Happy New Years

Happy New Year Ya’ll - Smiley

NYE Traditions

Watched a video of a friend's nye celebration and there were balloons they stepped on at the stroke of midnight. Unlocked a childhood memory. Forgot we used to do that. We should do it again.

- Lisa

Happy New Year

 (Lisa's profile pic on FB)

Happy New Year

Happy 2020! I literally stubbed my baby toe BAD 30 seconds into the new year. Hope that’s not a sign! - Lisa

 I wish you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year - Lisa

Polar Bear Plunge - New Years Day 2017

For a few years now Lulu and I have talked about doing the Polar Bear Plunge, a New Years day tradition where Milwaukeeans dash into the ice cold waters of Lake Michigan at the stroke of noon. Talked about it, but never even tried to go. It's been so many years of "maybe next year" that she snarkily referred to *not* going as our actual tradition.

Well, enough of that. Today, we did it!

The kids were scattered between different NY Eve locations, so we scooped up Lu and our niece Stacey from my parent's place, then Junie from a friend's house, and headed down to the lake.

Alas, we misjudged the size of the crowd. I expected a few hundred people and difficulty parking. What we got were thousands of people (probably only a couple hundred who went in the water) and NO parking. I won't lie. I handled this stress poorly, and squabbled with Lisa. Eventually she just dropped us off and we had to hike the rest of the way.

Now, as January 1st goes in Wisconsin, this was a beauty. The sun was out, the temperature was about forty degrees F (by my reckoning) and the water a balmy 35 degrees F. What more could you ask for?

(the event did have medical personnel in the water in case someone went into shock)

Without Lisa, our plans for a  mobile changing station were kaput, so we threw our stuff in the sand and, when the horn sounded, waded in.

It wasn't that bad. Oh, it was painful, sure, a bit like a thousand knives thrusting into your skin, but most of THAT didn't occur in the water, but once you returned to dry land. THEN the pain hit, especially in your feet. But with the air conditions as mild as they were, the pain was short-lived and we dried off quickly.

So, naturally, we went in for a second round.

None of us were in the water as long the second time, nor were we as deep. But it was a lot more pleasant, probably because we knew what to expect.

Here's a video of me in the surf. 

Afterwards, the same quick pain, the same quick relief. But as we were getting dressed a local newsreporter from WTMJ showed up to do a report, and Junie asked to take a picture with him.

I didn't talk to him on-air, but we did chat for awhile. I told him only a few weeks ago we'd been in the Bahamas complaining about the water temperature there, and here we were jumping into a frozen lake!

It was a good time, and I'm glad we did it. It's something LuLu and I can scratch off our bucket lists. And who knows, we may even do it again!

Happy New Years!

 Happy New Years everyone! #Hello2016

Happy New Year 2015!

              

  In a few of my forty years on this planet the New Year brought forth a stream of Resolutions. Some were sincere, some tongue-in-cheek, and almost all doomed to failure.

                The dawn of 2015 is a little different. I’m content with the road I’m on right now, with the express understanding that it is *the journey* and not the destination.  My goal in 2015 is to simply continue what I’m doing, but do it better.

                To Whit:

1.       Continue with my healthier eating habits and reinforce my exercise routine.

2.       Stay employed 40 hours a week

3.       Continue with law school, but bump up the GPA

4.       Keep the marriage healthy as we enter year 19

5.       Make improvements around the house

6.       Be a good/better Dad

7.       Get back into writing (for pay)

8.    Finish watching Breaking Bad. I'm currently midway through season one. 

 Happy New Year!

How would I rate 2013?

2012 SUCKED, so there was little chance 2013 wouldn't improve on its predecessor. Even had the bar been higher, I'd rank 2013 as one of the good ones. Employment was steady, everyone was healthy, we made some improvements around the house, I started law school, and we avoided the 3D's - death, divorce, and dismemberment - always a good thing. I hope 2014 continues the trend, and I hope the year rocks for you and yours. Happy New Year everyone!

New Years Eve 2011

I'm expecting a quiet New Years Eve. I worked today (and saw Alex Q), then returned home to a night with Lisa, Smiley, and Lulu  (YaYa is with a friend, Junie  w/ Grandma). We're making kiddie cocktails and having Papa Murphy's pizza w/ ice cream as a desert. At 9 or 10 we'll have "midnight" for the kids, then hit the margaritas. The highlight so far: walking to the gas station with Smiley and scoping out the neighborhood Christmas lights.

* Jenny McCarthy asked a soldier in Times Square what artist should be #1 all-time on Rockin' Eve and he said "New Kids on the Block". Lol it's my long lost twin!

* #19 on the countdown of Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve top 40 performances ever: NKOTBSB. Still waiting to see if NKOTB  proper cracks the top 15 . . .

* In case I don't get on the comp again before midnight, here's my one and only New Year's Resolution: to make 2012 better than the three years that preceded it. 2009 sucked. 2010 was one of the worst years I've ever had. 2011 was OK, but largely a clone of 2009. Enough of this sh*t. Time to get life rolling again . . .

New Years Weekend

Aside from my bitching about the babysitter situation, it was a pretty good New Years wknd. Alcohol helped, of course, but for the most part it was a relaxing wkend full of excessive amts of TV & homemade pizza. Sunday was a little more productive. I watched 9 hrs of football, helped Lis carpet the back stairs, hung a closet rod for Smiley & tracked down a new phone on Craigslist for our friend Chris.

Here's Hoping!

Happy New Year everyone! May 2010 far surpass the suckassy '09!

Happy New Year!

I just wanted to get a quick post in to welcome 2007. Technically, I've now had this blog up and running for four years - '04,'05,'06, and 2007. Of course, that's b.s, as it amounts to a mere 26 months over that time.

My wife's friend Chris and her kids were over for New Years this year, but at 10 I left and went to work to oversee the year-end, just returning a few minutes ago. The kids called me at 11 (when the Apple dropped in NY) to wish me a Happy New Year.

Anyway, blessings to all for 2007!