One kid, two kid, red fish blue fish....

I was just wondering if I would ever ‘get the call’ from DCFS telling us that they had a child they would like to place in our home. This is not unusual, I think about it at least 20 times a day. So it is surprising that when I answered the phone and the woman on the other end said she was from DCFS my first thought was ‘oh no, what’s wrong’ and not ‘whoo hoo a kid for us.’

We have agreed to one child. She had two and wondered if we would take them. Of course I had to at least ask. The thought of kids in the house for Christmas, the fact that this is the first call after months on the list, and the fear that she would never call again was enough to risk the wrath of Brian. In the past he has all but lost his cool every time I bring up the subject.

No, there are not two little angels on their way to our home tonight, but we have agreed to talk about it. I think two would be easier, and it while it might be fun to grow up as an only, it would be too sad as an adult. He thinks two would be too much time, too many expenses, and while I assure him otherwise, I think he is worried that I will take after my mom and keep going.

So give us your honest thoughts on the subject- one kid or two? What’s best for the child(ren)? What’s best for the marriage? What are the pros? What are the cons?

Thanks for your help!

Vote For Me Please!

During my recent unemployment I had a lot of time on my hands, and during that same period I made friends with a guy who does two blogs, on is called "The Fiberglass Manifesto" and the other "Fishy Kid".
Both are about fishing of course, but this post has something to do with the latter site.
As I mentioned I had a lot of time on my hands, which I filled with some stuff around the house of course, fishing and photography, but I also entered Fishy Kid's "Adult Coloring Contest", where I colored and submitted three pictures.
The creators of the site have decided to put the winners to a vote, so if you could please vote for me.
Use the following link: http://fishykid.org/contest-rules/vote-here
Brian Schiele
Thanks!
Brian

In case you haven't heard....

I know many of our dear readers are also one or both of our "Face Book Friends", so the following maybe old news to you, but here goes....
I was offered a job!
Which I took of course, it's with the VA, where I have wanted to work since my experience on active duty with CBHCO.
I don't know a lot about the job at this time, but it basically involves helping veterans that are first entering the VA health system.
I start in a little less than a month, so I can finish up on a few things around the house and get in as much fishing as I can.
Being unemployed this past eight weeks or so hasn't been all that bad, I've done a few things around the house, and Mirinda and I have gotten a little closer too I think despite the extra stress.
I did a lot of fishing too, by my standards anyway. There were a couple of times for instance, where I went in the late afternoon/evening one day and went again the next day. I also got a lot of opportunities to make some photographs when I went fishing too. I'd say I added eight new photographs to the project I am working on. You can see it HERE if you like.




















One of the afternoons I spent somewhere on the Middle Provo....(Yes I did catch one that day!)



Just me and my shadow.... ;-)


There were several days there where I didn't shave at all.

Anyway thanks for your support during this period Mirinda and I greatly appreciate it.
A HUGE thanks to Mirinda for putting up with me during this time too, as well as being there for me and with me during this period as well as the period before.

Here's to new opportunities!
SALUD!
Brian

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Today is All Saints Day, a celebration of all saints, both known and forgotten. It lands on the ancient Samhain celebration of the beginning of the dark time of the year. It is also the end of daylight savings.

I have been feeling the lack of sun for a few days now. The light which was perfect just a few weeks ago is suddenly not quite bright enough. It’s too cold to expose my arms to those week rays and let my skin drink up the vitamin D. My garden is all but gone to sleep and my fingernails hold no trace of growing soil. The dark time of year has begun, and it is time to remember those who have gone before.

They say Halloween is the day the division between this life and the next is thinnest. I look forward to this day as a time to remember those who have died, passing through the winter of this life into the eternal spring of the next life. But this year I am being reminded of life.
The last few days I have had several reminders that people are most important, and that I have neglected some of my most important people, including myself. As we celebrate the day of the dead, I am being reminded to live.

I apologize for not taking better care of myself. I would ask that you forgive me for not calling you, for not sending you a quick note. I am sorry that I was not there for you when you needed me. I promise I will work to be here. To be in the now. I will do this for you my friend, as well as for myself.

This year instead of celebrating the saints who have gone before, I will celebrate the potential in myself to bless the lives of those I love. I will celebrate the living, and life. I will dance with passion, and light a thousand candles against the darkness. I will live, to honor those who showed me the way.

Marriage sucks - Rebuttal

You might think that that our marriage is a little rocky after reading Mirinda's last blog entry, but I am here to tell you that our marriage is the best it has ever been and is always getting better, simply because of one reason, because we work at being married.
And if you have been married for any more than five years or so, you know this and if you have been married longer than that, you defiantly know this and appreciate the work that you and your spouse put into your marriage.
I remember when Mirinda first told me she felt like this, I was a little taken back by it too, but when she explained things to me It made a little sense to me, but I accepted it, because the last thing she said to me at that point was that, "despite all the lousy stuff about me and our marriage, she loved me and accepted it and was willing to work on our marriage.

One of our favorite singer/song writers David Wilcox, put marriage best in his song "Good Together" on his CD "Live: Songs and Stories, when he was telling a story about a single friend who had had several failed relationships. His hapless friend said to Dave, that marriage sounds like a lot of work, to which Dave replied, "Yeah, it is, but it's good work, if you can "get it." I somehow think that Dave just didn't mean get it as in obtain it, I think he also meant to understand it in that marriage is a lot of work too. Which is that just how we see it, because we've got a good marriage and we understand that it take a lot of work to maintain our marriage.

For those of you who are married, I encourage you to thank your spouse for being married and tell them a couple of reasons why you love them and why you appreciate them. It will do you and your marriage good.

Thanks for loving me Mirinda! You are a great wife!
Brian
;-)

Marriage sucks

Marriage sucks! I have always thought the only thing worse than being married, is not being married.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my husband and there is nothing that makes me happier than being a wife. But marriage is hard. It is compromise and cooperation and sacrificing for the greater good. Maybe I was single to long and had too many years when the best date was an evening alone.

My husband is making me crazy. He doesn’t know how to not be employed and I don’t know how to get anything done with him home. You would think with both of us at home we would be able to get twice as much done, but the opposite seems to be true. This is especially frustrating as I work from home and this is my busy time.

The fall conference is coming up and I have a million details to take care of, name tags, sponsors, and one last check with the speakers. Not to mention I have a kitchen full of tomatoes waiting to be canned. Of course there is always the usual vacuum, pick up, mop the floor.

Don’t get me wrong, it is so nice to share my morning coffee with my best friend. Not only is the conversation better then with the cats, but he knows just how I like my toes snuggled. But when snuggle time is over, he doesn’t know what to do with himself and I don’t know where to start.

I think that dating is a horrible way to choose a spouse. What does going to dinner and a movie, or bowling, or the opera have to do with being married? It is easy to find someone you want to have fun with, what is hard is finding someone you want to work with. Finding someone you want to go through the good times with is so much easier than finding someone you want to go through the bad times with. I once read that the decision to spend the rest of your life with someone should rest on one question- is this someone I want next to me when my mother dies? I don’t know if I agree with the specifics but the sentiment is right.

My sister will be getting married soon. Sometimes I get to know these things. After years as a single parent she is finally ready for the love of her life. I know that when the thrill of new love has past, and the arguments over toothpaste brands and hard or soft tacos have been settled, she will know what I do- that marriage sucks. And just like Brian and I, I hope they live happily, and unhappily, ever after. Because the only thing that sucks worse than being married, is not being married.

Opportunity?

It’s supposed to freeze Tuesday or Wednesday so it’s time to bring in all the peppers and tomatoes and start putting the garden to bed.

I am busy filling the freezer with stuffed green peppers- my favorite way to preserve them, tomato basil pasta sauce- tastes like summer and must be made with fresh from the garden tomatoes and basil. Latter I will be making Verde and if I can find pine nuts for a decent price, pesto. I will bring the green tomatoes in and can them as they ripen.

I love canning and preserving our garden. I get to think about how good the food will taste in winter when I am hungry for the sun and miss being outside. I feel nurturing, taking care of my family. I feel connected to the generations of women who have put up and put by. And I love the secure feeling of knowing that whatever else happens, we have cans of tomatoes.

I am really clinging to that security part this weekend.

Brian is now a full time job hunter. For those of you who were betting on which would happen first- quit, get fired, find a new job- they asked him to leave Friday.

We are both feeling relieved, hopeful and a bit scared.

I am really proud of him, he has worked for 6 months at a job that made him miserable in so many ways and made the best of it. This job was bad fit from the beginning, but as it was allowing us to pay the mortgage on the Team Schiele World Headquarters, so he put up with all sorts of $%#! and stuck it out.

Things may be crazy between now and whenever it is that he finds a job, but we are in it together and grateful that we have options an opportunities. And we are grateful for those stuffed peppers in the freezer.

What was once white is now....

If you've ever been to any of the two places we've owned, you'll know that Team Schiele, loves color.
So for the last little while I have been painting the front door to the Team Schiele World HQ.
As you may recall the front door was a plain white, really boring I know!
Well thanks the magic of two quarts of paint and a lot more elbow grease I am happy to announce that, that boring while door is now RED!
More specially, it's "quiet red".

The plain white door before:

The "quiet red" door now:

I also wanted to thank everyone that reads this for the birthday wishes. Thanks!
Brian

Happy Birthday Brian

39 things I love about my husband on his 39th Birthday 9/9/09
1. Passion for life
2. Sparkly eyes
3. Great ‘eye’ for photos
4. They way he makes me giggle
5. Love of country
6. He is brave- he goes to a job that is not a good fit for him and makes the best of it.
7. Best barista ever
8. He always kisses my goodbye, even if I am not awake enough to remember it
9. The way he treats my mom
10. He can let me have my way and still be the boss
11. He says I love you in his sleep
12. He gets along with almost everyone
13. Pure laugh
14. He never forgets extra pickles on my cheeseburgers
15. Fun dance partner
16. Cutest grill sergeant
17. Best chili chef
18. He doesn’t do football
19. Fly’s the flag at half staff every time a soldier from Utah dies
20. Creative
21. Listens when I say “I was thinking…”
22. Thinks I’m sexy
23. Gets excited about chickens
24. Knows his way around the kitchen
25. If I forget to lock the door, he worries that someone will steal his wife
26. Better then Google
27. Loves to learn
28. Our hands fit
29. Holga Master
30. He doesn’t give up
31. Loves God
32. Cheesy humor
33. Very romantic
34. He’s fun
35. He married me
36. Great host
37. He is grateful for what he has
38. Quick to forgive
39. Willing to be the father of our child

Vegetarian dinners?

I am looking for quick, easy and yummy vegetarian dinners. I have found that all my vegetarian recipes are either variations of beans and rice or pasta. We have not given up meat, we are still omnivores, but we are now participating in Meatless Mondays.

It recently came to my attention that Brian’s cholesterol is too high.

When I say it came to my attention, I mean that I spent an entire afternoon freaking out that his life insurance was going to cost more than mine, significantly more. Now I know I am not the picture of health, but I always thought Brian was. After all, he was a soldier and had to pass physicals and fitness tests for his ‘job.’ And now they were telling me that his risk of death was so high that we could only afford the ‘minimum’ life insurance. I was sure he was going to die any day and leave me and our as yet to be adopted child, homeless and penniless and living in pioneer park.

I decided that something had to be done. And not just talk about increasing the produce in our diets and decreasing the take out. It was time for a real change. I declared that we were going to start Meatless Mondays and Fish Fridays.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Meatless Mondays is a movement. Whoo Hoo we are part of a movement. There is a website and everything: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/ Cutting meat one day a week saves money, your health, and the environment.

One day a week is good for me. I have tried vegetarianism and found that I came to a better understanding of my body and how it works, and mine works best with some meat. But that was many many years ago, and I don’t think I was doing much cooking then.

So anyone have any good vegetarian recipes? If not it looks like an omelet for dinner this Monday.

P.S. we had our black beans in a rice and bean burrito this week. Yummy.

Doesn’t add up to a hill of beans

One of our garden experiments this year has been dry or field beans. We tried a variety of kidney and a black bean. We tired just one square of each, that’s what you do with an experiment, start small and see how it goes. We planted with visions of homemade chili made with our very own beans.


As an experiment it was a great success. I harvested our beans yesterday. They were easy and grew well without much fuss. They dried nicely and are lovely if I do say so.

As a harvest, I have to say I am not sure if this was a grand idea. You can see how well we did. These are quart jars for scale. We may have just over a cup if we put them together.


I don’t know how much space we would have to dedicate to beans to get a real harvest, but at least a 4X4 box, maybe more.


We will have to think about this one.


Our corn is also ready to harvest! Unfortunately because we were not thinking when we planted it, it is all ready now. We didn’t like the frozen corn on the cob we tried last year so I will need to find a different preservation method. Any suggestions?

Good news!

Today has been a really challenging day. We don’t have bad days at Team Schiele World Headquarters- ask Brian. But today came close. I couldn’t shake the blues- I buried myself in work, got a dash of endorphins with exercise, ate some good food with some great company, we even went to a book store. I just couldn’t find the sun today.

Until the mail came.

We are now officially licensed to foster a child! I have the certificate to prove it.

I Want Closure!

I will never read another series until it is complete. Why- the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

I started reading this series in 1991 when the first book in the series found its way into my hands. I love it. For years I would watch the publisher’s website waiting for the next book to come out, only to buy it on opening day and devour it. I was in love with Perrin, the man with the soul of a wolf; with golden eyes, a strong arm, and a soft heart. Of course I loved the main character, Rand who was born to save the world. I loved the fantasy and adventure. I loved to read about the main characters and watch as they grew up.

I gave the book to friends and family and had so much fun discussing plot twists, and character development. At one time I got so frustrated with a plot twist that I threw the book at the wall, scream out loud, then ran to pick up the book and keep reading.

As time went on the books came out less regularly and were less satisfying. One of the main characters has been pregnant for the last three books. Finally, the author died of a rare blood cancer. Augh! Now how will I know how the world was saved? So may questions, with no one to answer them.

Luckily he left an outline of how the story is to end and the last 3 books are being written. The next should be out this fall sometime, perhaps just in time for me to decompress after the fall conference. There is even talk of the first book being made into a move.

But still, current projections have this series at 15 books over 20 years. That is a long time to be caught in a story.

At one time I didn’t want the story to end. Now I just want closure.

Happy Independence Day

I love the 4th of July. We get to become fans of the constitution, freedom, and the armed forces on our face book pages. We gather with friends and family and eat chicken and corn and try to explain to the children what the words of the constitution mean. Flags wave and our inner pyromaniacs come out to play.

Last night we had a small group of family (only 20) to Team Schiele World Headquarters. It was a great time and if you would like some homemade root beer, bring over a pitcher. Brian was an amazing grill sergeant, but has decided d its time for a larger grill. The fireworks show lasted about 20 minutes longer then moms and dads wanted and about 20 minutes short of what the kids wanted. Thanks to some great neighbors for adding their cheers to ours.

We have had the Ohio sharp family here the last couple of days and I have loved it! It was so fun to play with baby Emma and see what great parents Mike and Amy are. We had a lot of fun feeding them and hope they were not too board with us old folk. That baby is so sweet and good natured! Even her cry is sweet. But of course I am a little biased.

It was this weekend that for me spring officially ended and summer began. It had nothing to do with the date on the calendar, but the state of the garden. We finished off the June bearing strawberries and the lettuce is trying to bolt. There are no more flowers on the peas, so what is on those vines is all we will have this year. The first zucchini and the first summer squash should be ready to eat in a few days and the tomatoes and corn are growing fast.

After all the family stuff we needed a date so today we went to the latest X Men offering at the dollar flick. It was a great time holding hands and eating popcorn in the dark. So if you could pick a ‘mutation’ or ‘super power’ what would it be? Brian wants to be the ability to fly, or be able to heal himself and others. I can’t figure out what I want. Any suggestions?

Foster care/Adoption update

Our interview and inspection went well. HOWEVER- we are not finished.

We have 4 items on our new to-do list.

· Smoke Detector on the bedroom level – I swear we had one up there. I crossed it off the original list. Guess I was wrong. (Look Brian, in writing, me admitting to being wrong.)
· New fire extinguisher – as feared, our s is not the right rating.
· Get the cats Vaccinated- Never thought of that. Our poor boys have not seen a vet in an embarrassingly long time.
· Have my doctor call her- she has some questions – I will need to get to the doctor’s office to sign a release first. This is what I get for getting sick all the time.

This list seems very reasonable and short compared to what we started with.

Then this is what happens:
Our licensing specialist writes a report. The report is signed off by a supervisor. Our licensing specialist comes back to check off the above list and then sends everything to DCFS with a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

If we get thumbs down, we will receive a letter with an explanation. We can appeal or make changes as needed (or willing.)

If we get thumbs up, we will be contacted by a case worker who will need to come and visit with both of us for another long interview. This caseworker will be responsible for matching us with a child and be our advocate in the process. A different case worker is responsible for being an advocate for the child.

Once we have met with our advocate, we wait for a placement.

*Sigh*

Tell me a story

I have almost given up reading fiction. For one thing there is almost always something I am curious about. I usually have at least one nonfiction book by my bed. Whether its gardening, health care, self improvement, there is something I want to know more about.

Also, I have too many magazine subscriptions. I can’t read them all, but can’t decide which to get rid of. They clutter my house in various stages of consumption. I have Elle Décor, Entrepreneur and Good Housekeeping in one bathroom, Good Housekeeping and Bette r Homes and Gardens in the other bathroom, Organic gardening and another Elle Décor by the bed, Organic Gardening and Mother Earth News in the kitchen, and a stack of magazines I haven’t started in the living room. This stack in the living room includes a few months of Planning Magazine that I know I will not read but can’t quite get rid of.

So it’s not that I am not reading. Right now I am fascinated with The End of Overeating by David Kessler. I ordered it the first day it came out after hearing 2 interviews with the author. When I finish I will happily share as everyone should read this book. It is a scientific exploration of the way sugar fat and salt affects the brain. Did you know that foods high in sugar fat and salt actually alter your brain chemistry? This book explains my cheeseburger cravings.

But I am left hungry for a good story. Fiction was my drug of choice for most of my life. It provided an escape from whatever, heartache, problems, confusion, or boredom I was suffering. If the book is well written it is a bonus, but it had to have a good enough story to keep my brain focused. And now I find fiction is failing me. It is becoming rarer that I really enjoy a book, even a ‘good’ book. I read two books on my last vacation and while they were both well written, interesting stories, I didn’t love them. The stories were not enough to hold me. They were both more about the emotional exploration of the characters then about the story.

I spent hours at Barnes and Noble yesterday looking for something to read. I finally did pick up something from the discount table on my way to the cash register. (I was buying something for work) I bought Ret Butlers People, the companion to Gone with the Wind, one of the first books that changed me. 0ther books I looked at where too short, too much sap and not enough substance, too dark, or just plain not relatable.

So now I am left to wonder- is it just me? Am I getting old and jaded? Did my earlier reading frenzies burn out the love? Do I watch too many movies?

Or is the art of the story being lost?

What is the last book that captured your imagination?

Five years and 51 weeks ago....

It's hard to believe sometimes, but Mirinda and I are coming up on our sixth wedding anniversary, and come the end of the year we will have been together for nine years.
We've had are ups and downs over those years, but this past couple of years our marriage has really gotten stronger and stronger and I want to thank Mirinda for that.
I know that there is nothing that can happen that could happen to us, that we won't be able to get through together.
We are a great team, and are only getting better with each passing day, week, month, year and so on.
Thanks for being my wife, my lover, my friend, partner and team mate Mirinda!
Here's to the next anniversary and beyond!
You I LOVE!!
;-)

Home Visit, 1 Month Away

We are now down to two items on our to-do list:
Get life insurance – in process
Get new fire extinguisher (We are waiting on this one as we have one that we hope meets their requirement. The licensing specialist will let us know when she visits. )

The possibility of a child in our home is becoming more of a reality. We are now making plans for mid July and later and have to take into account that we may be a threesome at that time. For example, we went to a movie tonight and saw an ad for the new Harry Potter movie; we could have a little girl in our home by the time it comes out. We were talking about the Sharp Family Camp Out and how sad it will be to not have Ian there, and realized we may have a small one to keep out of the fire pit.

It is exciting and overwhelming. I am sure many of our questions are the same as any parent- will we be good parents, can we give a child what she will need, how will it change our relationship with each other, what will she like to do? But we are also afraid of the process. How many placements will we go through before we find ‘our’ child?

I am already feeling anxiety about cleaning the house for the home visit.
For those of you who are actually following this bizarre journey, we got a dog play pen and put it around the stove. I think it doesn’t look too bad, it cost under $100 (one of the cheapest options) and once it is no longer necessary to protect children, we can use it for chickens. (Cross your fingers, the city council is taking general comment)

Here it is.

Spring Garden Report

We have our garden planted- if you don’t have yours in, do it soon. It’s finally time for even the tomatoes.

We went to the Wasatch Community Garden Plant sell and followed it up with the Living Green festival and came home with all our plants. One day I will try peppers and tomatoes from seed, but I am not ready for that yet. Especially considering how easy and fun it is to buy heirloom varieties at the local plant sales. I ran into three people I know and met some interesting others. We waited in line with one of the new owners of Calcium Springs Farm. Check them out here http://calciumspringsfarm.com/default.aspx They are one of the newest CSA’s in the area, located in Parleys Canyon.

Unfortunately we lost one already- we forgot to put the bird netting up and they got the fish pepper. It was just small enough to be tempting, but apparently they didn’t like it as they spit it back out. We have never tried fish peppers- which are white and on the hot side when fully grown. We were planning to try a white version of our wedding day love salsa. We picked up a white tomato and with some tomatillos- but oh well, maybe next year. Or maybe if you get some nice fish peppers from your garden you will share? They are an heirloom variety and you can’t expect to find them at wall mart. We did try replanting the poor thing but it was too late.

One of our ‘experiments’ this year is dry beans. We are trying black beans and a mottled red that is like a pinto. The red- Vermont cranberry- sprouted quickly enough so we are feeling hopeful.

We plan to expand the garden again this year with a long box, about 4’X 12’ but we are not planning to have that one ready to plant for this season. I also want to make a compost box.

Our to do list for licensing is getting shorter:
1. Screen Wood Stove
a. Figure out how to screen wood stove affordably
2. Medication and Chemicals
a. Install magnet locks
3. Verification of Health, life and Auto insurance
a. Figure out how to verify Brian’s health insurance (in process)
b. Get life insurance (in process)
4. Fire extinguisher?

The biggest problem now is screening the wood stove. I have come up with three options, one is ugly, one is expensive and one is difficult. Wish us luck!

Can you survive the flue?

It looks like any true concern about the new swine flu can be shelved till fall. But you can still take this opportunity to check your preparedness preperations. Are you ready for a viral outbreak?

While I don’t claim to be an expert, I do believe I know a few things about dealing with viral outbreaks. I love zombie movies and I listen to Coast to Coast during my frequent nights of insomnia. Don’t laugh; you can learn a lot form crazies and science fiction.

In a true epidemic you need to be prepared to quarantine yourself in your home for 30 to 60 days. They say that even with a really bad outbreak you can expect your utilities to keep running for at least 30 days. So that makes the job of being prepared a lot easier.

The first thing you need is food. We have pretty good food storage. Not perfect, but we won’t run out of coffee and cereal. Our meals may get a bit unusual towards the end, but we should be able to eat. I did pick up some powdered milk this week. It only lasts a year and we don’t use it so I don’t usually have it. But I thought about eating all that cereal without milk and added it to my grocery list this week.

In this emergency you don’t need to worry about water, but you may want to make sure you have a water purifier anyway. While water should be available, if there is a problem it may take a long time to get fixed. No need to take any chances. We don’t have a water purifier but we do have bleach and know how to boil water.

The next thing you need to consider is entertainment. Don’t underestimate the destructive power of boredom. The last thing you want is a familial reenactment of the mutiny on the bounty. It is important to your immune system to keep your spirits up. It has been shown that fear and worry depress your immune system. As long as the Internet keeps running, I think we will be OK. We have books, games, movies etc. to keep us going. I think a new Wee game would be nice, but we could survive 60 days locked up together without it.

Once you determine that you can survive a quarantine you need to consider preparedness for the actual illness. I put this second on my list because there is less you can do. Unless you can score some Tamiflu the only thing you can really do is build your immune system. You already know how to do that, although few of us really do. Get enough sleep, eat at least 5 servings of produce every day, keep your stress levels manageable, and get regular exercise. By the way, going back to your quarantine plan, can you continue to eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies, and exercise while quarantined? There is some question as to how well and how long those masks you see in the newspaper photos work. If you are going to try them, stock up this summer, while they are available and affordable.

If you do get sick there is even less you can do. First and most important- don’t go to a hospital or clinic unless it is life and death. Your family doctor would be the best option for antiviral medicine, if it is available, if it is effective against whatever virus you are dealing with. A good first aid kit that includes your favorite cold medicine will help. This new swine flu affects the upper respiratory system so a humidifier will help as well. Again keeping your spirits up is important. Don’t underestimate the power of the will to live.

You can’t be prepared for every emergency, but every day the news offers us scenarios to consider. How prepared are you? Could you survive the latest threat? How would you handle what is happening over there? If you are prepared, you don’t need to fear.

There is good news and bad news in the Team Schiele Parenting category.

The bad news is that Ian does not want to come this summer. He is 15, has a girl friend and wants to get a job. He has decided to spend a few weeks with his Mothers parents (other grandparents) and then get a job. (To support his new girl friend habit?)

The good news is we have an appointment for licensing on June 29th. We are STILL not ready, but decided to set an appointment and hope that the deadline gives us the impetus to get it all done. This means that we can expect a placement between Mid July and Mid January.

Here is what we still need to complete:

1. Screen Wood Stove
   a. Figure out how to screen wood stove affordably
2. Outlet covers and stair gates
   a. Find cheep/free stair gates (need 2)
3. Medication and Chemicals
   a. Install new locking door knobs
   b. Buy magnet locks
   c. Install magnet locks
4. Verification of Health, life and Auto insurance
   a. Copy my insurance card
   b. Figure out how to verify Brian’s health insurance
   c. Copy auto insurance policy
   d. Get life insurance
5. Buy new fire extinguisher (ours is not big enough for code)

Thanks to Manda, I may have number 2 complete. The biggest problem is with number 4. Although Brian has a job, we are hoping it is temporary. He really does not like his job and it doesn’t pay what we want. We have insurance until July from the Army, and are hoping to wait for “the real job” to get new insurance. Also, I don’t have life insurance so I need to get some.

In other news- we are getting central air! Yeah! This will change my life. No more planning my day around the heat in the summer. I had over 8 estimates (a bit of overkill, but I am like that) and I feel like I was able to make an educated decision.

Also my computer crashed last week and I had to get a new one- but I am working on blocking out that memory. It was a very bad week. This week has been better.

Up in our Grill

Conversations we had many times in Cancun:
Where you from?
Utah
Blank stare
Salt Lake?
Oh yes, I love your Jazz!
Insert pithy comment about music from Brian
Blank Stare

Whats your name?
Mirinda
MirAAAnda?
No, Mirinda, like the soda
Oh yes, Mirrrinda, very nice.

You buy?
NO
How much you pay? Give me fair price?
X US
No, Seniority, this hand made! Worth XXX pasos.
How much US?
You give me fair price, I sell cheep.
X US
But Hand Made!

No gracias, no buy.

So I always thought it was so cute that every spring the Denos family got a bird’s nest in there barbeque. The kids got to see the eggs and the baby birds. How sweet! Not sweet at all I think now.

The problem is either I am cheep or they just don’t make good grill covers. It seems like every 9-15 months we have to buy a new cover for our barbeque grill. When the last one died I swore we would not just go to the orange box or the blue box and get another one that would fall apart. I decided I would find a good one that would last or make one myself. Like many of my good intentions, it ended up on the project list and I never got around to it.

A few days ago, we went to grill some burgers and found the beginnings of nest in the grill. Not seeing the actual birds or any eggs, we cleaned it out and made dinner. Two days latter the nest was back, bigger then before!

We went to the blue box and I made Brian pick out the “BEST” cover he could find. We will see if it lasts longer than a year.

First Aid Kit contents for Licensing:
Quick reference first aid manual
Surgical Soap
Sterile Guaze pads
Scissors
Tweezers
Assorted band aids
Flexible Gauze Bandages
Cotton
Tongue blades
Cotton swabs
Bandage tape
Thermometer
Rubber gloves
Ace bandage
Alcohol wipes
Safety pins.

I heard about this great place that sells cheep medical supplies. Not wanting to spend more then I needed on the above items not already in the house, I went to find it. I mean really, if any of you actually have ALL those items on hand, at this moment, I will make you a pie.
Of course I got lost and ended up coming across an accident. A motorcycle, a car and a van. The police had yet to arrive and the motercyler was lying in the road with his bike just off him yelling into a cell phone that he didn’t know the address, and no, he couldn’t look around. There were a few pg13 words added. The van driver was sobbing, and the car driver was directing traffic away from the guy in the road. Just as I was trying to figure out what to do the police showed up and took over so I left- to get my first aid supplies. Ironic.

But it got me thinking about not living my life by accident, living more intentionally. It is so hard for me to live in the moment. To live each hour on purpose. I am not sure how to change that. I often find myself lying in the middle of the proverbial road, on my back yelling that I don’t know where I am. First aid supplies for life are a bit more difficult to purchase.

Our little trip to Cancun......

It's hard to really come up with the words to say about our little trip to Cancun last week, so you'll see a lot of pictures. Needless to say, we had a great time doing a whole lot of nothing, a little bit of this and that and a good amount of stuff that only Mirinda and I will know about... ;-) ;-)
























The sun rising just above the Wasatch mountains, a great way to start out a trip by watching the sun rise with the one you love. I am more of a morning person and Mirinda isn't, so being able to enjoy this with her was special for me.

It's been a long winter here in Utah, so being out in the sun and nice weather sure put smiles on our faces easily.

One of the yummiest things we did was eat! The resort we stayed in had a gourmet restaurant, which we ate at twice, and really enjoyed it. I think each meal consisted of four or five courses depending on what you got.

This is the soup course of my meal, it was called a "Trilogy of Soups". Each was served in tiny glasses or cups. I don't remember much about them, but the first one on the right was served in a shot glass, and shot in the name. The second soup was a cold soup, and was a fruity soup with watermelon. The last soup was served in an espresso cup, and probably had some a little espresso in it too.
This was one of the soups Mirinda had one night, I don't remember what they called it, but there was a reason it was served in a champagne glass, it had something to do with what they called it, but it was really just a tortilla soup. It was yummy!

The next menu item was from the "hot starter" part of the meal, which was the last course before the entree. They called this a "seafood lasagna", the pictures don't do this any justice but it really looked like lasagna, and it was also delicious.


Another view of the "seafood lasagna"


















This was one of the appetizers I had, it's Beef Carpaccio, the picture doesn't do it any justice, but it was tasty too! It's basically raw thin beef tenderloin, with some greens of some kind, with a splash or two of a vinaigrette and some Parmesan cheese.



















One one of the nights we ate there, we both were in the mood for some meat, some each had the rib eye steak; it was such a huge slab we should have just ordered one and shared it.



















And of course no meal would be complete without desert and coffee, this was a yummy chocolate cake. I love the artsy touches they put on each meal, it's really cool!


















But of course Cancun wasn't all about food and drink, it was about relaxing and pampering ourselves. So for the cost of about two hours of time we got a couples massage and pedicures.



















How could you not relax with a view like this...


















Our cute toes after our pedicures! Which by the way is the only picture we have of us together on the whole trip!


















The view from the terrace around the lobby....


















A big reason I wanted to go to the part of Cancun that we went to was because I wanted to go fishing, so I booked a day of fishing trough Cancun Fly Fishing Dot Net. I was hoping to catch a tarpon, but they are easily spooked and are hard to land. I had a couple on the line, but I wasn't able to set the hook quick enough. I fished with a fly rod and a spinning rod, because it was very windy that day.

The beach where I started from:


















The boat I was on for the day:
























And me and the barracuda I caught that day...























The novice angler that I am, I am elated that I caught something; it was late in the day and the conditions were challenging to say the least, but man was it cool!
I was about an hour outside of Cancun in a rather remote part of the area, and saw some amazing wildlife that I had never seen before. I saw a number of saltwater crocodiles and even an eagle ray.

We did our part to stimulate the economy of Cancun too, we even stopped at the local Wal-Mart of all places because it was recommended to us by several locals.
One of the more interesting things we saw at the Wal-Mart was something called "acid cream", we never figured out what it was, but we thought it was sour cream, because we were in the dairy section.
Another interesting translation we thought was funny was "Salsa Inglaterra" which translates to English sauce, which we know as Worchire sauce.

We found out that Mirinda and I have something in common with Cancun, in that we were all "established" in the same year.

All in all it was a great trip, Mirinda and I had a wonderful, I would have never guessed 21 years ago when I first got into the military that I'd go on such a wonderful trip and have such a wonderful time with such a wonderful woman.

Lucky Friday 13th

I am happy to report that my unemployment status will be short lived!
On Friday I was offered a job with the Social Security Administration working as either a claims representative or a service representative.
I'll start in a month or so, because we have to officially celebrate the end of my time with the National Guard, with a few days in Cancun.
So maybe 13 is my lucky number now!
Oh yeah!
Brian

Sunshine and blue skys

Spring is coming and I am coming out of hibernation. This year the winter blues have hit me hard. I knew I was in trouble when my body started wanting nothing but sleep and carbs in September.

I always fight the winter blues a little, but this winter was a doozy. For those of you who don’t know, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is not depression, but can be very depressing and often leads to some serious blues. It starts as a physical thing, your body just craves hibernation, and you get tired, crave fats and carbs, and just don’t have the energy you normally do. The physical leads to mental- it takes so much to push yourself through the day that you become apathetic. The mental and the physical eventually lead to emotional.

I think one of the things that took this winter from a 2 bad to an 8 bad is the air. I don’t care where you stand on global warming, climate change etc, the air is bad in the winter and getting worse! Our population is too large to sustain our current lifestyle with our current technology. This is not a matter of politics; this is a matter of health and quality of life. My health and my life.

But now the sun is brighter and the cotton is being flushed from my head by the sight of green growing things. Yeah for spring!

While I was hibernating, I found a couple of cool things.

You can make your own family crest! This is cool for yourself, your family, or any group with whom you share values and goals. Brian and I had a great time making ours.

Go Here http://www.makeyourcoatofarms.com/ to try it yourself.

If you have not found your way to the One Cheep Chick blog, have some fun and check it out! http://blogs.sltrib.com/cheap/ This blog is full of freebies, money saving tips and other financial goodies.

At half staff...

The Flag at the Team Schiele World Headquarters hung at half staff today in honor of 31 year old Michael Alleman who was buried today.
Michael was the 31st Soldier from Utah, that has been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
I didn't know Michael Alleman, but like me he was a Soldier and was from Utah, which was all I needed to know.
I pray that I never have to lower The Flag to half staff for another Utah service member, I also pray for his wife, his two sons, the rest of his family and for young lives that he touched in his life before he became a Soldier. Before enlisting in the Army, Michael Alleman was a fifth grade teacher in the Logan area.
I also pray for the 4865 other families whose loved one has been killed, the thousands of service members who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for the thousands of service members who have been injured and for the thousands of others who have been there and are some how not the same.

Get Involved!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beyond being a Soldier and voting, I have never really thought much about being involved in the political process until now. I think what it is, is that now that I am no longer a Soldier I feel I need to find another way to be involved in democracy.
So I think that the fact that HB 187 came along at the end of my military experience is quite the coincidence, because I it is something I have become involved in.

HB 187 - Recreational Use of Public Waters, would effectively shut down all access or severely limit recreational use of Utah's beautiful rivers and streams, which includes fishing and boating.
In the past two weeks or so, I have written letters to several of Utah's newspaper's, so far two have been published, written all of my area's senators and many others and have even attended the committee meeting that bill is part of.

As I see it, if this bill is passed in the current form it could have a tremendous impact on Utah's economy. I feel that if HB 187 is passed it could have a severe impact on Utah's fishing shops, boating industry as well as tourism, which brings in millions of dollars into Utah's economy.

Here's my letter that was published in the Salt Lake Tribune on 15 February 2009:

More than a year ago I began fly fishing in northern Utah, and I have fallen in love with fishing in the streams and rivers along the Wasatch Front. I picked up the sport because I thought it could be a lifelong pursuit. With House Bill 187, my fishing experience could be short-lived ("Access to streams, riverbeds threatened." Tribune , Feb. 12).

As I read it, HB187 prohibits fishing from most public rivers and streams. This bill is a hasty reaction to the Utah Supreme Court decision, Conatser v. Johnson in 2008, which allows the public the right to touch the privately owned streambeds below the public waters.

This bill could have serious implications for the businesses that support angling. Fly-fishing shops, for example, would suffer if public use of Utah's streams is prohibited. Additionally, this bill would decrease the number of fishing licenses purchased in the state, which in 2008 brought in some $10 million.

I beseech our legislators to vote against HB187. It prohibits people from enjoying the austere wilderness that draws people to the region

Tomorrow, 24 February 2009m HB 187 will go before the Utah State senate to be voted on.


So I urge you to find a way to get involved in the political process and democracy beyond voting, it's your right but it's also a privilege that few other countries have. So get out there and be heard!

This Old Uniform...

I have worn this particular uniform for about two years now, and have worn the uniform of the United States military for more than 20 years now, but I don't have to wear it anymore, because I am no longer a Soldier. In many ways deciding to leave the military was an easy one, but considering how things are on the economic front it wasn't so easy, but it the right choice for me. I have always loved wearing this uniform of the United States military, I always felt really good about myself when I put it on, because there is so much meaning to it. From the rank, to the unit patch, to the flag and the combat patch, for those who have been to combat and a few other things as well that I never was awarded.
It was also great not having to actually have to think about what I'd have to wear, which was the case for the last seven year anyway. I also never had to buy a uniform either!
The first uniform I wore, was the "camo one", the "Battle Dress Uniform" or BDU. When I first went to basic training, the Air Force was transitioning to the BDU and I continued wearing the BDU for the next 15 years or so later, the Army transitioned to the ACU or the "Army Combat Uniform". In between all of this though there was the "DCU" or "Desert Combat Uniform", that was first worn in Desert Storm and was worn again when troops first went over to Iraq in back in 2003. I never got the opportunity to wear that uniform.
I am not quite sure what I'll do with my uniforms now, I have this one and another ACU, as well as the class B and class A uniforms, the more office looking, dressy uniform with all of the fancy and color ribbons and badges on it. I also have a few BDU's too, I never quite knew what to do with them when I first got my ACU's.




As a way to celebrate Mirinda bought me a pen, I like pens, I guess you could say I REALLY like pens, the trouble is that some of the pens I like aren't exactly cheap.
This one is the coolest pen I have even seen.
Another cool thing is that it was made by a 13 year old kid. Check out his other pens as his site, Pens By Daniel.
Thanks again for the pen Mirinda! And thanks for being a part of the last eight years!
She also sent me a a "fruit bouquet" from Fruit Flowers, to work. The one she got me was appropriately named, "Berry Patriotic". As you can imagine it has lots of strawberries, some of which were chocolate covered. (YUMMY!!) The container it came in was red, white an blue and had star shaped pineapple pieces and and grapes and marshmellows too.
LOVE YOU!!

We got "Facebook"! How about you? ;-)

We both joined Facebook recently, I joined in an effort to network for a new job and Mirinda did mostly did after she saw all of the old friends I was reconnecting with.
I have been doing my best to network on Facebook, but it hasn't gone too well.
It's a really cool networking site, I have reconnected with a lot old acquaintances and even some family, I have also made some new friends and as well as keep up with current friends.
I was surprised to find as many people as I have on Facebook, there are a lot of people I have met on other forums that I am also friends with on Facebook now.
There's a lot on Facebook, so much in fact that you could waste a lot of time on it, there are games, groups of many kinds to name a few things. You can also post pics and comment on them too. One of the funniest things I like doing is making witty status updates. The default on it is "Brian is", but you an change the verb, it's really corny sometimes, writing in the third person, but that's where the fun can be had.
Some of my recent status updates have been, "Brian has an interview tomorrow! YES!"
"Brian is ready to begin a new chapter in his life. Who or where will it be with?", " Brian is fishing today! Salmo trutta watch out", Edit
Brian is stimulated by stimulators..... As in flies for fishing." and "Brian is fiddling with his website, while speaking in the third person."
Some people make minute by minute status changes, but I think that's too much, I usually make a few a week, Mirinda does a little less.

So if you are on Facebook, look us up! We'll be your friend... ;-)

This old mug...

I have had this coffee mug for eight years or so now, I got it sometime just after I started working full time with the Guard. For the most part it has been back and forth to work with me over the span of those eight years. I drank the hot sweet coffee from it on my early morning drive to work; pouring coffee into it, along with the milk and sugar is usually the last thing I do before I head out the door.
When I am in the truck or the car, I put it right in the center console with the handle turned to the right, so I can easily grab it and take a long slow drink.
Over the many trips to work I have drank from it thousands of times, and several gallons of coffee in it, I usually listen to KUER FM 90 (the local NPR affiliate) and have heard many wonderful news stories as I driven to work. I can't begin to remember how many stories I have heard that involved Soldiers. Soldiers leaving their families, Soldiers preparing to go to war, Soldiers at war, Soldiers on leave from war, Soldiers who have been injured, families dealing with things back home while their Soldier is at war. There have been other stories of course, but it those stories that I will remember the most.
I am in my last days of being a Soldier, and in the last days of working at the job I had before I was mobilized. I have only been there a few weeks now and as you probably know will only be there for a few more. I am grateful that I have something to come back, even it if is only for a very brief time, at least I have a job, even though I wish was at a new job, but that will happen soon though!
On my commute to my new job, I won't be using this old mug anymore; it will be time for a new one, just like it's time for a new job for me.
Mirinda got me a new one, the one hiding behind this old mug, but I want to wait until to use it for that first commute to that new job...