Tag Archives: Rosauers

Ancestry Thursday Rundown

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And just like that, March will soon give way to April. But on this April Fools’ Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve, let’s reflect on some random topics…

Sloan’s Cake – You all know the drill, when our family celebrates a birthday, I always showoff the cake in the following Thursday Rundown. Sloan specifically requested a cake that was teal and pink so we made it happen. We trusted the skilled and talented bakers at Rosauers to turn Sloan’s wish into reality.

Rosauers baked and decorated Sloan’s 8th birthday cake.

Pope Francis Recovery – Thanks be to God, Pope Francis has been released from the hospital. Over the past couple days, details have emerged regarding how close he was to death. With these reports, there is no doubt in my mind that God still wants Pope Francis on this earth to preside over the Church. I admire the Pope’s medical team and the faithful who feverishly prayed for him.

It is important that we continue to pray for Pope Francis.

Flipside – Did you ever play Bop-It when you were a kid? We had one that we played over and over. For Sloan’s birthday, she received a gift from one of her friends that reminded me of Bop-It. Called Flipside, the object is to match the colored blocks to the lights. It has caught on like wildfire in my family. Sloan, Beau, and even Sid can’t get enough of it. In fact, Sloan is so smitten with the game that she has played it on the car ride to school this whole week. Overall, I am happy for the kids to have a handheld they can engage with that isn’t a smart device.

Sloan playing Flipside in bed.

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 five 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 my homecoming game five years ago.

23andMe Tough Times – An item in the news cycle this week is the bankruptcy of personal genomics giant 23andMe. The industry has fallen on tough times and it has specifically impacted 23andMe in a negative way. I find it a shame because these companies truly provide fascinating and accurate information. Nearly seven years ago I opted for the competition and submitted my sample to AncestryDNA. I learned a lot about my heritage. The test was actually a birthday gift from my mom who spent $99 on it. Let me tell you, it has been a gift that continues to give. To this day, I still receive emails notifying me about new matches when relatives (both near and distant) submit their own tests. My wife took a 23andMe test in 2019.

My Ancestry DNA test confirmed a lot of what I already knew about my heritage.

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Thanks for your time this evening. Enjoy your last weekend in March and we will be in touch next week. Don’t Blink.

Sid’s 33rd Birthday Thursday Rundown

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Let it be known, it is still the birthday week of Sid so I will continue to treat her like the Birthday Queen she is. In fact, I will go beyond that and celebrate with vigor throughout the remainder of her birthday month! (Just don’t tell Sid her birthday week ends the same day that her birthday month does). Okay, here we go with tonight’s rundown…

Sid’s Birthday Cake – I think this might be the fourth straight year I got Sid a cake from Rosauers. Looks good, right? Tastes even better! And if you noticed, I wrote “taste” in present tense because we have a lot left over. I opted for a quarter sheet cake. So, if you want to join us for dessert tonight, please don’t hesitate to stop by. One more final note: This was the first time I opted to have Sidney’s nickname (“Ninny”) reflected on the cake.

Sidney’s 33rd birthday cake from Rosauers.

Tooth Update – It was on this date a year ago that Sloan lost her first tooth. I chronicled the experience here. Fast forward 12 months and Sloan has lost an additional 3 teeth. Adult teeth are coming in and the Tooth Fairy is still coming. In fact, the Tooth Fairy made it to South Carolina after Sloan lost a tooth in Myrtle Beach at the very beginning of the year.

Sloan when she lost her first tooth on January 30, 2024, and Sloan smiling for the camera on January 29, 2025.

The 1960s – Far out! Yesterday, I attended the EWU New Year’s Party presented by the Office of the President. The theme was “Fashion Through the Decades” as departments were all assigned a different decade to model their attire after. Advancement (which Marketing and Communications falls under) was given the 1960s. My colleagues dressed to impress but the “gold star” award goes to my boss, Eric Limburg, who played the part of Austin Powers perfectly. I threw something together myself although it was hard—there isn’t necessarily a clean break between when 1960s fashion ends and 1970s fashion begins.

Our Eastern Washington University Advancement team at President McMahan’s New Year’s party. Can you spot me?

21 Flashbacks – As I was looking at old birthday photos of Sid, I came across a picture from when she turned 21. She celebrated the milestone with her first round of legal drinks at Outback. Nothing like a cocktail and steak, right? I thought it would be fun to compare her “21 photo” with mine. I celebrated my 21st birthday with a bar run in Missoula.

Sid and I on our respective 21st birthdays.

Drone Update – Back in December, I voiced my concern regarding the drones that kept filling the New Jersey sky on a nightly basis. I called the consistent aerial events as “unnerving.” Well, we finally got an answer for what was in the sky. President Trump had his White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, relay the message that the drones were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons. These sightings generated even more drones in the sky because it inspired hobbyists to fly their own unmanned aerial vehicles. Alas, the drones didn’t come from an enemy or outer space.

The mystery of the origin of the drones over Jersey is now solved.

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Thanks for joining me tonight. Please pray for those who lost their lives in the D.C. air crash. Also, let’s pray for the families of the victims and those participating in the recovery effort. Don’t Blink.

Heart-Shaped TNT Thursday Rundown

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Happy February, everyone! I hope January was a great beginning to your 2024 and that you are now ready to take on the second month of the year. But first, how about you take on these five topics?…

Scam – I omitted this racket when I wrote about the frustrating practices of grocery stores on Monday, but it deserves mention tonight. Safeway isn’t fooling anyone when they charge a deeply inflated price for a bag of chips but then offer a discounted price…if you buy FOUR of them. What a dishonest, worthless proposition. I found myself with no other choice but to go along with this scam earlier this week. We needed chips for the kids’ lunches and with limited options I wasn’t going to spend $5.69 on a bag of chips so I caved and bought four. I was so mad.

This practice really irks me. As I paced up and down the aisle deciding what to do on Tuesday morning, I took this photo.

These Are Cool – For the first time in my life, I saw these “Exploding Hearts” for the first time. I thought it was a terrific idea! If this is the first time that TNT has made Valentine-themed pop-its, my question is this: What took them so long?! Well, better late than never. I didn’t buy a box but I would be curious to see how “true” the heart shape actually is and whether it packs a louder bang than the original pieces.

I love pop-its and I think these are a great idea.

Sid’s Birthday Cake – Here is Sid’s 32nd birthday cake. As usual, per my wife’s request, it is chocolate cake with chocolate filling and chocolate frosting. Let me now take this moment to reiterate what I have said for the past three years: If you are looking for a superior but affordable cake for any occasion, go with Rosauers. Trust me, Rosauers isn’t your typical grocery store bakery. After all, there is good reason why our good friends selected Rosauers for their wedding cake. You won’t regret ordering from them.

Rosauers always comes through. This is Sid’s most recent birthday cake.

Don’t Mess With Dark Chocolate Day – We have two days to commemorate today. First, it is National Dark Chocolate Day which I find special because my favorite chocolate is dark chocolate. I love the strong, slightly bitter taste. Give me a Hershey’s variety pack and I am picking out the dark chocolate mini bars without hesitation. It is also National Texas Day. Unlike last week where I had a lot of places to rattle off when it came to where I spent time in Florida, I don’t have nearly the track record with Texas. In fact, I can count just two cities that I have spent time in—Denton and Dallas. And although they both start with “D,” they are about as different as you can get. I would like to visit more places in Texas though.

Sloan standing next to an inflatable Dallas Cowboys helmet at the rental car center in Dallas. Can you get more “Dallas” than that? We spent the day exploring the city in January 2022.

Trafficked – I became aware of a television series called “Trafficked” about a week ago. The series, which can be streamed on Hulu, consists of four seasons and investigates various rackets within the global underworld and black market. The host, Mariana van Zeller, is fearless and superb at confronting many of the traffickers across the plethora of different schemes she has infiltrated. There are so many sad yet intriguing topics within the four seasons but the one I just finished was about the illegal ape trade in Congo. The process of kidnapping a baby chimp out of the forests of the country is brutal and cruel. Most of the time, the poachers must kill the entire family to kidnap the young chimp because its parents won’t go quietly as greedy humans take their child. Many of the episodes are tough to watch but it is a reminder of the evil and exploitation that exists in our world.

“Trafficked” is an excellent docu-series. I watch it on Hulu.

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If February seems a little longer this year, there is a reason for that—it is a leap year! From day #1 to day #29, I hope you have an awesome month. Don’t Blink.

Pez Thursday Rundown

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Happy Groundhog Day! I actually watched the movie with Bill Murray probably five years ago so I could understand all the “Groundhog Day” references. I wasn’t too impressed. Speaking of not being impressed, I am sure you will feel that way after reading tonight’s Thursday Rundown…

Sid’s Birthday Recap – Sidney turned 31 this past Saturday. For the second year in a row we celebrated with a Rosauers birthday cake. The day didn’t go exactly according to plan as sickness prevented Sid and I from going out to dinner that night. It was all good, we moved our birthday lunch celebration with the kids to a birthday dinner celebration and ordered Olive Garden takeout. Among other things that we gave Sid for her birthday, she was most excited about her Ulta gift card.

This was Sidney’s birthday cake from this past weekend, courtesy of Rosauers.

Valentine’s Month – I thought about waiting to share this photo on Valentine’s Day but I couldn’t resist. This picture of Beau was taken at daycare last week. I think even those of us who dislike Valentine’s Day can warm up to the holiday after seeing this little guy clutching his heart.

I couldn’t wait until the 14th to use this Valentine-themed photo of Beau.

The Pez Outlaw – I watched this Netflix documentary earlier this week with mixed feelings. I am not a fan of the over-the-top, dramatic filmmaking style utilized in “The Pez Outlaw.” However, I was fascinated by the audacity of Steve Glew and sympathetic to Pez USA. For anyone working in marketing and/or licensing, you should definitely watch this. If you are simply a person looking to be entertained, you will also probably be intrigued by “The Pez Outlaw.”

How could any company allow Steve Glaw to get away with what he was trying to do? (Picture: Gravitas Ventures)

Right on Red – The state of Washington is considering a ban on making right turns on red lights. Washington would be the only state with such legislation and it could become law by 2024! As a motorist, I have found myself with great anxiety at a certain major intersection in Spokane that I navigate twice a day as I take Sloan to/from school. It is an intersection where I take a right on red and I spend most of my energy making sure that no traffic is coming from the left. Because my attention is mostly focused there, checking to see if a pedestrian is going across the crosswalk turns into an afterthought. What a monster I am! I would support this ban.

I am fine with a ban on making right turns on red lights (photo courtesy of WUSA)

Bash on February – Although I think this installment of The Family Circus uses faulty logic, I still agree that if any month had to have fewer than 30 days, February would be my nominee. With that said, and correct me if I am wrong, summer wouldn’t be shortened in any way if July had one less day, it would just mean that it would start one day earlier in the calendar. Am I right?

If it wasn’t for February being my son’s birthday month, I would dock it even more days and just end it on Feb. 25.

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It was Sidney’s birthday last weekend and it will be Beau’s birthday this weekend. Hope your February is off to a good start and hopefully I can publish some decent blog posts throughout the course of this shortest month. Don’t Blink.

Let Sid Eat Cake

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Remember the time when Costco sheet cakes were all the rage? When I was a kid, it seemed like every birthday or special occasion required a Costco cake to make it legit. I remember when my family would purchase a cake we would always have so much remaining that we would freeze the leftovers and have a steady dessert option for about a month.

Well, it seemed like Costco cakes fell out of favor, at least in my inner circle. In fact, I kind of forgot all about them. However, that changed last week when I ordered a cake for Sidney. I put together a little surprise party for her milestone birthday and needed to order a cake that would feed more than just our family of four. This made me think about Costco but I ended up going a different direction.

I ordered a quarter sheet cake from Rosauers, a supermarket chain in the western United States. The bakeries in these grocery stores always receive high marks and Sidney even mentioned that she would like to try one of their cakes. I ordered one over the phone in the middle of the week as they happily accommodated my short turnaround time for a Friday pick up.

This was the cake that Rosauers created for my wife.

When I approached the bakery at our Spokane Valley Rosauers with Sloan and Beau, we received the royal treatment. The woman who greeted us brought us to a corner of the bakery and removed the top of the box so we could view the cake. Once we expressed our approval, she brought over the person who baked and decorated it. I thought it was kind of cool to meet and thank the woman who did such a fantastic job on Sid’s cake.

Later that night, after Sid was genuinely surprised by our friends, I took out the cake and placed a “3” candle and a “0” candle on it. As I lit the candles, one of our friends excitedly told us that she enjoys Rosauers’ cakes so much that she ordered her wedding cake from them! Talk about a ringing endorsement!

Sidney with her Rosauers cake prior to us singing “Happy Birthday.”

All the hype was legit. Our chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filling and chocolate frosting was delicious (of course we needed a scoop of vanilla ice cream with each serving). The price was extremely fair too. If you like fresh cake and live in Washington or another nearby state, consider giving Rosauers your business. Don’t Blink.

Eating Raw Cookie Dough

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It is no secret that I eat way too much cookie dough in various forms. I have documented it time and time again over the years.

That cookie dough will catch up to you after awhile.

Although cheap and sometimes stale, I have eaten many boxes of the movie theater-style chocolate covered cookie dough bites…

These are cheap and not very good, but I still really like them.

I once had Sid make me a cookie dough ice cream pie for my birthday…

Sidney made me an ice cream cookie dough pie for a birthday.

Speaking of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, I infamously bought five different brands of the dessert for Sid to taste test…

One of the cookie dough ice creams that Sid tasted in 2016. I encourage you to read this highly entertaining blog post!

On one especially lucky day, I indulged in deep fried cookie dough wontons delivered to me courtesy of HuHot because I won a social media promotion.

The fried cookie dough wontons were delivered to me at work by a HuHot employee.

I have scarfed down cookie dough cheesecake, topped it on froyo, and tasted many different artificial cookie dough flavors in various snacks. Perhaps craziest of all, I even pitched a business idea for a cookie dough café.

But I think I really outdid myself this past weekend when I ate cookie dough in its rawest form…literally. I did pretty much the closest thing you can do to grabbing an actual bowl of cookie dough meant for cookies and eating it by the spoonful…

I purchased this “edible” cookie dough from Rosauers on Friday night.

Thanks to Rosauers, I bought cookie dough designed to be consumed directly out of the container. Yes, in case there was any confusion on what I was supposed to do with it, the label specifically said “edible” on it.

I gave it a try on Friday night and I only made it through a few bites. Perhaps it was because I was really full from dinner but to be honest it didn’t taste that great. It was as if someone made some tasteless dough that looked like cookie dough and then sprayed it with cookie dough artificial flavoring and dumped a lot of salt on it.

Here is a better look at the texture of the Rosauers cookie dough.

Although you might call me crazy, I did give it a second shot on Saturday night. Surprisingly enough, it tasted better! In fact, I ate probably 12 bites. I think this might have been because my expectations were lowered significantly. Despite a tastier experience, I didn’t finish the container and I haven’t opened it up again.

I guess I wanted to write this blog post to point out that containers of cookie dough meant to be devoured via a spoon while watching Dateline actually exist.

However, at least in the case of what I bought from the supermarket, the recipe is yet to be perfected. Let’s hope a vaccine for the coronavirus comes before decent-tasting edible cookie dough. Don’t Blink.