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 :)

Heartthrob

Hey all. Hope everyone's enjoying their week. Over the weekend, my sister had her wedding shower, while my Dad, my bro and I went mini golfing. Let me tell you, it probably wasn't the best idea for us to out when a storm was rolling through. We had the entire course to ourselves which was quite nice. Moved very fast as the heavy clouds were rolling in. Now I've played mini golf every once in a while. Like, once every few years. It's been a while since probably any of us three men. Somehow, I nailed THREE hole-in-ones. Couldn't believe it. The green on every hole was soaked, but I was able to get the best score in the end. And to make the victory sweeter, my bro took a slip in the drink. We all had a good laugh, but I felt pretty bad when later in the day, his volume on his iPhone wasn't working. Phones are expensive and I wouldn't wish anyone the bill of purchasing a new phone. It started pouring as we were heading out. What a day. When we got back, my bro was given his kiddo which promptly ended our "guys day". Didn't get to make it to the bar. Oh well.

Today, like most day offs, Mia and I bummed around visiting family and Jill. Earlier in the afternoon, we left my Dad's earlier and went to the park down the road from my parent's house. After a bit of playing and watching the boys running around, a girl showed up. Maybe, 4 or 5 years old. Probably 4. Anyways, as soon as she stepped foot on the playground, Mia made a point to follow and chase her around. She'd call out "little girl, where are you going?" "Oh Daddy, there she goes again!" "Hi, My name is Mia!" It was adorable. The girl looked a bit annoyed but eventually turned it into a game. It was incredibly entertaining. Later after she had 15 minute nap on the ride home, Jill came home from work and we headed over to Helium Trampoline Park. Jill always wanted to check it out, so we went as a family finally. Busier later in the evening. Lots of kids flipping all over the place. I had the most fun dunking on the basketball hoops. It's a lot trickier then you think.

Trying to get a grip of all the art I need to get accomplished. So many projects, so little time. I need to focus on these little record toppers that Paper + Plastic is putting out. Shouldn't be too difficult. I tend to go straight to my portrait of Mia that I've been working on for quite a while. It's looking really nice. Maybe my best portraits yet. I've done a small handful of portraits of her over the last few years. This weekend, Jill's family is coming up so I hope the weather holds out. I've got a ton of yard work to accomplish. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Surfin' USA

Morning. Didn't get to writing last night after an exhausting, yet fun day at the beach with Mia and my friend (with her kiddo) I was just way too tired to write and ended up calling it a night at 12:15am. Last Sunday I got to play some pick up soccer again. It had been a while due to some different things going on, on the weekends, but it totally was a great time. I had some slight issues though. First half, I ran into a striker at full speed. I had accidentally ran into the guy going for the ball, which knocked us both over. It looked so bad, and if it was a real game, I would probably have a yellow card. Had accidentally got his cleats on a 2nd challenge, which caused another foul. Bad Mikey. 2nd half, I did better. Didn't trip anyone. Won't be playing this weekend. Working 2nd shift. Oh well. The legs are still recovering from the collision. It was really great having my family come watch. Especially my parents who haven't seen me play a competitive sport since High School. Mia even watched :) Hopefully they thought I did well. (despite the fouls)

So as I had typed, on my day off we went to the beach. Mia and I met up with my friend Nicole and her kiddo Benny. Mia and I got to the beach and she already was pissy. Before we left, she was super stoked running around the house with her bucket and shovel. Well apparently, she developed a severe dislike for sand. Didn't want to touch it AT ALL. When Nicole and her kiddo arrived, we went back into the water. At first she didn't care for it again, but did way better and we had some fun. I've got a gnarly sun burn on my mid-lower back because I couldn't reach it with my hands. Oops :( Overall, the kids had a wonderful time and I look forward in going back again. Hopefully on a day Jill can come.

This weekend, my nephew's 6th birthday in Madison. Should be a lot of fun. Other then that, nothing else too exciting to discuss. Thanks for reading!

CHELSEA FC 2013 UEFA EUROPA CHAMPS!!

BLUE IS THE COLOUR!! Greetings folks. Great day for the Blues. My team. My Chelsea Football Club. Visited my Dad today to catch the Chelsea vs Benifica game. This was surprisingly a close game. Thought Chelsea could have done even better, but the first half proved that Benifica wasn't going to go down.  They played real well. After Ivanovic's beautiful goal, I got scared because Benifica nearly got an equalizer. In the end, the Blues took the title and it was an awesome game. Like last Wednesday, Mia slept through the entire game.

Mother's Day weekend went real well. Jill loved her picture with water colour paint tracing of her hand with 3 flowers (3 representing her third Mother's Day) Cut grass, dinner with Jill's family and Sunday night, my family. Overall, great weekend.

The other day, Mia sadly ate it on the driveway and scraped the side of her noodle not too far from her right eye. I swear, all head injuries are near the right eye. The worst part could have been that she didn't want to wear a band aid, or that I had to dig dirt out of the corner of her eye. As a parent, you've got to be prepared for everything and i didn't want the small pieces of dirt getting deeper in the eye.

Later today after dinner, Jill, Mia and I went to the park. BEAUTIFUL night to go to the park. This park, we've never been to. Sorta in the middle of nothing between Brookfield and New Berlin. I guess.
Mia didn't wanna leave, but we had to hit up Trader Joe's before heading home to watch a very great episode of Modern Family.

Going to be starting a wedding gift for a good friend soon. May not make it by the wedding, but it will be really great. Before I call it a night, been making tremendous strides with some soccer training in the back yard. Especially nice now that it's cut and the ball is easier to get under. Been shooting against my garage side while Mia plays in the sandbox. Usually lasts about 12 or so minutes before she wants to do  something else.
Okay that's all for now. LATER!

I Was a Fool

Greetings. Getting late so let's get this underway. Over the weekend, we made a visit to Illinois so Jill could have a girls night with her best buddies. They live in different part of the midwest which means they don't get to see each other that often. Needless to say, they had a good evening, I'd imagine. Well, Jill said they did. Sushi and drinks are always awesome, right? Sunday we went to the park before dinner and heading home. A bit windy, but nonetheless a good time for Mia. Who doesn't love the park? I'm starting to think she gets a bit intimidated around the bigger kids running wildly around. Today, same thing. Had some fun, then these bigger boys ran around with fake swords and knives. She was ready to call it a day. Later today, Jill came home and we went for a nice family walk with Remi. Totally highlight of my day. Why? because it's the simple things that can make you happy. Spending time with the two of them always makes my day. Plus, it was quite nice out, and it's supposed to only get better. Super stoked about that.

Most of last week and part of this week, we were getting way too much rain. Was able to get some cool photos of Mia wondering around in the rain and puddles. Gave my Lil Wayne portrait to my buddies daughter and I was quite surprised how much she loved it. Could I have done better? Probably. It wasn't easy but I'm glad she was happy. Trying real hard to complete a picture for a birthday gift. Hopefully I can pull it off. Hoping to get a bike ride in with Mia either tomorrow or Friday morning. Okay,that's all for now. Thanks for reading :)

Just Keep Swimming

Hello friends. Lots to discuss tonight, so let's get to it! Last week (and into this week) everyone in the house has been ill. Jill's got a double ear infection (mostly better now) and of course Mia's got a gnarly cold. Nothing worse then a snotty, upset and angry toddler. You wipe the nose, get all that crap off her face and she takes her arm and swipes her nose again bringing out MORE boogers. Gross, and redundant, but pretty much happens ALL day. Hope she gets better soon. I've got a lingering cold that needs to leave too.

Monday, our guinea pig sadly passed away. Not the best way to start out the day. Mia and I walked in the room and she was just laying there...Mia asking "what happened to Riley? I don't hear any squeaking". Pretty much talked about it the last few days. It was incredibly sad to break the news to Jill since it was HER piggie. We love our pets and when we lose one, its like losing a family member (as lame as that sounds). The good news, is that we can turn the guinea pig room into a nice play room for Mia. Going to get some new carpet in there, and I've got a mural to paint eventually. If the weather stays nice tomorrow, I hope to take her to the park, either play some soccer or maybe basketball. We've got to build her new play house in the yard too, but I want to wait till the 30 degree temps are gone. Come on Spring!!

No days off this week. Worked a Wednesday for the first time in a few years. Luckily, Jill's pop drove up to spend the day with Mia. Got some nice work done on the LIl Wayne Portrait. I want to get this thing done quickly so I can work on a last minute idea for my older bro's birthday coming up. Plus, a slew of other projects that I need to work on.

Mia had a great Easter. We didn't make it down to Illinois on Saturday, but we did visit with my family and have Easter dinner PLUS a little egg hunt for Mia. She loved looking for the eggs and after finding them all, she wanted to do it again. We may do something this weekend.

Oh, and one last thing-The announcement for the new Nemo sequel sounds great. Hopefully it won't go the same route with the last sequel (Cars 2) and not be that great.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading :)

A reflection of, wait, she's TWO YEARS OLD ALREADY??

Greetings readers! A week from today, Mia turns 2. It's crazy how fast the last year went. Last year around this time, I made some points and reflected on what I learned in my first year as a Dad, and gave advice as well. Tonight, I'll once again, reflect on the last year.

After she hit one, she had a good amount of teeth in her mouth, but throughout the year, she teethed, and teethed HARDCORE. We had some pretty rough nights with her sitting up for many hours. I was told many times by people "just put booze on her gums" but it just wasn't gonna happen, sorry folks. Somehow, we got through the teething stage, and currently, it would appear that all of her pearly whites are in.

She mastered walking this year as well. It was pretty awesome to watch, actually. This little bugger crawling a bit at her very first Christmas, and at her 2nd Christmas, she was running around giving out presents to people yelling out "OH MY GOODNESS PRESENTS!" One of my favourite things to do with her, is just simply walk with her hand and hand through the stores. It's even more enjoyable when I'm off the same night with Jill and we can walk with Mia together. Like tonight, roaming Mayfair Mall. I'm sure the people behind us didn't care for it, but screw it, this is our family night together!

She's developed a lovely picky eater attitude. REALLY loves cheese in its many forms. String, shredded, grilled cheese etc. Luckily, she loves the different fruit packets, eats bananas and of course, and noodles (also in it's many forms). Veggies are tricky with her, but it's a work in progress. Like most kids. She's not a big fan of meat, except hotdogs and some chicken.

Over the last year, she fully developed her creative side. Both art and music occupy that part of her little brain. She has created all kinds of different water colour/acrylic/ finger paintings. She also loves to colour and create "birthday cakes" out of Play Dough. Always says "happy birthday" to whomever she makes it for. One of my favourite activities with her is drumming. She really rips on the drums. Over the last year, she got more confident with playing on my kit. Used to require my lap to sit on, and would noodle around a bit. In recent videos, she's developed some awesome chops and kills it on the snare while sitting on the throne solo.

Car rides have gotten somewhat better over the last year. Still, we bring the portable DVD player in the back for those long drives to Illinois just in case. Surprisingly, we haven't had to use it in the last few car trips to Chi-town. In fact, she prefers to sing songs on the drive. Whatever keeps her happy and as long as it isn't Beiber.

Mia knows all of her major colours, can do the ABC's perfectly, knows some shapes, can count to 20 roughly, and can name off animals and their sounds really well. Going to the zoo quite often over the last year really helped in that category too. Plus, she's got quite a bit of animal books. Her vocabulary really developed over the year as well. By One, it was the basic "Momma, Dadda, Grandma, Grandpa". Soon, she was repeating phrases, animal noises, etc etc. Even at the doctor check up recently they said "she says way more then a normal 2 year old does". Aw, our little chatterbox :)

One of my other favourite things that she's working on is playing soccer. Well, kicking the ball, really. We've kicked her soccer ball around our house and Grandma/Grandpa's house a few times on those cold winter days. Can't wait to get out in the park and play with her again. Last year, we hit the park a few times, so I'm going to try to do more when this white crap melts.

It's been a crazy year with it's ups and downs, but we're loving every minute of our beautiful daughter. I couldn't imagine a better child in my life and look forward to whats in store for us in the next year. Thanks for reading everyone!

I, Pessimist

GREETINGS! Hey, what a surprise, more snow on TUESDAY again! This winter thing is getting old eh? Mother nature can turn the winter down anytime. Sooner then later would be better. Mia still enjoys the white obnoxious frozen stuff, yet can't wait for warm sunshine, grassy hills and frequent bike rides. Did a little sketch over the weekend, this little hammerhead shark with a hipster stache. I dunno why, but I really liked how it turned out. Cute, simple and unique. Could do a colour version some day, we'll see. Over the weekend, I got to hold my adorable little nephew Easton Saturday. he's so cute.

Today, she had her 2-year doc check up. Normally, every doc visit doesn't end well. Especially when there are shots involved. We didn't think she was getting any today, but she ended up getting one for Hep A plus some blood taken to test for lead paint. First shot, she took it like a total champ. She didn't even get upset in the slightest bit. We were pleasantly shocked and quite stoked. Then they escorted us to the lab for the blood test. This one, a little tricky. They wanted one of us to hold her quite tight and they had to take blood right out of her arm. As uncomfortable as she was/looked, she took it like a champ too. I did my very best to distract her. It actually reminded me of the time, my little brother got a staple or two put in his head after falling on his noodle in my parent's kitchen many many years ago. I knew he was hating getting the staple put in, so I distracted him. Man, Mia surprised all of us. The nurses said "Wow, that was unbelievable!" She didn't care for the band aid afterword, but it was defiantly a great doctor visit. She told everyone she saw today about it in great detail. Looks like she's pretty average for height and weight. Awesome.

In other news, our computer is back to normal and fully updated. New memory sticks in and a fan were installed to keep the inside from overheating. Can finally do some photo editing and such. Next up will be my laptop, which isn't a major priority.  Thursday, Chelsea's playing. Hoping for another win. Pens had a great victory over my Dad's Bolts. Gotta keep the momentum going Penguins! :) That's all for now. Thanks for reading :)

The Frozen Water Experimentation

Greetings. Hope everyone survived the crazy snow we got yesterday into today. The freeway was a nightmare, but my Corolla prevailed and I made it home. Today, Mia and I made a decent size snow-penguin. Everyone always has pictures of snow men and I thought it'd be fun to do something completely different and challenging. So we built one in the front yard. It was a lot of fun. After I took the picture of her standing next to it and posted it, I started thinking of ways I could have improved it: Maybe slim the side down, carve the beak or add a scarf. Oh well. I'm content with it. Mia wanted to go back inside, so I had to call it quits. The picture even got on the TMJ4 local news kid's section of their website. Rad :) Decided not to try the whole sledding thing again because every time I even mention the word "sledding" she says "NO NO Daddy".

Mia's already outgrew her shoes, so we picked up some nice ones that fit better. Can't believe how big she's getting. Her vocabulary is insane. She can say so much, ask questions, says thank you, remembers people's names,etc. My Dad told me today that she's growing up too fast. I can't agree with him, sorry fellow parents. I am absolutely loving how smart she's getting, the independence, the fact that she's actually getting the whole potty training thing!! Just today, I took her to her potty seat AND the toilet at my parent's house. She's really getting it. Hard to believe, but it's happening.

Sort of on a whim, Mia and I went on our classic adventure around the area: Surprise visit Jill at work , surprise visit Grandpa and catch the majority of the Chelsea FC game, then after go see Grandma. Mia and I cheered on our Blues to a 2-0 victory (FINALLY!) Shortly after we headed over by Grandma. She was happy to see us, per the usual. As soon as I start to leave the parking lot, she was out FAST. Overall, it was quite a nice day off. Makes up for my last Wednesday when I was stuck working. Love these days off. They're the best. Especially spending time with Jill after work. We barely see each other so we try to enjoy our time together if possible. This weekend, my older bro and his familia are coming to town so we'll get to visit with them. Also we're going to try to make some custom shirts for Mia through Vista print. Should be rad :) Thanks for reading!

Navigating the Windward Passage

Greetings. Been an interesting few days. Over the weekend, we ended up going to Stone Fire Pizza again. Mia bowled for the FIRST time. yes, they have bowling for little kids. Only one bumper was up, so gutter balls frequent, but she still had some fun. The place was super packed, which reminds us not to go there on a Saturday evening. The lines for food were insane and the game room was littered with people. Overall, great evening :) Not excited to post this, but Sunday, my lovely wife Jill hurt her back again. Luckily, she's on he slow recovery, and as of today, feeling a little better. Even after an 11 hour shift. But man, that Sunday when I left work early to get home and take care of her. She couldn't move, walk or do anything. I could easily ramble about how unfair it was that she hurt her back again after suffering with a bulging disc most of 2012, but that would take me quite a few hours. Plus, no one wants to read a long ass rambling. Anyway, so this week, she's recovering and I hope she can get better soon. It isn't easy trying to take it easy on the back and chase Mia around. She's a sweetheart, but can be a challenge at times.

Been thinking about Spring lately, on my early run/walks with Remi. Can't wait to go on bike rides, hit up the park as a family (or with my friend Nicole and her kiddo) play soccer, family walks with Remi...etc It looks like we've got some snow in the forecast for the next day or so. Exciting right? Nah, I'm over Winter. Good riddance.

While Tommy and Mia napped on the couch today, I did some drawing before work. Haven't done anything real serious lately. Sorta wanted to try something different. My friend Jaci does some real cool and adorable art work and it inspired me to do a little sketch of Mia playing soccer. It's nothing super exciting, and I'll probably do another one much cleaner and post it when I can. Normally, I'm off today but ended up working 6 hours to make up for the time lost Sunday when I left early to take care of Jill. So my day off will be Saturday, which still feels far away. Haha.
That's all for now, thanks for reading. Sorry for another week without a fun picture. Nothing on my sad laptop :(

Boarders and Boundaries

Ever have one of those days, that just everything goes wrong, whether it be something small, or something quite large? Like, the entire day is full of mini catastrophes? Today, was one of those days. Surprisingly, on a day that we were off together. Weird, right? The night before, Mia was having issues staying asleep. Actually throughout the week she hasn't been going to sleep at a reasonable time. Last night, she fell asleep around 1:30am, and got up around 8am. Throughout the night she would still wake up. It's almost like she's an infant again. We have no idea what the problem is, but we're partially blaming the day on her wacky sleep schedule. It's almost like we have to cut out naps to get her to sleep earlier then 12am, but then she's cranky for my Mom who babysits from 1:40pm-5:30pm.

Took Remi to the dog park. First time in two years, I think. Temperature-wise, it wasn't too bad out, but the entire park was pretty covered in gnarly bumpy ice. Not easy going downhill on ice. Luckily, no one fell, especially Jill. Most importantly, Remi had a good time. Mia really liked the other dogs. She didn't really wanna leave, but I just couldn't walk up and down the icy hills anymore. Later, I took Mia over the Eble Ice Arena to watch my bro play some pick up hockey. She loved it. She also got to see Easton and her auntie Ashley. Also great.

The worst issue came after Mia woke up from her nap. Jill was working on Mia's photo album in Photoshop, and after I pulled something up on the computer, it started to grind. You NEVER wanna hear grinding coming from your hard drive. Ever. The computer is old, and we sorta expected this thing to die soon, but we also didn't back a lot of folders off her computer onto an external drive. So hopefully Jill's coworker can get the files off before the machine becomes a very expensive paperweight. My laptop (which I'm currently typing this on) isn't in the best shape either, and needs the discs reinstalled again too. So unfortunatley we're gonna need a new computer. And yes, it should be an Apple again. Why? because we use every aspect of the machine an Apple user should use. We've used photoshop, illustrator, the movie editing, the music editing, EVERYTHING. Macs were built to power the heavy duty Adobe programs that PC just can't handle. So we'll see what happens, if we can pick one up.

Other then that, Valentines Day is tomorrow. We agreed not to get each other anything (but hey, Mia and I made her something cute...shhhh!!) We're going to try to go to Cafe Manna again this weekend. Man, that place had some tasty vegetarian food :)

Okay that's it for now. Have a good evening. Sorry no pictures to post tonight :(

I Held Her In My Arms

Hey everyone. Not a lot to discuss tonight. Didn't play futsal last Sunday. Worked a weird shift. 11am-7pm so it didn't give me a ton of time to eat, let the food settle and head off to work, PLUS I was quite exhausted. Sorta holding out till my lil brother gets a Sunday off for us to play together. Not playing this coming weekend because we'll be heading off to Illinois. The weather wasn't too bad so we tried to enjoy it during the day, but Mia wasn't having it. Sorta has a 'tude lately. BUT the good news is that she doesn't mind wearing mittens AND the hat now! If she wants to go outside, she's gotta wear the boots, mittens and her winter hat. So lately she's been real good about that. Loves playing in the snow while I shovel. Kinda makes the mundane and rather un-fun activity of shoveling a little bit more enjoyable. Can't wait till Spring. Bike rides, walks, playing soccer at the park, swings...all the fun outdoor stuff we miss during the Winter. Mia was on the swings today for a bit at the park.

A new Alkaline Trio single came out recently. "I wanna be a Warhol". I wasn't sure about it upon first listen but it's slowly growing on me. Hope the rest of the album is better then the single. They really don't disappoint as far as records go. Some songs here and there aren't the best, but I've stuck by them since the very beginning and they've written some of my all-time favourite songs so I've got some high hopes for the rest of the record. Penguins are doing real well. Chelsea, eh not so much but hopefully they'll beat Wigan. Can't afford anymore losses.  I seriously need to get back to work on the art. The lack of motivation has been plaguing me after work for some time now. Can't shake it. Probably won't do any art tonight before heading to bed. I know what I need to get done, it's a matter of GETTING IT DONE! Since my laptop isn't working the best right now, I can't put any work into my soccer stuff I started last Fall. Bummer. But I do need to restart the Lil Wayne portrait, maybe do some fun kid sketches of Mia as well. Eh, maybe in Illinois I'll do some drawing. I feel like I need to constantly be keeping myself busy creativity-wise. You should see the random sketches I leave at work of random objects. Oranges, a light bulb with a mustache, and whatever else I come across. Hahaha. That's it for now. Real short one tonight. Thanks for reading.

Love They Say

Hello people. Going to try to knock this one out quickly. Getting quite sleepy, so bare with me. Last Friday, I got an email from a gentleman who runs the different pick up futsal games in Brookfield. Looks like they do games Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Well, they needed TWO subs for last Sunday's game so guess who FINALLY got to play? :) Jill gave me the okay to go check it out, so after work, I contemplated going (weather was crap) but the roads ended up being pretty good. We quickly headed down to the BSA training facility where they have the games. Actually, we later figured out that it wasn't too far from our old apartment and within walking distance of my old advertising/marketing job. I was super stoked to play when I got there. Futsal is totally different then outdoor and indoor turf soccer. I've never played futsal so it was an interesting experience. It's 4 on 4 plus a keeper. No throw ins, you kick it in when it goes out. No offsides either and the ball moves quite quickly. With this group, every 10 minutes they rotated who'd play keeper, so everyone would get to play on the court. I ended up volunteering for the 1st rotation after kick off. Never played keeper before, but it wasn't too bad. Got two goals scored on me. One off a cheap bank shot but it was still pretty fun. Glad to switch it up when I could :) I didn't get any goals, but took some good shots and hit the cross bar (totally thought It was going in) Didn't play the 2nd half sadly. I could hear Mia throwing a huge fit towards the end of the 1st half, and could see Jill struggling to keep her happy. Oh well. I really wanted her to enjoy watching me like the first time I played back in October. She was hungry and pissy so it just wasn't happening. Jill said she said "go Daddy" every once in a while. Totally worth coming out to play. Because it's $10 to play, I won't be playing every weekend. Just two times a month I think. I ended up hurting my foot, when  defender stomped accidentally on it. Still sore.

Saturday,  I played a little hockey with my older bro. We walked down to the rink near his apartment and skated around passing the puck. We avoided the rink with the boards because there was some high school kids playing a pick up game. We didn't wanna be recruited. Hahaha! All in all, it was a fun time skating and discussing Chelsea, the Penguins and everything in between. So last weekend was full of sports for me. For lunch in Madison, we ate at Monty's which is one of the best restaurants in the area. 

Today, Mia and I shoveled the 3-4 inches of snow we got. She even wore her MITTENS! It may not sound like a big deal, but she never ever willingly wears mittens or gloves. Next, maybe she'll wear a hat. My friend Nicole, her kiddo B and myself with Mia hung out at Kids in Motion down the street today. Mia had a lot of fun climbing through the tubes and playing with the giant Lite Brite. I also enjoyed catching up with Nicole. 

That's it for now. Thanks for reading. 

Drop the puck

Greetings everyone. Today was rather a weird day. First off, Jill was off from work. During the Winter, she has to take one weekday off, so why not take a day off on MY off day right? Well after a late night with Mia Tuesday, she ended up sleeping in till 11:40am today. Jill woke up first around 11 something and said to me "what time is it? I hear the mail truck outside". I knew it was later then usual. So we started the day late, and ended up heading over by my brother Andy, picked him up and headed over to the Delafield pond. He repeatedly asked for myself or Jill to shoot some updated photos of him playing hockey. It was a great time. Jill got behind the lense and took some fantastic photographs. I love watching her work hard with the camera. I'm quite used to seeing her shoot pictures of Mia just about every week, but today seeing her get creative with the elements & shooting some action shots of my brother was a little treat for me. Mia loved watching her uncle play. She would keep yelling "MISS IT MISS IT!"  when he'd shoot at the dilapidated net. All in all, fun time. While walking with Mia on the ice today, I imagined in the next few years seeing her playing hockey on her own. Skating circles around me, stick in hand. I won't be disappointed if she decides not to play hockey, but it'd be rad if she had interest in it. Hopefully the next time, I'll get to hit the ice and play some with Andy.

In other news, the NHL and the big wig owners finally reaching a deal means hockey season is in full swing. As a major fan, I'm super stoked to get to see my beloved Pens play again. Today in Pittsburgh, they had a free scrimmage for the fans, and it packed about 18,000. Needless to say, NHL hockey was quite missed and every one's stoked. It's great timing for the casual fans because football is drawing near, which will possibly draw some people towards professional hockey. It's still a pity the Winter Classic fell through, but what can you do? So now I'll be avidly following all things Penguins and of course, Chelsea FC.

Speaking of Chelsea, bummed they drew today. 2-0 up in the first half, then they ended up tieing in the end? They need these points to catch up to Manchester United. Let's do this Blues!

All in all, great day off. Mia was pretty silly most of the day. Later in the evening when she hurt her head, Jill said "Mia would you like some ice cream?" Mia quickly perked up and said "With candy on top!" We have no clue where she got that from. Still adorable, as always.

That's all for now.

6 Months In a Leaky Boat

Hello friends. Getting late over here so I'll make this one quick and to the point. Over the weekend, Jill, my Mom and I went to my old High School for Breakfast with Santa. We arrived late and skipped the breakfast part. It was weird strolling through the school I haven't attended in nearly 10 years. Ran into an old 7th grade band director that still remembered me as well as some other alumni's and such. Mia enjoyed watching Santa from a good safe distance. Or as I call it "stranger danger distance". We didn't want to ruin her morning/afternoon by sticking her on his lap. My buddy Mandi and her kids met us there. They too had a fun time, especially with Mia. Later Jill and I hit up a holiday party. First party we've been to since Mia was born. It was a great time seeing old friends that we sadly don't get to socialize with anymore. Always fun catching up.

Later Sunday after work, I attempted to play some indoor soccer. Mia fell asleep on the way and when I walked in the arena, I once again was turned down by both teams. They didn't need subs that day. Goddammit. I just want to play. I understand the goofiness of the process that if you are a SINGLE player, you have to show up and hope to play. These teams are formed by paying players who all know each other. If there was any way for me to contact a "coach" or whomever runs any of the Men's Open Soccer teams, I would have done that a month ago. But, they keep telling me they can't give out any contact info so I just have to keep trying even when I get the frustrating "no thanks, we're good tonight". I'm debating about waiting till the new season starts to try to find a team. This weekend, there are TWO 9pm games, which means I would have the opportunity to try to persuade one of the 4 teams to let me play. If it ends up snowing a bunch, I'll probably skip it.

Working very hard on Mandi's tattoo design. It's more of a concept for her to take into a good tattoo place and show them the direction she'd like to go with the tattoo. Eyes are bugging out sketching this one out.

Mia and I had a great day off. Got my oil changed and we were able to catch the majority of the Chelsea FC game. It was wonderful to see my team FINALLY win, despite being knocked out of the Champions League. There's always the Europa League right? Lately, Mia's been grabbing both Jill and I by the necks and saying "momma, daddy and Mia" over and over, followed by family kisses. It's incredibly adorable. Especially when she says "I'm gonna kiss you Dadda!!" Love this kid and her Mom more then anything in the entire world. Alright, that's all for now. Sleep time for this tired father. Adios and thanks for reading :)