Short Vacation

Good evening everyone. Been a busy week. Mostly solo, but we'll get to that later. Tuesday was election. It was also Jill's day off before she was leaving for Florida with Mia and her parents and bro. After we dropped off Mia, we voted and spent the rest of the day together. Something we haven't done since before Mia. We picked up some birthday presents for my parents as well as her Dad's, had lunch and before I knew it, it was time to go to work. At work, I heard from a variety of people their thoughts on the election. A lot thought Hilary had it, but we were all wrong. Mia also had her first day of her new dance class she was recommended. She said it was difficult but she did like it. That night I found out Trump was ahead. I had to get up with the girls early Wednesday morning so I went to sleep when Hilary was gaining momentum winning Nevada.

The next morning at 3:30am, it was confirmed that a TV reality host would be the new leader of the free world. Worse than that, was that the Republicans took pretty much everything including senate and house. Terrible steps that will surely lead us into big trouble. I talked to a customer who was exclaiming his concern that 30 years ago, we should have been taking climate change more seriously, and with the new president and his administration he will pick, it'll set us back another 40 years that we as a planet can't afford. Mia cried that morning "How could Donald Trump win? He's going to be mean to all the cities!!" I explained that it's important to remain kind to one another and not say anything mean that would hurt anyones feelings. Jill's family arrived around 4:00am and they were off to Mitchell International to fly to Florida for a short little 4 days visiting Grandpa Gangier celebrating his 90th birthday. I attempted to go back to sleep but just couldn't. The thought of Trump as president sincerely kept me awake. Eventually, exhaustion settled in and I was able to get some sleep. Later, I did some art, drummed and hung out with some co-workers till 3:00am. We played Super Smash bros, had some pizza/beers and watched their favorite show Rick and Morty. It was a lot of fun even though I totally suck at Smash.

The rest of the week, I took care of my in-law's cat, designed some Torrent and IB26 stuff and worked on a lunch note drawing for Mia  with my brand new 72 pack of Prismacolor soft core pencils. These are total high end and different than I'm used to. I have to find an awesome paper that will work well. The one I used with my note was mostly alright. I think I need a heavier paper. Overall, it was fun exploring what these can do. I've got a lot to learn with techniques but the end result wasn't too bad. Saturday evening, I went to a house warming party my good friend Nichole had at her new house. I could only stay for a little while because my girls were finally coming home. 4 days doesn't seem that long, but for me, it seemed like 4 weeks. I asked Jill how she'd do if she was separate from Mia from that long and she was that far away, and she simply said "no way I could do that". I don't think people think its as hard on us Dads as we may let on.
Back to normal this week. School tomorrow. I'm off Tuesday and working early Wednesday. Mia's got her friend Charlie's birthday party this Saturday and I believe Chelsea is back from International Break this week. FINALLY.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Call Mr. Plow, that's the name..

Good Evening. Hope everyone had a great weekend. The last time I posted in the blog, we were lacking some power/Internet in the house, but alas, everything is back to normal, and we even have a no light fixture installed in the kitchen (to replace the one that shorted out). Friday, Mia had school. After I gave her a hug and kiss goodbye, I registered for 4K, so she'll be staying at Smarty Pants in the Fall, and going to Orchard Elementary for kindergarten in 2016 (which is across the street from us). It was a sort of conundrum for us at first. Smarty Pants can be pricy, but the class size is smaller and the teaching staff is really nice. Mia of course, loves it there anyways. She painted me a picture of myself in blue.

Saturday, Jill had to work the Pet Expo in West Allis most of the day, so Mia and I watched the Chelsea vs Man City game. Man, was I hoping we could get a bigger gap and win that one. Rey's goal was great off a nice pass from Hazard. Mia went nuts when he scored, but quickly before the end of the first half, Silva snuck one in when Courtois was vulnerable. Ugh. We finished with a draw at 1-1. I had a feeling it would end like that. It was nice that some of the crowd at Stamford Bridge was nice to Lamps when he came on in the 77' minute. So, we're still ahead on the table. Hopefully can get 3 more points this weekend at Aston Villa. I saw today they made it official that Andres Schurrle is going back to the German league at Wolfsburg. He had some good moments in his career at Chelsea, so hopefully he can get back to form in a more familiar league. Mohammed Sallah is also departing for Fiorentina. Another guy who rarely got on the pitch. Good luck guys.

After the game, Mia and I went to the Pet Expo. Met all kinds of different dogs. She enjoyed watching the agility test for some of the dogs. They raced some fire fighters. One even beat one of the guys. Mia liked the K-9 police dog demo as well. We loved this super soft husky named Sven. Mia and I went to my bro's hockey game later. They won in a real close game. We saw him net the final goal when they pulled their goalie. Nice to see his team win every once in a while :P Last few games we went to, they weren't so lucky.

Sunday, I worked, and spent a lot of time snow blowing between last night and this morning. The drive home was insane. The freeway was fine, but the exit ramp was super sketchy. So lucky I made it home after dropping a coworker off at her house since her call literally, fell completely apart.

Other then that, that's about it. Need to get some art accomplished soon. We also have a lot of different things coming up. Our Florida trip is in June, so I need to look for some flights as well as book some things. We're only spending a day at Disney and need to make the most of it. That's all for now. Thanks for reading :)

Fantastic Florida

How's it going everyone? Good? Back to Wisconsin after a wonderful trip to sunny Florida. Real quick, her birthday party was great. She had a blast painting with her family and friends.
We spent a week in Sebastian, which is about an hour and a half (give or take) from Orlando. We went down a few years ago when Mia turned one, so we wanted to go back and visit Jill's Grandpa again. It was awesome. After a great successful flight, Mia picked up an Ariel doll from the Disney store inside Orlando Airport with some birthday cash and we were on our way to Sebastian. She was wonderful with her Great Grandpa. We went to the beach every single day we were there. Mia loved the ocean. One of my favourite moments was when she was washing her hands off from sand at Wabbaso beach, a small wave came in and surprised her little face. She wasn't mad, but the surprised look was priceless. I'm not going to go into what we did every day, but overall, it was a great trip. She survived the plane ride back. A little crazy at times, but did well. Already missing the ocean.

Missed a really really good and important Chelsea game the other day. We defeated PSG and are moving on to the semi-finals in the Champions League :) Wore my Oscar jersey today in celebration.

Today, Mia and I hung out with my bro Andy and Easton at the park in Hartland. The kids loved the playground and had a blast. Always nice to have some quality time with Andy. We don't hang out that often so it was long overdue. 

Jill's busy tonight, so after a lengthy nap, Mia and I are chilling and relaxing tonight. Finally gonna be able to watch Modern Family :) Going to play futsal Sunday night. It's been several months so I'm excited to play soccer finally. Gonna feel rusty, but hopefully can get a goal or two. 

Something that I've already noticed since Mia's turned 3, is that a phrase that's becoming more common these days. "I can do it by myself". She's been going to the bathroom solo more often (one day in Florida she peed in the toilet without peeing in her diaper). She's been trying to master getting her jacket on including zipping. Makes me proud. Somethings will take a while to master, but she's determined and that's awesome. 

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

The Threenager-Mia turns 3

Greetings. Quick run through before I go through my yearly summary of the last year of my kiddo's life. Saturday, I got up at 7:40am. Kick off for the Chelsea vs Arsenal game was 7:45am. Okay, I think a quick 10 min walk with Remi should guarantee me that nothing possibly could happen in the first 10. Boy, was I wrong. Came back from walking, and there were THREE goals and a red card (on Arse) BLUES AHEAD??! Luckily, I watched THREE more fantastic goals to sink Arsenal for the day. It was quite awesome to watch. Later, we had our taxes done, I went to an eye appointment and got our hair cut (Jill and I). At playgroup, her friends were talking about the movie "Frozen", so we ended up getting it over the weekend. What an awesome film! If you haven't seen it, check it out. Worth it. I think we've seen it 3 times now and now Mia sings the songs.

Okay, time for my reflection of the last year of Mia. From 2 years old to 3. Tomorrow, she turns 3 and boy this year went fast. It's funny to think that last year at this time, we were planning a birthday party, and she was decked out in an Abby (from Sesame Street) outfit. This year? She's obsessed with princesses. Lots of princesses. It's the girly girl in her. She loves the dresses, the shoes, hair accessories, etc etc etc At the same time, her love for soccer has strengthen over the year as well. She loves going to the park to kick the ball around with me, and from time to time, watch Chelsea games too. A few days ago, she got a pair of cleats, which she's stoked about, so maybe in a year or so we can try her out in a team setting with other little kids.

This year, she became best friends with some girls at a play group we started attending last September. It was probably the best decision I ever made with her. Gracie, Hannah and Omina are her new friends and it's absolutely adorable watching them play together. Hannah and Grace are coming to her birthday party on Saturday, so it should be a fun time. Her picky-ness about what she eats is still there, although she's been trying new things (peppers, strawberries and corn on the cob). Still loves pasta and grilled cheese. Been enjoying frozen yogurt as well.

Mia's been working on her potty training over the last year as well. Some days are bad, other days are good. We learned that you can't force it. Honestly. When they get it, they really get it and I think this year she'll master it. She's still singing a lot, been watching a lot of Disney movies and one time, tried ice skating. It's been an interesting year, that's for sure. Her attitude still is rough at times. She started saying "NO!" lately, which leads to a warning, which eventually turns into a teary time out. She remembered today that she shouldn't say that because it'll get her onto time out. Smart thinking kiddo. She tried a dance class, which was a disaster, so we're gonna hold off on anymore class-like settings for a little while. She gets nervous in big crowds of people both kids and adults and some times, she needs to wear her "hiding sun glasses" to relax. In fact, at the doctor today she kept them on the whole time till they checked her eyeballs.

In a few days, we'll be Florida-bound. Can't wait for the warm weather, the sand and ocean. I told Mia that we're flying and can watch movies on her little DVD player, and she said "WE CAN WATCH FROZEN!!??" yes, sweetheart. Anyways, thanks for reading, sticking around. Can't believe this kid is turning 3 tomorrow. Time sure does fly. Anyways, so there won't be a blog post next week. Thanks again for reading :)

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!! 

Ship in a Bottle

Greetings! Usually, I try to type up a new blog entry Wednesday night, but unfortunately, Jill's been pretty sick all week, so I had to skip last night. No big deal, right? Yesterday was Mia's birthday, but we celebrated on Saturday with both Jill's and my families at a hotel near by (that my in-laws were staying at). It was a fantastic time, despite Jill getting pretty sick later in the afternoon. Mia got lots of great gifts, got to play in the pool, play some games and overall, enjoy spending time with everyone. Later in the evening, she wanted to roam the hotel in search of kids, the elevator (which she calls alligator) and of course, a band in the bar to watch. Hopefully the weather improves soon because she got a lot of great outdoor stuff!

Yesterday, I took Mia over to visit one of my best buddies who recently told me him and his wife were expecting a little one. We haven't seen him since Mia's 1st birthday party, so a visit was clearly in order.  She was quite shy at first, but eventually warmed up to him. I thought she'd like his cats, but she wanted nothing to do with them. I later found out as soon as we left that she likes "little kitties, not BIG kitties Daddy". Sorry kid. I'll remember next time. Mia also visited with Grandma at work (gotta get that birthday cookie, right?) and later, I took her to the music store. Probably one of my highlights of the day (besides seeing my best bud) Mia was playing probably the most expensive electronic drum kit at the store. AND she was playing it quite well! We sampled different kits, and she even wore the headphones too. It was quite adorable watching her play with her little crown on. Before we left, she pointed and named the different brass and wind instruments. Other then that, that's about it for her birthday. Hopefully the next one, Jill isn't feeling so horrible, because she felt so bad that she couldn't do anything with Mia all day. A year ago, we were in sunny Florida. Could REALLY use some of that nice weather right about now. Mia saw her helmet in the garage yesterday and kindly asked "Daddy, bike ride?" so I took the bike out and we rode a bit in the cul de sac. Luckily, it wasn't too bad out :)

Lil Wayne portrait is coming together nicely. After this, I've gotta get moving on sports portrait. May have to start it sooner then later. This weekend, it's Easter on both sides of the family. Hopefully Mia can handle the drives. That's it for now! Thanks for reading

Florida Vacation-2012

Hello again. Gosh, it's been a while eh? Lots of interesting things/events have happened since my last blog post. First of all, my lovely girl Mia has turned ONE. Her birthday party was a huge success. We had a big turn out. Some friends and family sadly didn't make it but to everyone who did, we appreciate it. Mia got a lot of great stuff and a nice kick start to her college education. Sweet. The day after her party, we packed up (probably too much) and headed down to Illinois, and the NEXT day, we were flying out of Midway airport in Chicago to sunny Florida. My mother in law, Jill, Mia and I were flying out to Sebastian Florida (west side of the state) to visit Jill's grandpa. I haven't seen him since our wedding and he has yet to meet his great grand kid.

To be completely honest, we were actually pretty scared about the plane ride. Everyone was telling us "give her drugs, give her Benadryl, give her this, give her that". We really didn't want to result to giving her any drugs for the ear popping but brought something anyway. As the plane was taxing onto the runway, we were both sick to our stomachs. Thankfully there were a ton of kids on the plane (since we were landing in Orlando and they were all headed to Disney World) but we were still nervous. We gave Mia a bottle and she did REALLY well! Didn't fuss at ALL on the flight. In fact, she befriended a girl behind our seats (ironically named Mya). They even high-fived. Cute, right? She would say "hi" to everyone that made eye contact with he. We landed with no problems and off we were to get our bags and pick up the rental car.

On our 1 1/2 hour drive from Orlando to Sebastian, she slept a little bit but when she woke up, she was pretty pissy. A little Ted Leo & The Pharmacists courtesy of my iPod calmed her the rest of the drive, and when Grandpa G came out, he was SO excited to see Mia. We talked and relaxed till it was bed time for Mia.

The next day, we headed down to the Sebastian Inlet off the Wabasso beach. On our way I was fortunate to see a DOLPHIN just chillin in the waters! Beautiful 85 degree day. Perfect for playing at the beach & it was Mia's first time in the ocean. The calm waters were perfect for her first time and she really really enjoyed it. Walked straight in and could easily have walked around in the shallow waters all day. We took a break from all the fun to watch the pelicans fly around this bridge a bunch of people were fishing off of. It was cool watching a group of pelicans waiting for this fisherman to toss the scraps he was cutting off his haul of fish. Mia loved watching the birds land and take off. Later at night, we ate at favouite among Jill and her mom-Squid Lips. Once again, Mia got to watch pelicans AND seagulls flying around the dock as we waited for a table. These kids were feeding the big group of catfish by the dock as well. Mia loved it. They also tossed some food up in the air for the seagulls to catch.

Squid Lips was tasty. Great food, as well as Mulligans which we ate at later in the week. Grandpa G had got Mia her very own birthday cake too. Like the other cakes she's had for her birthday, she destroyed this one too. We all were laughing. So besides the ocean, Mia also really enjoyed going to this little place for kids called Splash Pad. You press the top of this poll, and water comes out different parts on the splash pad. Mia loved it. We had to go there at least three times. And once again, she would meet and befriend any kid playing there. On our last day, Jill and I got to drive Grandpa G's scooter up and down the street. It was a lot of fun. He told me I took off like a jackrabbit. I could easily see myself driving one of those in FL if we lived there. I hear there summers are pretty crazy hot. I don't know if that'd bother me.

Also on our last day we walked up and down the docks by the Indian River, went to an art walk and went to other side of Wabasso beach. Now this was the ocean people! Way better waves. Saw some skimboardng kids trying to catch a few waves (would have loved to try myself). We walked up and down the shore with Mia. She really loved the rushing waters on this side of the beach coming in. They'd hit her and she'd just crack up laughing. Totally one of my favourite parts of the trip.

The next day, we said our goodbyes and headed to Orlando. Returned the car, checked in the Hyatt (RIGHT inside the airport) and got dinner in the food court. There was a big fountain inside the airport that Mia couldn't get enough of. This kid really loves water! The next day, we had to get up at 4am for our early flight. Mia slept as we packed everything up. 6am, we boarded the plane and headed home. The airport was super busy by 5:30am. Just tons of people everywhere trying to get through security. Mia did very well again on the flight and even slept for an hour! We had a bunch of kids on this flight again and thy all were exhausted. She woke up eventually. We had some turbulence and Mia found it quite hilarious, like a roller coaster or something.

We landed and as we were getting off the plane, Mia befriended ANOTHER kid. This little girl named Savanna. Ah, that kid. They high-fived as we got off the plane. Jill and I both sighed in relief that we survived our very first trip as a family. Jill's Dad was super excited to see Mia when we met him at the baggage claim. Awww....

So within the last 10+ days, Mia has become more picky with what she eats. We're starting to have to hide some fruits and veggies in food she likes. Today she had some fruit but other times she spits out some of it. Blah. Mia also enjoys pasta now, as well as cake and ice cream. She's getting more independent with feeding. She'd prefer sticking the spoon in her mouth herself. She claps and waves now too.

So that, my friends was our wonderful Florida trip. Who knows when the next vacation is. Probably not for quite a while. All I know is, I'm missing the ocean right now! :)

Stove By a Whale

Holy Batman, it's February already! Lots & lots to do. First of all, a year ago I completed my 28 days of Art project and for the most part, was pretty happy with how everything turned out. Today, thankfully Jill & I were off and had a pretty great day. Put my vacation in for our Florida trip this morning. I'm pretty stoked about it. It's been almost 10 years since I've been to Florida (ironically, Jill was there too in the marching band in 2002) and this time, I'm not surrounded by large cartoon animals. Not that Disney World isn't a fun place to be, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it more when Mia gets older. No, this trip is all about visiting Jill's Grandpa in Sebastian. Yeah, I'm not too familiar where it is either, but from the map I recently looked it, it's on the Atlantic side of the state. Sadly, this is Mia's only great Grandfather. So I'm pretty happy she'll get to meet him. Hell, it's been almost 4 years since I've seen him, at our wedding. It's kinda weird that we're going down during Spring Break. Hopefully Mia's good on the airplane.

So earlier in the week, I was feeling pretty depressed. Work of course bringing me down. I don't know why. Makes it hard to even go in sometimes. "Why am I here? What difference do I make at this place? What would I rather be doing" Do people even get excited about work anymore? All that college preparation for the working world, and you don't get the "dream job"? Why? Will I ever get a better job, or am I doomed to be at this place for all eternity??! Sorta going on a rant here, but these are questions I've been asking myself lately. But as I read photographer and overall cool buddy of mine Andy Stenz's question of the week on his Facebook page, It made me feel slightly better. The question was "what makes you most happy?" And it couldn't be a person. So with that, I found three things that make me happy, and now, I'll add to it. Here's the list in no particular order :

My daughter's laughter/Smile

A Tall Guinness

Playing my drum set

Playing music live

The sound of a paint brush going across the canvas

"Biomusicology" by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

Photographing on a sunny day (Hawaii, New York, Milwaukee..it doesn't matter!"

Wisconsin's Fall

Oahu, Hawaii

New drawing pencils

The feeling of completing an art project

Playing hockey outside (even though it's been quite a while)

Getting tattooed

I could go on & on. Making this list got me through the day and hopefully the rest of the week. Thinking of the positives help keep away the negative feelings. If you ever feel stressed or depressed, I suggest doing the same thing :) Later