Washington State University marching band

The Thursday Rundown took a hiatus last week as I ate turkey and watched football. But have no fear, I am back to squeeze in one final blog post this November. So before the last month of 2018 arrives, let’s get to tonight’s five topics.

Most Liked Instagram Photo – It is usually a good day for me when a photo I post to my own Instagram account receives 50 likes. Well, I smashed my own personal record late last week. This photo taken at my baptism over 30 years ago garnered 284 likes, easily a new record for a single post. Father Adrian van der Heijden baptized me at St. Francis of Assisi in Walla Walla, WA. Besides Father van der Heijden and myself, you have my parents and my godparents in the photo as well.

A look at the Instagram image that registered the most likes for my personal account. I was baptized at St. Francis of Assisi in Walla Walla.

Sloan’s Christmas Tree – Tonight, Sidney’s mom (Sloan’s “Gami”) brought over a personal mini Christmas tree for our little girl. Gami and Sloan decorated the tree together, making it look beautiful. What a nice project for them to complete! Next week I hope to write a blog post about the slightly bigger Christmas tree we have in our house this year. Stay tuned!

A photo of Sloan decorating her mini tree with her Gami tonight.

Advent – This upcoming Sunday will usher in Advent. For those not familiar, this special time on the Christian calendar counts down the four Sundays before Christmas. While Advent definitely helps us prepare for Christmas itself and the birth of baby Jesus, it also helps us reflect and anticipate the second coming of Christ. During mass, Catholics will light an Advent wreath. These wreaths have four candles and one is lit each Sunday. Many Catholic families have their own personal Advent wreaths in their homes as well.

Advent begins on Sunday.

YUCK! – I am embarrassed to admit this, but here it goes…
I ate pumpkin pie with mold on it this past weekend. Not only that, but I obliviously tweeted a photo of the piece I chomped down just seconds before I ate it. I did notice the white specks, but I thought they were just flour or sugar spots. I mean, it was Saturday and the pie was opened just two days earlier on Thanksgiving. Mold can’t grow that fast, right? Sidney informed me otherwise when she looked at the pie a day later and exclaimed “Disgusting! This pie has mold on it.” After I told her that I ate a slice, she made sure I wasn’t gravely sick…and then she made fun of me profusely.

The “proof that I am actually doing it” tweet was in reference to another tweet I sent asking if it was appropriate to eat pumpkin pie in the middle of the day. I didn’t realize those white spots were mold until Sidney told me.

Respect Before Rivalry – Because I am from the great state of Washington, I follow the Apple Cup, an annual rivalry game that features Washington State University and the University of Washington. Just like all the other big time rivalry games, this series is downright bitter. However, a more tender side was on display over the weekend. The Husky marching band was traveling to Pullman (site of the game) when icy conditions led to one of the buses in the contingent overturning. Although no life threatening injuries occurred, plenty of the students on board were injured and taken to the hospital. The band decided not to continue its trip. Instead, the group stayed in the area where the accident happened in a little town called George. While Washington State fans around the area brought food to the University of Washington band, the Washington State band also did something pretty neat. The Cougar musicians stepped up in the absence of the Husky musicians and practiced the UW fight song so they could play it throughout the game. A genuine classy act of sportsmanship and compassion if I do say so myself.