faith dutchman

So as you may have guessed, I am on a swim team. I just joined this year. I stink at fly... I just don't understand how I'm supposed to be moving my arms in rythym with my legs, and when I get going, I forget to breathe, then have to breathe, lose my pattern and momentum and... you get the idea. I'm pretty good at free, back, and breaststroke, but free is the only one I am somewhat fast in. The last time my coach timed me, I was a 41 in free. That was last month, so I am sure that I have dropped at least 1 or 2 seconds since then.

We had a practice meet last Sunday, and to say the least, I failed!!! My three events were 50 free, 100 free, and 100 back. I just turned 13, im VERY small, AND I'm a new swimmer, so I think it's a little unfair that I get put in 14 and under and have to compete against fit, 14 year olds who have been swimming for 5 or more years. I did pretty good in the 50 free, though i came in last place. In the 100 free, my arms and legs HURT so MUCH and got SO stiff and tired, I literally felt like i was going to die (finished last as well). when i was finished, I really had to go to the restroom, and so after i asked my coach, i started on my way to the restroom.... then she called me back, telling me that I was up for the 100 backstroke like, immediately. That one REALLY put a hurting on me, my legs got VERY tired, and i stopped at the beginning of my 4th lap. I continued though, and then when i finished I couldn't get out of the pool. A guy that was standing there had to pull me out. Not to mention i REALLY had to go to the bathroom XD

To sum it up, that whole experience was embarassing. I cannot go through that again. And the worst part is.... we have another meet coming up on December 2nd. This team is the team that my team lost to last year, so it's basically the "hardest team" to beat. And I know that if I don't get better in less than two weeks, I will either get disqualified, lose, or die. (yes, I really do think that I'm going to die if they make me do another 100 backstroke, or even worse, a 100 fly. I cant even do a 25 fly without getting very tired. I know, I'm pathetic.)

So, now that you have read my long, pathetic, sob story, do any of you experienced swimmers have any tips on what I should do? What did you do when you felt like you were going to die or when you were embarassed, stressed, or just wanted to scream at your coach, I NEED A LONGER STINKIN BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also, any tips for fly?

Thanks in advance!

Okay so I wanted to make homemade oreo's, and I found this teeny tiny bottle of peppermint oil in my cupboards, that I thought I could use for the filling (because I like the minty oreo's :). But would this make me sick? On the box it says that you can put a few drops in water for a refreshing drink, so I assume that it is edible..... but I just want to be sure. Thanks! :)

Okay. This might be a little hard to explain, but here goes.

I make clay charms, and I really want to start a YouTube account and an Etsy to get my business going. The only problem is, I don't have a good camera. My Kodak M863 is the crappiest thing on earth when trying to film little things up close (like clay charms). It is SO blurry. I have tried almost every camera I can find in the house. My mom's takes a little better quality than mine, but still extremely blurry. I tried my ipod, I even tried my dad's phone. All too blurry.

So I was wondering is anyone knew of some cheap, good quality, video cameras, that focus when you bring anything up close to it? I can't be spending over $150 dollars. =[

Thanks in advance, and I understand if it's kind of impossible to find a good video camera that cheap.

P.S. Just found this video camera on ebay. Have any of y'all tried it, and is it any good? http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Sony-bloggie-MHSTS20-8-GB-...

So, for my birthday which is coming up I wanted to get an iPod. Then I was looking at iPhones & prices and i noticed that the iPhone 4S is only $200, the price of the 8GB iPod that I was planning on getting. So at this website, http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/... if you look at the bottom you have to pick a service plan. They cost $200 dollars! I wanted to use my iphone as an iPod for now, then when i NEED a phone (I will be working in a couple years therefore might be getting one soon in a matter of time) , i could buy the service plan, which would save me money.

If i bought an iPod NOW, that's $200, then an iphone and a service plan LATER, thats $400, so I would be spending $600 all on electronics...

So, do I have to buy the service plan as soon as I get the phone?? Or can I just use it like an iPod until I need to use it as a phone?

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers this.

Ok so there's this equation that I am completely confused about:

Multiply: (4a - 3)²

Please help me and explain how to do it if possible?