Let it be known, it is still the birthday week of Sid so I will continue to treat her like the Birthday Queen she is. In fact, I will go beyond that and celebrate with vigor throughout the remainder of her birthday month! (Just don’t tell Sid her birthday week ends the same day that her birthday month does). Okay, here we go with tonight’s rundown…

Sid’s Birthday Cake – I think this might be the fourth straight year I got Sid a cake from Rosauers. Looks good, right? Tastes even better! And if you noticed, I wrote “taste” in present tense because we have a lot left over. I opted for a quarter sheet cake. So, if you want to join us for dessert tonight, please don’t hesitate to stop by. One more final note: This was the first time I opted to have Sidney’s nickname (“Ninny”) reflected on the cake.

Sidney’s 33rd birthday cake from Rosauers.

Tooth Update – It was on this date a year ago that Sloan lost her first tooth. I chronicled the experience here. Fast forward 12 months and Sloan has lost an additional 3 teeth. Adult teeth are coming in and the Tooth Fairy is still coming. In fact, the Tooth Fairy made it to South Carolina after Sloan lost a tooth in Myrtle Beach at the very beginning of the year.

Sloan when she lost her first tooth on January 30, 2024, and Sloan smiling for the camera on January 29, 2025.

The 1960s – Far out! Yesterday, I attended the EWU New Year’s Party presented by the Office of the President. The theme was “Fashion Through the Decades” as departments were all assigned a different decade to model their attire after. Advancement (which Marketing and Communications falls under) was given the 1960s. My colleagues dressed to impress but the “gold star” award goes to my boss, Eric Limburg, who played the part of Austin Powers perfectly. I threw something together myself although it was hard—there isn’t necessarily a clean break between when 1960s fashion ends and 1970s fashion begins.

Our Eastern Washington University Advancement team at President McMahan’s New Year’s party. Can you spot me?

21 Flashbacks – As I was looking at old birthday photos of Sid, I came across a picture from when she turned 21. She celebrated the milestone with her first round of legal drinks at Outback. Nothing like a cocktail and steak, right? I thought it would be fun to compare her “21 photo” with mine. I celebrated my 21st birthday with a bar run in Missoula.

Sid and I on our respective 21st birthdays.

Drone Update – Back in December, I voiced my concern regarding the drones that kept filling the New Jersey sky on a nightly basis. I called the consistent aerial events as “unnerving.” Well, we finally got an answer for what was in the sky. President Trump had his White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, relay the message that the drones were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons. These sightings generated even more drones in the sky because it inspired hobbyists to fly their own unmanned aerial vehicles. Alas, the drones didn’t come from an enemy or outer space.

The mystery of the origin of the drones over Jersey is now solved.

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Thanks for joining me tonight. Please pray for those who lost their lives in the D.C. air crash. Also, let’s pray for the families of the victims and those participating in the recovery effort. Don’t Blink.