Good evening to all! Easter weekend is one of my favorite times of the year for so many different reasons. But tonight we aren’t talking about different reasons – we are talking about different topics (five of them). Let’s get started with the latest installment of the Thursday Rundown…

Ice Cream Challenge Domination – Can it really be four full years since I pushed my body to the limit and ate seven scoops of ice cream, five toppings, and a waffle bowl in a mere five minutes? Yep! Back in my younger days I was known to do some pretty crazy things. On April 18, 2015, I visited the O.D. Pavilion Ice Cream Parlor in North Myrtle Beach to attempt the Waterdog Challenge. What I remember most is that the ice cream tasted really good at first…but then my mouth went numb. I had serious doubts about whether I could do it but I successfully finished the challenge with just a few seconds to spare. No one will ever be able to take this achievement (nor the t-shirt I received for completing) away from me.

I once ate seven scoops of ice cream in five minutes.

The Astrological Signs As Southern Food – Isn’t this interesting to look at? Anthony Bowser, a #CCUSocialMedia team member, posted this chart on his Instagram Story. It places Southern delicacies with astrological signs. As a Libra, my “food” is peach cobbler. Although I don’t consume it on a regular basis, I remember eating the most delicious peach cobbler when I moved to South Carolina. The day before we finally made it to Myrtle Beach, we stayed in Camden, SC. We dined at a Fatz (Southern causal dining chain restaurant) and ate it for dessert. Warm, scrumptious, and flavorful, I had never enjoyed a better fruit dessert in my life. But back to the chart itself. Sidney is gumbo (yum) and Sloan is fried pickles (yuck). What are you?

Here is the chart that associates each astrological sign with a Southern food.

Our Father – I recently listened to a brilliant podcast on the Lord’s Prayer. In addition to the great history that was given, the point was reinforced that the prayer encompasses the literal words of Jesus and that we are to pray it based on his request. I complemented the podcast by reading Sloan a book that was written by and given to her by one of my mom’s co-workers. A gentleman by the name of K.W. Gruen, who works with my mom at Mead High School in Spokane, wrote a book titled “Teaching the Message of the Lord’s Prayer.” It is intended for children and explains verse-by-verse what the prayer means. Although a little advanced for Sloan at this stage in her life, I look forward to reading it to her more frequently when she reaches the necessary level of comprehension. Thank you, Mr. Gruen, for signing it!

Teaching the Message of the Lord’s Prayer is written by K.W. Gruen. He took the time to sign the book and write a special note to Sloan.

Where’s Waldo – When we ate at the Sneaky Beagle, a “Where’s Waldo” book was on the table. Seeing it brought back a lot of good memories. I remember going over to my friend’s house when I was probably 8 and browsing his Waldo books. He had the yellow, red, and blue editions. As someone who wasn’t skilled with the Magic Eye books, I made up for that deficiency by developing an eye to spot Waldo quickly. Would you believe that Saturday night was Sidney’s first time looking through a “Where’s Waldo” book? Apparently she was given a heavy dose of beginner’s luck because she smoked me on numerous pages as we raced to see who could find Waldo first.

This is the Where’s Waldo book that was at our table when we ate at the Sneaky Beagle last weekend.

Mooooovies – It has been on our list for a long time, but we finally watched “Crazy Rich Asians” the other night. It was good, but not as good as everyone made it out to be. What really stuck out to me was the emphasis on food. There were so many beautiful shots of food throughout the whole film. In fact, it went beyond beautiful; it was artful. The way the different dishes were displayed equated to an impactful way of storytelling. We also watched “The Mule,” a movie that stars Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper. The story itself was promising but the ending was a letdown. Even more concerning was the supporting cast; there was an obvious lack of talent. Maybe even more depressing was Cooper’s role. To put it nicely, it just wasn’t up to his caliber.

We recently watched Crazy Rich Asians

——————

I hope the remainder of your Holy Week is meaningful. I wish all of my readers a very happy Easter. Don’t Blink.