Z Sisterz Update

So as you can all plainly see, I have taken some time off from regular blogging.  As in a hiatus for all of 2010.  But I'm ok with that, something had to slip off the plate and blogging was it.  It's moving back towards the top of the list.  

I know, I know, I'll regret not having a better record of our first year of marriage.  Probably.  Maybe.  OR I'll be so glad I spent so much time living and loving our first year that I don't even care that the blog has gone neglected? We shall see.

In the mean time, you can find me pinning regularly on Pinterest, username Rachelzf.  (MAKES ME SO HAPPY)

I've also recently joined instagram and I wish you would too. username Rachelzf.

Each week the Z sisters post an update about our lives collectively on one blog.  We rotate the posting in age order, so I post and then the next week CZ posts, then Sarah, Annee, Ana and Ie Li.  You can find weekly updates regarding my life in those places.  

Rachel

 

Last Week

• Worked on Labor Day and then went to a Nationals Game with the fam.  It was lovely.
• After the game a torrential downpour occurred!  My car wouldn't start due to lack of gas. Nice.
• Missed so many turns driving home, pulled over on the highway to get our bearings and saw a lady up ahead with a flat tire, in the rain.  Ken went and changed it.  Her cell phone was dead.  What would you do??
• Submitted an order for wedding photo prints to Jon's beloved Richard Photo Lab.  I hope they are lovely and arrive soon.
• Ken's battery died while downtown on Tuesday.  He used one of the Capital Bikeshare bikes to ride to AutoZone, buy a battery, bike back to his car, change the battery and drive home.  All while in a rain storm.  Madness!
• Received reimbursement for my damaged skirt from Salon Joseph.  They were so nice about it.
• RAIN.  A lot of rain. I absolutely love rainstorms and was giddy all day. But the son of a local design blogger I follow was killed after slipping in some rushing water in their backyard creek.  So so sad.
• Worked a lot.  Whatever.
• Pulled the trigger on the wire pendant lights.  LOVE THEM.  You can see a photo of them on instagram. 
• Watched the BYU game.  I love fall.

 This Week

• Finish out the 9/15 work deadline.  My list is still too long.  Avoid eating the doritos and pizza that will inevitably be all over the office.  This usually is not hard because the days are so, so busy. 
• Finish our 7 weeks without treats or carbs on Saturday.  Finally!
• Bake cupcakes for one of Ken's LSAT classes on Saturday.
• Navy Federal 5K on Saturday around our local running path.
• Ward party on Saturday.
• BYU vs. UTAH game on Saturday.
• Teach Relief Society on Sunday.  Decided to make this as the treat.  (Along the "bloom where you're planted" theme. It'll work...)
• Buy mums for our outside planters in honor of fall. 
• CZ's bday celebration on Sunday!  Woo. Pick up a bunch of paint chips at Home Depot for one of the decorations.                                               

Ana

Last week:

• Black out!
  All of San Diego lost power last week for about 12 hours.  It was a great chance to test our emergency gear and realize where we were deficient.  Having cash on hand saved our dinner since we lucked out and found one local pizza parlor trying to sell off their pizzas before they spoiled.  Jack thought the whole experience was a blast.  I wished it didn't happen during our heat wave because adding being hot to being 9 months pregnant and ridiculously large made me a bit unpleasant.
• Jack only had school three days last week because of the holiday and then the blackout.  In the one week he's been at school I have gotten spoiled and used to napping and working in the mornings.  Friday was a hard long day.  Half a pan of brownies in the evening was pretty much what saved me.  Too bad I have to step on the scale weekly at my doctors office.
• Thought about joining a gym (they'd let a huge pregnant woman join right?) but decided to run to the grocery store first.  By the end of walking up and down the aisles for 30 minutes I was spent and decided to come home and nap instead.  It's going to be a long journey back into my pre-pregnancy clothes I fear.
• Was delightfully pleasant despite being told on three separate occasions by strangers that I look like I'm "ready to pop."  
• Worked a ton and made some more great progress on automating my job so that I can make it through the first few sleepless months and not get fired.  Last time I had a baby I had 3 full months of paid maternity.  This time I have none.  It's going to be rough.  Visitors and helpers are very, very welcome.  Especially if you don't mind holding my baby while I pretend I am alert enough to do my work.
• Signed Jack up for a soccer and a baseball class.  He loves them both and is improving.  He can't wait to get on a team, but we missed all the deadlines this year.
• Researched safety ratings on infant car seats and ordered one (thanks Baba!).  It should arrive sometime this week.  Read that the new recommendation is to have kids in a backwards facing car seat until they are two.  Does anyone actually do that?  I think one of the happiest days of my life (and Jack's) was the day we turned his car seat around at 11 months. 

Next week:

• Sleep.  Six years is a long enough time to forget how exhausting the last few weeks of pregnancy are.  I literally have zero energy all day long but then I'm up for a few hours each night unable to fall to sleep after getting up to go to the bathroom for the eighth time. 
• Paint our piano (or maybe just watch and critique as Zack paints our piano).  I think I found a color we all like.   Fingers crossed.
• Sleep.
• Sleep.
• Sleep.

The end.

Ie Li

Last Week:

• Nats vs. Dodgers. 
• It rained all week long.
• Started putting Stephen down for naps again.  The result has been good.
• Cleaned the whole house in a day.
• Cleaned the church as a family.  It took us three hours.  We took the kids to get pizza and ice cream afterward. 
  
• Dug up some important information on my ancestors in China.  I found the CD of digital pictures that my photographer cousin took of me at a cemetery in Beijing.  I have a picture with four of my ancestors headstones.  The picture quality is good enough so I can zoom in and see each character clearly.  It looks like we may be able to put some pieces together.  I will probably need to enlist the help of my Chinese neighbors across the street.
• Stephen's preschool open house.  My visiting teacher is one of his teachers, and she is wonderful.
• We missed the bus for the first time.  I hate that feeling!  I piled four kids in the car (Stephen had a friend over for a play date) in pouring rain and drove to the school.  Mei Li got her first tardy slip.  I felt so sad for tarnishing her attendance record. 
  
• Picked up my new orthotics for my shoes and I'm still getting used to them.  My feet are sore, which is supposedly normal.  Hope that goes away.
• I just came back from a family history fireside.  The man who presented mostly talked about the technological advancements that have taken place and will take place for the family history website.  It was all very fascinating and I'm excited to join in the work.
• Didn't run.

Next Week:

• Stephen starts preschool.
• Visiting teaching
• Ballet for Mei
• The sports class I signed Stephen up for was canceled due to low enrollment, so I need to spend sometime this week figuring out what our other options are.
• Run!
• Tax season for Steve ends on Thursday!
• Continue reading The Good Earth.
• Practice the piano.
• Family history work.

Annee

Last Week:

• Lots of eating at home and packing lunches.  I cooked dinner everyday except for Friday night.  We somehow ended up missing the Ward Opening Social.  But then we remembered it was Friday night, and we should go out on a date instead.  We ended up at CPK.  I think I'll love CPK forever.  It's so delicious, every time. Some week, I'll keep a tally of how many lunches I pack.  It's way too many, and one of my least favorite chores.  My kids have decided that school cafeteria food is gross.  I feel the same way, but have felt lucky that for so many years, at least my boys hadn't noticed yet.  This seems to be the year that they have fully noticed.  Henry seriously thinks he's not going to buy lunch even once in middles school!  That's when I think my life might not be so awesome.  
• I had a great time subbing for 5th grade on Friday.  I was kind of nervous.  I never once subbed for 5th grade last year.  I had it in my mind that I was scared of the older kids.  As it turns out, they aren't so scary after all, and they actually know how to stay on task, and be quiet a LOT better than 1st and 2nd graders.  That part was so nice.  I have to admit it, I just like teaching.  My favorite times in the day are when the kids have questions about things they don't understand, and I get to explain it in such a way that they walk away understanding.  It feels like magic.  I should become a full time teacher someday.  
• I ran 16 miles on Saturday.  I didn't get a massage, so my left hamstring was kind of killing me by the end.  But other than that, I remembered that I actually have it in me to run long distances.  There is something so therapeutic about a long run.  During this run, and last week's 15 mile run, I've started crying at one point, just because I'm processing pieces of life while I run, in ways that I don't when I'm not running for such a long time.    And sometimes I've started to cry just because I love the miracle of the human body, and I can't get over the fact that God created such an amazing thing.  
• I only managed to post once over at MOM last week.  That's too bad.  Though I finished one really big project that I had been working one, I didn't make it as far into my second project as I thought that I might.  Oh well.  There is always this week.  
• We had our first Primary Program practice.  This is when I'm really grateful for my rather unflappable personality.  It was kind of disastrous/unproductive.  But I am not deterred.  The program will be great.  

This Week:

• I will be helping out in Jane's class Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30-12:30.  Jane is in a split class this year, and the teacher's aid is going to be out of town.  The district doesn't furnish substitutes when an aid needs to be gone, but Jane's teacher needs help.  I am happy that my schedule allows for me to be available like that.  Really, really grateful.  It makes me love my life.  
• We need to do some blitz practicing on Monday and Tuesday.  We fell behind over the weekend!
• Back to school nights at the elementary school this week.  Two different nights, three different classrooms!
• Grocery shopping.  I dream of the day when this is not so essential to my life.  But right now, it's super critical.  When supplies begin to diminish, it feels like the quality of life diminishes right along with it.  Darn it.  
• Temple session on Wednesday morning.
• Run 17 miles on Saturday!  I can do that, right?!
• Work on renewing our van registration.  I'm not making any huge commitments in this department.  But maybe I'm willing to at least go and get the safety and emission testing done.  I may, or may not be in a bit of a stand off with someone who lives in my house, about who's job registering the family vehicles is...
• oh yeah, and I'm only eating fruits and vegetables this week.  That's it.  Only plants.  Only one week.  Just an experiment.  One day down, at least six more to go.  I might need to make a tiny exception in preparation for the 17 mile run, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. 

Christine

Last week:

• Taco Tuesday with Addie and Kelsea at Rubio's.  It was so delicious, I definitely miss all the Mexican food options when I'm out in DC.
• Took the Wiley kids to go feed the ducks.
• Went to yoga twice.  It was pretty rough and I was definitely sore after for awhile, but it also felt great.
• Hiked the Y Friday afternoon.  That was pretty tough as well but I did make it to the top.
• Had dinner with Hillary and Scott and spent most of Thursday helping Hillary pack up their things in Provo and move it into their new place in Salt Lake.
• Friday evening drove to Henderson, NV with Addie and Kelsea where we stayed with our friend Max's family.  Saturday we went boating with Max at Lake Mead all day, hoping that the forecasted storm wouldn't actually come.  It ended up being a great day on the lake, just a little cloudy in the morning then nice and sunny all afternoon.  We all successfully got up on the wakeboard and had a lot of fun getting thrown around while tubing.  Sunday we went to church in the morning then drove back to Provo.  It was a very quick but very successful road trip.

This week:

• Hopefully get a haircut from Christie before I leave town.
• Go to yoga at least once more before I leave, hopefully even twice more.
• Possibly hike the Y again.
• Have a birthday dinner with family and another one with friends.
• Fly to DC on Wednesday.
• Go to West Virginia for the weekend for the treasure mountain festival.  Not exactly sure what that is but apparently it's a big deal.
• Be back Sunday for another birthday dinner with the DC family group and some friends.

Post Script:  Will gladly edit and add in Sarah as soon as we receive her update!  Also CZ's picture.