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The Octagon Thursday Rundown

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Happy last Thursday of May to everyone! Hope you have had a nice week and still have enough in the tank to make it through Friday before cruising into the Memorial Day weekend. Here are my five topics for tonight…

Thankful – The current days are some of the longest of the year and I find nothing more uplifting than my 5:15 a.m. drive home from the gym during that first full hour of daylight. As I gaze out at the mountains and trees during the commute, I can’t help but feel thankful for God’s creation and for my personal good fortune to live in this beautiful corner of the country.

A look from my driver window earlier this week as I drove home from the gym.

School’s Out for the Summer – Sloan attended her last day of Pre-K 3 yesterday. Her school year ended a little sooner than her classmates because of vacation so Sloan’s class rolled out the red carpet and celebrated her on Wednesday. We feel so fortunate to have Sloan enrolled at St. Mary. She loved going each day, met friends, and brought home impressive work. Sloan’s last day in her uniform was actually on Monday because yesterday was College Spirit Day and she made her daddy proud by sporting a WSU shirt. Next stop: Pre-K 4.

Sloan at St. Mary in Spokane Valley on her last day of Pre-K 3. It was College Spirit Day so she ditched her uniform for a WSU t-shirt.

We Need This – Last night we attended my niece’s t-ball game at Midway Elementary and the playground had something that Sid and I really want! This octagon “pen” is for a dodgeball-esque game called Gaga Ball but it might as well be a holding cell for overactive 1-year-olds. Not going to lie, it was nice placing Beau in the enclosed area and watching him play without having to chase after him. What a genius idea.

This octagon at Midway Elementary in Spokane was wonderful for Beau to play in.

Happy 10 Years – Here I am bragging about my 10th anniversary of blogging when other people are marking much more important decade anniversaries. Fr. Jeff Lewis, our pastor at St. Mary and great mentor/friend to Sidney and I, celebrated the 10th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood this week. Also, Bishop Thomas Daly, the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Spokane, marked his 10th anniversary of being a bishop on Tuesday. May we pray for both of these men as they continue their dedicated and fruitful ministries.

Bishop Daly (left) and Fr. Jeff Lewis (right) in 2017. Thanks and congrats to both on their respective 10 year anniversaries (photo courtesy of Bishop Daly’s Twitter account)

Dating Myself – Thanks to my friend Lindsi’s Thursday collection of memes, I found something that resonated with me in terms of my age. The best hack to get a malfunctioning Nintendo or Gameboy cartridge to play was obviously by blowing air into it. I have taken this trick with me throughout adulthood, whether it be blowing air into my smartphone charging port to get it to charge properly or blowing air into Sloan’s face as a last resort to get her to behave. Although this tactic may have originated in the late 1980s, it is truly timeless.

This tactic would usually work.

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I hope you have a great start to your Memorial Day weekend. It will be a BIG one for us! Before this holiday weekend is over you will hear from me again. As always, thanks for your readership. Don’t Blink.

Happy Meals

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As kids, going to McDonald’s was a major event. Usually it was because we did something good or because my parents just wanted to treat us. If it was a truly special occasion, they let us get Happy Meals. Oh man, that was living large.

Of course, the best part of the Happy Meal was the toy. Well, let me backtrack a moment. The best part was actually the anticipation that came with digging your hand into the red cardboard box and pulling out the prize. Those several seconds of suspense were the best: Will I get the blue Power Ranger figurine? Hopefully I get the tiger beanie baby! Whatever I get, please don’t let it be girly!

Now that I have children of my own, we don’t exactly make trips to McDonald’s sparingly. Rather, we go a lot! Hey, it is convenient, cheap, and the kids will eat it. We also aren’t stingy on Happy Meals either…it is what Sloan and Beau get every single time.

Sloan and Beau love their Happy Meals.

Because of the frequency with which we whip around the drive-thru, the Happy Meal toy experience isn’t quite the novelty for my children as it was for me. Instead of “I hope I get this toy” I am pretty sure Sloan is thinking “I hope I don’t get this toy again.” We have more duplicates around the house than I care to admit.

The curent Happy Meal toys are Teenie Beanie Boos. Sloan has several.

But what I will admit is that some of the toys they give out in this current age are a couple steps up from the stuff we got back in the day. I was especially impressed with the Hasbro board game line that was released this past year. The Twister piece was pretty rad!

Before I leave you tonight, let me share a fact I recently learned: McDonald’s is the largest distributor of toys in the world. The chain distributes 1.5 billion toys worldwide each year. Take that, Mattel.

The silver lining of our numerous McDonald’s visits is that mom and dad usually score some French fries out of the deal. Keep those golden potatoes coming our way and we will most likely continue to line the pockets of the Hamburglar. Don’t Blink.

Charlie Bit Me…For the Last Time

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The video that defined “going viral” will soon be erased from YouTube, most likely forever. The “Charlie Bit Me” video was recently sold to a company that takes nostalgia as seriously as Charlie’s brother took pain reliever after his finger was chomped.

“Charlie Bit Me” paved the way for viral videos.

It gets a little complicated when explaining how the transaction took place. The clip was auctioned as a non-fungible token (NFT), which is kind of like a currency for digital files. The NFT for “Charlie Bit Me” declares the company as the owner of the video. The going price was $760,999.

But enough about the complexities regarding how the sale was pulled off. Can we all just take a moment of silence for not just one of the first, but also one of the greatest, viral videos of all-time? I mean the clip had everything: Babies, one-liners, grainy footage, and British accents. Sure, they will say that the video was uploaded to YouTube only because it was too large to email to relatives living in America, thus making it an unintentional sensation, but I don’t believe it. That clip was purposely made to be seen by everyone on the planet.

Personally, the video charmed me. I may or may not have parodied it, quoted it at random times, and wondered why anyone would be so stupid to put their finger in someone else’s mouth. Come to think of it, I probably gave “Charlie Bit Me” way more thought than what any 56-second clip deserves.

However, in all honesty, can we really overstate the important role the video has played in pop culture? “Charlie Bit Me” is a household title and it really did pave the way for video, GIFs, and memes. If not for that video, would we even have TikTok today? Think about that one for a minute.

Congrats to the brothers who are making a fortune on this 17 years later. I think the baby bite was worth it, even if it really hurt. Don’t Blink.

Pre-Vacation Work Anxiety

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Last weekend, the Epic Reser Summer of 2021 had its soft kickoff with our trip to Walla Walla. But come next weekend our very busy summer will shift into high gear. More about the first headlining event of the season in a future blog post!

However, tonight I wanted to bring to light a first world problem that afflicts all of us leaving the office (or virtual office) for vacation. Namely, I am talking about the preparation and work it takes to make sure everything is in order prior to shutting the laptop for the final time before checking out.

Most of us are familiar with the prep work that teachers go through before they take a day off. They write a lesson plan for the substitute and make sure the classroom is set up for the next day. Teachers do all they can to minimize any type of disruption that could occur in their absence.

That’s primarily the goal for all of us working our jobs too. Even when we are out, we want to make it seem as if we are in—at least to an external audience. Although our out-of-office automated email responses will always give us away, the point I am making is that most workers in corporate America take pride in making sure their unit will still function properly when they take well-deserved time off to get out of dodge.

But pulling this off doesn’t happen simply by snapping one’s fingers. My rule of thumb is that you start preparing for your absence based on how many days you are taking off. So, if you are disconnecting for five days in the mountains, you should probably start getting things covered five days prior to you clocking out for the final time. This means that you are essentially working double time. Not only are you putting everything in place for the days you won’t be in the office but you are also working in the present and doing your duties for that particular day.

Of course this can get a little stressful. Not only are you doing double duty but you are sweating whether you aren’t forgetting anything all while crossing your fingers that nothing goes haywire while you are gone. Your mind spins in different directions.

Please don’t think I am asking for your sympathy. I believe that the extra stress is actually worth it. Why? Well, the more you have your ducks in a row prior to leaving the more you can actually enjoy your vacation when you are gone. There is nothing worse than finding yourself consumed with a work issue when you are on the beach due to your own lack of preparation. Now, because I work in social media there is always a chance that issues out of my control will come up that I need to tend to but I will do everything in my power to cover the bases that I can.

Pre-vacation work anxiety is real. However, I don’t mind having it because it only means that a lot of fun is around the corner. I think I can handle that. Don’t Blink.

Just Another Thursday Rundown

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Hola everyone! Can you believe that it is Thursday again? You have my permission to sit back, relax, and enjoy the latest rundown. Watch out, here come the five topics…

Chillaxin – Beau already has life figured out. Our little man knows what it takes to relax. He just needs his favorite spot on the carpet, an apple (or two), and his mommy’s iPad. Doesn’t he look content?

Have you ever seen a more content 1-year-old?

Root Beer Anniversary – Come on now! How is the 10th anniversary of Don’t Blink supposed to compete with the 155th anniversary of the invention of Root Beer? I really enjoy a cold Root Beer (but not a Root Beer float) and one of my life goals is to pull off what my good friend Cody did with the ultimate Root Beer taste test challenge. Similar to what I did with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, he took six different Root Beer brands and let his family sip until they settled upon their personal favorites. I really hope to replicate this.

Feel free to enjoy an A&W to celebrate the anniversary of Root Beer.

The Choice – This week, the results of a very interesting survey were released. Here was the question: Would you rather work from home or accept a $30,000 raise? The majority of the respondents opted for the work from home option. I am a little torn but I hope my readers don’t think I am an anti-family man if I say the $30,000 raise sounds pretty good to me. What would you choose?

I enjoy working from home. But if I was presented with the hypothetical situation I think I would have a tough time saying “no” to the cash.

Most-Viewed Thursday Rundown – Yesterday I counted down my top 10 most-viewed Don’t Blink blog posts of all-time. A Thursday Rundown did not make that prestigious list so I thought I would give the genre its glory in tonight’s blog post. Out of the 400+ Thursday Rundowns I have written, the most popular one was titled “Coach Carty Update, Teal Turf, and More” and was published on April 2, 2015. The post touched on the response from my initial Coach Carty entry, covered the installation of CCU’s “Surf Turf” earlier in the day, listed what I ate for lunch that week, detailed my reaction to the “Foxcatcher” documentary and the Justin Bieber roast, and congratulated an old colleague and mentor of mine. I have a pretty good feeling that the Sean Carty update is what really generated the traffic for this one.

In my most-viewed Thursday Rundown blog post I wrote about the installation of the “Surf Turf” in Brooks Stadium,

Cool Throwback – So which looks more like the modern day Robin Williams we all watched on the big screen? The boy or the mom? Man, that is a tough call…and a pretty cool photo.

I was a big Robin Williams fan.

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Thank you for your attention once again. Enjoy your weekend and we will catch up next week. Don’t Blink.

My Top 10 Most-Viewed “Don’t Blink” Blog Posts

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As someone who makes a living analyzing the data, I know better than most that the numbers don’t lie. However, when it comes to my own blog posts, I like to think that the entries I write that are near and dear to my heart will perform the best. And when they don’t? Well, something must be wrong with the data, obviously.

To be honest, I don’t go that far, but I sure am glad that I have a decent analytics program on the backend of my blog that gives me the hard data. If not for that, I might convince myself that my readers liked my fortune cookie blog post more than they actually did.

Tonight, based on complete objectivity and in the spirit of the 10th anniversary of this blog, I am going to countdown my top 10 blog posts according to all-time page views. My personal top 10 blog posts will be revealed later this month but this evening is about you and not me. So let’s pull the 10 most-viewed blog posts out of the 2,000 that have been written over the past decade.

10. Why I Don’t Like Trivia Crack (Jan. 11, 2015) – Remember this app? Well, I hated it, and judging by the popularity of this blog post I think a lot of other people did too.

Remember this? I wasn’t the biggest fan of Trivia Crack.

9. Happy 32nd Anniversary, Mom and Dad (Aug. 16, 2013) – I think my parents just have a lot of friends because I have no other idea why a simple blog post like this would rack up so many views. Perhaps it was the clown photo? This summer they will celebrate their 40th anniversary.

8. To Buy the Bucket of Popcorn or Not? (Jan. 13, 2014) – In this post I debated back and forth about whether I should purchase a $19.75 tub of popcorn from Carmike Cinemas that would be refillable for just $3.75 throughout the year. Obviously I wasn’t the only one who faced the dilemma. Read he post to find out the decision I made.

A few years after writing this blog post, I ended up buying the bucket and refillable soda cup too

7. Feeling Bad for Coach Carty (March 31, 2015) – During the Spring of 2015, I wrote a series of blog posts in support of Sean Carty, my high school football coach who was screwed out of his job. The posts were widely shared in the Mead community and I like to think that they played a small part in Carty’s reinstatement as head football coach.

Me standing with Sean Carty in Missoula probably in 2012 or 2013

6. Our “Bar Rescue” Tour (March 1, 2015) – Sidney and I went on a nerdy tour that all “Bar Rescue” diehards dream about. We traveled to North Carolina and visited three different bars that Jon Taffer transformed on his show. What an experience!

Sidney and I inside Klick’s 22, one of the bars featured on “Bar Rescue.”

5. The Battle of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Creams (May 15, 2016) – It brings a smile to my face that this post still racks in the views on a daily basis because it was so much fun to write. Sid blind tested five different chocolate chip cookie dough ice creams and ranked her favorites. The results will shock you!

This is the lineup of different cookie dough ice creams that Sidney tasted.

4. Instagram Spam (April 9, 2013) – Hey, guess what? Instagram had a spam problem back in 2013 too. I sounded off about the different types of spam that plagued Instagram and by doing so struck a chord with thousands and thousands of other people who were fed up as well.

I wrote extensively about Instagram spam in a 2013 blog post.

3. The Pros and Cons of Living in Myrtle Beach (May 3, 2015) – This blog post helped establish me as some type of Myrtle Beach relocation guru. I can’t count all the direct messages I received (and continue to receive) from people asking questions about the city. The comments on the post itself are also vast. I realized the influence of this post one day when I was giving a presentation at CCU. After I finished, a new employee came up to me and said she had read my blog post, consulted with me about some questions she had, and then made the decision to move to Myrtle Beach based off the post and what I told her.

Living in Myrtle Beach is awesome, but it has its pros and cons just like any other place.

2. A True Professional: Barry Anderson (September 25, 2012) – Barry Anderson was the best mascot in the NBA during his many years behind the Benny the Bull mask in Chicago. Prior to the Chicago Bulls, Barry was Monte at the University of Montana. Although my time in the athletic department didn’t overlap with his, Barry would return for Homecoming during the years that I was running the mascot program. I got to know him and respect him. This blog post I wrote that highlighted the man behind the mask was read enthusiastically and frequently by the thousands of Benny the Bull super fans.

This guy is a hero to many.

1. The Truth About a “Bar Rescue” Experience (April 17, 2016) – The opportunity came open to explore some questions I had about my favorite show and I was able to convert it into the most-read (by a large margin) blog post in the history of Don’t Blink. Each day this blog post receives tons of traffic, especially on Sundays when marathons and new episodes of “Bar Rescue” air. It is frequently linked on fan forums and reality TV message boards. I would like to thank Maria Bedient for telling me her story and setting the record straight on so many things. This is simply the blog post that keeps on giving.

Murphy’s Law in Reno is depicted on the fifth season of “Bar Rescue” and is the bar where Maria Bedient worked.

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Talk about random, right? One thing I have learned about authoring a wide-ranging blog is that you never completely know what will resonate with your audience. After 10 years, except for “Bar Rescue,” I am not 100% sure what will become a fan favorite for years to come and what will bomb. It is a good thing that I have patient readers who tolerate the many posts that don’t always hit the mark. This has been fun! Don’t Blink.

Another Walla Walla Weekend

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I have a lot of family that lives in Walla Walla. Included in that bunch is my cousin, Abby, who also happens to be a very talented hairstylist. She is so good at what she does that Sidney and my brother’s fiancée, Carrie, travel to Walla Walla frequently to have her do their hair. If this sounds familiar it is because back in August I wrote about a family getaway to Walla Walla that was motivated by Sid needing her hair done.

Since that family trip nine months ago was such a success we did it again this past weekend. Only this time we decided to stay TWO nights and we planned the trip with my brother and his fiancée. It was epic…

Before we hit the road to Walla Walla, we ate lunch at Taco Bell in Downtown Spokane.

In a complete 180 from the last Walla Walla journey, Sloan and Beau were excellent in the car (thank goodness)! The first thing we did after we checked into our hotel was go swimming. You had to reserve the hotel pool ahead of time (COVID) so the four of us had it all to ourselves.

We went for a swim in the hotel pool.

After our thirty-minute pool session we went out to a restaurant called the Red Monkey with Glen, Carrie, Abby, and Abby’s boyfriend. After a long week and nearly four hours in the car, it was nice to relax with some good food and conversation. Once our meal concluded we went back to the hotel and got the kids down.

Carrie ad Glen at the Red Monkey in Walla Walla.

On Saturday morning, the four of us ate breakfast in the lobby and then Carrie and Sidney headed off to Abby’s salon. The moment they left, I loaded Sloan and Beau into the car and we started our park tour. We first went to Pioneer Park, Walla Walla’s crown jewel. We played on the playground, fed the ducks, and admired the aviary. My Aunt Nancy also joined us which was really nice.

Sloan playing at Pioneer Park.

We then ventured to Menlo Park where we had the whole place to ourselves. Sloan dug in the dirt but also checked out the playground and ran around the basketball/tennis court. We then picked up Happy Meals and went to a third park, Eastgate Lions Park. The three of us sat down in the shaded grass and had a picnic. It goes without saying that Sloan found herself on the playground before she finished her lunch.

Sloan and Beau eating Happy Meals at Eastgate Lions Park in Walla Walla.

After the whole morning and early afternoon out in the sun, we met Sid at the salon. Her hair looked awesome! Now it was time for Sloan and Beau to have their turns in the chair. Abby cut both their hair and just like with Sid it turned out great. Glen, Carrie, Abby, and the four of us then met at a Chinese restaurant across the street where we had appetizers and some cold ones.

Enjoying some refreshments after a day in the salon.

It was then time for a return to Pioneer Park! Although instead of just the three of us, there were about 20 Resers enjoying the beautiful and sunny evening. We joined my aunts, uncles, and cousins for cornhole, food, and socializing. My cousin’s daughters entertained Sloan and Beau the whole time while Sid and I got to relax and catch up with everyone.

Carrie and Sidney playing cornhole at Pioneer Park.

Eventually we left Pioneer Park and set out to do one final thing that day. We went to the property that Abby’s parents own and saw her animals and rode her horse. Sloan loved riding Abby’s horse, Pricey, but she may have liked just playing in the dirt even more. Sid and I both took turns on Pricey and then we picked up ice cream and returned to the hotel.

Abby and Sloan riding Pricey.

The next morning we went to mass at St. Patrick’s. It is a beautiful church with a vibrant Catholic community. After mass we went to a restaurant called Clarette’s for breakfast. We met up with Glen, Carrie, Abby, Aunt Nancy, Aunt Judy, and my cousin Cody. It took forever to get our food but perhaps that was a good thing because it just meant I got to spend more time with my family. Besides, once we did get our breakfast it was worth to wait. My granola and pecan-dipped French toast was delicious!

Abby and Beau at Clarette’s.

With full bellies, we said goodbye to everyone and then checked out of our hotel and started the drive home. I talk a lot about how it has been nice moving back to Spokane and being able to do a lot with my brother and sister. Well, it is also nice how much we get to do with my extended family as well. They are all so smitten with Sidney and LOVE Abby and Beau. They all made my childhood so much fun and it is such an honor to be able to now share them with Sid and our children. What a weekend! Don’t Blink.

Don’t Blink’s 10th Anniversary

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Has it really been that long? This past weekend I celebrated the 10th anniversary of Don’t Blink. That’s right, I wrote my first blog post a decade ago. Nearly 2,000 blog posts later and an early switch from Blogger to WordPress, Don’t Blink is still going strong.

My blog turned 10 on May 14, 2021.

I started my own blog because I admired the blogs of some other people I knew. I also wanted to write for fun and I wanted a cool way to keep track of my life experiences. Did I ever envision it lasting for so long? No, I don’t think so.

With that said, I feel like I could walk away from this blog today. Reaching the 10-year milestone seems like a respectable time to retire from blogging. But I also identified other “respectable times” to call it quits when I got married, had a baby, and then had another baby. All of those times I continued to write. After some consideration, I will be authoring this blog at the very least through the rest of 2021.

In celebration of Don’t Blink’s 10th anniversary, I will be writing a couple special blog posts to commemorate the occasion. A little later in the month I will countdown Don’t Blink’s top 10 most-viewed blog posts followed by my personal top 10 blog posts. It will be a nice walk down memory lane as I reflect on some of the best content over the years. I hope you will check them out.

I also hope that you will share your own personal favorite Don’t Blink blog posts with me. If there is something I wrote that resonated with you or made you laugh, feel free to share it with me.

Although I have always maintained that I write my blog first and foremost for myself, I am so thankful for my loyal readers over the years. You have supported and motivated me and I can’t thank you enough. I still have blog posts left in the tank so I hope you continue to embark on this Don’t Blink journey with me. Have a wonderful week! Don’t Blink.

Wolves Thursday Rundown

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If April was nice, May has been gorgeous. We have enjoyed another perfect week here in our little corner of the world and I can’t but help feel appreciation as each day is noticeably longer than the previous. On that positive note, let’s begin the latest Thursday Rundown.

Gas Shortage – The Colonial Pipeline hack has impacted the Southeast by sending people to the pumps in a panic buying frenzy. Although the cyberattack certainly raised gas prices in the region, according to my father-in-law, the price per gallon is what it is currently here in Spokane…approximately $3. Recently I was waiting at a stop light and noticed the rates of gas on the digital board belonging to the convenience store out my passenger window. I assumed it was just too good to be true and kept driving once the light turned green.

I figured the store probably wouldn’t offer me this rate.

Wienermobile – Three years ago, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile came to Myrtle Beach. Sid, Sloan, and I went out to our local Publix Supermarket to see it. We took photos, played with the cut outs, and ate free hot dogs. Last week, Sid and Sloan had the “rare” chance to see the vehicle again when it rolled into Spokane. The Wienermobile parked at our nearby Fred Meyer and Sidney and Sloan once again utilized the props and got their photo taken. No free hot dogs this time!

The top photo is from Sidney’s and Sloan’s visit to Fred Meyer in Spokane last week. The bottom photo is from our first encounter with the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in 2018 in Myrtle Beach.

Blippi – The jaws of all toddlers and their parents dropped this past weekend when they tuned into YouTube for the latest Blippi episode only to be greeted by an…impostor! The dude who has always been Blippi since 2014 was no longer Blippi! Thank goodness Sloan, who is a diehard fan, wasn’t subjected to such a monstrosity! But breathe easy, little ones. The real Blippi will be back. It just turns out he was humble enough to let the actor who will star in the Blippi Broadway show—yes, there is a Blippi Broadway show—take part in one of the YouTube episodes. Considering many people thought the world was ending when the new actor was subbed in, I don’t know if it will happen again.

Who the heck is this???

Dances With Wolves – The movie I watched throughout this week was the 1990 classic “Dances With Wolves.” It was the first time I ever watched the film and I found myself impressed by the beauty with which it was shot along with the relationship development of Costner’s character and the Sioux tribe. Although it was a little strange to watch three seasons of “Yellowstone” and then see Kevin Costner play an entirely different character more than 30 years earlier, good acting is still good acting. I think the runtime of three hours is worth it and if you have Netflix you can watch it on there.

This movie is a masterpiece.

Urban Turkey – Now this isn’t nearly as cool as the porcupine I encountered in this exact same spot several months ago but I am running out of ideas for tonight’s fifth topic. The Spokane region, especially the specific area I live in, is home to a large population of urban turkeys. In fact, from time to time they will congregate in our backyard. This morning, however, on my way back from the gym I was forced to stop my car and ask Why did the turkey cross the road?

I encountered this turkey crossing the road this morning.

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I wish you the best this weekend. Let’s make sure to pray for the people in countries like India who are experiencing great suffering from the Coronavirus. Don’t Blink.

Hey Southern Belle, What Have You Learned After a Year?

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As I mentioned in Sid’s Mother’s Day post, she has now lived in Spokane for a year. Throughout the past 365 days she has definitely learned a thing or two about the culture and quirks of the Lilac City. For tonight’s blog post, let’s review 10 of the more prominent lessons taken in by Sid since May 2020.

After a year in Spokane, Sid has learned a thing or two.

1. Coffee stands are on every corner and no aroma is more prominent on the city streets than that of fresh brew.

2. Except of course for the pungent smell of marijuana that similarly can be smelled on every corner thanks to the surplus of dispensaries.

3. From smell to taste, Sid quickly learned that for what this city lacks in fast food chicken (think Bojangles, Zaxby’s, Popeye’s, etc) it makes up for it in fast food Mexican (Say hello to Taco John’s, Taco Time, and Senor Froggy).

4. Want a drink with that burrito? No matter how often my parents have said the word, a year is way too short of a time for Sid to ever think about referring to soda as “pop.”

5. Whatever you call your soft drink, at least it has a chance to stay cold for longer than a minute when you are outside in July. When Sid asked me why we weren’t sweating in the morning one summer day I remarked simply: Fresh air.

6. The climate isn’t the only thing that is at different ends of the spectrum in South Carolina and Washington. Political ideologies are at two different extremes as well. From the red to the blue for Sid!

7. Speaking of politicians, some might compare them to snakes and roaches. Thankfully Sid was able to escape the creepy crawlers (talking about the actual creatures) and now just has to worry about black widows and June bugs.

8. One thing Sidney doesn’t have to worry about is her accent. It is adored and celebrated by the locals who enjoy a Southern dialect in a town that is dominated by accent-neutral speaking folks.

9. Although her accent is celebrated some of her South Carolina idioms aren’t—or should I say they are just misunderstood? People here don’t understand what constitutes “being ugly” beyond bad looks and if you say “going to cut the grass” people will think you are getting your personal scissors out to do some precise trimming.

10. Sid is thankful she didn’t push harder for a riding lawn mower because gas prices to fill it are much more expensive in Washington (roughly $3.20 per gallon right now) than the cheaper prices in South Carolina. It’s okay though, moving to a state with no state income tax was a welcome treat!

Two great places, two vastly different ways of doing things. We love them both. Don’t Blink.