Mike & Mike | Don't Blink

Happy Easter season, friends! I hope this blog post finds you well. What do you say we just jump right in this evening? Alright, let’s go with my latest five topics…

T-Ball Season – Earlier this week, a certain 6-year-old reported for the 2023 t-ball season. After a successful 2022 debut season, she is back on the field for another couple months of fun. This year she is on the Red Pandas, a team that five of her St. Mary classmates are on too. With two practices now in the books, I think this squad has talent!

Sloan started her second season of t-ball this week.

Stolen Youth – This week, Sidney and I watched an extremely interesting three-part documentary series on Hulu called “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence.” The documentary tells the story of a group of close-knit college friends who live together in a campus housing dorm/apartment hybrid. One day, the dad of one of the female residents randomly moves in. The students are sketched out at first but then he starts to win them over one-by-one. From there, he maneuvers them completely under his control. It is a unique look at a non-traditional “cult” and you will be amazed at how this “dad” is able to manipulate these bright and ambitious college students.

“Stolen Youth” was a fascinating and sad documentary.

National Scrabble Day – I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to mark National Scrabble Day. Scrabble was my family’s favorite game growing up as we played many intense, competitive rounds. When we moved back to Spokane three years ago, I was delighted to dust off the board and play a game with everyone for old times’ sake. Another fond memory I have of Scrabble is from the sixth grade. My teacher, Mr. Jared Hoadley, took our class to a neighboring rival elementary school to play its sixth grade class in a Scrabble tournament. We might have mobile apps like Words With Friends and Wordle, but the ultimate word game will always be Scrabble!

A look at our Scrabble board from the “homecoming” game we played three years ago.

Mike & Mike Memory – One of my favorite career memories was when I covered the Monday After the Masters event on this date 8 years ago. A fundraising showcase for Darius Rucker, the event included the live broadcast of Mike & Mike from the golf course where the event was held. At the time I was working for CCU and our mascot and spirit squad attended/appeared on the Mike & Mike broadcast. I went along to document the moment for social media and had a blast. It was so cool to see Mike Golic up close along with countless other celebrities. It also served as a “reunion” of sorts between me and the man who allowed me to play a small part in his most recent music video at the time. This was the blog post I wrote about the awesome experience.

This was a fun day! Follow the link for many more photos.

Spa Date – On Sloan’s birthday, she received a coupon from her Aunt Carrie and Uncle Glen. It was good for a spa date followed by dinner. Last Wednesday, Sloan redeemed her coupon. Glen picked Sloan up and took her to the salon where Carrie was at. Sloan got her toes done and enjoyed the pampered life. The trio then went to Outback (Sloan’s choice) for a nice dinner. What an evening!

Aunt Carrie and Sloan at the salon receiving pedicures.

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That will wrap things up. Keep rejoicing and living with purpose…I will catch up with everyone next week. Don’t Blink.

Good evening! I hope your Holy Week has gone well and that you are making the necessary preparations for a joyous Easter celebration. Here we go with my latest Thursday Rundown.

Thirteen Reasons Why – The hottest series out on Netflix right now is Thirteen Reasons Why. The program’s narrator, a high school girl, details the 13 reasons that drove her to take her own life over the course of 13 episodes. Sidney and I watched the entire series in about five days and we couldn’t turn our eyes away, even through the tough moments. The show addresses timely topics and introduces an engaging cast. It may or may not be for you, but I do recommend watching the first couple episodes.

Taking Sloan to Work – Earlier this week, I got to show off my daughter at work! Sidney brought Sloan to campus so I could parade her around our University Communication offices. Wearing her own little Chanticleer outfit, Sloan got to meet my co-workers. The people I work with showed great interest throughout Sidney’s pregnancy so it was nice to be able to share with them the grand result. Even though Sloan slept through all the excitement, I think she enjoyed the little outing.

Sidney brought Sloan to the office earlier this week so she could meet the people I work with.

Meal Change – In Tuesday’s blog post, I wrote that I am making life changes so I can devote more time to my daughter. In that particular post I announced that my blogging schedule would be cut back a bit. Today I want to share another change with you. My longstanding tradition of eating a peanut butter sandwich for lunch is now over…kind of. I would normally eat a half of a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast and a regular peanut butter sandwich for lunch. However, it took time to prepare the sandwiches. To eliminate those minutes spent slapping PB on bread, I have converted to Uncrustables. I now eat one Uncrustable for breakfast and two Uncrustables for lunch. They are quite good.

I used to eat half of a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast and a full peanut butter sandwich for lunch every single day. In April of 2017 I switched to eating one Uncrustable for breakfast and two Uncrustables for lunch.

Sloan Photos Part III – It was weird, I took Sloan out of her bassinet the other night and I could have sworn she had grown just a little bit. It drove the point home to me that I need to take as many photos as possible so I don’t miss any of her development. Here is my latest Sloan collage…

Here are the latest photos of our sweet Sloan.

That Moment I Attended a Mike & Mike Broadcast – Two years ago on this date, I covered the Monday After the Masters event put on by Darius Rucker here in Myrtle Beach. It was a day filled with celebrities and golf but my favorite part of the event was watching Mike & Mike in person. The show was broadcast live from the event and I got to see firsthand how the country’s most popular sports talk radio show is produced. Although Mike Greenberg was out that day (Ryan Rucco filled in for him) I got to watch Mike Golic do his thing. It was a blast!