Bring it on 2014!

Greetings. With New Years Eve coming tomorrow, I thought I'd do my traditional year end review of how everything went. Before that,  let's get Christmas out of the way first. Christmas Eve, I worked a very busy early shift till 2pm, then we headed over to my brother's house with the rest of the family. Mia got some great new stuff including an awesome doll house. She's in Illinois right now with Jill so I imagine she'll be exciting
to play with it again when they come home tomorrow. My parents got me an AMAZING Chelsea FC away jersey ( I had customized with Oscar on the back). My amazing wife got me a nice, warm and awesome Chelsea FC winter jacket. I think that I'll be truly thankful for it today when I go to work since It's -11 degrees out. BRR! I picked out a bunch of clothes for Jill for Christmas, so she was happy. I hope :) Christmas morning, Mia slept in till 11ish. She wanted to "wait" for Santa Christmas Eve, and eventually fell asleep. She woke up, opening some gifts and loved everything. Her pink PowerWheels Mustang was waiting for her in the driveway. Too much snow to thoroughly enjoy. Come Spring time, she'll get to cruise.



Back to the year end review. Last year, I had made a small list of goals to accomplish. Let's take a look.
First Goal- Play in an adult indoor or outdoor soccer league-in 2012, I started to regain my love for soccer, and really wanted to play more soccer in 2013. Well, I didn't get to play in a "league", I did play some adult pick up. Played a few outdoor games in the summer and some futsal a month or so ago as a sub. Man, playing soccer is so incredibly fun. The most amazing work out and exercise. Was hoping to play last night, but there was no need for any subs.
Second Goal- Possibly find a 2nd job. ALMOST HAPPENED! In fact, a graphic design job almost happened. Over the summer, a good friend of mine from college had told me that a woman she works out with at her gym worked at a company that designs neon beer signs for companies. So to get in with this job, I had to create a website for my art work. Which is perfect because that was one of my other goals from LAST year :) So I designed a clean site that's easy to navigate. In the end, the job fell through, but for a few weeks, I had a creative spark to design some new things and challenge myself.

Third Goal-Play pond hockey before the end of Winter with my brothers Didn't happen. Maybe this year we will.  Last two-Try to complete a killer water colour picture and Maybe do a series of some really nice photographs. Water colour didn't happen, but one rainy day, I was able to shoot some awesome photographs of Mia in the rain with an umbrella.

2014 GOALS
1-Another series of great photographs 
2-If the weather cooperates, make a Snow-Minion 
3-Draw a portrait of a Chelsea player  
4-Work on my endurance/Get in better shape 

Not a lot of goals, but how I look at it, everything on here could happen and I need to make them happen.

Real quick, the highlights of my year: 
Mia turned two, which lead to all of the wonderful new things she can say and sing with me.
We lost our Guinea pigs. Both passed away :( 
Started taking Mia to play groups and we both made new friends. 
Chelsea became the Europa Champs :) 
Turned 30 in July :/  
We took a family trip to Indiana and I got to see Chelsea vs Inter in Indianapolis 
Completed more art then last year (including that picture of Remi above next to the one of Haily Jill did for her aunt) 
Saw Alkaline Trio with my brother. First show in a few years and it was fantastic. 

Okay, that's it everyone. Thanks for sticking with me over the year. See you in 2014!! 

You're a mean one....Mr. Grinch

Greetings. For quite a while, I've been able to successfully be able to post here once a week. Getting a little harder these days, so forgive me for my tardiness. Mia and Jill are still sound asleep. I woke up because I was really hungry. Took a glance outside and noticed all of the snow we got. Great. So I put eating two delicious belgian waffles on the hold, and took Remi out for his walk...THEN took on the snow blowing. While snow blowing, I was thinking about how last year, I was able to build two awesome snow-penguins with Mia. This year, I told her I'd build her  bigger ones. Like, 5-6 feet tall. THEN I thought, wouldn't it be cool to build SNOW MINIONS?!?! Of course the answer is yes! So while snow blowing, I kept thinking of how I'd do it, would I use colours, etc etc. Well, that got me through this crap. I've got to work later today, so I'm hoping this crap slows down. Luckily, Mia and Jill can chill at home all day.

Friday, I took Mia to play group. Only a few kids showed up with their parents. Roads weren't the best, so I'm not surprised. Mia's friends Gracie and Hannah weren't there (or last week either) but Weston and Omnia were. Both kids we haven't seen in a while. Mia played so well with them, which was great. Omnia's Grandma (who takes here to playgroup) told this other woman that she doesn't celebrate Christmas because she's Muslim, but her parents still give her a little tree to decorate. I thought to myself, kids are the best. Mia's playing with this little Muslim girl, and there's no judgement, no "you look different, I can't be around you", nothing. This is a great age. Kids are kids. Simple as that. She's such a sweet little girl too. usually compliments Mia on her outfits and hair accessories. They're close in age (apposed to Weston who is 18 months, but pretty tall for his age). I dunno, I was just real

SO Mia tried sledding this year. Last year was a bust, but this year, she LOVED it! I toed her around the yard Monday going fast, and she couldn't get enough of it. I suggested lets go sled down the ditch (hey, baby steps people) and she absolutely loved it. If I was off today, I'd love to take her sledding down a slightly bigger hill. Christmas is just about here. A few work days to go, before the big day. Stoked for Mia to open gifts this year. On Christmas, we're outta here to Illinois. I'll be back on Saturday though. May even get to play some futsal sunday :) Hopefully. While I'm home solo, I hope to get some art accomplished. Lots to do, with little time, so I hope to use some of the time wisely. I'm not the best with time management at times, but hey, I'm working on it. Wish I was able to catch the Chelsea vs Arsenal derby tomorrow. :(

I was going to discuss a rather controversial topic as of lately, but in the spirit of the holiday season, I'm going to be nice. That's all for now. Happy Holidays everyone. Safe travels, and as always, thanks for reading!

That's Using Your Noodle!

Greetings. Damn, is it cold today. The last few days have been rather unpleasant, temperature wise. Winter is closing in and Mia and I are already craving the Summer days. Over the weekend my in laws came up to visit. It was Jill's Dad's birthday. We woke up and saw they had arrived and were helping make room for a car for the Winter season. Totally couldn't have been better timing because on Sunday, we got all that crazy snow. We swam at their hotel and went out to dinner Saturday. All in all, it was a really nice day. Sunday I had the early shift. Later that morning, the snow came in. Honestly, I didn't think it was going to be as serious as the residents of this good ol' state made it seem. There were countless pile ups. 45 car pile up on one road. How? How is this possible that our entire state struggled with the first substantial snow fall of the season? My drive home on the freeway was a bit irritating, but I made it back safe. The subdivisions were bad. Oh well. . Saturday, Mia mastered something new: CHOPSTICKS! It was incredibly entertaining to watch her quickly pick up the ancient art of using chopsticks. She owned a bowl of rice noodles so well. Very proud of my little Mia.
Hahaha

Just have a few things to complete before Christmas arrives. It really is creeping in on us. Mia's stoked. Jill's stoked. We're gonna have a really nice Christmas morning. I can't wait for Mia to see what we have in store for her :)

I haven't been able to do a lot of art lately. Sort of sucks, but I'll get back at it. I hope. Been craving some futsal lately too. Soccer is so much fun, and since my lil bro found his indoor shoes recently, I think we'll be able to get in on a very rare game together. Since the snow is here, I sincerely hope that Miss Mia can attempt to do some sledding. Jill took her out on a sled and pulled her around. Apparently she enjoyed it, so that's rad :)

Mia and I enjoyed watching the Chelsea game (I surprisingly found online at my parent's house on a visit) I love that she enjoys watching with me. Afterwards, she grabbed a ball in my Dad's man-cave. "I play soccer Dadda, not football, that's boring" Earlier in the day we enjoyed a lovely tea party with special guests her giraffe and a yellow little Minion. Very fun. Her imagination keeps me feeling young and always guessing what she will come up with next.
Okay, eyes are getting heavy, off to bed. Thanks for reading!

The Turkey Day Tour

Greetings everyone. Yeah, I'm late on writing, it was an intense week. Work, work, and of course Thanksgiving. Thursday, I worked the early shift. We were steady and busy throughout the day, but once the clock struck 2pm, I was excited to get home and get ready for our first Thanksgiving at our house (that we hosted) We've had many Thanksgivings by your ourselves (Jill and I) but this was the first one we hosted with my entire immediate family. It was intense and stressful at times, but everything looked amazing. All of the credit goes to my amazing wife. Wednesday, we started getting things ready and doing some baking. My job was to keep Mia as busy as possible and not in the way. Lucky, it worked.

Thursday, everything looked amazing. The house smelled fantastic, and in the end, the food was delicious. It was an awesome night. Jill's mini apple-shaped pies were a big hit. She's so awesome and creative. Friday, we packed up the car, and headed down to Illinois for the weekend. We had our 2nd and last Thanksgiving Friday evening with Jill's family and her Grandma. Mia, like Thursday night, didn't care for eating much, BUT did try everything that was on her plate. "I'm gonna try this, I might like it...oo...don't like it" I was quite proud of her for TRYING things. Kids are freakin' picky as hell about eating, and this was a rare moment for her to actually try everything on that little plate. Saturday, we hung out and relaxed with her family, Jill's friend Leanne came over later to catch up and have dinner while Mia was passed out on the couch. All in all, good solid weekend. Today, we drove home with a very cranky kid.

Her folks are coming up this weekend for her Dad's birthday. Not sure quite yet what we're doing, but I've got the early shift Sunday.

Last week, Mia and I went out looking for some things Jill wants for Christmas. She went ahead and TOLD Jill one of them, with a goofy smile on her face. I can NOT tell that kid ANYTHING without her telling! Same thing happened with my Dad. She told one of his birthday gifts too. Sigh. Jill said she's glad Mia doesn't know what she got for ME for Christmas..haha. Last but not least, well done CHELSEA on winning :)

Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for reading :P

The Kris Kringel Photo Failure

Greetings! First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! You've always been amazing in every way to me and I'm incredibly lucky to have you as a Mom. Over the weekend, Jill went to a glass blowing class. She made an AMAZING ornament with her ex-coworker and her friends. Sunday, I worked the early shift while some of my family went to my cousin's baby shower, so after I was done working, went over to my parent's house to hang and catch up.

This week I've been thinking about my eclectic musical "career" and all of the different bands I've played in. I was going to go into it today and share some of them for you, but I don't have the time, so NEXT time I'll write about it. Anyways, I was thinking about how much I miss playing live. Being in front of crowds big and small was something I truly enjoyed. I loved it when people would come up and tell me "hey I really like your stuff, you guys sounded really good". That's typical of musicians. Some do it for the money, others want to hear the feedback. My buddy/former bandmate Nick is the same way. We loved hearing feedback, reviews and such.

Wednesday was pretty busy. I had a list of things I needed to accomplish, Mia and I went to Steffans Soccer Store to get ONE last thing for my Dad for his birthday, then went and visited Grandma at work, THEN I needed to give Mia some lunch before her santa pictures at Jill's studio. She ate a grilled cheese sandwich, and then we were off to the studio. Jill and I had very low hopes that this was going to be a successful photo shoot. She already had her sunglasses on (which meant that she didn't want ANYONE to see her) We tried putting her into the sleigh. Didn't happen, and when Santa came in, she freaked out. We got some good funny pictures, so you'll have to see when they're complete. Her VERY first santa photo was adorable. Smiling at 8 or 9 months old. Last year's photo: TEARS. This year, you'll see :P

This weekend, birthday dinner for my parents. I work 2-10 Sunday so nothing exciting going on then.
I finally found my new box of color pencils I misplaced last Spring. I think I had hid them from Mia. Anyways, soon I'm going to start a unique sting ray tattoo design for Jill's friend Leanne. Should be pretty cool. Another project on my pile. :P That's all for now, thanks for reading.

See The Light

Morning everyone. Didn't write last night. Dozed off and woke up and realized it was 1:30am, so I just went back to sleep. Usually like to get all of my thoughts together Wednesday evening to write, but sometimes I end up writing Thursday morning. Anyways, over the weekend, Jill's family came to town. We did a TON of yard work. I immediately got all of the gutters cleaned, while Jill raked, and her dad cut some grass. Her mom kept Mia busy, which usually meant playing in the leaves and sandbox. It was good to get a lot of yard work done. The weather wasn't bad (except the insane wind)

Sunday, I was off too! Yay! I took a vacation day because Jill and I had reserved two spots to go paint at the Arte Wine and Paint studio in Tosa', so her parents watched Mia. It was paint your pet day! We had a lot of fun. Because I typically don't work well with acrylic, I found myself getting very frustrated at times. I usually use oil or water colour. In the end, I was mostly satisfied with my attempt. Jill's looked great and we'll probably do something like this again some day. I strongly recommend anyone who wants to have some fun and walk away with a great painting (and it's only 2 1/2 hours, which goes by REALLY fast) They instruct you how to build up the painting from the darkest darks to the lightest colors, so even the most artistically challenged person can complete a nice picture.

You might remember I posted a week ago that during futsal I had got one of my toes smashed by an opposing player. The toe's improving nicely. I can jog some now. The two other toes on my left foot are still purple and blue but they don't hurt at all. Was FINALLY able to do a little drawing yesterday (during Mia's nap) Haven't been able to do anything on her portrait in FOREVER. Didn't get a lot done, but did something so, that's always good. Probably another 2-3 hours on it and it should be complete. This weekend, Jill's got a glass blowing class with one of her co-workers and I'm working Sunday 6am-2pm. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Great Lakes/Great Escapes

Greetings. Quickly am going to get through this before crashing for the evening. Over the weekend, we went up to Madison. Jill photographed her former roomie from college's engagement photos while Mia and I hung out with my bro and his familia. I swear, Alex is the only boy that Mia can handle hanging with. Probably because they're cousins and play very well together. Later, her roomie took us out to dinner at Monty's (which NEVER disappoints) Her fiance's little 6 year old was chasing Mia around outside, which was pretty damn adorable.

Sunday, I worked 9-5pm, THEN played some futsal later :) The shift was long and boring, and all I could think about was playing futsal again. Hoped this time I'd get a goal or two (since the last time I played, I had to quit at first half because Mia was crying) Anyways, Mia and Jill didn't make it to the game, allowing me to be able to play the whole time with no problems. So I found out they typically play 3-4 games per night. Cool. First game, I didn't do as well. Wasn't getting a lot of passes to myself and didn't get a lot of chances for shots. My shift as keeper (everyone switches off every 5-6 minutes) I had let in two goals. Blah.

Second game, I did WAY better. Got a few shots off. One ALMOST goal. It went perfectly between the keeper's legs and just as it was crossing the line, the defender got it. I almost fell over in frustration. NOOO!!! Well, I ended up getting a goal off a slick volley from a teammate. FINALLY. I got the goal I've been wanting to get. 3 or 4 shots that night before getting this goal. This goal meant a lot to me. I hope that if I sub again some day, I'll get more goals. The rest of this game, I would secure about 3 assists as well. When my shift came for keeper, I let ZERO goals in and made an awesome pass to a teammate from 15 feet away. Even had everyone on the court saying "WOAHH" I don't even think the teammate was expecting it. I was loving this shift. It would get scary when a teammate would get the ball because just about EVERYONE is on the offense leaving me, the lonely keeper one-on-one with the striker. Luckily, I had some good saves.

Last game, a few shots but no goals, and I once again didn't let any goals in as keeper. Keeper because sort of a position I enjoyed towards the end because it gave me a time to chill for a moment...you know before someone starts pounding the ball at me. Before we called it quits, I had to switch colors and go to the other side, and play keeper. Let two goals in. Eh. After game time, hung around a bit for a delicious well-deserved Newcastle Ale with some of the guys. A goal never tasted so good. I was so excited to tell my Dad/Mia/Jill/Mom after the game. I called my Dad on my way home with the exciting news of my goal. He seemed uninterested and unimpressed. My Mom was happy. Jill was half asleep on the couch but thankfully Mia was excited. My number one fan. So for the last few days, I've been slowly recovering from an intense first game. Calves are store, toes are beaten (mostly from a dude stepping on them)

Wednesday, nothing too special happened. Chelsea was playing, but not on any of the channels my Dad gets. Stoked they won 3-0. :) We tried dance class again. Mia had her nap, but when we got to the class, she wouldn't participate, and eventually would cry. We're done. This is very much proof that you can't always predict what your child will do in a social setting. Because she's not in day care and has an adult figure telling her what to do (that's not her parents) she doesn't know how to respond. I'm not sure if it was the adults running it + loud music times 8 girls running around, but it was horrible. Started a brand new logo for Thrill Factory. Haven't been able to do ANY art lately, which has been driving me insane. Just too busy with other things. I swear this one's getting done. :) This weekend, I'm OFF!!!!!! Yard work day Saturday, hopefully a hair cut and we've got a "date afternoon" activity planned. Painting dog portraits at this place in Tosa'. Should be a lot of fun. Thanks for reading!

Dancing With Myself

Happy Halloween everyone. A lot of different things to talk about, so lets get right into it, okay? Over the weekend, my twin sister got married outside at a vary cold park. I photographed it for her as she stood frozen under a tree looking at her now-husband. Saturday evening, Me, Jill and Mia went to Andy's hockey game with my half-bro and his kids. They lost 4-2, but it was still a fun evening. Mia EVEN wanted someone to take her out on the large oval ice rink that surrounds the Petit ice arena (it's for speed skaters and open skating) so sure enough, her Dad takes her out. "MOMMY LOOK I'M ICE SKATING!" We could be in for some fun come winter :)

Sunday, I worked then we went trick or treating. Mia had SUCH a blast. The weather was better, a bit windy but temperature-wise not bad at all. She got lots of chocolate (oh great) candy. Halloween has always been one of my favourite holidays. As a kid, you get candy from strangers. As an adult, you get drunk in costumes with your friends. As a parent, you can get drunk in costumes and get your kid's halloween candy (because no kid really needs to eat that much candy right?) This year, like the last few, we just took our kid out. No parties. No big deal.

So Wednesday, Mia got a Halloween package from her grandparents in Illinois. She loved everything in it, including some tattoos. Now, we've tried doing temporary ink with her before and she ends up just putting them on Jill. Wednesday, she wanted them on HER. So, of course I did about 5 that she picked out. It was a great exercise in counting (passed her usual 20) She absolutely loved them and showed them to EVERYONE she could. Kept her sleeves rolled up all day. She also
started her very first dance class. Because she didn't nap all day, she was incredibly difficult. There were about 10 girls in the class, most were into it, others were defiant. Mia just was too tired and crabby to put up with some random lady telling her what to do. We'll see if she wants to do it next week. If it happens again, maybe we'll drop out of it. At home before she passed out on the couch, she was doing the basic ballet moves the instructor was showing her. The instructor seemed a bit scattered-brained, with no real flow to the class. So, we'll see what happens next week.

This weekend, we're doing some engagement photos up in Madison of Jill's old roomie and fiance'. hopefully the weather is good. Sunday, I work and we've got no plans so far. Have a great Halloween everyone!

The Gourd Innards Extraction

Morning! Was incredibly exhausted last night so I didn't get to write so I'll try to knock this out quickly. I've gotta wake up Jill shortly. Over the weekend Jill and I photographed a very country themed wedding in Columbus Wisconsin, which is approximately in the middle of nowhere. In the general Sun Prairie area. Anyways, the weather wasn't the best. Very cold and all day rain was threatening us with and shaking a fist exclaiming "WHO GETS MARRIED AT THE END OF OCTOBER OUTSIDE? MUAHAHA!" Well, kinda. Anyway, the bridesmaids looked awfully cold, but when it was time to go, they were ready. The ceremony was on a bridge and the sun was out! So we were quite happy about that. So like any creative team, we got to work. We used to photograph wedding all the time when we were kid-less so this was kinda fun to do again. I had to climb the very top of the ledge of the bridge to get some photos above the big crowd surrounding the couple. Luckily, I didn't fall in the river.

After the ceremony, the weather started to get ugly, so we didn't get to use the bridge for post-wedding photos, and after a few family and extended family shots, the rain came. On the way to the reception hall, we were bummed about it. Mia was patiently playing with Grandma and Grandpa Chicago during the wedding. Earlier she got to play with animals at the farm which she of course loves.  The reception, we spent most of the time getting as many photos as we could, and 10:30, we called it a night. I had to drive back to New Berlin because of my early shift (well 10am that day) so I made it home by 12:15am.

Wednesday, Mia and I bummed around a bit. Hung out with her Uncle Andy and Grandpa. She drew them some pictures, and shared nicely with Easton. Later after dinner, we carved pumpkins. Last year was "Sesame Street" themed. This year, kitty. I did a Hello Kitty one for her and Jill knocked out an amazing cat pumpkin. Mia loves both of them, so I'm happy. My Hello Kitty pumpkin was quite tricky, but in the end looks cool. we just need some candles. This weekend my sister gets married, we may go to Andy's hockey game, and I work 7-3pm Sunday. After work we're taking our little sea horse trick or treating. May do the morning trick or treating at Pick N Save Saturday while Jill's getting my sister ready for the wedding. Lastly, great win for Chelsea Tuesday. Love watching the highlights after a long day at work. That's all for now! Thanks for reading :)

Take Lots With Alcohol

Hello friends. The day off went pretty quickly. My friend Nicole and I hung out with our kiddos at Kids in Motion for a few hours this morning. Crappy weather required some much needed fun time indoors :) Mia had fun. Lots and lots of kids running amok in the facility. Mia enjoyed playing with the dinosaurs, hitting up the slides and the train room. She played her first game of air hockey against this kid before he flipped upside down and smacked the hell out of his head on the wall. Didn't know where his parents where, so I immediately checked to make sure he wasn't bleeding. Had to go to a meeting shortly after our fun, (which of course, was NOT fun) Mia was super talkative up until we walked in the door and everyone was coming up to her. I gave her a small bag of pretzels and a cup of water. After she finished both she said out loud "DADDY, THIS MEETING IS BORING!" I agree love. Before she got out of hand, we booked it. I got the info I needed for an HSA account and we left.

Other then that, Mia napped later when we got home, and after she woke up, we watched the end of that Toy Story Terror made-for-TV Halloween movie..thing. She enjoyed it. If Mia gets up at a semi-normal time tomorrow, we'll do story time and Friday, of course play group. Saturday, we've got a wedding near Madison in Sun Prairie. First time we've photographed a wedding in quite a few years. Should be fun.

Art wise, just sort of working on this portrait. Really need to get on some other projects. I want to make a new Thrill Factory logo as well as work on the Paper+Plastic commission stuff. It's going to be quite technical, but I think I can knock it out Saturday evening after the wedding. I hope. Alright, time to finish this Guinness and head off to bed. Thanks for reading! :)

Heartthrob

Hey all. Hope everyone's enjoying their week. Over the weekend, my sister had her wedding shower, while my Dad, my bro and I went mini golfing. Let me tell you, it probably wasn't the best idea for us to out when a storm was rolling through. We had the entire course to ourselves which was quite nice. Moved very fast as the heavy clouds were rolling in. Now I've played mini golf every once in a while. Like, once every few years. It's been a while since probably any of us three men. Somehow, I nailed THREE hole-in-ones. Couldn't believe it. The green on every hole was soaked, but I was able to get the best score in the end. And to make the victory sweeter, my bro took a slip in the drink. We all had a good laugh, but I felt pretty bad when later in the day, his volume on his iPhone wasn't working. Phones are expensive and I wouldn't wish anyone the bill of purchasing a new phone. It started pouring as we were heading out. What a day. When we got back, my bro was given his kiddo which promptly ended our "guys day". Didn't get to make it to the bar. Oh well.

Today, like most day offs, Mia and I bummed around visiting family and Jill. Earlier in the afternoon, we left my Dad's earlier and went to the park down the road from my parent's house. After a bit of playing and watching the boys running around, a girl showed up. Maybe, 4 or 5 years old. Probably 4. Anyways, as soon as she stepped foot on the playground, Mia made a point to follow and chase her around. She'd call out "little girl, where are you going?" "Oh Daddy, there she goes again!" "Hi, My name is Mia!" It was adorable. The girl looked a bit annoyed but eventually turned it into a game. It was incredibly entertaining. Later after she had 15 minute nap on the ride home, Jill came home from work and we headed over to Helium Trampoline Park. Jill always wanted to check it out, so we went as a family finally. Busier later in the evening. Lots of kids flipping all over the place. I had the most fun dunking on the basketball hoops. It's a lot trickier then you think.

Trying to get a grip of all the art I need to get accomplished. So many projects, so little time. I need to focus on these little record toppers that Paper + Plastic is putting out. Shouldn't be too difficult. I tend to go straight to my portrait of Mia that I've been working on for quite a while. It's looking really nice. Maybe my best portraits yet. I've done a small handful of portraits of her over the last few years. This weekend, Jill's family is coming up so I hope the weather holds out. I've got a ton of yard work to accomplish. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Not The Same

Hey all! As I type this, I've got my little girl sitting on my lap watching an episode of Hello Kitty on Youtube. She's like a teenager, I swear. Anyways, before I get into this week, I'd like to share a first for her and I. Friday, Mia and I went to a Friday Morning Play Group at the local library. There were a good amount of kids in this little room filled with toys. The kids get an hour to play and interact with other ones. Mia was a bit timid at first. But soon relaxed and was playing with some girls. Some were older then her. As soon as her and I sat down in the room, this little girl came right up to me, sat on my lap and complimented Mia on her princess shirt. Throughout the hour, Mia became friends with her. Her name was Grace and Mia really enjoyed playing with her, and her sister Hannah (which may actually be closer to age with Mia) Mia didn't want the playgroup to end, but we'll deffinatly be coming back this Friday. Over the weekend, we were in Illinois for my brother in law's birthday. It was a good visit, and he loved Mia's one-of-a-kind painting (including her key explaining what all of the obscure shapes and colours were). Mia has proven to be a hell of a lot easier with the 2 1/2 hour drive to and from Illinois, which is fantastic.

Today, Mia and I visited one of my best friends Jay, his wife Erin and their brand new baby Caleb. Mia didn't feel like talking, but it was good catching up and seeing their new little addition. Mia seemed more impressed with the wild turkeys wondering his back yard. She also liked Caleb's jungle nursery.  Other then a visit to Grandma and work and Grandpa at home, nothing too exciting to report. This weekend, my sister is having her bridal shower. Lots of family coming in, so it should be a lot of fun. Lastly, Chelsea FC's doing great (which is always wonderful) and the hockey season just started. That's all for now! I've got some NEW interesting freelance art I'm working on, but more on that later Thanks for reading.

Jump Around

Greetings! Keeping this one sort. Gotta get up very early to get Jill up for an early day at work for her. Not fun, but it's that busy time of the year at her studio. Friday I was off, which was great so my Dad, Mia and I watched my lil bro play some beer league hockey. Great time. Especially when Mia would yell "ANDY I CANT BELIEVE YOU KEEP DOING THAT!" in regards to him falling/not getting a goal. Saturday, we watched Chelsea beat Fullam. AWESOME :) Today, Mia had a check up. This was the very very first time I had to take her to the doctor solo without Jill. Ever since Mia was born, we've gone to the doc together, but today she had too much work to do. I was not stoked to have to wake her up. Luckily, she wasn't upset or anything. We had a very
lengthy discussion on our doctor appt and how there will be NO shots. Today, when I got her up, I reminded her that the appt will be fine. At first, she didn't wanna leave, but I said I'd hold her hand. She was talkative to the nurses, and sat through the basic check up like a champ. Wasn't a fan at first of the blood pressure test device, but noticed that she had the same contraption in her doctor kid at home. So, I was quite happy that everything went well.

Later, we FINALLY got to the Helium Trampoline Park. Once again, at first she was a bit timid. Sorta confused that we were not at the back up hangout AKA the library. So she gets on the trampoline "Dadda I don't know about this" but when she realized that these are for jumping she got SO excited. Jumped and jumped and jumped. Finally 35 minutes in, "Daddy, I'm thirsty! Later after a little water, I wanted to jump in the foam pit. Well of course Miss Mia wanted to as well. The pit was pretty deep and difficult to get out of. But, she didn't care and wanted to get in. So I held her hand, and she crawled INTO the pit, instead of jumping. After I got her out of the pit, I got back on the trampoline and did a 360 into it. So much fun. Earlier on a 360 spin that I was trying to rotate to a 540, I landed my knee straight into my wrist head on, so it's been hurting the rest of the night. Looks a bit swollen. Hopefully it'll go down. This weekend, we're off to Illinois for some family time with Jill's group. Her brother's birthday is coming up so we've got to spend some time with him :) Should be a good time. If you notice the picture way way in the background, you can see Mia waiting for me to kick the ball to her. :) That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Breaking Us In Two

Good morning. Didn't feel like writing last night. We all went to bed kind of late. Mia had taken a late long nap from 5pm-7pm so she clearly wasn't that tired when we were :( Was going to take Remi out for a run this morning but the lazy pooch doesn't wanna go out. Looks like rain, which will suck. It's been a rough few days here. The last few days in the morning, she's been oh so crabby. Jill's getting ready for work (or already there) and she wakes up screaming horribly. Doesn't want to get dressed, nor cooperate for about 10 minutes. It's quite painful. Breaks your spirit and gives you an instant headache. Hopefully, she'll get through this, like many other phases she's gone/going through.

For the most part, we had a decent day off together. Watched the Chelsea vs Basel FC game yesterday. Was a rough one. Would have been a great win, but we blew it. A lot of missed chances and misfires. Low opportunities taken and some players just weren't ready for the important match. Would have been nice to have Mata starting as well as Torres as the striker. E'eto started, and since he's knew, he's still trying to get used to being the man at the helm. Anyways, hopefully we can get a win next time. During the game, Mia was showing me how amazing she is at riding this little red trike my mom got her to ride at her house. It's quite impressive :) Mia was great with Grandpa Grumpy as well
, and when she suggested getting bananas at Kwik Trip, she was very friendly and talkative to my coworkers  :) On the way home, she fell asleep, which allowed me to get some more work into a picture of her's as well as catch up on Ink Master. :P This weekend, Jill's selling a ton of toys/clothes/accessories at the Just Between Friends sale fri-sat so thankfully. I'm off Friday :) Other then that, nothing else exciting to report for now. Thanks for reading :)

The Recurring Slumber Complexity

Greetings. Going to make this one short and sweet. Very exhausted. Last week my brother Andy and I took our little ones on a little walk to the beach followed by lunch. It was a beautiful day. Mia loved walking the beach, and throwing stones in the water. Saturday, her other grandparents from Illinois came in to visit. Walked the farmer's market, found some great foods and got trapped in a lovely thunderstorm. "DADDY IT'S RAINING WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!" Poor girl. Today, I wanted to do something fun. After a visit by Grandma at work and Grandpa later, we tried to go to the Trampoline park (Helium). I swear, EVERY time we get on the freeway, she's out like a light. She didn't sleep real well the night before, and woke up today earlier then she'd prefer. Sorta moody, sadly. After her nice nap, she was mostly fine. We went on a good walk with our good pal, Remi. Later, Jill came home and we had dinner and watched the last episode of Masterchef.

So I was avoiding discussing this the last few weeks, but thought "eh what the hell" so here's what I've been working hard on. My good friend had recommended me to her friend who works/owns a company that designs neon beer signs for companies big and small. I rebuilt my resume, put together my website and got a few sample ideas of some beer signs submitted. Well, it looks like I'm on file. That's about it. They are too busy to train me with LED lights so they may contact me in the near or far future. Honestly, I'm pretty bummed, but this could still lead to something. The good thing with this, is that the last few weeks, it got me to kick my self directly in the bum to get my website complete, update my resume and work in Illustrator again. There could be other jobs on the horizon, but this experience was strangely, a good one despite it not
going the way I was hoping. Today, I felt completely relaxed working on this Mia portrait. It's taking some time, but it's coming out beautifully.
As much as I'd love to keep typing, I really should hit the bed. Thanks for reading!

I Won't Be Left

Greetings. A lot of different things going on lately. Some of which I can discuss, others I'm keeping quiet on for the moment. Over the weekend we had a pretty low-key Saturday. Poked around the Waukesha Farmer's Market, and had lunch at our favourite cafe in the area, Steaming Cup. That place can never close down. Hahaha! Every time we step foot into that cafe, it brings back wonderful memories of Carroll College (or University if you wanna be technical) It was also the very first place we took Mia to, to eat. She was just a little tiny monster in a busy fantastic cafe.

Sunday, worked 7-3 and afterwards took Jill to get her onto my US Cell act and get a new phone. She's super stoked to finally have a smartphone, nonetheless a really really great one. Mia was strangely hyper and rambunctious, but at least entertaining to the sales person. This week, (well today) we attempted to go to the Helium AGAIN, and this time...they were closed again. The guy who must manage it pulled his car up to us and I said "hey it's 12pm why aren't you open?" He responded "Oh we switched to different hours TODAY.." wonderful. Guess we'll go another time. So naturally, we went to the library to play with puzzles, do some reading and of course go up the elevator. Later we met with my friend Stacy at the mall and got Gelato. Delicious! It was rad catching up with Stacy while Mia played at the toy store.

The other night, I listened to an earlier radio show on WMSE from earlier in the day of my former bandmate Nick promoting his solo record (I did a few drum tracks on). Made me seriously miss playing in a band. Some of my favourite moments in 2010 were playing shows every weekend. Ah, good to reflect on every once in a while. His new solo record sounds amazing as well :)

Jill's familia is coming up this weekend. Not entirely sure what we're doing, but I'm sure we'll find something fun to do. That's all for now. Last thoughts for the evening-The new Sundowner record Neon Fiction is amazing. Next blog post I'll give a a full review. Thanks for reading!

Send Help

Greetings. Keeping this one short and sweet. Super tired today. Rough night trying to sleep last night. A pesky mosquito was trying to drain me of all my blood and patience. Over the weekend Jill's Mom drove up Saturday morning en route to take Jill to a wedding shower. They ended up taking Mia too because a little job opportunity came up. Last week a good friend from college had informed me of a possible second job graphic designing neon beer signs for a small company from home. I haven't applied for a job in quite some time so I didn't really think too much of it right away, until she brought up that it would be a mostly stay-at-home position. Perfect for the few hours I'm home before I work at 2. So After reconstructing and updating my resume a few days ago late at night, I began working on piecing together my website. Friday night, I pulled artwork from different places and Saturday I had some alone time to get serious work done on the site. I decided to make a real clean, easy to navigate website for clients and anyone interested in my work. Since I did the free sight, I was limited to a mere 30 images so it was a bit tough getting what I wanted on. I still may change things up. Overall, quite happy with the layout and my little logo I created for the header :) Later, we did dinner and I worked 2nd shift Sunday evening.

I was quite stoked for my day off with Mia, but for some reason it just wasn't a good day for her. She woke up earlier then usual, didn't feel like breakfast and just was a crab 80 percent of the day. I promised earlier in the week that on Wednesday we'd hit up Helium trampoline park. When we got there, they weren't open yet, so on her request, we went to the library. She played with puzzles and did some reading. After lunch, we drove back to Helium but she fell asleep on the way. So, I turned around and spent an hour or so working on a portrait of her. Hell, it may end up on my website :P Chelsea's playing friday. GO BLUES! :) Gotta love those guys. Some love the Packers, others go crazy for the Brewers. My team will always be Chelsea :)

This weekend's kind of up in the air as far as what we're doing. All I know is September is going to be busy, so bring it on :P Thanks for reading.

Life's a Beach

Greetings everyone! Been quite busy with different things going on. Over the weekend we went to a petting zoo/farm with my Mom. Mia really liked the goats, the kitties and eventually liked the chickens. Later, Jill and I went on a lovely double date with some friends at the Art-Bar, a unique bar and art gallery in the lovely Riverwest area in Milwaukee. Quite a few years ago, Jill, myself and my little brother participated in an art show at Art-Bar. We had some great art and shirts on display and up for grabs. It was an amazing night, so going back to Art-Bar was pretty fun. Julie and her hubby brought their brand new Great Dane puppy. Totally adorable! Great pizza, great drinks and an overall awesome time :) Sunday, after a crazy busy morning at work, we went to the Zoo Ala Carte. We went last year and had a blast. This year, we had a ton of fun again. Lots of great unique foods and desserts.

Today, Mia and I had a great day off together. I told her Tuesday evening that I would take her to the beach. With a high 90 degrees for the temperature for the day, it was the perfect day to go to the beach. After a bowl of Kix, she immediately said "DADDY I'M READY TO GO TO THE BEACH!!" So we packed up and hit the road to the beach. The last time we were there, she was cool in the water, but this time, the water may have been too cold for her to enjoy. She DID however enjoy walking in the sand. This is a big deal. Why you ask? Well this summer she developed a fear of sand. SAND. Don't know why. She just really doesn't like it in her toes, on her feet or in her shoes. Today she started being whiney about the sand on her feet. Later, she got off the blanket and was standing straight in the sand. "DADDY LOOK! I'm WALKING IN THE SAND!!" Yay! So we walked the beach a few times, the shoreline and she searching for "treasure" in the sand with her bucket. All in all, awesome time at the beach. Later, she slept for about 15 minutes on the drive home and woke up when I brought her in. We went to the library later to read books and play with puzzles. Hers and my first time at our New Berlin library. We may be going back to story times or play groups. We also may be signing Mia up for some sort of dance or tumble class at the local rec center. Could be fun!

This weekend, nothing too major. Jill's got a wedding shower, so I'm trying to think of something fun to do for the day. That's all for now. More to discuss next week. Thanks for reading!

Life in Embers

Greetings! Hope everyone's enjoying their week. Here's a recap of the week for me. Over the weekend, I worked the 6am-2pm shift, then had plans to play some pick up soccer. When I got home, I could tell it was a rough day at the house. Jill looked stressed & exhausted and Mia was being a winey terrible-two terror child. I knew immediately that I was going to skip it. My place was at home trying to knock the crabby attitude out of my kiddo. Today was my typical day off. Ended up hanging with my brother and parents today. My bro and I did some odd jobs for my mom. Constructed this mini shed thing, which seems like a boring chore, but was actually a bit fun to catch up while building. Mia shared her popsicle with him, which was pretty cute. Later my Mom, Mia and I hit up the park for a bit, before playing with animals at the humane society. Mia couldn't get enough of those adorable kittens.

This week, we've been slowly putting together Mia's little room. After our last guinea pig passed away, we said we'd put together a really nice room for her. My mother in law painted while we were gone, so all we had left to do was get her crib/bed apart and rebuild in her room. It was quite a challenge this week. Mia would ALWAYs get in our way trying to "help". It just lead to frustration. Tonight it's together so all we need is her to love it enough to sleep there.

Friday there's a playgroup that meets every friday at the local library. If lazy bones Mia gets up at 9am, we can totally go and see what it's all about. Lately this week she's been rolling out of bed around 11 or 11:30am. Today, she was whining at 10am. Might have been too early :P This Saturday we're gonna double date with some friends in Riverwest at the Art-Bar which in 2007, we had an art show at. It was pretty awesome. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Indiana Trip 2013 or..Road to Chelsea vs Inter Milan

How's it going? Missed a week on the blog because we took a family trip down to Indiana. I'll get back to that in a bit. So my 30th birthday was the 26th. Jill's family came up for the weekend. After I got home from work, Everyone was waiting for me with a banana creme pie. Mia said "Daddy, blow out your candles!" Awesome evening. Next day, my brother n law and I went to go see Despicable Me 2 (which was HILARIOUS). When we got back, there were a quite a few cars in the driveway. I figured "okay my family is here". Opened the door, and a TON of people were here. Friends and family came for mine and my sister's surprise birthday. Couldn't believe it. It was a great time. Jill & her friend Leanne made Minion cupcakes. They looked so rad.  I got some great gifts including the last Big Bang Theory season, some HIMYM seasons, an awesome Chelsea ball, and much more. A few days later, we packed the car up and drove down to Illinois (after work) First time EVER Mia was super happy driving down to Illinois after 10:30pm. Way cool.

Wednesday, we left Jill's family's house, and made the 4.5 hour drive to Greenwood Indiana. Mia did mostly well, but I'd like not to do any more long car rides for a while. Jill's got some friends down in Indiana, so it was great to be able to stay with them. Mia enjoyed playing their little boy Caleb. Thursday morning, we hit up the Indianapolis Zoo. Very cool zoo. Fun to walk around. Mia's favourite part was the butterfly exhibit. She walked around the little area with her arms straight out trying to get butterflies to land on her. It was really cute. So after the zoo, both kids passed out in the car, and Jill and her buddy dropped me off at Lucas Oil Stadium for the game. Man, what an exciting place to be. Indianapolis had a LOT of Chelsea fans roaming around the city. Everyone excited about the game. So I got there, picked up my ticket and my FREE Chelsea flag. They didn't allow anyone in thrill 6:30 so I had to wait outside for a while. Ended up talking to some guys for a while, killing time. Easy to make friends when everyone supports the same team :) So after I got inside, and grabbed some beer and dinner.

After eating dinner, I grabbed a program, a free sample of Guinness Black (with a souvenir cup) and headed to my seat. Met a family in front of my seat from Eau Claire (for real!) and the guys/girls who had seats next to me were from Chicago. They were super nice. The game was fantastic. Chelsea won 2-0. Both goals were amazing. Most of the people in my section were Blues fans. which was awesome. Took a lot of great pictures with the DSLR. Not an easy task, but I was happy with what I shot. So after the victory, we walked down to the area where we were supposed to be escorted to the pitch and meet the players (for an hour). Well, we
made it down, and waited. Security immediately told me and my new buddies that "NO PLAYERS ARE COMING OUT!" and they kicked us out after 30 minutes. I don't know who's more to blame here. The promoters on Living Social for false advertising that I'd get an hour on the pitch with photo opportunity (except it didn't "say" that they'd come out) just "a rare and exciting opportunity". Totally bummed about it. The seat was worth the money (thanks again Mom/Dad/Tom/Michelle/Jill) but it would have been amazing to have met the players like the ticket had said. Total BS. Oh well, not much I can do about it now. The game was amazing, met some great people and The Blues won. All in all, great evening.


Next day, we went to the fair. Jill's aunt drove in from Columbus Ohio to spend some time with Mia. She hasn't seen her since Mia was a newborn. I was quite happy that Mia really enjoyed their time together. The fair was fun. Very similar to the Wisco one (except no vendors) Mia liked the animals, but NOT the rides. She wanted to go on this slow 5mph train ride. As soon as she sat down, she FLIPPED OUT! No more rides till she's older. Way too traumatic.

She mostly survived the long drive back to Illinois. The next day we drove back to Wisconsin, and she slept the whole time :) Great little family trip. Awesome seeing some friends and family, and of course Chelsea play. Nothing too eventful going on this weekend. I probably should cut the grass since it's been a while. hope to play some soccer Sunday. We'll see. Thanks for reading!

I Want To Hold Your Hand

Greetings friends. Over the weekend, we packed up the car and went to Madison for a beach birthday party for my 6 year old nephew. It was lots of fun swimming and kicking the soccer ball around. Mia, once again was not a fan of the sandy beach, but we remedied the situation and put a blanket down for her to sit in comfortably, while still being able to shovel sand into a bucket. Genius idea Grandma! Well, later we headed to my brother's apartment and had cake. Mia was way more interested in playing with her cousin's legos and his adorable cat Cosmo. Sunday, I worked the night shift and missed soccer. Boo! This week, I turn 30 on Friday. Not too excited about it (Mia even reminds me "Daddy, you're gonna be old) but with some family and friends coming in to town to celebrate with me, I can't help but feel the love. I tend to focus on the negatives lately with this whole turning 30 thing. Not having the job I want plays a big role in it. I want to be able to get up every day and go to a job that I love. That I feel like I make a difference. A job that I can use creativity to my full potential. It is too much to ask? No, but honestly, I can't complain about the cards that were dealt :) I've got a beautiful family, a great house. a supportive family and my health is still pretty good. So I can't complain. Mia and I were dancing in the kitchen earlier today. It was incredibly cute. Makes me a bit sad thinking that some day I'll be dancing with her on her wedding day. While cleaning the kitchen tonight, I thought about how incredibly amazing my wife is. How she's been here for me through everything. She's been there for me in times of great and times of terrible. Through every failed job and been to just about every show I've played (even while pregnant). I couldn't ask for a better wife.

Nothing too exciting to report from my day off. Mia slept in till 11:50AM! ALMOST noon. Easily the latest she slept in her life time. I could be wrong, but I'm almost positive this was the longest she's slept. Missed a nap today too, but was quite tired driving home from our usual adventure visiting Grandma at work/Grandpa at his house and eventually Jill at her studio. At one point she desperately wanted me to find the Beatles on the radio because "Beatles are Grandpa Chicago's favourite Daddy!" While watching Masterchef tonight, Mia took a break and was "making food" in her little kitchen. "Mommy It's really difficult what I'm making!" Hilarious.

Other then that, nothing else to report. Birthday dinner this weekend. Hopefully some soccer action as well. This time I'll try not to run into anyone getting the ball. Cheers, and thanks for reading!

Surfin' USA

Morning. Didn't get to writing last night after an exhausting, yet fun day at the beach with Mia and my friend (with her kiddo) I was just way too tired to write and ended up calling it a night at 12:15am. Last Sunday I got to play some pick up soccer again. It had been a while due to some different things going on, on the weekends, but it totally was a great time. I had some slight issues though. First half, I ran into a striker at full speed. I had accidentally ran into the guy going for the ball, which knocked us both over. It looked so bad, and if it was a real game, I would probably have a yellow card. Had accidentally got his cleats on a 2nd challenge, which caused another foul. Bad Mikey. 2nd half, I did better. Didn't trip anyone. Won't be playing this weekend. Working 2nd shift. Oh well. The legs are still recovering from the collision. It was really great having my family come watch. Especially my parents who haven't seen me play a competitive sport since High School. Mia even watched :) Hopefully they thought I did well. (despite the fouls)

So as I had typed, on my day off we went to the beach. Mia and I met up with my friend Nicole and her kiddo Benny. Mia and I got to the beach and she already was pissy. Before we left, she was super stoked running around the house with her bucket and shovel. Well apparently, she developed a severe dislike for sand. Didn't want to touch it AT ALL. When Nicole and her kiddo arrived, we went back into the water. At first she didn't care for it again, but did way better and we had some fun. I've got a gnarly sun burn on my mid-lower back because I couldn't reach it with my hands. Oops :( Overall, the kids had a wonderful time and I look forward in going back again. Hopefully on a day Jill can come.

This weekend, my nephew's 6th birthday in Madison. Should be a lot of fun. Other then that, nothing else too exciting to discuss. Thanks for reading!

Devotion and Desire

What's up peeps. Quite a few things to cover tonight, so let's get to it. Over the rather steamy and hot weekend, Jill's parents came up to babysit Mia, which allowed us to go see "Wicked" in Milwaukee (for Jill's belated birthday. Let me tell you, it was absolutely fantastic. We haven't seen a play since NYC in 2006 when we saw Spamalot. Anyways, it was an incredibly delightful evening with my wife.  The play was wonderful, acting spot on and the props and sets were fantastic. I easily could recommend this one to anyone. I've heard tons of people who've seen it that have loved it, so going into the play, I knew it wouldn't disappoint. A friend of mine even has a "Wicked" inspired tattoo. :) Sunday, I worked the early shift, and ended up being too exhausted from the crazy day to play soccer. Plus, it was incredibly muggy. I sort of regretted not playing, because I saw the rest of the month I've got 2-10 shifts on Sundays. :( So all in all, not a bad weekend. Got some yard work and laundry accomplished. Totally appreciate my in laws for coming up and taking care of Mia so we can have a lovely rare date night.

Today, I woke up rather sad. Just totally bummed out about things. About turning 30 soon, and not having a proud career. I know I've gone over this before, but it's always something I think about when it's brought up in a conversation. "When are you gonna get a better job?" "When are you going to work in your field again?" It angers me how true that can be. But I have to move on and continue with where I am. Thankfully, listening to Alkaline Trio got me through the morning/afternoon. Mia and I didn't do anything too exciting. She was rather great with my Dad, which always makes the old man happy. Other then that, nothing else going on. Haven't touched this art project in over a month, and decided today to just not look at it for a while. I may scrap it, or continue a little later. I did start a little sketch of Mia that I hope turns out cool.

That's all for tonight. Thanks for reading :)

Best Imitations Of Myself

Hey! Hope every one's enjoying this rather strange week. 4th of July on a Thursday is a bit strange. Some people are getting a full 4-day weekend, others (like my wife) get just Thursday off. Me? I'm not off. Didn't take the holiday off. Used to back in the day when we would go to to catch Less Than Jake every 4th of July at Summerfest. Lots of fun, but as time went on, I just stopped wanting to go to Milwaukee's famous fest. Loss of interest. Would take a lot for me to go now. The Lawrence Arms would guarantee me to attend, as well as probably Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. Okay, that's enough of that.

Over the weekend, we drove down to Illinois Friday after work.  After we gassed up and got on 43, Mia fell asleep rather quickly watching her new favourite movie "The Princess Frog". While driving through Huntley, there were cones and cops everywhere with floodlights in a parking lot. I swear, it looked like border control. Well, they were stopping every single car and did a "safety check", which of course meant they were checking for drunk drivers. Great idea, but crap, they just HAD to shine the flash light in poor sleeping Mia's eyes.  She fell asleep soon after we went on our adventure. Saturday morning, we drove to the Shedd Aquarium. LOVE LOVE LOVE driving through the city. Leanne (one of Jill's friend's) came with too. It was a great time. Was quite blown away by how amazing the beluga whales are. I've seen them there before, but every time we go, they impress me more and more. The string ray touch thingy was actually better then the Milwaukee County Zoo one. Why? Well, the cow-nose rays were SUPER friendly. They swim right up to you like a dog would rub their head. It was pretty amazing. My favourite part of the Shedd (besides the awesome penguins) still is the Reef animals down stairs. Plenty of awesome sharks swimming. Nice 6 foot ones too. A rad part of the experience, was Mia was enthused to shoot some pictures of the coral and fish with our DSLR camera. "Daddy, I take a pictures of this" *CLICK- CLICK- CLICK- CLICK* All in all, great time at the Shedd. I figured something out why Chicago residents drive rather defensive in Wisconsin. In the city, its "drive defensive, or be crushed" as my bro in law puts it. Everyone in the city has to be on their toes to get to where they're going. Cutting people off to make a turn is just part of it. There's no hesitating or middle fingers flying when someone makes a bold move to get in front of you. It's their way of life. So with that, I have 0 hatred for "FIB drivers" here in good ol' Wisconsin.

 Anyways, so Thursday is the holiday. Jill's taking Mia to the fireworks in Waukesha with my parents. We heard some neighbors shooting some off today and it peaked her interest, but of course they stopped. We put on the local news channel that had the fireworks on and I said to Mia "hey, look fireworks" and she responded "Daddy, I'm learning Spanish!" Well alright then! Saturday, we're going to see Wicked. Should be fun. Jill's parents got her tickets for her birthday. I've heard only great things about the play/musical for quite a while so I'm anticipating a wonderful evening. PLUS after work Sunday, I've got soccer. It's been a few weeks, so I'm stoked to play again.  Before I finish this, I gotta bring up this new thing Mia does every once in a while. Maybe once a day. Sometimes when we ask her about something such as for example "what would Daddy say if you fell off the swing?" Mia responds with this hilarious impression or imitation of me saying "Oh no, Mia fell off, don't cry Mia" She imitates Jill and Remi all the time too. HILARIOUS! That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Jimmy Jazz

Greetings, people. Nothing too exciting to report from the weekend. A rather quiet Saturday for the familia. Mia was crabby most of the morning, so we decided "hey let's go to the zoo, maybe that will cheer her up". Didn't help too much. We tried the sting ray/shark touch thing again and since she couldn't reach the rays, she got upset. I finally was able to pet one of the sharks. Very cool bumpy skin. Totally worth dealing with her crabby attitude to pet a shark.

After that, we went to the sea lion show. Last year when we did it, she loved it a ton. Didn't change at all. She couldn't get enough of the sea lions performing. Clapped for every trick Slick, the sea lion performed. "Let's watch it again!" Nah, we gotta head home. Saturday evening, we had my sister over for dinner. Mia had a lot of fun playing with her. Sunday, I worked the early shift. Tossed the idea of soccer that evening, but the heat was 90 degrees all day, and I didn't want to get super dehydrated on the pitch. I know "well drink water dumb ass" but I wasn't feeling it that day. We tried to hit up the local pool, but after driving through the park to GET to the pool, we could already tell that it'd be impossible to get in the water. So we turned around, and tried the Pewaukee Lake. It was super busy as well, but we were able to park and walk to the beach. Mia didn't like the water temperature, or the crazy amount of people so we didn't last very long. Oh well.

Today nothing too eventful. Mia slept in till 10:30. Sort of through off her day a bit. Visited Grandma a bit, then later Grandpa. Highlight of my day, or maybe LIFE was when I was juggling and heading a soccer ball a bit, and Mia, who was eating grapes at the moment stops and tells me "Daddy, you're a great soccer player". That's the very FIRST time anyone in my life has ever said that to me. I stopped playing soccer nearly 17 years ago because I didn't think I was any good. I know she's 2 years old, but it really made a difference to me. I'm missing the pick up game this weekend because we'll be in Illinois Friday thru Sunday but I plan on making the July 7th game. Seriously hope she stays awake for the game and can watch me :)

Last but not least, a big congrats to the Blackhawks for taking out the Bruins for the Stanley Cup. It was an insane series in a season that almost didn't happen. In the end, with 17 seconds left, the Hawks tied and got the game-winning goal. Very rad. I had to root for them when the Bruins destroyed the Penguins. That was a hard series to tune in to. When your team gets taken out of the playoffs that they could have easily taken. Anyways, glad the Hawks took down the Bruins.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Fools In Love

A lot to discuss this bright and sunny morning (way too tired to type last night). So last weekend was a complete blur, and not in a drunk-every-night blur, just a blur because I was here, there and everywhere. Friday night, worked till 10. Came home hoping that Mia would want to get some sleep, but the kid wanted to play. I had to get up at 4:45am and at 12:30am she wants to play my drum set. Well anyways, I think I ended up getting 3 hours of sleep somehow. So while at work, I got the text from my in-laws that drove up planning to watch Mia that evening so Jill and I could go to a wedding, that Jill got sick. She finally caught what Mia and I had earlier in the week, so Jill couldn't make the wedding or reception. I ended up going to the reception solo because I didn't want the bride/groom to pay for two empty plates. Jill's parents were gracious enough to take care of both Jill and Mia. So I went to the wedding, and when I got home, both Jill and Mia were sound asleep. Reception was a total blast. Great catching up with some friends from long ago.

The next morning I went to my nephew's baptism at 9am. Too early for this uncle :P. Ended up photographing the event. Later, came home, changed and got ready for my first adult-league pick up soccer game. Jill and Mia came too. Mia ended up falling asleep in the car so both of them ended up missing the whole game :( So the first half, I realized that I didn't hydrate myself enough and found it tough running with this super dry throat (still recovering from the illness too) and I played left-mid-forward. Wasn't getting a lot of passes to me (some ball hogs) and eventually dropped back to play mid-left-back. Much more comfortable playing defense. I really don't know why, but I enjoyed it. As much as I'd love to score a goal, I felt good keeping the other forward covered making sure he didn't get any shots off. Our team ended up winning like, 7-3 I believe. It was a lot of fun, even in 87 degree heat. OH! For Father's Day I got this little NHL air hockey game thing I can play with Mia, and this amazing Mia & Jill painted soccer ball. It's beautiful. When I came home from the baptism (I was gone all day) Mia was super excited to see me and kept saying "HAPPY FATHERS DAY DADDY" with the ball in her hand. Melted my heart.

This week I took off Tuesday and Wednesday. My nephew Alex was in town so my Mom and I wanted to keep the kids busy. Tuesday we went to the zoo. I finally got to pet the sting rays. The sharks you can't reach for so I didn't get to pet any sharks. Mia was a little irritated they wouldn't come up close enough for her to reach. We didn't see everything, but we saw enough. I have been to the zoo enough times where it doesn't matter what we see, just as long as everyone leaves happy.

Yesterday we tried Monkey Joe's. I have never been there, but both my Mom and my mother in law have been there and I guess the last time Mia was there (I think was quite a while ago) she was too little to enjoy the bouncy things. Well, this time she started out timid. Wanted to watch Alex do all the big gnarly slides. Later she slowly walked through this little kids one and was totally fine. Alex went in as well to show her how fun it is. Well in the end, they both chased each other around all of the obstacles, falling and bouncing all the way. They wanted to go into this other bouncy thing were you climb this ladder and go down the slide. Alex helped Mia climb the ladder (what a great guy!) and she went down the slide like a bullet. She got up "That was TOO fast DADA!" Then wanted to try it again. So she climbs the ladder, got scared at the top and I had to go in and take her down. For dinner last night, we went to Stonefire Pizza. She was too distracted by all of the games to actually want to eat her dinner, but she ate some. Both kids loved playing the games.

Sigh, so that's it for now. Back to work today and tomorrow. No idea what's going on this weekend. Thanks for reading!

Torture Doctor

Greetings. I'm not feeling that great, so I'm going to keep this one short. Over the weekend Jill and I went to our first wedding of the year. A friend from college had a SCOTTISH wedding. I've never been to one, plus it was outside which is always a thumbs up in my book. The groom was in a kilt as well. Jill's parents watched Mia for the evening while we enjoyed a rare night together. This saturday, we've got another wedding. In fact, this weekend is going to be incredibly busy for me. Working 2-10 Friday night (per the usual) followed by a 6am-2pm shift, THEN I'll have to change and meet Jill later for the reception. SUNDAY we've got a baptism to go early followed by some soccer later at 4pm. PHEW....I sincerely hope this sickness goes away. My little bro got my Mom sick a few days ago, she gave it to me and then Mia had it (for a little bit) Yesterday on the way back from Jill's studio I started getting sort of achey with my head starting to hurt. The throat was getting sore as well. Great....

Well later I was able to get Mia to nap (after driving around) and while she slept, I decided to as well with hopes that I could sleep this crap off. When she woke up she was very whiney and couldn't tell me what she wanted. Then, she stood up, and vomited hardcore. This was probably the very first time she's  ever thrown up so she was a complete mess, choking and crying. It was very bad. Within an hour, she threw up I believe, 4 times. Thankfully, after the last time, she started to feel better and was drinking juice and had some noodles with me.

This morning I took Remi out. Looks like the majority of New Berlin was spared during the storms last night. Art-wise, haven't done much lately. I've got projects to finish and projects to start, just need some time to work on them.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading!

The Double Feature

Greetings.  The picture to your left is from Mia and I playing some drums at the music store. I swear, that kid loves music as much as I do..ANYWAYS I was a bit too tired to write last night, so I figured after my morning walk/run with Remi, I'd tackle this blog. I find myself having the opportunity today to in fact write TWO reviews from the weekend: An Alkaline Trio concert in Milwaukee, AND some thoughts about the Great Gatsby Jill and I saw on Sunday! It was quite the busy weekend. Friday was our anniversary but we both worked opposite hours and didn't get to properly celebrate that day, however we DID plan on going to the movies Sunday. Mia and I brought Jill flowers Friday. Awww...right? Anyways, so Sunday morning I was getting 7am texts from my little brother that he needed someone to go catch Bayside/Alkaline Trio show in Milwaukee at the Rave. I was unsure about going. My toe, still hurting and since I've seen Alkaline Trio about 10 or more times, I remember in the past, the sea of people in the crowd turning into a crazy bull stampede trampling everyone in front of them. PLUS, I worked at 6am Sunday morning, so all signs pointed that I wasn't going to go. Well, after a lot of thinking, I decided to go as a favor, plus he said it was a free ticket.

It was a fantastic show. First time at the Rave since 2008 when I caught the always entertaining The Hives. The very opening band Off With Their Heads wasn't very exciting. Next was my bro's favourite group; Bayside. Never really was a big fan of the band. A lot of breakdowns and guitar solos, however, they can put on a great show. I enjoyed their Smoking Popes cover of "Meghan". The next time I'm cutting grass, I'll probably put them on and give them another listen.

Alkaline Trio finally was on. Great performance. Very little banter in between songs, so they can pump in full volumes of amazing rock and roll. Just like old times, they played their hearts out. Here's a list of the majority of the songs they played:

This could be love
Cringe Olde English 800
Radio (encore)  If We Never Go Inside
Blue Carolina
She lied to the FBI
I wanna be a Warhol
I, Pessimist
Hell Yes Armageddon
She Took Him to the Lake
Donner Party
Clavicle
Sadie
All In Black
Torture Doctor  

There may be more in there that I missed, but that should cover 98 percent of what they played. They skipped over albums Agony and Irony and This Addiction surprisingly, but that's okay. They ended up really hammering out tracks from Good Mourning and a few jams from Maybe I'll Catch Fire. The new stuff sounded great live, and overall the night was pretty awesome. Glad I could go with my bro.  Sunday night after I got out of work at 2pm, we later dropped off Mia and hit up the movie theater for the Great Gatsby. After a very long early shift, I didn't think I'd make it through the movie. I was incredibly exhausted but luckily stayed awake. I'll make this one short: The movie was pretty great. Leo DiCaprio seems to pick the better of the films to get involved with.This one can be added to his list. Toby Maguire played an awesome roll as the neighbor who tags along with the Gatsby in his adventures & gets involved with helping Gatsby meet his former love interest. Both Jill and I were glad we didn't freshly read the book before watching the movie because we'd compare it way too much during the film. If you read the book, I'd recommend going and seeing it. It was a nice rare evening to go out with Jill without Mia for a little date. We haven't gone out by ourselves in over a year. No, really. A year. We've got two weddings coming up, in which she won't be with us either. The grandparents + Tommy are coming up this weekend, so we'll see how the night goes. Sunday, I may play soccer. We'll see. First game is 7pm. My toe is getting a bit better, but the nail is still loose. That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

Effington

Greetings. Lots to discuss, so let's get at it, yes? Over the weekend we had a massive family gathering. My half bro and his kids drove in from Michigan for a visit. We arrived a bit late since Mia was napping earlier. She had a rough morning and really needed to get that sleep in. Didn't want her being a crab-puss. And like we guessed, when we arrived after she had her nap, she was pretty cool with her

cousins. A bit shy of Todd, but that's alright. My older bro and I hit up the park with Grandma, Todd and his kids PLUS Jill and Mia. Because the soccer field was uncut and had long grass, I made a big ass mistake. While we were practicing corner kicks, I went to take a power strike and somehow misjudged the kick and destroyed my right big toe (should have shot with my laces and toes DOWN) It hurt so bad, but at the moment, thought I had just stubbed the toe. When I got home, saw my toes were all bloodied up. Felt so incredibly stupid. The nail looked broken and was oozing juices.

The worst part-I have a game this Sunday. Well just about 4 days later, my toe is slowly improving but after thinking about it for quite a while, I decided it'd be best for me to sit this week out. All week at work, I've been limping around a bit. Today before I cut a TON of grass, I took some shots (with my left foot) to see if I can at least plant the right while shooting with the left. Not bad. Jogged a tiny bit too. I'd prefer to give it a full rest before playing a long game. If I was to risk it, I could hurt it worse, and I don't want that.

Today as Mia waved goodbye to Jill as she left for work, I decided that I'd declare today "Daddy-Daughter Day". She was in tears watching Jill leave and I quickly thought "hey, after breakfast, we'll walk Remi, get dressed and go to the zoo!" She was super stoked. We packed her back pack with some snacks & a water bottle. I have NEVER seen her so excited. "Daddy, I got my back pack, LETS GO!!" She had no patience for traffic either! Hahaha. So we spent 2 hours walking around, taking in all the animals, fish and everything in between. Later, Grandma came over so I could tackle the back yard grass cutting. Was like cutting the Everglades.

Friday is Jill and Mine anniversary. Time sure flies. 5 years married. I get a lot of "you're stupid to be married at work" but honestly, I couldn't imagine my life with out her. So much as happened in these 5 years and I look forward to the next 5. See what's in store for me and the Mrs. :)
That's all for now. Thanks for reading :)