End of 2016, Hello 2017

Good morning everyone. Well, what was supposed to be a relaxing rest of my week while the girls were gone turned into a freezing disaster. Last I left you, I was taking the girls with Jill's Dad to Midway airport. When I came back, the temp in the house read 46 degrees. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Long story short, we had a guy come look at it the next morning and the very next day, he replaced the central board for the furnace costing over $500. Not exactly what I'd want to be putting out right after the holidays. From Tuesday till Thursday evening, I had no heat in the house. I can't tell you how incredibly cold it was in here. I had no motivation to do any art because I couldn't hold a pen or pencil. I didn't really want to go to work because I knew there was a possibility I'd come home to a house with no heat. Luckily, he had it working by Thursday night.

Saturday morning, I watched Chelsea triumphantly beat Stoke 4-2. What a great way to end the year. Later, Jill's Dad and I met and drove to get the girls. Took us way less time to get to Midway this time so we had a lot of time before they even left Ohio to land in Chicago. Midway may be one of the least exciting airports I've been in. Nothing really to do. No shops to look at or anything. Just a kiosk that sells over-priced sandwiches. When they finally arrived, we got their bags and were gone. On 294 in Chicago, we got a flat. My father in law must have hit something rough, and we were stranded for about an hour. He couldn't get the tire off as poor Mia was standing out upset exclaiming "we are gonna miss NEW YEARS!!"

The guy arrived and was able to blast the bad tire off wit ha 4x4 piece of wood. He got the donut on and we were on our way. Made it home by 10:30, all very exhausted. We watched the ball drop and the star rise (in Chicago) and that was it.

2016 was a busy year. I have never been more busy graphic design-wise doing double duties with both the Milwaukee Torrent and later Ian Bennett's clothing line. I have been drawing a ton for Mia completing a lunch note sketch every day. They range from mildly easy to pretty damn difficult. It's been great to use this daily routine to get better at drawing. Speaking of art, I was very fortunate this year to start and complete my 1/2 sleeve Hawaiian-themed tattoo. I love this piece and would go back to my very talented artist in the future. Mia graduated 4K and started Kindergarten. She made a ton of great friends and somehow, started liking boys again (specifically ONE boy from preschool has her heart) She got to travel twice this year via plane. Florida and recently Ohio. Mia enrolled in a tap/ballet dance class that she loves and did some art classes over the Summer. I got to see The Falcon and meet one of my all-time favorite musicians. With all of the positives, there were definitely some negatives in 2016. Our dishwasher broke, the control with in the furnace broke. Trump became President, Chelsea had a really bad 15/16 season and a slew of amazing musicians and actors passed away. Hoping for a better 2017.

My goals are simple: More art. Better shape. This week, today is Mia's LAST day before she goes back to school. I've got a Flood meeting Saturday. Other than that, that's about it. Have a great week and thanks for reading over the year!

The Year 2015: A Reflection

Good evening. It was quite a busy week for the holidays. Mia and I spent some off-time with her old BFFs Hannah and Gracie at The Big Back Yard. It was a lot of fun watching the kids chase each other  around as I caught up with their Mom. Thursday, I was also off and we went over to my brother's house for dinner. It was a lot of fun, and Mia played very nicely with the boys running all over the kitchen. The food was tasty and the gifts were great. Mia fell fast asleep on our way out. Long day for the kiddo.

Friday morning was Christmas. She opened up all of the gifts including the custom bag Jill got from a HS friend, just for Mia. I got some tattoo money towards my half-sleeve as well as some cool little hockey shirts/hoody for Mia to wear. Yeah, strange but they're cute and Mia is excited to wear them. It was very sweet before Mia started to open gifts, she immediately gave the necklace we picked out for Jill first. Mia really is giving and it shows. My in-laws plus family came over for a brunch and it was very tasty. It's always nice when the two sides can hang (missing my brothers and their family) Friday night at work was an awful evening, but I survived and came home to two very sleepy ladies. Long day for them I guess :P

Saturday morning, my brother and I got up nice and early and drove down to Bayview to the Highbury Pub to catch the Chelsea vs Watford game. It was really fun and super crowded. They had every Boxing Day game on, and there were a LOT of games. 4 TV's at the bar level and our game was in the back. Thankfully, the CFC game was near the free food, so that was nice. Getting a beer was difficult though. The game ended in a draw at 2-2 but we had the best time. The atmosphere was intense, and I look forward to going again sometime. Chelsea plays Man U Monday morning. I'm looking forward to that one, but will watch at home.

So here's a quick end of 2015 review. It was a very busy year for the family and a lot of positives and some negatives. I'm going to bounce around a bit on the year so bare with me. Here are some of the highlights for Mia the Diva. She completed 3-K and moved on to 4-K that she's currently in. It was a big step from one day a week school to 3 days a week 4-K. She's doing really well, and enjoys seeing her former teacher in the halls from time to time. It's a new challenge, and at times it's difficult for her, but I think she's doing really well. For some reason, she's really exciting for kindergarten. Anyways, Mia took a few extra curricular classes over the summer including soccer and a swim course. Soccer was tough (since they made the kids play indoors for some reason) but she liked it most of the time. Swim, she also enjoyed. I wasn't allowed to watch except the last day. She seemed to know what she was doing.

We took an amazing family trip to Florida to Disneyworld for a day, as well as visiting Mia's only living Great Grandparent. She had the most fun of her life at Disney despite the on-again-off-again rain. She met every princess and really took a shine to her Great Grandpa. It looks like we may be going next year now in 2016. She's getting way more into asking questions about things (which is great) and can write her name, letters and numbers pretty well. She's great with scissors and glue too. She's got more friends then ever and has been invited to several birthday parties over the year. Her stories about her friends are always entertaining.

Now onto myself. It's been a busy year for me. I somehow, picked up a 2nd job working as the Graphic Designer for Milwaukee's new professional soccer team, The Milwaukee Torrent. It went from a quick little design in Photoshop to see if the fans liked it, to a surreal moment that they (owner) liked the kit and are using and selling them right now. I can't wait to get my custom one in when the team orders their gear. I've been doing their graphic as well as photographed their tryouts as well. The job, (despite the no pay) has been a fantastic distraction from my usual mind-numbing and exhausting shifts at the gas station. I'm constantly thinking of new ideas to share with the owner, as well as The Flood, their supporters group. I've been active with those guys as well, designing the decals, scarf and even will be the mascot in 2016 at the games. Once again, both jobs keep my mind off the other one.

Did some art this year. Jill and I went to Paint-Bar in Delafield and completed some nice pieces (along with my bro and his wifey) Other than that, I've been doing some little traditional art here and there for Mia to pack in her school lunch. Maybe a Monster High character here or a Shopkins there. Whatever surprises her and makes the kid happy. With Mia gone 3 days a week, I've fortunately been able to concentrate on some drumming and some soccer skills at the park. At least once a week (weather permitting) I'd hit up the park and work on bending the ball. Same thing with drumming. Once or twice a week, I'd get to pound on the drums and try to keep whatever skills I have, sharp.

In other exciting news, in 2015 we adopted a kitten. Marie. She's a big ball of sass, but we love her. She was sort of a surprise pick up for us  after Mia's successful couple days raising money for the HAWS shelter. This did so well. Lemonade, cookies and dog treats. The kid raised over 200 dollars and with the power of social media and a very proud Grandma, she got into the local paper. We couldn't have been more proud of the Mia's Sweets & Treats founder. So we've got a kitten and Mia loves her to death. She sort of gets along with Remi. They tend to compete for treats/attention from time to time. Remi likes to remind Marie that he's number one!

I got to watch Chelsea take the EPL title. What an exciting season it was for the Blues. Stayed in 1st place the entire season. Can't say the same about them now, as we fight to get out of 15th place. JM got sacked and we've got a new manager. So much needs to be done so we can climb back up again.

I got to attend a concert this year. Maritime's record release show. Amazing night and it was fantastic getting to talk Davey and Dan like I always would do when I'd see them live. The new record is great as well.

For some reason, we went to a boat load of movies this year. Inside Out, Cinderella, Good Dinosaur, Minions just to name a few. Mia loves going to the movies and it's a special time when Jill and I can take her.

Goals for 2016
Get in better shape (my endurance has improved)
More drumming
Complete more traditional art pieces
Can't wait for the ladies to get back from Ohio. Missing them both like crazy. The house is far too quiet. That's all for now. Thank you for reading this year :)

Hold That Thought

Greetings everyone. It's hard to believe that the Christmas and holiday season is complete. New Years Eve nearly here too. Man did the year fly. Me, Jill and Mia spent some time last weekend  visiting Jill's friends and family. It's always difficult trying to see everyone before we had to quickly head back for Christmas Eve with my familia. Mia got a LOT of gifts this year, and enjoying opening them too. Her typical response was "ohhhh MY GOODNESSSSSS!!" Sometime she'd get so excited and say "YAYY MIAAAA!!" I absolutely loved her reactions. I'm not going to go through everything she got, but she deffinately liked everything. At one point, she said "no more presents". We may have to adjust when she gets everything in future Christmases because like some kids, she was Christmas'd out. My nephew too, I heard was pretty spent on opening gifts. I guess there can be TOO much of a good thing sometimes.

Today, Jill, Mia and her familia went back to Illinois till New Years when I go pick them up. It was a pretty rough leave because I had to carefully load a sleeping Mia into her car seat and while slowly walking down to the car, I thought how much I'm going to miss this girl (AND Jill). I'm missing both of them right now. I was able to take down the Christmas tree tonight and position Mia's new castle/tent she got. This sucker is huge and fits pretty decent in the corner of the living room. Mia even gave everyone in the house a tour of the inside of the tent, grabbing each of our hands. Adorable.

Didn't accomplish any art today, despite having some projects to start/complete. Tomorrow morning after my walk with Remi, I plan to spend some quality time with my drum set before work. Looking forward to it. Usually rusty on the first day back, so we'll see how it goes.

Actually ended up spending some of the night looking for a spring 2013 adult soccer outdoor league to play in. Not an easy task, however it's still winter so there really isn't much info. I worked a Saturday morning one time and there were some people that stopped in on their way to a game (I'm not sure where or who they played for) but I really want to figure it out. The second session for Brookfield Indoor is out and every time I look at it, I think "why even bother trying". Sad effort right? I dunno. I really really wanna play, but don't want to drag the family out to be disappointed like myself. I'll keep trying I guess.

That's all for now. Have a safe New Years Eve friends :) Thanks for reading :)