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!

SuperFrank8

Good afternoon. It's been a productive few days, as was the weekend. Saturday was our 6-year anniversary. Yay :) We got up early and headed out to Madison. It was our first visit to the infamous Farmer's Market that completely surrounds the state capitol. At 10am, it was quite packed, but we managed to get what we came for. One item that everyone should really try: the delicious spicy cheesy bread loaf. Just absolutely tasty. We got a few veggies and assorted other things. Had a late but tasty lunch courtesy of a burrito place with my older brother and his familia. It was the very first time I ate black beans but for some reason they were great (in burrito form) I typically go for quasadillas but this was really tasty.

On our way home we discussed "do we want dinner?" but couldn't decide. It was our anniversary and we had no clue what to do for dinner. Well, we skipped dinner and decided to go with a movie night. We went and saw 1 Million Ways to Die in the West. If you've seen Family Guy, or Ted, it's nothing far from that style of humor. Fart jokes, dick jokes, death jokes, "potty" humor, sex jokes etc. Seth MacFarlene wrote/stars in it, so thats all I have to say. It's funny, but it's nothing amazing. The 20 minutes of previews may have soured the experience a tad.

Sunday, I worked the 2-10 but we enjoyed what we could of the decent weather. Sunday night, Jill made a bet. A bad bet, but still a bet. The Blackhawks vs Kings. Game 7. Jill bet that if her Hawks beat my little brother Andy's Kings, his son would have to wear a little Hawks shirt and post it on Facebook. If the Hawks lost, Mia would have to wear a Bruins shirt and post on Facebook. The Hawks ended up losing in over time, so in the end, Mia had to wear my Dad's Kings jersey for a photo. Made more sense then the Bruins one. Oh well.

So over the last week or so it was rumored that the new NYC MLS team has signed Spaniard David Villa, and soon to be picking up Chelsea legend Frank Lampard. I dismissed it, because last year, he was linked to LA and later signed a one-year deal. Phew. This time, not so lucky. Monday it was announced officially that he was leaving Chelsea FC. I was devastated. The one single player that got me into playing soccer again. That got me into Chelsea in the first place, my favourite player was leaving his club. It won't be announced till after the World Cup where he will go, but it appears he'll probably head stateside. If he does, and it is the NYC team, I already told my little brother that we have to go see them play the Fire next year (once again, if that happens) I could watch his goal highlights any day of the week. He was a superb penalty taker and his numbers speak for them selves. 211 goals in his career. Amazing. Maybe I'm selfish like other fans that would love it if he would end his career there, but at the same time, he's got some years left in him. Does he go on and play MORE then he was last season? Today, I'm still thinking about his departure but excited about the fact that it appears that Chelsea may have sealed the deal on a new striker. Mr Diego Costa. He'll be a solid striker that'll be refreshing up front. Only time will tell who else is picked up, sold or go out on loan.

This weekend, house work. Grass cutting, laundry etc. Balancing two projects currently. The Salon logo and a CFC portrait. Both are coming along nicely.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading :)

Sinking the Spurs, and Hitting the Drawing Board

Greetings! As I write this, the kiddo is watching The Little Mermaid for the 3rd time in less then 24 hours. This is a movie she could care less about for a while, but recently finds it fascinating. Anyways, last weekend we had a lot going on, so let's get to it. Saturday we got up early and was Madison-bound to visit with my brother Bryan and his family. Walked around the Madison Conservatory where they had a beautiful array of flowers and plants. It was a balmy 85+ degrees in there, which wasn't bad for a while, except I had a winter jacket and hat on. Oops. Mia enjoyed following cousin Alex around. Adorable. Afterwords, we headed back to their apartment and Bryan and I watched the Chelsea vs Spurs game. This is something I've been wanting to do for a while. It's been a long time coming and I've been bummed that I haven't been able to watch a Chelsea game with him. He's been following them for 20 years and knows the club inside and out. He got me into the club a few years back. Anyways, so we watched the game and it was awesome. First half, not much going on. Little possession. 2nd half, much better. 4 goals. Etto'o took advantage of a mistake and got us on the board. A trip in the box got Hazard a PK and a 2nd goal, and a great surprise was two goals Ba. A striker who seldom sees any action. Two goals in TWO minutes. Once again, some mistakes made by the Spurs. It was awesome, and I hope they win against Aston Villa Saturday.

After the game, Jill and I said our goodbyes, and headed to Greenfield to take Mia to her friend's birthday party. This was a day of firsts. Mia's FIRST friend birthday party, and Jill's first time meeting Grace and Hannah AND their parents. It was a fantastic time. Mia played well with all of the kids, and had a really great time. Jill had fun too. Sunday, I worked 2-10. Nothing too exciting, except Jill's amazing cinnamon rolls from scratch she made. YUM!

Yesterday, Mia and I visited Grandma and Grandpa, and later went to Sports Authority to measure her feet for cleats. Yes, cleats. She's been asking for a pair and since the Just Between Friends massive kids sale is next week, Jill's gonna look for a pair there for cheap, but we needed a size. She loves that place.  Maybe its the girl in her, but she loves trying on different cleats. She found a pair of Adidas berry pink cleats. She's loved these ever since she lay eyes on them. Too bad they were too big. We did try on a few different pairs and the ones that fit the best were two different Black/Pink Adidas and Nike cleats. She was able to run quite fast and boot the ball to me. "DADDY! THESE ARE COMFY AND I'M REALLY FAST!" I've been researching different soccer organizations in the area looking for like, an intro to it. If I did find something, my fear is that she'll be too shy and want nothing to do with it. My mom said that either Jill or I would have to coach. Wish it was that easy. She napped on the way home, and when she woke up, she immediately told Jill about the different soccer cleats.

Last night, I began working on the Mike's Hard Lemonade can contest on the computer. Struggled a lot with some of my ideas, and in the end scrapped them and hit the drawing board. Luckily before the night was over, I sketched out a new idea that I'm in the process of working on. Hopefully it'll work. 30,000 could go a long way here at the Mike and Jill manor. The Etsy store is in full swing. Sales are coming in and Jill couldn't be happier! :)

That's all for now, thanks for reading!!

Busy as Bees

Good morning everyone! Lots of cool stuff to discuss. Friday, Mia got an invite to her friend Gracie's birthday party. She's super stoked, so we went out and got her friend a gift. Her friends are excited to meet Jill too. Over the weekend, I watched the Chelsea vs FFC game as we had delicious pancakes. It was a great game. Schurrle got an awesome hat trick. Looking forward to watching the Blues take on the Spurs on Saturday with my older brother.  Jill and I had lunch at the coolest place on the East Side of Milwaukee. The Melthouse Bistro has the most excellent gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. We had a tough time deciding which to order, because everything looked amazing. I had the Sargent Pepper, which was pepper jack cheese, caramelized onions and small pieces of lightly buttered cauliflower. Fantastic. Jill had some pulled pork one. So if you're up for some great sandwiches, check out the place. Totally worth it, plus we had found a groupon deal, so it split the bill in half :)

Later for dinner, we made tacos and got to watch the Blackhawks take on my Penguins. It was one of the worst games I've seen in a while. Almost as bad as the Flyers/Pens series. The Penguins just couldn't get any shots off, Carpenter in goal was great, stopping everything but an own goal. Jill said "it  was a pity puck. You're welcome" It was actually a lot of fun rooting against each other, and Mia was even watching some of the game. After the lousy loss, we worked on getting our Etsy page: ColorfulNoise launched and out to the masses. It's picking up traffic and getting sales now, which is fantastic. Jill's worked hard on everything that's on there, and it all looks awesome. Last night, she added more items too. I have yet to be able to get some art rolling on it, mainly because I need to start the Mike's Hard Lemonade contest stuff. Not easy when Mia's constantly on my lap distracting me. Last night Mia decided she needed a haircut, so we gave her a little trim. She has nevetwanted one before and with her hair being quite pretty, we left it as it is. Now it's nice and the dead ends are gone.

This weekend: We're going to Madison to visit with my older brother and his family, followed by Gracie's birthday party. Should be a busy busy Saturday. Sunday I work 2-10 so I don't know if we've got anything going on in the morning.

Take Lots With Alcohol

Hello friends. The day off went pretty quickly. My friend Nicole and I hung out with our kiddos at Kids in Motion for a few hours this morning. Crappy weather required some much needed fun time indoors :) Mia had fun. Lots and lots of kids running amok in the facility. Mia enjoyed playing with the dinosaurs, hitting up the slides and the train room. She played her first game of air hockey against this kid before he flipped upside down and smacked the hell out of his head on the wall. Didn't know where his parents where, so I immediately checked to make sure he wasn't bleeding. Had to go to a meeting shortly after our fun, (which of course, was NOT fun) Mia was super talkative up until we walked in the door and everyone was coming up to her. I gave her a small bag of pretzels and a cup of water. After she finished both she said out loud "DADDY, THIS MEETING IS BORING!" I agree love. Before she got out of hand, we booked it. I got the info I needed for an HSA account and we left.

Other then that, Mia napped later when we got home, and after she woke up, we watched the end of that Toy Story Terror made-for-TV Halloween movie..thing. She enjoyed it. If Mia gets up at a semi-normal time tomorrow, we'll do story time and Friday, of course play group. Saturday, we've got a wedding near Madison in Sun Prairie. First time we've photographed a wedding in quite a few years. Should be fun.

Art wise, just sort of working on this portrait. Really need to get on some other projects. I want to make a new Thrill Factory logo as well as work on the Paper+Plastic commission stuff. It's going to be quite technical, but I think I can knock it out Saturday evening after the wedding. I hope. Alright, time to finish this Guinness and head off to bed. Thanks for reading! :)

I Want To Hold Your Hand

Greetings friends. Over the weekend, we packed up the car and went to Madison for a beach birthday party for my 6 year old nephew. It was lots of fun swimming and kicking the soccer ball around. Mia, once again was not a fan of the sandy beach, but we remedied the situation and put a blanket down for her to sit in comfortably, while still being able to shovel sand into a bucket. Genius idea Grandma! Well, later we headed to my brother's apartment and had cake. Mia was way more interested in playing with her cousin's legos and his adorable cat Cosmo. Sunday, I worked the night shift and missed soccer. Boo! This week, I turn 30 on Friday. Not too excited about it (Mia even reminds me "Daddy, you're gonna be old) but with some family and friends coming in to town to celebrate with me, I can't help but feel the love. I tend to focus on the negatives lately with this whole turning 30 thing. Not having the job I want plays a big role in it. I want to be able to get up every day and go to a job that I love. That I feel like I make a difference. A job that I can use creativity to my full potential. It is too much to ask? No, but honestly, I can't complain about the cards that were dealt :) I've got a beautiful family, a great house. a supportive family and my health is still pretty good. So I can't complain. Mia and I were dancing in the kitchen earlier today. It was incredibly cute. Makes me a bit sad thinking that some day I'll be dancing with her on her wedding day. While cleaning the kitchen tonight, I thought about how incredibly amazing my wife is. How she's been here for me through everything. She's been there for me in times of great and times of terrible. Through every failed job and been to just about every show I've played (even while pregnant). I couldn't ask for a better wife.

Nothing too exciting to report from my day off. Mia slept in till 11:50AM! ALMOST noon. Easily the latest she slept in her life time. I could be wrong, but I'm almost positive this was the longest she's slept. Missed a nap today too, but was quite tired driving home from our usual adventure visiting Grandma at work/Grandpa at his house and eventually Jill at her studio. At one point she desperately wanted me to find the Beatles on the radio because "Beatles are Grandpa Chicago's favourite Daddy!" While watching Masterchef tonight, Mia took a break and was "making food" in her little kitchen. "Mommy It's really difficult what I'm making!" Hilarious.

Other then that, nothing else to report. Birthday dinner this weekend. Hopefully some soccer action as well. This time I'll try not to run into anyone getting the ball. Cheers, and thanks for reading!

1000 Answers

What a great, busy and eventful Saturday. This morning I woke up super tired and utterly confused on what day it was. My alarm went off and I normally don't set it for a weekend unless I'm working the early shift on a sunday. I thought "uhh...is it Friday? Thursday? Oh wait it's Saturday!"  Today, we packed up the car with beach stuff and headed out to Madison to spend some time with my older brother, his wifey and my nephew Alex.  Checked out the infamous Madison Farmer's Market, which I've heard a lot of great things about. It really is huge. We didn't even make the smallest dent in seeing everything. I did pick up a loaf of some spicy bread my friend Stephanie recommended. It was very tasty. Jill and I also got some smoothies and bubble tea. Mia drank some of my smoothie, and totally loved it. After the farmers market, we headed out to lunch at this mexican bar/restaurant (the name escapes me) the food was very good. Then, it was off to the beach.

Mia was so excited to see the beach again. It may not have been the clear waters of the beautiful ocean, but she didn't seem to mind too much. I helped Alex build sandcastles while Jill played with her in the water with my bro. All of the awesome weather and fun in the water exhausted the kids and they could barely keep their eyes open on the drive back. I didn't want Mia to fall asleep in their van so I tried to give her a little snack to keep her awake. Alex was eating some too but his eyes were getting droopy. Mia eventually passed out for about 2 minutes. She got a 2nd wind of energy playing with their cats and dog. Overall, great day. Jill's mom got to have the day to herself to do whatever she needed to, and not chase Mia around the house or yard. Saturday's are such an important day for Jill and I. It's the one day that we both are off and can spend time together as a family. We always try to do something fun or important on Saturday. Last weekend's visit to the zoo was an amazing time. We bought a family pass and plan on going as much as possible. I already took her by myself last Tuesday while Jill went to PT. The short 30 min visit was so much fun. Mia loved the penguins and gorilla/monkey exhibit she missed last weekend.

This week should go pretty quick. Work Sunday, Monday, Tuesday Thursday. Off Fri-Sun and we're heading down to the Indiana sand dunes. I have no idea what to expect. Hopefully Mia will survive the drive. That's all that matters. And of course she has fun with Jacqui, Rick, Leanne and Caleb. Hope everyone who's going to Summerfest has a great time and stay safe. That's all for now friends. Thanks for reading :)