Ripe For The Pickin'

Good morning everyone. Hope you all enjoyed your weekend and the pleasant weather (when it wasn't raining). School is going real well for Mia, she seems to be really enjoying learning new things and playing with her friends. One of her friends apparently lives nearby and wants to have a play date after school this week so we may make that happen come Wednesday. Early in the week, Chelsea played Leicester in the EFL Cup. They beat the EPL champs 4-2 which at the time, I had hoped would carry them into the weekend derby against Arsenal, but we'll get back to that later.

Wednesday, I spent the majority of the day finishing some design stuff for Ian Bennett's clothing like IB26. The website launched and you can order his new gear. Friday, Mia and Jill went to see the Storks. They've been showing the trailer for this goofy movie for what seems like months and months and I never had an interest in it. Jill said it was pretty silly, but Mia liked it. Jill told me when I got home from work that a boy apparently smacked Mia in the mouth at school. Apparently during lunch, Mia was being silly and he smacked her. Today, Mia told me that "I'll let him off with this warning but next time he does it, I'm telling the teacher". I doubt he did it maliciously and since Mia was being goofy,he was most likely playing accordingly. She's fine.

 Saturday morning, she had her dance class. Still really loves it but she said she has a hard time keeping her arms up for the moves because "it makes her arms tired".  Later, we tried to go to the Halloween store to see if we could find anything she may need or Jill may need for our costumes. Mia insisted she's a big girl and can handle walking around Halloween stores. Apparently, she IS in deed a big girl, but parts of the stores are still frightening. We didn't make it more than 20 seconds. Oh well. "DADDA! WHY WOULD THEY PUT CREEPY THINGS IN HALLOWEEN STORES WHEN THERE IS A CHILD WHO GETS SCARED OF THESE THINGS???!!?!"  Oh Child...

Later, I watched the majority disappointing Chelsea vs ARSEnal match. The Blues for some reason, didn't have their heads on straight. From Cahill's poorly executed back pass to the weak mid fields, it was a game I wish I never watched. They better get their heads of their arses for the next one or we may lose Conte by the holidays. After that nightmare of a match, we went to the apple orchard. Elegant Farmer to be exact. Gorgeous day for it. Mia climbed the trees getting all of the best apples she could reach. She road a pony and also wanted to do the corn maze but it was closing soon.

Sunday, we didn't do much. Cut the grass, retrieved some sale items from the JBF sale and Mia hung out with her grandparents and uncle the remainder of the evening.

This week, more lunch notes for Mia, some light graphic designing and for the first time in several several years, I'm working a weekday shift 6am-2pm so I can attend Ian Bennett's launch party Friday night.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Eye Contact

Good morning. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Last Monday, Mia went on a field trip to the Elegant Farmer with her Grandpa Chicago and her 4K class. They had a great time, and got to taste-test some apples. Mia really liked the Gala ones (provided that Grandpa bit off all the skin) They brought home a couple of small pumpkins, but since the weather has been in the 70's, they're already getting soft and squishy. Tuesday, she had her very first "show and tell" at school. The letter was A, and the kids had to bring in something that started with that letter. She brought in her Anna doll from Frozen. She really liked it and has been looking forward to the next one.

Wednesday after I picked her up, we jetted over by my Dad and attempted to watch the Chelsea vs Walsall game for the Capital One Cup first round. They didn't broadcast it in the states, but I got a little feed on their computer. We won 4-1. It was also the first day of Fall. Mia's been looking forward to all things Halloween lately, and playing in piles of leaves. Speaking of which, last week I decided that this year, I was going to make an attempt at 3D pumpkin carving. The end-result of these pumpkins looks absolutely amazing and I've always wanted to try it. Hopefully I can pull it off.

Saturday, I watched most of the Chelsea vs Newcastle game in between helping Jill clean and organize every single toy Mia's owned since arriving at our house. That's 4 1/2 years of toys and junk. We tossed everything on the lawn and organized. Chelsea was down 0-2 at one point, but somehow came back and tied it. Great goals from Ramires and Willian. For some reason, we always struggle at St James Park. We'll beat them at home the next time they play. We play Porto Tuesday (I'll probably miss it) and Southhampton on Saturday. I may try to get my little bro and dad to go to 3 Lions Pub to watch that.

So after spending 5-6 hours cleaning and organizing Mia's stuff, tossing old stuff out and putting together "give away" boxes, Jill and I went out on a very rare, but super enjoyable date. Mitchell's Fish Market. We had the gift card for almost two years. Delicious dinner! Having a conversation over amazing food was wonderful. Just like old days. I love spending time with Mia, but the occasional date night with my beautiful wife is always a nice little treat. It was quite adorable when we were leaving the house, Mia says from the other room "eat something good". Almost like "go ahead guys, have a good time". Sometimes, she can be unselfish :P

Sunday, I finished cutting grass. Both of us absolutely exhausted from all the work we did Saturday. It was a good feeling to finally get the crap organized. During my crazy busy night at work, I was getting glimpses here and there of the rare super blood moon. When I got home, I was going to photograph the eclipse, but the battery died. Oh well.

This week, nothing major planned. May try to start some new art. I've been obsessed as of lately with listening to the newest Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room record. Super solid album. Thanks for reading!!

Midnight Moon

Good Morning. We had a pretty good weekend. Saturday after breakfast, I cut the back grass (hopefully for the last time for the year, but we'll see) before we headed out to the Elegant Farmer with my parents. It was a fun time. Amazing weather. Mia and Jill picked out some pumpkins as well as my parents. Mia also rode a pony.  My friend Nicole and her kid/fiance came out as well. I think it was Mia's first time on a hay ride. Bumpy, but fun for her. On the ride back she tried to stand on one leg while the tractor pulled us. We had fresh donuts and cider. All in all, fun time. Sunday, didn't get much done around the house, and I worked 2-10. Mia attempted to fly a kite with Jill. Hate how fast Saturdays go. My time off to spend with my family and it goes so quickly.

One week before Halloween. Mia's gonna look adorable, plus we're going to a Halloween party too. Stoked since we never get to hang with these people, plus Jill's friend Leanne is coming in, so that will be awesome too :)

I've been suffering from a creative drought lately. The little time I've got to get creative, my mind goes blank. Friday, we had the plumber here, so I wasn't super motivated at all. Hopefully this Friday after I drop her off I can get something started. I ended up spending most of the time cleaning HIS mess in the basement and doing some light cleaning in the living room while watching Orange is the New Black. Great show. If the weather cooperates, I can kick the ball around. Who knows. I just want to play.

Last Wednesday morning, I was able to capture the eclipse, or "Blood Moon". First time getting up very early for an eclipse. One time at our old apartment, we stayed up late to watch an eclipse. So I took Remi out at 5:30am. The moon was eerily beautiful. The sky was clear and the stars were bright. I on the other hand, struggled to get a good photo while holding Remi. I had to slow the shutter speed down (which was hard to see in the dark) while holding a very antsy dog. He did his best with patience , but in the end, I walked him back home (after he scared to large deer away) and I took Jill's car out and parked it where I stood. The reason, to place the DSLR camera on top of the car to keep it SUPER still. I didn't know where Jill's tripod was, and didn't want to mess with it anyways. Luckily, I was able to get a good photo. I was mostly pleased with it, and couldn't wait to show Jill. She liked it too.

Chelsea plays Saturday. FINALLY. It's been a long two weeks of international break. I watched a little bit of the Armenia vs Serbia game. Ended in a draw. Anyway, that's all for now. Thanks for reading!