Back in the water again

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

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"

... 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 ...

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

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

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

-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.)