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!