Tag Archives: Heart’s On Fire Men’s Conference

50 Shades of Green Thursday Rundown

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It is March 20 today and that means one thing: We are exactly one month away from Easter. It also means that in 2025 this date falls on a Thursday so let’s get started with the latest rundown…

Make It Nine – Every year near Sloan’s birthday, I create the first ever photo we took together. On March 17, 2017, I posed with in my green polo as I swaddled my baby girl. Although I can no longer swaddle Sloan, I can still throw on my same green polo and we can still pose in a way that honors the spirit of the original photo.

Sloan and I pose for the same photo every year. My green polo is still holding up!

50 Shades of Green – I shared this photo on Instagram and thought it deserved the Don’t Blink treatment as well. The different shades of green make this a spectacularly hideous image in terms of colors clashing but that also gives it some charm…a lucky Irish charm.

Green, anyone? ☘️

Leprechaun Trap – She makes one every year, with each new one getting more elaborate, but somehow the leprechaun always seems to get away. This is the leprechaun trap Sloan made on St. Patrick’s Day Eve. She put a lot of work into it, but alas, the leprechaun managed to escape once again.

Sloan had a lot of fun making her leprechaun trap.

Throwback – Is your bracket busted yet? Speaking of the NCAA Tournament, on this day 10 years ago I was in Omaha as part of the travel party for the Coastal Carolina University men’s basketball contingent. On this particular evening, I sat on the floor under the basket and shot photos as the #1-seeded Wisconsin Badgers defeated my #16-seeded Chanticleers. Even though it was a loss, the game was still fun. But even better was what transpired a few hours prior. I worked with the social media manager at Wisconsin to develop a back-and-forth between the two flagship Twitter accounts of both institutions. It went viral! Still a super cool career moment.

In 2015, I traveled with the Chanticleer men’s basketball team to the NCAA tournament.

2025 Hearts On Fire Men’s Conference – This past Saturday, I attended the Hearts On Fire Men’s Conference hosted by the Catholic Diocese of Spokane. Always held at St. Thomas More in north Spokane, I try to go every year. Curtis Martin, the founder of FOCUS Ministries, was the headlining speaker. A superstar in the U.S. Catholic world, it was really cool to listen to him in-person. He presented different talks based on the three stages of the evangelization model championed by FOCUS: Win – Build – Send. Besides Martin’s presence, it was a fruitful day that allowed those in attendance to attend mass, go to confession, pray the rosary as a big group, and worship at holy hour. What an event!

Curtis Martin of FOCUS Ministries speaks to the audience gathered at St. Thomas More in north Spokane for Hearts On Fire Men’s Conference.

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Hope everyone has a great weekend. We will be hosting Sloan’s birthday party on Saturday so hopefully I will be able to tell you about it next week. Until then, as my dad always says, “be good.” Don’t Blink.

Hearts On Fire Thursday Rundown

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It is once again Friday Eve. By this time I hope you are over the disappointment of Groundhog Day and ready to give the next six (make that five) weeks of winter everything you have. I am ready to give this Thursday Rundown everything that I have…

NICU Memories – These past few days, as I will for the next several, cause me to reflect on the events that transpired three years ago at this time. I am talking about Beau’s stint in the NICU at McLeod Children’s Hospital. For 10 days, Sid and I made daily trips from Myrtle Beach to Florence to be with our little guy as he got better. It was an experience that will undoubtedly always remain with us. The blog post I wrote on the saga was ranked the #1 all-time best in the history of Don’t Blink. Thanks Be to God for his many blessings during a trying time.

By the time this photo was taken, Beau was steadily improving and we were all so relieved.

Guys Night – Up until this point, I haven’t had the opportunity to do too many things with just Beau and me. Now that he is 3, I know this will start to change. Last Friday night I had so much fun taking him to the local high school to watch basketball. We visited East Valley High School to watch the girls and boys teams play. Beau had fun watching the action, listening to the band, and eating/drinking concession stand fare. He also enjoyed the intense attention he received from the high school girls who enamored by him. At the end of the game, one particular student came up to me and gave me her number and offered her babysitting services!

I had a great time with Beau at the East Valley vs. Shadle Park basketball games.

Bag Limit – I have written about Washington state’s plastic bag tax before and what I saw on Monday night made me laugh. When I was checking out at Walmart, noticed that there is now a prompt on the screen that sets a plastic bag limit of 99. I asked myself, are people really coming into the store and buying copious amounts of plastic bags? They are extremely high quality and useful but I don’t know if I would buy them to bulk. Needless to say, I don’t think the plastic bag reduction efforts went according to plan in this state.

Do you notice the red bag limit notice or are you too busy deciphering the groceries I bought?

Hearts on Fire Men’s Conference – Last Saturday, I was blessed to spend the day at the Spokane Diocese Hearts on Fire Catholic Men’s Conference. Held at St. Thomas More in North Spokane, the event was comprised of mass with Bishop Thomas Daly, music, confession, adoration, reciting of the rosary, small group sessions, testimonials, meals, fellowship, and more. The speakers brought in for the conference were Deacon Bob Rice and Deacon James Thruman. The best part was meeting new Catholic brothers and just being in the general presence of so many devoted men.

I photo I took of St. Thomas More Parish in North Spokane upon walking into the Hearts on Fire Men’s Conference sponsored by the Diocese of Spokane.

Birthday Dinner – Although sickness derailed Sid’s birthday dinner date night, we made up for it this past weekend. My parents watched the kids for the night and we went out to Airway Heights. We ate dinner at Spokane Tribe Casino and Sid tried her luck at the slots. We then drove a couple minutes to Northern Quest where Sid continued to play and we both drank a lot of soda.

Sid and I ate dinner at Three Peaks inside Spokane Tribe Casino. I had the Cougar Gold mac and cheese.

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That will wrap up another Thursday Rundown. Thanks for your time this evening and enjoy your weekend. Don’t Blink.

Beau Bear Eve Thursday Rundown

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It is Beau’s Birthday Eve! Tomorrow we will have a 1-year-old. As I come to grips with this upcoming milestone, I decided to write a Thursday Rundown. Let’s go…

Latest Blizzard – The Thursday Rundown is a landing spot for my Dairy Queen Blizzard reviews (here and here). In honor of Sidney’s birthday weekend, we picked up dessert on Saturday night. I opted for the red velvet flavor which happened to be the Blizzard of the Month. The DQ famous vanilla ice cream was blended with red velvet cake pieces and cream cheese icing. It had really good texture and really good flavor…for the first few bites. After I scratched the surface of my blizzard, it was just pure white the rest of the way. Unfortunately the classic problem plagued me—all the toppings and mix-ins were at the very top with plain vanilla ice cream the rest of the day.

This was my red velvet Dairy Queen Blizzard from Saturday night.

Super Bowl Hope/Prediction – Last week I humbled myself and gave mad respect to Tom Brady and the mesmerizing career he has enjoyed. Although I will savor the chance to watch a legend play on Sunday, it doesn’t mean I want him to win. I hope the Kansas City Chiefs will repeat as Super Bowl champs? Do I think they will do it? Actually, I do. Chiefs beat Bucs, 28-24.

I will be rooting for Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Preparing to Sleep – Please use your imagination and read the below meme from my wife’s point of view. Okay, did you do it? This explains Sid and I exactly. Out of the numerous fluffy pillows that Sid keeps on the bed, I take the oldest and skinniest. I also have a bad habit of throwing some of the excess pillows on the floor, which will get me a prompt scolding. I fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow whereas Sid needs pretty much everything listed in this meme, plus the TV turned on. I know Sid thinks it is unfair that I can simply shut my eyes and go to sleep but perhaps this is the way it is for many married couples.

This nailed it.

Heart’s On Fire Men’s Conference – Last Saturday, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Heart’s On Fire Men’s Conference sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Spokane. Having enjoyed the South Carolina Catholic Men’s Conference, I knew that attending a similar event out west was a must. The conference took into account social distancing. Instead of everyone meeting at a designated spot, different parishes in the diocese served as satellite locations where guys could go to watch the livestreamed presentations with a small group. I attended the conference at St. Thomas More, the parish I actually grew up in. Fr. Pat Kerst celebrated mass with our group in the morning and heard confessions at lunch. During the morning and afternoon we listened to Dr. John Bergsma, a professor at Franciscan University, deliver four different talks. After each talk, we gathered in our small groups at our satellite location to discuss the content. Thanks to the Diocese of Spokane for putting this conference on during difficult times, I sure got a lot out of it.

I took this photo at St Thomas More Parish in Spokane. Although a premium was placed on social distancing at the Diocese of Spokane Men’s Conference, it was still a very worthwhile experience.

Soups – Who out there loves a flavorful, piping hot bowl of soup? Your favorite blogger sure does! If I am given a choice between soup or salad at a restaurant, 9/10 times I am opting for the former. A few years ago, I actually ranked my top five favorite soups. My list consisted of clam chowder (#5), chili (#4), butternut squash (#3), potato (#2), and pasta fagioli (#1). Oh yeah, Italian wedding was included as an honorable mention. Happy National Soup Day! 

I love a good bowl of soup.

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Time to cuddle my baby boy tonight before he wakes up a man tomorrow. Okay, I exaggerate, but do you get the picture? I got to go. Have a wonderful night, my friends. Don’t Blink.