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.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
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.
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.
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:
- Screen Wood Stove
a. Figure out how to screen wood stove affordably - Outlet covers and stair gates
a. Find cheep/free stair gates (need 2) - Medication and Chemicals
a. Install new locking door knobs
b. Buy magnet locks
c. Install magnet locks - 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 - 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.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
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
Where you from?
Utah
Blank stare
Salt Lake?
Oh yes, I love your Jazz!
Insert pithy comment about music from Brian
Blank Stare
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
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.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
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
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
Sunday, March 8, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
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.
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