A NEW LEAF

As the new year is upon me, I am feeling an anticipation of some thing new and starting over.  With that, I am going to stop bemoaning to myself about the lack of blog entries in the last half of 2010 and go on from here.  As a balm for my negligence, I am going to post our Christmas letter and therefore update the year with the highlights.


Also, you can take a look at the adventures from our trip to Michigan this fall here: Jenks Fall Family Trip

Dear Family and Friends!                                                                                                         December 2010

                My, how the years fly by.  The Jenks’ year has been a joyful one.  It seems as the family grows, there are more things to find gladness in. 

                Ashton & Ali finished up the first year of Pharmacy school @ Creighton and started their second.  They seem to be quite content there.  DeeAnn got to visit them twice! (Lucky Grandma)  Dexter grows and grows.  He is such a charmer; he spreads delight where ever he is.  Ashton teaches primary (the entire senior primary) and Ali is in the Relief Society Presidency.  The joys of school life in the mission field!

                London & Alissa moved to Thermopolis, WY for London’s first teaching position. He is in the Science Department at the High School.  We visited them in October and can see why they might enjoy that quaint little place.  Orion is an expressive boy – much like his father was.  We love his endearing dimples and beautiful brown eyes (he got those from his Mama).  London is in the Elders Quorum and Alissa is a sweet primary teacher.  The joys of settling in! 

                Devon returned from his mission to India in August.  What a thrill that was!  He is a fine young man, excited for the rest of his life; we relish having him home with us.  That, however, will be short lived; he has found his love and they will be married in the Twin Falls Temple in February. Her name is Kayla Peckham and we are ecstatic about welcoming her into the family.  Another girl!  They are both busy with school and jobs.  The joys of just starting out!

                Stratton has reached that full-fledged teen age thing.  He attends early-morning Seminary, is working on his Eagle Project, still plays in the hand-chime choir and continues with his schooling at home. His interests remain anything science: chemistry, space, biology.  Stratton went rafting on the High Adventure trip with the Teachers Quorum this summer and proved his ‘MoJo’ when he jumped off a 35 foot cliff!  The joys of the indestructible teenager!

                Crayson is still hanging in that land of ‘tweens’; not sure if he wants to actually grow up or not.  He works hard at his schooling, has lots of collections and socializes any chance he gets.  The lucky eleven-year-old was able to attend Scout Camp with Dallas and his brother this summer and came away just a few requirements shy of First Class Rank.  He has set a goal to earn the 4 Commemorative Merit Badges.  They joys of unlimited energy!

                Dallas is working hard to take care of the family; he puts in his hours at the pharmacy in Costco and then moonlights with his decorative concrete business.  That all sounds so noble, but be advised, his real goal is to own a plane in the next 4 years.  That would be his dreams come true!  He was called as the Scout Master just a few weeks ago, after a preparatory stint as the Assistant.  He feels intimidated and eager at the same time.  The joys of being the grown up!

                DeeAnn took a leap this year and plunged into politics.  Running for a Precinct Committee Seat in the Republican Party was …. Well, it was something!  She won and with Dallas, attended the State Convention.  If you live in Idaho, you know that is was pretty wild.  Outside of the ‘Political Career’, DeeAnn is still schooling the two younger ones, Cub Scouting, volunteering around the community and wishing she had more time for beading.  The joys of being the other adult!

                All in all this has been a wonderful year!  We are grateful for our numerous blessings, hopeful for a brighter future and are looking forward to another Joy Full year.  We wish Heavenly Father’s choicest blessing upon you all!

Don't Come To Grandma's House !

This is what happens when you come to Grandma's house.  Poor, poor baby.  Dexter with his first goose egg.  It breaks my heart.  Dang those rock floors; they are not baby friendly.  I will have to be putting out rugs everywhere when they are here.


This next week is going to be a great one!  Ash, Ali, and Dexter are here from Council Bluffs; Devon comes home on Monday night; and it is almost our last week with London, Alissa and Orion before they head off to Wyoming.  We will try and pack it with as much family fun time as we can (along with painting the house, wonder how that will go?)

I Like to Ride My Bicycle, I Like to Ride My Bike !

  When I am shopping with cash, I never give correct change.  I always use paper and save the metal.  Sometimes my purse can get very heavy (makes a good weapon) before I empty the coins it into the jar.  With the help of the change from my cash register after each of our Jenks Family Grill events, I am able to save around $350 in a year that way.  Not bad.

  Well, I took some of that money and went out and bought myself a bicycle.  A CRUISER !  And it's PURPLE !  I love it.  The kids and I have been making trips around town to run errands:  the library, the bank, to buy plants for the garden.    I have found that we can make it around town just about as fast as we can in the car, with the added benefit of a little exercise.

Idaho Republican State Convention !

  Wow!  I attended the Idaho Republican State Convention as a Delegate this weekend, Friday and Saturday.  I have to say that it was an eye opening experience.  It is the closest look I have ever had at the working of the 'Political Machine', so to say.  There is wheeling and dealing and scratching of backs and manipulating and perhaps even some strong arming going on, but mostly it was fun and good natured and the system put into motion.  The system that is our government.  
  Having never been there before, I have nothing to compare to, but I found the atmosphere leaning towards the conservative.  I believe that is a shift.  'Things they are a changing'.  I was happy to see some of the new planks in the platform and thrilled at some of the resolutions that were passed.  We will all see how those resolutions work themselves out in the end.  It is my understanding that quite often they go through drastic changes by the time they appear on the floor of the House or the Senate for voting.  And we wonder why nothing ever gets done!  
  If you do not know what actually goes on at the Convention, whether State or National, I will fill you in with my newly gained knowledge!  The first thing that took place were the Committee meetings.  There are four committees to work on: Rules, Resolutions,  Platform, and Credentials.  One third of the delegation is chosen to be actual members of the committees, the rest of us just get to listen in.
  After lunch, we met for the opening and heard speeches from dignitaries, namely Governor Butch Otter, some awards were given out, we saw a short video and then we had a break before dinner.  If you would like to see the video, here is the link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZs8k4pJcyk
  That night we got to see the 'ranch that Melaleuca built'.  That is where the dinner was, Riverbend Ranch.  It is owned by Frank & Belinda Vandersloot, the founder and owners of Melaleuca.  (Too bad my Uncle didn't stick with that stuff, he was telling the family about it years before Melaleuca was well known.)  It was a decent meal, the speeches were mildly entertaining and the comedian was pretty funny.  
  The next day was the meat of the convention.  The items that had come out of the committees were brought to the floor for voting.  That went on and one it seemed.  But was interesting all the same.  Then we voted on the Executive Committee for the next two years.  That went quite a bit smoother than the election in my own committee at the beginning of the month, but that is another story in and of itself.  At this point, everything is a learning experience for me.  The curve is very steep right now!  
  Despite the fact that Twin Falls County made history as the first delegation to request that their entire slate of delegates be stricken, I  came away happy for the chance to participate and making plans for next year's convention.  I made some new friends, dispelled some misconceptions and feel that bridges were built and mended.  The next two years will be something, I am sure!

Summer Update

  Well, summer has arrived on the calendar, not quite sure when it is going to get here outside.  I was trying to be a better gardener this year, but seems as if my efforts will 'bear little fruit' if the weather doesn't start to cooperate.  Funny, one morning I gave up and planted some starts over the top of my seeds and both of my boys came in that day saying, "Mom, stuff is coming up in your garden!"  Yes, I am such a green thumb that my plants went from not there to 6 inches high over night!  I only wish!
  The election has come and gone and politics has moved on to bigger and more fraudulent times.  Really!  I did win my election if you have not heard.  I got 151 votes and my opponent 123.  I consider the whole thing a success due to the fact that in our precinct two years ago the total number voting was 179!  There were another 100 voters this time, thank you very much!
  Things in the Twin Falls Republican Party have taken a turn for the worse, or maybe for the better.  That has yet to do seen.  It is possible that it was not really a 'turn' at all, just that someone got caught!  Rather than provide you with the long and sordid story, just suffice it to say that there was intrigue and mis-direction and possibly some illegal activity at my first participation.  NOT by me!  But there is something 'afoot' and it should not be long before we will see if there is any progress made towards honest and open dealings within the committee.  As things get settled, I will give more details.
  I will say that the whole political process is just that, political.  Who would have thought?  Lots for me to learn and many miles to go before things can be turned around.  It would be easy to get discouraged, but I have faith that one committee at a time we can turn our Government around and embrace the founding father's intended ideals and rule of law.
  Signing off from Council Bluffs, Iowa.

EXTREME Liberty Tree Tending

 You know, like Extreme Home Makeover or Extreme Motor Cross.

  I took on a pretty big project just one week ago. I said yes to a request to organize the Tax Day TEA Party here in Twin Falls. Not sure what I was thinking at the moment, but it was questionable if there would have been one without an organizer, so I said yes. Yes, with much trepidation. Three days! I had only three days to pull something together.

  First I needed to figure out what an organizer of such an event had to do. Good thing I had read Rules for Radicals (Alinsky) and Civil Disobedience (Thoreau) just weeks before. Oh, wait. That was Community Organizing! Just the opposite! This event would be all about exercising our rights and not giving them up to someone who says they can get us what we want - for the price of our soul. And this would be about speaking our minds and giving one another support. We would be watering the LIBERTY TREE, not pruning it down to the ground!

  So, I spent the following three days on the phone, checking emails by the minute, scribbling notes, trying to fit in school for the kids (helping their Mom put a Patriotic Program together counts as school, doesn’t it) checking more emails, tracking down mystery speakers, visiting the printer and generally out of my mind with stress. I went to bed with a huge head ache every night and felt like I was spinning endlessly during the day!

 

  I had decided that I wanted the theme to be not one of complaining, but one of encouragement for individuals to get out and do their part, to emphasize the responsibilities that go along with our rights. Last year folks were newly angry and recently frightened about the sudden (or not really so sudden) change in direction our country seemed to be taking. Maybe it was the ‘last straw’ kind of thing, but there was a bit of ranting and raving last year at the T.P. here in Twin and around the country. I was going for a calmer, more constructive air this time. 
   That called for some positive speakers on our beloved Constitution and our responsibilities as citizens and some 10th Amendment thrown in for good measure. Coming up with speakers turned out to be a bit difficult. I mean, asking someone to speak in the middle of the day, on a weekday and with three (or two or one) days notice should not be that hard, right? I was happy to find three diverse speakers who covered their assignments well.

  I also wanted to include children, as that is my main job right now – educating children. I had Cub and Boy Scouts present a flag ceremony, a children’s choir singing The Star Spangled Banner and a children’s trio who sang the first 10 Articles of the Constitution. Very nice! They all came out with signs and their educated opinions about the things that were (and are) going on. I am so proud of the children I know; they understand the issue at hand. They have a love of their freedom and understand where it comes from and that it is our duty to protect it and not allow it to be taken. It must be taken, you know. It is ours, given by God. If we do not stop it from being taken, then we are offering it up to whoever will take it. Staying free requires action.

   There you have it. My spin in the lime-light. It was an amazing amount of mental work to be done in a short time, but it came off pretty well and with only a couple of minor hitches. (Like the four trips I had to make back home after leaving the house that morning and the angry Veteran who took issue with my gold fringed flag. But those are stories for another time.)

   This must be my longest blog post, I hope that you were not too bored. Check back later for the saga of the Jenks Family Egg Hunt. I promised you that and I will provide it.

'Fich' Tacos

I made the yummiest fish tacos last week and I had to make them again already. Writing down recipes is not something I invest much time in. This used to be a tricky problem back in the days of our restaurant, Double Decker. I was always whipping something up for catering jobs and then someone would ask for me to repeat it sometime later. I don’t really know what all the fuss was about, seems like I could have just made them something else yummy and they would have been happy, but that was not always the case. Those who worked with me soon learned to follow me around with a notebook to jot down what I was putting into the concoctions. Fortunately now, my closest friends have learned that if they really like something that I make, they had better call the next day and get the recipe out of my head or they may never see (or eat) it again. I have even been known to call one of them to get my own recipe back.



Anyway, I thought that I might share this idea for fish tacos and therefore preserve the recipe in a more permanent state. I used tilapia filets, but I suppose any fish that you enjoy would work. Halibut types may be a bit too sturdy, but you could try it. I fried the fish in olive oil after a good coating of salt. I have trouble with over cooking my fish, so I was very careful to not do that. I let them cook on one side until they were white (cooked) about a half inch in on the sides. Then one flip for just a few minutes more and they are done. I use one filet per person.


While the fish is cooking, I chop cabbage, cilantro and green onion quite fine. Tiny, tiny, tiny. I used about 4 cabbage to 1 cilantro to 1 green onion. Hope that makes sense. I just chop up what I think I need for the 12 tacos that we eat. I then mix a sauce of 1 part mayo, 1 part sour cream (maybe 1/3 cup of each, see what I mean about a real recipe?) seasoned with cumin (2 tsp?) and a dash of cayenne. Red pepper flakes would be great too, unless you are a wimp like me. I roll a first-rate lime around on the counter until it is nice and squishy and then squeeze out about half of its juice into the sauce. Stir this all up. When the fish is done, you are ready. I just put the fish on everyone’s plate, give them some hard taco shells and they make up their own tacos. Put the chopped veggies/herbs in the bottom, ladle on the sauce and top with chunks of the fish.  I add a bit of fresh chopped salsa to mine with a squeeze of lime. Sj and Heavy D like theirs with shredded cheese. Cj doesn’t like them at all. No one really cares about that, all the more for the rest of us!


So there you have it – my first blog recipe. If my kids only knew how lucky they are to have me and my recipes for a Mom!  When I come up with something else great, I will be sure to share.