Turkey Break 2019

Greetings everyone. It's officially December which means every one's fully into the holiday spirit. Mia had a nice short week at school before Thanksgiving break. Wednesday, we roamed around the mall for fun, which she couldn't believe I'd let her do. She walked around Learning Express, Zumiez, the ornament stores, Claire's, Hallmark and that was about it. She unfortunately found out Justice at the Brookfield location closed down and some random and weird toy store opened up there. I say random, because it appeared the store was mainly weird and random junk piled up. Wasn't the best replacement, but Mia still enjoyed our time together.

Thursday was Thanksgiving at my parents house so Jill made two amazing stuffing dishes. One jalapeño cornbread and the 2nd one a savory turkey mushroom. Mia helped mince the mushrooms for that as well as peel and cut potatoes for the mashed potatoes. On top of all that, Jill even made macarons. Everything tasted amazing and we had a great time with family. On our way home, we stopped at Walmart to partake in the craziness. It looked like a damn flea market. Just merch everywhere, people grabbing whatever they could. Mia picked up the 2nd Lego Movie and Jill got a cheap pair of Stitch PJ's and that was enough.

Friday, we set up the Christmas tree as well as decorated a bit before I went to work. I went off to Mega Media Exchange and found one of the Switch games Mia REALLY wants. She'll be so stoked come Christmas.

 Saturday, I got up and watched the Chelsea vs West Ham match. Certainly didn't think it would end 0-1 against one of the worst teams in the league. The Blues played two players that haven't seen any action all season. Both struggled along with the rest of the squad. It was a rough sight. We can't afford to drop points to these kinds of teams. They got a draw against Valencia during the week so Lampard decided it was best to rest some of the crucial players over the weekend. They play again this week against Villa so hopefully it'll be a better result.

Later after a visit to Trader's, we went to Jill's parent's Thanksgiving festivities. Awesome food and overall great time with family including Uncle Tommy. We went home later, relaxed and Mia hit the bed late as Jill and I started preparing for Mia's Elf on the Shelf to arrive.

Today, she woke up excited to see what kind of excitement and mischief her elf got into. This week, I've got our Year-End Meeting for KT, Mia's back at school and we're celebrating Jill's Dad's birthday on Saturday. I have almost everyone registered for the indoor team and most kids have payed. Jerseys are to arrive this week so we'll have to set up a meeting day for that.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Up and At Them

Evening everyone. It's been an alright week with some added stress, so let's get right to it. Starting this week, Jill's able to work from home on my day off, which is nice. We're able to get some things done when possible all the while getting our own work done. For me, I'm looking at jobs, working on Mia's Christmas book and trying to get this indoor soccer team up and running. We picked up some little liquor bottles for Jill to experiment with some macarons for my parents birthday presents. She made Friday evening some Chocolate Kahlua macarons for my Dad as well as some Cherry Amaretto ones for my Mom.

The New Berlin Dragons Have all the players and now I'm in the process of getting all the money and funds for the team. We're going with a Rave Green jersey color with black socks and shorts. It'll look nice and hopefully I'll get everything in order so we can get the jerseys ordered. I'm just thrilled everyone ones to play but it's a bit stressful gathering everything.

Saturday, my brother Andy and I made plans to meet with his BFF at the Highbury Pub in Bayview to watch the Chelsea vs City match. We had to suffer through the Liverpool vs Palace match first. The pub was super packed with Gunners fans watching them struggle against the Saints, and surprisingly there were Palace fans watching the Liverpool match. They almost had them but Liverpool had a pair of ugly goals that got them the win. BOO! Chelsea was next. Great crowd of Blues fans and a handful of City fans as we watched a tight match. Sadly, they couldn't get the win but it was a great time. I don't make the Highbury that often with the fellow Chelsea fans, but we had some good fun cheering. Andy even got himself a free MKE Blues scarf. We wanted the pins, but they had nothing. Boo. It was my first time literally losing my voice at a football pub, but to cheer on our team was worth it.

While I was at the pub with Andy, Jill and Mia saw Frozen 2 and had a day at the mall. Later, the two did some reading while I worked on her book. I'm trying to knock out a page a day so we're not struggling at the end of the month. So much on my plate, so little time. We had dinner with my family at Red Robin for my parent's birthday celebration. Mia wanted me to tell the staff it was my Dad's birthday so they'd sing to him but I let it go. We had some annoying teens behind me slamming into my chair and making annoying noises so I wasn't exactly in the best mood.

Today, we did some grocery shopping and I had hoped to mulch some leafs but sadly the rider's battery was dead. Jill told me later her Dad tried to mulch with the rider but it didn't really make a difference. Ugh.

This week, Mia's got a short week of school with just Monday and Tuesday. Thanksgiving is Thursday so we'll have dinner with family at my parents. Jill will make her famous mashed potatoes and her new recipe for stuffing that's pretty awesome. Will we go get some Black Friday deals? Not sure, we'll have to see what's available.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Wreck it Turkey

Good evening everyone. Busy and enjoyable little break for Mia and the family (with the exception of myself working). Early in the week, I finally found a snowboard for Mia. On a whim, I decided to drive to the Play it Again Sports in Greenfield and luckily discovered a board perfect for Mia. I picked up a pair of matching boots too, so I imagine both were sold together. Cost a little more than I wanted to spend on it, but I wasn't going to keep looking. The guy behind the counter said kid sized boards don't last long at their store. They're just such a hot item for Christmas so I think Mia's going to sincerely love her present. Thursday morning I had a group art lesson. Added two new students to my group so we worked on drawing feathers. My other older student Micah worked on a pencil sketch of Lord Voldermort. She really nailed her sketch so I was totally proud of her. My other kids weren't totally stoked on their feathers but it was a good thing to start out with.  Thanksgiving morning was fantastic. We got to see Ralph Breaks the Internet which was pretty amazing. We had tickets to a 10:15am show so we picked up some breakfast food at KT and made our way to the Ridge. The movie was just such an amazing sequel that has me wondering if it's better than the original. That's not always the easiest to say but all three of us really liked it.

Later after the movie, we went home and Jill made her infamous mashed potatoes before we drove to my parent's house for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a great time and everything was tasty. Friday, we did some painting on the cabinets before I went to work.

Saturday, I watched a very frustrating Chelsea vs Spurs match. They struggled everywhere and unfortunately ended their unbeaten streak. They have a Europa match this week so hopefully they can pull off a win. Later, we took my parents out for their birthdays to Big Tuna. Had the best sushi. They always are good so it was a nice dinner.

Today, we set up the Christmas tree. Mia enjoyed going through all the different ornaments and when I got home, I noticed she set up her Christmas village. Always cute. Over the weekend, she had to complete a science project over the weekend, and hers consisted of chemical reactions when you mix liquids together. Hopefully she wrote her report correctly. This week, super stoked for Conan O'Brien on Friday. I've been looking forward to this for quite a while.  I think we're grabbing a bite to each before and Mia's having a sleepover. I'll work on her book throughout the week as well and hopefully can find myself a board at some point. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Turkey Day 2018

Evening everyone. Busy week leading up to Thanksgiving, which isn't anything new. Mia had school just Monday and Tuesday which is nice for her. Wednesday I was off like normal so I was asked to watch her friend Olivia and her bro Gavin for a few hours. Mia was super stoked to see her longtime BFF from pre school. They played Monopoly Jr and in her room throughout the day while Gavin and I played PS4. We had a good time. Later, we had some dinner while Mia completed the project she started at Olivia's. Thursday was Thanksgiving at my parents house. The kids ate in the screened in porch while we ate at the table. Totally new thing for Mia, but for the most part, she enjoyed the experience. I think Auntie Ashley stayed out there with them. Anyways, I couldn't stay long and had to work 2-10. Not an exciting shift, but busier at times during those peak "early Black Friday" shopping moments.

Friday I was off, so we did some much-needed yard work before going to Thanksgiving round #2 at Jill's parents house. The weather was perfect and we got a lot of leaf-raking accomplished. Mia took a cute little reading break in the hammock from time to time while helping. Later, we went to Jill's parent's house. I'm sure glad (as I imagine Mia is too) that we don't have to make the trek down to Illinois anymore. So much more convenient only having to drive 15-20 minutes to their house in Waukesha. Anyways, we had fun, filled up on turkey and overall enjoyed the day with everyone.

Saturday, I met up with my brother and we went to The Highbury to watch the Chelsea vs Liverpool match with his friend Brett. Tight game, but it ended like I predicted with a draw 1 to 1. Great atmosphere celebrating the equalizer with all of 25+ Chelsea fans in the pub. Totally outnumbered the Liverpool fans. Later, I met up with Jill, Mia and Leanne when they got back home. We watched a movie after some dinner before hitting the bed.

Sunday, we spur the moment decided to go to the Oconomowoc German Christmas Market. Lots of cool hand-made items and tasty food. Had to go back to work today so didn't get to enjoy it too long. Mia wasn't digging the long line to meet Santa so we didn't stick around more than an hour and half.

This week, I have much to accomplish. Lots of design work, work on Mia's book and finish Jill's Dad's picture. We've got Cecilia staying over this Saturday as well so it should be a fun weekend.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Party All Weekend

Good evening everyone. Busy busy weekend keeping up with Mia's social life, but we'll get back to that soon. Wed after school, Mia was so excited to tell me that she finally got to play an instrument at music class. She played the xylophone for the first time. As a special little surprise, I told her that I'd take her to Guitar Center to play on the electronic kits. She loved doing that when she was little. We were pretty much the only ones there so it was nice having the drum room to ourselves. She experimented on all kinds of kits and had a blast. We moved over to the acoustic guitar room and she checked out the guitars and ukuleles. Later had dinner before bed time. Love my days off with her. We had a great time.

Friday we had the first snow. Not a much of it, but she loved walking to school in it. She was super excited for her Saturday full of parties. I caught a bit of the Chelsea vs West Brom match (4-0) before we had to go to the party. 1st off was Charlie's. She's got an amazing friendship with her (Charlie gave her a BFF choker necklace Friday) so Mia was excited...except she's totally afraid of Chuck E Cheese. She was keeping an eye on him when he'd pop out every once in a while. I held hers and friend Ryan's tickets in my pockets while the kids racked up tickets. They all had a blast. Cecilia did the horse race game to distract herself from the scary Chuck E as well. Charlie loved the gift and Mia was glad she got to have fun with her and her school friends. Later, I took Mia and Cecilia both home before the 2nd party. Ellahrose.

We picked up Cecilia (her Mom was busy with company) and took them to the party. They had a big bounce house and everything was Descendents theme. Picked them a few hours later and brought back to Cici's house. Her Mom invited us in to hang a bit while her friends made this traditional Venezuelan dish. Mia continued playing with Cecilia while Jill helped the ladies. I drank with the fellas before we left about 7:30pm. Cecilia's Mom Andrea has some of the nicest friends and has always been very hospitable. We had a lot of fun. Mia and Cecilia are planning an epic sleepover on Dec 2nd so the next two weeks, the kids will once again, plan this event. Later, we made tacos for dinner before watching Elf.

Sunday, Jill and Mia worked on one of Jill's biggest talents: creatively baking macarons. It was fun to watch the two work together on some delicious treats. Later before I had to go to work, Mia and I relaxed together and did some art. My favorite part was watching her sing to Less Than Jake, Tegan and Sara and others. She's got the most beautiful voice that I rarely hear sing so it was a little treat for me.

This week is a short week for the diva. School Monday and Tuesday. Wed she's off and she's hanging with long-time friend Olivia and her brother for a few hours. Thanksgiving is Thursday so I'm working 2-10. Off Friday to spend time with Jill's family. Should be a busy but enjoyable week, along with working on her Christmas book. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Turkey Day 2016

Good morning everyone. I need to jet through this post as quickly as possible. I've got way too much to do today. Thanksgiving week was pretty busy. Mia had a short two-day week that finished with a fun pajama day. Wednesday, we spent the day together. Just Mia and I. First thing Mia wanted to do was wander around the mall. WHY. So we went to Mayfair. Later, we donated some food to the Feeding America people at Pick n Save and who was there collecting the goods? None other than Rosco, the dog mascot from the Milwaukee Admirals. Mia got a picture from him and thought he was pretty cool. Later, we came back home. Mia was playing around with my drums. I taught her how to keep a straight beat with the floor tom and snare, playing "We Will Rock You" by Queen. Her friend Olivia messaged Mia and the girls hung out at Olivia's house. Mia played for a while before we had to go, have dinner with Jill and go see Moana.

The movie was absolutely incredible. We've been looking forward to it for a long time. The art, the story, the music score, the characters all were perfect. Thursday morning, I went to work the early shift. After that nightmare was over, we went to my parents house for Thanksgiving. My half-bro drove in from Michigan to surprise my Dad (to celebrate his bday) Dinner was great and the next day, I had to work again 6am-2pm and we did round two Thanksgiving at my in-laws. Another fun time that ended with some games. Mia didn't like not "doing well" at Uno and probably was too tired (Jill said she woke up way too early that morning). Saturday, we set up the old tree (which the cat later knocked down and broke some ornaments) while watching the Chelsea game. Great win 2-1 for the Blues. Love when they beat a rival club. Jill had drove down to Illinois for lunch with some friends that were in town so it was just Mia and I. We met up again with Olivia and hung out at the park. My friend Nichole and her boy came out to play as well.

Sunday, we went out and got a new tree. Our old one had seen better days and we needed a replacement. It took some time, but we settled on one. We did some birthday party shopping for two back-to-back parties in the next coming weeks as well as getting some gifts for my nephew, Alex.

This week, I'm working on Mia's extra special Christmas present from both Jill and I. It's going to take a ton of work. Mia's got her friend Noelle's party this weekend. Easily, the closest we've ever had to travel for a birthday party. Mia may walk there actually. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Fun With Friends

Good morning everyone. Hard to believe Thanksgiving is just about here. Last week was an intense one for Mia. She returned back to school on Monday only to receive 15 sheets of HOMEWORK! Oh em Gee. Luckily, she didn't stress out about it, and even though she didn't have to do it all in one night, she did anyway. She didn't want to get behind and conquered it all. For the most part, homework for her is just repetitive sheets all very similar. Write this out, rhyme words, etc. She also has to read through sight words and poems every day. Seems daunting for a kindergartner but she seems to handle it just fine. I was off Tuesday and worked early Wednesday morning. Strange schedule, but it was nice to spend time with Mia on both days. Unfortunately this week, she got sick (along with Jill). Thursday, she didn't sleep much but got herself to school. We had told her that if she didn't feel good enough to stay at school, she could go to the office and have them call. She apparently was too afraid and instead, drew some pictures that said "Mom Dad, I don't feel good". The other one said "I am miserable".
Felt so bad.

She didn't make it to school Friday and took the day off to try and knock out her sickness. Her goal was to be better enough for her new level dance class and her friend Charlie's birthday party. Mia woke up super excited that we had snow in the grass. She wanted to play in it, but A-there was too little of it, and B-she had dance to get ready for. She made it to dance and really liked it. She's mentioned that its harder than her previous dance class, but she seems to like it all the same. We got home and she changed into a dress and was off to her friend Charlie's 6th birthday party. She was joined with the majority of her classmates at a fancy dress up party. When we walked up the driveway, girls ran out the door to greet her. One gave her a huge hug and they all asked "ARE YOU FEELING BETTER MIA???!!" All remembering that the previous day, Mia didn't make it to school. They did nails, make up, hair, jewelry and a fashion show. All things a Dad would excel at. I helped the the girls tie on their necklaces and was asked by Birthday girl Charlie to help judge the fashion show. They had parfaits, pink lemonade and danced like crazy. I think what was really nice, is during hot potato (or their version was pass the crown) when a kid went out, they weren't upset. They played and danced around while the remaining girls continued. Mia was the last one to leave the party. She (and Charlie) didn't want to split, but I reminded her that she is off Wednesday from school as well as her friends are and that maybe they can hang out. Charlie was Mia's first new friend when she started kindergarten. In fact, her first day they became friends. She would tell us all about her, and apparently Charlie would tell her parents about Mia. It's cute.

Later, we met up with my parents and got some Blaze Pizza for my Mom's birthday. My Dad was sporting his new tattoo (first one in over 40 years). He tries to put up a front that it doesn't hurt but he's not fooling me :) Mia, Jill and I watched Finding Dory till Mia fell asleep.

Sunday I got up and watched the Chelsea/Boro game. Great game. Tricky one but they got the win and are on top of the table once again. Boro played really well, but Costa got the best of Valdes with a quick little kick on an open side. Pedro almost doubled the lead but ended up smacking the crossbar. It's been great to see Chelsea playing so well and I hope they can continue the momentum.

Today, I'll complete my 50th picture for Mia. Haven't decided what I'll do yet, but it should be good. She's got a short week this week and I'm working back to back early shifts on Thanksgiving. Have a great holiday everyone and thanks for reading! :)

Turkey Fest

Good morning. Hope everyone got to enjoy their long weekend. I had Saturday off, but we'll get back to that later. Mia had a fun week at school. She learned all about the first Thanksgiving and had a feast at school on Wednesday. They watched one of those Peanuts movies with Snoopy and the gang as well. When I went to pick her up. she had on a headband that she made complete with feathers. She had a blast. Later, Mia and I hung out with my Dad for his 69th Birthday. He enjoyed his Chief (their dog) shirt and the brownies I picked up. Mia was extra sweet to him for his day. Later, Jill and I surprised Mia with tickets to see the premier of The Good Dinosaur. It was beautifully done but maybe a little long for a kid who was up since 7:45am. She needed a nap and at times, was distracted by that. She liked it though. Pixar really pushed the envelop with the art on this one. Everything looked like a live action movie. The trees, willows and water looked so real. It was incredible. It was a nice little family outing before the girls got the long weekend.

Thursday, I had the early shift like I do every year. 6am-2pm. We were pretty steadily busy throughout the day. I just wanted the day to end so I could enjoy family time. Later, we went to my parent's and joined my sister and brother's family for Thanksgiving. It was fun. Friday, nothing too exciting. Worked at 2pm. Jill and Mia went to a cookie sale event at the hotel in Pewaukee, and later a craft fair. She got her face painted like Rudolph. It was cute.

Saturday I had the day off. Finally. We went to visit with Jill's family for their very first Thanksgiving in Wisconsin as new residents. It was great. Good food and delicious pie. Sunday morning, I got out of bed at 5:30am for the Chelsea vs Spurs match. I tried to remain quiet not to wake anyone. To my surprise, 15 minutes into the first half I heard a little voice next to me. "Daddy?" "Mia, what are you doing up so early?" "Well, I said the other day I wanted to watch the game with you" So we did. We watched the rest of the score-less first half together, as the sun was rising. It was a special morning for us. She never gets up that early and it was just her and I. by ourselves. The only thing that would have made that moment better, was if Chelsea would have scored and won. Instead, it was a draw. Mia and I went out at half time to walk Remi. I carried her shivering body in my arms as we quietly walked the dog before the start of the 2nd half. We brought him back in and she promptly decided it was time to wake up Jill. She was less than enthused to be up that early on a Sunday. Oh well.

For some reason, Chelsea started Hazard as a striker over Costa. Apparently, his attitude has been rough and JM figured Hazard could get the job done. He's an attacking midfielder that hangs on the left so it was odd they'd put him front and center. He's played the number 10 spot before but it wasn't a major improvement. Yesterday, he did alright but just couldn't find the net. Begovic was superb in the net. Fabregas, I'm ready to see leave. He didn't do squat again, and just seemed lost at times. I don't know what the January transfer window is looking like at the moment, but it wouldn't surprise me if he left then or at the end of the season.

This week, try to start some new art, and watch the game Saturday. Last week, I started and completed a cool graphic for The Flood that turned out real nice. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

The Feast De Le Resistance

Good morning everyone. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend. Wednesday, our new furnace was installed!! YEAHHHH! Mia and I spent most of the day hanging out at the house while the two fellas worked on installing it and updating our pipes and heat line. The new furnace is very quiet and smaller, which is great. When the guy fired it up, it had that new smell, and Mia yells out "IT SMELLS AWFUL, THIS GUY IS CONTRIBUTING TO AIR POLLUTION!" I just about died laughing. Thanksgiving morning, I worked 6am-2pm. We got pretty busy after 9am, but when 2pm came, I was so stoked to go home and not come back till Monday afternoon. We had a great Thanksgiving by my parents. Mia played very nicely with everyone without the whole sassy attitude that she gets from time to time.

 Friday morning, we were on the road and off to Illinois for the weekend to visit Jill's family. Mia was mostly good in the car, and we had another great 2nd Thanksgiving with them. This will most likely be the last one we have in Illinois since they'll be moving up here come Spring 2015. It was a little different sitting at the table. One person was missing. A person I grew accustom to seeing every Thanksgiving. Jill's beloved grandma who passed away this year. No one mentioned it, but it was strange for me. Saturday, Jill's friend Whitney came over. We chatted during the Chelsea vs Sunderland game (ughhhhhhh) Mia helped decorate Jill's family's tree, and we enjoyed the strange, but nice weather outside. It was in the upper 40's. Later, Mia helped bake some Christmas cut-out cookies.

Sunday, we had a birthday party to get to, so we packed up in the morning and left. We went to Jill's co worker's daughter's 1st birthday party. It was Frozen themed, and everything was quite adorable. Mia made a couple of ornaments and played pin-the-nose-on-the-Olaf. Arabella (the baby) looked adorable, and made out like a bandit. Her Dad will have lots to put together :P  Sunday night, we did the traditional activity of setting up the Christmas tree and did some decorating. The living room looks very nice, and Mia's Christmas tree looks great. Hard to believe the holidays are here already. Lots to do, but every time I get stressed, I look at that gleefully happy smile on Mia who can't wait for Christmas. 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

Rabbit Heart (Raise it up)

Hello friends. Another quick one. It's getting late, and I've gotta fold some laundry before heading off to bed. Mia had some gnarly molar teething and went to sleep a little while ago. Not fun. Anyways, here's a quick run down on how the Thanksgiving festivus went. After working a very busy day, I met up with my family for dinner. Before hand, my oldest brother, my nephew, my sister and my Dad kicked the ball around. It was a lot of fun, and good practice for ME for the next game I can get in. (HOPEFULLY THIS SUNDAY) Dinner was amazing, desserts were super tasty. Mia thought her cousin Alex was the coolest kid and would give him a hug every once in a while. The next day we headed off to Illinois for round two, Jill's familia. Once again, awesome dinner but this time, Mia slept straight through the meal. Right on the floor. Poor kid was tuckered out from running around during the day. It was quite weird not having her next to either Jill or myself eating. Mia got really into taking pictures with our Nikon. She'd say "picture Grandpa, cheeeeese Grandpa" and do that with everyone in the room, including Remi the dog. She just may be showing signs on what she wants to do after high school.

Today, Mia and I watched my lil bro play some pick up hockey. Of course she had a blast. We soon headed by Jill for a quick visit, then Grandma, THEN my Dad just in time to watch a very frustrating game between my Chelsea FC and Fulham. Way too many chances blown by the Blues. They've got to get their act together and win this Sunday against West Ham.  Now that the Stamkos picture is complete and in my Dad's possession (he surprisingly loved it) I continued work on Mandi's family-inspired tattoo. Did some good work yesterday and a little today on it. Once I get the scorpion done and the rest of the zodiac signs, I'm going to take my sweet time on the lettering and numbers to make sure everything looks real tight and smooth.

This weekend-Breakfast with Santa at my old high school and a Christmas party later. We're both stoked for the party because it's with a group of friends we haven't talked to or seen since Mia was born. Sad,  I know but a kid really consumes your life. We don't have a lot of time to spend with friends  unfortunately. We barely see each other, but hopefully things will change some day. Like I said, hopefully I'm playing Sunday night. Keep the fingers crossed. Thanks for reading :)

In Vein

Evening folks. Going to make this one as quick as possible. I gotta get up at 5:30am to take my faithful buddy Remi out for a walk before working the zombie shift at 7am.  Afterwards, it's Thanksgiving dinner with my family (super excited by the way), plus celebrating my parent's birthdays. Speaking of which,  successfully completed my Dad's Stamkos picture. My final thoughts on it, is that it's an acceptable attempt at a rather tricky picture. I'd post it here, but had issues with the Nikon D70 shooting a picture. This was my third hockey picture. The previous two were of my two brothers. Both turned out pretty good. So this one, I had some tough issues getting the sizing just right. It still feels a bit compacted on paper but I hope my Dad likes it. The detail is defiantly there and overall, it's passable.  Should be fun seeing everyone Thursday after work. May even get to kick the ball around with my bro's if the weather is decent.

In other news, my brand new Samsung Galaxy sII came in the mail the other day. Activated it with Mia  at US Cellular. Nice people working there. Mia was extra awesome and behaved quite well. Lately she's been letting her shy guard down some. Been saying "hi" more often to new people. Anyways, the phone is pretty great. Taking time to get used to a full-touch Android smart phone since I've used real basic stuff for 10 years. My first phone played "oh Canada" for it's ring tone and I thought THAT was real cool. Haven't put a lot of apps on it yet. Just in the experimental stages with the awesome device. The camera is real great too.

Heading to Illinois this weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday. Hopefully the following weekend I can hit up the indoor soccer place and play a game. Speaking of soccer, totally bummed Robbie, De Mateo was axed from Chelsea FC today and replaced with a douche from Liverpool. The team lost a fantastic manager and I surely hope this new temporary manager can get the team's act together and win some games!!

Okay that's all for now. Short and sweet. Off to bed. Have a great holiday everyone.