Keep Fighting

Evening. Going to try and get through this rather quick because it's been a pretty lousy day. Monday, Mia was off from school so we enjoyed some time drawing and playing a little Luigi's Mansion 3 before I went to work. Thursday, Jill's Dad and I drove her ride to get a remote starter put in that her boss got for her for Christmas. It's a nice little novelty that she's enjoying on cold days. We had another round of snow Friday evening but it wasn't as bad as the week prior. I went to lunch with Mia and her friends Friday. Lunch was fun. her friends were a little crazy and she skipped recess to go work on art with Scarlett. Vida joined as well. All in all, fun afternoon before going to work.

Saturday, I tried to catch the Chelsea vs Hull FA Cup match but the stream wasn't working. The Blues ended up getting the win so that was great. We did some grocery shopping before Mia's 4:30pm match against the Dynamo. I requested the girls arrive early so we could have a good team talk and get through some of the issues. I explained about how they need to hold their positions, communicate and PASS. Some got it, the the majority struggled. At HT, it was 0-6. We weren't able to get really any solid shots for a while but they were grinding and trying really hard. Jess was trying her best in goal but I was ready to get the kid on the field and score. Sadly. that didn't happen. They were all struggling with picking a position to stay in at times. Defense was problematic and offense wasn't spreading out. We had a few chances but in the end, it finished 0-10 again. Somehow, we're not in last place still with the one win still under their belt. The girls kept fighting till the end, but it wasn't enough. I'm starting to question my ability to coach indoor against these bigger club teams. We need practices or something before our next big game against a tough team. Luckily, my buddy is looking to see if we can get in where his Pewaukee soccer club trains. I feel like the majority of the parents would be happy with more practice. Speaking of which, he's looking at possibly having me redesign some kits for their club teams. I'd love to do it and I hope he comes through with getting me some time. Cecilia had her first match and I think she did pretty well. Angie is staying aggressive and Bella proved she prefers defense. Mia's got some work to do on staying aggressive. Averi and Scarlett never gave up and ran their hearts out. I hope we can get the problems fixed before the next game.

I may have an assistant coaching role for spring soccer with SC Wave this season. Actually, it would be a co-assist so the Cecilia's Dad can help out on days I can't do. Tomorrow, I'll talk to the head coach and see what we can work out. I think this team would be great for Mia and Cecilia. More soccer and the ability to grow with a team that's established would be a better fitting than NBAA where you get new players every year. Overall, it should be a pretty positive experience.

When we got home, Jill made an incredible dinner. Mediterranean gnocchi, chicken and air fryer zucchini. Mia tried escargot which was a bit weird. Jill was quite proud of her creation. She never gets to cook like this anymore and it's honestly like watching an artist paint. She's incredible. Mia and I played some Luigi's Mansion 3 before crashing.

Today, nothing exciting to report. Work was absolutely awful after 9pm. One of the 3rd shifter called out and I was stuck till 10:40 till our unfortunate ASL had to return to work. I felt terrible calling him after he worked a full early shift. Applied at a job Friday after I re-did my resume so let's hope this time I hear back.

This week is a busy one. I'm working on a sketch for Scarlett's birthday, I'm building football kits for Pewaukee-Sussex club and Mia's going to hang out with Vida for her birthday Saturday. I think they're going tubing at the Rock. I'm tempted to go and snowboard while she has fun. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Rise and Grind

Evening everyone. Quite the busy weekend with even more snow, so let's get right to it. During the week, nothing too exciting to report. Thursday was a normal day off for me. I started attempting to work with alcohol-based markers. Definitely not an easy medium to work with. Mainly because I think I may or may not have asked for the correct paper for it but we'll see how the next attempt goes. Hopefully I can figure it out. After I picked up Mia from school, we knocked out her homework and got to spend some quality time playing her favorite Switch game; Luigi's Manson 3. It's definitely a game you want to play with a friend as the challenges go on. Since Jill's not really a fan of video games, Mia settles for me :) We made turkey burgers with Jill before calling it a night.

Friday while at work, we got some serious snow. It picked up quickly as my shift went on. Certainly made my drive a nightmare and question if we'll have a game the next day...at 7:00AM!
5:30am came and we woke up early to get ready for Mia's game. I had parents concerned for the weather since we had received a healthy amount of the white stuff the night before. If we were going to cancel, I would have had to have done it the day before. Majority of the kids made it. The only two that didn't notified me prior which wasn't weather related. The game certainly wasn't one to remember. The girls lost pretty badly. Couldn't even pick up a goal unfortunately. EBU that beat us are a club that keeps the kids together from season to season so they clearly knew how to play. They haven't even lost a game yet this season. They were well organized and had no trouble beating us. We had a few close moments to score, but in the end, couldn't find the net. I need to figure out how to get the kids to stay in positions, not bunch up and PASS. They focus more on dribbling. Liv had a break away but her touch was too heavy and she couldn't get the shot off. Angie and Scarlett are showing improvement as well as Vida as a defender. She just has to work on her passing when the ball comes towards our end. Jill's parents made the early trek in the morning so Mia was happy to see them. Our next match is at 4:30 next weekend. Hopefully they can pull off a win or at least make some goals.

You'd think Mia would want to nap after wards, but she had some post-game energy which we used to help me shovel for a while. She ended up playing in the snow while I snow blown the driveway. She buried her legs in the snow, which was cute. After I pulled her out, we packed up our gear and went snowboarding. This time, I set up a couple PVC pipe rails so we could learn some grinds and slides. Mia figured out the FS 50/50 pretty quickly. Helped that a few months ago I had set up a rail for her to practice tricks on flat ground. She did a little smith grind as FS board slide as well. I realized way later when we got home I should have set up the rails on flat ground. Her board slides would have been better and cleaner but you know, you learn and figure things out. After a few hours of snowboarding, we went home. I ran to TJ's for some groceries, and Mia and I soon met up with her friend Scarlett and her sisters (and teammate) Angelina and older sister Sofia for some free ice skating. For the last 3-4 years, Mia and I have gone skating at Eble during Waukesha's JANBOREE where the public could skate for free for 2 hours. The girls had a blast. Mia was grasping hands with myself and Scarlett till they were comfortable skating without me. Her goal is to get better and it and I hope one day she does. Angie got better as the day went on and Sofia totally knew what she was doing. She wasn't feeling the best and I ended up taking Mia, Scarlett and Angie back to our house after the skating session was over while her sister and Mom went to the doctor. The girls were so excited to play with our animals and hang out. Mia and Scarlett went straight to the Switch while Angelina went through my art books looking at the stuff I've done. Everything impressed her and she picked mine and Jill's brain about literally everything. Art, photography, life etc etc. The girls were having so much fun that they requested I call and ask if it was okay if they stayed for dinner. Of course their Mom was cool with it so they excitingly had some pizza while Jill and I ate sushi. Sadly, our sub pump line had some water frozen which backed up in the corner of our basement with my beloved drum kit getting sprayed heavily with water. UGH. Luckily, we melted the pipe and things were fine. The kids ate dinner, played some more Switch, a little hide-and-seek and a whole lot of fun. Eventually, I had to talk the girls into going home. Mainly, because I think their Mom was probably missing them. It was quite the day that started at 5:30 in the morning. After I dropped the girls off, Mia, Jill and I crashed for the night.

I completely skipped the Chelsea vs Newcastle match to snowboard with Mia, which ended up being a good idea since they blew the game. This week, Mia's off Monday so we'll find something fun to do. Other than that, that's about it. Thanks for reading!

Soccer and Snowstorms

Evening! Quite a busy week over here to let's get to it. I spent a good majority of the week working hard on an intense baby Yoda (or better known as The Child) from the Mandalorian series. I honestly didn't think it would turn out as great, nor even get the attention and praise it got, but I'm flattered and humbled. I made 3 valiant attempts at doing it in color pencil on toned paper but it wasn't blending well and almost made me put my pencils directly into my eyes. The graphite sketch worked and I just kept at it blending and getting as much detail in as possible. The real hero was a 2H pencil that helped me achieve the darker darks to build the details up. All in all proud. Could have done better in areas, but I'm content.

Saturday, I watched the Chelsea vs Burnley match. Great 3-0 win. The highlight was Mia jumping on my lap to watch her fav Hudson-Odoi get his first goal. Awesome job for the youngster. Mia made her very first over easy egg for breakfast. Awesome job kiddo. We had a severe snow advisory for Southeaster Wisconsin that tapered off throughout the day but picked up closer to match time. All by two girls made the trek to Brookfield Indoor in the snow. Honestly, the drive wasn't great but we made it safely. As the kids started arriving and we got them warmed up and stretching, I noticed the Genesee Kickers weren't there. The ref gave them some time and sure enough, it was a forfeit. We won 5-0 and picked up 3 needed points. The best part was that we had an hour of field time to practice. The ref put 50 minutes on the clock and BOOM, we had a free practice till the next game. The kids were confused that we didn't have a team to play against but we certainly made the most of our time for practice. Coach Kevin ran a drill on one side and I did one on the other. He was doing some pass and finishing and I was doing 3 v 1 so the kids could learn to play into space and work on getting around the defender. I honestly wish I could have prepared for a last-minute practice more, but it is what it is. We took the last 30 minutes to scrimmage which was a big favorite. The girls started to show improvement with their passing as well as punting from the goalies. Mia's got some work to do on her endurance but all in all, the kids had fun. It was good to see all of them smiling. I can't thank the parents enough for making the drive including Jill's Dad Tom. He made the trek in the snow and luckily had fun watching us practice.

After wards, we had Cecilia over for a sleepover so we picked up some sushi at Wasabi and made it home. Not the best or worst sushi but the kids had fun. The girls played some Mario Kart, and watched a movie with popcorn before crashing. It's funny that they ended up hitting the bed early because they ran their butts off at soccer. It was Cecilia's first time playing as well as Elia and both did well. Anyways, the last time Mia had Cecilia over, they talked all night. This morning, they slept in a little bit and played before Cecilia's Dad picked her up. All in all, great weekend. This week, I'm going to start working on marker drawings with all my new markers and illustration paper and we've got our early match Sat.  We're supposed to get more snow this week so hopefully Mia and I can do some snowboarding again. That's about it for now, thanks for reading!

On a quick sad note, I was pretty bummed Friday when I found out the passing of drummer God Neil Peart. He was a huge influence on every drummer on the planet and will surely be missed.

Back to the Grind

Morning everyone. Normally, I'd write before crashing for the night after work on Sundays, but today I felt like getting that out of the way as I watched the 2nd half of the Chelsea vs Nott Forest match. So far so good! We had a great New Years Eve after I got home from work clinking glasses of sparkling juice, tossing our recycled confetti from the last 3-4 years (which is just cut up paper). I wanted to hit the bed early so I could watch Chelsea vs Brighton early in the morning. The game resulted in a draw sadly. Boo.

New Years Day, we had just enough snow to snowboard, like we did last year. The only exception was that Mia was in a far better mood last year on NYD when she first started snowboarding. We made a few laps on Orchard Lane's little hill just to warm up Mia to see if she still remembers it. I also busted out my board I acquired over the Summer. The thing rides well so I'm happy. Mia did really well and even rode switch (goofy stance) a few times and looked quite comfortable. She got upset because I didn't have a shovel to build any little jumps for her and after getting some snow in her pants, she wanted to head home. It was a frustrating morning to say the least.

She went back to school Thursday and had a short week. Friday, she was happy to see her amazing friend Scarlett again who's family had to put their dog down. I'm going to make my best attempt to draw a memorial sketch of their beloved dog. Friday night after work, I made tried hard to fall asleep, but I was too excited for our first indoor game.

Mia and I arrived around 9:30am. Jill stayed home due to a bit of an illness that had her down and out for the day. Her teammates arrived soon after. Vida's Dad Jorge helped out today which was great. He was a vital part to Vida, Angie and Scarlett's team in the Fall so I was happy to have him since Coach Kevin was traveling back from Florida with the fam. They gave us ZERO time to do any warm ups before the game so we had to stretch in the hall right before the previous game ended.

1st half started out great. Jessica was the first Dragon to put in a goal off an assist from Olivia. She got the 2nd goal as well. A thumping blast from center. The girls looked solid. Things started to slowly fall apart throughout the game and in the end, we lost 2-13. Mia made her first attempt at defense AND goalie. She shocked me when she went in goal but with the major goal difference, putting her in didn't make a huge difference. She actually did well and even made a great save. We have a lot to work and it kills me we can't do a weekly practice. The kids would benefit greatly but I can't keep asking for $75 from the parents to secure that time. PLUS the Sportsplex doesn't always have openings for practice. Ugh. There were some positives. First,  Jess blew me away as a forward. Always strong touches on the ball and has a great shot. Averi is a shy little defender and would shut them down in the corners by the boards. I look forward to seeing how she does as a forward next week. Alice, like always was good but just needs to stick with her position up front. Lastly, Olivia hustled her butt off on the field and I need to get her to understand the importance of playing defense. She really wants to score, but I know I can count on her in defense if she'd try. Vida started the 1st half strong but got confused the 2nd and never wanted to go back in again. I feel like her and Olivia could be rock stars in the back if they allowed themselves.

Mia and I picked up Panera for Jill and ourselves before heading home. We played some Luigi's Mansion 3 for a few hours, later went to Trader's and Mia made us tacos for dinner. Today, Mia's been hanging out with BFF Cecilia while Jill relaxes and tries to knock her illness out of her. Cici has been in Florida since the 21st of December so Mia was stoked to come over and hang out.

This week Mia has the Jumpstart Your Career thing where she gets to see different professionals which includes HAWS this year so she's super excited. We play at 6:30pm Saturday as well. That's all for now, thanks for reading!