Sappy Stuff

Back in the water again

2010-08-03T09:27:00.002-06:00

I decided to join the University of Utah swim team again.

So I showed up at practice, and, magically, I could swim even better than I used to. I didn't get tired and my butterfly was technically perfect. My second kick really made me move.

The coach was very nice and encouraging.

Man, it felt good to be back in the water again!

I decided to go under water and swim one of the lengths pretending I was a mermaid, just like I loved to do when I was little.

Wait just a second. The thought burst into my head: "I'm wearing my underwear! Aaaahhhhh! No wonder everyone is staring at me like I'm a creepo!"

Then the next thought burst into my head: "What time is it???!!! I need to go feed Cole! I haven't fed him for a long time! How long have I been here swimming?!?"

I've gotta go -- I don't care who sees me in my wet underwear. Where did the locker room go? Why are there all these offices on the pool deck?

There's the locker room. But it's roped off. What's going on? Oh look -- another girl just went under the rope into the locker room. I'll do the same.

Man, I forgot how big this locker room is. Where did I put my stuff? My foot tickles. What's on it -- a piece of string? NO -- It's a red SPIDER! I look around and the ground alive, heaving like waves on the ocean. But the waves are made up of red SPIDERS! Now I know why the locker room was roped off! I HATE SPIDERS! Panic mode starts.

Dad! There's my dad! He comes and lifts me up above the spiders! Thanks Dad! He takes me to my locker with all my clothes.

"Dad, where's Cole? I need to go feed him! He must be so hungry!"

"Uh, I don't know," is the only answer I get from my Dad.

This is dream, by the way, in case anyone is still reading this and hasn't figured it out yet. It's one of those dreams that is so vivid I can't forget about it. And I wish I could.

To top things off, this morning while I really was feeding Cole (thank goodness), what do you think I see out of the corner of my eye in our bedroom? A RED spider! Running across the floorboard. But because I was feeding Cole I couldn't stand up to get it! I hurried and finished, put Cole on the bed, and tried to find where the spider went. With no luck.

So there is an evil malicious spider lurking around somewhere in our room where my little Cole is sound asleep in his crib right now.

Did I mention I HATE SPIDERS! So badly that I felt the need to actually enter the blogging world to vent about them.

Cole Steven Wilson

2010-04-21T15:28:00.004-06:00

7 lbs 13 oz

20.5 inches

April 20th 2010 at 8:14 p.m.
30 hours after Maddie arrived at the hospital

Mom is fine

Cole is the cutest baby ever. (don't even try to argue)

Dad feels helpless.

"Patience is a virtue"

2010-04-16T14:45:00.004-06:00

... A virtue I am not handling too well right now.

40 weeks pregnant tomorrow! Yikes!

I'm just going to think about all the beautiful and fragrant flowers and blossoms I saw on Temple Square yesterday when I went and visited Ben at work.

I just heard the news ...

2010-04-08T10:16:00.003-06:00

The BACKSTREET BOYS are doing a tour, and coming to Energy Solutions Arena!! Waaaaa!!!! Memories of my teenage years suddenly came flooding back to me. My life pretty much revolved around the BSB back then. My friend and I celebrated Brian Littrell's birthday every year in junior high. (I think it's around Feb. 22.)

Alas, the group has gone from five to four. Yes, Kevin is no longer with the BSB. I'm not sure why, and don't really care. I think he got too old and they kicked him out. I never got too worked up about him.

In the 10th grade, I saw the BSB as I attended my first real concert with sister Natalie and cousin Meranda at the then Delta Center while my Mom sat in the parents waiting room as we about passed out from screaming and jumping up and down, convinced that Brian definitely waved at us. I will never forget that magical night.

Will I be at their concert this summer? Well, my priorities have changed a little bit. My beloved BSB are no longer No. 1 on my most important list. They're now like No. 2 or 3. So we'll see. It sure would be fun, but I have a feeling Ben isn't going to be as excited as I am about the BACKSTREET BOYS!!!!!

As long as you love me, baby.

Blogs and bellys

2010-03-19T17:48:00.004-06:00

I've been having mixed feelings about blogs lately. What is their purpose? Why do people like to publish pictures and information -- often intimate and personal -- on a public domain that anyone can look at?

I love looking at blogs, though. Many of them are so pretty to look at and funny to read. Some tell you, using pictures, how to make yummy things to eat. Others are very inspirational. And often they provide great and easy ways to catch up with family and friends that you don't get to see much.

I think blogging requires a talent. Well, good blogging requires talent. I do not feel like I have that talent. My enjoyment from blogs comes almost completely from reading them, not actually creating them.

That's how I feel about books too. People ask me about my major in school and my work now and say, "You should write a novel." Ha. Ha. What would I write about? Somebody already stole my hero vampires story idea anyway. Sheesh.

I would rather read novels than write them. I have been so grateful for reading lately. Wuthering Heights and now The Return of the Native have been the most wonderful distractions for me in the past couple of weeks. I tend to worry about things. And go WAY overboard doing so. And I'm creative about it. "What could be the worst possible thing that could ever happen in this situation?" I find myself wondering and coming up with gruesome and nightmarish circumstances.

But these books kind of turn off that part of my brain, and force me to focus on the silly, weird and sometimes disturbing social quirks of the late 18Th Century. Think about it: People spent their entire days walking around heaths, hiding behind bushes to spy on secret lovers while they fight, and fall in love with monstrous, abusive men with long black bushy hair. Oh yeah, and don't forget the superstitions of being born under certain moons, and ghosts. They will haunt you. People then speedily proceed to develop consumption and die. And what awesome stories they are! I absolutely love them.

Maybe I should write about the silly quirks of this day and age. Like ... BLOGGING! I'm sure that 150 years from now people will get the biggest kick out of reading what society was like in the early 2000s.

OK. Enough of that.

I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm not even sure why I'm doing this. But here are some recent pictures of ME! This is me 36 weeks pregnant. The countdown is on! And so is the extreme anxiety and panic. Thank goodness nobody actually looks at this blog. Whew!

Thinking about cows

2010-03-12T09:36:00.002-07:00

Now, I have not had much experience with cows giving birth. But I have arrived at the scene of a birth just minutes after it took place. Without going into too much detail, the calf was kind of slimy and just laying on the ground. The momma (the heffer?) though? She was just standing there chompin away on some grass. Like nothing exciting had even just happened. Now that I think back to that experience, I wonder if the momma even knew that anything was even going on when she gave birth. I bet she was thinking, "Wow, I've got some gas. Hmm. I better start chompin on some more grass."

I wish I could ask Dwight from The Office what the cows go through when they have calfs. He should create some kind of askdwight.com Web site.

Anyway, things like that have been on my mind lately.

Writer's block

2010-03-03T15:07:00.003-07:00

-Spring high school sports have started! Softball, baseball, soccer, ect. So, I have plenty to write about. The tricky part is getting in contact with the coaches. As long as I have been writing for various newspapers, I have always been nervous about my deadlines for some reason. They loom over my head and I go into this crazed mode to get all my work done. I think I need to chill out a little bit.

-Which is what I did on Monday evening. Ben and I started a child-birthing class. For about 20 minutes of the class Monday, I laid on the hard floor in the dark, listened to funky wind chime music and envisioned my womb. It sounds very funny, but the class as a whole was extremely informative and helped me relax a little bit and feel more confident. And Ben learned how to massage and stretch my aching back and hips -- that was pretty awesome. The "coaches" (that's Ben) also got a massage from their partners, too, so they wouldn't feel left out.

-I want to say THANK YOU to all the Copper Hills High School swimmers who very sweetly pitched in for a coach gift card. We got a great car seat with thier help!

-I am improving on my cake-decorating skills. (A little) Here is my latest creation: A red velvet birthday cake for Natalie. (I have to admit, Ben did the letters. That kind of stuff is just way beyond my capacities.)

The masterpiece

2010-02-15T11:02:00.007-07:00

I'm going to start a cooking blog. Mmm-mmm! Doesn't this just look divine? Best-looking cake I've ever seen! This was my attempt at a scrumptious Valentine's Day treat. Too bad the frosting wouldn't spread. We think it is because this cake recipe did not call for any oil, so when we tried spreading the frosting, the cake just kept falling apart.

But, never judge a cake by it's appearance, because it tasted very yummy, and the entire thing was gone after a couple hours. (No, I did not eat the whole thing myself out of self pity because I can't make a cute cake.)

I'm going to try a different recipe -- any suicidal cake testers out there that dare to try my inventions?

Anyways, I have a huge problem lately. I work from home now, writing. :) (That is not the problem.) I've found that because I work from home, there is really no hurry to get ready in the morning. I can work in my Pj's if I want to. And I've developed a great dislike of getting dressed in the morning. It's BAD!! It's just so easy to get up and go straight to work without getting ready. My only hope is when I workout in the mornings, then I HAVE to get ready. But working out seems to be getting harder and harder lately now that I'm 31 weeks pregnant. I've slowly gone from working out four days a week to three, and lately a measly two. My body just doesn't like to move anymore. The worst thing is that I am NOT a pretty picture in the morning. Good thing Ben gets out of our apartment by 6:30 every morning, before I'm up.

Any advice? Or has this post just made me sound like a weirdo?

Watch out for those Charmin Bears -- they ain't so charming

2009-12-29T14:43:00.003-07:00

I just have to share this with the wonderful blogging world.

The other night, well, more like extreme early morning, I couldn't sleep. (Story of my life lately.) So, I was just lying there listening to Ben's deep breaths, which seemed to taunt me by whispering "Oh, sleep is so good, what a deep sleep I'm in, don't you wish you were snoring away like this?"

Anyways, all of a sudden, Ben's long breaths became very shallow and short gasps. Like he couldn't catch his breath or he was panicking. It scared me very badly at first! "What is wrong with him," I thought. The idea came to my head then that maybe he was dreaming. I decided to wake him up to make sure he was OK.

He woke up easily, which usually is not the case for Ben. (I swear there could be a marching band in the room jumping on the bed and he wouldn't even stir.) I asked him if he had a bad dream, and he mumbled yes. I was very relieved.

"And the weird part was that you were going to the bathroom in a tree," he told me.

"What???" But it was too late, he was fast asleep already.

The next day I couldn't help but ask for more details about this dream. Ben cracked up when I asked him.

Apparently, while I was going to the bathroom in a tree in the mountains, Ben was standing by some bushes when he heard some growling noises coming from the other side of the plants. Suddenly, a big bear (looking exactly like the ones in those Charmin toilet paper commercials on TV) stood up on its hind legs and raised one paw in the air, like it was announcing its presence or something.

The bear then proceeded to get down on all fours again. Ben couldn't see where the bear went until it stuck its big old butt out of the bushes, aiming straight for Ben, lifted up its little cotton-ball tail, and blasted the biggest fart ever in Ben's face.

And that's when I woke him up. Drat, I would have loved to hear more of that dream.

I wonder if Ben may have been experiencing some gastrointestinal problems that night.

Haunted house, a little late

2009-12-11T19:43:00.002-07:00

This picture was meant to be posted around Halloween because of the scary house that sits uninhabited in Summit, Utah. My sisters and I have tested our bravery growing up as we've visited my Stapley grandparents in Summit by daring each other to go near that house. None of us ever made it past the fence. But, upon his first visit to the house, Ben showed us all up by walking past the fence, onto the porch, and probably would have walked right inside if it weren't for me begging him to come back. I thought the house was going to cave in on him or he would get a disease or something. I guess that shows the difference between boys and girls.

Which provides me with a nice transition. Speaking of boys and girls ... We found out in November that our baby is a BOY!!! I was pretty much in shock when we found out. I did not think I was able to have a boy inside of me! I'm a little intimidated -- I know how girls are, but I don't know what boys like! But at the same time, I sure am happy that he's a boy.

Other November items:

-We lost Grandpa Stapley to leukemia. We all miss him greatly.
-I went from having 0 jobs to 2 all in one week. I've been a little stressed out ever since.
-Ben went from having a temporary job to an internship, that, all though we are very grateful for, is also temporary.
-We found out that Max Hall hates us. Darn.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T15:06:00.002-06:00

Our dryer sadly stopped working this morning. It was given to us for free, and we were very grateful for it, but it's dead now. So, I brought all my laundry to my mom's house today.

And it smelled so good when I came in! My mom made Halloween cupcakes and let me frost and sprinkle them. How festive I felt today!

Here's some eye candy for you.

Baby Wilson: Coming April 2010

2009-10-21T16:03:00.002-06:00

OK, here it goes: We are expecting a baby!! Due to my crazy sisters, I think the whole world may already know, but I thought I'd better make the official announcement anyway.

I had my second doctor's appointment today, and was able to hear the fetus'/unborn child's/baby's ( I highly prefer to call it "baby;" that sounds the least alien-like) heart beat! I can't believe how excited it made me feel to hear the heart beat! It had 150 beats per minute, which the nurse said is normal.

Ben and I are very happy and grateful for the experience we have had so far! I have to admit, though, that sometimes I get so nervous!! I worry about EVERYTHING and then some. I really am my grandma Stapley's granddaughter. (When she was growing up, she was known by all her friends as "Nervous Norma.")

Ben has his suspicions about the gender, and I refuse to say anything about it. We find that out in a month!

No more tonsil talk, please

2009-10-17T20:50:00.004-06:00

I had to post something so that the nasty "tonsil" entry would not show up at the top of my blog anymore.

Ben has really gotten to know the LDS Conference Center grounds in Salt Lake City very well as he has been working there this summer. His grounds crew started putting up the famous Temple Square Christmas lights in August, and recently got to start using lifts to put up the lights in the tall trees.

It's a different point of view from 40 feet up in the lifts, he says. Here is a picture he snapped while in a lift:

He's seen some real characters while working downtown, too. Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve frequently walks from his apartment north of the Conference Center to attend his meetings at the Temple. One time, he had to help Ben's crew, as they got locked outside of the building. Of course, Elder Perry's keys can open pretty much all the doors around there.

Then there was the "mentally challenged" man who stood on the corner of Temple Square wearing the sacred Temple clothing, that church members are urged not to display in public. He just stood there; he didn't say anything or try to start any fights. Apparently, according to a Temple Square security guard, during this time, he was not taking his medication. He finally started taking it again, and has not been seen on the corner since.

It's been quite the job for Ben.

I have a diseased what??

2009-09-30T15:06:00.002-06:00

For the past month and a half, I've been telling myself, "I don't have anything to blog about," and have therefore not been blogging, but wondering how everyone else has so much to write in thier blogs.

I figured out that I'm just lazy and don't want to use my brain. So, I've been thinking (gasp!), and have come to the realization that things have actually been happening since my last post!

Like little white patches growing on my tonsils. And they are nastier than you can imagine. Let me start at the beginning. Well, that would probably be my birth, but I'm going to fast-forward a bit.

A couple years ago, I started randomly breaking out with a small white patch on my left tonsil. It didn't hurt or even bother me. I only noticed it because when I would brush my teeth, the back of my tongue would rub against it. Of course I freaked out, and called the doctor and talked to a nurse about it. She said it's fine, that some people just have things like that happen to them, and to gargle with salt water a couple times a day. I also saw a throat specialist about it, and he called it a "Mucas retention cyst," and that's about it. Whatever.

So, every now and then, I would get a little white patch on my tonsil, and after a day or two it would disappear. It was really no big deal.

Until a couple of weeks ago. The white patch came back on my left tonsil, but this time it was accompanied with many many bigger white patches. On both of my tonsils. Both tonsils were almost completely covered with white patches, and they were swollen. My tongue constantly rubbed against them. And the worst part was, they gave me a GROSS NASTY YUCKY taste in my mouth every time I swallowed. Eww ewww ewww ewww ewww. And my breath smelled terrible too. (Poor Ben.) It made me lose my appetite. I didn't know what to do, so I just gargled with salt water, chewed a lot of gum and waited. After about 5 days, they started clearing up, and I was so relieved.

Until about four weeks after that. The patches came back!! But not quite as bad. I know this is disgusting, but it's quite therapuedic writing about it. There was one very circular patch on my right tonsil. The nasty taste was there. So I went to bed the night the patches came back, and I felt something wierd going on in my throat. I knew exactly what it was. The circular patch was dislodging itself from my tonsil. This has happened before, and I have always swallowed them as they fell off and then always totally freaked out because I swallowed them.

But this time, I stuck my hand in my mouth, and grabbed the circular patch before I could swallow it!! I pulled it out, and immediately wished I wouldn't have. It was about the size of a small tooth, and it had the strongest, grossest-infected smell I've ever smelt. (That explains the nasty taste and bad breath.) I went and put it down the drain and continued to have a nervous breakdown.

After that little incident, I decided to go see the doctor. He took one look at my throat and said, "You have chronic tonsilitis. Your tonsils are diseased." Eww.

And the cure? The only way to fix this is to have my tonsils removed. OK, no big deal. Until I walk out of the doctor's office and scream, "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" I don't want to do it! I'm a scaredy cat!

But I've got to face that facts. It's got to be better than living with two diseased organs in the back of my throat, right?

"Footloose" at Tuacahn is hot, steamy fun

2009-08-14T15:04:00.004-06:00

But not hot and steamy in that way. Tuacahn Amphitheatre is in St. George, where it was over 100 degrees on Tuesday when I had a little break from the merciless job hunt, and went to see "Footloose" with my sisters, Stapley grandparents, and cousin Sarah.

You could almost see the shivery lines of steam coming off of people's bodies down there. Even after dark, when the play takes place, there is no easing of the temperature. The only thing the dark brings at Tuacahn are the bats! They live in the red rock cliffs that make up the awesome amphitheatre.

I have always wanted to go to a play at Tuacahn, and this was my first time! And I think I lucked out on the play I got to see! Footloose is full of dancing, singing, hicks and one misfit city boy.

But the best part was that I got to take a road trip with my sisters and spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Stapley in Summit, Utah! Oh, and I guess I also got to know Phineus, (however you spell it) the kind of creepy sock monkey that my sisters are obsessed with.

In St. George, just outside of the Pizza Factory, by the Life is Good store.

I had no idea the play would be as awesome as it was! The characters came out on stage dancing, singing, and full of energy -- you immediately start bouncing in your chair and clapping your hands.

Here we are: Ariel/Emily and Ren/Maddie.

So, we all fell in love with Ren, because he was played by Thayne Jasperson, who appeared on "So You Think You Can Dance." And, boy, could he dance! And sing, too! My favorite song was "Almost Paradise" sung by Ren and Ariel.

And after the show, we got to meet the actors! My sisters were gushing over Ren, so I told them they needed to say something to him that he would remember. I told Natalie to say "You TOTALLY kicked Kevin Bacon's butt" to him and she did! He kind of blushed, laughed out loud and said, "Thanks." It was definitely a shocker for him to hear that!

Here's Natalie (and, of course, the monkey that smells like chlorine) meeting the heartthrob!

Oh my goodness!!! He put his arms around Natalie and Lauren!! Sorry, Emily, you got cut out of this picture!

It's OK, though, because here you are front and center!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa! This was SO much fun and a wonderfully distracting little break!

No work, no home, no other things = uuuuuugggggghhhhhh

2009-08-10T12:18:00.002-06:00

I had a really great job, for the most part. Earlier this summer, I was offered a job that related to what I studied in college, paid well, had benefits, and was in a great work environment with nice people to work with. The work was challenging, and I was handling the training very well. Everything was perfect, and things were looking like we were going to be able to move out of the in-laws’ house and be on our own again.

There was just one little thing. Actually, it ended up being a big thing that I hated. I was scheduled to work Saturday through Wednesday 4 p.m to 1 a.m. That meant working the weekends into the wee hours of the night. At first I thought, OK, that’s not exactly what I would prefer, but there was no way to change the schedule. I asked. So, I thought again, It will be fine. I’ll just need to get used to working the swing shift.

After the first shift, something became apparent. “How come I haven’t seen Ben for a while? I don’t like that,” I said. Oh, gee. Ben leaves for work at 6:30 in the morning and comes home at 4:30 in the afternoon. I’m at work by 4, and come home at 2 a.m., to find Ben fast asleep so he can be up early. And when he gets up to leave for work, I’m unconscious, because I just went to bed three hours ago. Whew. Can’t wait for the weekend. Wait, I have to work on the weekend. I’ll see Ben for half the day on Saturday and Sunday, though. That’s good. And when my “weekend” comes on Thursday and Friday, I’ll see Ben for half the day then, also. We will just never have a full day together.

Crap. By the third and fourth shifts, after crossing through the dark alley way in the city to the empty dark parking garage after work, I cried the entire drive home. Good thing there aren’t people on the road at 1:30 in the morning, because I couldn’t see a thing through my blurry eyes.

This was not going to work. So, I quit. Even though Ben only has a temporary job. Even though we would have been able to buy our own house with me working that job. Even though it was a great opportunity for me to work in a related field to what I studied and worked hard for in college. Even though in this economy, I was extremely lucky and blessed to have even been offered a job. Even though we would have felt a lot more comfortable with starting our family with me working that job.

It felt wrong for both of us. I have never felt so stressed out in my whole life. I wasn’t sleeping, and, according to Ben, I wasn’t smiling. It was so hard to quit, but relieving at the same time. It hacks away at me everyday. I had a job, and gave it away. I know it was the right thing to do, but every day I go through the same thought process: “I’m a baby. I’m a wimp. I can’t handle hard things, can I? I’m lazy. I’m a loser. I’m not doing anything to help our situation.” And Ben kindly reassures me every time. But I always relapse.

So now I’m back to the job search. At first I was good, spending hours every day researching, filling out applications, writing cover letters, sending out resumes. But after a couple weeks of that, you start seeing the same things over and over again. And it gets a little old. And I let myself get distracted a lot more, with things like writing ridiculously long blog posts.

Surprisingly, though, it has been very relieving to put all this crap down on paper. (Or the computer screen.)

I’ve just got to force myself to keep plugging along, force myself not to become a total couch potato, force myself to stay positive. Force myself to not be such a wimp. If I can at least do that, I think I’ll be doing some good. Hopefully!

"Utahn's hearing disability no handicap"

2009-08-07T12:11:00.002-06:00

Matt Huff, who I went to high school with, is going to compete in the Deaflympics in Taipei, Taiwan, next month as the men's water polo goalie!

I had the opportunity to interview him and write an article that appeared in the Deseret News yesterday. It can also be found online at mormontimes.com.

Good luck Matt!

The Stapley garden

2009-08-05T13:54:00.005-06:00

Here it is -- my parents' amazing garden! I love this place. Often, I find myself sitting on the back porch, just staring out at the garden, imagining a stalky cowboy with curly brown hair riding his horse through the cornstalks while singing, "Oh, what a beautiful mornin'! Oh what a beautiful day! I've got a beautiful feelin', everythin's goin' my way!" Sometimes the memories flood of my wedding day, with a pink sunset and colorful daisies everywhere. (We had our reception in my parents' backyard.)

My parents put A LOT of work into thier yard -- my Dad plants the seeds and my Mom makes everything else look beautiful. Ben and I even put in our share of work on the garden this summer by constructing these two bird houses for my Mom.

An important rite of passage: No BYPoo lovers allowed! J/K. This place is kind of like a sanctuary for me. Where "the corn is as high as an elephant's eye," (almost) you can sit back, let the sun warm (or burn the skin off) your face, and listen to the sounds of the wind breezing through the trees and plants. It is very peaceful.

I find it mystifying that such tiny little things like seeds, along with the soil, air and sun, can grow into big, leafy, colorful crops that we can eat! Does anyone remember Bugs Bunny from the Loony Toons? Well, whenever he pulled out a big orange carrot and started cruching away at it, I thought he made it look so delicious! I think it was the cruching sound effects. And when I eat a carrot out of my Dad's garden, I feel like I'm eating one of Bugs Bunny's yummy treats.

Here are the pretty parts that are my Mom's doings. Her daisies are my favorites!

My hope is that, someday, I can create something half as awesome as what my parents have done! I've got a lot to learn, though. My Dad allowed Ben and I to plant some winter squash, cantelope, and watermelon seeds in the back corner of the garden, and guess what! They DID NOT grow! My Dad claims the soil back there is bad, but it worries me some. What's the opposite of a "green thumb?" I'm affraid I may have that.

Now all my parents need is a "pretty little sury with some fringe on the top" and an Aunt Eller to finish it all off.

"I'm a lone lorn creetur'"

2009-07-22T11:50:00.003-06:00

"Not only does everythink goes contrairy with me, but that I go contrairy with everybody. Yes, yes, I feel more than other people do, and I show it more. It's my misfortun'"

For some reason, I love Mrs. Gummidge from Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. She drives young David crazy because she's always lamenting (loudly) and going on about how she's a "lone lorn creetur" but she just makes me laugh! She talks about her "troubles" like they are an actual person. Kind of like Mrs. Bennet's "nerves" in Pride and Prejudice. I love crazy nervous emotional wrecks of women in these stories! I think they make me feel quite sane. I probably shouldn't compare myself to fictitious characters, though.

Well, this summer has been kind of nuts! Living with in-laws, looking for employment and housing. It turns out housing has a pre-requisite of employment. But here are some pictures -- but I messed up and posted them in order from most recent to less recent.

After a fun afternoon of swimming in Lindon.

Cranking home-made ice cream with the Wilsons.

Niece and nephew Syd and Kaiser playing in the backyard.

Me with one of my best buddies! I'm not sure why she likes me so much!

The game of the summer: Lasso golf!

4th of July: I got to hold cute baby Wyatt.

Auntie Cindy and my mother at my Grandma Huber's pool for a 4th of July celebration.

Happy girls, Lauren, Natalie, cousin Meranda. I think they're daydreaming of hot red-headed paramedics.

The hidden beauty of Evanston, Wyoming

2009-06-04T15:34:00.008-06:00

Look what we found in Wyoming! Who'd a thunk it? A beautiful oak table built around 1929. Last Friday, at about midnight, I was studying to recertify my CPR skills, and Ben was looking on the Internet. He asked, "How do you feel about going to Evanston?"

I, thinking he was talking about a job opening, said, "Let's go."

He immediately said, "It's not for a job."

My heart crushed into a million pieces. Not really. He showed me his latest "discovery" on KSL.com, Ben's love affair. A man was selling his grandmother's dining room table for an outrageously, ridicuously, incomprehensibly low price for what it probably should be worth.

"ROAD TRIP," I said. But to Evanston, Wyoming? Whew. At least I could get a good long nap in. Little did I know what we were in store for.

About 15 miles out of Evanston, 5 of them being dirt road, you suddenly feel like you've left firework-firebeer hickville and have ventured into a quaint hidden mountain valley like in , say, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Abundant green grasses, yellow wildflowers speckled across the meadows, and old rickety bridges that you can't believe your mother-in-law is about to drive the truck across.

Once you're past the scary bridge and you heart beat slows to normal again, you cross yet another lush meadow and come to the friendly Sexton ranch.

The horses seem to nod a welcome greeting to you, and the cat with greenish-brownish eyes (sorry, no picture of the cat) comes and rubs against your leg. Well, that's where we found the table sitting out in the yard (see top picture) with an old wooden swing and original small cabin in the backgroung. It looked so much like a scene you would find in a country western music video that I had to have Ben take our picture with it.

We bought the table, brought it back to good old Taylorsville, where it has been living in the garage.

Which is the same place, I might add, that Ben has been living ever since we got it. He has been busy working to fix up this table and four chairs that came with it. If I want to see him, I have to go out in the garage. In fact, that is where I am currently sitting as I am typing up this post! Is it bad if I feel jealous of a table? Just kidding.

Ode to my lovely sisters

2009-05-26T20:23:00.008-06:00

Ha! I have been so excited to share the beauty...

And elegance ...

and absolute joy of my sisters first thing in the morning.

So sweet ... so darling ...

Any man would be lucky to wake up to any of these sirens in the morning!

We were invited over for a Memorial Day breakfast with my family, and the first glorious words to come out of Lauren's mouth (after we were locked out and Natalie and Emily simply stared at us like were roadkill) to greet us were: "You're late."

Oh lovely, nurturing sisters! What would I do without you?

Congratulations, Graduate

2009-05-03T15:16:00.011-06:00

Benjamin M. Wilson, Utah State University, Bachelor of Landscape Architecture.

Way to go Ben! It was a crazy rainy day on Saturday with graduation and moving to SLC. But we were so happy to have family come to Ben's graduation at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

Grandma and Grandpa Stapley came from the bottom of the state all the way to the top! It felt like we hadn't seen them in a LONG time so we were so thrilled they came!

Lauren and Jeffy. Poor Jeff became my slave while we were moving. He was just always around when I needed someone to do something, and he was so willing to help that I just kept telling him to do everything! Thanks Jeff!

This picture is about perfect! Dad, Mom, Emily (the one with the deer-in-the-headlights face) and Natalie doing something to her eye.

Well, we are done with Logan. Maybe forever! And that is REALLY weird. All my life I never had one thought about Logan, and then I up and moved there right after getting married. We spent three years there going to school -- the school opposite of my dream school, the U. USU's campus is small, surrounded by cows, and nestled in a small little "bowl" bordered by exquisite mountain ranges that are often shrouded with mist and snow. People there kiss random strangers on an "A" statue, sing songs about sage brush and ride couches with skis attached to the bottoms down the very steep Old Main Hill. The Aggie Ice Cream is like nothing you will ever taste, and even when the temperatures are below 0 and the snow has soaked your pant legs and froze your toes, you will still want the Aggie Ice Cream.

And this is the place where we basically started our marriage. We were on our own, away from our families, and learned a lot. Ben taught me the basics of cooking and a lot of things about common sense. I don't think I have taught him anything besides the fact that some women are very crazy. But, hopefully we've grown!

I can't imagine life without school. Even though I've been done with school for a year, Ben's still been doing it. And I've worked for USU, so school has still very much been there. But, not anymore! I wonder if I'll miss it? I think I already feel a strange void. I will miss those pleasant Sunday afternoons of sitting on a blanket at the top of Old Main Hill with Ben overlooking the lovely Cache Valley. It really adds to the pretty view if you block the image of the traffic-jammed Main Street from your mind. Hopefully, someday, at least one of us can go back to school to pursue higher degrees.

I'm proud of you Ben!

Here is Diane (Ben's mom) and Raegan (our niece who spent the night before graduation with us!)

I just may have a new "dream school," because this is the place that Ben and I really began.

Edit to previous post

2009-04-24T11:40:00.002-06:00

I just found out that in the video I posted in my last post, David Archuleta is singing at the West Ridge Academy (http://www.westridgeacademy.com/), which offers help and hope to troubled teens.

He is in the chapel where the young women meet. My father-in-law was made the LDS Branch President over the young women just after David sang there! Ben and I have been there and Ben recognized the picture behind the pulpit of Christ teaching young women, and that is how we figured out where David was singing!

Be Still My Soul

2009-04-23T09:50:00.001-06:00

I don't know if I know how to post You Tube vidoes, so here's my best try. I hope it works!

This is so beaufiful --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAQOgzKgxXM

Ever had your face smashed by a bus?

2009-04-21T15:07:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I think I may miss this job when we move out of Logan forever in less than two weeks. That's right, we're moving out after Ben graduates. Where to? No idea. Oh, what job offer did Ben get? Does my Dad's offer to let Ben help finish his basement bathroom count? Where is you new apartment? We don't have one. But, yep, we're moving because there is really nothing here in Logan for us anymore. And also, my head began aching slightly, and, as time presses forward, the pain gets more and more raging, keeping me up at night. That is all I'm going to say about that.

Yes, sometimes my stalking people research brings me some big laughs, that actually relieve the aching head for a few amazing moments. Today I came across another Hard News Cafe article that had me just about crying!!

You just have to read this. If you are hurting in some way, laughter can be a very effective medicine, even if it is only for a few magnificient, breathless, tear-inducing moments. Oh, and have you ever tried standing on your head when you have a headache? You should. Trust me. Here's the link for the bus-smashing-face experience:

http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu/archive/nov2008/111108_badday.html

Mormons should study other religions to be better Mormons

2009-04-20T10:32:00.002-06:00

I wrote another article for the Deseret News. However, my writing skills (if I ever really had any to begin with) are going down hill since I'm not writing as much anymore. It was hard to write this one, and the editors cut it down quite a bit and made many things sound MUCH better than I had them. Oh, I'm sad about that. But very grateful they take my work at all!

This article is a feature on Professor Philip Barlow at USU and the one-of-a-kind university Religous Studies program that he helped start. He has some extremely interesting and deep insights on the study of religon and why it is essential for humankind in order to become absolutely "liberally educated" and competant citizens. I have to admit, he sparked my interest and made me sure that, if I ever went back to school, I would really want to pursue this kind of degree!

Here is the direct link to the article: http://www.mormontimes.com/people_news/education/?id=7348

Airport conversations ... oh, the intrigue

2009-04-16T12:49:00.003-06:00

Okay, okay, (yes, I spelled it out instead of going with the AP style "OK") I know I just barely blogged about (my hopefully, someday brother-in-law -- go Natalie!) David Archuleta, but I stumbled upon this student column in USU's online newspaper the Hard News Cafe (http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu/) about a woman flashing herself while waiting for her flight in the Denver airport and had to share!

She didn't even get in trouble either. That's not the topic of the column, however. I was just glancing over it, looking for info on USU students (I feel like a stalker) and by the end of the first paragraph, I was hooked and ancored-down, I had to read the rest of the story.

It is amazing what this student was able to capture while sitting in an airport terminal! This is what I love most about writing -- when authors can capture everyday life moments and somehow portray these in a way that captivates the reader and makes them think, "Ah, life," while learning something new and committing to become more observant and appreciative of their normal, seemingly boring circumstances. Great job to the student who wrote this -- I would love to read more of his stuff!

Please read this, it is amazing:

http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu/archive/oct2008/101408_airporttalks.html

Quote from Mark Twain (1835-1910) (whose writing I've come to love over the past couple years): "I don't know anything that mars good literature so completely as too much truth."

Archuleta on Idol!

2009-04-16T09:22:00.004-06:00

I just found out that David Archuleta is going to perform on American Idol next week and I got so excited I had to share the news with someone! But nobody around me cares except for my blog template that I post in! Go David!

Here he is with Latter-day Saint President Thomas S. Monson: (and it looks to me like he's wearing slacks and a white button-up shirt under his jacket and scarf.)

Here he is singing at the SLC concert I went to: (I wonder what the orange wristband is for?)

OK, time to humiliate myself

2009-04-10T12:05:00.011-06:00

I thought this sounded like fun, but now I'm questioning my mental stability! All of these pictures somehow mysteriously got put on Facebook. (I only added the wedding one!) And so, I thought, why not put them on my blog for yet another public display of embarrassment? OK, not all of them are all that embarrassing, but a some REALLY are. I read in a column in the Utah Statesman (USU's student newspaper) that if you share your embarrassing moments, it will help you overcome the agony of them. Yeah right, or just relive it again and again.

Wedding day. Are my Dad and Grandma Huber OK? ( I know this picture is small, but my Grandma looks distressed and my Dad is sticking his tongue out. )

Whoa yellow shorts. This is my "van group" on the U of U swim team during Christmas training in Florida.

Kendall and Aubrey on the U swim team. They are the reasons I lasted longer than a day on the team.

KHS!!! I look like I'm drowning, but supposedly I'm not. Go Cougars! (The green ones, NOT the ugly blue ones)

OK, EMBARRASSING! (For me, not the other two) Why did we take this picture again? High school swim team, Maddy D, Jen and me. We are very patriotic.

Oh Natalie! She was abused as a child. Me and my sisters! How I love this one! It portrays us each perfectly! Me=kind, nurturing. Emily=confused. Natalie=bruised "Your face looks like a toad" (Lauren said that to Natalie, not me, of course). Lauren=all smiles on the outside, but nothing but evil intentions on the inside, don't let her fool you. Haha!

Moscow, Russia with the swim team from Utah!

Emily and me in Disneyland. Emily USED to be so cute, now she's scary and has really thick hair. (Oh Emily, you know you're my fav sis!)

Wow, that was fun!

It’s a sad time in the office

2009-04-07T12:04:00.003-06:00

Well, the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament came and went. And excitement in our office came and went with it.

It’s funny how little things that most people don’t really care about in their lives outside the office can create intense, and I mean volcanic-erupting, zit exploding intense happiness at work. Examples:

-A bag of potato chips in the break room. (Today there is actually an assortment of chips. Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles, Albertson’s Potato Chips, Lays Classic Potato Chips, Sour Cream & Onion Ruffles, Authentic Barbecue Ruffles, along with creamy dill, creamy ranch and ranch-style dips!)

-A candy dish filled with mint life-savers, those gross butterscotch things and other hard candies.

-A half-eaten left-over cake from some event that took place on campus.

-Left-over sandwiches from a different event.

-Now here’s a scary one: left-over homemade casseroles from the office pot-luck party last week. Aagghh! (Some people will eat anything)

-Cutting snowflakes out of paper and hanging them on the wall.

-Hiding an old, unclaimed, dirty women's sweather at unsuspecting or absent co-workers' desks.

-Hearing David Archuleta on Pandora. (Oh wait, that’s just me, and I DO care about that when I’m not at work.)

Well, the NCAA tournament bracket war is not exempt from this list. I mean, there were a few people who actually cared and watched every game they could. I think just two people to be exact. And, believe it or not, they are the two that scored the highest (one of them actually went to the championship game last night) and will win the large collection of candy bars (everyone who participated in the tournament had to pitch in one full-size candy bar).
But most of those who participated (Ben and I did not get our brackets in on time. Procrastination.) are not into basketball at all. I heard two comments of how two different women chose to fill out their brackets:

1. “I picked the team whose colors I liked the most.”
2. “I picked the team whose name was easiest to spell.”

One male who works here simply copied Barack Obama’s bracket for his. (His bracket did NOT do well)

But, oh! Whether or not anyone likes basketball, every day, there was a huge gathering around the “bracket wall” to see who was in the lead after the previous day’s games. What excitement! What commotion!

Now, it’s all dwindling away. Every now and then a lonely straggler will wander over to stare at the wall, look at the winning brackets and then leave. The wall is slowly starting to look like New York City in “I am Legend,” a lonely deserted street with tumbleweeds blowing and grasses growing in the streets where cars and people once bustled busily about.

Oh well, everything must come to an end, right? It’s a good thing the weather is starting to warm up! I guess that won’t last long either, though.

We love you, Da-a-vid, oh yes we do

2009-03-27T23:57:00.006-06:00

This is what makes David Archuleta incredible:

So, at his concert at the "E" Center Friday night, David performed a medley of his favorite songs from the 90s and later. One of those songs was the totally awesome, "I'm Yours," by Jason Mraz. Well, the chorus goes:

"Well open up your mind and see like me

Open up your plans and (@#*&) you're free" ...

When David came to the swear word part, the audience hushed momentarily, wondering if he would actually say it. I felt the tension. Would this Mormon hero say the word because that's how the song is written? Really, it wouldn't be that big of a deal -- it's not like it's the mother of all swear words he would be singing. But, David! What would he do? What kind of a person would he show himself to be in front of those thousands of (mostly women, lets face it) young, middle and even old-aged people staring, waiting for thier hopes to be either withheld or somewhat dented? It probably wouldn't cause a huge gaping hole, just a small chip.

But David saved the day!!!! He very cleverly and almost unnoticably changed the lyric to:

"Well open up your mind and see like me

Open up your plans and then you're free" ...

I commend you for that, David! Thank you! Such a small act made a great impression on me. I'm sure, with his success, it can be so easy to give in to worldly standards. Nobody would apprehend him. More people would probably accept him.

I remember hearing a member of the Mormon singing group, Jericho Road, speaking at a fireside once. One of the group members said in his talk -- with the exact deep voice of the lion Mufassa from Disney's The Lion King -- "Remember who you are." I feel like that's what David has done: he's remembered who he is; what he believes to be true and perhaps some standards he has set for himself. And he is holding true to them.

What a great example David showed to the group of little pig-tailed girls I saw dancing and singing at his concert. Be true to yourself. It's a hard lesson to learn.

David's voice was beautiful and his smile genuine. Keep it up, Archuleta! "Remember," and I will try to do the same. I'm rooting for you!

And thanks, Natalie! I had a BLAST at the concert with you!

Edward Sighting

2009-03-20T14:26:00.005-06:00

This is not a joke, and it’s not made up. Last week, Ben was in Portland and Seattle on a mandatory field trip with the LAEP department. That’s when he spotted it, cruising down a street in the heart of downtown Seattle: the silver Volvo. See below.

The EXACT same silver S60R that EDWARD CULLEN drives! So Ben sneakily shot some photos – not letting his buddies in his class know what he was doing, of course – but the person driving is mysteriously unable to be seen. I guess we will just have to use our imaginations. But seriously! Can you believe this? The picture below shows the front bumper.

Well, anyways, in all reality, this last picture shows the “sighting” that I most like to see. Ben. Here he is in a Japanese garden in Portland.

3 BEBs in 30 minutes

2009-03-06T11:57:00.002-07:00

The good news is that I got a real desk at work! For six months, I’ve been sitting cramped in a small desk tightly surrounded by five others, with no room to stretch your legs out, and room enough to put maybe one sheet of paper on the desk’s empty space. But, now, I have a BIG person desk, and it’s by a WINDOW overlooking the Cache Valley and Wellsville Mountains!! No one has sat there since I’ve worked here (don’t ask me why), and it was really dusty and grimy, so it took a long time to clean, but now it’s spotless! I really appreciate it, but there is one MAJOR MAJOR problem: The boxelder bugs breed somewhere near this desk. Somewhere up above, actually. Every once in a while it rains boxelder bugs. They fall from the ceiling, and I don’t get it. Why do they have to fall from the ceiling? IT’S MAKING ME CRAZY. In 30 minutes, I have battled with three of them. And only one stayed dead. The other two came back to life. One’s on the floor somewhere, probably climbing up my pant leg, and one is in the window sill. The window sill one only has use of its front legs, though, so we’ll see how long it lasts. I hate boxelder bugs, I hate boxelder bugs, I hate boxelder bugs, I hate boxelder bugs, I hate boxelder bugs. It’s very creepy watching this boxelder climb up the window using only its front legs.

So, Utah State University is taking a mandatory furlough next week. That means no work! But also, no pay. Not that I usually get any pay when I don’t work. No one gets pay for this temporary leave of absence.

Natalie and I are going to hang out with David Archuleta. Yeah, he loves us. He’s going to sing to us.

OH! ANOTHER BOXELDER SIGHTING! Up the wall, moving at lightning speed, this new boxelder is determined! How are those little stringy legs able to fly up the wall like that! I know what it’s thinking. It’s going to climb to the ceiling and fall on my head or down my shirt! Can somebody please help me?? Tell me how to beat these boxelders! Please! They’re trying to ruin my life! Here it comes, it’s on the ceiling now … almost above my head now … I’m waiting … It’s above me … I’d better close my mouth … My armpits are damp …

A non-Mormon expert on Mormonism

2009-02-25T14:41:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I covered a lecture here at USU and wrote about it for the Deseret News!

Jan Shipps, described as "one of the most trustworthy scholars on Mormonism" spoke about her research and latest book. It was very interesting! She spoke with a southern accent and handled questions from some very serious "ex-Mormons" trying to get dirt about the Mormon religion! (She gave them nothing despite thier persistance)

Anyway, here is the link in the Mormon Times:

Mormon neighbors have taken Shipps on a real trip

Mr. Wilson: Errand runner; sin in the office

2009-02-20T16:08:00.003-07:00

Ben is the “errand runner” at work. (We work at the same place: USU) He has the coveted job in the office. He gets to walk around campus in the afternoon picking up donations from the different departments while I sit in front of a computer fighting with all my strength to keep my eyes opened. Did you know that you CAN fall asleep with your eyes opened? Oh, it’s possible, trust me. Sometimes, while my eyes are wide opened, my head will suddenly snap and I’ll realize that I’ve been unconscious, and I usually don’t know for how long.

I don’t know how people handle working in an office all their lives. I guess the cost of living can be a pretty good motivator.

My dream, though, is to be like my friend. I will not name her name, but I will describe her. She’s a jolly large rosy-cheeked German woman, with braids on the sides of her head, and Viking horns on special occasions. She speaks English with a thick hearty German accent, and eats Wiener schnitzel for breakfast. She enjoys swimming for some reason. (You know who you are) Her dream is my dream. I think she told me once that she wants to live all alone on the top of a mountain. Or something like that. Of course, she wouldn’t be all alone, there would be SMELLY OLD GOATS surrounding her little cottage. (I bet that now some people have figured out who she is.) I would substitute the goats for Ben, of course.

Exciting things do happen at work, though. Just the other day, around 8:15 in the morning, a co-worker busts out the giant bag of … CHOCOLATE! “Breakfast of champions,” I think to myself. Well, apparently there are more champions in the office than I would have suspected. She refilled the candy dish with her chocolate. What once held some innocent breath mints and other hard candies now bulged with “fun-size” Kit Kats, Hershey’s, Whoppers, and various sinful delights. I’ve never heard word spread faster.

“(So and so) put CHOCOLATE in the candy dish!!” “Hurry and get some before it’s gone!!” “But, it’s too early in the morning for CHOCOLATE!” “But it’s a matter of life or death – if I don’t get some CHOCOLATE now, I’m going to DIE!!” “I will never see a piece of candy in my life again – this is it!” “It’s the end of the world!” I didn’t know my fellow office-mates could move so lithely!

What did I do? I stared open-mouthed, drool dripping to my chin, and watched the miraculous event. Sadly, I missed my chance. By the time the massacre was over, there were only a few Whoppers left. I don’t like Whoppers. Those poor Kit-Kats and Hershey’s didn’t know what was coming for them that frosty stark early morning. The next day, the carnage was gone. All that was left in the candy dish were a few lonely boring breath mints and some mini Tootsie-Pops (left-over Halloween candy).

Good Luck Emily!

2009-02-12T16:33:00.001-07:00

I just want to wish EMILY the best of luck at the 5A high school state swimming championships this weekend!

Swim your hardest! You've worked for it and you know it! (And I know it too -- I've heard about your workouts.)

GO EMILY!!

We love you!

Utah vs. BYU swim meet live online!

2009-02-06T11:04:00.004-07:00

Apparently, someone is filming the Utah-BYU meet tonight, and it will be streamed live online! I heard about this through Facebook, and I’m not sure exactly how it will work or how trusty will be. But I sure hope it comes through! (Now if I only had Internet at home)

It should be at this link, 6 p.m. (MST): http://www.floswimming.org/videos/coverage/view/234607-byu-utah

There is already a video posted that tells who will win "on paper." It's a different story live though!

GO UTES!

I agree with John Lennon: I’m soooooo tired, I cannot stay awake

2009-02-05T11:43:00.002-07:00

The other day at work I was sitting next to this girl. It was the afternoon. I am not kidding you when I say she yawned once every 10 seconds! I could tell she was devoting all her energy to holding her eyes open. She was restlessly clicking through the Internet and taking sips from her water bottle about every 30 seconds (every time she took a drink, she unscrewed the cap, and when she was done she screwed it back on only to repeat the process 25 seconds later.) Next came a sharp intake of air preceding a rather loud exhale (Yawn after yawn after yawn). After about 10 minutes of this I started twitching, and had to put my headphones on and turn up the music. For some reason, I have a hard time listening to people yawn without end. Maybe because it’s contagious, I don’t know.

Does anyone know that feeling, when you feel like you can’t help but yawn every 10 seconds? You’re usually bored, your throat starts to feel like it’s tightening or closing up, your eyelashes feel like they’ve got barbells tied in them, you kind of have hungry breath, and your brain starts twitching? You actually think about trying one of those high-caffiene-sugar-loaded-pee-colored-with-alcohol-hidden-inside drinks that come in the tall skinny cans? Well, at the moment, I am thankful for this feeling, because it lets me know I’m still alive!! (I read too many obituaries)

IN OTHER NEWS: One of my mother’s old flings from Cyprus High teaches institute here at USU! We wanted to take one of his classes, but they don’t really fit into our schedules. I’ll give you a hint at who he is: He STILL holds Utah Age Group swimming records, and I think he may hold some high school records as well. (In high school, he went .49 in the 100 yard butterfly!) He wrote lovey-dovey notes in my mom’s yearbooks that I’ve sneakily read!!!

I think all the Utah boys got kicked off American Idol. That includes the Osmond guy.

Utah Swimming hosts BYwho in a “Black Out” meet tomorrow!!! Fans are encouraged to wear black at the meet! I would give my right foot to be at that meet. GO UTES – KICK SOME UGLY COUGAR TRASH! GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE KEARNS HIGH ALUMNI!

I can’t keep up with everything going with the legislature.

Job-searching in this economy is scary.

I miss the swimmers.

2009-01-28T11:53:00.003-07:00

Last night I was reading through the Splash magazine, a magazine published by USA Swimming, that anyone registered with USA Swimming receives for free every two months. (I am registered because I was a coach less than a year ago. I’m not sure how long that registration lasts, and I wouldn’t be upset if USA Swimming just kept on sending me Splash after it ends.)

I saw this picture of a group of about 5 girls in suits, some had towels wrapped around them, some had warm-ups on. They were gathered around their coach, who was sitting in a chair near the starting blocks. Some of the girls were standing; one was sitting on the floor, stretching her legs. They all had their hair pulled up into messy “swimmer” buns on top of their heads, so that, when they put their caps on, they look like cone heads. One girl was behind the coach, looking over his shoulder at something he was holding – probably a heat sheet.

I stared at this picture for probably three minutes – I don’t even know what the caption or story was about, if it even had a caption or story. I wave of nostalgia flowed over me.

Oh, I miss the swimmers! What strong people they are! I remember walking around at meets in the summer, passing huge girls with dried out skin stretching over their faces, with, of course, the swimmer “buns” – I think there’s two meanings there – and feeling intimidated. Swimmer girls are not like other girls. They have a crazed confidence – they’ll pee in the pool, then fill up their mouths with the water and spit it out at someone. Wedgies are uncomfortable, but they don’t care if they flip turn and their butt is hanging out. The Russian women water polo players, for instance, literally had thongs for the butts in their suits – does anyone else besides me remember that? They’ll walk around in a too-tight swimming suit with legs that haven’t been shaved for six months.

But, more than any of that, they have mental strength. They have to in order to be able to do the great amount of work they do with the very little, if any, reward received.

When the day came that I quit swimming competitively, I was relieved. But a chunk of my life was removed after that. And I’ve been going downhill ever since. I feel WEAK now. My sisters are constantly reminding me that my muscle mass has seriously deteriorated. But, even more disabling than that, I feel mentally weak. My crazed confidence – and it wasn’t even that great when I was younger – is gone. I often feel like I’m incapable of doing anything, even just cooking food that tastes good. I know that when I quit swimming, it was time for me to quit. I just wasn’t prepared for what exactly that meant for me. I don’t always have the best reactions to things that happen, like other people do. I mean, look at Ben. He vowed to never set foot in a pool again, and his mental capacity has grown exponentially ever since! His belly has too, though. Just kidding, Benji.

So, I’m striving to re-live my swimming years through Emily’s swimming career. But, it’s hard to do, because I never get to go to any of her meets. (USU and WSU need to trade places!! Grrr…) What am I going to do when she’s done though? Why does it have to end? I guess I should ask, why did the crazed confidence have to end? That's what I miss the most. My Dad would say, “It’s just how life is.” At least I have the memories of how it all felt.

OTHER NEWS: Ben got a brace for his wrist. He’s been having bad pain for a couple weeks, and finally went to the doctor; to find out he has tendinitis. It looks very cute on him, but is heart-wrenching at the same time.

Let it rip! (This one's for you, Ben)

2009-01-26T15:38:00.002-07:00

During our lunch break, we were walking to our Institute class. It was also a class break for the entire university, so there were a lot of people walking about.

I said to Ben, “Did you let one in the office on our way out, cause I smelled something bad where you were standing.”

“No, Maddie. Don’t you remember what I told you last week?”

“Umm,” I tried to remember, “You said you always admit it whenever you let one?”

“No,” he responded, “I said that if I let one in that office, I’m going to really RIP one loose.”

Meaning it’s going to be as loud and rumbly as he can make it.

I start cracking up thinking about how funny/awkward that situation would be. By now, Ben’s on a roll, and continues to make noises with his mouth demonstrating some of the possibilities of the flatulence.

But he’s not being very quiet about it. I start talking about SBDs (silent, but deadlies), but he doesn’t catch my hint and keeps making the loud demonstrations of gas being passed. (Apparantly, Ben “doesn’t ever really have” SBDs, except in one situation that is probably a little over the edge to post on this public domain.) I feel people’s eyes on us, so I smack Ben on the arm, and hurry ahead, hoping people don’t realize I’m with this free-flowing individual.

Well, Ben, hopefully now we can both say that we’ve been humiliated today! I love you!

What's with Wuthering?

2009-01-21T12:05:00.003-07:00

Has anyone read Wuthering Heights?

I’ve heard a little about it from my sister-in-law, but after watching about 20 minutes of it – that’s all I could handle – on Masterpiece Theater (I think that’s what it’s called) on Sunday, I’m kind of afraid of it now. I think it’s because Heathcliff had a huge nose, long ratty black hair and gigantic pale blue bug eyes. He looked like he smelled like something that had been rotting for a year, and he was just scary. He was a big man with big thighs, and ran around and yelled at people. Is that how he’s supposed to be? It seems like he should be a little romantic, but what do I know?

But really, this is all about Edward. Well, mostly. My curiosity in Wuthering Heights comes mostly from Twilight. I’m pathetic. Edward often relates to Heathcliff, and has lines from the book memorized. So that sparked my interest in the book. BUT, Edward is not the only reason I want to read it. (I like speaking about Edward as if he really exists.) I noticed the author is Emily Bronte. Is she related to Charlotte Bronte, who wrote Jane Eyre? If she is, I know it’s got to be an interesting story. I don’t know if Emily Bronte could come up with anything as great as monstrous psycho wives hidden in the attic, though. Finally, I want to read it because I think it’s just one of those classics. If Stephenie Meyer, who majored in literature at BYU, mentions it in her books along with Pride and Prejudice (one of the greatest of all time) and Sense and Sensibility, it’s got to mean something.

Maybe after I finish reading Breaking Dawn (this is only my second time through the series – see, I’m not that bad, like, cough cough, EMILY) and Midnight Sun (sigh), I’ll venture away from Meyer literature to the library for something that doesn’t involve steamy vampires. (Not that I think they’re steamy.)

Boxelder bugs are out to get me

2009-01-08T13:08:00.003-07:00

It’s the middle of the winter! Come on! Why on earth are there still boxelder bugs roaming around?

This morning at work there was one over by the coat rack. My heart starting beating feverishly and my adrenaline pumped up. I cannot handle any kind of creepy-crawley, and boxelders just seem to be the worst. I’m told they are “harmless” but I don’t believe it. They always fly in my face and crawl down my shirts!

So, by the coat rack, I pushed the ugly buggy to the floor, but when I went to step on it, it was gone. That’s another thing I hate – they blend in to everything! I gave up (mostly because I think people were wondering if I was OK crouching around nervously by the coat rack).
I went to my desk and all was well for a few hours. But then, out of nowhere, the horrid thing was above my head, on the shelf over my computer!!!!!! Panic, panic, panic, panic!!! Why can’t I have a calm reaction to this?? I get a Kleenex and grab the boxelder, but of course I don’t dare to actually smash it. I throw it away in the trash can under my desk. Yeah, BIG mistake.

I was hoping that somehow it got killed. But, sure enough, it started crawling up my “cubicle” wall. WHAT DOES IT WANT WITH ME?!?!?! My armpits are sweating by now and my hands are shaking. I get a post-it sticky note and push it to the floor once again. DUR! How come it can disappear? I spend about 5 minutes searching under and around my desk for the bugger, but could not find it.

I try to go back to work, but I’m so shaky. I know it will come back for me. I know it, I know it. My eyes dart around my little 2 X 2 foot “workspace” like a paranoid heroin addict.
After a while, I am able to calm down a little, though. Whew. Maybe it’s really gone. But, of course it’s not. I see the tiny black, blurry movement from the corner of my eye first. Then I see it all: about 3 inches from my typing arms the boxelder is coming for me AT TOP SPEED! I’ve never seen an insect move so FAST!!! Have mercy! I’m sorry I tried to kill you! Please, just leave me alone! I won’t do it again! I moved my arm and it changed it’s course. It was CHASING me!

Somewhere, something within me clicked. I worked quickly. I scooped the bug with the post-it again, and followed it carefully to see where it landed on the floor. AND I CRUSHED IT’S LITTLE EVIL GUTS!!!!!!!!! I BEAT THE BOXELDER! YES!!!!!!!!! VINDICTION!
But, I swear the thing is haunting me. Ever since I killed it, I swear, I’ve been feeling creepy-crawley tiny insect legs ALL OVER MY BODY. Down my shirt. On my leg. On my neck. On my head. I can’t stop flinching everytime I feel it, but of course, there’s nothing there when I check.

Am I going to make it through this day? Am I going to let a tinsy tiny black and red bug with long hair-like legs ruin my life? Um, I think it already has. Sure, I won this time. But I know that buggy is talking to all his friends from the buggy heaven. I know they’re going to come after me for revenge. I know it. I know it.

Tragic snowmobile accidents, Alzheimer's, cancer, complications from surgury/diabetes/other illness, "unexpected death," etc, etc

2008-12-30T12:56:00.002-07:00

Reading nearly 200 obituaries over a span of 12 hours tends to get to you.

Not so sleepless in Seattle … but snowy

2008-12-18T12:21:00.007-07:00

Thanks to Bill and Diane (Ben’s great parents), we were able to fly to Kent, Wash. to see our nephew Ethan get baptized, and stay with Ben’s brother Matt, his wife Dani and the rest of their kids! We had a lot of fun and really loved the Seattle area, even though I about froze to death the entire time.

Seriously, it was around 25-30 degrees, and – even though Logan was 0 today – Washington felt WAY colder to me. I’m part wimp, but I think the humidity had something to do with it.
We were so lucky to experience a rarity in the Seattle area: A snowstorm! It only accumulated like three inches, but it totally shuts down the town. School and church cancellations and everything. Because it’s a rarity, no one is prepared for the layers of ice plastered to the hilly, curvy roads it creates. I think I saw one snowplow, and NO salt. But Dani was a great host, and braved the roads to show us some of the sights!

The trees are my favorite things we saw. They are so thick and tall and green. Everything is green with moss, which I think is beautiful, but I learned can get pretty annoying when it grows on your cars and stuff. My jaw drops when I see the trees; they are so glorious.
By Monday, the skies miraculously cleared, the sun came out, and we were able to squeeze in a trip to the top of the Space Needle to be greeted by furious freezing winds but a very awesome view of the city. We also got to drive along the waterfront, a nostalgic place for Ben and me. And would a trip to Seattle be complete without stopping at Ivar’s? I don’t think so. It was the last place we went before heading to the airport.

View from the Space Needle.

And, thanks to Sidney letting us sleep in her bed, Ben and I both slept better during the trip than we do at home! It was awesome!

We are still missing the kids – our little apartment seems too quiet after being with them! We hope to see them again soon! Thank you to all the Wilson’s who helped us have such a great time!

Close your eyes! Close your eyes! Aaggg! The top of the needle is just so romantic.

P.S. I want to give great big CONGRATULATIONS to Ben for getting EXCELLENT grades this semester! Way to go Benji! One left to go!

"Sure, sure."

2008-12-09T14:52:00.004-07:00

Fellow pining Twilight fans will appreciate this post's title, unless they're Jacob-haters.

Which, sadly, I used to be. But, since my second reading of the saga, I feel like I've grown empathetic for "the child," as Edward often refers to him. He pretty much saves Breaking Dawn, in my opinion. I much prefer listening to the story through his thoughts than through Bella's. He is so funny and way more logical than she is. The best parts are his chapter headings ("What do I look like? The Wizard of OZ? You need a brain? You need a heart? Go ahead. Take mine. Take everything I have.").

Jasper, I think, would be an extremely interesting and entertaining narrator for the story.

Any other Twilight narrator suggestions?

Goodbye, Elder Wirthlin

2008-12-02T10:45:00.002-07:00

We heard the news of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin’s passing this morning. As always with this kind of news, a shock of sadness went through me.

Last week we read his talk from October’s conference, “Come what may, and love it.” I remembered watching him give the talk, and how much it stood out to me. He was so sincere and the Spirit was especially strong. The steps he advised taking to overcome adversity were very clear: learn to laugh, seek for the eternal and understand the principle of compensation. He shared some memorable stories from his life and his family.

I read that during this, his last conference talk, Elder Wirthlin suffered from a case of locked knees, and his muscles started twitching. As soon as he started shaking, Elder Russell M. Nelson stood and helped brace Elder Wirthlin by placing one hand on his back. I must not have even noticed this, because I can’t remember seeing it. But it’s very touching.

I hope to never forget that talk as well as all the counsel he gave throughout his life.

As with all the leaders of the church around the world ranging from prophet to nursery leader, I am very thankful for Elder Wirthlin’s willingness and sacrifice he made for the church and the world. I don’t know what I would do without his and others’ examples, words of counsel, and motivations for hope they provide me with. I can only continue to hope that one day I can be half of what they are and he was. I feel like the road is long and winding ahead of me.

Thank you Elder Wirthlin.

When Bushes go BAD!

2008-11-25T13:33:00.008-07:00

On Sunday Maddie and I went for walk up 600 North. During our walk I (being the nerdy landscape architecture student that I am) took notice of some of the landscaping faux pas along the way.

Bushes that were once small get big

Some of them get really BIG, the house above is when we thought "bushes gone bad"

Don't plant a tree right next to your house, not only is it a fire hazard. It just doesn't look right.

This image is a good example of Xeriscape gone bad. It is a good thing to cut down on water use, but if you decide to do something like this you have to be dedicated to keeping it looking nice. Nothing is as easy to maintain as grass! I know it is hard to believe but someone tore out lawn to put in this ugly wood chip pit.

Bowling balls are NOT yard art!

Again here we see the sad effects of plants growing, its not their fault the don't get to choose where they are planted. When trees meet powerlines they generally lose.

"Everything is good for something, even if it is just a bad example."

We also saw a really cool Ent.

This view of the Wellsville mountains from Old Main Hill in the morning is one of the best parts of my day.

He knows what's good for him

2008-11-24T13:26:00.002-07:00

Although I've seen childhood pictures of Ben wearing horrid Y attire -- he denies he was ever a real BYU fan, but I don't believe him -- he has learned a thing or two since we've been married. The most important being that the U is pretty much the only team out there that won't let its fans down.

Way to go UTES!!

Blackmail?

2008-11-21T11:36:00.006-07:00

I found Lauren, Natalie and Peter quite attractive in this picture from Chloe's "mission farewell" party. I may or may not save it for future weddings. It all depends on whether or not I magically find some Utah-BYU tickets in my possession before the game tomorrow.

Alas, this picture brings to my being some painful memories. Lauren and I were looking for our dear mother at this party, and could not find her anywhere. We looked through the living room, squoze (squeezed? hmm) our way through the kitchen and over to the stairs where the extremely strange smell was lingering. We looked downstairs, outside. People told us, "She was just here" and pointed us in the direction she went. No luck. Someone said, "She's sitting on the porch next door at John's." When Lauren went over, Mother dear was mysteriously gone yet again. Mother is surprisingly sneaky despite her stumbling tendencies. Finally, upon giving up and about to shed some tears, we spotted her in the kitchen doing something.

Oh Mama! Thank goodness! We were two very scared little girls without our Moma.

What In The World!

2008-11-19T16:27:00.004-07:00

So as I was walking around campus yesterday I noticed some flowers in bloom! I am not sure if it is due to global warming or not, but if it is I might not be terribly against it. What an incredibly beautiful fall we have had up here in Logan.

This other picture is just kind of weird. This is at the office where Maddie and I work and they have this pink light in the ceiling. No one is sure what it is there for so they use it for parties. On this occasion the Bosses are gone for the week so it has been on all week so far.

Confession: I've got issues

2008-11-18T16:00:00.002-07:00

It’s the vampires. They’re starting to get to me.

I have never been NERVOUS to see a dumb movie before. I’ve never been so caught up in anything before as I am with the Twilight series. It’s a little embarrassing. I am proud to say, however, that I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH EDWARD CULLEN. I had to get that out of the way. I have never had a dream about him, and I do not fantasize about him.

I think it’s Stephenie Meyer’s style of writing that gets me, actually. The story’s dark, misty, mysterious and magical tone is so evident because of her style. I love her use of description and, as what’s-his-name from the Music Man would say, “phraseology.” Warm, liquid topaz eyes, hiss from deep in the chest, lips curling over his teeth into a snarl, are a few among the many descriptions I enjoy. I often find myself reading over the same paragraph three or four times because the image the words paint in my head is amazing. I can’t get enough of it!

But maybe I have had enough of it. On Saturday night, I got like 15 minutes of sleep. I couldn’t fall asleep to begin with, and when I finally did, the next thing I know, I’m awake and picnicked. Scared to death of the dream I just had. Can you guess what the dream was about? Yep, vampires. But, not the vamps from the story, not even anything to do with the stories besides the monsters. For some reason, I can’t forget the dream, so if anyone is considering jumping off a cliff, keep reading this, and I’m sure I give you the last push you need:

My dream: I was living in this small community on the top of a hill. I have a friend who is nameless, and nobody I knew. Somehow, I just knew that he was my best friend. He had silver hair. Suddenly one day, we heard there was a vampire infestation in our little community, and all the humans were being evacuated. You see, the community was surrounded by a gigantic gate, and the humans were going to lock all the vampires in. Well, the next thing I knew, my best friend had become a vampire! He was really scared about getting locked in, but humans were checking everyone as they evacuated, making sure no vampires got out. He was terrified, so I told him we would trick the gate keepers on our way out. We made a run for it, and as we were being checked, I told them that my friend was my husband and he had an eye problem. Somehow, we got by, and hopped safely onto a shuttle bus heading away from the doomed community.

But, as we were sitting on the bus, my friend suddenly turned to me with a horrifyingly evil look in his face. He made a face like he was sniffing me and everybody on the bus, and then he attacked and killed them all, including me. As soon as he turned to kill me, I was suddenly outside of my body watching. I saw everyone on the bus dead, and my body was covered in blood (which doesn’t make much sense at all, considering a vampire killed me).

That’s it. I woke up and every time I started drifting off to sleep, these images would come back to my head. So I forced myself to stay awake for a long time. And Ben is no help at all. The house could be on fire with a marching band stomping through it and he wouldn’t even twitch an eyelid. He is the deepest sleeper I’ve ever known. If I need anything after he’s asleep, I’m on my own.

So, maybe I have had enough of that story, but, for some reason I can’t put those dag-nabbed books down! And it's not just the Twilight books, I love The Host as well, maybe even more than the "bloodsucker" (as Jacob would say) books.

However, I just listened through the movie’s soundtrack, and I think I heard the F-bomb more than a few times in some of the songs. What’s up with that?

Surprise!

2008-11-06T10:44:00.003-07:00

My mom called me this morning, shocking me with the news that an article I wrote in May for the Deseret News was published in the print section of the Mormon Times today!

Back when I wrote it, the editors did not want to publish it because I was writing about a relative (Ben's aunt who lives in Australia, who I've only met three times) and was therefore not objective. So I was shocked when the editor called me about a month ago asking about my relationship with her. But even then, I still didn't think anything would happen. But I'm really glad it actually did!

Things have happened with Susan's life since I wrote the article. She's had some serious health problems, but I hope her family will understand why that isn't covered in the article.

Anyway, here's the address:Architect goes far from S.L. to return home

Happy Election Day!

2008-11-04T15:20:00.004-07:00

Well, I've never been so nervous about election day before. I feel kind of retarded coming to grips with just how anxious I am. Let's just say I'm afraid that if a certain someone is elected to a certain position, they will use their power to attack and destroy mankind in a bloody horrific massacre.

What a looming dread I have been feeling lately! The dark, rainy ominous weather seems to justify my fears. Although, since reading a certain book about voluptuous vampires, I'm really starting to appreciate and enjoy this this kind of weather! I really am pathetic.

At least I don't make my husband pretend like he's a vampire and bite my neck -- which I've heard women do -- ... he already does that on his own! (I think he secretly loves the series, too.)

Act on what you believe

2008-10-16T09:45:00.002-06:00

I have an article in the Mormon Times (print edition) today, and it's also online for anyone who would like to take a look at it.

I feel very lucky to be asked to write some of these articles, especially this one, which covers a talk Elder Marlin K. Jensen gave at the Institute here at USU. It was one of the sweetest and most touching talks I have ever heard! Although he said he didn't, Elder Jenson came very prepared and spoke some inspired words. I can't say enough!

Here's the link:

Believing means doing, Elder Jensen says

BYU = Overrated

2008-10-04T16:13:00.004-06:00

YBU when you can be USU?

We went to perhaps the most exhilarating football game I've ever experienced! What's really crazy is that our team even lost. By a lot.

There's something surprisingly satisfying about cheering on a group of guys who, for years, have been pretty much in the depths of despair. They score one touchdown and it's like they just won the Super Bowl! And when they score two touchdowns against a number 8 or whatever the heck they are team, it's like all the fans have died and gone to heaven!

That would be just plenty, but then our small but fiesty Aggies went on to saturate the fans with 2 interceptions (on the once upon a time "Heisman candidate" Hall even), one awesome field goal block, and, the greatest of all, a serious sack to the "beloved" guy who wears #15.

The vision of fat linemen struggling to chase our small, wiry quarterback will forever be engrained in my head.

Seriously, is that any way that highly ranked of a team should be playing? I mean, consider the competition! (No offense meant toward USU)

To the fighting Aggie football team: know that we're rootin' for you! We believe in you! And, um, THANK YOU FOR BEATING UP ON THAT TEAM FROM DOWN SOUTH! Anyone who causes them emotional or physical pain (which they felt both of yesterday, for sure) will instantly become my hero.

"Show me a true-blooded Aggie in Utah, and I'll show you a place where the sage brush grows."

Is it the Utah War or Utah Expedition?

2008-09-26T09:49:00.002-06:00

I have an article on the Deseret News (Mormon Times) Web site today about the 14th annual Leonard J. Arrington Lecture held at the Logan Tabernacle!

It's about the future history (if that makes any sense) of the Utah War. It was a very interesting lecture; I have never heard much about that war, which I learned isn't suprising. (There hasn't been much published about it)

I have to admit, it was quite challenging trying to write about something that I have no background in. Luckily, I used my trusty recorder, listened to parts of the lecture dozens of times, and did my best.

More Utah War attention predicted

My last article

2008-09-04T17:19:00.004-06:00

This is the last article I did as a Mormon Times intern! I really enjoyed my time at the DN and feel like a learned a lot of great things (although sometimes I had to learn the HARD way). I miss it!

The importance of Lucy Mack Smith's record.

Opera: Just what the world needs: More fat women screeming

2008-08-30T22:04:00.002-06:00

We are just sitting watching Everybody Loves Ray and I heard this brilliantly inspired quote! Ha!

Well, we've officially moved to lonely Logan.

What else do we have to say? We don't know.

Ben's blurb: I've got nothin'.

(We've had kind of a rough day).

The glorious Redwoods

2008-08-11T12:03:00.017-06:00

We traveled through barren, sizzling desert, over smoky mountains (literally -- we drove through a forest fire west of Redding, Calif.) and into the cool, dark, misty trees of the Redwood National and State Park in northwestern California!

I don't know if I've seen anything so beautiful or different in my whole life! The trees were ginormous, the forest was thick, and the spiderwebs were ... a glistening creepy.

By our second day of camping, everything had a thin film of moisture, even though the forest has not had rain since may!

The mornings were cloudy, the sun peeked out for a couple hours in the afternoons, and the clouds blew in again in the evenings. And, partly because we came from the hot dry Utah climate and partly because I'm just a wimp, I was cold the ENTIRE time! Brrrr!

The closer we got to the ocean, the thicker the fog got. We learned that the Redwood trees depend on that fog to survive.

I didn't want to leave. I was pretty sure that, on our hike through the thick damp, tick-infested forest, I spotted a vampire or two lurking about. But, maybe I was just seeing things...

And, yep, we drove through a tree!

I find the ocean so mesmerizing. It's like therapy.

Ben might need therapy after spending a week with nobody but ME!

Maybe it's just the ticks getting to him ...

Breakfast before packing up on the last day ...

Happy trails to you!

Elder Oaks

2008-08-03T16:10:00.002-06:00

I had the opportunity to meet Elder Oaks on Friday! He spoke at the Lyman Family Reunion,which I was assigned to cover for the Mormon Times.

I had to go through Church public affairs to make sure he knew I was coming. After I contacted them, they called me back and said, "Elder Oaks is expecting you to introduce yourself to him, and he will give you a copy of his talk." I was nervous all day! But, he was EXTREMELY helpful.

He gave a very interesting talk. Here's the link to the story: Be cautious about LDS history articles, Elder Oaks said.

Mormon Times stories

2008-07-28T09:10:00.002-06:00

I wrote two stories over the weekend:

The Pioneer Heritage Festival on Saturday.

The Ogden Stake Centennial celebration on Sunday.

Happy trails to you!

Anyone know how to put up links to other blogs?

2008-07-26T21:45:00.003-06:00

We're dumbfounded.

We're also trying to put up a photo gallery, but can't figure out how to get our photos in the gallery.

Is it sad when all my younger sisters are more computer savvy than their eldest sister?

Perhaps Emily will be so kind as to give me a lesson in the matter someday.

Oh, well. At least I can try to talk like Edward.

This is the most recent picture of Ben and me, taken at the "Wilson family photo" last week!

Musical Maddie

2008-07-25T18:16:00.003-06:00

This is a player piano at Ben's sister Becky's house. It is a lot of fun to be able to pump the pedals and make music. Tommy is our nephew he is on the bench next to maddie.

The Sky Is Falling

2008-07-25T18:06:00.003-06:00

I don't know how many of you heard about the crazy weather that hit the Stapley and Wilson households this past week but it was amazing. 1/4"+ hail and rain that just wouldn't stop. The Stapley's even had some flooding in the basement. Thank goodness it didn't cause much damage. Anyway to get to the point, I was working in Fruit Heights that day when Maddie called to tell me about the weather. So I made my way out to the deck where there is quite the view of the valley, and well this is what I saw...the sky was falling.

Holy Crow!

2008-07-22T12:07:00.002-06:00

I have three stories on the MormonTimes.com home page today!

The first one is about Marvin Perkins' interview to air on CNN.

The second is about the Odgen Stake Centennial anniversary.

The third is a book review for Glory From on High.

There is also a story (that I did not write) about a new satirical blog that I absolutely love! But, beware. If you can't handle criticism, sarcasm or satire, don't read it. It just cracks me up, though!

Hope you've got your reading glasses on!

Well, I remembered this time

2008-07-18T08:43:00.002-06:00

OK. I've forgotten to post about a couple of stories withing the last week. Oopla. But today I remembered! I have a story on MormonTimes.com about a very inspiring young woman who I was lucky to meet yesterday!

Take a look!

mormontimes.com/MITN_newsmakers.php?id=1544

Thanks for the tip, Haley

2008-07-08T08:59:00.003-06:00

Thanks to a suggestion from Haley, I am going to strive with all my might to post whenever I have a story on MormonTimes.com. (Although I wish I would have thought of this earlier. I'm now almost finished with my internship.)

For all the family history buffs out there, there is a new application to help you greatly with your research!! If you want to hear more, read my story today at http://mormontimes.com/ME_familyhistory.php?id=1476

Ancestors, here we come!

Benji

2008-07-07T13:23:00.003-06:00

A picture I stole from Haley. Ben was so lucky to see a member (who is now a missionary) from his mission! They saw each other at Grandma's on the 4th of July and talked forever in French. Buenas dias Benji! (I'm supposed to be working, so I can't write anything more.)

The Late Shift

2008-06-16T20:12:00.004-06:00

The life of a journalist includes some late nights. I'm currently being trained on the 4 p.m. to midnight shift, so I've been working late quite a bit. Every night at 12 a.m., a whole bunch of stuff has to be loaded on the Deseret News Web site, so here I am blogging!

There's always some free time, because there's not much else you can do on the night shift that you usually can during the day - like interviews, phone calls, etc.

I wish I had some pictures to put up or something, but I don't. But maybe I could go get some off of Facebook, that magical wonderful place.

By the way, did I mention how creepy downtown is at midnight? Especially when you have to walk down a dark alleyway and into a big scary parking structure, which, by that time, is completely and eerily empty. Why do things seem so different in the dark?

Here's cowboy Ben and cowgirl Maddie from last summer.

Adios Estudiantes

2008-04-22T14:05:00.002-06:00

I wrote my last article for USU. Boo-hoo, boo-hoo. Here's the link in case anyone is bored or suffering from insomnia. It could be the answer to all your sleepless nights!

http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu/opinion/042208_college.html

Hello world!

2008-04-06T17:07:00.003-06:00

Conference Sunday - we had Ben's brother Paul over for dinner, and this is the masterpiece we had for dessert!

My tribute to President Hinckley

2008-02-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

I have been writing about 1 article a week for the Hard News Cafe (www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu). It's an online newspaper for USU. This week I took on the assignemnt to write a column about what I learned from President Hinckley. It was an enjoyable and special privelige (?spell) for me.

The exact address for the article is: http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu/opinion/020508_appreciation.html

If that doesn't work, you can go to www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu, look under the Opinion section and click on the headline "Tears at first, yes, but now a glow of gratitude for President Hinckley" if you would like to read it.

It's colder outside than in our freezer

2008-01-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

It should be illegal for people to live in Logan during the winter! It was -16 yesterday morning, negative whatever today and is barely getting above 0 at the warmest time of the day. I don't think it got THIS cold last year in Logan. It seriously HURTS to go outside. Your ears, your lips, any part of skin that is not covered up. Whenever you step out and take your first breath, you automatically cough because it takes your breath away. I've been watching people up on campus coming out of buildings, and it happens to everyone.

It's almost 10 p.m. and Ben just went outside to take a picture of the ridiculous snow, and I'm afraid he'll be stuck frozen out there until it starts to thaw, which I think will be about late June.

What makes it so bad?? Our furnace STINKS! As in the smell. Pee-you. Our apartment complex was built in the 1960s and some of its features are a little scary.

Well, Ben made it back inside, but not with a picture. I think our camera got eaten by the horrific, snarling, teeth-clenching monster of frigidity sitting right outside our door, ready to devour us the second our toes land on the door sill.

I'm not going to make it. I would cry, but the monster outside would just freeze my tears, causing my eyes to be stuck closed forever. I don't even care if I spell words wrong! @#%**!J?? If anyone does care, I'd like to see you come and tell that to my face. Good luck getting past the darkness and abyss of the torturous cold that is Logan.

A walk down memory lane

2007-12-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Here's the lowdown: it's the second day of my last semester of school, and I don't know what to do with myself. Even though this is my fourth first week of school, I still haven't figured out how to handle this first week. I feel guilty. I keep thinking, "Okay, Maddie, school is back in session. I should be head over heels in homework right now." But I'm not. And even though I do not want to be head over heels in homework, it drives me crazy that I'm not. Because of this fear I've had throughout my entire college career, but has grown 100 times bigger because this is my last semester. I'm so afraid I'm going to bomb a class--flat-out fail. And if I did that this semester, it would ruin everything. I wouldn't be able to graduate. So I should be starting NOW--on all my papers, assignments, readings for the whole semester, right? Just get EVERYTHING done, before my professors even teach me how.

I'm driving myself insane. Hopefully one of these nights I will be able to stop thinking about bombing and calm down enough to get some somewhat sufficient sleep.

One thing that has helped me snap out of it a little was finding this picture of me and Ben. This was our second date, in October of 2005. We went to Ben's extended family's Halloween party. Yep, I met all of Ben's extended family for the first time dressed in my Auntie Chris's dress and my mother's vest from the '70s. You can't really tell in the picture, but Ben's pants were REALLY tight. Mostly in the back. OW-OW!

I changed the blog without permission

2007-12-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

Well this is the first time I am writing on our blog. I just got kind of bored at work so I decided to change some of the settings and see if I could figure out more tricks to making the blog look better. I did this without permission and so it may change back shortly.

Ben

2007-12-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

These are my gators! Well, some of them anyways. They are the inspiritation for my blog. They are a great team and I love being their head coach. The best part of coaching for me is that I still have swimming in my life. My life just isn't complete without long boring swim meets to sit through! And how awesome to be able to be at a swim meet but not have to worry about swimming? I just get to cheer for, give pep talks to and coach the swimmers! I also get special treatment: people see my coach's credentials and I can go anywhere I want to. People also walk around pushing a cart of treats and food for the coaches! What a life.

But really, the greatest part is connecting with the swimmers. They seem to view me as a special sort of friend because I'm not a parent, teacher, or religious leader. I remember feeling this way about my coaches, and it's pretty cool.

Gosh, if only I would have majored in coaching.

USU vs. UofU

2007-12-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

I'm just trying to warm up my writing skills before I attempt to tackle my final article for my beyond the inverted pyramid class. Ugh. It's about exercise affecting academic performance, and I'm kind of stuck. My professor wants me to take a different angle than I had planned to. Oh sheesh. I'm to the point where I don't care if I do what the professor wants as long as I get the assignment done and turned in on time. So by golly, I'm just going to finish this article the way I want to.

I'm ready to move away from the CCV. The Crazy Cache Valley. I've missed the U the whole time I've been here at USU. I've grown to love USU, but it just doesn't feel like the U did. The U really felt like what my idea of a university was supposed to feel like. I have absolutely no spirit or enthusiasm for the this school. I admire and am grateful for my professors and advisor. They have helped so much more than anyone at the U did. I feel like I've grown so much in my major here at USU. But, who is to say I wouldn't have grown this much at the U?

I think it is partly because I grew up cheering for Utah: I went to football and basketball games and wore red all during elementary, middle and high school. My mom graduated from the U, and my dad is one of the biggest U fans I've ever met. Many of my extended family graduated from and even played sports at the U. It was always my dream to go to the U. And I was living that dream to the fullest when I finally did go there and even swam on the U team!! I was so proud walking around in my U swimming attire. Now I wear it and people give me crap, and now I've gotten to the point where I don't just say,"Oh, yeah, I used to go there." I've recently started to retaliate. I've given people my whole life story. "Well, I grew up cheering for the U, I went there for two years, I was on the swim team. But, when I got married, my husband's major was only offered here at USU, so I had no choice but to leave the U and come here. And I'm going to wear my U stuff!" And I make people wish they never would have said anything to me. I'm getting kind of mean and ornery! I feel a little bit bad, but it almost feels better telling them what is up! I don't want to deal with that kind of crap anymore!

But, really, I like Utah State. I just miss the U, and living close to my family. I've gotten to the point where I only talk to my mom once a week, if that. I feel like I'm becoming distanced from people and things I don't want to. It could be worse, I know. It's possible for Ben and me to have to move to New York or somewhere for an internship over the summer! What will I do then?

When it comes down to it, it's really not the school. It's the atmosphere of the CCV that really gets to me. Maybe the poop smell, too. If I get brave enough, I might spill my feelings about some of my cohort here that I cannot handle. Those whom I live amongst, and sit amongst in church.

Welcome to cyber space

2007-12-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

Buenos dias! Unfortunately, this is our second attempt at making our first post on this blog. Ben and I created it yesterday, and I typed this magnificient ranting post that took me like 20 minutes and when I went to publish it it got erased somehow! I had a mental breakdown and testified to Ben that I would never blog again. A 24-hour break from the computer has been a good thing for me, though.

So, I have been dying to start a blog, but promised myself I would wait until I graduated to do it so I would do my homework instead of play on the blog. But yesterday Ben talked me into it. He said, "Just do it, Maddie," and I said, without any hesitation, "FINE!!!!" So a day later, here I am.

I have decided to devote this blog exclusively to politics. NOT! Who wants to talk about mules and rhinos all day? I prefer to focus on agricultural people, because I am one! It will be my final mascot. I've been a Ute, a Cougar (NOT a blue one, though), a Wildcat and a Cub. How fun to remember all your mascots. Too bad I wasn't lucky enough to be a Beetdigger or Pioneer, though. You can't have your cake and eat it too, I guess.

Happy first post!