Today is Memorial Day, and vacation is less than a month away. For me it will be the first of two weeks off in 2025 with the other vacation coming in October. For next month, I already have some fun events planned, including Summer TLI at Westmoreland County Community College. This kicked off my fun summer break last year. Yesterday, my family spent the day at Kennywood, even though today would have been a better day to do it. I was given the option to go but declined as I wanted to do my own thing. Bites and Pints started this past weekend and runs through the end of June. I thought about going last year but never got around to it. This year, I’ll make up for that loss and go during my week off.
That Monday of vacation I plan on doing one of my two visits to Cranberry High Noon that I do every year. I missed going in December as I was getting over a cold at Thanksgiving. Afterwards, I hope to make it a nice afternoon by driving up to Slippery Rock where I’ll stop at a little cafe in town called Rooster’s Coffee Bar. Then I’ll spend some time on campus. It seems it’ll be a carbon copy of last year with the addition of Bites and Pints.
That Tuesday marks our final Laurel Highlands Toastmasters meeting of the year and as a club we plan to celebrate. Hopefully it’ll come with being named President’s Distinguished Club. We’ll be getting together at Bud Murphy’s in Connellsville. I have two more speeches to give for Level 3 in Presentation Mastery. I’m looking forward to what 2025-26 has to offer I celebrate my 15th year in Toastmasters.
That’s just a few of the things that I have planned for my week off. I also plan on reading and one of the projects I have planned is a revisit to Michelle Obama’s first book, Becoming. I was so excited to buy this book when it came out in November of 2018. I read it in less than a month. It was during that time I was reading through the Harry Potter series, until I quit after Prisoner of Azkaban. Both Obama books are on my radar this Summer. I plan to finally read Barack Obama’s A Promised Land front to back and get it done.
During my vacation, I also plan on engaging in some retail therapy as well. I have a few new authors in mind as well. I heard Tina Knowles (mother of Beyoncé) on Michelle Obama’s podcast and may have to give her book, Matriarch, a go. Also catching my eye is a book on NPR called On Air which is a history of National Public Radio from the highs to the lows. This takes me back to my college days and post college days, before the blog and before fashion and style won my heart, when I was a media and politics junkie.
I can’t forget about Thursday night dinner with Mr. Clougherty, as I’m going to follow the lead of my aunt and niece and celebrate at Hibachi. I treated my aunt on her birthday here for lunch last September and was introduced to place two years ago. It was here that we made plans for our November trip to Hershey to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Last year on my birthday, Kevin and I went to the Olive Garden on a very hot first day of Summer. I was counting down the hours that night at work until vacation started.
In the past, I’ve celebrated my birthday at Burgatory. I love the Murrysville location, but parking is very hard to come by as that plaza is always packed. Another location in Pittsburgh, next time? I digress though.
So far this Spring has been good for me. It’s still not my favorite season and anything can happen. I had a close call last week with the weather but I should move on from it this week as we inch closer to June.
Stylish 🍒 