The Year 2015: A Reflection

Good evening. It was quite a busy week for the holidays. Mia and I spent some off-time with her old BFFs Hannah and Gracie at The Big Back Yard. It was a lot of fun watching the kids chase each other  around as I caught up with their Mom. Thursday, I was also off and we went over to my brother's house for dinner. It was a lot of fun, and Mia played very nicely with the boys running all over the kitchen. The food was tasty and the gifts were great. Mia fell fast asleep on our way out. Long day for the kiddo.

Friday morning was Christmas. She opened up all of the gifts including the custom bag Jill got from a HS friend, just for Mia. I got some tattoo money towards my half-sleeve as well as some cool little hockey shirts/hoody for Mia to wear. Yeah, strange but they're cute and Mia is excited to wear them. It was very sweet before Mia started to open gifts, she immediately gave the necklace we picked out for Jill first. Mia really is giving and it shows. My in-laws plus family came over for a brunch and it was very tasty. It's always nice when the two sides can hang (missing my brothers and their family) Friday night at work was an awful evening, but I survived and came home to two very sleepy ladies. Long day for them I guess :P

Saturday morning, my brother and I got up nice and early and drove down to Bayview to the Highbury Pub to catch the Chelsea vs Watford game. It was really fun and super crowded. They had every Boxing Day game on, and there were a LOT of games. 4 TV's at the bar level and our game was in the back. Thankfully, the CFC game was near the free food, so that was nice. Getting a beer was difficult though. The game ended in a draw at 2-2 but we had the best time. The atmosphere was intense, and I look forward to going again sometime. Chelsea plays Man U Monday morning. I'm looking forward to that one, but will watch at home.

So here's a quick end of 2015 review. It was a very busy year for the family and a lot of positives and some negatives. I'm going to bounce around a bit on the year so bare with me. Here are some of the highlights for Mia the Diva. She completed 3-K and moved on to 4-K that she's currently in. It was a big step from one day a week school to 3 days a week 4-K. She's doing really well, and enjoys seeing her former teacher in the halls from time to time. It's a new challenge, and at times it's difficult for her, but I think she's doing really well. For some reason, she's really exciting for kindergarten. Anyways, Mia took a few extra curricular classes over the summer including soccer and a swim course. Soccer was tough (since they made the kids play indoors for some reason) but she liked it most of the time. Swim, she also enjoyed. I wasn't allowed to watch except the last day. She seemed to know what she was doing.

We took an amazing family trip to Florida to Disneyworld for a day, as well as visiting Mia's only living Great Grandparent. She had the most fun of her life at Disney despite the on-again-off-again rain. She met every princess and really took a shine to her Great Grandpa. It looks like we may be going next year now in 2016. She's getting way more into asking questions about things (which is great) and can write her name, letters and numbers pretty well. She's great with scissors and glue too. She's got more friends then ever and has been invited to several birthday parties over the year. Her stories about her friends are always entertaining.

Now onto myself. It's been a busy year for me. I somehow, picked up a 2nd job working as the Graphic Designer for Milwaukee's new professional soccer team, The Milwaukee Torrent. It went from a quick little design in Photoshop to see if the fans liked it, to a surreal moment that they (owner) liked the kit and are using and selling them right now. I can't wait to get my custom one in when the team orders their gear. I've been doing their graphic as well as photographed their tryouts as well. The job, (despite the no pay) has been a fantastic distraction from my usual mind-numbing and exhausting shifts at the gas station. I'm constantly thinking of new ideas to share with the owner, as well as The Flood, their supporters group. I've been active with those guys as well, designing the decals, scarf and even will be the mascot in 2016 at the games. Once again, both jobs keep my mind off the other one.

Did some art this year. Jill and I went to Paint-Bar in Delafield and completed some nice pieces (along with my bro and his wifey) Other than that, I've been doing some little traditional art here and there for Mia to pack in her school lunch. Maybe a Monster High character here or a Shopkins there. Whatever surprises her and makes the kid happy. With Mia gone 3 days a week, I've fortunately been able to concentrate on some drumming and some soccer skills at the park. At least once a week (weather permitting) I'd hit up the park and work on bending the ball. Same thing with drumming. Once or twice a week, I'd get to pound on the drums and try to keep whatever skills I have, sharp.

In other exciting news, in 2015 we adopted a kitten. Marie. She's a big ball of sass, but we love her. She was sort of a surprise pick up for us  after Mia's successful couple days raising money for the HAWS shelter. This did so well. Lemonade, cookies and dog treats. The kid raised over 200 dollars and with the power of social media and a very proud Grandma, she got into the local paper. We couldn't have been more proud of the Mia's Sweets & Treats founder. So we've got a kitten and Mia loves her to death. She sort of gets along with Remi. They tend to compete for treats/attention from time to time. Remi likes to remind Marie that he's number one!

I got to watch Chelsea take the EPL title. What an exciting season it was for the Blues. Stayed in 1st place the entire season. Can't say the same about them now, as we fight to get out of 15th place. JM got sacked and we've got a new manager. So much needs to be done so we can climb back up again.

I got to attend a concert this year. Maritime's record release show. Amazing night and it was fantastic getting to talk Davey and Dan like I always would do when I'd see them live. The new record is great as well.

For some reason, we went to a boat load of movies this year. Inside Out, Cinderella, Good Dinosaur, Minions just to name a few. Mia loves going to the movies and it's a special time when Jill and I can take her.

Goals for 2016
Get in better shape (my endurance has improved)
More drumming
Complete more traditional art pieces
Can't wait for the ladies to get back from Ohio. Missing them both like crazy. The house is far too quiet. That's all for now. Thank you for reading this year :)

Sing Out! Sing Out! Sing Out!

Good morning everyone on a very rainy disgusting Monday. It was a very busy week with all kinds of things to discuss. Here we go. Monday, Miss Mia went on a field trip with her class (and Grandma) to Apple Holler. It's about 45 minutes away for a play called Mrs. Claus. They got to meet Santa and his better half. From the pictures, it looked like they had fun. Tuesday was the big day. It was her Christmas Concert. 8 people came from mine and Jill's family. Our parents, her brother and my sister plus us, of course. We took up an entire row. Anyways, as the class came out into the gym, I got nervous. "Is Mia actually going to go through with this and sing? Or, is she going to stand there and not want anything to do with it" Turns out, the diva did amazing and sang her little heart out.

I stood there in the back, with Olivia's Dad videoing our little blond divas. His kid singing as loud as possible (which was funny). I couldn't get over the fact that my little peanut was actually singing in front of a group of probably 50 people. It was great. She sang every single song. When the whole thing was over, I said "I am SO proud of you for singing!" She responded with "I TOLD YOU I could do IT!" Smart ass. Anyways, afterwards she gave Jill and myself a beautiful ornament she made in the class. Three snowmen painted on the ornament. Thanks kid :) After a few pictures with some of her friends, we headed home. Wednesday, she didn't have school because she was going on Thursday for the holiday party. Well, actually it was a Pajama Day. She picked out her Chelsea PJ's (honestly, I had nothing to do with it) They watched Elf and exchanged books. All in all, great time.

Saturday, we were Chicago-bound to visit Jill's pal Whitney on the West Side. Jill and I both loved her apartment. Mia especially enjoyed spending time with Whitney. After an amazing brunch complete with mimosas, we took the L train into downtown and wandered around the German Christmas thing.  It was FREEZING cold, but it was fun. We made our way to Millennium Park and Mia played on the playground till it got dark. I always enjoy going downtown Chicago. Especially with Mia since she hasn't explored much of the city. The few times she goes to the city, it's to the Shedd. Later we went back to the apartment for hot cocoa (Mia and Jill) and said our goodbyes and went home. It was a busy little Saturday off, but we had a great time.

Sunday we cleaned ALL morning. Exciting right? Now on to soccer-related news. Thursday, Chelsea "parted" ways with fan-fav manager Jose Mourinho. Easily the best manager we had, but for some reason this season, we can't get many wins. It's been a really rough season full of lack of confidence, some injuries and one very frustrated manager. The board was sick of the losses, and had "no choice" but to let him go. He was really never to blame, but the players. The same players that one the league last season couldn't get the magic back. The players that were banging out goal after goal last season were barely getting anything in the net. The players knew it was there fault Saturday when Chelsea faced Sunderland. I missed the game, but I saw the highlights and that they won 3-1. First EPL win in 9 games. That's horrid and downright pathetic. The fans gave them a piece of their mind, and now the players who blew the season for Chelsea have something else to fight for: The fight to win back the fans. This Saturday, I'm going to watch Chelsea take on Watford with my little brother at a soccer bar in Milwaukee. It's something that has been on my list of things I want to do for a while, so I'm looking forward to it.

This week is going to be quite busy. Work today and tomorrow. Off Wed-Thurs. Back to work on Christmas. Jill and Mia leave Saturday for Ohio. I hope everyone enjoys their holiday. Thank you very much for reading! :)

The Pokemon Party

Good morning. Every week keeps getting busier and busier. School ending real soon, but first: the week/weekend. Wednesday, Mia and I watched the Champions League game after school by Grandpa Grumpy. It was fantastic because Chelsea successfully beat Porto and we move on to the next group. Later, we went to Jill's parent's house for a birthday dinner for her Dad. Uncle Tommy was helping Mia learn some piano. I think as she gets older if she choses to, he'll be able to teach her.  Friday, Mia got to hang out at Helium Trampoline Park with her BFF Olivia before her birthday. It was technically the LAST day that she'd be eligible to take advantage of "TOT TIME" because the age group goes from walking-5 years old. So, we just about had the whole place to ourselves. Maybe 6 kids total there (including the divas). They had an absolute blast running around and playing. Meeting new kids. It was fun.

 Saturday was Olivia's birthday party. Mia was very exciting and was super curious to see which classmates were gonna be there. Majority of them were invited. Mia went down all of the slides, and ate pizza. It was a Pokemon-themed party so we got her friend a Pikachu stuffed animal, and Friday after she got back from Helium, she had her a friendship bracelet. Today at school, Mia was wearing the Pokemon black-rubber bracelet she got in a gift bag. Jill and I both attended this party and this was Jill's first time at Monkey Joe's. She got to see for the first time Mia getting to interact and play with her friends from school. It really is enjoyable. They're beyond silly and everyone got along. Mia's highlight of the day was her classmate Isabella playing with her on one of the obstacle things. In this particular one, the kids are sort of closed off so you can only see them coming out or going in. Mia was in for a while playing with friends Alexa, Nate and Isabella. For the longest time, Mia was convinced Izzy didn't like her. No idea why. I kept trying to explain "well, maybe she's just shy". Before we left, Mia came out down the inflated ramp "GUESS WHAT?? ISABELLE LIKES ME NOW! AND I'M SO GLAD!!"

Later, we make Christmas cookies. Lots of them. Mia had a blast decorating and taste-testing her culinary skills. Sunday, I worked and Jill and Mia hung out with her other grandparents. I came home and both were fast asleep.

Today, she's on a field trip to Apple Holler for a play. Tomorrow is the big Christmas concert. Wednesday holiday crafts and she gets to go to school on THURSDAY because it's a Christmas party and book exchange where the kids get to give books to each other. Sounds like fun. Chelsea plays Leicester today. God, I hope they pull this one off.  

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

The Skating Diva

Good evening. A weekend has come and gone in a blink of an eye. But first, the first week of December. It used to mark the first big dumping of snow, but as I gaze out the window, all I see is super thick fog. Not a lot of snow has fallen yet, which is fine. No rushing the inevitable, really. Mia had a busy week of school. I went to pick her up on a day, and one of her friends yells out "MIA'S DAD IS HERE!" and as Mia got up to walk out the door to me, 6 friends attached themselves to her with a huge group hug. It was cute, but Mia got a bit freaked out. Monday, I did a little editing in Garage Band. That weekend I had recorded Mia and Jill singing "Rudolph" and later, I added a soft drum track to it. Sounded kinda cool but Mia hated it. Such a critic.

Friday, Mia and I went shopping for my sister for Christmas. It was actually kinda nice, just the two of us. Because Mia was so nice at the store we went to, I let her look around the ornament store at the mall. She loved it. Looking at all the different villages and decorations. "This is better than the free popcorn sample I got!" Saturday, she did her Santa pictures at Jill's studio before we watched the rather disappointing Chelsea game. I can not believe they lost to Bournemouth. They made it into the EPL this year and have a lousy record. How did we blow it? The defenders looked pretty lost and I think they mistakenly started Hazard as a striker again. It's getting to the point of "can we at least TRY to win a game?" I don't know what it's going to take for them to win a damn game. It's getting scary that we're barely above the relegation line.

Later at night, Mia and I went skating at the Petit. She got to break in her new skates Jill got for her earlier in the year ( I believe). She had so much fun. She's getting better but needs to work on her gliding. She would try to sprint across the ice at times. I would skate backwards and have her skate solo to me. It worked most of the time. A few times she fell and landed on her butt. She'd get upset, cry a little and then want to skate some more. I think she skated about 2 hours which is pretty impressive. She spent most of the night coughing and it was difficult to get her to sleep for a while. Hopefully she's feeling better come Monday morning. I worked on some Milwaukee Torrent art which turned out pretty good. I got an email this week from a woman looking for a business logo for her nail salon. I'm going to work on it after I drop Mia off on Monday.

This week: Wednesday, Chelsea plays Porto, so we'll watch that. She' got Olivia's birthday coming up Saturday so we gotta find something for her blonde BFF. That's all for now. Thanks for reading! :)

Turkey Fest

Good morning. Hope everyone got to enjoy their long weekend. I had Saturday off, but we'll get back to that later. Mia had a fun week at school. She learned all about the first Thanksgiving and had a feast at school on Wednesday. They watched one of those Peanuts movies with Snoopy and the gang as well. When I went to pick her up. she had on a headband that she made complete with feathers. She had a blast. Later, Mia and I hung out with my Dad for his 69th Birthday. He enjoyed his Chief (their dog) shirt and the brownies I picked up. Mia was extra sweet to him for his day. Later, Jill and I surprised Mia with tickets to see the premier of The Good Dinosaur. It was beautifully done but maybe a little long for a kid who was up since 7:45am. She needed a nap and at times, was distracted by that. She liked it though. Pixar really pushed the envelop with the art on this one. Everything looked like a live action movie. The trees, willows and water looked so real. It was incredible. It was a nice little family outing before the girls got the long weekend.

Thursday, I had the early shift like I do every year. 6am-2pm. We were pretty steadily busy throughout the day. I just wanted the day to end so I could enjoy family time. Later, we went to my parent's and joined my sister and brother's family for Thanksgiving. It was fun. Friday, nothing too exciting. Worked at 2pm. Jill and Mia went to a cookie sale event at the hotel in Pewaukee, and later a craft fair. She got her face painted like Rudolph. It was cute.

Saturday I had the day off. Finally. We went to visit with Jill's family for their very first Thanksgiving in Wisconsin as new residents. It was great. Good food and delicious pie. Sunday morning, I got out of bed at 5:30am for the Chelsea vs Spurs match. I tried to remain quiet not to wake anyone. To my surprise, 15 minutes into the first half I heard a little voice next to me. "Daddy?" "Mia, what are you doing up so early?" "Well, I said the other day I wanted to watch the game with you" So we did. We watched the rest of the score-less first half together, as the sun was rising. It was a special morning for us. She never gets up that early and it was just her and I. by ourselves. The only thing that would have made that moment better, was if Chelsea would have scored and won. Instead, it was a draw. Mia and I went out at half time to walk Remi. I carried her shivering body in my arms as we quietly walked the dog before the start of the 2nd half. We brought him back in and she promptly decided it was time to wake up Jill. She was less than enthused to be up that early on a Sunday. Oh well.

For some reason, Chelsea started Hazard as a striker over Costa. Apparently, his attitude has been rough and JM figured Hazard could get the job done. He's an attacking midfielder that hangs on the left so it was odd they'd put him front and center. He's played the number 10 spot before but it wasn't a major improvement. Yesterday, he did alright but just couldn't find the net. Begovic was superb in the net. Fabregas, I'm ready to see leave. He didn't do squat again, and just seemed lost at times. I don't know what the January transfer window is looking like at the moment, but it wouldn't surprise me if he left then or at the end of the season.

This week, try to start some new art, and watch the game Saturday. Last week, I started and completed a cool graphic for The Flood that turned out real nice. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Two Little Monkeys

Good evening.
Hope everyone is keeping warm and got to enjoy the weekend. It was an overall enjoyable week over here. Wednesday after school, Mia and her BFF Olivia met up and went to Monkey Joe's together. When I went to pick her up at the end of her day, Mia and Olivia came out of class bouncing with excitement. It was adorable. Anyways, Olivia's Dad and I brought the kids to the jump joint and they had a total blast. They would hold hands going down the big slides, race and shot some hoops at the arcade-style basketball game. It was cute. Mia's definitely a lefty and made quite a bit of baskets. They play so cute and act like sisters when they interact. I love it. Despite the fact that they will be in different kindergartens next year, I hope they can continue being best friends.

The Christmas tree is already set up. Jill and Mia tackled that traditional set up that I usually get to help with. I was a bit bummed. Oh well. Saturday, I watched the Chelsea vs Norwich game. It was a long international break. Everyone did well individually for their country so I was quite amped for this game. Chelsea needed this win and they got it. It most certainly wasn't a blowout, but the win was so well-deserved. They all played so well, and it was a great result. I was quite occupied with helping Jill with her Wild Tree sale preparations and getting Mia breakfast but what I saw was great. Pedro, Hazard and Willian performed fantastically. Although I will not get to watch the 2nd leg of the Champions League game, I feel like they can get the win. Every one's feeling good, JM is feeling good, the team looks solid and that's all what matters.

Jill's sale went alright. A few items sold. After break down, we stopped at my parent's for my Mom's birthday. She was totally surprised and quite happy :) Today Jill had her pal Heather (and kid Bella) as well as her Mom over to help bake a ton of cookies to raise money for a local cat shelter. Mia and Bella did an amazing job with the cookies and had a ton of fun. It was great seeing the two getting along. Heather is a sweet and genuine person so it came no surprise her little 10 year old was just the same. I have to stop over Wednesday for my Dad's birthday this week. He's going to love his gift :) Mia also has a Thanksgiving Feast at her school on Wednesday. I'm not quite sure what that means as far as "does she bring some traditional food?" or what. Guess we'll find out.

Thursday, I'm working 6am-2pm which is quite typical for me on Turkey Day (as I requested) and then it'll be off to my parents. Saturday, it'll be Jill's parent's house. Their first of many Thanksgivings in Wisconsin.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

The Rock

Good evening everyone. Lots to discuss tonight as I eat some tasty motz sticks after a busy Sunday evening shift. Wednesday after I picked up Mia from school, my father in law watched her for me as I went rock climbing with my pal Andy at Adventure Rock in Pewaukee. I have never rock climbed, nor had the opportunity to do so, so when he invited me, I was very stoked to try it. I was a tad nervous because I have never done anything like it and wasn't sure how to go up, but once they get the harness on you and give you the rundown on how to clip onto the device that keeps you from hitting the ground when you repel down. Pretty straight forward. So first one I did, climbed with no problem. It took me a few times to get the repelling down but after a while, I found it quite fun.

It most certainly takes a lot of upper body strength to pull yourself up the sides, plus some super strong fingers. The grips on the side were graded for Mt Everest I believe, and some were really difficult. The colorful mustaches were super tricky. Absolutely no grip whatsoever. I named that side "Mustache Mountain" The whole experience was an absolute blast and I'd totally do it again. Jill even wants to go too :)

Mia had a pretty good week at school as well. She still needs to work on talking more as far as Show and Tell, and when she's called on. She's improving but I know she can do better. Saturday, I had a Flood meeting (Torrent Supporters). We had a good turnout, and unveiled the official Milwaukee Torrent mascot. Me. Wearing an authentic luchador mask, Torrent jersey and scarf. It's ridiculous but we hope the mascot will get the fans amped as I chant and pound the drums. It'll be a blast. The new Torrent intern made an appearance as well and shared some ideas. It'll most certainly be exciting. Another meeting will be most likely held in January. We just need to get more pre-order sales for the pack.

Saturday night, we went to the Paint-Bar in Delafield. I had received a gift certificate for my birthday for the place so Jill, myself, my brother and sister-in-law met there and painted. It was a lot of fun. Basically, you can either sign up for a class, or do a freestyle paint session. A lot of people take previously painted pieces off the wall, and try to replicate it. That's what Jill, Ash and Andy did. I had a print out of a Hawaiian sunset I wanted to do. Everyone had a great time. Jill's winter piece turned out amazing. Andy's space kitty was adorable and Ashley did a great job with her African sunset. As far as my Hawaii one? I'm pleasantly surprised that it turned out well. The table of people next to us really liked our pieces which was nice to hear. I sincerely wish they would have given us real white acrylic paint at the beginning instead of a jell medium. Oh well. We had an amazing time. It was a rare night for us all to hang out, and not have the kids. Mia went to the movies with Jill's parents. She saw the Peanuts movie. Loved it.

Today, I cleaned the gutters before work. This week, not totally sure what we're doing yet. Saturday, Jill's got an event going on with Wild Tree. I believe she is baking cookies for a local animal shelter real soon as well.

That's all for now. Time to hit the bed. Thanks for reading!!