Girl Scout Cookies Thursday Rundown

I want to start by wishing you a meaningful Holy Thursday. This evening begins the Triduum, the three-day period that ends with Easter Sunday and comprises the holiest portion of the Church calendar. Let’s begin with my latest Thursday Rundown…

Sprite and Milk – On Sunday, Beau asked if he could do a TikTok challenge that encouraged brave souls to mix milk and Sprite together. We have been down this road before, I thought. It was three years ago that Sloan and I made Pilk—a mix of Pepsi and milk. Since I did that taste experiment with Sloan, I figured I would do Sprite + milk with Beau. Although I didn’t try it, Beau said it was delicious. Once his sister saw what he was doing, she even encouraged him to add some flavored syrup to the concoction…which he did. The overall experiment turned out to be a success.

Beau holds his Sprite and milk drink. This was after the flavored syrup was added.

Girl Scout Cookies – I came across this graphic depicting the different varieties of Girl Scout cookies in this past Sunday’s Spokesman-Review. I am yet to try an Exploremores but I would like to soon. After all, it shouldn’t be that hard, Girl Scouts are all over the place right now selling the cookies. Sidney usually buys 6-7 boxes but we haven’t purchased our usual quota yet this year (hint: If you have a Girl Scout who wants an easy sale). Although the price per box has increased from $5 to $6, we should have enough in the budget this year to cover it.

This was the graphic than ran in the Spokesman-Review this past weekend.

Past Easter Eggs – With Easter this Sunday, I thought I would share some of the commercialized posts I have written in the past. First, please take a look at these photos of my children with various different Easter Bunnies and tell me if any of them (the rabbits…not my kids) look normal. Second, if you have a sweet tooth, take a gander at my top five Easter candies. Yes, the classic Cadbury egg is on the list but you will have to follow the link to find out the others, including what I ranked as #1. And third, speaking of Easter eggs, get up to speed on my unsolicited critique of different Easter egg hunt formats.

Sloan and Beau in 2024 with an Easter Bunny they encountered at a neighborhood egg hunt in Camelot Park in north Spokane.

Pizzagaina – I wrote about this Easter delicacy five years ago so I thought it was well past time to sing its praises again. Pizzagaina is an Italian dish made at Easter that will bring a smile to your face. Think of it as a savory pie of goodness. Macaroni and cheese and ham are packed into a flaky crust and then baked. Pizzagaina has been a tradition in my mom’s family for decades and you can always find a freshly made loaf at our family Easter celebrations.

This is the pizzagaina loaf that my mom gave my family in 2021. We ate every bit of it.

Mary and the Women at the Tomb – I started this rundown with Beau and I am going to end it with him too. We were on the campus of St. Augustine Parish/Cataldo School last night for Sloan’s last basketball game. As we were getting into my car after it was over, Beau asked, “Will you take my picture, daddy?” He was standing right next to this Marian statue that depicts her with the other women prior to Jesus’ resurrection. With Easter this weekend, I didn’t think there was anything more appropriate to include in tonight’s Thursday Rundown.

Beau stands next to a Marian statue on the St. Augustine Parish/Cataldo School campus. Have a great Easter, everyone!

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I hope you have a blessed weekend with a very happy Easter. Thanks for reading and praise Jesus. Don’t Blink.

Trying Pilk

Tap here to watch me make Pilk

It seemed preposterous. Even sacrilegious. Disgusting, to say the least.

Above all else, at the very core, it was a marketing gimmick. And it reeled me in hook, line, and sinker.

Last week, Pepsi rolled out Lindsay Lohan in hopes that her stellar credibility would convince the world that a certain combination is a good idea. Now let me caution you, if your stomach is feeling at all weak this evening, you might want to stop reading before I reveal this absurd pairing.

Pepsi and Lindsay Lohan are trying to convince us to try an obscure combination.

Pepsi and Lohan are urging adventurous souls to try something called Pilk. What is Pilk, you ask? Alright, you asked for it…

Pilk is Pepsi and milk mixed together.

Alright, I swear I heard a few of my readers gag. Don’t worry, I had the same reaction too. I had not heard of a more disagreeable combination since it was revealed that Jim Harbaugh’s dad pours Gatorade over his cereal.

The two ingredients of Pilk resting on our kitchen bar.

But for as awful as Pilk sounded, I had to confirm what seemed undoubtedly obvious. On Sunday, Sloan and I picked up a 2-liter of Pepsi at the store and came home to mix up the concoction.

The Pilk ingredients all measured out and ready to be mixed!

We measured out the ingredients (Pepsi and milk…HA!) and then I served as the chief mixologist. I poured the Pepsi first over ice. As the satisfying popping and fizzing sound hissed as the beverage hit the cubes, I thought why do I have to ruin this? I then poured in the milk and watched as it streaked through the Pepsi, eventually turning this new drink a dirty white.

That’s me pouring the milk over the Pepsi to make Pilk.

I then took my straw, submerged it in the glass, gave the drink a vigorous mix, and then took a sip…

This is what our Pilk looked like after it was mixed.

Okay, it wasn’t that bad. I thought the taste would be much stronger. I had anticipated that the drink would still retain a carbonated punch but taste like milk. My worst fears were unfounded. Instead, what I drank tasted much more mellow. The carbonation had been diluted and it tasted like the last couple drinks of an ice cream float after everything had melted. As an ice cream float critic, this didn’t exactly appeal to me but it sure was better than what I thought.

Sloan trying Pilk. She claimed to like it.

Of course Sloan and Beau loved it. I had to wrestle the tall glass away from them so they wouldn’t guzzle the entire thing. But I am pretty sure I could have mixed soda with mud and they still would have given it a thumbs up.

Beau taking his turn to try Pilk.

If you want to try the Pilk challenge, you don’t got much to lose. Trust me, it isn’t like your taste buds will be scarred forever. Maybe—unlike me—you will find a new favorite holiday drink. If you do, make sure to thank Lindsay Lohan. Don’t Blink.