An Autumn 2025 Visit From Sid’s Parents

Posted on by
Reply

We said goodbye to Sidney’s parents today after another awesome visit. They last traveled to Spokane in July 2024 when the days were sunny and hot. This time around, the abundant sunshine was still present but the weather was crisper. However, the cooler temperatures were a fair trade for the beautiful autumn colors that dominated the Inland Northwest landscape. But sunny or not, hot or crisp, muted colors or vibrant colors, one thing remained the same—it sure was nice to spend the past week with them.

We had a really nice visit from my in-laws. October is a great time to visit in Spokane! This is us on the Eastern Washington University campus when Sid, her parents, and my kids came to visit.

This visit was unique in a major way: we broke up their stay with a trip to Missoula. My in-laws had never set foot in Montana before so it was fun to take them to The Treasure State. Driving through the mountains was a neat experience and once we arrived in Missoula we had quite the adventure. We stayed in the C’Mon Inn, a rustic-type wilderness-themed hotel that gave us a couple nights to really spend quality time together.

We stayed at the C’Mon Inn during our time in Missoula. But it didn’t matter how cool the hotel was just as long as Beau got to ride on the luggage cart.

The full day of our excursion was devoted to attending a University of Montana football game. After tailgating, we entered a sun-drenched Washington-Grizzly Stadium where we watched the Griz win in probably the best football weather you could imagine. Once the game concluded we went down on the field and let the kids expend some energy.

It was a joy to watch a football game with Sid’s parents in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. After the Griz won, we went down on the field.

Besides the football game, we scoped out campus, ate at a couple restaurants, and enjoyed the amenities of the hotel that included a pool and numerous hot tubs (including a jacuzzi in our room).

Us “guys” hanging out at MacKenzie River in Missoula.

But on the front and back ends of our time in Montana, we had the pleasure of simply taking it easy with Sidney and Brenda Mathis in Spokane. We spent time in the house relaxing, laughing at Saturday Night Live, watching Jeopardy, playing games, and working on school projects.

One of the games that we played was chess. Sloan got to test her skills against “Dada.”

Speaking of school, Sid’s parents did more than just help the kids with their homework. They dropped off the kids at St. Mary in the morning, bought them tasty school lunch items, and even attended the school’s fun run last Thursday. Sloan felt such honor introducing her classmates to “Gami and Dada.”

My in-laws helped out a lot with the kids over the past week. With so much activity, it was nice for them to just sit down and snuggle up with the kids at the end of the day.

I was also humbled that my in-laws came out to campus to visit me. They saw my office, browsed the Eagle Store, and saw Eastern Washington University in its full glory during leaf color-changing time. They also met some of my colleagues, including my boss.

Sid, her parents, and the kids visited me at work on Thursday. It was a great time to walk on the campus of Eastern Washington University with beautiful autumn colors in full display.

Another signature moment of this latest visit was Sunday dinner at my parents’ house. My mom and dad cooked lasagna and the men got to watch some of the Mariners game. However, to be honest, my dad and father-in-law were more interested in talking to each other than seeing whether Seattle could advance to the World Series or not (we know how that turned out). Each time we got those four together, we try to casually impart on our kids how special it is.

On Sunday night, all four grandparents got together as my parents hosted us for a lasagna dinner. These photos are priceless.

On the last night here, Sid’s dad had the opportunity to watch our mini Lebron James play some basketball 😂. He attended Beau’s first basketball practice with Sidney and got to experience the organized chaos (or was it just plain chaos?) that it entailed. However, the practice wasn’t the only “first” they observed of Beau during their stay—they also witnessed their grandson losing his first tooth.

Mr. Sid attended Beau’s first basketball practice that took place outside due to it being an optional, kickoff practice.

Most satisfying to me, however, was that my wife got to spend plenty of time with her mom and dad. Sid took time off work and had the privilege of hanging with her parents while I was at EWU and the kids were at school. She deserved that.

This is probably my favorite photo of the visit. You can see the happiness on Sid’s face that she is with her parents.

It never gets easier saying goodbye to Sid’s parents. However, I feel blessed that we continue to make memories with them. If not sooner, we will see them again during the summer and we are already counting down the days. Don’t Blink.

Beau Loses His First Tooth!

Posted on by
Reply

It was a corn dog that did the trick. On Saturday night, we were eating at the Montana Club in Missoula with my in-laws when Beau complained that he couldn’t eat his dinner. Biting a corn dog with his loose bottom front tooth proved too painful for our 5-year-old. Not wanting to do an extraction at the table, I cut the corn dog into pieces so he could chew it with his back teeth. However, his initial attempt at eating it had already loosened his tooth enough for Sid to step in.

Despite my internal wishes to wait until we got back to the hotel (I am awful with loose teeth and blood), Beau crawled under the table to the other side of the booth where Sid was siting. My wife then draped her fingers in a napkin, grabbed onto Beau’s tooth, and pulled it out.

Beau had officially lost his first tooth!

It took a couple of additional napkins for Beau to pat the bloody area dry but his happiness trumped any queasiness. He joyfully posed for a toothy grin minus one bottom denticle.

Beau smiles after losing his first tooth. Sidney pulled it out while we ate dinner at the Montana Club in Missoula.

Beau lost his first tooth on his 2,082nd day of life, much earlier than his sister who lost her first tooth on her 2,511th day of life. For those keeping track at home, that equates to 429 days sooner than Sloan—roughly 14 months.

It didn’t surprise me. Beau’s teeth came in at an early age, drawing the admiration of his dentist. I guess it only makes sense that his baby teeth would start to fall out early as well. Then there is the sibling rivalry aspect of it. Beau has seen Sloan lose quite a few teeth over the past year and a half, offering up some motivation for him to do the same.

If there was ever any anxiety that the Tooth Fairy wouldn’t find Beau since he was out-of-state at the time of his tooth falling out, the doubt was squashed Sunday morning. When he awoke, a whole $2 was resting under his pillow.

Beau holds his Tooth Fairy money that was waiting for him under his hotel room pillow when he woke up on Sunday morning.

We made a lot of Facetime calls over the weekend. Beau was super proud and wanted to smile for all his cousins. As of right now, it doesn’t appear as if he has any more loose teeth but according to trends I think that might change over the next couple months. Who knows, perhaps he will eventually catch up to his sister. Don’t Blink.

Playing Chess With Sloan

Posted on by
1

Check mate. ♟️

I have told the story before. When I was in sixth grade, my teacher had the ingenuity and patience to teach our class chess. I had no idea how to play the game when I entered Mr. Jared Hoadley’s classroom but when I left for the summer I knew how to navigate a chess board with confidence and basic strategy. What a gift!

The game has come in handy over the past 27 years. Chess is truly a universal game and I have been able to play with many people over the past few decades. In fact, lately I have found myself face-to-face with a truly formidable opponent: my daughter.

We enrolled Sloan in Chess Club at St. Mary (Spokane Valley) and it has opened up another opportunity for me to bond with her.

We enrolled Sloan in chess club at St. Mary. Every Monday for just an hour after school, a professional chess coach from the Inland Chess Academy visits the campus and gives a lesson. After he finishes his lesson, the enrolled students play each other.

So far it has been a great experience for Sloan. She has found that she enjoys chess and looks forward to the weekly lessons. The enthusiasm doesn’t just extend to Monday afternoons—she likes to play at home too.

As part of the enrollment fee, the Inland Chess Academy gave her an oversized chess set to bring home. So far it has received a lot of use as she challenges her old man. Yep, Sloan and I are playing chess on pretty much a nightly basis.

It has been fun to match wits with my daughter. At this point, my skill level is still above hers, so I have tried to do more coaching than just trying to achieve check mate in as few moves as possible. However, I know for certain that the day will come when she will wipe the board with me. To be honest, I don’t think that day will be too far off.

Sloan isn’t just playing me in chess. With Sidney’s parents in town from South Carolina, Sloan has went head-to-head with my father-in-law.

A year ago, I ran into Mr. (now “Dr.”) Hoadley at a high school football game. I told him how much I appreciated the effort he made to teach my class chess. He responded in a very interesting way. His main goal for teaching us chess wasn’t what I envisioned. Although critical thinking and strategizing were both reasons for helping us learn the game, there was something else that drove him to teach us chess. You want me to tell you what he said?…

He told me it was to give his students an outlet to be social with each other.

As Sloan pleads with me to play chess with her, I remember Mr. Hoadley’s motivation for helping us to appreciate the game. Although it is fun to compete against Sloan and teach her maneuvering/tactics, at the end of the day she views it mostly as a way to spend time with her dad. That’s something I can’t take for granted. Don’t Blink.

Zip’s Thursday Rundown

Posted on by
1

Just two weeks until Halloween Eve. You know what that means? Halloween is on a Friday this year…yay! Let’s jump right into the latest Thursday Rundown…

In-Laws In Town – Sidney’s parents arrived in Spokane yesterday! Coincidentally, they arrived on Oct. 15 exactly five years ago as well. As with that trip and the other times they have visited us over the past half decade, I know their time here will be marked by memories and fun. Autumn in Spokane is awesome and it is also pretty spectacular in Missoula as well—yes, we will be taking them to Montana over the next couple days. Let the good times roll!

My in-laws visited me on campus today! So glad to have them here.

Zip’s Shakes – This past Friday, I took Sloan and Beau for milkshakes at Zip’s. Sloan ordered a caramel shake and Beau ordered a banana one. This shake stop was right before I dropped them off at my sister’s house for the weekend so Sid and I could attend our retreat. Much in the same way that there isn’t anything more American than milkshakes on a Friday, there isn’t anything more “Spokane” than milkshakes at Zip’s on a Friday. An absolute fast food institution in the Inland Northwest, Zip’s is what Cookout is in the South.

Sloan and Beau drinking milkshakes at the Zip’s in Mead.

Andy Dufrense – Happy birthday to Tim Robbins! He turns 67 today. To be honest, I haven’t seen a lot of movies with Tim Robbins, but he does star in one of the few movies I can watch over and over. I have watched “The Shawshank Redemption” probably 30 times and I still get a kick out of it when Andy saves himself from a beating and wins his fellow inmates beers when he offers tax advice to the top prison guard.

Tim Robbins does a great job portraying Andy Dufrense in “The Shawshank Redemption.”

First Reaction to Taylor’s New Album – Thanks to my wife, I have listened to the new Taylor Swift album non-stop for the past several days. My initial reaction? It will have to grow on me. “The Fate of Ophelia” is catchy but I am not sold on much else. I am also completely turned off by her more explicit lyrics. I liked it more when Sloan could listen along.

Not too impressed with Taylor Swift’s new album.

Pumpkin – Although I think our country’s obsession with “pumpkin” has gotten a little out of control, I am still a fan of the flavor. In October 2016, I ranked my top five favorite pumpkin-inspired items. This is how the countdown went: 5. Pumpkin beer | 4. Pumpkin soup | 3. Pumpkin frozen yogurt | 2. Pumpkin dip | 1. …..you wish I would tell you, right? If you want to know my top pumpkin item, you will need to go back in time nine years to reference my post. Yep, you just said “trick-or-treat” and I gave you the treat.

I like a lot of pumpkin-flavored food/beverage items. Yikes, I might have just given away my favorite.

——————

Time to get back to my in-laws. Hope everyone has a terrific weekend—I can’t wait for mine to begin! Don’t Blink.

Embracing Vulnerability at Engaged Encounter

Posted on by
Reply

As I have mentioned before, Sid and I are part of a ministry called Catholic Engaged Encounter. A big component of this ministry is retreat-based. Our Spokane chapter, which we are the leaders of, stages three weekend retreats for engaged couples to attend each year. One of these retreats took place this past weekend and Sid and I once again served as a presenting couple.

Sid and I presented at our fourth Engaged Encounter retreat this past weekend.

We teamed with Ric and Cindy Gaunt and Fr. Ken Krall to make a positive impact on the six couples who attended. Our goal was to prepare these future husbands and wives for successful marriages that are centered on God. Through numerous presentations, activities, and face-to-face discussions, we did our best to achieve it.

Sid and I worked with a fabulous team at our most recent Spokane Catholic Engaged Encounter retreat. Ric and Cindy Gaunt plus Fr. Ken Krall joined us to form the ministry team for the October 2025 retreat.

This was the fourth retreat that Sid and I led. Each one is always a blessing but I feel like a new theme emerges each time. For this past retreat, what I took away was just the fruit that is produced when a chance is taken.

An aerial look inside the Immaculate Heart Retreat Center as the engaged couples who attended the October 2025 Spokane Catholic Engaged Encounter prepare for the beginning of the next session.

These days, it can be a tough sell to ask a young engaged couple to give up an entire weekend to sleep in dormitory-style accommodations and listen to approximately 15 different presentations. In a society where God is devalued, direct communication is avoided, and smart devices are king, a Catholic-centered retreat that encourages young adults to unplug and embrace vulnerability can do more to repel than to attract.

Kudos to these engaged couples (plus Fr. Ken Krall) for making it through the October 2025 Spokane Catholic Engaged Encounter retreat.

But thanks be to God for the six couples who still chose to attend the retreat. As they arrived at the Immaculate Heart Retreat Center, they were frank about the anxiety they were feeling. Our response? We feel anxiety, too! Even though this was the fourth retreat we gave, Sid and I still get nervous to present and we are very aware that we aren’t perfect. Being able to communicate this to the attendees usually calms nerves.

As the retreat progresses, you can begin to see the couples relax more and truly appreciate the opportunity in front of them. Saturday night’s intimate mass followed by a candlelight prayer service usually seals the deal for those who came to the retreat feeling apprehensive. By Sunday morning, many of the couples appear to be glowing.

The engaged couples who attended our October 2025 Spokane Catholic Engaged Encounter retreat take a moment after mass and the candlelight prayer service took place in the Immaculate Heart Retreat Center chapel.

We always ask the couples to fill out evaluation forms at the end of the retreat—in fact, we withhold their graduation certificates until they do 😉. The evaluation form asks the attendees to rate their experience, the weekend’s impact, our performance, and whether they would recommend the retreat to others.

Not to toot our own horns because a satisfying retreat is always indicative of God’s power and has nothing to do with us, but feedback is typically extremely positive. However, in addition to the stellar written reviews from this past weekend’s retreat, we also received some verbal affirmation.

Sidney and Cindy Gaunt discuss something as the engaged couples write after a presentation.

A couple approached Ric, Cindy, Sid, and me after the graduation ceremony and told us their story. The guy said he had reservations about attending the retreat and was accompanying his fiancée to humor her. But as the weekend unfolded and he bought into our invitation to embrace vulnerability, he ended up really appreciating and learning from the retreat. He concluded that he was grateful to have attended.

If you know an engaged couple who would benefit from an Engaged Encounter retreat—Catholic or not—feel free to reach out to me. The experience will only help their future marriage once they tie the knot. Don’t Blink.

2025 Birthday Gifts

Posted on by
Reply

When my wife and I give each other gifts on our respective birthdays, we always set a modest budget. However, even though we never spend that much, we always—well, Sidney at least (😂)—stretch every penny to purchase practical and meaningful presents.

As is the custom for Don’t Blink, I like to share what I received for my birthday. Also, per usual, I will share what my kids gave me as well.

Sloan and Beau – My daughter sent me on the cutest scavenger hunt throughout the house that eventually led me to the pantry. When I opened it up, there was a pack of Colossal Clusters waiting for me. Any type of snack mix that includes peanuts and chocolate is a winner for me. Beau gave me a gift bag that contained a card and green apple licorice. If you are a licorice fan like me, you must try the Wiley Wallaby line—the vines are thick and flavorful!

My kids gave me some treats for snacking!

Sidney – As she normally does, my wife searches long and hard for items that I will get plenty of use out of. Let’s begin with the duffel bag. When I travel—both via car and plane—I usually take a duffel bag instead of a traditional roller bag. However, the duffel I have used for the last several years was on its last leg. I literally had to cover up rips with duct tape. Sidney fixed the situation by getting me a brand new Under Armour duffel bag from a local sporting goods store called Big 5. With a couple back-to-back weekend trips lined up, it will come in handy real soon.

My wife got me a brand new duffel bag to replace the one I currently have that is falling apart.

I have trashed Target in the past and I still don’t really like the store. But there is one aspect of the chain that I look forward to each year: its men’s line of fall clothes. They come out with thermals and sweaters that are beyond comfortable and handsomely designed. Sid bought me the below top that fits my “style” perfectly and will keep me comfy on cool autumn weekend days.

I really like the Target autmun clothing by Goodfellow. Sid nailed it by getting me this shirt.

A few years ago, my boss at WSU gave me a pair of goodr sunglasses as a Christmas gift. I wore them like they were going out of style but unfortunately they broke this past summer. Thanks to Sidney, I have a new pair!

After my first pair of goodr sunglasses broke this past summer, Sid got me a new pair for my birthday.

And finally, my wife wanted to make sure I was set in the licorice department. She added to the supply that Beau started me with my giving me classic red and classic black packs of Wiley Wallaby licorice.

Seriously, if you haven’t tried Wiley Wallaby licorice yet you need to give it a shot!

Thank you to my wife and kids for the awesome birthday gifts. Although the licorice won’t last that long, the rest of the items will. Don’t Blink.

First Thursday Rundown as a 39-Year-Old

Posted on by
Reply

Trying to shake that birthday cake hangover as I compose myself for my first Thursday Rundown as a 39-year-old! Okay, I think I am ready to go. Here are tonight’s five topics…

Baja Blast Halloween – I thought this was appropriate since I wrote about Taco Bell earlier this week. I also thought it fit because I have offered my opinion on unattended trick-or-treat options before. But mostly, I wanted to include this because I thought it was hilarious! Could you imagine? If someone did leave out a bucket of beverage for tween trick-or-treaters, I can’t honestly think of anything better to fill it with than Baja Blast. Thanks to my friend, Geoff, for this meme!

Could you imagine if someone actually pulled this off? That Baja Blast would be gone by the sixth trick-or-treater.

Cake – I talked about that birthday cake hangover at the beginning of this post so I thought I would show you the culprit. This is Sid’s infamous candy bar shake that she has made for me since we started dating. Chocolate cake, Hershey candy bar bits, cream cheese frosting, and lots of love make this the best birthday treat ever. Soooo good!

Another delicious candy bar birthday cake made by Sid.

Muffin Party – From cake to muffins! It is common for donuts to be brought into the office for birthdays. Of course, I always enjoy this because I have never encountered a donut I didn’t like. However, I have a special love for muffins. For my birthday yesterday, instead of the couple boxes of Yoke’s donuts that usually cover the counter of our open space, there were multiple containers of Costco muffins. Yes, I was saddened when Costco downsized my favorite sweet treat in the world, but I still find them absolutely delicious and satisfying. Thank you to my team for marking my birthday in such a personalized way.

My University Relations team at Eastern Washington University celebrated my birthday with a muffin breakfast.

Dollar Tree Price Hikes/Shrinkflation – Going to Dollar Tree is great for greeting cards, movie theater candy, and bath soap. It used to be good for facial/tissue paper, too. As recently as five years ago, you could purchase a regular box of 148 tissues for $1. When the terrible quarter increase went into effect, you could still get the same box for $1.25. However, things have take an even greater turn for the worse. Now at Dollar Tree, you can’t even get a full box of tissues. Sadly, they have decreased to cube-size. But that’s not it: each box now comes with less than 100 tissues and it sells for $1.50!

What you pay for at Dollar Tree for tissue paper isn’t even a bargain anymore.

Ramblings – On this date 11 years ago, I wrote a blog post titled “The Random Ramblings of a 28-Year-Old.” The post is significant because it was the first time that Sid baked the same candy bar cake I mentioned above for my birthday. I also wrote about trying candy corn M&Ms for the first (and last) time, making a weekend trip to Clemson, and how South Carolina only required a license plate on the back of a vehicle so I got to choose something fancy for the front. Anyway, I thought you would enjoy the throwback below.

Sidney and I with the Candy Bar Birthday Cake she made me in 2014.

——————

That will wrap things up for tonight. Thanks for sticking with me even as I become an old man 😉. Please pray for Sid and me as we are off to lead a retreat for engaged couples this weekend. Don’t Blink.

Kind At 39

Posted on by
Reply

I am trying to keep it positive this birthday. Although I could very well call this year “40 Eve,” I prefer to call it “Be kind at 39.”

(FYI, I have named/branded my last handful of ages as I have climbed into my late thirties. I won’t recap the past monikers here, but you can view them by tapping on previous birthday posts below.).

After some age anxiety in my mid-to-late twenties, I have lived my thirties with relative contentment as the candles on my birthday cake grew more plentiful. However, as the big 4-0 is now on deck, I don’t know how I feel about turning 39 today.

Perhaps I am just starting the coping process early so next year when I turn 40 it won’t be such a bummer. Those are truly the honest thoughts of your nearly middle-aged blogger 😉.

But enough about my advancing age! No matter how old someone turns, a birthday is more than just a glum indicator of how old you are—it is also a celebration of being alive. And although I gave you a very truthful account of how I feel with 40 on the horizon, I feel extremely blessed to still be alive and kicking. In fact, “kicking” is an understatement because even though I am almost over the hill, I feel fantastic!

I experienced some age anxiety as I approached my 39th birthday but I probably had the best birthday of my thirties today.

I am also very blessed. No matter whether I am 29, 39, or 49, I am grateful to have a fabulous wife and two doting children who I adore. Add a terrific job, supportive parents/siblings, and a strong faith to the equation and it all makes the birthday cake much easier to swallow.

Speaking of birthday cake, I swallowed a lot of it tonight. Sidney made her world-famous candy bar cake and it was so delicious. That was all prefaced by a pizza party at the house and at work this morning my colleagues hosted a muffin breakfast in my honor.

I celebrated my birthday tonight with my wife, kids, and parents.

So thankfully, the initial sting of turning 39 is starting to lessen. After all, age truly is just a number and something far greater (or worse) awaits everyone despite the tallies they have in their age box. Thanks to everyone for an awesome birthday and I will be sure to soak up the conclusion of my thirties while trying my best to be kind. Don’t Blink.

Past Birthday Posts
Turning 38
Turning 37
Turning 36
Turning 35
Turning 34
Turning 33
Turning 32
Turning 31
Turning 30

Taco Bell Glory Days

Posted on by
1

Last week, I was racing through downtown Spokane trying to arrive at the bus stop in time to ride out to Cheney. I suddenly found myself at a halt as I slammed my brakes at a red light. While frantically waiting for the light to turn green, I gazed at the Taco Bell to my right. On the restaurant’s windows were multiple posters advertising the chain’s Decades Y2K promotion. Besides the general poster, the other ones promoted specific menu items. One poster promoted the chili cheese burrito, an absolute retro favorite of mine!

This was the poster I saw on the Taco Bell located on Third Avenue in downtown Spokane. However, I took this particular photo at the Taco Bell on Sullivan in Spokane Valley when I went to pick up food on Saturday night.

I ended up making the bus and when I sat down I Googled the promotion. In addition to the chili cheese burrito, Taco Bell had also revived classics like the double decker taco, the cool ranch Doritos locos taco, and even its infamous caramel apple empanada.

Surprise surprise, all of this really excited your esteemed blogger. And it didn’t just make me happy because I loved the chili cheese burritos and the gooey/hot empanadas. Believe it or not, I appreciated it the most because Taco Bell was paying tribute to the absolute best era of its existence: the early 2000s.

Although I enjoyed Taco Bell more in the early 2000s than in 2025, I couldn’t help but visit on Saturday.

I had so many good times and nice memories at Taco Bell during my high school years. Late night burritos after poker, big meals after football victories, and casual lunches with friends during the summer. The food hit the spot, the prices were dirt cheap, and the dining rooms were always inviting (who didn’t like the purple/teal color scheme).

I loved hanging out at Taco Bell in the early 2000s. It just isn’t the same anymore. As you can tell from this photo I took when I was inside the location on Sullivan in Spokane Valley, they don’t even try to make the store locations welcoming to people who want to eat inside.

Don’t get me wrong, Taco Bell helped me through my college years and I still enjoy it every now and then today, but nothing beat the “Y2K” era.

If Taco Bell introduced Decades Y2K to generate nostalgia and bring back 35-40 year olds who never said “no” to a bean burrito when they were in high school, they hit their goal with me. This past Saturday night, I made it a requirement that my family order food from Taco Bell. Trust me, if I had not seen the promotion earlier that week, I would not have told my wife Yo Quiero Taco Bell.

If it wasn’t for the Decades Y2K promotion, I would not have visited this Taco Bell (Sullivan in Spokane Valley) on Saturday night.

As you probably guessed, I ordered a chili cheese burrito. Oh wait, I can’t lie, I actually ordered two chili cheese burritos. They came out in vastly different sizes but that didn’t phase me. Were they as good as I remembered? Unfortunately not. Did I still eat them both in record time. You bet!

These were the two chili cheese burritos I brought home from Taco Bell. Like I mentioned above, there is some size disparity.

Even if a retro item didn’t seem to hit like it did decades ago, nothing can taint the memories I have from the hours I spent inside Taco Bell as a teen. Perhaps I am just drunk on Baja Blast, but those were some special times. Don’t Blink. 🌮

Too Good To Go

Posted on by
Reply

I like to learn nerdy things and my latest inquiry resulted in the discovery of a pretty cool app.

Recently I Googled “how buffets minimize food waste.” Numerous methods were outlined, including one that mentioned an app called Too Good To Go. Intrigued, yet totally unaware of what it actually was, I looked it up. What I read made me want to try Too Good To Go immediately.

Too Good To Go is an app that allows businesses to sell food at discounted prices that otherwise would go to waste.

What a concept! Too Good To Go is an app that allows restaurants to sell surplus/unsold food that might otherwise go to waste. To participate, eateries must discount the food they sell by at least one-third its original price. Customers then use the app to purchase the food. However, all Too Good To Go meals come in mystery bags. You aren’t allowed to choose your items although the app will describe the most likely possibilities you will find in your bag.

Too Good To Go appealed to me for two reasons:

1. I love a good bargain
2. Surprises are fun

I downloaded the app and discovered that Spokane Valley had various businesses on it. Within 10 minutes of downloading Too Good To Go, I had already made an order. I then made another one 🫣. My first ventures? Circle K and Desserts By Sara.

I purchased mystery bags via Too Good To Go from Circle K and Desserts By Sara.

I went with Circle K because three different locations in Spokane Valley were offering mystery bags and the window for pickup was basically all day. You see, those using the app who purchase a mystery bag must pick it up within a certain time period. For some places it is just a couple hours but Circle K offers a wide window that spans most of the day. Also, for just $3.99, I figured it was worth a try.

Holding my mystery bag I purchased from the Circle K location on Pines in Spokane Valley.

When I went to pick up my Circle K mystery bag, they made it in front of me. A store employee placed a deli sandwich, Lay’s potato chips, and 20 oz. Pepsi bottle in a Circle K-branded bag. I guess I was a little surprised considering I thought I would be getting old corn dogs, pizza sticks, and jalapeno poppers. Based on the fact that the chips themselves had an on-package suggested price of $2.69, I definitely received a greater value for my money than if I bought each item individually. But even with that said, do I think I would use Too Good To Go for another mystery bag of some very common items? I don’t think so.

I received a 20 oz Pepsi, potato chips, and spicy Italian deli sandwich in my Circle K mystery bag. Not bad but not something I would go back for.

What I received from Desserts By Sara was better. Although the price for a mystery bag was a little more expensive ($5.99), the anticipation of what a bakery would probably have on-hand made my mouth water. It didn’t disappoint.

Holding the mystery bag I received from Desserts By Sara. The bakery is located in Spokane Valley on Montgomery.

We received two giant cookies, two cake pops, and a pack of pumpkin bread. The two cake pops alone—which every espresso stand in Spokane sell for $4 each—already surpassed the price of the mystery bag. The cookies were fresh and the only reason Sid thought they were in our bag was because some of the decoration frosting was mistakenly on the edge of the cookie. That was obviously no problem for us 😜.

These cookies look smaller than what they actually were, but the Desserts By Sara mystery bag packed deliciousness and value. I will use Too Good To Go for Desserts By Sara again.

I will test out some of the other Too Good To Go businesses soon. Judging by the first two test runs, I think it might be hit and miss. Regardless, the idea itself is golden. Don’t Blink.