Weekend Makeover Fun... Part 1

I thought this weekend was going to be boring... and of course, I was wrong. Between neighborhood drama (to be discussed in a future blog) and friends coming to visit, it was full of action.


My friend Tracey and her daughter, Cheyenne, came to visit this weekend. Cheyenne is 9 years old. I've known them since Cheyenne was 5 months old. Although I think Cheyenne enjoys coming to visit, she can get kind of bored since Bryant wants to play legos and hockey all the time. Cheyenne is definitely a girly girl and doesn't want to play "boy" things!

Anyway, this weekend she was acting shy and really bored. Suzi asked her if she wanted a make-over... and well,you wouldn't believe how Cheyenne came alive. We couldn't get her to stop talking and she turned into a real DIVA right before our eyes. She could hardly wait to put on make-up and dress up in our wigs and costumes. Tracey and I were amazed at how outgoing Cheyenne became when the make-up, wigs and other props came out. It was fun to see Cheyenne so excited.

We made over Cheyenne and of course then Bryant didn't want to be left out... so we made him over too. We ended up with 157 photo's.

Here is a sampling of all the different looks. Tomorrow I'll show you a few more... especially some with Tracey, Suzi and I in them too.

9 going on 16... Is she gorgeous or what?

My little french man. He is too darn cute!

He thinks she's hot. She thinks he's not!

Bryant's puckering up for a kiss. Cheyenne isn't having it.

She's just getting warmed up... believe me!

Her Audrey Hepburn look...

Wow... what a look.

Our little devil!

As if all those looks weren't enough, in the morning Cheyenne wanted to try on the wigs again... but without makeup. Look how truly beautiful this little girl is:

Stay tuned tomorrow for more make-over pictures.

No Memorial Day Camping for Us :(

Every year we go camping over Memorial Day. This year we're not going. We couldn't get a campground reservation (even though we tried over 5 months ago). We thought about going somewhere where its first come first serve but neither Zac or I felt like paying $3.29 per gallon for gas and driving 3 hours just to find out the campground is full. We might camp out in our backyard Saturday night if we really start having withdrawals...

So, in honor of all of you who are going camping, I offer you these pictures from our Memorial Day trip last year.

I told you Idaho was dry and ugly! Here is where we camped last Memorial Day.

We usually camp with our next door neighbors. These are their children... Cooper and Karsyn... and of course, there is Bryant. You can see our tent in the background. We still like tenting it... however as we're reaching our mid thirties we're thinking more and more about buying a pop-up trailer.

Here are the kids around the campfire. I'm going to really miss the Smores this weekend. Yum Yum!

Bryant loves worms. He loves fishing. I love this picture!

Zac and Bryant doing a little fishing. They were catching perch and trout.

The kids are building a "sand castle." Since there aren't any oceans or sand around here, they have to make do with clay & rocks at the waters edge.

It was hot last year. The kids needed to take a swim and cool off. How darn cute are they?

Best wishes to everyone for as safe and fun Memorial Day! -Jenny

My Birthday... Part #3

Well it's been 2 weeks since my birthday... and I was going to skip part #3 since it's taken me so long to write about it... but I have several friends who keep NAGGING me about posting the pictures :)

I Bet They Didn't Plan on Me Posting Pictures Like This! So, if you'll remember where I left off last, I was the ONLY SOBER PERSON at my own birthday party. When the female impersonator show was over, everyone was still raring to go. All my lovely friends... all mothers who rarely get out to "play"... really wanted to go Karaoke. I loaded everyone (7 of us) in an Expedition and went to a local dive. I'm not kidding.... it really is a dive. It's a small neighborhood bar (not my neighborhood) that is known for its Karaoke.

Here's Katie Having a Bloody Mary

Notice How Many Empty Glasses Are on the Table?

Everyone went to order moredrinks at the bar and I sat at the table. Within a matter of minutes, this guy playing pool started smiling at me. All my friends (especially my mom and sister) started laughing. The guy wouldn't leave me alone. Every time I looked up he was gesturing at me. I pointed to my wedding ring... but he didn't get the hint. One of my drunk friends (AMY) kept egging him on. I even tried to pretend to be a total looser... hoping he'd decide I wasn't worth it... but nope. He liked me even more!

Here's my Looser Pose

(I'm totally sober and have never smoked in my entire life)

I knew... I knew... I knew... deep in my heart that the guy was #1-totally drunk out of his mind and #2- was from another country. See, I have the knack for attracting three types of guys... African Americans, Guys Who Don't Speak English or Men over age 60! Anyway, because the poor lad didn't pick up on the fact my friends were basically teasing him, I knew didn't speak English. Sure enough, he was from Bosnia and didn't speak a word of English.

I finally got the guy to understand I wasn't interested... but being the mean, vindictive, spiteful, SOBER friend that I am, I told him all my girlfriends were interested in him. Oh my Lord... I spent the rest of the night laughing at my friends trying to unload the poor guy. To make matters worse, the guy had some kind of fetish where he wanted to rub his head all over the girls. My friends were grossed out by him but I'm still laughing about it.

Here He is Rubbing His Head on Suzi!

Here I am Laughing at Amy Because He's Obsessed With Her Now!

Now, let me tell you, there were some other strange things going on around this same time. One friend (Amy) started to obsess that a guy at the bar looked like Meatloaf (the singer). She (in her drunkenness) convinced Katie and Tracey that the guy might be Meatloaf. Amy wanted to see the guy up close so she decided to go up and talk to him. What we didn't know is that she was telling the guy that "our mother" thought he looked like Meatloaf and wanted her picture taken with him. As if that wasn't funny enough, when the guy came to our table to get his picture taken with "mom" he picked the wrong "old lady." He picked my friend Tracey instead of my mom. It was a huge blow to Tracey's ego... a huge boost to my mom's ego... and a great source of hysterics for the rest of us. Eventually the guy figured out his mistake and came back to have his picture taken with my real mom... (and she quite frankly wasn't impressed with his likeness to Meatloaf).

Tracey and Meatloaf (on the Right)

Mom and Meatloaf And of course, the night had to end with a big bang. Not to be outdone... my sister told this old man it was my birthday and I needed a birthday kiss. (They all know that the old guys like me... so they had to "go there.") The guy came over and asked if he could give me a birthday kiss. Everyone was encouraging me to "go for it"... so I offered my cheek. But nooooooo.... this guy pulled a fast one on me and kissed me directly on the lips. He almost choked me trying to get his tongue in my mouth. OH MY GOSH. I was stunned. I could barely breath. My friends were literally on the floor laughing. Even my mom was laughing! After getting over the shock, I ended up laughing too... but I'll post it here... REVENGE IS GOING TO BE SWEET! BEWARE GIRLS!

Oh, and we did actually do some Karaoke during all this too.

My 12th Year as a Licensed Social Worker

As I was renewing my Social Work license this month, it occured to me that many of you might not understand exactly what I do each day. I am a licensed social worker with the State of Idaho. I have degrees in social work and gerontology (the study of aging).

I work for a non-profit agency. I am the client services director. I work with our most vulnerable, fail, elderly poplulation in the Treasure Valley. I am committed to maximizing the independence and autonomy of seniors. I strive to offer the highest quality and most cost-effective health and human services.. Through education, advocacy, counseling, and service delivery, I help older persons and their families to cope with the challenges of aging.

Here are a few stories about my favorite clients:

Gerdie and has been a client for the past year. I became involved with her through an anonymous referent who said there was a "little old lady on his street who desperately needed some help."

When I went to follow up on the referral I found a woman who's husband had died the week before and who was completely distraught. Apparently her husband had coddled her all her adult life... he had done all the cooking, cleaning, banking, bill paying, driving, etc. When he died, she didn't know how to function without him. She didn't even know what bank they banked at! She completely shut down and was unable to make a decision on her own. It was a crisis situation.

I became Gerdie's guardian... allowing me to help her legally make decisions. What I found when I sorted the mess all out, was a lady who's husband had a secretive side who took advantage of a wife who was caring and trusting. He had amassed over $60,000 in credit card debt under Gerdie's name. She had no idea since he’d always taken care of the bills.

To make a long story short, I worked with various credit card companies as well as collection bureaus to absolve the debt. I had to sell Gerdie's home in order to have money to pay for the daily things she needs.

On top of all her other hardships, Gerdie’s health had gone down hill too. During her routine mammogram last year, they found 2 large lumps. Within a matter of one week, Gerdie had both breasts removed and was told she didn’t have long to live. At 90 years old, that’s not an easy surgery to endure or an easy diagnosis to hear. Gerdie also started suffering from extreme panic attacks. She would start shaking uncontrollably and scratching at her face. It’s a horrible thing to watch someone go through.

Gerdie died in February, while myself, Bryant and Suzi (my sister) were by her side. She didn’t have any family members. However, we were there with her in the end… Advocating on her behalf and making sure her end of life choices were honored.

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Ada is one of the feistiest little ladies you’ll ever lay eyes on. She is fiercely independent and mentally sharp as a tack… even at 94! She practices her multiplication tables and long division every day. Ada feels that people need to exercise their body and minds every day or else they’ll begin to lose it. She is easy to talk with and likes to tell about her early life growing up. She had a rough life and worked hard and is used to doing without. This may account for Ada’s independence and determination to stay in her own home as long as possible.

I became involved with Ada when an Electric Company worker called us because he was concerned about Ada’s welfare. When I visited Ada the first time I found her socially isolated and vulnerable. She had been taken advantage of by several people including a repair man, a neighbor and a cab driver. She was also extremely depressed. She was constantly worried that she might die and nobody would care or even know. Ada has one grown child, however she is not very involved with her. She says her daughter is more of a hindrance than a help...not someone she can really rely on.

I also noticed Ada’s house was dilapidated and cluttered with garbage. After some investigation on my part, I learned that part of the problem was Ada couldn’t drag her garbage can to the curb so she had no choice but to let the garbage pile up. Ada couldn’t bring herself to ask for help because she was very embarrassed by the condition of her home and by her sincere desire to remain independent. This led to even more depression for Ada.

Ada says she learned to live on very little during WWII… so she’s now able to “get by on what little she has.” But she feels with the “little she has” and the “lots of help she has from myself and the agency I work for” she can live a life of dignity and worth. She feels we have made life a little easier for her and we’ve helped her maintain her pride while aging at home.


To be a Social Worker, you must be courteous, diplomatic, caring, shrewd, persuasive, assertive, creative, adaptable, a Sherlock Holmes, a motivator, up-to-date, have a good memory, acute business judgment, emotional stability, and be the embodiment of virtue… but with a good working knowledge of sin and evil in all its forms.

A Social Worker must understand insurance, electricity, chemistry, physiology, mechanics, architecture, physics, bookkeeping, banking, merchandising, selling, shipping, contracting, claims adjusting, law, medicine, real estate, and human nature.

A Social Worker must be a coordinator, clinician, coach, therapist, educator, consumer advocate, administrator, mind reader, hypnotist and an athlete. You must be acquainted with machinery of all types and materials of all kinds and must know the current price of everything from a shoestring to a skyscraper, an aspirin to an amputation.

Social Workers must know all, see all, tell nothing and be everywhere at the same time!

A few Misc. Pictures from Sunday

We took Bry to see Shrek today. It was pretty good but it didn't hold his attention like #1 and #2 though.

I guess I don't go to the movies enough. How long have they been advertising movies with three dimentional statues rather than posters? Luckily I had my camera in my purse when we went to the movie today. Look how elaborate these movie advertisements are:




We also put together a bunk bed for Bry's room. He wanted this bed so he could have people over for a sleep over. He says his first sleepover is going to have Ganny (Grandma), Hannah and Jacob West. That's quite the group... a 60 year old, a 16 year old and a 19 year old! We haven't even seen Jacob W. since he went off to college... but aparently all the wrestling matches we watched while Bry was little make quite the impression.

The Grass is NOT Greener on the Other Side!

Our yard is really starting to take shape this year. When we look over our neighbors fences... we can no longer literally or metaphorically say "the grass is always greener on the other side."

We've lived here 4 years and all we had was dirt when we moved in. There was no grass, no fences, no sprinklers, etc. Boise Idaho is the desert. Everything is brown and sandy. There aren't that many trees. Frankly, it's kinda ugly.

Zac and I both come from states where the trees are plenty and the greenery is phenomenal. So, with my dad's guidance (thanks dad!), we've been slowing transforming our yard into a lush green paradise. We've added lots of elements... ponds, streams, retaining walls, a play area for Bryant, multiple trellises, lots of fish, 2 decks, etc.

Here's our yard after the first year we moved in. It took us all year just to get this far!

Here is the yard the second year. We added a deck and a patio set. We also started accumulating some plants.

Last summer, things looked like this. Pretty... but not perfect.

This year all our hard work is paying off. Our plants and landscaping are finally starting to look at little more mature. We spent today working in the yard. It was lots of hard work (I weighed 3 pounds less when I weighed this evening... that should tell you how much we sweated!)

Here are pictures of our yard this year:

Anyone with kids know you have to keep kids entertained so they stay out of your way. We purchased this pool to keep Bryant busy this weekend while we slaved away.

Then we had to try to catch all the Koi fish... and a few small baby Koi which seem to have materialized since last summer :)... all that work just so that we could empty the ponds.

Where do you move fish when you clean out a pond? Well, how many other people do you think had $300 worth of fish in their cooler today? (I was obviously focused on Bryant when I took this picture... not the fish... sorry)

After the first pond was empty, we scrubbed it and re-positioned all the flagstone and river-rock. We resculpted the stream and added a few more rocks.

Here's a picture of Miss Plastic so you can see where her permanent home is.

The second pond was much easier. We mainly cleaned it and added a small water spray fountain to the middle (we're trying to keep the mosquito's away by having running water)

We also got the front of the house looking pretty good. The flowers are finally starting to bloom now that we've had some hot weather.

Well, here's what we didn't get done. The weeds on the hill. They have gotten completely out of control. We sprayed them with Round-Up and then wussed out and decided to leave them until next weekend.

Lastly, Bryant wants me to post this picture of him helping us. He swept and then sprayed off the deck. He's quite proud of this picture.

So, that was our Saturday. Yard Work, Yard Work and more Yard Work. Hopefully we can move when we get out of bed tomorrow. We carried 35 pounds of river rock and pumped over 300 gallons of water today. But it was worth it. Especially when we get to enjoy it tomorrow morning while we sit outside drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper all while enjoying the sounds of streams, waterfalls, fountains.