Tag Archives: Family Circus

State Shirt Thursday Rundown

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Happy Pi Day Eve! I hope as we reach the mid-point of March that your month is going well. At the very least, hopefully your favorite college basketball team is gearing up for a March Madness run. Let’s get started with tonight’s Thursday Rundown…

Birthday Frame – This past weekend, Beau attended the birthday party of one of his St. Mary classmates, Ellie. The unicorn-themed bash was held at Jump For Joy in the Spokane Valley and Beau had a lot of fun. One aspect I found cool was the homemade photo frame that Ellie’s mom made. After cake, she busted it out and helped each child post for their individual photo with Ellie. Needless to say, it looks like Beau has some growing to do.

Beau with his friend Ellie in her customized photo frame.

Old Maid – We have been playing Old Maid at our house. The game is easy to play and the kids enjoy it. I do wish the object of the game was more focused on winning as opposed to not losing, but I can look past that. The game has also been a learning lesson for Sloan and Beau on how to properly hold a hand of cards and to conceal them from others.

The kids have had fun playing Old Maid.

Beau’s Heart – Earlier this week, Beau brought this paper heart home. It represents the “pieces” of his heart. Even though someone obviously did the writing for him, the sentiments are 100% from Beau. Oh how he treasures staying at his grandparents and making smoothies with his papa and helping grandma make pancakes. I didn’t know about this project until Sid took a photo of it and sent my way. When I looked at it on my phone, it made my day.

With some help, Beau made this heart at school.

March 13 – I think I have something cool/weird that I can share for pretty much every March 13th I have been alive for, but for space considerations, here are just a few: Can’t ever forget about the blog post I published two years ago about my extremely nerdy middle school hobby of hacky sack. On this date in 2020, this prodigal son returned to Spokane after 15 years away. Because of COVID, Sid and the kids wouldn’t join me until two months later. On March 13, 2016, I lived out a dream when I judged a macaroni and cheese contest. And finally, 13 years ago I was on a plane to Albuquerque for the NCAA Tournament as part of the travel party for the University of Montana men’s basketball team. The experience was one of the best of my career. Speaking of Griz basketball, congrats to this year’s squad for returning to the Big Dance after last night’s Big Sky Conference tournament championship win over Northern Colorado.

That’s me, wearing my Gap t-shirt and jean shorts, playing some hacky sack probably 24 years ago. I wrote about my hobby on March 13, 2023.

State T-Shirt Joke – How old-fashioned am I? Instead of sharing funny memes like most people do in 2025, I continue to share comics. This Family Circus strip caught my eye. If Texas is an XXL and Rhode Island is an XS, I think Washington would probably be a medium.

A Rhode Island shirt would probably be a crop top.

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Have a great evening, everyone. Don’t Blink.

Miriam Thursday Rundown

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Oh my it is HOT! HOT! HOT! We are looking at triple digit temperatures for the next several days. Is this real life? Let’s get started with tonight’s Thursday Rundown…

Baptism Anniversary – A wise person once told me to treat a baptism date as a birthday, giving it the same, if not more, reverence. Well, Sloan’s baptism anniversary is tomorrow. She was baptized at St. Andrew Catholic Church in front of friends and loved ones from both our families. Administering the sacrament of baptism on Sloan was Deacon Bob Jones. On that day, Deacon Jones’ wife was also in attendance. Miriam Jones worked behind the scenes to make sure that her husband had everything he needed to perform the baptism. Earlier this year, Miriam passed away unexpectedly. As we reflect with Sloan on the significance of her baptism this weekend, we will remember Miriam and pray for her. Thanks be to God for June 25, 2017.

In this photo Deacon Jones holds a newly baptized Sloan. Standing in the background is Miriam Jones, a wonderful lady who passed away in March 2021.

Wrong Pandemic Prediction – Back in May 2020, I entertained the idea that the handshake might be gone forever, even after the pandemic was ancient history. I even suggested that bowing might become “a thing” in western culture. Looks like I was off the mark on both those fronts. From what I have observed, handshakes are back and widely embraced, even as we aren’t completely out of the pandemic woods yet. I think people jumped to a lot of conclusions as COVID started to ravage our country, myself included. But no, the handshake is not going extinct.

Despite my earlier predictions, the handshake will survive the pandemic.

The Donut King – I watched a really interesting documentary on Hulu this week. It was called “The Donut King” and it told the story of a man who immigrated to California from Cambodia and started a donut enterprise. After opening a single shop, he started to open more and helped countless Cambodian families open up their own donut shops as well. The documentary takes you inside the Cambodian donut world and chronicles how many of the people inside it achieved and embraced the American Dream. I really enjoyed it.

“The Donut King” was an enjoyable documentary.

Three Dads – This picture is special to me. On Saturday night I had the honor of standing next to a couple of great dads who I look up to. My dad is in the middle and my brother-in-law is on the left. Jay and my dad have been great role models to me and to get a Father’s Day Eve photo with them was cool.

I take pride in this photo. My brother-in-law, Jay, is on the left and my dad is in the middle.

Strike 14! – I saw this in the comics yesterday and it instantly brought a smile to my face. From time to time I will take Sloan and her cousins outside and throw them batting practice with whiffle balls. I will say that each person will get five pitches but it always goes way beyond that as they plead for more. Many times we will reach that 14th strike.

In our family, registering a 14th strike is not uncommon.

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I know I have said this before when concluding my Thursday Rundowns but I really mean it this time…stay cool everyone! Enjoy your weekend and I will catch up with you all next week. Don’t Blink.

Thursday Rundown in Honor of George H.W. Bush

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It’s beginning to feel like the holidays! Our calendar for this month is insane with fun activities and celebrations but I am never too busy to write the Thursday Rundown. Ready or not, here are five topics…

Work Corner – Earlier this week, I was interviewed by WMBF about fake news. A recent untrue local story had made the rounds on social media, sparking the motivation for the story. Throughout my discussion with reporter Erin Edwards, my main point was simple: Yes, the social media giants are doing more than ever to combat the posting and spreading of fake news. However, spammers will always be one step ahead. We must take personal responsibility for not sharing or retweeting content that is fake. All it takes is a couple minutes to verify whether a story is real. Sensational headlines and sketchy URLs are dead giveaways about the authenticity of a story. When in doubt, find another source that corroborates the piece by doing a Google search or just asking a friend. We need to be informed, responsible citizens.

In other news, #CCUSocialMedia recently won silver in the W3 Awards. We entered our #PopCHANTet Texts campaign in the social content & marketing category. Although I prefer gold, I thought this recognition was noteworthy for two reasons. First, the trophy is really sweet. Second, the W3 Awards is not exclusive to higher education but open to marketing professionals in all industries across the country. As this was a user-generated content campaign, all credit goes to #TEALnation for enthusiastically participating.

Me holding the W3 silver award for social content and marketing.

Quick Laugh – You see jokes like this all the time. An elderly person is assumed to have co-existed with a historic figure during his/her lifetime. However, this cliché gag gets a spot in tonight’s blog post because it has a holiday twist and because I love Family Circus.

Poor grandma!

RIP George H.W. Bush – Regrettably, I have not watched as much coverage of President H.W. Bush’s life tributes and funeral ceremonies as I would have liked. However, one thing made me a bit emotional. When President Bush (#41) died, President Bush (#43) released a voiceover tribute. During it, he stated his dad’s most pressing question to his minister: When I make it to Heaven, will my daughter still be young or will she have turned old? George and Barbara had a 3-year-old daughter who died of Leukemia in the 1950s. Understandably, Bush never got over it. His question about her heavenly state made me tear up a bit as I thought about what it would feel like to lose a daughter so young and how it would be on your mind every day for the rest of your life. May President Bush, his wife, Barbara, and their daughter, Robin, all rest in peace.

George H.W. Bush with his daughter, Robin.

Top 5 Favorite Songs of the Year – Get ready everyone, my annual blog post listing my favorite songs of the year will drop next week. To get you in the mood, I wanted to share two previous versions that I posted on this date in the past. I published both my 2015 and 2017 lists on December 6. Do you think you can predict any of the songs I will be including on this year’s countdown? Let me know if you think you have an idea.

500 Days – Many of you might not be familiar with social media streaks so I apologize for ending this Rundown with a bummer of a topic. However, can you understand doing something 500 days in a row? Although “doing something” in this case consists of only opening an app, I am proud (or maybe a little embarrassed) to say that I have viewed my daily Timehop report for 503 straight days (I hit the 500 mark on Monday). I have had some close calls but I have been committed to keeping this streak going as long as possible. Expect me to devote an entire blog post to my streak when it hits 1,000 days on April 16, 2020.

I tweeted about my “accomplishment” on Monday morning.

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We have an exciting weekend coming up filled with church events, a birthday celebration, and other social gatherings. I hope your first week in December went well and that you are well on your way to ending 2018 on a strong note. Don’t Blink.

Comic and Soda Thursday Rundown

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Good evening, my friends. Hope everyone has had a great first week of December. How about we begin with another Thursday Rundown?

Classic Comic – I shared this Family Circus comic strip on my Instagram account exactly five years ago today and for good reason – it is funny! I decided to dust it off and present it to you for your enjoyment. The girl asks his father: “Did Santa Claus and Jesus go to school together?” I am going to say probably not.

Still funny after five years.

My Cover Story – Almost two weeks ago, I shared the news that I wrote the cover story for the latest issue of our university alumni publication, Coastal Magazine. I counted it as a career highlight and a big step up from my blogging roots. The story is now online, so if you feel inclined, please feel free to read my work by clicking here.

I had the honor of writing the cover story of the latest Coastal Magazine issue.

Dr. Pepper – Back in May, I wrote about my top 5 favorite sodas. Cracking the top spot was Dr. Pepper. Thus, it only makes sense that I share a graphic I came across on my Timehop app about the storied history of the drink. Dr. Pepper was invented in 1885 and it was first sold by a pharmacist! That makes it even older than Coca-Cola. In a world of countless different soft drinks, according to my taste buds, the soda world got it right the first time.

Dr. Pepper is really good…and also really old.

Price Comparison – We used to frequent the supermarket right next to our house, Lowe’s, for our grocery needs (it is a really nice store!). However, we now go to Walmart Market for most of our shopping. One of the reasons why? Pricing! As an ice cream fanatic, I have to share this pricing disparity. You can purchase a tub of Great Value ice cream for a staggering $1.84 at Walmart. When I went and picked up some sour cream for our tacos the other night at Lowe’s, I looked at its store brand ice cream and noticed the $4.99 price next to its tubs. That is a difference of over the $3! But it is more than just the price; it is the quality! When I conducted a blind taste test, Walmart’s Great Value ice cream was far superior to the ice cream made by Lowe’s. You can make your own decision on where you want to buy your frozen dessert but I am sticking to Walmart!

I took the photo of the Lowe’s ice cream ($4.99) just recently and I took the photo of the Walmart ice cream ($1.84) during the summer.

Sloan at 38 Weeks – Well, it has been a bit of a tough week for Sloan. She came down with a fever and has been sweating it out the past few days. Sid and I have taken turns staying home from work to care for her. The good news is that it looks like she is on the mend! She is still as sweet as ever and even though she might not be saying it consciously, the sounds DA-DA come out of her mouth all the time. She has also mastered the “Army crawl.” We received her Santa photos yesterday and they are fantastic. I will share the experience with all of you after we send out our Christmas cards. Until then, here is the latest photo collage.

This is Sloan’s photo collage at 38 weeks.

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The holiday season is in full swing. I am preparing myself for the annual Palmetto Bays Christmas party (Sidney’s work party) this weekend. If you are also venturing out over the next couple days to a holiday function, don’t forget my tips. Feliz Navidad! Don’t Blink.