun game!!!!!  After the game it was back to Wilmington where I started doing something new.  I am the assistant coach at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.  I am really enjoying it and the team is great.  We are looking forward to an amazing semester and we’ll hopefully wrap it up by making it to Nationals, which we are hosting!!!!!  So now I am working on my game as well as working with the girls.  I am excited for both seasons to start and I am really excited for 2010.  I am unbelievably happy with everything in my life right now and it’s such a great feeling!!! Until next time….everyone BE HAPPY!!!!!!

Golf is a funny game.  It’s a game that is full of it’s ups and downs.  Every person who has ever played the game, seen the game or heard of the game can verify that.  I love my job.  I think I have one of the best jobs in the world and every day I feel so blessed to be able to play a “game” for a career.  I have been out here for 7 years going between the Duramed Futures Tour and the LPGA.  This game has given me so many things through my years.  Every week we acquire more and more fans, we meet new families who want to do whatever they can to help us out, as well as see old families we have stayed with for years.  We get a chance to be away from everything that we know that is comfortable and gain our independance, but we also find friends to travel with who help us stay grounded and feel less alone.  Looking around I see many healthy women who are playing a great game and really enjoying life.  This got me to thinking, what can all these healthy women do to help other people around the country?  A blood drive sounded like a great idea to me.  “Every 2 seconds someone in the United States needs blood.  Only 5% of the eligible US Population donates blood every year.” (from redcross.org)  Giving blood is the only way to get blood.  There is no substitute.  There is no way to “make” blood like there is many other things to help people who are sick.  It takes an hour out of our day and our body will replenish itself within 24 hours.  Sounds easy enough right?  I thought so.  So, I brought up the idea to the Fellowship group on the Duramed Futures tour and got their full support, and the ball officially started rolling.  I talked with the Duramed Futures Tour staff to find a tournament that would be a good “fit” and our event in Connecticut was the winner.  The charity is Chip in for a Cure which helps with cancer, so we thought that donating blood there would be a great fit.  We ha ve been working with the tournament staff there and with the American Red Cross as well to get this going.  We wore ribbons on our hats or clothes and people started asking what it was for.  And the blood drive got talked up.  It was on our pre and post-information sheets to get the word out to all the players.  There will be many of the tournament staff, the Duramed Futures Tour Staff, Fellowship group members, as well as players and caddies from the tour who are going to be stopping by that day to donate blood.  On Tuesday July 14th from 11 am to 5 pm The American Red Cross will have a Blood Mobile out at the tournament course.  This blood drive is open to anyone who would like to participate.  Players, parents, caddies, staff, FANS, and anyone else who would like to help support such a wonderful cause are more than welcome to stop by.  Being young and healthy I feel a responsibility to be able to give back to people who need what I can give.  As a tour player there are people that I don’t even know who are out there supporting me and what I do from afar, so for me to be able to do that for someone ,and it may even save their life, is a true blessing.  I am looking forward to the blood drive and I am hoping that it will be a huge success.  I am so excited to see an idea actually become a reality!!!!!!!  Please plan to take an hour out of your day, you never know whose life you may be saving!!!!! For more information go to www.redcross.org or www.givelife.org

Well it’s been a pretty busy time since my last update.  June started off with me going to spend a few days with a good friend in Michigan.  I had a brilliant plan of driving over to Iowa and playing a practice round for our Duramed Futures event there and then driving to Chicago to do the same for the US Open qualifier course.  This plan would have been perfect if I hadn’t injured my neck somehow.  I ended up driving to the courses and then just walking them and not able to play.  I did get to see them so I thought that was better than not. 

After Chicago I drove to Springfield, IL to prepare for the Monday qualifier.  I played pretty solid except for 1 bad hole and missed qualifying by a shot.  So I was back off to Iowa.  I played really solid for the first 2 days and was in great position before having a rough Sunday.   I didn’t have much time to think about it as I was off to Chicago to pick up my parents who came into town for 3 weeks. 

Decatur was our only major of the year and it was an up and down 4 days for me.  I didn’t have much time to think about that either because the 36 holes for the US Women’s Open were on Monday.  I played pretty good for the 36 holes, but came up 2 shots too many.  Maybe it’s time I take a break :)  At least that’s what I keep telling myself.  After the 36 holes, we drove to Mason, OH for our next event.  It was another great first 2 days and I was feeling good going into Sunday.  Things just didn’t go my way again as I closed with a 77 and moved WAY down the list.  We need to figure it out that’s for sure!!!!

Onto Hammond, IN next.  On Tuesday morning my dad threw his back out and was not able to caddy for the week.  We ended up changing their flights and they went home on Thursday morning so he could get better.  It was a good week. I played the most solid golf for 3 days that I have so far this season.  My 66 in the second round moved me right up into the mix of things and it was nice to be in the 2nd to last group on Sunday.  My score on Sunday was not great, but I played much better than then number, so it’s very encouraging for me. 

I am at home in South Carolina for a few days relaxing and getting in some good practice at Thornblade Club.  It’s great to be there and feel the support from the membership.  And hey, when the US Open Champion Lucas Glover is a memeber there, you really can’t go wrong!!! :)  Hoping to continue the good play and maybe even get a W here before the year is over!!!!

Well can you believe it, May is almost over already. This year is flying by already!!! I made it to Corning in order to play in the Monday qualifier. I played solid, just didn’t shoot low enough to make it into the event. It was still a great week. I practiced and got some work done, as well as hung out with a couple close friends. It was a sad ending to a great week knowing that we have been in Corning for as long as I have been alive and this was the 31st and final year. We will definately miss the city and all the people in Corning and the amazing memories that the LPGA has from there…..maybe a miracle will happen and we can go back, I know that’s what all the players are wanting. I’m off to take a trip west heading to Iowa, Chicago and Springfield…I’ll keep updating from the road!!!!

WOWZERS it’s been such a long time. Been a lot going on. We are in full swing on the Duramed Futures Tour. I have played in 6 events so far and the last this week in Kansas City I had my best finish so far of the year with a tie for 6th. So moving on up. I am sitting in an airport in Denver right now waiting to catch a couple flights in order to make it to Corning, New York tomorrow for the LPGA monday qualifier. It’s been an exciting couple of months and I’m looking forward to new things to come. I have also joined the land of twitter….you can follow me there janellaxo. I will get better at keeping posted on how the season is going. Thanks for keeping up with me and all the support!!!!

Hey everyone….just wanted to catch you up on what has been going on since Hawaii. I went home and basically got ready to leave again.

Meredith, Michelle, Janell with kids from the Arc

On Friday I flew to Shreveport for a pro-am.  This pro-am is a weekend full of activities that included a little bit of Mardi Gras.  The whole idea of the weekend was to raise money for the Arc school of Shreveport.  This is a school that lets handicapped children grow up and learn with other children from ages 0-5.  On Friday Meredith Duncan, Michelle Simpson and I got the opportunity to go to the school and see the kids and learn first hand what we were all coming in for.  It was a true blessing to go and see the smiling faces of the children and how excited they were to have us there.

Lisa and Janell on the float

Friday evening a few of the other girls came into town and we were treated to a night at Superior’s Mexcian restaurant.  Boy was that ever fun.  Saturday we had a crawfish boil and went to the Shreveport night Mardi Gras parade.  Sunday morning rolled around and we were invited to a friends house for a pre-Mardi Gras feast.  We had many different southern dishes from shrimp and grits to gumbo and of course King cake!!! For most of us it was a 1st time experience and one that we are looking forward to doing every year.  After the feast we went to the Mardi Gras parade, however this time instead of watching……we were on a float!!!!  We rode in a float and threw beads and had an amazing time.

Monday morning was the reason we were there.  The David Duncan Memorial Classic Pro-Am.  The people of Shreveport and the members and staff at East Ridge Country Club put on a fantastic event.  All of the girls had a really great time while helping out such a wonderful cause.  The pro-am was a huge success for the community,  The Arc, and the girls who were there.  We can’t wait until next year, Meredith, her family and friends truly know how to host a first class event!!! Until next year…..Laissez les bon temps roulet!!!!!!!

Janell, Leah Wigger, Lisa Strom on the Golf Channel tower behind 17 green

Aloha.  The 2009 season has officially kicked off.  I went to Hawaii for the first event of the year to do the Monday Qualifier.  I knew I wouldn’t get into the event off my number.  It wound up being well worth the trip.  I played great on Monday and qualified!! So I’m in the first event for the year.  It wound up being just like a normal tournament week.  Practice round on Tuesday and pro-am on Wednesday.  The only difference was I played in a pro-am off site.  The pro-am was to benefit the families of our armed forces.  It was an absolutly amazing day.  The 5 guys that I played with couldn’t have been any more fun!! We laughed our way around for 18 holes and even through the entire luncheon.  All the LPGA players who participated really were treated first class and couldn’t have asked for a better day.  It was truly our pleasure to give back and do something for so many people who defend this amazing country that we live in!!!!  The tournament was Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Unfortunately I only got to play on Thursday and Friday, but it was still a great week.  One of my pro-am partners came out with his wife and son and followed for 2 days, so that was special.  I learned a lot and had an amazing time and I’m looking forward to fixing what went wrong and having a successful year!!!

Hello everyone and welcome to 2009!!! I am really excited to get the year started!  To ring in the new year I went to Charlotte and celebrated with a lot of friends.  What a fun way to bring in 09!!!  During the middle of January I took a trip down to Orlando to visit with a good friend who is no longer going to be playing on tour.  Annie Young took the head women’s coaching job at Oklahoma State University and while I will miss her out on tour, I wish her and her husband, Caleb, the best of luck in their new venture. 

After visiting with her I played in a pro-am in Mt. Dora, FL.  There were a lot of Duramed Futures Tour gals there, so it was fun to hang out for a couple days.  The next week I spent down in Palm Beach Gardens with some other great friends.  The game that I play for a living gives me an opportunity to meet so many wonderful people and be able to go pretty much anywhere and visit with them.  It’s so much fun and I really love what I do.  Staying down in south Florida we practiced and played a few times and I was getting ready for my first event of the year. 

Last week I played in the Suncoast Ladies Tournament at Rio Pinar Country Club.  The first day I played very solid.  I shot even par, but was 2 over on my last 3 holes….oops.  Day 2 rolls around and things were going good again, until I hit the last 3 holes, and oops, I was 2 over again, so wound up shooting 1 under for the day.  I was tied for 5th.  I was ready to go low in the final round and things were finally going my way, I was playing great and was 3 under going into 11.  THEN, the rain came.  It literally came down in 5 minutes and EVERYTHING was flooded…..so, we got called off the course and sat for about an hour and a half hoping to go back out.  It wound up being impossible for us to finish so they washed the final round and called it at a 36 hole event.  Of course I was bummed because I was playing well, but I figure I’m sure that it will all come around and even out.  I took a lot of positive things from the week and am working hard on my game this week.  I am back at home in Greenville for the week before I leave to go to Hawaii.  I’m going to go Monday quaify so everyone keep me in your thoughts on Monday!!!!  Hope 09 is going great!! Thanks for sharing this journey with me.  Keep checking back, hopefully I’ll have some more great news to write about :)

Hello everyone.  Just wanted to give some news of the last week.  I had my 31st birthday on Monday.  Then today on Christmas eve, my college roommate and her husband welcomed their first child into the world.  Patrick and Nichole Wienstroer are the proud parents of a healthy baby boy, Garrison Lewis!!!! I’m so excited to go and meet my little “nephew”.  I can’t wait.  I hope you all have a very blessed and Merry Christmas and remember Jesus is the Reason for the Season!!!!!

WOWZERS…it’s OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  What a very long week.  I arrived in Daytona early to play in 2 Suncoast events like I said before, and I am getting ready to leave Daytona as a member of the LPGA!!!  Q-School is never a fun time, and this year was no different.  I played a couple practice rounds after my dad arrived to get him familiar with the courses again, and then it was time for business.  This week is a week of 5 rounds of golf.  We play 4 rounds on 2 different courses and then a cut is made to the low 70 players and ties.  Then we play the 5th and final round to determine status for 2009.  The top 20 gain top priority status and the next 20 have some status.  I really had a good week, even though I didnt finish in the top 20.  I stayed within the top 40 so that gives me my status back.  I shot rounds of 72, 67, 73, 72, 75.  It was a week filled with highs and lows.  The highest for me was in the 2nd round I made a HOLE IN ONE!!!!!! It was awesome, even though none of us saw it go in.  The lowest was not gaining full status…but back to a high, I have SOME status.  I am SO excited to get back out on the LPGA and start playing out there.  Thanks to all of you who continue to support me.  I can’t wait to see what 2009 brings.  Have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy the season!!!!! Until ‘09….God Bless you all!!!!!