Why I Oughta...

Let me preface all of this by stating clearly:  Yes...I feel a bit of shame for this new guilty pleasure.   I have to admit something:  I've *somehow* fallen in love with our Christmas Village.  Yes...those little porcelein buildings/scenes that people put up at the holidays.  You know the type.  You probably overlook them.  I know I used to.   But, for some reason, my brain keeps telling me that I NEED to collect these little buildings.  It all started a few years ago - back in 2007 we received 2 Department 56 buildings for a wedding present from Nat's Aunt and Uncle.  Last year, I put both of them up on our temporary mantle.  This year, however, is a different story.  With the mantel finished , I figured it was time to think about what could go up there decoration-wise.  And...those two little buildings sparked something!   One night, my mom was over and we started talking about the village buildings - and it turns out, she had a few Department 56 buildings t

Last week, a post went live on the Official Google Blog entitled:   Celebrating 10 Years in Chicago .  This was the fourth post that I've written for the company that has appeared on the OGB.  Although I've enjoyed writing all of them, this latest post about the Chicago office was the most fun to draft.  Although they're officially "signed" by someone else (3 of 4 of them), they're most definitely my writing and ideas - so, I guess that's part of being in Communications in a large company. The occassion (our 10th year in Chicago) is a big deal to all of us here in town, but also the company.  We even had our design team come up with Chicago-specific logo (which we've put on shirts and hats.  Perhaps, I'll figure out a way to give a few shirts away via the blog at some point!)   Too often, Google is viewed as this west coast, Silicon Valley company when, in fact, we're over 400 employees in Chicago making a contribution to the company.  If you

How to Roast Chestnuts 1.  Score each chestnut's outer shell with an "X". 2.  Place on a baking sheet in a single layer. 3.  Roast at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 4.  Place in a towel and rub together.  Then, when cooled, peel off outer shell. 5.  Enjoy! Seems that chestnuts have fallen out of favor as a Christmas delicacy.  We hear plenty about them in songs and books, but in my 32 years, I don't think I've ever seen one served - let alone eaten one - during the holidays.  Trader Joe's is trying to make it easy to bring the chestnut back.  They were selling packages of the nuts and also posted easy to follow instructions adjacent to the nuts (that's where the 5 steps above are from).  Sounds pretty simple.  But...what to do they taste like?

What a party Nat threw today!  Wow - she did a great job with all the details.  Thanks to everyone for coming! And...special thanks to Uncle Bill for his chalk rendering.

At the Renegade Craft Fair last year (2009), we sat for a photobooth session and came up with this image.  The 2009 post is here - but included below for comparisons sake.   This year, the Babe played a starring role.  They're certainly not as formal as some family portraits. But, for us, they're much cuter!

Nat had some shopping to do in Bolingbrook and I wasn't interested in trouncing around Macy's and Janie and Jack, so I decided to take the Babe over to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa.  This time, it didn't go as well as the first time she met the Big Guy . She freaked.  Poor girl.  When I went to pick her up, she was shaking and tears were streaming down here face.    Kind of felt nice to be needed so much by her. 

We went on our annual pilgrimage to the Tammen Tree Farm down I-57 the weekend after Thanksgiving and came back with a tree.  Like in years past, we chose a Fraser Fir - and it looks great.   The tree drank and drank and drank (like 3-4 quarts a day) and then pretty much stopped drinking.  We're down to drinking about a quart of water a day - which I'm thinking is enough.  So far, so good - no needle drop, so I'm thinking it isn't parched.  We've lost a tree before - back in 2006 when we went on a trip and the tree dried out.   Sure, it stayed green until Christmas Day, but if you got anywhere near it, let alone breath on it, needles went everywhere.  With the Babe's First Birthday Party this weekend, I'm certain we've made it through. We have 9 foot ceilings, so I'm thinking this tree is just about 8 foot tall.  We picked a different location in the living room this year - and I think it is working out better.  Just 10 days until the Big Guy co

Last night, on a tip from my friend Eric , we went out to Pollo Vagabundo - which according to Google Translate means " Bum Chicken ".   The reviews on Yelp and elsewhere are extraordinarily strong, but I'm withholding judgement.  While the staff were VERY helpful and nice (they gave me samples of EVERY kind of meat they have), they were sold out of Carne Asada by the time we arrived.  This place seems to be a lunch joint - based on both the fact that they were sold out of the top-billed item and when we arrived at 6 pm, the place wass dead. Nat had chicken tacos and said that they were some of the best tacos she's ever had.  We also shared 4-5 salsas from their bar (they have probably a dozen to choose from), and they were all tasty.  Spicy, but tasty.  (thinking now....if they named the place after the chicken, perhaps I should have gone with chicken, too!) The only hangup was the carne asada shortage.  You see, about 10 years ago, I was introduced to La Pasad

Look what showed up in the mail over the weekend!   My press pass for the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.  I'm lucky enough to be able to staff our execs during the press days in early January.  (and...if you look closely...you'll see the dreaded 1 R!) This *has* to be one of my favorite things I get to do -  this "early" peek at the show during the press days - ahead of the general public. While it isn't as cool as CES , the Detroit auto show is plenty geeky for me.

Having been through the prototyping process on Penny Hockey Boards , I made a few modifications.  First, they shrunk in size considerably.  From 12" wide and 16" long down to 12" long and 8.5" wide.  After the side rails are attached, the playing surface will be 12" long, 8" wide.    The name of the game is also being changed from Penny Hockey to Topper Hockey (more on that later....). Also, because the board shrunk, the space behind the goal also was squeezed.  It started at 2.5" from backline to center of the goal and now with the production units, I've cut that distance in half. The final change comes in regards to the pegs - I've changed the configuration a bit and removed some.  The "guard" pegs - which are located just outside the goal mouth were widened, and one of them were removed.   The peg modifications were made to simplify and enhance gameplay.  My intended audience is my nephews who are all under the age of 10.  Scori