I miss blogging! Thanks Jen!

I'm pretty sure I have zero readers these days. But, I miss it and Jennica tagged me in a post and therefore I must use this opportunity to blog again!


Rules:
Post these rules.
Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you.
Create 11 questions of your own to ask the people that you're about to tag.
Tag 11 people and link them with you post (and let them know they've been tagged)

1. Why did you start blogging?

I'm the youngest of six and my sisters and sisters-in-law who were married and having children were always blogging about their fun days with pictures and I didn't want to be left out. I started it in high school, but wasn't very committed to it until college.

2. Favorite store?

Oh, J. Crew is pretty awesome, except I can't afford anything there, so Banana and GAP are probably my faves and for some reason the jeans that fit me best are from American Eagle.

3. What cheers you up on a crappy day?

Chocolate and pouting. HA. Isn't that pathetic? I like to be whiney and complain and Blake lets me, which is nice. And I love it when he snuggles me and plays with my hair. That makes me feel a lot better.

4. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Hair Stylist for the stars! Or just a hair stylist =). Probably a small little family, maybe living abroad.

5. Chocolate or Vanilla?

Chocolate. See number 3.

6. Spring Must Have?

Anything and everything bright and patterned. I have too many solid-colored things. I've been eyeing this dress floating around pinterest, only to find that it's not for sale in the US. Sad.

7. All time favorite move?

Anne of Green Gables. Anne is so dramatic and all the characters are perfect. Gilbert and Anne were meant for each other.

8. Who/What inspires you?

People who are happy. And most of the time they're happy because they are so kind and giving. I have always wanted to be that person, but I find that I have faults like most people, but I can always strive to do better!


9. Random fact about yourself?

I met Megan Follows. It's my claim to fame. For those of you who are not Anne of Green Gables enthusiasts, she is Anne. THE Anne. I won't write all about it, but instead refer you to this post that I wrote back in high school when I met her. It was a great day!

10. Dream travel spot?

I sound like a wannabe Anne of Green Gables enthusiast, but I swear it's real. I've always wanted to visit Prince Edward Island, but that is a trip reserved for me and my most kindred spirits--my sisters. Other than that I don't have very many specific dream travel spots, except I would love to go somewhere tropical (not hawaii though) with clear blue waters and warm, sandy beaches.

11. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

To think more about others than I do myself. 


And...I don't really have 11 people to tag, but if you think this is fun, please do it!

Long Overdue

This semester has been so amazingly busy. I've been working 2 jobs and going to school and there never seems to be enough time for anything. I should have posted about this on October 20, 2011, but better late than never.

I'M ENGAGED! to my sweetheart, Blake Ogden Day.

Photo by Justin Hackworth

Blake proposed to me on October 19, 2011 and we're getting married in a matter of 24 days, on New Year's Eve. Blake may have a different version of the story, but in my mind, the events went a little something like this:

It was an ordinary Wednesday. I went to work from 8-12 that morning and school from 12:30-4:45. We had planned to go country swing dancing for a double date with his co-worker, Jason, but Jason hadn't gotten back to us about our date so I wasn't sure we were going to go. Later that day Blake told me we were going to be in a music video for his friend. I was a little suspicious and wondered if "shoot a music video" was code for I'm going to propose to you and get it on camera.

We walked home from school and Blake asked me if I had told all my family that we were going to get married. I told him that I had told some people but I was going to wait until it was official with the ring to tell everyone. He acted like he felt really bad because he didn't have the ring yet because their family friend who was a jeweler was taking a long time with it and it wouldn't be there for another couple weeks. I told him not to worry about it and that it didn't matter when it got there. My suspicions about a proposal went away.

We actually did shoot a music video for his friend and planned to go country swing dancing just the two of us, even though Jason couldn't come. Throughout the filming he kept saying how tired he was and I kept agreeing because it had been a really long day. I asked him if he wanted to just skip dancing and go watch a movie at home. He asked if that's what I wanted to do. I told him that I wouldn't mind just relaxing and going dancing on Saturday since they have country swing dancing ever Wednesday and every Saturday.

So, we left the music video site and opted for some Sonic drinks and a movie. While we waited for our drinks, Blake said, "You know, we always say how much we love dancing, and we haven't been in a really long time." So, I figured maybe he wanted to go after all, so I said, "Alright. Let's go do it then!" We headed over to the Provo Rec. Center and learned some new moves for half an hour and continued dancing for another half hour. Blake spun me, flipped me, and held me close, just like he had on our first date more than a year before.

The music stopped and someone spoke over the speakers and asked everyone to clear the dance floor. Blake took me to the middle of the dance floor and then I knew what was happening. I started smiling real big and tearing up at the same time. I was in shock. Blake got down on one knee as he held my beautiful ring in his hand and said, "Ie Ling, I love you. Will you marry me?" I said YES! and threw my arms around him and everyone cheered. He requested that they play "My Best Friend" by Tim McGraw and we danced and smiled.

We left right after and Blake and I drove to his parents house where his brothers, mom, aunts, and grandma, along with my brother and his girlfriend were waiting to congratulate us. We're getting married December 31 in the Los Angeles Temple and then we'll be starting some big adventures in Washington, D.C., while Blake interns with Senator Orrin Hatch. I hope to do a better job of documenting as soon as I finish finals next week.

WSW

Pardon the WSW absence, the past few weeks it's been on private blogs, but now back to me!

VANESSA

This Week:

•     Observed a preK class with Marina.  She liked it so much she wanted to stay the rest of the day! 
•     Enrolled her that day at Pinecrest School Tuesdays and Thursdays   
•     Reassured by Devin's teacher at back to school nite that he is doing well
•     Attended half of Grandparent day at Marina's school before unexpected meltdowns (mainly Eden)
•     Had our home appraised for our refinance, a long, grueling process
•     Wished my Grandma a Happy 90th and promised we'd be home for the holidays (I hope)
•     Girls' Nite In while the boys watched UCLA play at the Rose Bowl
•     Had the Stegebys over for Sunday dinner (Devin's piano teacher from church)
•     Nightly scripture reading (compliments of Devin and the Book of Mormon Stories)

 

Next Week:

•     Break in Eden's new babysitter
•     Inspire kiddos to be better 
•     Prepare healthy meals
•     Walk

Favorite thing:  Devin enthusiastically writing 25 spelling words neatly during our practice test and finding a school for Marina.

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.

MICHIKO

Last week:

- The Primary program is over!  It went well.  I don't want to hear those primary songs for a long time.

This week:

- Party with the tAy- Team!

Favorite thing: Mary Kay microdermabrasion kit.  I haven't been good about using it lately, but have started up again, and I feel like it is really helping my skin clear up!  Maybe I will be acne-free in my 40's.

IE MEI

Last week:

• Worked the charities table on Thursday at the Newcomer’s Club Meeting. Tried to infuse my passion for the charitable work that we do on the other Newcomer’s to the annoyance of a few.  I guess I can be a bit over enthusiastic sometimes.
• Finished Unbroken – true story about the experiences of an Olympian/war veteran in WWII named Louie Zamperini.  I highly recommend it.
• Filled in some more information on our Indonesian side family tree.  
• Watched video of 9/11 with the boys to show what happened ten years ago in NYC. 

Favorite Part:  When Ie Li called me and told me that she has pictures of family grave sites in China and also a family tree of our Chinese ancestors. 

This Week:

• Relief Society Presidency meeting at my house.
• Field trip to the market with Jackson’s Special Spanish class.
• Prepare for and enjoy our trip.
• Start reading Fallen Angels.

IE LING

                                                                          

This Week:

• Watched a lot of football. A sad week for the Timpanogas T-Wolves and the BYU Cougars.
• Went on a double date with Blake and Jonathan and Megan to see Lea Salonga perform in the DeJong Concert Hall. AMAZING.
• Continued to have a cold and used up two rolls of toilet paper and a box of Kleenex just on my nose. 
• Sat through lots of enjoyable classes. 
• Got to go to church with my best friend Katie B. as she passed through on her way to Idaho. 
• Ran for the first time in 3 weeks. It was refreshing.
• Quadrupled the amount of salt in my bran muffins. Wouldn't recommend it, but they don't taste horrible. 

Next week:

• School
• Work
• Exercise
• Drink more water 
• Watch the Cougars beat those Utes!
• Finally kick this cold!

Favorite thing: Lea Salonga. Hands down. My favorite song that she sang was I Dreamed a Dream, but On My Own was also stunning of course. She sang a song in Tagalog and I was glad to have Blake by my side to translate for me. It was just the best entertainment I've ever spent money on. It was a really great night. 

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is my dad's birthday. 

He's the greatest. 

He is just so jolly. 

I love that he says WARSH instead of Wash.

I love his "funny" jokes. 

I love that he's always calling his kids just to say hello even if it's just for a minute.

He is just a genuinely nice guy. 

I love being his favorite #6. 

I love that he had the courage to join the LDS Church. 

I love that he married my mom in the temple so we can be a family forever.

He's a great husband, father, and grandfather. 

Happy Happy Birthday Dad! I love you forever!

WSW

So, I'm a bit behind because I'm on vacation but this week's edition of West Sisters Weekly is on Ie Li's blog.

More from the beach later =)

West Sisters Weekly

So, Ie Li does a sisters' update with Steve's side of the family and I've been wanting to do it with the West sisters for a long time, so here is the premiere of West Sisters Weekly.

Ie Mei:

This Week:

• Spent every morning at the club watching Jackson and lance at tennis camp/watching Mylee and Ailee scooter and play at the playground while I tried to get to know a very nice mother of five from Bolivia.
• Spent four hours working with my Spanish tutor, Liliana.
• Exercised a couple times before the kids got up :)
• Had a tennis date with Brad and popped our tire on the way home.
• Taught Lumy, a young adult in our ward, how to make funeral potatoes.
• Prepared the funeral potatoes and homemade rolls for the five American missionaries in our ward.  Had fun --watching them devour the rolls and potatoes - foods they don't get very often in Mexico.
• Finalized the deal on a 2007 Passat.  I'm about to be a Mexican driver.

Next Week: 

• Big surprises from Ie Mei next week!

Vanessa:

This week:

• I took the kids to the Reptacular Animal exhibit and show at our local libraries.
• Devin got to hold an albino, Burmese python and Marina got to hold a canary. 
• On Friday nite, after an arduous week of earning 10 happy faces, Devin and Marina received the honor of accompanying mom and dad on our date nite to the Thousand Oaks Philaharmonics featuring youth soloist from the community.  The musicians were brilliant and the kids loved it.

Next week:

• our usual summer activities of piano, ballet, tennis, and swimming
• We are looking forward to heading out to the beach with family on Saturday.

Ie Li:

Last week:

• Swam
• Took the kids to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum on Wednesday
• Had a piano delivered to our house on Friday
• Summer school
• Played in puddles.
• Played in the sprinklers.
• Had dessert and played a game with Christine, John, Rachel, and Ken.
• Mei Li had princess ballet camp, which afforded me a few hours in the week to take two children to stores instead of three.  It makes a big difference.  I think Stephen enjoyed being the big boy.
• Got up at least a half hour before the kids woke up everyday.  I am hoping to make this a permanent habit.
• Made whole wheat bread with my new mixer.  The results were less than stellar.  I need to practice some more.
• Made pretzels as a family on Saturday.
• Attended the Redskins fan appreciation day on Saturday.

Next week:

• Go to Cafe Rio.  As much as I love Cafe Rio, I haven't been to either of the DC area ones that recently opened up.  I think I'll do that tomorrow.
• Search for a mirror and artwork.
• Another trip to the Air and Space Museum?  
• Summer school
• Swim
• Get up early and go to bed early
• Pack and go to the lake house in Pennsylvania with Rachel, Ken, and Christine (maybe John?)

Michiko:

This last week, I:

• got to hang out with Jonathan!  He's awesome, and I love the man he has grown to become.  I'm so super proud of his amazing study habits and achievements of this last semester! Nerds unite!  :B
• got to go to Ulta without kids.  I never go shopping, but I needed an anniversary present for the Jer-bear.  What do you get the guy who already buys himself whatever he wants?!  No, seriously.  What do you buy that guy?!  I bought some cologne, but I'll need ideas for later.  :)
• bought a few extras for myself while at Ulta!  I took advantage of Uncle Jonathan, who was patiently watching movies in the car with the boys.  After I settled on a cologne, I scanned the aisles super quick for something for me!  I had a 20% off coupon, I had to maximize it, you know?!  I found 2 things I'm excited about - a salt spray for my unruly hair, and RED lipstick!  I've always wanted to wear red lips, but have never been daring enough to try it.  What's the verdict, sistahs?!
• celebrated anniversary #11!  Jonathan watched the kids and put them down for bed so Jeremy and I could have a romantic date.  We went all-out for our 11th and drove to the city of love . . .  Stockton!  We hit the teacher supply store AND REI and held hands the whole time like love-sick teens.  :)  I know, I know, it's all too much, but wait!  There's more!  We had sushi and stayed out til 10 pm!  Kuh-raizy.  Just wait til you hear what we have planned for next year! (I kid, but Jeremy really did spoil me - he got me 2 new lenses for my camera and patio furniture for the back.  I can sit while I watch kids in the pool now!)
• finally got the primary program written!  That was a big load off my shoulders!

Next Week:

• celebrate Maika's 10th birthday!  It's going to be an EPIC party - even bigger than our anniversary!  We might get balloons!  And I think we are going to invite Maika's WHOLE classroom.  (Shhhh.  It's a surprise!)
• (Do I have any hope of the kids not resenting me when they get older?!)
• get passport applications submitted!  Both parents need to be present, and for having a husband that doesn't work Fridays, you'd think that would be easier to accomplish.
• make a loose D.C. itinerary and figure out which places I need reservations for.  
• mail Primary letters to the Elders serving in our ward. 
• try some vegetarian meals out on the boys - wish me luck!
• go to Benjamin Moore and pick another color for my kitchen.  I had high hopes for Martha's "enamelware" color, but it wasn't quite right.  I think I'm on try 6 or 7!  Who knew picking a blue could be so hard!
  
  
  
  Ie Ling:
  

This Week:

• worked 8 hours in front of a computer in one day. Major headache.
• had so many girls' nights because Blakers was on family vacation this week in Oregon.
• found a house to live in for the fall. Private Room. Piano. Theater Room!
• de-cluttered my closet with the help of my trusty friend, Martha.
• bought some  M.A.C. Fluidline in Dipdown. I would highly recommend it =)
• sported the side fish braid more than once. ( I also recommend this. It stays in much better than a regular one.)

Next Week:

• take a final for Business Law.
• spend an evening at Seven Peaks with Blakers for the first time since I was...five?
• Pack up all my stuff and clean.
• Run the Moonlight half marathon in my new shoes! (see post below)
• Fly to California for Beach Week!

Running, Running as Fast as I Can

So, in 9 days I will be running my second half marathon, with Blakers. If you clicked on the link you'll notice that it's called the Moonlight Half Marathon. It's just down the road in Mapleton, Utah and I'm getting really nervous. This time around my training hasn't been as effective. I think it's because running is so hard in the heat. And, my knees have been aching a lot when I run. I thought it was because my shoes were worn down and old, so I got some new running shoes. I tried them out yesterday but my knees still hurt, but maybe it takes some time. If not, then I have a fabulous new pair of running shoes anyway. 

These are them: Mizuno Wave Precision 11

Aren't they cute? My least favorite part is the neon green spider web looking parts on the teal, but I still think they're great. The other great thing is that I originally bought them for $93 at 26.2 here in Provo, UT, but then they were too small. So I did some research online and found that I could get the same exact ones for cheaper. Long story short, the final price paid for the shoes was $63. So, if you know what kind of shoes you need, check out Running Center and look for a good deal.

So, the cool thing about this half marathon is that it's at night! The goal is to cross the finish line as close to midnight as you can, which means that everyone starts at different times, depending on how fast you think you'll finish. Anyway, that's what I've been up to. Running, school, and work. Come cheer me on next Friday. And enjoy this cute picture of Buddy Bo that I got from my fabulous sister-in-law today:

I knew it'd make you smile =) Have a great summer day!