I always save my “year in review” blog posts for the end of the calendar year. This means that I wait until Dec. 31 to look back on the previous 364 days. However, this isn’t the only way to do things. Some people will assess a year based on their own personal trip around the sun––in other words, from birthday to birthday.

Although I am not going to break with tradition, I felt like a brief mention regarding my year as a 32-year-old (I honestly typed “23” and it made me feel happy for a minute) was acceptable. You see, it is my birthday eve and I will turn a new year tomorrow. Not wanting to look back much when it becomes official at 8:11 a.m., I got to quickly get in my thoughts regarding October 8, 2018 – October 7, 2019.

Years from now when I look back at being 32, I will say “Hey, that’s when Sid became pregnant with our second child!” No doubt about it, that is what will register with me. Lots of other cool things happened during the past 52 weeks, like my brother proposing to his fiancée and my sister-in-law getting married, but I won’t remember those events in terms of my age. Rather, I will remember them for occurring in 2019. There is just something special that connects your major personal family milestones and age.

Other than that, I won’t remember 32 as a banner year. But that isn’t to say that it wasn’t special, I just don’t remember any of my personal years as “banner years” (well, maybe except for being 21). I do remember the night I turned 32 well. Sidney made homemade lasagna and her parents came over to join us for my birthday meal. It was a nice beginning to my 365 days.

Sid and I on my first day as a 31-year-old.

Now I come full circle with a nice ending to my 365 days as I am surrounded by my wife and daughter. Although I am just about to head off to a Knights of Columbus meeting, I will be back soon enough to conclude the evening with my girls. As I drift off to sleep tonight, I will be thankful for another year that God has given me on this Earth. Don’t Blink.

We are at the end of another blogging week and we know what that means….the Thursday Rundown. If you don’t mind, let’s jump right in tonight.

Sleeping With Her Friends – Sloan insists on sleeping with her “friends” which means every single stuffed animal she has. Yesterday morning I took this photo of her entourage. Who needs covers when you have an enormous stuffed unicorn draped across your body?

Sloan sleeping with her friends.

Southern Eating – There is a little restaurant in downtown Conway called the Pickled Cucumber. Forgive me for not taking photos of the building itself but at least I got the food. It is all about homemade Southern cooking at this place. I went with Sidney’s family for Sunday lunch and I thought it was pretty impressive. This is a “meat and three” establishment so you typically choose an entrée and three sides. I opted for just two sides––mashed potatoes and rice––and for my main course I ordered chicken and dumplings. Can’t forget about the corn bread that was thrown on there either.

My dish from the Pickled Cucumber in Conway.

Didn’t Win No Beauty Contest – I wasn’t the cutest baby by any means, there is no disputing that. But with a birthday drawing near, I thought it was appropriate to share this newborn photo that recently popped up on my Timehop. Not all babies can be adorable and I am just thankful that I was delivered into this world.

I wasn’t the prettiest baby, that’s for sure.

A Looooong July–A Facebook friend posted this and I couldn’t help but laugh. Although we have had a glimpse here and there of fall, it has still been really hot here. Today the high temperature was 94 degrees. I don’t mind the sizzling temperatures, but it is of funny to think of it as a long extension of July. I know how it is the other way around too. They say February is the shortest month but in Montana I swear it lasted until February 82nd.

This is actually kind of true.

Care to Stay a Night? – Thanks to my friend, Erik, I am following an interesting (but weird) Twitter account that publishes some oddball content. To get a full extent of what I am talking about you will have to follow it (@41strange) but here is an example of a post. The only clown hotel I think I would stay at in Nevada is Circus Circus. I know this word if overused, but this joint looks sketchy. I am always up for an adventure but I don’t know if I will be making a reservation here.

Even though clowns don’t bother me, this isn’t my first choice for a hotel.

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I have a wide open weekend coming up which is nice because the rest of October is jammed packed. Going to make sure I savor it! Enjoy your evening, everyone. Don’t Blink.

As I continue to backtrack on my 6-year-old bold statement that I wouldn’t recognize gimmicky “national holidays,” I couldn’t help but notice that today is National Soft Taco Day. Per usual, I was a little annoyed with the item being celebrated. Really? Not just National Taco Day but National SOFT Taco Day? This is getting ridiculous.

But then I realized something. Sidney and I actually have a pretty heated debate when it comes to taco shells. She likes hard, I like soft. We are pretty adamant about our preferences and when we purchase a taco kit we make sure it has hard and soft shells.

Sidney prefers hard shells.

In my opinion, it is a no-brainer. Soft shells do a better job at containing the toppings. They also absorb the flavors and juices of those toppings. With a hard shell, toppings freely fall from either side of the taco the moment you move it –– that’s to say if the toppings haven’t already fallen out. In my experiences, after I prepare my hard shell taco and place it on my plate, it plops on its side and toppings scatter.

If you really crave what a hard shell offers, why don’t you just enjoy taco night with a bag of tortilla chips? Don’t mess up the composition of a taco just for that extra crunch. Of course you can make the best of both worlds and opt for a double decker taco by placing a hard shell inside of a soft shell…it will definitely help with stability. But not the best option if you are counting calories.

So perhaps the distinction of “soft” in today’s “holiday” isn’t so petty after all. We didn’t eat tacos for dinner tonight, but if we did, I would have made Sid eat a soft shell. Don’t Blink.

This morning, my boss walked into our meeting room and exclaimed, “Happy HalloweenGivingMas!” It was the first time I heard the phrase but it immediately resonated with me. I liked it.

The three month period that started today is my favorite sequence during the year. Believe it or not, I like this quarter of the calendar even more than summer. For me, it just comes down to the family and holiday components.

October itself is awesome. I have written extensively about this before…and it is not just because it is my birthday month. The smell and feel of autumn is unbeatable and who doesn’t love corn mazes, beautiful colors, scary movies, and Halloween? November is highlighted by the four-day holiday weekend and themes of thankfulness and family. December is a month-long celebration filled with magic, joy, and warm cheer.

Combined together, it is a 90+ day ride of excitement and anticipation. As we begin this three month run, I have high hopes for more memories and highlights. Enjoy everyone, the calendar always saves the best three months for last. Happy HalloweenGivingMas! Don’t Blink.