LEVEL5

quiet cottage

2010-03-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

What do you do when the seams come unglued?
With the pieces all warped and worn out and chewed.
Do you break out the tools?
Try rebuilding anew?
Can you travel through time and reverse crude abuse?

To break is so easy.
It's the fix that's the trick.
When the ocean of love gets so muddy and thick.

You get frantic and panic.
My heart burns in the static.
As the beast is released from it's cell in the attic.

Complete chaos ensues.
A dark blaze takes the day.
I churn while I burn in a swirling black rage.
All time goes away as we lash out and say
Silly things we don't mean and think things we don't say.

Anger shocks me in blasts.
Overwhelms me so fast.
In those moments I feel like I grasp psychopaths.
For one smoldering instant I am fury supreme.
I am unbridled frenzy.
Choking love to it's knees.

But this isn't me.
A slave to this rampage.
It's breaking my heart and melting my days.
So this stops today.
Set these demons ablaze.
I'm a servant of love.
And I will find my way.

Aaaaaand my daughter is the cutest little thing ever!!!

2009-07-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

Winter has been an amazing little baby on this trip. From her first time up in airplanes to spending long, eventful days in the hot Carolina weather she has been so good. It's been so cool having her be around so many people. She seems to really enjoy everybody and anybody's company. No matter who had her in their arms she was usually as happy as the day is long. Of course, like any baby, she has her daily grumpy moments but they are usually quite easily quelled by a little dose of beauty sleep. It's been amazing having so much loving family around to share the load of baby duties for a while. Being able to have some alone time with Lyndsey while Winter was with the Glamma or my Brother or whomever has been a serious treat. On top of all this, watching Winter grow so fast over this month of away time has been amazing. She has been changing so quickly it is simply blowing all of us away. Winter will be 6 months old on July 20th (not to mention that I will be 30 years old on the 28th...holy shit). It feels like she is going to start crawling any day now and she is so vocal nowadays it feels like she could start spitting out her first words and day also. We love her so much. Each day is such an exciting adventure. It is going to be so fantastic when she is running around and having little kid conversations with us. For now we will be treasuring each day as it presents itself with hope that they don't all flash by in a blur. This Mommy and Daddy thing is the best and we will continue to cherish every moment.

The photos above with Winter are with the following loved ones: Tom/Pop/Grampa, our dear friend Jeremy from Portland, Broham Casey, and cousin Randi.

XO

Just for the record...

2009-07-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

My Wife is very HOT!...and I sure do love her to bits. XO

The Pier, my dear...

2009-07-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

One of the many traditions that come along with the family beach times is an evening at the Garden City Pier. Everyone drives there and walks down to the end of the Pier. There's a bar on the Pier and we all get drinks and take photos and have a relaxing good time.

Above are some of my favorite photos from this year:

My brother and I were getting photographed and Riley and Luke decided to jump in.

The Mandersons and Ganterts. Left to Right: Lindsay and Tombo(they just got engaged yesterday!! Hooray!! Congrats kids!!), My Lyndsey and our little Winter, Maggie and Tom(Lyndsey and Tombo's mom and pop), myself and the lovermuffins Cherlyn and Casey.

A great shot of Casey and Cherlyn. Pretty pretties.

The original lovebirds, Tom and Maggie Gantert. Seriously, the coolest folks in the whole wide world. love em, love em, love em.

Lyndsey and I. Livin' and Lovin'

Greatest family ever? yes I think so.

XO

I wanna live on the ocean

2009-07-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

Obviously, a huge chunk of our time was spent on the beach and in the ocean. The ocean was amazing. It was brilliantly hot outside everyday and all we really wanted to do everyday was jump in the water.

I was so happy to have my brother Casey and his girlfriend Cherlyn on this trip with us. They are two of my favourite people in the whole world and they made the trip even better. I can't wait until next year.

Jumping in the waves was the name of the game. I really like this shot of little Mckinley.

So many good times were had just messing around on the beach. You would see crabs scuttling around and on one occasion Casey grabbed one for an intimate moment. On the topic of beach wildlife pretty much everyday we were on the beach we would spot huge black spots on the ocean. The first day we saw one none of us were really sure what they were exactly so a few of us decided to swim out and investigate. It turned out to be a massive school of fish. Literally thousands of fish just riding the waves together. Supposedly when you see those schools it means that sharks are never too far away. We never saw any sharks but we saw those schools a lot. Sometimes they were way far out in the water and sometimes they were no more than 10 or 15 meters. Swimming out there and being right on the edge of the school of fish was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. So many fish, no more then 3 or 4 inches long. You could get so close that you could see their little eyes flashing in the sun and their little mouths opening and closing. Super cool. I wish I had an underwater camera so I could have gotten a few photos of them.

Luke & Woody

2009-07-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

The little guy is Luke. He's 2. Woody is his Dad. He's huge. This was the first time I had ever met them. It was my 3rd year coming out to the beach but they hadn't made it out the previous 2 years. Luke is a hilariously energetic little dude. It basically gave us a window into how awesome it's gonna be when Winter is up and running around.

One of the days at the beach we spent at beach house that we rented out in order to celebrate some birthdays. At one point a bunch of our towels and a skim board fell over the railing into a fenced off, weedy area along the beach. Woody grabbed Luke and dangled him over the railing to grab it all. Hence the photo of the dangling baby. Michael Jackson had nothing on Woody.

Life's a Beach

2009-07-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

Alright, I haven't posted anything in about a week. My hand is healing up nicely and I can actually use it to type again. We are all back in Charlotte as of yesterday afternoon. Casey and Cherlyn caught their flight home yesterday as well. This whole wonderful trip is almost over. We are here until Wednesday and then it's homeward bound. The beach week was pure greatness. A whole lot of swimming in the ocean, fun in the sun and feasting on fried foods. Even with my ridiculous metabolism I managed to gain a few pounds. All in all the week zipped by way too fast but we had a blast watching it go. I'll just post a load of photos with captions to make it easier on my stupid, busted up hand.

Stuff and Things...

2009-06-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't posted anything in almost a week. Been to busy having fun. We spent the last handful of days toolin around on the lake and such. My brother and his lovely lady, Cherlyn, arrived on Thursday afternoon along with a few more members of the Gantert family. We all prepared to head out on the boat but Murphy's Law decided to interupt our plans. After prepping the boat to perfection we were all ready to cast off and the boat decided not to start. This was the first time they had ever had problems with the new boat. So, unfortunately, our boat day ended before it ever began. The next day Tom & Maggie set out early in the morning to meet up with the mechanic at the marina to try and sort things out. It ended up taking half the day to get things figured out. In the end they borrowed/rented another boat from the marina for friday and saturday. The boat they got, although it wasn't as cozy as Tom & Maggie's baby, was pretty amazing. Tom showed us the specs sheet that came along with it and the selling price was over $626,000!!! It was 46 feet long, all fiberglass, sported two 8.1 litre fuel injected motors and the interior was ridiculous. With that said the boat that they own is 40 feet and beautiful and is worth an arm and a leg aswell it's just an older boat. The one we used was just brand new and had hardly ever been used. I, nor most of us out those days, had ever been on such an extravagant vessel. I will mention that I keep refering to them as boats but they really are considered yachts. We were all very spoiled to say the least.

We wake boarded a bit on one of the days with a friends speed boat but most of the time we just cruised. It was all about havin some drinks and stopping here and there to jump in the lake. Fun all around.

PS. We just got to Myrtle Beach yesterday afternoon and I had a bit of an accident. Long story short, I cut a couple of my fingers on my right hand pretty bad. Luckily my brothers girlfriend is a nurse and we had most of the first aid supplies we needed. I probably could have used stitches but we just got some Steri-strips and gauze and wrapped the shit out of my hand. All in all I'm ok. Just A bit sore and what not. I'll post more later with photos and all. For the record I just typed all of this with my left hand.

A Grand 'ol time...

2009-06-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

Lillian and Richard Eudeikis aka. Great Grandma and Grandpa aka. GG & GGE. There's a cool little tidbit about the name Richard that spans both of our family's. As stated above it is Great Grandpa's name but it is also Tom's brother's name as well as my Father's name and my own middle name. Pretty cool if you ask me. Anyway Lillian and Richard obviously loved meeting Winter and spending all this time with her. It was really special for us to. Being able to come out here and have them meet her means a lot. This is my favorite photo of them with Winter. Cute as all get out.

This next photo is of Richard's "Canada Boots". He wears these boots everyday and shines them up just about as much. He told us the story of when he was working as a young fellow he would go on these fishing trips up to Canada with his boss and coworkers. He was always one of the designated grunts that had to carry loads of gear for everyone and with the money his boss gave him he would buy a pair of these boots. He loves them boots and I love this photo.

This last photo is of Great Grandma Lillian. She typically seems to hate having her picture taken and this is a rare moment of her actually embracing the moment and giving the camera a little something special. This is especially hilarious if you know her. She is usually quite reserved and conservative. It's cool to see her let loose a bit. I think we all did a pretty good job of bringing that out in her a bit on this trip. All in all she is a great lady.

A family that bowls together grows together

2009-06-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

After playing Wii bowling for hours on end a hand full of the days we've been here in Wisconsin we figured it was time to go take part in the real thing. When Vince and Julie got out here we all headed to the Bowling Alley down the street for a couple games. It was super fun. I hadn't been bowling in a year or so and it showed while Tom was bringing the house down with Strike after Strike. The Wii sure makes that sport seem a lot easier when it's just a TV screen and a remote in your hand. This is the only photo we managed to take the whole evening. We played 2 games and this was taken right before we left.

Mo Grillin'

2009-06-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

We had one more big BBQ grillin dinner the other night. Veggie skewers, Corn on the cob, Portabello Mushrooms, Tofu, Spaghetti Squash and the meat heads had some chicken. It was a crazy feast and it was delicious.

My First Father's Day

2009-06-22T14:21:00.001-07:00

This was a great day. We had lunch over at the great grand folks house in the afternoon. I love this photo. 3 generations of Dads. Even though they aren't my immediate Father and Grandfather it's still really cool. Being a Dad is such an honor in itself but it feels extra special when it puts me in a class with a couple great guys like these two fellows

Later that evening Maggie cooked up a great pasta dinner and Babysat Winter so that the Wifey and I could go see a movie. We checked out The Hangover. I'd been looking forward to seeing it for a while. It was pretty damn hilarious. Zach Galifianakis and Mike Tyson totally made the movie. Zach is one of my favourite comedians out there right now and he did not disappoint in this flick. Definitely worth seeing.

Wisconsin has come to a close...

2009-06-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged anything in about 4 days. Lyndsey's Aunt Julie (Maggie's sis) and her Husband Vince drove out from Chicago a few days ago to hang out here with us. It was my first time meeting them. Super nice folks. We all spent the time together relaxing, drinking alot of beer and gin, playing Bocce ball, having some big dinners and watching Winter be the cutest little baby we ever did see. Vince and Julie left today and Tom had o fly back to Charlotte yesterday for work. The rest of us, Lyndsey, Maggie, Winter and I, fly back to Charlotte tomorrow morning. We'll be there for about 5 days. My brother and his lady fly out to meet us on Thursday and we all will be driving to Myrtle Beach on Sunday to spend the final week of our trip to bask in the southern heat and splash in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. I personally cant wait for the beach. I love the Ocean so much especially when it's as warm as a bathtub. I'm extra excited this year as it's the first time my Brother will be joining us. It will be the perfect ending to another amazing Carolina adventure.

Instead of me typing out every last thing that took place over the last few days in one huge post I'll make a bunch of separate shorter posts with photos. First off here are a bunch more of Winter doing her thing.

Bath Time!!

2009-06-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

Back at home we give Winter her baths in, you guessed it, a bathtub. Up here in Eagle River, Wisconsin all we have is a shower stall. So nowadays we're giving the little one her soapy scrub downs in the kitchen sink. It's quite an undertaking and, as you can see in these here fine photos, it takes 2 to make this thing go right. Thanks Glamma Maggie. Behold!

We be Grillin'

2009-06-18T18:58:00.001-07:00

I mentioned in one of my entries last week that we had a BBQ grilling dinner/Boche Ball night. I failed to post any of the photos to go along with it. So here they are for your viewing pleasure. Bingo Bango!

a few more...Why not?

2009-06-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

I dont know about you but I can't get enough of our little munchkin...

More Winter Time...

2009-06-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

Forgot about a whole wack of photos on our camera that we hadn't uploaded yet. Time sure is flyin by up here. PS. We love Winter...

1 more...

2009-06-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

Blogger only lets you post 5 photos per entry. Lame. I really love this shot so here ya go. Much love to everyone.

Livin and Lovin the lazy daze...

2009-06-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

These last couple days have been filled with a whole lot of nothing and it's so great. Just hanging out, eating good food, drinking good drinks, watching the tube and playing Wii. Tom drove out to Minneapolis yesterday on business. We were initially going to make the road trip with him but decided against it at the last minute due to Winter having a couple fussy teething baby days. So we stuck home. Tom will be back tomorrow and we have a few more family members coming out here soon to join the chill party times we've got going on. Until then it's gonna be pretty relaxed over here. Not to many incredibly exciting events to journal. I could blog every little detail but that would get pretty boring and repetative. So considering our current mellow circumstances I have decided to post a bunch of photos for now. This first batch is a bunch of shots of our little Winter with her wonderful "Glamma" and "Poppy"...and I think there's a couple with me in there too. Enjoy.

Another brilliant couple days

2009-06-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

The last couple days have been a blast! I haven't really had a chance to sit down and make an entry until now. Yesterday Poppy Tom flew in to Wisconsin. Maggie headed out to pick him up but Tom couldn't get an early flight into the airport nearby so he had to fly in 2 hours away. So while Maggie made the trek out to get him Lyndsey and Winter and I spent some time with the greatgrandfolks and joined them at a local Home and Sport show. Not really something we would usually be interested in but it was a good opportunity to spend some time with them. The show took place at a near by high school. It basically consisted of a parking lot and gymnasium full of various displays set up by a number of local businesses showcasing everything from speedboats and jet skis to home appliances, fancy fire places, wilderness paintings and the latest in gutter trough technology. Real exciting stuff. The wife and I did a great job faking interest and sticking out like sore thumbs with our tattoos and big city style. I'm pretty sure I caught a couple greasy rednecks snickering and giving us the screw face. I was lovin it. We just wandered around for an hour or so. It was pretty painless. The grandfolks then took us on a little tour of Eagle River. We also ventured down some dirt roads so they could show us where they lived years back. They use to have a little rancher house right on one of the lakes. The house has since been eradicated from existence and replaced with a huge 3 storey monster of a home. Quite a beautiful home actually. In quite a perfect location.

A little later that afternoon Maggie arrived with Tom. We all hung out and caught up and had ourselves a Wii extravaganza. Again a hilarious time. I fuckin love this family. We had to get outside at a certain point. It was a beautiful day out. Really hot and sunny. Tom and Maggie picked up a Boche Ball set on the way home so we got some drinks and headed out into the yard. The grand folks came over and we introduced them to the game as they had never played it before. It was a really good time but they weather decided to turn while we were playing. The grand folks headed home for dinner after a while to beat the obviously oncoming storm as they came over on their bikes. We all went inside and proceeded to plunk ourselves down in front of the Wii once again for a couple hours with some drinks and snacks and had a good old time. About 10 minutes after we got inside the storm hit. It rained like crazy for about half an hour. Around 7pm we all headed over to the grandfolks house. We all just hung out for a couple hours chatting about this and that. When we got home it was around 11pm. We all realized that we didn't really eat anything for dinner so we pigged out a bit before hittin the sack. It was a full day of not really doing to much but we were all bagged nonetheless.

Today was pretty sweet. Lyndsey and I went horseback riding. It was awesome. When I was a kid my family use to go away to 100 mile house every summer and we would ride horses almost everyday. I loved it. I've ridden a couple times since we stopped going out there but it has probably been close to 10 years since I've been on a horse. Lyndsey has some experience on horses aswell and she was super excited. Tom and Maggie looked after Winter and we headed out for an hour or so. The stable was super dead and we were lucky enough to get taken out just the two of us with a single guide. It only cost $18 each for a 50 minute ride. My horse was all white and named R.C. Lyndsey's was black and white like a cow and his name was Chief. Our guide was a nice girl who had been working there since they started the whole thing about 8 years ago. She took us on a really cool, winding trail all throughout this really cool, peaceful forest. She even let us trot and gallop a bit. It was a ton of fun and it took me right back to when I was a kid. All the feelings and smells were the same. It made me want a farm of my own with horses to ride everyday. Every time we would slow down from a trot Lyndsey would turn around and look at me with the biggest smile on her face. It made me feel really good to see her having such a great time. I wish we could have continued riding out there for hours. After the ride was over we went and said hi to the goats and little pony they had in a fenced off area next to the stable. The goats were absolutely hilarious. We fed them corn and laughed our heads off at how crazy they were for attention. They were super cute sticking their heads through all the fence boards and following us back and forth snorting and bleating like maniacs. We had such a good time. We got home and kinda just chilled for a bit and Lyndsey and I went to the grocery store with Tom to stock up for a big grillin dinner we had planned with the grandfolks. The Barbeque got set up and we grilled a ton of veggie and tofu skewers, cooked up some corn on the cob and Tom grilled up some steaks for the meat lovers. We filled ourselves stupid and just relaxed the rest of the night. Once again we finished the night off with a Wii bowling tournament. Halfway through our game I remembered that tonight was game 5 of the NBA finals. We thought it was a late game like usual. Most of the other games have started at 9pm eastern. I guess it's different on Sundays because we turned the game and it was already over and the Lakers were hoisting the trophy. I was kinda bummed as I haven't missed an NBA finals championship game since I was like 16 but I hate the Lakers so I got over it pretty quick. On to next year. Let's hope the Cavs or the Celtics can avoid choking and take it all the way. Anyway, it was another great day. Really beautiful out. Warm and sunny. Here's to a whole bunch more of these awesome days. I'm gonna sign off here so I don't fall asleep with this computer in my lap.

All the best.

Leinenkugels!!

2009-06-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

Just had myself a dandy of a solo bike cruise. I'm quite proud that I didn't get lost. I even saw a cute deer eating dandelions in a field. I stopped for 5 whole minutes to watch the little rascal munch away until she was sick of me following her and scampered off into the forest. Now I'm home and a bit sweaty from my frantic peddling so it's time to sit back and enjoy some tasty sesame sticks and preztels with a good 'ol ice cold Leinenkugels light. It's the fuckin pride of Chippewa Falls! A happy day to all ya'll!!

Fun with rednecks and other advenures

2009-06-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

Day 5 of our fun-time family vacation took us a bit deeper into the small town life. After breakfast we took a walk into the "downtown" area of Eagle River. Our main destination was thrift stores. We were on the market for a cheap baby monitor, some warm baby clothes and I am always on the lookout for cool action figures, especially Batman related ones. The first store we hit had some sweet treasures. We found the cheap baby monitor right away and deep in the back room I found a giant toy bag. I dug through with my greedy little hands and discovered two Batman figures. Not the greatest figures ever but for 50 cents each I'll take em. One is from Batman the animated series which is my favourite cartoon ever but the Batman is wearing some crazy orange suit. Batman would never wear an orange suit. The other is from possibly the worst movie of all time, "Batman and Robin". Remember that one? George Cloony as Batman? Ya, I just puked in my mouth a little too. I also found one of those Mcdonald's promotional glass mugs from the movie. Again, horrible movie but those mugs are pretty cool and rare. I'll leave it here at the Little Pink House to collect dust. While we were browsing around in this first store this weirdo redneck dude wandered in. He immediately stopped beside me and just stared for a bit. "That must of hurt." he says. Referring to the tattoos on my arm. "Not too bad." I replied. He then proceeded to lift up the sleeves of his t-shirt and show me both of the tattoos on his shoulders. I can't even remember what was on the left. When weirdos decide to show me their ink my eyes tend to glaze over but on the right shoulder read "In Memory" over top of a big red number 3. "Dale Earnhardt?" I said as he stared at me nodding and smiling. "Yup, people tell me I look just like him with a pair of sunglasses on." Wow. After Mr. Earnhardt told us his life story we found a few more treasures. My wife and I have a thing for Owls and we spotted a few cool little Owl statues to add to the collection. Yoink. As we headed across the street our NASCAR buddy followed us. His car was parked out front and he immiediatly looked at us, pointed at his car and said "How do ya like this baby?" We all kinda just looked at him amazed that he actually said that. "Paid 2 grand for it." "50,000 original miles." Then he wandered across the street as my brain fought implosion. After that the girls found a baby clothes goldmine and we wandered around the town a bit more.

Later in the day the grandparents came by and took Lyndsey and I on a little bike tour of Eagle River. They took us around to the couple of lakes that surround us hence the photo at the top. Fun times. I spent the rest of the evening doing absolutely nothing while Lyndsey and Maggie did some yard work. Later on we drank beer, ate some veggie burritos and I forced the girls to watch game 4 of the NBA finals with me...damn Lakers. Then it was off to sleepybyes.

Later on...

This is the life

2009-06-10T19:14:00.001-07:00

Day two in Charlotte was a pretty lazy time. Tom had to work all day and Maggie had errands to run in the morning. Our little family just chilled out. I let Lyndsey have a sleep in while Winter and I enjoyed some cartoons. When Maggie got home we headed out to do some shopping. Got some shorts for Lyndsey and I found a little Joker toy to add to the collection. We then headed to the grocery store to stock up for the next couple days. That night I made my peanut stir-fry and we watched game 2 of the NBA finals which we Tivo'd from the night before...goddamn the Lakers(Orlando took Game 3 though!! GO Magic!!). After the game we put Winter down and the four of us had a Wii bowling tournament. We had a blast. It is so hilarious hanging out with the grandfolks. They're the coolest. We were all getting pissed off at the game and showcasing our genius potty-mouths. Tom was letting loose some of the greatest swear word combos I have heard in a long time...ie. "suck a giant goddamn bitch!" Good times. After all that fun and nonsense we all hit the sack.

Tuesday was a long day as all of us minus Tom had a day of traveling as we headed to Eagle River, Wisconsin to spend the next 2 weeks at the Little Pink House that Maggie owns. Tom will be catching up with us on Saturday to spend the second week with us as he has to work. Our first plane was at 5:30pm and took us to Minneapolis where we caught our connection to Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Winter did really well with the traveling. She slept most of the way. The first flight was honestly one of the worst ones I have ever experienced. We were all seated in the very back row of the plane and the engine was right behind us. It was crazy loud and I felt like my brain was gonna leak out of my ears for over half the flight. The second flight was only 45 minutes though and was on a little 30 person prop plane. Much quieter and more comfortable. We arrived in Rhinelander around 11pm last night, got our rental car and drove the half hour to Eagle River and the LPH. This house is amazing. Its like a little time warp. It smells like my grandparents house and is decked out with some great stuff. Maggie has put a really cool personal touch on this place. Lyndsey and I slept in this morning until about 11am. Woke up and headed to the grocery store with Maggie and Winter to meet Maggie's Mom/Winter's great grandmother. This was my first time meeting Maggie's parents, Lillian and Richard. They are both in their 80's, super sweet and dont' travel so it is really cool that we could come out here and introduce Winter to them. Aside from all that Lyndsey and I pretty much spent most of the day playing the crap out of Wii Fit which is, for the record, incredibly addictive and super fun. We are buying one of these consoles as soon as we get home.

All in all it is really quite beautiful out here in Wisconsin. Maggie has such a prime little spot carved out here and it just feels like such a blessing for all of us to be able to have this time together. Maggie actually has another house out here too. Right around the corner from this one. It's for sale and currently vacant and waiting for someone to scoop it up. If only there was a bit more going on in this sleepy little town to keep a young family like us busy we would be all over it. The house is pretty rad. Its got 5 bedrooms and I think she paid like 80 grand for it. Absolutley unheard of where we come from. For now we'll just focus on the present. To think that this is actually only day 4 of our 4 week trip is pretty awesome. All this relaxation and family time is exactly what the doctor ordered and I hope it all goes by as slowly as possible. After Wisconsin we head back to Charlotte for a few days and then off to Myrtle Beach. I'm looking forward to the beach more than anything on this trip mainly for the fact that my brother and his lovely girlfriend are flying out to spend the whole week with us. I can't wait for them to get out here.

I think that about sums up our last few days. If anyone is actually reading this I hope I didn't bore you completely to death.

PS. The photo at the top is of Winter hanging out in her jolly jumper in the little pink house out here in Wisconsin. Cutest little thing ever.

Until next time...

Paternal leave/4 week vacation engage!

2009-06-08T06:47:00.000-07:00

As of Friday, May 30th I am officially off work for approximately 14 weeks. So far my time off has been nothing short of awesome. We moved into a much bigger and better apartment on June 1st. North facing, mountain view, big loft upstairs, bigger kitchen and so on. Stoked. We had about 5 days to get settled before we were off on our vacation adventure. We're spending a bunch of time with Lyndsey's folks in Charlotte, N.C., Eagle River, Wisconsin and Myrtle Beach S.C.. These 4 weeks are gonna be amazing.

On Saturday, June 6th we caught our flight to Charlotte with a short stop over in Chicago. At the airport in Chicago we saw MLB slugger, Dave Winfield getting a burger. I'm not a huge baseball fan but I do remember him hitting that home run back in the day to win the Blue Jays the Championship and he is something like a 12x all-star so it was pretty rad seeing his massive frame stand 5 feet away from us. Anyway, this was our 4 1/2 month old daughter Winter's first time on a plane. 2 separate flights and I have to say she was quite amazing. Not much fuss out of her at all. We are 2 very proud and lucky parents. We arrived in Charlotte to 2 very happy and excited grandparents who had not seen their darling granddaughter (outside of skype) in about 3 months. We were all very happy to see each other. Tom and Maggie are really awesome people and it is always super fun whenever we get to spend time together. They are so awesome that I will go as far as saying that I probably have the coolest in-laws ever.

On Saturday night we just hung out at home, had some dinner and let the grand folks get reacquainted with Winter. On Sunday we were pretty lazy until about 2pm before we headed down to the marina for an afternoon of cruising around on the boat. Tom and Maggie have a gorgeous boat. It is their pride and joy to say the least. It is amazing and huge and has everything you could possible want on it. Super fun. So, we got some sun, had some beers and gave Winter another first as she had never been on a boat before. Again she was amazing. Just chillin out with us and napping and having a blast. We got home around 8pm last night and had a relaxing dinner, watched some TV and got a pretty decent nights sleep. It is now about 10:15am on Monday morning and another beautiful day outside. Not sure what the plans are for today as Tom is at work . It will probably be pretty chill. Go grocery shopping later and I plan on doing the cooking tonight for dinner. I'm gonna make a vegan Thai peanut stir fry that will knock some socks. As for right now I'm gonna get some breakfast in me. I plan on doing my best to blog everyday from now until I go back to work. Tom gave me the idea and I think I'm gonna run with it. So follow along if you please as we embark on a summer voyage for the ages.

Quitting is hard to do.

2009-04-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

As our precious little girl continues to grow like crazy the life changes continue to pile on. Life changes that I have most definitely been expecting and have been prepared for. Since Winter's birth on January 20th I have all but completely quit smoking weed. This is huge for me as I had previously been smoking weed pretty much every day for about a decade. I've had the odd smoke here and there and probably always will but I went from smoking every day no matter where I was to like once a month over the last three months. I have been noticing the cravings as of late but I'm fightin' em like a champ. I never was a heavy drinker by any means but I use to have a couple beers a week at least. Since baby came along I think I've had maybe 3 drinks or so total. I've been working out way more too and feeling great for it. It sure makes a difference. I have to say though that quitting the weed and beer wasn't really hard at all. I don't really even think about it that often I just seem to continue to live without it and I'm kinda proud of myself. The hardest part and biggest change in all of this has been quitting the band. I decided quite a while ago that once the baby came there was going to be no way I would be willing to tour with Haggatha and nor did I want to hold the boys back. I just don't want to miss a moment of my daughters life. I want and need to focus on Family. So, as hard as it was, the time came for me to let it be known that I would have to part ways with the boys. I certainly miss screaming my head off with them and having fun at rehearsal. I'll miss the shows more than anything. There really is nothing like it but I'm positive there will be other bands down the road. Haggatha has their first show without me next week. I haven't decided if I'm gonna be there or not. I just don't know. For now I'm all about my wife and daughter and to be honest they are all I really care to have time for right now. Adjusting to this life of being a father is really quite difficult to articulate. Unless you've lived this I really do find myself at a loss of words to adequately describe the ebb and flow of emotions and feelings that I experience on a daily basis. There certainly are feelings of frustration and being overwhelmed at times as expected but those moments are massively outweighed by the rest of the time when I know in my heart that I have never felt happier or more in love or proud ever before in my life. I am a Father of a happy, healthy, beautiful, baby girl and feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams.

2009-03-06T17:21:00.000-08:00

Holy crap i'm a Daddy.

2009-03-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

On January 20th, 2009 at 5:35pm, after about 15 hours of labour, my tough as nails wife gave birth to our first child. A gorgeous 8lb 5oz baby girl. We named her Winter Rose. The time has been flying by ever since. Watching her change and grow day by day has been a brilliant experience. She's now 6 weeks old. My wife and I, aside from being tired and busy, are constantly beside our selves with amazement at how healthy and alert and precious she is. This will surely be a very special year for us. We have so much fun planned. I will be taking a long Paternity leave beginning in June and I cannot wait. We're taking a 5 week trip into the states to visit with my wives family in the Carolinas and Wisconsin. Taking Winter to the ocean in Myrtle Beach is going to be the best thing ever. She'll be about 5 months old. It's gonna be so awesome. As of right now I am struggling through 3 more months of work after taking a month and a half off when Winter was born. Taking that much paid time off is quite a blessing but having to return to work while leaving my wife and daughter at home for 12 hours a day/ 3 days a week is so damn hard. I just wanna be home and never have to work again. Is that too much to ask?

2008-12-03T12:42:00.001-08:00

Monster Profits

2008-11-21T10:13:00.000-08:00

Beasts of long ancient past
They fuel these machines.
An extinction so vast.
Feeds exhausting regimes.

Giants ruling the Land.
Thunder Lizards Supreme.
Now their bones heat our homes
and feed wars overseas.

Soon nothing is left.
Mankind desperate with fear.
Hoarding all that we can
as the ending draws near.

This greed is a disease.
One that infects and breeds.
Don't think twice about life
just consume endlessly.

Rag and Water

2008-10-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

Endless wandering banter, the anti-enchanter.
Those shrill vocals kill and extinguish loves lantern.
It all fits the pattern of a mind smashed and shattered.
A cheap thrift store puzzle, pieces mismatched and tattered.

Like old mister Humpty you've had a great fall.
A head full of rattling, ball bearing thoughts.
Your sanity lost, confused on the sauce.
To never return from the land of the lost.

Once a man filled with love you could proudly speak of.
You pushed real life away with a shove of the drugs.
Now you dwell in a dream state of clouded illusion.
Awake or asleep you drown in delusion.
The old quicksand effect as you numb and sink deeper,
With a long slow exhale of that toxic mind sweeper.

poor you

2008-10-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

A ten ton brick slap with knives in your back.
This breakthrough will breakdown and snap off your neck.
I've seen all that blood burst and wiped up the mess.
But they're testing the stress til there aint nothing left.

A one thousand mile stretch of pain and duress.
With this open ended closed fist they'll bash you to death.
So you took all those toxins that now swirl in your chest.
Your combination of hatred and bad luck for the win.

Untitled

2008-10-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

A signal fire brings all the soldiers in form.
The number of steps to their deaths is unknown.
A force field grows but as history shows
You cant block a bullet with your faith alone.

So rally on forth with your wits and your mits.
Those guns you have strapped are no good for this shit.
Try the ole duck and cover.
A quick write to your lover.
Like the changing of seasons your fall follows the summer.

Twenty

2008-09-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

I GOT ONE!! DC Comics recalled this weeks issue of All Star Batman and Robin the boy wonder. The title has proven to be a fantastic rethinking of the early years of Batman/Bruce Wayne and the origin of the first Robin, Richard Grayson, following the murder of his parents under the big top. Drawn by my personal favourite Batman artist, Jim Lee and written by one of the greatest of the greats, Frank Miller, this comic is a dream come true for me and many other fanboys the world over. With no shortage of raw, gritty, forced down your throat attitude Miller has brought forth a vision of Batman that could very easily be the young 'Dark Knight Returns'. I love this comic! This weeks issue was recalled due to a slip-up in the inking process involved in inking the black bars over the curse words that Frank Miller so very much loves to use and has been using consistently throughout this title. The black ink used for the bars were somehow a lighter shade than the words themselves therefore leaving the words quite visible and unmistakable to any reader taking a glance. The order was for all comic book retailers to kindly destroy all their copies upon delivery. When I read this my immediate thought was, "I have to have one." I spoke to a close comic nerd friend of mine and low and behold he had not only already heard the news but he got his hands on his very own copy. Sounded to me like not all retailers were destroying much of anything.

I headed to my local shop with a handfull of this weeks issues to pick up anyways. After checking off my list I calmly turned to the owner of the shop and said, "SO, that All Star Batman that was recalled." "Did you guys get some?" He smiled looking over at his coworker "Ya." I said "Can you sell me one?" "We're not supposed to." he says back. "I'll give ya $10." I offer to which he quickly responds "They're going for $50 on ebay already." I had nothing to say to this. I felt defeated. It sounded as though there would be no way for me to get one outside of offering $50, which is outrageous. Oh well. I tried. It's just a comic anyways. With that I took my stack to the counter retreating from my failure. At least I have some good comics to take home. Then out of nowhere, just as I am about to walk out of the store, the owner says "Would you pay $20 for one?" I immediatley say "I probably would." He replies "I'll give you one for $20 right now." "DONE." I say. I got one. On top of all this it's a great issue. The naughty words in question? Cover your eyes/ears. Cunt, bitch, fuck and ass. OH. MY. GOD. I wonder how many issues are actually floating around out there. I think this could be a rare one down the line.

It's my Doodie!

2008-06-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

I figured I'd try to jump back on the blogmobile. I haven't posted since September before we let for Europe. The trip was so jam packed with adventures that I couldn't seem to find the time to type about it and life seems to be flying by ever since. In a nutshell, it was amazing. Paris, Switzerland, Germany, Vienna, Ireland, Amsterdam, London, and a couple more I'm sure I've missed, all in a month. The time of my life thus far. I'd have to say that Switzerland had the most profound affect on me as far as spirit and emotion are concerned. Paris and Amsterdam definitely sit atop the fun scale. Ireland was the most special simply for the fact that Lyndsey and I went alone on a little lovers side trip. We splurged and rented a brilliant loft apartment in Dublin for a few days and had a blast. London was really awsome too. We got to see one of my very best friends, Brian. He moved to London a couple years ago. Seeing him and his lovley lady, Christina, was such a treat. Amazing people, pure and simple. I can't wait to do it all again. Hopefully we can manage to take a trip every year.

Ever since we got back our lives have been focused on getting Lyndsey legal in Canada. The whole process in quite taxing and takes way too long but we are now on the home stretch and wifey should be getting her papers by the end of the month, WOOO!!.

Besides all that shit my band has been sludging right along. New, amazing jam space. New drummer. New shows. Everything is coming together better than ever. We played an all ages show last night. It was great for the most point aside from a slight hiccup or two...*cough* JOEL *cough*. We have a really exciting show next week, on friday the 13th. It'll be at a great venue we haven't played at yet, with some really rad bands. It has the potential to be one of the best shows we've played yet.

I saw Iron Man....a couple times. It was reeeeeaaaaally good. I can't wait for all the summer movies this year. Especially and obviously The Dark Knight. The trailers are brilliant. It looks like it's gonna be even better than 'begins'. I predict tears and possibly a little bit of pee in my pants throughout viewing. July 18th cannot come fast enough. Not to mention July 8th when they release "Batman: Gotham Knight", a six part manga style animated feature that will bridge the gap between the two films and possibly be the best animated Batman project since The Animated Series. Big baby Jesus I can't wait...

PS. that Joker Illustration is getting tattooed on my leg. :D

Here we go...

2007-09-13T01:30:00.000-07:00

I fly to Paris in 2 days. It will be my first time overseas. I am beyond excited. I can't wait to be standing in Paris with Lyndsey. I'm so ready to get the fuck out of this city for a while. I'll be posting here for the duration of the trip: http://sammichfriends.blogspot.com/

Peace.

- J

mow...

2007-08-31T04:54:00.000-07:00

This is Nancy. Possibly the greatest cat of all time. I adopted her just over a year ago from my best friend when he moved to London. We bonded immediately and now we're in love. She's seriously the cutest thing ever and she makes me laugh my head off everyday. She'll be 3 years old in October. YAY NANCY!! xo

FRENZ!!

2007-08-31T04:35:00.000-07:00

I feel compelled to put this out there. These two men you see above are a couple of the raddest dudes ever. Everyone should be so lucky as to have some friends like these old chums. I luff them. The beardy fellow is Phil. Aside from being a modern english gentleman, he plays bass in our band and some of his favourite movies include Bio-dome and Soul Plane. SO YA he's rad! . The other chap is Steven. Best friend extraordinaire and musical master with a heart the size of the hope diamond. Good peeps. I really like this picture aswell. We were at a sushi restaurant that night with the gang, seeing off Phils brother back to London. The best part of the evening was when the three of us convinced our cute little japanese waitress that we kick dogs for fun and that it's ok to do so. PEACE!! xo

on the run....

2007-08-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

In the last 3 months or so we've done Oregon, Vancouver B.C., North and South Carolina and then some. Now we're off to Europe together. One month til I fly into Paris to meet Lyndsey. This trip will most definitely be a collection of some of the greatest experiences I will ever have in my life. I love you Lyndsey and I cannot wait for this adventure with you to begin. xoxo