Flurry Thursday Rundown

Posted on May 6, 2021 by brent

Life sure has been extra enjoyable these days. The beautiful spring weather, longer days, progress on the COVID front, and the promise of summer have me feeling very optimistic. Speaking of positivity, how about we begin my latest Thursday Rundown?

New and Free McFlurry – Last night, Sidney and I cashed in on a free McDonald’s offer. The fast food giant was giving away its newest caramel and brownie McFlurry…for free! The only catch was that you had to download the McDonald’s app but I really don’t think it is much of a catch at all because I have found fast food apps to be very helpful and full of great deals. Now we all know that a McFlurry doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as a Dairy Queen Blizzard but what we had last night was actually really good. It was full of brownie pieces and a thick caramel swirl. 10/10 recommend.

Me gripping the two caramel brownie McFlurries we got for FREE from McDonald’s on Tuesday.

Come On, Subway – After giving kudos to a fast food chain I must do the opposite to another. In an earlier period of my life, I loved Subway. It was my favorite fast food option and I admired its aggressive expansion and marketing practices. But times have changed. Subway has fallen out of favor to competitors such as Jimmy John’s and Jersey Mike’s, restaurants have closed, and we all know what happened to Jared. I guess with all these things going against it I shouldn’t be surprised that prices have gone up so much. But it still rubbed me the wrong day when we went to Subway the other day and had to pay $8 for a Spicy Italian and $7.50 for a Cold Cut Combo. No deals were available and the Subway location we went to was empty except for us and a lone employee. With all that said, I still really enjoyed my sandwich.

I used to really like everything about Subway….not so much anymore.

Back on Campus – After 412 days, I finally set foot on the WSU Pullman campus again. This past Saturday we honored our graduating students with a drive-through celebration and I had the opportunity to cover the event. It was a beautiful morning and the students brought plenty of enthusiasm and Cougar spirit. It was also awesome to meet many people in person after solely working with them over Zoom for the last 13 months. The icing on the cake was after the event was over and we were able to take our two graduating interns out to lunch. Thanks so much for your contributions to WSU Social Media, Chloe and Dani!

A screen capture from the recap Instagram post about the Drive-Through Celebration. It was awesome to finally work a live event on location.

Visit From Ice Cream Truck – Last weekend, we were over at my parents’ house for Sunday dinner with my sister and her kids. In a wishful thinking, offhand type of way my mom remarked that if the ice cream truck came by that she would be buying for all the kids. Because it was a Sunday night and April had only recently ended, I thought sure mom. In my opinion, there was a better chance that Chick-fil-A would be open on a Sunday than the ice cream truck rolling down my parents’ street. At the end of the night as we were literally packing up the car to go home, I heard that all-too-familiar jingle. No way. We extended our visit by another 30 minutes as the kids picked out a treat and ate them on a blanket that my mom and dad spread out on the front lawn. It was no Mr. Softee but Sloan certainly did not care.

Lots of smiles after the visit from the ice cream truck.

Crazy, Stupid, Love – I used to not be a Steve Carell fan, at least not his comedy. But then I watched him play diverse roles in movies such as “Vice” and “Welcome to Marwen” and learned to appreciate his talent. My renewed respect for Carell made his comedic roles more tolerable to me. This week, Sidney and I watched “Crazy, Stupid, Love” on Netflix. It is a 2011 film that details how a nerdy guy named Cal (Carell) rebounds after his wife announces she wants a divorce. Many of the laughs come the interactions between Cal and Jacob, a womanizer played by Ryan Gosling who prepares Cal for the dating world. If you subscribe to Netflix and want to relax with a funny and light movie, give “Crazy, Stupid, Love” a try.

Steve Carell has grown on me.

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Thank you for reading, friends. Let’s not lose sight about who this upcoming weekend is all about. Make sure to thank and celebrate your moms. Don’t Blink.

Covid Anxiety Syndrome

Posted on May 5, 2021 by brent

Yesterday I learned about a condition doctors are starting to talk more and more about called COVID Anxiety Syndrome. Experts say that as the battle against COVID continues to trend in a positive direction and the re-opening process continues to progress, people with the syndrome will have difficulty moving forward with the rest of society. Instead, they will likely continue to cling to safety behaviors that were necessary during the darkest days of the pandemic.

What this means is that a portion of society, perhaps 1 in 5 people according to the articles I read, might resist letting go of COVID coping strategies they practiced pre-vaccine. These folks will most likely avoid crowds of any size, refrain from touching anything, and watch others closely to see if they are displaying any COVID symptoms. They will perform these behaviors in a constant state of worry.

Anyone with basic knowledge of human nature probably won’t find COVID Anxiety Syndrome that surprising. This pandemic has been an extremely traumatic event for many and it is difficult to transition back to a carefree way of life when you are dealing with an invisible enemy, no matter how much the virus has been wounded.

Throughout the past 14 months I have tried to pray for the people paralyzed by fear of the coronavirus just as much as I have prayed for those paralyzed by the actual physical symptoms of the coronavirus. To say that this disease has had just as much of a mental impact on the population as a physical impact is an understatement.

As many of us start to celebrate certain milestones of COVID-19 progress, it is important to remember those who might have a tough time reintegrating into society. Vaccinations can make our bodies immune from the pandemic but not necessarily our minds. Let’s take care of each other. Don’t Blink.

An “Explosive” YouTube Video

Posted on May 3, 2021 by brent

Chalk it up as one of those sensory videos that is just soothing to watch.

How else can you explain why we wasted 10 minutes of our lives watching it?

On Saturday night, Sid and I were watching YouTube videos on our TV with Sloan. One thing to another and instead of Ryan’s World or CookieSwirlC, we ended up watching this video. Basically it is a giant scale version of the Elephant’s Toothpaste experiment you did as a kid.

The video takes place on what might be the shore of a beach. A guy starts building a sand volcano. After he has piled a good amount of sand to resemble a volcanic shape, he places what appears to be a five-gallon bucket on top of it. He then packs sand around the bucket to form the volcano’s crater.

A sceenshot as the guy packs sand/dirt around the bucket to form the volcano’s crater.

Now comes the first monotonous part of the video. He starts pulling out sodas from a trash can that is serving as a cooler. Over the course of a couple minutes he pulls out 22 different soft drinks. They range in variety from flavor to size to can/bottle.

This guy has a pretty impressive lineup of sodas.

Next up is the real monotonous portion of the demonstration. He starts opening up the sodas and pouring the contents into the bucket/volcanic crater…one at a time. It takes over four minutes for him to open and dump all the drinks but for whatever reason we watched it through without fast forwarding. Granted, Sloan did fall asleep during this part but Sidney and I remained transfixed. Heck, my brother was waiting out in our driveway as the two of us had plans for the night but I made him wait as I watched.

Most of the time he would empty one can or bottle into the bucket at a time. This was one instance when he did two….a Sprite and an orange soda.

After the last soda was poured, the bucket was nearly full. But it had just enough room to add a few additional ingredients. First came dish soap followed by Pepto Bismol. He then combined several rolls of Mentos and yeast into a separate container and poured hydrogen peroxide in it. Finally, he poured this mixture into the volcanic crater…

And there goes the Pepto Bismol

ERUPTION!!!

A gigantic plume of pink “lava” exploded out of the volcano followed by another plume and several other bursts. It is quite impressive to watch. All I kept thinking was This could perfect for a gender reveal.

This is just the very start of the eruption. Must watch the video to see the whole show!

If you are really bored, take a chance and watch the video. Not only did we devote 10 minutes of our lives to watching a guy pour soda into a bucket but I followed it up with a blog post as well. Don’t Blink.

Batter Up Thursday Rundown

Posted on April 29, 2021 by brent

Is it true? Is April almost over? Greetings everyone, I hope you have had a good week so far. Let’s get started with the final Thursday Rundown of the month.

Batter Up! – Last night, the four of us hopped in the car and drove up north to watch Mikayla’s season opener for t-ball. The outing was meaningful because Sid and I were able to support our niece and our kids were able to cheer on their cousin. But it was also significant for the fact that last year playing ball on a nice spring evening wasn’t possible. It was refreshing to see that youth sports are back and young ones can once again have fun and learn valuable lessons about teamwork and competition.

It was such a pleasure to watch Mik play t-ball yesterday.

Another Fun Wal-Mart Ice Cream – Over the years I have kept tabs on the Great Value ice creams and lauded them for their taste and value. At Sloan’s request, we recently brought home a new flavor. What you see below is Unicorn Sparkle, a cake-flavored ice cream with a frosting swirl and candy pieces. The very colorful dessert is actually delicious, and that review isn’t just from Sloan. The frosting swirl, which is purple, is particularly yummy. As the weather starts to heat up, this is something you might consider trying, especially if you have children.

The Great Value Unicorn Sparkle Ice Cream is pretty good…and fun.

The Infamous Road Trip – This week I have been reliving the epic road trip I took with my dad seven years ago. He helped me move to Myrtle Beach as we drove from one side of the country to the other. It is a voyage that we both fondly look back on, especially when the anniversary comes around every late April. The hotels, restaurants, landmarks passed, and people encountered are all things we enthusiastically discuss even several years later. If you ever have the chance to drive across our nation, do it!

My dad and I had a GREAT road trip across the country.

Modified Mosquitoes – Yesterday while on the treadmill I noticed a story about a certain problem in the Florida Keys. The area is inundated with disease-spreading mosquitoes. The pests are spreading particularly nasty viruses like Zika and dengue fever. The solution? Florida is enlisting the help of a British biotech company to introduce genetically modified male mosquitoes to mate with the native female mosquitoes. When the mating takes place, the female mosquito is inflicted with a “death mechanism” that would prevent any resulting offspring from surviving, thus controlling the population. The company will strategically release the modified mosquitos in groups of 12,000 on a weekly basis over the next 12 weeks. I am interested to see the results!

Sidney and Sloan in the Florida Keys in June 2019. We did our best to stay away from the mosquitoes.

G-Rated Search History – Earlier this week I shared a comic that suggested not everyone might have a pristine browser search history. But the person behind the below meme seems to. Does this resonate with you? I think most of us would agree that these days Google is the best dictionary. Thanks for another gem, Lindsi!

Can you relate?

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At the current moment I am watching my son eat dry Fruit Loops off the couch. So if you will excuse me, I think I am going to go join him. Have a nice weekend! Don’t Blink.

An Entirely New Facebook Ads Experience

Posted on April 27, 2021 by brent

This comic I am about to share below is funny but it also has pretty good timing…

This Non-Sequitur comic strip ran this past weekend.

Okay, I know that is probably tough to see for many of you. The comic depicts souls reaching the entrance to Heaven. St. Peter suddenly proclaims Good News! The line should start moving a lot faster now that I’ve learned how to search your browser histories.

Of course we all know what is implied here. But to be honest, I would argue you don’t even need to look at their browser history. Instead, just take a glance at the ads they are being served on social media. That should tell you enough about what their online activity. Well, at least until now.

I said the comic had good timing because this week the long awaited/dreaded IOS 14.5 update started to roll out. Besides new emojis and a host of other things, the major draw with this significant update is that Apple users can now opt out from being tracked. Called App Tracking Transparency, people with iPhones will now have the option upfront to tell their favorite apps whether they can track their online activity or not.

Won’t be a difficult decision for many.

IOS 14.5 will change paid social media.

Although some might like being bombarded with Disney World ads on social media after doing a quick Google search for Orlando hotels, many others find it creepy and annoying. With the new IOS 14.5 update, apps such as Facebook must now ask users via pop-up prompt if it can continue to track their online journeys. Again, we all know where this is headed.

So while this development is welcome news for many, Facebook and other apps aren’t the only losers here. Those of us in the digital marketing business who have taken advantage of social media advertising over the years are losing some of the main instruments in our tool box. Audience sizes for paid social campaigns will undoubtedly dwindle as people opt out. The specificity with which we were once able to serve ads will no longer be as refined. The whole concept of retargeting is going to take a huge hit.

Just as damaging, the update will make ad analytics reporting much more of a guessing game than ever before. Because of tracking restrictions, Facebook had to reconfigure its entire conversion reporting system which will result in the loss of so much critical information.

The only consolation is that we weren’t blindsided by this update. I have known about the changes since late last year. Over the past couple months it has been a mad dash to help WSU campuses and departments prepare for IOS 14.5 while also working with our various agencies to pull their custom events underneath our web domain.

We still don’t know to what extent IOS 14.5 will impact paid social advertising but it certainly won’t be doing us any favors. However, I still choose to be optimistic. It is now time for the social media giants to make a move—one that will hopefully return the upper hand to advertisers while at the same time respecting the privacy of users…if that is even possible. Don’t Blink.

About Time! Visiting Chuck E. Cheese

Posted on April 26, 2021 by brent

We went from living in a Dave and Buster’s town to living in a Chuck E. Cheese town…

Loss for Sid and I; win for Sloan and Beau. Right? Well, I don’t equate my level of happiness with access to arcade games and skee-ball so please don’t feel too bad for me.

It is mildly amusing though that Myrtle Beach had the monopoly on the ultimate adult arcade experience and Spokane seemingly has the upper hand with children as it boasts multiple Chuck E. Cheese fun centers.

A look at the exterior of the North Spokane Chuck E. Cheese location. This was the first Chuck E. Cheese that Sloan ever went to.

Just before the libraries re-opened, Chucky decided it was time to invite all the kids and their parents back. It was another one of those small victory moments when you could sense the tide turning with respect to the Coronavirus.

Sloan had waited a long time to ride alongide this mouse.

By the time Chuck E. Cheese re-opened, Sloan was chomping at the bit to go. We had driven by the two Spokane locations so many times and she had watched countless Chuck E. Cheese-related YouTube videos that she couldn’t wait to get inside and meet the Mouse himself.

Needless to say, Sloan was ready to run loose at Chuck E. Cheese.

As a little boy growing up in Spokane there was nothing more rewarding than when my parents would take me to Chuck E. Cheese. There used to be a location in the Shadle Park Shopping Center and in my day that was ground zero for where “a kid could be a kid.” There was no cooler place to have a birthday party or spend a day of spring break than at Chuck E. Cheese.

So, yes, I was a little nostalgic when I took Sloan to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. But once we walked through the doors that nostalgia turned to mild panic as I tried to navigate the changes that have taken place over the years (or decades).

Sloan learned a lot about Chuck E. Cheese by watching some of her favorite YouTubers visit it.

You no longer get a stamp to ensure that you leave with the people you came with. Instead, you just take a selfie. To play games, it is no longer as simple as feeding the token machine dollar bills. Rather, you select between different packages at the front counter. Once you choose your package, don’t expect to receive any of the coveted Chuck E. Cheese tokens you could no longer get at the token machine—like with most arcades, everything is now placed on a play card.

The Chuck E. Cheese staff makes sure parents leave with their kids by requiring them to take selfies upon entering. When you leave, you show them the selfie so they can verify that everyone leaves with who they came with.

But after the shock wore off and I could quickly evaluate the changes made since 1999, it was obvious that they were made to improve the experience. I don’t think it is even more obvious than with the packages. You can still select a package that let’s you pay per game OR you can choose one based on time. The latter is what I have done with Sloan both times we have gone.

The ball is in your court when it comes to choosing a package.

I pay $13 for a 30-minute pass. During that half hour, Sloan can play all the games as many times as she wants. It doesn’t matter if it is a ride, a redemption game, or the latest arcade game, she has access to it all courtesy of the $13 paid upfront. You can pay for longer time periods but the half hour option has worked out perfectly for us both visits. Not only does it satisfy Sloan’s energy level as we zip around the facility playing as many games as possible but it also satisfies my wallet.

We spent a portion of our 30 minutes playing air hockey.

Other changes I have noticed since “back in the day” include kiosks that will take your picture, ice cream vending machines set up on the play floor, and Blue Moon beer on tap. Dang, Chuck E. Cheese really has evolved, huh?

Sloan and I got these made at separate kiosks during yesterday’s trip to Chuck E. Cheese.

In a day and age where entertainment options are still limited for toddlers in these waning days of the pandemic, Chuck E. Cheese has proven to be a great place to expel some energy. Don’t Blink.

Prayerful Thursday Rundown

Posted on April 22, 2021 by brent

Happy Thursday, friends. Thanks for your continued readership of Don’t Blink. Without any unnecessary delay, let’s jump into this week’s Rundown…

Praying For… – I always say that students who attend St. Mary School come home with some of the best crafts. Recently, Sloan made a figure that resembled her and attached a heart that contained the names of people (and…umm…things) that she is praying for. Her list included Jesus, Sid, myself, and…Muffin? Yep, that would be my parents’ cat. Sloan loves felines, especially the one belonging to her grandma and papa and felt the need to pray for it.

Sloan brought this home from school the other day.

We Remember – Speaking of people we pray for, a man named Dr. Robert Cina is always in our nightly prayers. He was the surgeon who performed corrective Pyloric Stenosis surgery on Sloan four years ago today. For those who don’t know, Pyloric Stenosis is a very rare condition in infants in which food is blocked from entering the small intestine, causing constant projectile vomiting and dangerous dehydration. Sid and I didn’t talk to anyone about the experience for a year after it happened but these days we are much more open about it. We promote Pyloric Stenosis awareness and try to support those parents and babies going through what we did. To commemorate the four year anniversary, I made this TikTok video.

During Sloan’s bout with Pyloric Stenosis and for over a year afterwards, we kept it between immediate family. Sidney and I are so thankful for the support of our parents. This photo shows our moms and dads with Sloan at MUSC.

Riverfront Park – We took advantage of the absolute gorgeous day last Saturday and met Miranda and her kids at Riverfront Park for a day of fun. We broke in the newly opened playground, admired the Spokane Falls, rode the carousel, and fed the garbage goat. Sloan and Beau absolutely loved it…and the adults did too.

It was a pefect day at Riverfront Park last Saturday.

Eating Outside – Spokane is pretty much the “Eating Outside Capital of the United States.” Pleasant temperatures and low humidity make it a great place eat dinner outside during the late spring/summer/early fall months. In fact, taking it outside for breakfast works too. This past weekend we were able to enjoy brunch and dinner out on our back deck as we ate waffles in the morning and then tried out our new grill in the evening. With a view like we have, there is plenty of incentive to eating outdoors.

It was nice to get an early start on “eating outside” season this past weekend. We ate waffles for brunch on Sunday.

National Jelly Bean Day – There is a day for everything, right? Today is National Jelly Bean Day and just like there is a day for everything, there is seemingly a Don’t Blink blog post for everything too. Back in 2017, I ranked my top 5 favorite Jelly Belly flavors. I won’t reveal my entire list in tonight’s post (you have to go here to read it) but buttered popcorn and Dr. Pepper are both on the list. If the subject of jelly beans seems redundant to you, I did write about sweeTARTS jelly beans just a couple weeks ago.

I wrote about my favorite Jelly Belly flavors four years ago.

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It is going to be tough to top last weekend but we will try. Have a great evening and we will catch up next week. Don’t Blink.

Toy Fails

Posted on April 20, 2021 by brent

I bought something for Sloan last night that I immediately regretted. Upon reflecting on this purchase, other instances came to mind when I let Sloan bring something home that turned out to be a mistake. In tonight’s blog post I will bring to light a handful of toy fails.

Nunchucks – The inspiration for this evening’s post is Michelangelo’s weapon. Last night Sloan found some basic kid-proof nunchucks in the toy aisle. Wanting to appease her I gave the “OK” after she asked me multiple times if she get could them. Before we even got home I knew it was a bad idea as she kept striking my drivers seat. Once we were in the living room it got pretty nerve-wracking watching her wildly swing the nunchucks as Beau walked around. I became her new target once we put her little brother down. Yep, today we put the nunchucks away.

Sloan with her Dollar Tree nunchucks last night.

Kinder Egg – We went through a BIG Kinder Egg stage. Although I enjoyed putting the Kinder toys together with Sloan while watching her brain turn gears, the little pieces were a nightmare, especially with Beau crawling around. If it wasn’t for the educational value, these cheap toys and lackluster chocolate would be more trouble than they are worth.

Sloan was obsessed with Kinder Eggs for a period of time.

Recorder – Unfortunately Sloan received her daddy’s instrument-playing skills. I could never carry a tune and apparently neither can Sloan. But to be fair, does anything sound good coming from a recorder? I don’t even know how the toy instrument got into her hands but it definitely did somehow. There is certainly a special cacophony that is produced when a baby is crying, two different devices are playing random YouTube videos, and your toddler is blowing into a recorder.

It doesn’t really matter who plays it, a recorder just really isn’t that pleasant to listen to.

Putty – The safer alternative, so we thought, to slime, Sloan got some putty in her Ryan’s Egg that she found in a scavenger hunt last summer. She played with it in my parents’ living room and remnants would be found on the couch later that evening. But that wasn’t the worst part. Some of the putty found its way into Sloan’s pocket and when we washed her pants with our other clothes it stained the whole load and solidified putty deposits on several shirts and shorts.

At the end of the scavanger hunt, Sloan had found a Ryan’s Mystery Egg that had putty inside of it.

LOL Dolls – This is Sloan’s absolute favorite toy so I kind of hate to put it on this “fail” list but I am just being honest. The pieces of an LOL Doll make the pieces from a Kinder Egg look oversized. It is not if Sloan will lose any pieces but how many and whether Beau will swallow them. They are kind of like how a new car loses value once it drives off the lot; with an LOL Doll the moment it is opened it loses value because pieces immediately go missing. The dolls themselves are at least PG-13 as they are built with questionable anatomy for a young audience and their general appeal is still a mystery to me. If you have boys, just feel fortunate that you don’t have to deal with these.

Sloan ripping open an LOL OMG Doll at her birthday party this year.

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Bottom line? Don’t get your kid nunchucks. Let me know if I need to add any toys to this list. I thank you in advance. Don’t Blink.

A Parade of Three Fun Facts

Posted on April 19, 2021 by brent

I have been a lifelong newspaper reader and although I have shuffled through many different periodicals depending on where I was living at during the time, there has always been one constant: Parade Magazine. Because of its status as a national magazine insert in more than 700 of America’s newspapers, I have never subscribed to a newspaper that didn’t carry it.

For tonight’s blog post I thought I would relate three items I learned from yesterday’s Parade Magazine (April 17, 2021) that I didn’t know before reading the issue.

Tonight I bring you three things I learned from the April 18, 2021, issue of Parade Magazine.

1. Toilet Paper Waste – I thought last year’s toilet paper shortage was the craziest thing I would ever hear about TP. But that changed yesterday when I was reading an article about how we can all go a little greener. It turns out that 27,000 trees are cut down per day to supply the world with toilet paper. That’s a lot of trees for a single use product. If we want to be more eco-friendly, we can reference the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Toiler Paper Scorecard to see which companies are using a higher percentage of postconsumer recycled fiber to produce their product. One bonus tidbit on trees in general: Each year we cut down 15 billion trees while only planting 4 billion.

2. Honey Never Goes Bad – I have referenced Marilyn vos Savant’s Parade Magazine column in this blog multiple times over the past 10 years. Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the world’s highest IQ, I never doubt the answers she dishes out to readers. A fellow from Kansas City asked her yesterday if the rumor is true that honey never spoils. Well, according to vos Savant, it isn’t a rumor. Believe it or not, honey is not susceptible to bacterial growth. In general, most of honey’s water is evaporated and the low H20 content dehydrates bacteria. Furthermore, honey contains acid including a hydrogen peroxide which inhibits bacterial growth. Turns out the honey I received six years ago from a co-worker to help remedy my terrible South Carolina allergies would still be good!

3. Burps vs. Hiccups – Although burps and hiccups can both be caused by eating or drinking too fast, a burp comes from air expelled from your stomach and a hiccup is created from a contraction or spasm in the diaphragm. If you are interested (and I really was not) an entire article was devoted to burps. In fact, I learned that the length of the longest burp on record was 73 seconds.

Did you learn something tonight? If you did, you’re welcome. Don’t Blink.

Lemon and Raspberry Thursday Rundown

Posted on April 15, 2021 by brent

Can we already be exactly halfway through April? I hope your month is going well and that you are ready to celebrate the midpoint with a Thursday Rundown blog post. Let’s get started…

Chick-fil-A Potatoes – I ran into this article about where Chick-fil-A gets its potatoes to make the best waffle fries on the planet. It turns out the chicken sandwich chain raids my home state for its spuds. A farm in the Columbia River Basin that takes advantage of a very fertile soil supplies Chick-fil-A with its potatoes. The farm’s soil benefitted from the eruption of Mt. St. Helens and the ash that was deposited. The nutrient-rich ash covered the ground and mixed with the soil to significantly increase its growing quality. French fry lovers rejoice!

The potatoes for these fries come from the state of Washington.

Looking Back – Tomorrow will mark exactly seven years since I worked my last day at the University of Montana. My time at Grizzly Athletics was highlighted by playing roles in numerous big events and getting my feet wet in the professional world. Starting my career as a Griz was an awesome experience and I am so glad I had many influential co-workers to show me the ropes.

Starting my career at the University of Montana was a blessing.

New Costco Muffin Flavor – Some of you might know about my Costco muffin obsession. I love them! In fact, the first thing I ate after I finished my weight loss challenge in November was a chocolate Costco muffin. As you can imagine, I was excited when a new flavor rolled out earlier this year—raspberry lemon. On Easter I tried one for the first time and my reaction was mixed. Most bites are good but every now and then you will take a nibble that is just a little too tart. Also, Sidney and I both got raspberry seeds stuck in our teeth from eating them…so annoying! Verdict? Not bad but definitely not as good as this article makes them out to be.

These were pretty good…but they don’t compare to some of the other Costco muffin varieties.

My Spokane Barbershop – For nearly the first three decades of my life I went to Great Clips for my haircuts. However, prior to my wedding I went to a salon to get my hair trimmed and ready for the big day. After that, I started going to a barbershop exclusively for guys. There was no going back to Great Clips for me. When I moved to Spokane I needed to find a new place for my hair needs. I now go to The Man Shop, a barbershop with several locations in the Spokane area. Each location has a pool table, popcorn machine, televisions installed at each chair, and more. Best of all, I have had pretty good results each time I visited If you are a dude, live in the area, and need a haircut, you might want to try your nearest Man Shop location.

I go to The Man Shop to get a haircut in Spokane.

Texting Styles – So, what approach describes you? I am definitely the type of guy who composes one message with everything I want to say as opposed to a more free flowing, serial texter. I always have my text message notifications on silent so it doesn’t matter to me if it takes someone 10 different texts to ask if I want to go to dinner but I thought this meme was pretty funny (thanks, Lindsi!).

Which “type of person” are you?