Good evening on this last Thursday of February. I appreciate you joining me for another Thursday Rundown. Quick note: Although we have been following along and watching every episode of Celebrity Big Brother, we are just a little behind and will watch the finale tonight (it aired last night). Therefore, I will give my reaction regarding the season and the winner next Thursday. Okay, let’s get after it.

Fun Weekend Treat – Last Sunday, I made Beau and Sloan Cinnamon Toast Crunch pancakes. The package came with pancake dust, “cinnamon dust,” and Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces to sprinkle on top. They turned out pretty well as I couldn’t resist eating a few myself. However, Sloan already has her eyes set on something else: Lucky Charms pancakes. They were advertised on the side of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch pancake box and now Sloan can’t stop talking about them.

Beau and Sloan sitting at the kitchen table eating the Cinnamon Toast Crunch pancakes I made for them.

The Tootsie Roll – I learned via Timehop that the Tootsie Roll was invented in 1896…that’s 126 years ago for those keeping track at home. Tootsie Rolls are unique because they have qualities similar to both taffy and caramels but actually aren’t either. However, all these years I just assumed they were a chocolate candy. Approximately 64 million Tootsie Rolls are made annually. Oh wait, I read that wrong…64 million Tootsie Rolls are made PER DAY. I will never forget the time my brother and I secured a birthday gift for my mom by going hard at an arcade in Walla Walla and winning enough tickets to redeem them for a cup and a bunch of Tootsie Rolls that we were able to stuff inside.

Tootsie Rolls were invented in 1896.

The Five Chinese Brothers – Last night at the library I stumbled across a book from my own childhood, “The Five Chinese Brothers.” This book was in my elementary school library and for some reason as a little kid I was drawn to it. So when I came across it yesterday, I couldn’t check it out fast enough. Even though the book has same dark themes with the death of a boy and several execution attempts, I went ahead and read it to Sloan and Beau. Sloan was intrigued by the story and had figured out the pattern by the time we got to the end. Nice little stroll down memory lane.

My parents read me “Five Chinese Brothers” as a kid and last night I got to read it to Sloan and Beau.

National Tortilla Day – Today is National Tortilla Day (yay). Last year I celebrated by writing an entire National Tortilla Day-themed blog post. The specific content? How Mexican restaurants can really separate themselves from other Mexican restaurants…with the chips they serve! From the temperature to the thickness to the taste to the salsa they are served with, I offered many ways on how tortilla chips can stand out. It was a fun blog post to write and I encourage you to check it out.

Today is National Tortilla Chip Day and tortilla chips are definitely very important at Mexican restaurants

Spring Hope – I don’t care what the groundhog said and I recognize that it was in single digits here this week, but Spring is coming. When I make my weekly drive to Pullman I am no longer doing it entirely in the dark. In fact, when I backed out of my driveway on Tuesday at 5:45 a.m., it was already starting to get light out. Likewise, when I leave at the end of the day, I get to drive in at least 30 minutes of daylight on my return to Spokane. I have always found it very encouraging when it is easy to tell that the days are getting longer.

A photo I took of the sunrise on my drive to Pullman on Tuesday morning. I encountered some snowy roads later in the trip.

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Thank you for your kind attention tonight. Let’s pray for peace in Europe. Have a good weekend and I will catch up with everyone next week. Don’t Blink.