This is Halloween!

Holy jack o' lanterns Batman! Do I have a lot to discuss tonight, so let's get right to it! Sunday morning, I went out and played a soccer/futbol game for the very first time in 16 years. Really! I took Remi out early in the morning for a warm up run. Got to Brookfield Indoor about a half hour before game time. Found a team to play with and we hit the pitch. I was nervously excited because I was watching some of the earlier games when I arrived and let me tell you, these guys played HARD CORE! They were super quick and fast, and could really boot the ball. As excited as i was to play, I felt sorta intimidated. Outdoor soccer is totally different then indoor. You sort of switch positions as times, but I ended up playing striker. next time, defense. It was defiantly a learning experience and look forward to playing the night games. What was great, was that Jill told me that Mia kept pointing and saying "daddy! How awesome. Legs were pretty sore after the 9-12 loss, but it was totally worth it.

Later in the day, we went trick or treating. Mia almost napped through it. Because it was pretty windy and cold, we only went out for an hour, which honestly was long enough. She did pretty well. It was cute watching her drag her little pumpkin full of candy around. She wouldn't wear the hat to her purple crayon outfit. Oh well. My mom and Tommy joined us. 

Tonight, we got he into her awesome pirate costume and hit up Waukesha. She plundered the streets in search of M&M's and Kit-Kats. Once again, didn't stay out long. My sister and Mom came along. We all had a great time, plus Mia looked awesome. 

Mia and I hit the voting polls and I casted my absentee ballot early. Just like Jill and I did before the last election before we hit NYC. It was cute how Mia asked me when I was filling out the envelop "Daddy, what are you colouring?" And after I finished at the poll, she said "yayyy Daddyyyy!" Love this kid so much. 

Making great progress on the Stamkos picture. Could be done in a week or two. Still, have lots of other art to do. 

All Hollows

Hey peeps. Short blog post today. Gotta be up early Friday morning. Just had some cool things to share. The warm weather has been great (even though it's gone now) Today, Mia and I took advantage of the seasonable October weather and raked up some leaves. I'd rake the ones out of the drive way, and she'd pick them up and put them back. Eventually she would realize it was more FUN to just throw them up in the air and put them in her hair. Strange kid. Anyways, so my Wednesday off was quite busy. The first and important stop, was to Brookfield Indoor Soccer complex. I recently discovered that they host Men's Open soccer on Sunday nights. Games beginning at 7, 9 and 10pm. So we ran down and checked out the place and got more info. When Mia and I walked in, it was pretty dark in the complex since they had no games going on, but Mia could tell what wasn't lit up: 5 beautiful soccer fields/pitch and she quickly said "DADDA SOCCER!!!" We talked to a woman who gave me the run down that you basically show up on game days for the first few weeks to see if anyone needs an extra player. Since THIS Sunday is trick or treating, I didn't think I'd be able to play at night..BUT she did inform me that the Waukesha Men's 35+ group meets and plays Sunday mornings. Even though I'm 29, she said I was "close enough" so she gave me some contact info. Today I got a response from the guy who must run it on game days. No permanent spots open for anyone, however he did say I could come down and see if they needs a field player. As stoked as I am to go down and play, I will not get too excited because who knows if they truly need a player. He said it's no guarantee but most likely I'll be able to play. So Friday morning, Mia and I need to hit up Steffans and get some shin guards, long socks and a pair of shorts.

When we left, Mia was pretty bummed she didn't get to watch any live soccer. She loves watching live hockey so I know that if daddy gets to play Sunday, she'll have an absolute ball. The complex is pretty cool. Very big with great seating everywhere.

Like I mentioned, Trick or treating is Sunday, so we're pretty stoked to take her out. It's gonna be 45-48 degrees so hopefully it won't be as windy as it is now, or we won't get that far for a 2nd year in a row :(

Anything else to discuss? I dunno. She pooed in the toilet a few days ago which is rad because it's one step towards her getting potty trained! Yay. Alright, that's all for now. Thanks for reading!

This Is Only A Test

Hello friends and loyal readers. Or... casual readers. Taking a break from drawing at the moment. Really kicking the Steve Stamkos portrait for my dad into high gear. Also, did a little work on the soccer home jersey. It's going be interesting. It's good to being able to put some creative energy into some art. Sometimes I feel like my days at work only destroy the already numb creative brain sells in the ol' noggin. Hence, why I need art in every way. I need to be doing something creative as often as possible. And that's a fact. Would be great if I could do it for a living. You know, actually be excited to go to work for once. Wonder what that's like. We carved pumpkins with my family over the weekend. As you can tell from the picture, Jill and myself carved Elmo and Cookie Monster. My sister with the help of Jill carved Big Bird. I'm quite happy with how they turned out.

Mia had a doc appt today. Would love to tell you what he weight/height is, but frankly, she was incredibly upset the whole time that I could barely hear the measurements. It started with the scale. She's much too big for the small one they used to be able to lay her on. I stood her up on the "big girl" one and she pretty much lost it. She used to be able to handle the head measurements and such, but she just freaked the HELL out. She's at the age where she remembered what the doctor and assistant do when we come in for the visit. Her next visit is at 2 years old, so hopefully we will be able to explain to her the situation and she'll handle it better, but it doesn't sound like it'll be that easy. Her and I kicked the ball around earlier today. Weather was perfect for some soccer. Couldn't have been better. She even did some dribbling around with her ball.

Other then that, nothing else to talk about. I defiantly would like to get the Samsung Galaxy S2. It's on sale currently online at the US Cellular site, but I need to go into the actual store to use my discount so hopefully we can work around or with the online deal for the phone. If I have to order it, then fine, I just want to get the phone and use my discount :)

That's all for now. Thanks for reading

Luciferian Blues

Hey friends. Man, today flew by. Mia and I headed out to Eble Ice Arena to watch Uncle Andy play some pick up hockey. Now, she's been there a few times, but I swear, today she REALLY loved watching today. She saw the rink when we got in the arena and said "HOCCCKKKKEYYY!" She pounded on the glass, waved to the goalie, cheered on the few goals that were made. It was awesome. Best part is that she even wore one of my toques winter hat) on her head. She hates wearing hats these days. Every one of them. But I told her today "you have to wear the hat if you want to watch hockey" so she put up with it. After the pick up game, and Andy came out of the locker room, she gave him a big ol' hug. Awww...

We drove around visiting Jill, Auntie Ashley, had some lunch with Grandpa and stopped by Grandma. On the way to Grandpa's, she napped for about 15 minutes. When I brought her into the house, she didn't wanna sleep anymore, and just played with us. Later, Jill and I were able to watch both episodes of Modern Family. The one had the oldest daughter going off to college. It was pretty sad sorta too. Jill and I both don't know how we'll be able to contain ourselves when Mia goes off to college many years down the road. I don't know what I'll do...

The other day we had a great time on a rather windy bike ride, followed by some soccer training. Mia would say "go get the ball Daddy" when I'd boot it across our large back yard. Super fun. Can't wait to boot it into a goal on a team some day hopefully sooner then later..

Been tough feeding Riley (the last guinea pig) and not seeing Devany. We really miss her. Mia even too!

Last but certainly not least, I've been putting in some late hours trying to knock out three solid soccer logo concepts for my MLS Milwaukee FC project. Posted today the three to see which one would be the logo my friends would like the most and make it on the jersey. Now that it's figured out, I can work on the 2nd part in the near future. PLUS I need to start my Dad's birthday gift PLUS a tattoo for a coworker PLUS PLUS that Lil Wayne portrait for a girl too. SUPER busy here. I will prevail and pull it off.

That's it for now. Can barely keep my eyes open. Thanks for reading!

Prevent This Tragedy

Lots to discuss today, so let's get right to it. Friday, somehow on my daily run with Remi down the bike trail and through the park, I LOST my cell phone. How?? When I picked up his crap, I noticed the phone wasn't next to my keys. Damn. Where could I have lost it. I retraced my steps and couldn't find anything. The next day, still couldn't find anything. I suspended my account and phone so whomever had it couldn't do anything with it. I was due to get rid of my carrier and get a better phone. My lost phone was very basic, but regardless, I needed to find it. 5 days later, I got an email from AT&T that a woman found my phone. Jill picked it up Tuesday after work. I was relieved. I was bummed because I had a lot of old awesome photos of Mia on it. Thankfully I have it again, but I do plan on giving it to Jill to replace her old one, and I'd like to get on board with a different carrier and pick up a smart phone.  Leaning towards US Cellular.

First, I said "Okay, I want an iPhone, let's see what Sprint offers because Verizon is far too expensive." Sprint's 99 buckos for unlimited everything wasn't happening. Forget it iPhone. Looked at T-Mobile. Good deals, but then I heard the reception is awful. Rats. Heard good things about US Cellular. So now I'm looking at different smart phones and hope it works out. 

Now for some sad news. A couple days ago, when Mia and I went to go feed our guinea pigs Riley and Devany, Devany wasn't looking too good. I sat there and petted her for a while saying "it's alright buddy you can eat lettuce later". Later at work I got a call from Jill that she died. That moment when I decided to rub her little piggie head would be the last time I'd see her alive. I know to most people it's just a pet, but this guinea pig and her sister Riley were the first pets Jill and I got together. Devany's was mine, Riley's was Jill's. When we moved into an apartment in Waukesha, we wanted pets. Cats were pricey for the deposit, so when a friend of Jill's was giving away some guinea pigs, we picked out two. They were always a hit at our parties back in the day.  My favourite memory with the pigs was a long time ago in our apartment, Jill and I were laying awake in our bed just talking. Jill was poking fun at me about something, I responded to the insult, and in the living room we heard both piggies squeaking like they were laughing at me. Devany was a good little piggie. I'm going to miss her. It was incredibly depressing when Mia went in tonight to feed Riley. "Where's Devany??" Broke my heart. Jill's too. I'm going to have to bury her Saturday. I know, I know "it's a guinea pig Mike". Still loved her, and love her now lonely sister.

This weekend, yard work, maybe a bike ride. Hopefully. We went on a really nice bike ride the other day. It was incredibly awesome. The colours were beautiful, Mia had a great time.  Hope to do it again.  That's all for now. Thanks for reading. 

Summon Monsters

Hello friends. Another delightful day off for Mia and myself. Hung out with my Dad, visited My mom over at her work ( Mia even scored a free sugar cookie) and stopped over at Kwik Trip to adjust my weekend schedule (thank you Meena!)and per the usual, she passed out very quickly on the ride home. Speaking of ride, we switched our car seats to front facing which is awesome. Why? well she needed the leg room, which was the main reason why we did it, but NOW she can see us from the back seat and likes to wave and interact. Makes driving places a little easier.

Art is at a stand-still. Motivation is a little low. I really need to kick it into high gear. I think when I don't have a deadline, I tend to procrastinate. Not good at all. Gotta work on that big time. Super stoked to watch my nephew play some soccer Sunday. Should be a fun time. Plus it'll be Mia's first live soccer game. Hopefully she won't try to get on the field. I may have to bring a ball for her to kick around.

Mia's doing a fantastic job as my "trainer" during the day. My daily routine includes a run with Remi at 7am, and if it's nice out, Mia and I will take the bike out for a mile or two ride. When we get home, we kick the soccer ball around. I'll boot it across the yard she'll say immediately "go get it Daddy!" and I'll run and kick it back and she'll say "kick it again!" This goes on for 45 minutes. Totally a blast. All before I work later at 2. I told Jill she's getting me in training for HOPEFULLY Winter or Spring soccer.

Alright, that's it. Short blog tonight. I gotta check laundry and head off to sleep. Later :)

You Dress Up For Armageddon

Helloooooo friends. So I've got  rad story to share. But first let me tell you about Saturday: We've been to the zoo about 8 times (well I most certainly have) and Saturday was the very first time Jill & Mia saw the sea lion/harbor seal show. That was actually the main reason why we even went to the zoo that day. I wasn't certain how Mia would do just sitting in the benches, but ocne the show started she was absolutely riveted. She would clap and point to the animals, and wave as they'd do tricks. She'd even talk to the strangers next to her pointing out to the pool saying "SEALL!!" All in all, great time. So on to my rad story: Sunday, me, Jill and Miss Mia went to the park and took the dog for a walk. Jill had an idea to bring the bike and Mia's helmet and see if she would want to take a ride. Sure, why the hell not. Got her in the bike seat, strapped the dreaded helmet on that she absolutely hates and headed down the bike path. She through a mild fit going down the path and sorta calmed down later. Not a bad first ride at the park. Monday, another gorgeous day out so I tried again. This time, built the bike ride to be an exciting adventure. She would respond with "oh boy oh boy! With helmet Daddy!" Umm okay perfect. Sure. Pulled out the bike then carefully strapped on the helmet. She was amped and ready to roll. Awesome! And off we were. bike riding, together. Daddy and daughter. This was what I wanted to do this summer. I wanted to go bike riding with Mia so badly, and for a short while she wasn't interested in it. Monday morning was amazing. We actually rode for a mile. She enjoyed pointing to the dogs, waving to some of the neighbors and laughing as I had to pedal hard up some of the hills. We came back to the house, and of course she said "AGAIN!!" The last few days have been cold-ish and rainy so we haven't gotten back on the bike sadly.

Last night she was finishing up with bath time and I recently found out that there was a Chelsea game on my day off :) So I told Mia "Do you wanna watch Chelsea and Juventus tomorrow??" "OH BOY OH BOYY! GO CHELSEA!!" It was awesome. Wednesday morning I told her "Miaaaaa we're going to watch the Chelsea game today!" She got super excited. Didn't sleep well due to Jill having to get up in the morning early to photograph a school. But later got enough sleep to enjoy our day together. Oscar's two back to back goals were sick. But of course Juventus some how caught  up and tied the game. Damn! Oh well.

Art is kind of at a stand-still at the moment. Slightly because of motivation, mostly because the creative wheels in my head aren't turning (regarding the MLS Milwaukee team logo & kit) I'm trying to nail some really good rough sketches. Nothing clicking as of yet.

Seems like Summer is ending and Fall is just about here. Love the Fall time, but sort of sad to see Summer go. We had a scorcher of a summer this year, but there is more daylight to enjoy in the evenings. Oh well. Still stoked for Halloween :)

That's all for now. Adios :)