Forza Azzurro!

Greetings everyone. It was quite the wet and soggy week but we made it through. Mia was pretty excited to show her friends on Monday that her hair was dyed purple and teal and even curled it for the ultimate level of adorable-ness. Throughout the week, we had plenty of rain unfortunately which lead to us canceling practice. I had a lot of endurance drills I wanted to work into practice, but the  super soggy field was too wet to play on. Great. My next concern was if we 'd get to play Saturday. Malone Park really need a good few days to fully dry and I wasn't confident that was enough time. Friday night, they STILL didn't know if we'd play.

Saturday morning came and I got word at about 8:00am that our game at 9:45 was STILL on. Phew. I sent the word out to everyone and we met at the incredibly drenched field. The girls were excited to play the Pink Panthers.  We did a little pass and shoot drills and were ready to roll. The Pink Panthers got a quick goal on a Olivia. Bummer. Alice answered it with a great equalizer when the keeper lost control in the box. WOO! Panther's grabbed another goal when Olivia let one slip through her gloves as well and we were all squared again. Alice picked up a 2nd goal and we were all squared again. She was on a bloody hat trick! Ava and Ryan picked up some goals before half time. Ice Breakers were looking good. Linnea was performing quite well in the back and would continue that in the 2nd half. I mixed things up with Ally, who mainly plays as a defender starting as a striker. She unfortunately later picked up an injury while in defense and would sit out for another 10 or so minutes. Linnea saved her with some solid defending skills. Cecilia was desperate to score and had some pretty close moments where she was open but they couldn't get the pass to her. Like last game, Olivia was running all over the field and got herself a banger of a goal. We ended the match 5-2. The girls did quite well despite the lousy field conditions and a lack of a team practice. Hopefully this week, we'll get one in because i have a lot I need to work on going into the next game. Charlie cheered on Mia as well and she got hugs from pre-school BFF Olivia and  classmate Scarlett who we'll play next weekend. We're still in first place :) Mia was most excited Tommy came to cheer her on and we hung out with him and her grandparents throughout the day. I made a run to Madison to pick up a new snowboard for the Winter season.

Mia went to the JBF sale and got a few things including a winter coat. She'll still need to get some new snow pants at some point. They had dinner while I went to the Torrent vs DCFC match. Rough one. An own-goal was the only goal scored and we lost 0-1. We (the Torrent supporters)  met up with some traveling fans who were pretty friendly. Things got pretty out of control on the pitch but hopefully the Blues can beat them in Detroit. The reffing was just godawful missing blatant calls when they should be calling it, and calling soft-tackles when there was nothing. It's no secret the refs clearly hate the Torrent and have always botched games for the last 4 years.  The good news, was that during Mia's game Saturday, Chelsea got a massive win 5-2 as well so I watched the highlights when Jill and Mia hit the bed.

Sunday, didn't do much before work. Jill and Mia made a cake apparently. This week, practice hopefully, plenty of art and my quest for a better job. I'm going to the Torrent vs Forward Madison friendly in Madison with the old man if he's not too tired. 11am match Saturday :) That's all for now. thanks for reading!

Back to School & Soccer

Greetings everyone. What a busy week it's been. Monday on Labor Day, Mia and I ran over to tab her sidewalks for the incoming kids. Well, unfortunately on Tuesday morning, Jill and I awoke to rain storms. Wonderful. 6:00am and it's thundering out. Mia set a brand new 1st Day of School record of awaking literally at that early. Last year she got up at 6:30 but Monday, she just couldn't wait to go. Unreal. I tried to talk her into getting a bit more sleep. Nope. She got up, got dressed and had breakfast. We said our goodbyes for the first time this year and drove out to Brookfield to Marcy Elementary to snap some photos of the kids and staff. My always helpful in-laws joined us as well as our buddy Christina. Great to work with everyone. Later I ventured back home to get some art done and excitingly picked up the diva on foot so we could have a nice chat about her 1st day. She had some minor homework but overall, had a great day.

Thursday was soccer practice day. We had a full team and a thorough practice. We attempted to get there early to get the whole field but because Mia wanted to hit the bathroom before we left and when we got back, a team took half the field. We got a rough side. We set up a small scrimmage to get these kids ready. We did some 1v1 drills, a few passing ones as well as myself getting a pair of keepers ready for our first match. Olivia and Ryan jumped at the opportunity. Myself and Ryan took some shots on Olivia from different points of the field, and we switched it up with Olivia and myself shooting at Ryan. The girls all wrote down an idea for their team name, we pulled one name out and it was Icebreakers. Turned out, 5 of the 9 girls wrote down Icebreakers. Clearly, it was going to happen. It took me and Mia about a day to get over the silly hockey-like name, but we did.

Saturday we got up bright and early for Mia's first match. I had my line up and we were ready to roll. 8:00am, we had the majority of the team on the pitch and ready to go. Coach Kevin got them jogging and stretching and we did some shooting on Olivia before going over the positions. They lined up and were ready to for kickoff. Ava, one of our 4th graders picked up the first goal of the match and season. It was a beauty. Ryan, Linnea and Alice all picked up goals before the 2nd half. The girls dominated the 1st half and Olivia in goal didn't have a lot to do. She made a few solid saves. Alice was incredible in defense as well as on the wing. Really great 1st half from her. Mia had a few good chances but couldn't find the net. Cecilia played well on the wing and in defense along with Elia.

2nd half, Ryan took over in keeper and Olivia came out. She started in defense and made her way to the wing. She picked up two goals in 2 minutes! Unreal. She loves playing goalie but it way better on the field. A few mistakes by Ryan found the green team picking up a couple goals. Ava banged a few more goals in to cap off her very first hat trick. Her Dad and 2nd assistant coach Jim was totally proud as well as the rest of us. Cecilia and Alice played great in the back and despite being a solid defender, Cici really wants to score a goal this season. All in all, fantastic match with great support from their fans. Mia was a bit disappointed that they didn't pile on top of each other like last year's team, but hey, they haven't bonded yet to reach that level. Despite Ryan letting a pair of goals in, she's a brave one. I'm still shocked by Olivia's fast dribbling skills that got her those two goals. Lastly, Mia was totally thrilled that Charlie was working concessions and was cheering her team on. We hit up Stonefire for lunch which was pretty fun as always.

Later, I cut some grass and went to the Torrent vs Chattanooga match. Great crowd, even with the loud, yet supportive MKE Spurs fans. Chatta picked up the 1st goal in the 2nd half but the Torrent battled hard to get a beautiful bicycle kick to equalize. Shortly, they got ONE more goal but it was called offsides. The crowd went insane. It was totally on. The game ended 1-1. My voice was completely gone after two intense soccer matches.  Sunday we didn't do much. Just Trader's before work and Mia worked on homework. This week, art, soccer practice and another Saturday full of games. I believe Chelsea is back in action soon. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Summer's Gone, Carry On, I'm a Ghost In the Dawn

Greetings everyone. Well, we've unfortunately hit the end of Summer Break. What an awesome but quick time off for the diva. Hopefully she can look back on the fun memories she made with the people she cares about. My personal highlights where meeting and seeing The Lawrence Arms live, going to the Fiorentina match in Chicago with my Dad, and getting Mia's drawing tattooed on my arm. Other notable moments were every time we spent together as a family, all of the art lessons I did with the super talented kids and the big surprise party we put together for Jill in Illinois. Seeing Jill cry tears of joy at the party and on the way home was something special I'll never forget so thank you everyone involved for helping with that memorable moment.

This week, I worked on the table with Micah, Mia and Gigi. It looks pretty solid and I hope they're happy with how it's looking. I've really enjoyed watching these talented kids grow in art and I hope they carry their abilities throughout the year. Gianna thinks I'll be teaching art again this school year. I don't think their school can do another major project, but maybe I'll come to art club. Speaking of which, Mia met her teacher and saw her classroom on Wednesday. She's stoked she found out her super sweet friend Scarlett is in her class as well as well as new buddy Kostadina. She digs her new teacher as well. Going to be a fun year for sure.

Thursday was our first Fall soccer practice. We were short 3 girls but made the most of the 6 that made it. We also gained a 2nd assistant coach which I wasn't super thrilled with because we really don't need more hands but his enthusiasm makes up for his knowledge of the game and I think he'll be fine. We've got a great group of girls that are really good listeners and I think plenty show a lot of potential. One girl, Elia who I coached back when she was in 1st grade definitely improved last season on whatever team she was on and at practice proved she can get around the defense to score. Awesome. Looking forward to our first scrimmage Thursday with a full roster and we'll have our team name officially picked out :)

We went to MOD later for pizza and Mia picked out a few more clothes at Target before calling it night. Saturday, Jill went in to the studio to get some major work done. She's been super busy with schools so she's got a lot of work to do back at the studio. I watched Chelsea take on Shefield United. The boys took an early lead in the 1st half 2-0 but something happened in the 2nd half where Shefield equalized on some lousy goals. Our defense was in shambles and they really need to finish a game with a win. Our friend Leanne and her boyfriend Dave stopped by for the weekend to visit. Mia and I later went to my cousin's wedding party at my aunt's house. She enjoyed running around with the kids and meeting some people she probably barely remembered meeting when she was younger. Some were a little louder than she would prefer, but that's just how my family is on that side :P

We hung out with Leanne and her dude when we got home. Sunday, they left and we just kind of relaxed till I went to work. Mia played some trumpet with Jill as I went off to work.

This week is Mia's 1st week at school. I'm off on Tuesday so I can hear all about her exciting day. We'll have practice on Thursday and our first match is Saturday. The Torrent play Saturday night so we'll see if Mia and I can make it. 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!

Mia and Daddy Ink

Greetings! It was quite the busy week mainly art-wise. Started the week with an art lesson with my main girls Gigi and Micah. I came up with an idea for a multi-media sketch which combined pen, watercolor and color pencil ON tone paper. Phew. First of all, I've never watercolor painted on tone paper before so I was a bit curious how this would turn out. Luckily, it worked. The subject was a cool firefly flying out of a jar piece. Surprisingly, my youngest student Gigi did fantastic and her sister shockingly stumbled. Turns out, a severe lack of sleep the last few nights really was the main factor. She let the lesson get the best of her sadly. Two days later, we did a group lesson adding two more to our class. Before class, I was requested that we do a Snape sketch. Upon arriving, Micah did a 3rd attempt of her firefly picture and did beautifully. She realized later that her original piece was actually totally fine and maybe tossing it in the garbage was a bad idea?

Anyways, my oldest students Micah and Vivian did a great job on their Snape sketches and didn't want me to start painting with their sisters. Sorry kids, but I gotta paint with the littles.  They did a unique platypus that I purposely picked because Gigi told me a few days prior, are her favorite animals. Because she nailed her first lesson earlier in the week, I thought she'd like to do this one with her buddy Lydia. They both did a great job in watercolor and overall, the art lessons for the week went great. Always humbled when everything works out and the kids show improvement. I also love that they are great listeners and take the advice and instructions seriously.

After art lessons, Mia and I went to HAWS to donate her $405.00 that she raised for the animal shelter. Everyone there was super nice with her and she even got a tour of the entire place. Before her tour started, she got a really sweet kitty to take a photo with. This beautiful black kitty with orange eyes named Salem. Mia said she was the softest kitten ever. The woman who took us on tour introduced Mia to everyone on staff proudly telling them about all the money she raised. Mia played with a rabbit, plenty of cats, some dogs and even a rat. Mia mainly enjoyed playing with the rat, Moose. They had a little pen for Mia to sit with the cute little creature and she could have totally spent another hour with the rat. She enjoyed all the hugs she got from the woman's bulldogs as well before we left for the day. Despite Mia remaining quiet throughout the day at HAWS, immediately after departing, she goes "BEST DAY EVER!!" Animals have such a special place in Mia's heart and I'm so glad we got to tour HAWS together.

Saturday, Mia and I went out to Ink Spot Tattoo to get her drawing of a red panda holding a pineapple with her signature tattooed on my left forearm. Mia did a great sketch and I was honored to have my tattoo artist permanently ink this one on me. He did my Hawaiian half sleeve which turned out great so it was a no brainer he'd do this one. He put on Netflix for Mia as she drew in her sketch book and glanced a bit every once in a while to see how the tattoo was going. I was thrilled to have her with me and loved watching her work with him picking out the colors and size for the piece. She did a great job on her cat and flower sketch she left for him. Who knows when my next tattoo will be, but I'm stoked she created this very special tattoo for me.

Today, I washed off the plasma before applying new Tegaderm which will stay on till for a few days. This is such a clean and safe way to recover and heal from tattoos. Especially where I work. Speaking of which, Mia got PLENTY of great compliments on her tattoo she drew and I couldn't wait to come home and tell her all about it. She was hella stoked. Watched a bit of the Chelsea vs Leicester match which ended in a 1-1 draw. Bummer. They need to continue to improve to climb up the table. Come on CHELS!! Fiorentina got a great win today and the Torrent drew on the road in NY. Awesome come back!

This week, tomorrow Mia finds out who her teacher is, which of course will lead to finding out which friends will be in her class. Tuesday is Picture Day followed by some painting with my students on their picnic table. Should be fun. Wednesday is another art lesson day. Thursday is the coaches meeting where we'll receive our rosters, equipment and jerseys for the season. Can't wait to start soccer. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Be a Sweetie For The Needy!

Good evening everyone! It was quite the busy week preparing for the big rummage sale and lemonade stand. Mia and Jill returned Tuesday evening so after I got out of work, I couldn't wait to get home and see the girls. Mia gave the biggest hug and it was nice to have them back. The rest of the week, the girls baked and baked and baked. From cookies to dog treats, they had plenty of great items for Mia's cause along with a lot of our stuff we wanted out of our garage. We could probably clean out the basement and find much more crap to sell. Anyways, Thursday night we set up the tables and got things ready to go.

Friday, Mia was ready to sell sell sell. It was a slow start. We had a few families come through and some didn't get the whole "donation" thing and wanted a price. Eventually, we started seeing more traffic our way and Mia finally got pour some sweet homemade lemonade. The kids that stopped by really liked it and one was cute and said "cookies go great with lemonade" as he chomped on one of the shortbread cookies. I later had to leave and go to work. Saturday, we set up early again and hopped for bigger sales. Some of my awesome co-workers stopped by to support Mia and we had a few families as well. Sold a lot of bigger stuff and will donate the rest. Overall, Mia made over $405.45 in two days. Way more than previous years and we'll probably get some extra sales from others. I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped make this possible. My awesome in-laws and parents for helping set up and taking down the rummage sale and overall, supporting Mia. She sincerely appreciates it and it wouldn't be possible without everyone's support.

Saturday night, Mia and I went to the Torrent vs Napa Valley 1839 match. First one for the Founder's Cup. Great turn out and even better result with the might Blues picking up a pair of goals. Filippi and Luca Lemos netted two beauties getting 3 points. Awesome game. Mia had a great time playing drums and cheering. She still hopes to get a ball tossed out, but will have to be more aggressive if she thinks she'll grab one. For some reason, one of her favorite things to do is help the flag man T-Man take down all the international flags as well as the banners. Such a sweetie.

On the ride home, I shockingly got pulled over for a bad headlight. Ugh. Today before the Chelsea vs Man U match. Chelsea looked strong in the 1st half but gave up a PK. Ugh. 2nd half, the Red Devils secured the win with a few more goals ending it with a very disappointing 4-0. Lampard has his work cut out for him with some big players out on injury and the obviously missed Eden Hazard. After I left work tonight, I unfortunately found out that my light is not working well still. Ugh.

So this week I've got a full week of art lessons. Tomorrow, I'll lesson plan before work. Not completely sure what I'm doing yet, but it'll be a fun week. Saturday is tattoo day and I'm stoked. Will Mia have a sleepover this weekend? Possibly.

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!