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.

The Sound of the Life of the Mind

Evening folks. Today on my day off with the kiddo, I thought about how lucky I am to have an amazingly awesome healthy and fun daughter, so here's a little reflection on parenthood. Being a parent is a surreal experience that takes a lot of patience and love to make work. This year quite a few friends of mine have got a kid on the way including my little brother who's got his little dude coming in a short few weeks. I remember when we were patiently awaiting for our little kiddo to enter our lives. You think you're prepared but nothing prepares you for when they hand you that beautiful baby you've anxiously waited for. That baby is your new center of the universe. Everything will revolve around the child for the rest of your life as it should and you immediately accept and embrace it. I'm super stoked for my brother. He's wanted a kid for a while and it'll be a humbling and great experience for him and his wife. I can't wait to see Mia hold his kiddo when he's born. She LOVES babies too. It's the best being THE Dad. It's a complete learning experience. I love talking to Dads both new and ones who have a few kids to hear how they handle parenthood.

 Every kid is different. Some get the easy kid, others get the tough one. It can be difficult relating to the parents who have the opposite personality of yours. As long as you have a decent supply of patience. Man, I get this on a daily basis "oh enjoy your time now, because it won't be long before they grow up, blah blah blah". I gotta tell ya, I'm SUPER enjoying toddler Mia. Baby Mia was fun, but difficult because they can't tell you exactly what's wrong. So yeah, Toddler Mia is awesome. She's fun, creative, loves to sing and interact with people/friends/family and of course any animal she sees. Today I was thinking about when she's in grade school, I'll totally volunteer to coach soccer. Why not right? Could be a ton of fun. Man, the ways she loves me and Jill is amazing in every single way. Any awful day at work, I think of our happy little family. How complete I feel with the two of them in my life. it's a wonderful feeling and I could ask for more.

Baby shower this weekend for my sister in law. Jill & my mom are putting it together, which means Mia will get to see some people and family that she hasn't seen in a long time. She'll have a total blast. I haven't touched the Lil Wayne portrait because I decided I want to restart it. Wasn't happy with how it was looking and will redo it. It'll look real great and my buddy's daughter will LOVE it. That's all for now. Thanks for reading. Oh, before I go, the new Ben Folds Five record is absolutely fantastic. Later!

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 :)

Hold That Thought

Greetings everyone. It's hard to believe that the Christmas and holiday season is complete. New Years Eve nearly here too. Man did the year fly. Me, Jill and Mia spent some time last weekend  visiting Jill's friends and family. It's always difficult trying to see everyone before we had to quickly head back for Christmas Eve with my familia. Mia got a LOT of gifts this year, and enjoying opening them too. Her typical response was "ohhhh MY GOODNESSSSSS!!" Sometime she'd get so excited and say "YAYY MIAAAA!!" I absolutely loved her reactions. I'm not going to go through everything she got, but she deffinately liked everything. At one point, she said "no more presents". We may have to adjust when she gets everything in future Christmases because like some kids, she was Christmas'd out. My nephew too, I heard was pretty spent on opening gifts. I guess there can be TOO much of a good thing sometimes.

Today, Jill, Mia and her familia went back to Illinois till New Years when I go pick them up. It was a pretty rough leave because I had to carefully load a sleeping Mia into her car seat and while slowly walking down to the car, I thought how much I'm going to miss this girl (AND Jill). I'm missing both of them right now. I was able to take down the Christmas tree tonight and position Mia's new castle/tent she got. This sucker is huge and fits pretty decent in the corner of the living room. Mia even gave everyone in the house a tour of the inside of the tent, grabbing each of our hands. Adorable.

Didn't accomplish any art today, despite having some projects to start/complete. Tomorrow morning after my walk with Remi, I plan to spend some quality time with my drum set before work. Looking forward to it. Usually rusty on the first day back, so we'll see how it goes.

Actually ended up spending some of the night looking for a spring 2013 adult soccer outdoor league to play in. Not an easy task, however it's still winter so there really isn't much info. I worked a Saturday morning one time and there were some people that stopped in on their way to a game (I'm not sure where or who they played for) but I really want to figure it out. The second session for Brookfield Indoor is out and every time I look at it, I think "why even bother trying". Sad effort right? I dunno. I really really wanna play, but don't want to drag the family out to be disappointed like myself. I'll keep trying I guess.

That's all for now. Have a safe New Years Eve friends :) Thanks for reading :)

Donde Esta Santa Claus?

Hey friends. Hope all of my readers are surviving the holiday craziness. Including the "snowmegeddon" that could be coming our way. Depends on where you live. It's finally starting to look Christmas-y around good ol' Wisconsin which has put me in a semi better mood. I've still got a few things souring me on a daily basis, but I try not to let it get in the way of the holiday spirit. that my darling wife carries through our humble household.

I don't want to harp on this in an intense and lengthy way, but I do need to address it. The shooting in CT was absolutely heart breaking. Especially that because these were kids. Small children. AND two faculty members that gave their life to save some kids. If ANYONE ever tells me that all teachers are lazy and money-hungry, really need to shut up. I couldn't imagine being one of the parents impatiently waiting the news at the fire house down the road from that school for their child to check in. My heart could barely take this tragedy when I first saw it on the news last Friday. I had to put Barney on for Mia  and get this off the news. The fact is, guns are absolutely horrible. I'm sorry gun supporters but it scares me how many shootings have happened over the last 4 years. I do not think arming teachers and faculty members with weapons is the answer. Perhaps sticking unemployed serviceman in schools may do the trick. Who knows. Another major problem is that this guy had a serious mental issue and it was never addressed. His Mom needed to get him the help he deserved and there was some sort of issue there. I hugged Mia so tight that night after work. I am incredibly lucky to have her in my life and I don't know what I'd do without her and Jill.

On a positive note, I completed Mandi's tattoo for her kids. She dug it, which made me happy. I ended up restarting and resizing it last weekend at some point and was pretty content with the complete project. All I need to do is finish a gift and I'm good for a short while. Still need to start a Lil Wayne picture for Mandi's daughter. Hopefully she's patient.

Chelsea FC won today. Didn't get to watch the game but just now watched the highlights. Great goals. Too bad they lost in the Club World Cup to a Brazilian team. BOO!

Leaving this weekend for the holiday and will be back come Christmas Eve. Hopefully the weather is somewhat decent and we don't have any issues. I'll never forget the time I drove home from a crappy night at work in the crappiest driving conditions. I arrived at our (then) apartment and Jill wanted to head down to Illinois a day earlier then we played.I told Jill "we really should go to Illinois tomorrow. The roads are absolutely horrible". She said "No way, nothings stopping me from driving down tonight!" and then she slipped on our stairs and messed her ankle up pretty good. Needless to say, we didn't make the drive. The next day we went down and the roads were wonderful. I took Mia out in the show the other day when it was lightly coming down. She wasn't super impressed. Maybe we'll try sledding this year. Who knows.

That's all for now. Have a good holiday weekend folks. Drive safe and thanks for reading.

Three Little Birds

Hey friends. Another quick update on things before calling it a night. Haven't been getting the best sleep lately. I think Saturday night I slept like 3 or so hours before my 6am-2pm shift. Because of the severe lack of sleep, I didn't even make the effort to go attempt to play indoor soccer that night. Ended up watching a movie with Jill & Mia. Speaking of indoor soccer, I'm pretty frustrated as of lately with the place. I read on their website that if you submit your info (if you're a sub like me with no team) to the people who run the leagues, they can forward it out to the teams in case someone could use a sub or another player for the future. Sounds cool. Drove out there today with Mia and the guy in the office flat out told me "no we don't do that for the adult teams, you just have to keep showing up". BS. As much as I love dragging myself and my family to watch me get turned down week after week because every team tells me "we're good, don't need any subs", it starts to wear you down. I'm sure Jill's getting frustrated that we drive out for NOTHING. Yes, this is the only way to go about do this, but it's pretty crappy. Every team that plays is formed prior to seasons starting. Totally sucks for ones like me who have zero contact with any of these adult teams. There's no community board, or section of the website for players in search of a team. I'm either A-going to try AGAIN in January to play or B-wait till spring time and try to get on a team and play the season. Either way, it's frustrating.

Mia napped for 3 hours today, which gave me time to work on a coworker's tattoo. 3 hours were pretty wasted in the end because I drew the scorpion too big and the numbers and zodiac signs that circle around it don't fit well SO while watching the 121212 Sandy Relief concert tonight after the familia went to sleep, I drew it AGAIN. Got the scorpion part done. The numbers and symbols shouldn't take too much effort. Phew. I'm getting behind.

Getting more and more amped for the holiday. Mostly because I know Mia's going to have SO much fun. She already mastered the fine craft of opening presents whether they're for  her or someone else. I love her so much and couldn't imagine my life without this kid. She can get irritating at times, but my heart lights up when she gives me those big big hugs. Being a Dad is an amazing experience. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. The other day, her and I had the most fun drumming on my kit. She's honestly getting quite good with the snare. She totally concentrates on what she's doing, which is awesome :)

Okay, gotta call it quits for now. Thanks for reading friends.

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 :)