Tonight while Becky was at yoga the boys and I decided to chill and watch a movie.  After a bit of debate we decided to watch Pixels, Gavin’s current favorite movie ever (give it about 2 months and it’s sure to be different!).

As we were watching it I couldn’t help but chuckle at all the 80’s references.  When I’d laugh the boys would ask why and we’d pause the movie and I’d explain.  At one point the movie mentions “the Where’s the Beef Lady,” and the boys were laughing when I pulled up the old Wendy’s commercial on YouTube.

It is a totally dorky and nerdy movie, but one that I can really appreciate as a child of the ’80’s.  I still remember watching my dad play Donkey Kong while we waited for a table at Skyline in Phillips.  There were many times when I’d argue with my parents for more video game time explaining the benefits of playing video games (problem solving, eye hand coordination, etc…).  Many of my favorite games are the oldies that were showcased in the movie, back when there were only one or two buttons and a joystick or directional pad on the controller…  Ahh…  A simpler time…  the good ‘ole days…

Tonight the three of us chilled and enjoyed a movie together and I really enjoyed the opportunity to share some of the funny memories of my childhood with the boys.

Thanks!!!

Last night I awoke to the awful stomach gurgle that heralds upcoming flu like symptoms… today was the first time in a long while that I called in sick to work. Between sleeping & rehydrating I’m working on getting back at it tomorrow.

There are a couple of things I’m very thankful for today. First off, I don’t get sick very often and I’m very grateful for that! Second, Becky and Neal tagged in for me for our den meeting tonight. Had they not jumped in this one would’ve been cancelled, but instead I can hear all the boys (& adults) having fun honing their fire making skills! I know the boys all really appreciate it!

Thanks!!!

Today’s been a lot of fun.  There hasn’t been much for just chilling, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of it.

After getting moving this morning (and maybe having a gingerbread cookie or two for breakfast) I sat at the desk, fired up my computer and knocked out some things I needed to get done for work.  I took a break to pick up Gavin from Sunday school and then played a game with the boys before lunch.  Afterwards I wrapped up my work stuff with the Packer game providing background noise.

Moving from work to work around the house I kept right on going.  First I fixed a problematic door, and then I got our snowblower fired up and ready for the year.  Finally I went up in my workshop and finished insulating one of the last two walls.  Just as I finished putting in the last screws I realized it was time to pick up Dominic from Boy Scouts so I pause to get him and then went back to the workshop to start moving things around so I can start tackling the next wall.  When the dinner bell rang (Gavin came to get Dominic and I) I shut is all of and headed inside.

What I am thankful for today is that it was a very productive day and I enjoyed everything that I worked on.  The feeling of getting things done feels great, whether it was for work or home, it didn’t matter.

Sometimes I find myself feeling like certain things are starting to become a grind.  When that happens I feel trapped, like I have to do them because I don’t have a choice.  Today I saw each as an opportunity to get them done and it felt wonderful.  I’m thankful for that appreciation of being successful today, I’ll keep this in mind the next time I catch myself feeling wore down to help me remember to enjoy the work.

Thanks!!!

Tonight’s been very awesome so far and it’s not over yet!

After work we headed out for a quick soup and sandwich supper downtown. Right after that we headed out to walk through the La Crosse Rotary Lights, one of our family Christmas traditions.

Seeing as we were ahead of schedule for the main event of the night we even went across the bridge and got a full view of the lights from across the river.

After taking in the lights from a new angle we still had extra time so we decided to warm up the best way possible… with ice cream at The Pearl!

Now that we’re stuffed with ice creamy goodness we’re chilling at the La Crosse Community Theater getting ready to watch A Christmas Story Live.

The night’s over and it’s already been fun just spending time with my family doing some of our normal Christmas traditions and a few new ones. Nights like this with my family get me in the Christmas spirit, and I’m so thankful for the awesome night we’ve already had. Who needs presenters and gifts when you have time like this with family.

Thanks!!!

Today’s been a pretty jam packed day, but one in which I was pausing to be thankful for so many moments throughout it.  There were a couple of things I’d focus on individually, but when I when I think about it there’s too much that would be missed, too many relevant moments would be neglected.  With that being the case, here’s a rough list of many of the moments I was thankful for today:

• Thankful for Becky’s resolve.  When I woke up and drug myself out of bed to get ready to go into work early she was already in the middle of a workout.  Her determination motivates me greatly.
• Thankful for driving without any radio, audiobooks, or calls, just driving in silence.  With my goal met for books read this year I paused everything and enjoyed nothing but the present and my own thoughts while I drove to Eau Claire.  It was so peaceful and let to many interesting thoughts…
• Thankful for spending a lot of time thinking about my dad and the lessons he’s taught me, even since he’s been gone.  My book is nearing the halfway point in one way, and is ready to expand in another.  As I took time to think more about it I’ve started peeling apart all of the lessons I’ve learned from losing him.  This will definitely be a key component as one of the biggest reasons for writing it is to pass my thoughts and feelings on to my sons.
• Thankful for that awesome level of sunlight on a cloudy morning in winter time as the sun is coming up when almost everything except street signs and cars ahead of me appear to be black and white.  It’s like the whole world has been stripped of color except for a couple of small pieces which jump off the canvas.  It was beautiful this morning.
• Thankful for meeting up with my friend, Harvey Homsey.  Harvey is the VP of Operations for Express and was in town to visit a couple of our offices to see how we were doing, help us find ways to improve, and to congratulate the teams for their improved performance.  I’ll follow up with the work related thankfulness in a moment, this is focused on the time with my friend.  While we covered a lot of business we also spent time talking family, values, faith, and being a dad.  I can’t even begin to put into words how happy my heart was today as we talked.  Harvey lost his father about 10 years ago and was very open to sharing his emotions and experience, I am so grateful for it.  As luck would have it we even got a little bonus time at the end of the day and I was thankful to have more time to talk.  While I’ve known him for many years I felt like I actually got to know him today, and I am so very thankful for that.
• Thankful for the grit and growth mindset of my teams.  Over the past few months we’ve been focused on changing a couple of processes within our interview process. Change is usually difficult, but my teams took on the challenge and today was the cream on top!  As Harvey was able to spend time with the team he had so many positive things to say about their performance and it was so awesome to see their expressions when he said them.  I’m so proud of their growth mindset and grit, they are a special group!
• Thankful for Becky taking care of Gavin.  During the day Becky let me know that she had to pick up Gavin because he wasn’t feeling well at school.  She also later told me that she had run to school earlier to drop off his violin.  I’m grateful for her saving the day!
• Thankful for getting a weekend set up to meet with my friends.  Life gets busy and sometimes it’s tough to find a time for three of my best friends and I to get together at once.  Today we got a date on the calendar!
• Thankful for talking with my mom on the phone.  It felt great to shoot the bull with my mom while I was driving home.  Quite honestly, there wasn’t any crazy deep dialog or anything, but it just felt great to hear her voice and spend time with her on the phone.  After a long day of work it was just what the doctor ordered and I’m glad we were able to talk.
• Thankful for an eight minute detour.  Due to a slight change in plans I went home a slightly different way than normal.  With that being the case I quit listening to Siri’s directions and took a little detour…  right into Ellsworth, WI for some amazing cheese curds.  They were warm and squeaky, little bites of dairy perfection!
• Thankful for Becky and the boys understanding that sometimes I have to work late.  This could be a weekly blog post if I said it every time that I felt it.  I am so thankful and fortunate to have a family that understands that sometimes my work schedule gets a little crazy.  Knowing that as long as i keep it in check to a certain point they’ll be there to support me is so helpful and keeps me motivated.
• Thankful for being thankful.  As I type this I am smiling from ear to ear.  Spending time in thought thinking about all of the wonderful things in my day leaves me in a wonderful mood as I am about to go to bed.  I’m exhausted and have another early morning ahead of me, but I couldn’t be more full of joy.

Thanks!!!

On a cold day like this is there anything more comfortable than a well broken in sweatshirt?  My favorite sweatshirt has been around for over a decade now.  I came across old pictures of it’s matching twin, Becky’s, from our vacation back in 2007.  Sometime before 2007 our friend Courtney gave us the two matching Wisconsin sweatshirts.

When I was on my run this morning…  Full disclosure, while I was walking for a little while, Becky was running ahead of me…  I realized just how warm I was even though it was cold and windy.  The biggest reason was that I had my favorite sweatshirt on the very top layer.  I smiled and then thought for a while about that sweatshirt, how many of my life’s experiences have been shared with it, and how much happiness it has brought me over the years. It’s kind of crazy, but I’m very thankful for this slowly fraying sweatshirt.

As I go through old pictures it’s surprising to see just how many moments it has been around for…

On warmer winter days it’s all I need for a jacket…

Every time I put this sweatshirt on it comforts me and relaxes me. I associate it with all the things I do with my family, from traveling to running to working in my shop to snuggling on the couch with Becky and the boys. When I put this on it’s a sign to chill out, everything’s going to be okay. At the end of the night it reminds me that it’s time to wind down and chill.

While to the unknowing eye it may look like a slowly fraying sweatshirt, to me it’s a symbol of relaxation, time with family, comfort, and a reminder of many memories… and today I’m very thankful for it.

Thanks!!!

This afternoon I went on a client meeting with Carolyn in our Menomonie office.  The appointment was with a current client that is poised for a huge 2018.  We’d spent many hours preparing for this meeting as we were introducing several new staffing ideas to help them increase candidate flow, reduce absenteeism and turnover, and increase their profitability.

As the meeting rolled on it was AWESOME!!!  We talked about the strategies we were proposing and many more.  Each new portion of conversations led to another insight for the client and another discussion.  The talks went from solutions to trends to very outside the box solutions.  After almost two hours we were able to wrap everything back up into next steps and said our good byes.

Carolyn started to debrief on our way back to the car and I had to pause for a second.  “I’m so stoked, that was awesome!”  After taking a moment to take in the feeling, the rush of a successful meeting, we got back to business.

On the ride home I just kept smiling.  The appointment went fantastic, we lived our vision while meeting with that client.  Strategies were shared, plans were made, and it felt awesome.  We were a part of the solution, one that will benefit our client, our associates, and our team.  It felt awesome!

Thanks!!!

Funny how we go into something assuming one thing and then it works out to be completely different.  This evening Dominic had an orchestra concert and we had to get there early so he was ready.  My thought was to bring some work along to do while I wait, taking advantage of a little quiet time.  When we got there we saw our friends, the Lygas, were already there so we sat down right behind them.

Almost as soon as we sat down someone said, “Hey Mike!”  I looked over and saw an old friend from Boy Scouts and high school, Kent Gabrielson.  It had been a long time since I last ran into Kent, and it was awesome catching up with him.  We quickly go caught up on kids, careers, Phillips, and everything in between.  Time flew by and before we knew it the concert was about to start.

After Kent’s son was done and they had left I shot the bull with Steve and compared beard grooming habits.  This was the second day in a row that I was in the presence of another epic ginger beard – what a treat!  After the show we were able to also listen to our boys (9 year olds) talk about taking his wife’s moped in the middle of the night to get pizza and party at a friend’s house.  It was comical!

We may have been there for the concert (Dominic did awesome) and I was planning on getting work done, but it instead turned into a very enjoyable social event and I’m thankful that it did.

Earlier in the day it was all about work, in particular, spending some time with my business partner and mentor, Norm.  Even though work life can get swamped we always spend time on the phone every Monday morning at 9am to get on the same page for the week.  It gives me a chance to take all the thoughts in my head and condense them into the three most important things that I need to focus on each week.

Today was a change of pace.  Based on some coaching and mentoring from him and others over the past year I wanted to try a new strategy for this year.  There are many long term thoughts and ideas that I’d like to work on and put into place, but in order to stay focused where I need to I’m only going to focus my time on things that accomplish those three goals this years.  Today I wanted to spend time bouncing many of those ideas off of him so I had a general understanding and then I’ll file them away to re-visit in 2019 because they are not mission critical to this year.

Spending time with Norm was exactly what the doctor ordered.  It was a great mix of him pushing and challenging me while staying open and supportive.  I learned a lot from the conversation and was able to look at a couple of things from different perspectives.  Over the next day I’ll get my notes put together from the meeting to make sure we both saw it the same way and then move back into the priorities for 2018.

What I’m most thankful for is the fact that I have a coach and mentor in Norm to help me through my thoughts and ideas like this.  In many cases I’d love to do my own thing my own way, but that’s not always right.  Sure, it works sometimes, but it seems to work a lot better when I get some solid feedback to re-tool a strategy first.  Knowing that I have a mentor like this who’s willing to give me a few hours to bounce things off of him is pretty amazing and I’m very thankful for that time with him.

Today’s been another awesome day.  From the time I woke up to the time I’ve ben writing this blog there have been many moments in which I’ve smiled and spent some thought thinking about how I would blog about them…  and I’m grateful for every single one of those moments.

Thanks!!!

This afternoon we had the opportunity to meet Courtney and Shane’s son, two week old Henry.  He’s cute, adorable, and one awesome little guy!  It was great to spend time with him, Courtney & Shane.  We shot the bull, snuggled with the little guy, watched some of the Packer game and had an awesome time.

There’s something so cool about seeing the glow that new parents have after the birth of their child, it made me smile as a fellow parent.  It took me back to when the boys were that small, seemingly eons ago in one day and just yesterday in other ways.  Thinking about how much our boys have grown has me thankful for appreciating my time with the boys, they’ll be grown before I know it.

Prior to heading to Shane, Courtney, & Henry’s house we had a thought provoking sermon courtesy of Father Matt.  In it he discussed how we need to remember that everyone needs to be treated a little bit differently and we should take time to think about that prior to action.  To help share the story he talked about his sister’s dog.  As an rescue dog she’s seen hard times and needs to be treated differently than other dogs.  She’s still a loving dog, but she needs to be handled very differently.  As you can imagine, I could relate due to my experiences with our rescue dog, LuLu.

It was a wonderful reminder for me when communicating with others.  How is it best to share a message?  What is the best way to communicate both good and bad news?  Many times I default to my natural tendencies as opposed to pausing to think about who the message is intended for.  As I prepare for future conversations I’ll be sure to pause and remember this wonderful message.

Another awesome day is in the books, I’m so thankful for these two very different moments that really helped to shape my day and thoughts today.

Thanks!!!