Why I Oughta...

This guy was just screaming to me at Menards.  I just had to take him home before they sold out.  We already have the Santa and one reindeer, so I figured it was time to add a second to the herd.  Clark W. Griswold had them in his front yard ( see them here at the beginning of the video ), so if they're good enough for him, they're good enough for the Parrillos!

Last week, we were fortunate to be invited to see a special screening of a movie titled "The Way" in the city at the AMC River East.  The screening was hosted by Home Run Inn Pizza (the #1 frozen pizza in Chicago!) and their marketing team put together a pretty great event.  We were not only treated to a free movie, but also ate tasty pizza! Oh, and did I mention that both Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez showed up at the screening?  And...at our tailgate in South Bend over the weekend?  All thanks to the good folks at Home Run Inn. The movie, directed and adapted by Emilio Estevez and starring his father Martin Sheen was a heartstring-puller.  Focusing on a father/son dynamic set on a pilgrimage on the Camino , the movie is a neat combination of family dynamics and history.  My one quibble with the film is that it is just a bit too sad.  I LOVE going to the movies, but I go for the escape quality that the deliver.  Being a parent - and thinking about my relationship with

Our good friends took Nat and I to the ND-MSU game this weekend.  I only heard from 2 comments about my gear all day.  Either the Illini don't even register on the ND radar or I guess those Indiana Catholics aren't as confrontational as us Illinois ones. And...for the record, my loyalties lie: 1.  Team 2.  Conference 3.  Everyone Else

Costco may have beat them to the punch, but the fine folks at my favorite store - Menards - are hard to top when it comes to Christmas setups.  I took the Babe there this weekend and while most of the Halloween stuff isn't even on sale, they've already set up a bunch of their enchanted forest.  They have a ton of blowmolds and I may have even picked up something for our yard this season! 

This photo shows the interesting dynamic at play in our garden:  many of our pumpkins are way out ahead of the season - being BRIGHT ORANGE, some or still in the midst of their growing stages - still green and bulking up on size, and then there's this little guy.  It is already mid-September and he's the size of a golfball.  He doesn't have a chance to make it does, he?  There's not enough warmth left in the air to power him, right? 

Last week, we took the babe to see the Kelly Miller Circus as it rolled through town for a fundraiser for the schools .   It took place under a small tent right in the school's backyard.  There were lions (who were a bit sad), camels (who were really fast!), some elephants and other various clowns/jugglers/circus types.  There were also more than a few opportunities to shake some money free from our pockets - and that seemed fine.  We all knew what we were getting into and the overpriced toys and cotton candy were part of the bill.  I just wish/hope that some of the concession dough goes to the school and not just the gate. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to head into this guys booth - which is my favorite part - the Side Show!

Back in July of 2010, our poor little Pear tree snapped in half during a mighty storm .  It was reduced to just 4 feet of trunk and 2 branches.  By September of 2010, the tree had sprung back and began to regrow .  Today?  It has had a great summer and has grown like crazy. It is pretty thin/sparse but it sure is a resilient little fruit tree. 

Last night, I put 2 quarts of whole peeled tomatoes into their cans and processed them for 45 minutes.  Each jar has 4 - and exactly 4 basil leafs.  Just like one of the Giants of Pizza Chris Bianco does with line of canned plum tomatoes . I used this really simple recipe from Food in Jars (but added basil).  There's a bunch of recipes on Food in Jars that gets me excited to get canning.  (btw...how cute is their logo with all the colorful canning jars?!?!) These will go into our root cellar.  Oh wait.  We don't have a root cellar.  So, I guess they'll just end up in our pantry for now.  And they'll wait for their first appearance next summer when the pizza oven is done.  *IF * the pizza oven gets done, I suppose.

Late Friday afternoon, my fifth sports-related went up on the Official Google Blog - this one focused on football.  Entitled "It's Kickoff Time for US Football Searches" , the piece touched on the behavior of football fans all across the country.  I'm just the 'ghost-writer', as this piece is (once again!) signed by someone else.  A few things to note: 1.  I was able to sneak in a Jim Mora "Playoffs?!?!" Easter Egg in the post that links to a video clip. 2.  I also had a link from the post where I referenced the Bears to Denny Green's "The Bears are who we thought they were.  If you wanna crown their asses, then crown 'em!" rant, but that got pulled. 3.  In the draft version, I included a link to this chart below (comparing football to religion) when saying that football was a big deal.  Again, wiser heads prevailed! World Series will likely be the next sports post, but that only gets us to six.  I'd like to find a few

Nat spotted this little quirk on the menu at The Idler in South Haven earlier this summer.  I guess the rest of the coleslaw is just meh.