Holiday Family Time

Evening everyone. Boy was it a busy week as we prepare to close out the year in a few days. Got to spend some time with my brother Bryan and his family from California which is always fun. Christmas Eve, we had dinner at my parents and opened gifts. We closed the night with a traditional game of PIT which is always a blast. I did my best to help Mia win a hand, which of course she enjoyed. The next morning, Mia woke up around 8:00am excited to open gifts. 8 isn't too bad to wake up since I've heard most kids are up around 6 or 6:30. My co-worker's daughter got up at 4:15am. That's crazy.

Anyways, Mia had a great time opening stuff but always gives Jill's and my gifts first. She made us little ornaments out of clay. She gave Jill the jewelry that she picked out from the Mall and Target with my a week prior. Jill and Mia got me some high end markers and illustration paper. My big goal for 2020 is to learn how to layer markers for pieces. It'll take some patience and practice but I'm game. Mia LOVED her new Nintendo Switch and games. Luckily unlike most kids, she hasn't been overly obsessed with it, which to me is surprising.

We had lunch at Jill's parents house with Tommy before I went to work. They made their traditional crab legs, mashed potatoes and other tasty food. Mia opened more gifts and had a great time. Work was super busy but somehow I got through it.

Thursday was Boxing Day, so I met up with my brother Bryan at my Mom and Dad's to watch Chelsea take out Southampton. They surprisingly lost to the Saints which certainly sucked. Can't give away points like that. Both BJ and I were certainly disappointed. Later, we all met at Jill's studio to take one large family photo all dressed in our favorite sports teams attire. Jill finished editing it today and it turned out pretty good. We said our goodbyes Thursday to Bryan and the fam as they left Friday morning for the long trek back to CA.

Friday, I worked on a special project with Micah and Gigi. The girls painted a slab of wood for their Dad's office table and needed my guidance and technical advice. They went with a galaxy-style painting with a quote from a movie the family enjoys. Awesome. Later we had my parents over for dinner and my nephews Luke and Joseph with my bro Todd as well. The kids played the Switch with Mia and had a great time.

Saturday morning, I held our New Berlin Dragon's only practice. We reserved some time on a futsal court. Half the girls that RSVP'd to play were on time, other half were a little late. I felt like I'm usually more organized with drills and what I wanted to accomplish but overall, the kids did well. Did a couple drills and a scrimmage which is what I wanted to do. For a lot of them, it was their first time on a futsal court including Mia. Takes a little time getting used to. Hopefully this week, we'll have a schedule soon.

Later, Mia, myself and my bro with Camden went to the Admirals vs Griffins game. It was the kids very first Ads game and they had a great time. Cam ate a lot but enjoyed the hockey. Mia loved all of the action and in between periods stuff like the human hockey puck and some figure skating. It was Princess Night so Elsa even dropped the puck. They had a princess meet up outside out section but Mia claimed that she didn't care about princesses anymore. Despite the Admirals losing, we all had a great time.

Today, I watched Chelsea take on Arsenal. Last match of 2019. The Gunners struck first and held a 0-1 lead for quite a while into the 2nd half. A few adjustments here and there and Jorginho picked up an equalizer off a mistake from the keeper and with that momentum, Tammy Abraham got the 2nd goal securing 3 big points for the Blues against their London neighbors. Great way to end the year. January Transfer Window opens soon so we'll see who they pick up. Returned back to work today only to wish I didn't show up.

This week, I hope to have my soccer schedule, Mia's going to enjoy what she can of her break and returns back to school on Thursday. Thanks for reading!

Mia's Epic Weekend

Greetings everyone. STILL no snow here sadly, but it certainly didn't ruin our week and Mia's incredibly busy weekend. I had off on Wednesday so Myself, Jill and our family could join us watching Mia and the other 3rd and 4th graders. For the first time since Mia's been at OL, they actually sang holiday-themed songs! Shocking right? They did an awesome job. The songs were incredible and best of all, Mia did a great job at her hand chime part with Cecilia and Charlie. All in all, it was amazing and Mia was stoked everyone could make it including uncle Tommy and Auntie Cheryl. Thanks guys!

Thursday. it was announced that Alkaline Trio and Bad Religion were touring together in Spring of 2020. I was on the fence about going, but the more and more I thought about it, it's been several years since I've seen either band, so sure enough, Friday when tickets went on sale I bought one. I'll be joining my bro Andy and a few of his buddies for this once in a life time chance to see them. Looking forward to it.

Saturday, I got up to watch the Chelsea vs Bournemouth match. A massive disappointment losing to a team that can barely stay out of the bottom 3. Another weekend, another loss. It's ridiculous. The January transfer window can't come soon enough. After the game, Mia went to her friend Noelle's Skateland party. She had me come with to help her skate a little. She's definitely improving her skills and overall. had an amazing time.

When she got home, she crashed and took a nap for about an hour. She skated almost nonstop with Noelle so I wasn't surprised she was exhausted. When she woke up, it was time for  to meet up with Scarlett. They ALSO went to Skateland. Mia, Scarlett, Angelina and her friend as well as Sofia and her friends hung out  and skated. Mia, for the first time skated solo. When I picked her up today, she told me she had no problems skating on her own and did really well. Totally proud of her. She also won 7 different stuffed animals from the claw machine. Unbelievable. She had a great time Scarlett and her sisters. When they got back, they played till way late and overall, had an incredible sleepover. It was Scarlett's first time having a friend stay the night and Mia was honored it was her.

While they were having fun, Jill and I ran some errands and got sushi and some wine to share. Those date nights are rare for us, but it was a great evening. Mia couldn't stop talking about her incredibly fun Saturday with her friends and I look forward to Mia having her over after the holidays. We talked about maybe laser tag and sushi with her and Cecilia sometime. Other than that, I gather Mia relaxed the rest of Sunday, did her homework and crashed early. I'm so glad she had an amazing weekend.

This week, she has her last week of school, holiday party on Friday and we have our soccer meeting on Saturday. Sunday, I've got family coming in. Jill has to write Mia's book that I finished illustrated. 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!

The Pain of Rain

Greetings everyone. Let's dive into the week, eh? Okay. The first three days were utter crap with a pile of rain and a tornado touched down briefly in Wales where I grew up. hearing about the tornado brought back crazy memories of the late 80's with the tornado ripping down our street. My Mom carrying my sister and I in each arm while pregnant with my little brother. What a crazy time that was. Luckily, the tornado didn't head our way and there were no fatalities. Phew. Mia had a fever on one of the days early this week at school. but luckily after a day of rest, was good to go again. Thursday, I joined Mia and her buddies for lunch. I swear, they get way more hyped when I show up than Mia :P They all asked "So, are you staying for recess?" Of course I am. They always love it, no matter what they plan on doing.

Recess turned into a full on game of street soccer with any and every girl that wanted to play with us. A handful of Mia's teammates including Ryan and Cecilia played so it was fun. Mia picked up a couple goals and Ryan had a great time attempting goalie again. I said my goodbyes and had to split. Unfortunately, we had to cancel practice due to the back fields being totally under water. I was having inner struggles that maybe we should have practiced. The temps had warmed up, but the fields were still terrible. I eventually made peace with it and that was that. Friday, it finally didn't rain and I thought that just maybe the game fields would possibly dry out. Sadly Friday night, I got the text from one of my assistant coach they cancelled the Minors, Juniors and Majors matches. Total bummer. Picture Day was still on so we still had to be there for photos at 7:45AM. Talk about a total bummer and tease for the kids. "Hey, get in your full uniform for photos, but no game". On top of that, they didn't allow cleats in the building. Ugh. Mia wasn't a fan of it at all. After photos she kicked the ball around with Alice and Ally while Ally's Mom talked to me about how the season has been going. She explained how proud she is of her daughter and overall how the team has bonded and played throughout the year. As a coach, I never really know how I'm doing but when I hear little random things like that from parents I have barely met, it's really humbling and always nice to hear. I also ran into old players Jana, Charley and Ainslee. Ainslee's Mom told me she'd really like to get an early request to have me coach her when she gets into 3rd grade next year. Talk about sweet eh? She was a sick goalie last year and I'd love to work with her like I have with Olivia. Olivia has been very patient playing mainly goalie, and with Ava out with an injury, I don't know if I can convince anyone else to play in net. I hope she can play in our final game on the 26th against the 2nd place team. If we win this upcoming match and the 2nd place team loses, we take the league title.

The rest of the day, we hung out with my in-laws for a belated birthday celebration with Tommy. Friday night, Mia made an impressive 8-layered cake for her Uncle. 8 layers of 8 different colors. Unreal. Sunday, I watched the Chelsea vs Southampton match. Blues got the big win 4-1 and are moving up the table right before the International Break. We later went to the zoo in pursuit of the baby red panda. Sadly, the red pandas weren't out either so Mia was pretty disappointed. She enjoyed the polar bear being cute laying in the sun as well as the river otters playing in the water.

This week, Mia's off tomorrow and hoping to find friends to hang out with. Hopefully, we can hold a practice Thursday before our 2nd to last league match. The Torrent have their final match of the year so possibly I will attempt to make it. They had a game over the weekend that I really wanted to go to, but I wasn't feeling that great Saturday for a while, and it was pouring out.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Can't Stop

Greetings everyone! Quite a lot to talk about so let's get right into it. It was busy week and through the early week, I worked on what drills we'd work on Thursday. It was Mia's first practice in a few weeks and she was excited to get back into it. While her teammates prior did a speed drill test for a time trial, she wanted to do it as well. So we set up cones before practice and Mia did her first run. Unbelievably, she had the fastest time on her FIRST run. Her 2nd run, she beat that run! I was shocked. I love Mia to death, but she's not always the fastest but she proved the soccer camp helped her with speed and ball control. When I read off all the times to the kids, I think some were a bit surprised by Mia's as well. I hope I can encourage her more to use that speed in our upcoming match this weekend. We worked on finishing, passes, crosses and PK's. I even brought back Sharks and Minnows which the kids really enjoyed. At the time, I thought our upcoming match would be against the 2nd place team. I was nervous because during our practice, some of the girls were a bit silly. My assistant coach Kevin was way more nervous that because they were playing at 8:30am, and he typically is concerned with the girls getting enough sleep. Friday after work, Mia was asleep so luckily, I wasn't really worried about her.

Saturday morning came. Ryan confessed that her and Charlie were up till 12am Friday night. Remember kid when we said don't stay up too late? Oh well. It was our 4th match of the season and definitely our coldest so far. Our keeper Olivia stayed in net the whole match for two reasons. 1-She was cold and wanted to keep the long sleeve goalie jersey on, and 2- our 2nd half Ava didn't want to play goalie Saturday. The Ice Breakers took on the Neon Green team again. The game started pretty even but after a bit, we started netting in goal after goal. Alice and Ryan started piling them in. Cecilia had a great assist to Ryan's goal which I hope she was proud of. Sadly, Ava picked up an injury and sat out quite a bit of the 2nd half. Her Dad and 2nd assistant coach Jim iced her foot for a while, she walked around trying to shake off what looked like an injury to her bridge of the foot. We didn't see how she picked it up, but it certainly didn't look like she would be in the rest of the match. Linnea moved up to wing and picked up a slick goal. After Alice put in her 6 (yes 6) goal, she started switching her strategy to setting up goals for Cecilia and Mia. Both girls were desperate to score but couldn't find the back of the net. Alice was super kid setting them up with pass after pass...so close. The game ended 8-1. Before the match, I had saw the Hornets had bumped us out of 1st place and we dropped to 2nd because they (who are also undefeated) had more goals than us. Hopefully with our big win, we'll move back to 1st. The girls looked fierce and this Saturday, we take on that team. One of us will lose our undefeated record, unless it goes to a draw. I'm anticipating a close one with hopefully the Ice Breakers coming out on top!

After the match we went home, and Mia and I watched the rest of the Chelsea vs Brighton match. The Blues finally got a league win at home. Woo!! After wards we all (Jill and Grandma and Grandpa)went  on an adventure to the Bear Den Zoo in Waterford. I've always heard great things about it, so I was stoked we could go check it out. Immediately, Mia fell in love with the kittens, bunnies and little chicks out front. She could have spent all day playing with them, but alas it was time to explore the other animal areas. We saw porcupines, foxes, ducks, turkeys, a bear, alpacas and plenty plenty more. Mia loved holding the baby kangaroo for a short while. She was super sweet and absolutely adorable. For the first time in years, Mia even rode a pony, Montana. We went back to the kitties before heading home. Mia had a really hard time leaving that area. She was in love with these kittens but we just can't have another one. The silent tears on our ride home were tough. She wouldn't talk to anyone. We picked up some late lunch before I went over to my friend Nichole's baby shower in West Allis. So stoked she's having a little girl.

Early Saturday morning, my brother and Dad did the Honor Flight for the U.S. Veterans so later, we all met at the airport to celebrate them returning home. There was an insane amount of people there to greet these veterans which was a total surprise. Some vets were clearly shocked and emotional with tears as they shook hands and waved. Others acted like total rock stars hyping the crowd. My Dad was shocked to see us and had great things to say about the trip. Glad Andy and him could enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime event. Mia was so exhausted that she crashed on our ride home. Jill and I had a little food while watching a Netflix comedy special before crashing before 2am.

Today was a rainy one. Jill was unfortunately suffering from a gnarly headache so Mia relaxed, we edited her video from the Bear Den Zoo and she took a bath before I went to work. This week, soccer practice, our big match Saturday to hopefully secure 1st place and celebrating Tommy's birthday. That's all for now thanks for reading!!

Last Days

Greetings everyone. Plenty to get through and I've got an early morning ahead of me so I'll try to move quickly. Most of the week, I've been carefully and painstakingly recovering from my tattoo a week ago. First few days is always difficult but the tegerderm helps keep it clean. The catch is that no matter what, it hurts badly peeling it off. It was super nice hearing sweet compliments at KT from guests of Mia's awesome drawing abilities. She totally likes hearing about it too. Throughout the week, I worked on a table with the talented Micah and Gigi. Tuesday after Mia's school picture, we went over and began to make some progress on the pieces. They even let Mia help with the bench and table. The bench is almost done and the table has a few more sessions left on it. I think it'll be great complete and I'm stoked to help. Thursday, I wanted to pack the day with lots of fun for the diva. She's running out of Summer and has been getting a bit stir crazy in the house. We first met up with Cecilia and her sister at the park and the girls played and played. Later while walking Remi, we stopped by Noelle's house and Mia played with her, Ellahrose, Katelyn and their sisters. On the walk back home, Mia said "today was a REALLY fun day". Always happy to hear that.  Thursday night was the coaches meeting. Mia met up with Cecilia and played at the school while her Dad and I went to the meeting. We have 5 girls from one school and another 4 from OL which are all friends. Mia, Cecilia, Ryan and Eliah. Hopefully, everyone bonds and things go great. We'll be missing a few players for our first team practice, but we'll make the most of it. Mia's stoked the shirts are blue.

Friday, Mia met up with Vida at the Zoo and the pair hung out for an hour and a half checking out all the animals. The major highlight was that Dash, the mail red panda was out and about. Talk about good timing. You basically can never see the red pandas out in the Summer due to the warm temps. Mia could have watched the cute fella for hours but we obviously couldn't stay very long. I was fortunate to get some cute pictures of him. All in all, awesome time hanging with her buddy and her friendly family.

Saturday, I got up real early to watch Chelsea beat Norwich. Tammy got two fantastic goals which helped secure the win. Great job Blues. Later, we ventured to Madison with my in-laws to visit Tommy and check out the Zoo. Due to the severe lack of parking, we ended up going to the gardens first for a while. Mia enjoyed snapping plenty of pictures of all the beautiful flowers. Later, we tried the zoo again but with an hour left before closing, not a lot of animals were out including her red pandas. She did get to see a capybara and some other fun animals. Later, Mia went swimming in the chilly pool at Tommy's place. Brave kid. Tommy and her Dad looked pretty cold :P

We grabbed a bite for dinner at Monty's before calling it a day. We'll have to hit up the zoo again earlier in the day. Sunday, I cut grass, we did some housework and it wasn't long before I had to head to work.

This week, Jill's got some long long nights ahead of her. The poor woman's going to work herself exhausted every night but luckily, she has family for support. I've got to help complete the art projects, maybe squeeze in a lesson or two. Mia meets her teacher on Wednesday and she's stoked. We may have a visitor coming up Saturday so we'll see what adventure awaits. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Road to Ohio

Evening everyone! I've had a nice quiet evening post-work with a beer and reflecting on the week. not an overly exciting week, but a good one nonetheless. Been getting things ready for Mia's big lemonade sale which for the first time, will include art. I've got one piece complete and will try to make another one. Thursday wasn't the best day for us. Mia wasn't feeling confident in a lot of things including art, her bass and just her attitude. Not sure what the problem was but we're trying to promote a more positive environment so she can stay positive and have less self-doubt.  I know I'm not the best with handling things like that, which probably has taken a bit of a toll on her, but I need to work on it. I don't want her picking it up from me or anyone. I want her to stay confidence and strong like she always has. She's an incredible person with a heart of gold and I want to keep it like that as long as possible.

Friday, she reunited with BFF Cecilia for a few hours while I worked on some Torrent posters for an upcoming match next week. Hopefully they look solid like the ones I did the previous years. I asked Mia "what did you guys do for a few hours?" She responds with "eh, I dunno, hung out, played with dolls, played outside" Well, it was enough for me to get some work done so I was glad she was able to chill. The two girls are looking to set up a sleepover soon. I feel like August is going to fly with a lot of things getting booked quickly. We'll try to make the most of the time. Currently, they're in Ohio. Jill's got a work conference Monday, so my in-laws are hanging out with Mia and Aunt Gail. Because of the last minute plan for it, I couldn't take off to drive down and had to work. Luckily, I've been keeping busy working on art. Saturday, they made the drive down early, so after they left, I went back to sleep a bit. Later, I went to the Milwaukee Torrent vs Risers match. It was the 2nd leg for the Wischigan trophy with the Blues up 3-0 in aggregate. They certainly blew them out of the water. The game ended 8-0 (11-0 on aggregate) so for the 2nd time, the trophy stays in Tosa. This team is certainly a higher caliber then any Torrent fan has ever seen. They are hungry for victory and never let up for 90 minutes of the match. It's refreshing and exciting to see these guys whom many came from 11 different countries tear apart the opposing team. One picked up 4 great goals who looks to be an immediate threat this season. I expect more goals as the Founders Cup season starts. All in all, great night with The Flood chanting, cheering and singing our Blues to victory. The supporters group grows every match and has become more of a family which is really special. It used to be be and a few more fellas. That was it. I hope it gets bigger and more hang with us to cheer this fierce team this season.

When I got home, I made some food, finished up a drawing and hit the bed. Mia FaceTime'd me when I got home, and this morning. I think she misses me a little bit. One of the hardest things is when she goes on these little trips but I try to keep busy so it doesn't bother me. Earlier today, I sold some of Mia's old shoes this morning and hope to sell the rest on the ol' Facebook Marketplace.

This week, they return on Tuesday evening and will work on getting the food and treats ready for the big sale which takes place Friday and Saturday. Later Saturday evening, the Torrent take on Napa Valley so hopefully I can get Mia to the match since she was pretty bummed to miss last weekend. Chelsea take on Man U to start off the season this weekend as well. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Happy Holidaze

Good evening everyone. Going to bang this one out quickly because I'm barely keeping myself awake at the moment. It's been a crazy busy week but mainly a ton of fun. My brother and his family arrived last week via railway so I picked them up and brought them back to our house for pizza. My half brother Todd and our good friend Leanne also met up at our house for a few days of fun. It was great catching up and there was even more fun in store the next day. We went to StoneFire Pizza for lunch. The kids had so much fun playing all the games on Christmas Eve morning. We had a go at the VR game but Luke and Alex kept having issues walking so they ended up giving us credits. Mia and I attempted to do some rock climbing as well. Super fun and reminded me how much fun my friend Andy and I had at Adventure Rock a handful of years ago. The wall I climbed at StoneFire seemed to be more difficult since you had mainly window sills to pull yourself up on.

While I wait up top for Mia to try to catch up, I heard a girl crying from behind me. I turned around and saw a small child dangling from the rope climb. The entire staff looked confused so I repelled down the wall and switched clamps to carefully rescue her. I climbed the rope climb carefully and calmed her down. I released her foot and slowly we made our decent. The Mother was so relieved I jumped into rescue her and throughout the rest of our time at StoneFire Pizza, she would smile and thank me. Just happy she was okay. Later, Jill and I had a Christmas Party to attend to for her boss. Great food and fun times.
The next day, we had Christmas Eve dinner at my parents and everyone opened gifts. Lots of fun playing card games and having an all-out indoor snowball fight (soft balls). Christmas Day, Mia was SO happy we had a dusting of snow. She immediately got up and gave us our painted glassware she made on her own. "DO YOU KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO KEEP THESE A SECRET??!" She did great. She also gave me a pencil holder and Jill a clay giraffe. She loved all of our presents, especially her new snowboard and her Mia and Red Panda Adventures book. She always looks forward to reading them. Jill's family came over and gave out some gifts to us.  My family came over later and we had some delicious pasta as well as Jill's tiramisu (I assume is was good). Awesome evening. The kids decorated cookies which were super fun.

Boxing Day, I picked up Bryan and the family and we watched the first of two soccer games. Fiorentina unfortunately lost to Parma, but at least Chelsea got the win against Watford. Later, we suited up and did some much-needed snow tubing. Alex really wanted to have snow here after the long train ride so this was the closest thing we could deliver. Bryan joined us as well as we raced the iced tube trails. We had a blast racing and the highlight was Bryan slipping out of the tube and having to run down the tube run chasing after it. We didn't last too long as the kids were getting pretty tired but it was a fantastic time. We had some leftovers when we got home and called it a night. This whole week has gone by so quickly...

Today, Mia and Jill traveled to Ohio to visit Aunt Gail. It was an early and rainy drive to Midway Airport but Mia was excited to see her aunt that she sees about this time of the year. They'll return on New Years Eve so I'll work and try to get everything ready for my week off in a few weeks to lead art classes for the big school-wide art show coming in March. So much to do, so little time. For now, it's time for a shower and to hit the bed. That's all for now thanks for reading!

Turning 31

Good Morning. Lots to discuss so I'm gonna dive right into everything that's going on in my life. Okay? Okay. Over the weekend, I celebrated my 31st birthday. Not that exciting of an age, but I enjoyed the day thoroughly. We were at the farmers market in Waukesha for some fresh veggies. Some fella booed me because I was wearing a Chelsea t-shirt, but then recants that and said "oh wait, you guys just resigned Didier Drogba.." yeah we did fool, shut it. Had dinner at Red Robin with Jill's family and my parents. It was delicious, but my Dad was bummed I didn't want them to sing to me. I didn't get the "free ice cream" like everyone does on their birthday there because I was really full, and we had cake at home, but the real reason why I didn't want them to sing, is because a few tables behind us, a 14 year old girl was celebrating a birthday. They came out singing loudly and it scared Mia. I didn't want them scaring her at OUR table.

Sunday, we went to the park. Jill took some photos of Mia and I fully dressed in Chelsea gear playing soccer. Got a few shots before Mia wanted to go to the swings. I worked 2-10 that night. Monday night I came home from work and I found Mia, riding around the house, no underwear on on a bike. A BIKE. It's like you just mastered potty training, now you're on a bike (training wheels too). Can't believe how much she's growing up. Wednesday was a busy day. Real busy. Decided to take Mia to the morning $2 movies at the theatre down the road from our house. The Croods was playing. They do these kind of deals I guess three days a week. This was Mia's first time at a movie theatre. She was super stoked about the experience. Definitely will do it again sometime. Later, we went to the park with my friend, and later my little brother. Great time. She's getting really good at the rock wall. OH! That's right the other day  I got some awesome gifts in the mail from my parents, Jill's parents and Jill. A beautiful brand new Chelsea jersey for the new season with Azpilicueta on the back (One of the Blue's best defenders), a pair of shorts from the 2013-2014 season and a Petr Cech Air freshener.  The pre-season games are off to a great start so hopefully we'll do well this season with all of the new boys.

Later, we picked up Jill from work and went to my friend Jay's house for dinner with him, his wife and little boy Caleb. It was a great time. Mia wasn't her usual shy self either, which was refreshing. Typically, she gets shy and doesn't want to interact, but she was great with everyone, and enjoyed watching the turkeys roam his yard.

This weekend, Jill's hosting a Wild Tree freezer meal work shop at our house, then state fair later.  That's all for now. 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

Why, hello 2013!

Greetings readers both casual and loyal! Hope everyone had a delightful and safe New Years Eve. In the morning, I packed up my bag and Remi and I headed off to see my Jill & Mia back at Jill's parent's house. They were there all week and in the time I was solo, I tried to use my time wisely to accomplish some things. Sadly, didn't make the most of my time. Worked on an art project, did a little drumming, and cleaned the house some. I really wanted to visit with some friends but things sort of fell apart. I did however, get to hang my with bro and watch the Dark Knight Rises. Not as good as the Dark Knight but it wrapped up well in the end. there were some plot issues here and there but overall it was pretty great. So on my drive to Illinois I was super excited to see the girls. The closer I got to their house, the more I thought how Mia would react when I walked in the door. Would she be ecstatic? Would she be sleeping?? Well when Remi and I pulled in with Jill's Dad's car, we noticed that the entire driveway was empty. No one was home :( Turned out her Dad and bro worked, and Jill and her Mom (with Mia) went out to some stores. Remi and I were pretty bummed they weren't home. Shortly, her bro pulled in so at least he could get us into the house. Remi searching the place for Jill but they weren't home. A little later they pulled in. I could barely contain my excitement. Mia was super happy to see me and wouldn't let go of my neck for quite a while. When I was sitting on the floor with Jill, Mia did something quite cute: She got in between us and put both arms around our necks and said "Picture Daddy, GET YOUR PHONE!" So I did! Felt great to be reunited with my beloved familia.

So here we are in the new year. Every one's making resolutions and goals to try to accomplish. Today on my day off, I thought about the different things I want to accomplish this year. Last year, I didn't put together a Thrill Factory site or design a successful shirt design for Threadless. Those were the big things I didn't accomplish. They'll come together hopefully in the near future. Who knows. :) THIS year, I want to:
Play in an adult soccer league (either indoor or outdoor)
Possibly find a 2nd job
Play pond hockey before the end of Winter with my brothers
Try to complete a killer water colour picture
Maybe do a series of some really nice photographs
And of course, continue being a positive and loving father to my Mia.

This afternoon, Mia and I went by my Dad's to watch the Chelsea FC Vs QPR game. Mia was so excited for the game, she ended up sleeping through the first half. Luckily, she didn't miss much. :P

Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for sticking with me through the year peeps :)