As this month is wrapping up, I am enjoying the start of the holiday season and we’ve wrapped up our Thanksgiving feast. The color from the trees and sunshine in October has given way to sunsets at 5pm and for some, the first snowflakes of the season. Downtown streets have begun the process of looking dressed up for Christmas, and department stores are in the throes of their busy season.
Here are the stylish headlines for this last day of November.
- November was a less active month for me compared to October.
- Compared to last month, I didn’t blog as much either and that’s OK too
- The word of the past week should be “trifecta”.
- What was the best coffee at Cutie’s
A Quiet November
Last month was very busy for me. I was on vacation during the middle of the month. I was blessed with nice weather on my week off and took part in some nice activities. A week later my Toastmasters District hosted its 2025 Fall Symposium. With everything I had going on, including Slippery Rock homecoming, I was planning to have a quiet November and I followed through with that.
Highlights from the past month:
- The new Christmas menu at Cutie’s.
- I went down on the day of the launch and enjoyed a Toasted White Mocha. I made a few more trips around the Thanksgiving holiday with my most recent trip on Small Business Saturday. It was busy all day and I enjoyed a Cutie Tree Mocha featuring a Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake.
- Toastmasters meetings were a balance of in person and online attendance.
- At Greensburg Toastmasters, we met in person and were hybrid in the jury room. Laurel Highlands meetings were 100% online. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, it was very convenient as the weather forecast trended wet and windy.
- I voted YES on November 4 for the three Supreme Court Justices. I felt a sense of relief after the results of the 2024 election did not go my way. That euphoria would be short-lived, though.
- My Instagram threads are loaded with many political posts. It’s probably the algorithm, but it really got to me early Monday morning and I don’t think I slept at all. I made up for it the next day and the rest of my week was much better. But the impacts led to a time limit on social media. I’m still trying to figure that out. Seriously, did I not learn from my mistakes years ago?
Less Is More
Comparing this November to the last two, I blogged less than I did last year. I went crazy and published 27 posts in the penultimate month of 2024. The year before I only posted 11, but I did write my 500th blog post (which was on Friendsgiving). I’ll end up at 13 this month, and to me that’s perfectly fine, as I’m in no hurry to get to my next milestone. That will be my 900th blog which likely will be up in February
The Word of the Day? Trifecta!.
You might say that my favorite word lately has been trifecta. This week, I completed my Garfield Holiday Trifecta when I watched A Garfield Thanksgiving. I’d seen the Halloween and Christmas specials a long time ago and didn’t know of the Thanksgiving one until recently. Had I waited a few years, maybe this special would have cured the pain I endured from watching the Peanuts Homecoming cartoon.
I finished my pie-fecta on Saturday, having eaten all the pies from Thanksgiving. The first one I tried was the chocolate pie Thanksgiving night. On Friday, it was the apple pie that Mom made. Finally, on Saturday, I tried a slice of pumpkin pie. My holiday is complete, knowing I enjoyed some good turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes.
On Sunday, I began my Christmas viewing with that green beast you love to hate, the Grinch. I watched the 1966 cartoon this afternoon. I’ll have completed another trifecta when I watch the 2000 and 2018 films later on.
Stylish 🍒 