Grinch Sunday!

It’s December and I’m trying to post 20 blogs this month, because it just wouldn’t be Christmas without posting about it. Even though I won’t make it to 200 this year, it’s still been a good 2025… political drama aside. 

This morning, I worked off some of that Thanksgiving Turkey by riding the indoor cycle at the gym. That helped me burn some calories and was also a good way to get an episode of my Gilmore Girls rewatch in. While there, I also viewed the weather forecast in light of the upcoming snow event that will be hitting our region early tomorrow morning. 

Here are the Stylish headlines:

  • It’s the first of December, and I’ll be talking about snow and Christmas viewing.
  • I pulled off a Grinch trifecta by watching all three installments from the cartoon to the 2018 movie. Which one do I like the most?
  • The weekend is always in view as I look ahead to Christmas shopping plans and Winter TLI!

Cold air and multiple snow chances this week

This morning was calm before the storm as we had a little bit of sun before it gave way to thickening clouds. The sky looked really neat but really ominous as I was on my way to the gym. It felt like the sun was trying to shine on US 30 but going towards town and the fairgrounds, a different story. 

The storm that is forecast to bring snow to our region will be a quick hitter. Yet, the timing could not  be worse as the heaviest snow will fall during morning rush hour and when kids are getting on the bus. Expect delays and possibly cancellations in the morning. For my niece, she may be attending virtually. It’s dry Wednesday, so I shouldn’t have an issue making it to my Greensburg Toastmasters meeting. There may be some snow Thursday but the impacts won’t be felt as much. 

It will be cold all week as we stay in the 30s. Monday will be the warmest day out of at least the next five. Friday morning could be frigid at the bus stop as most locations will be in the teens. The weekend looks quiet for now, but I am paying attention to any changes that may occur. I have plans this weekend with Winter TLI/Club Officer Training on Saturday at WCCC and Christmas shopping as well.

Grinch Sunday

Yesterday, the NFL wasn’t really at the top of my viewing list. There wasn’t really any marquee game to keep me interested. Thus, it was a good day to begin my Christmas specials era. I took advantage of the night off to enjoy all three installments of the Grinch. I began with How the Grinch Stole Christmas late in the afternoon. Later on, I watched The Grinch, the 2018 movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of the Christmas-hating beast. Kenan Thompson was the voice of the Christmas loving neighbor and Rashida Jones voiced the overworked mother of the central character from the book, Cindy Lou Who. This movie has grown on me more than the 2000 film starring Jim Carrey. It’s a more modern take on the special and more colorful. I feel like I could really live in this Whoville. 

Also on the agenda this week are the Muppet holiday movies and specials, the usual Holiday Baking Championship, and the Polar Express. I’m really starting to get into the Christmas spirit. 

Weekend Plans

I’m keeping an eye on the forecast for the weekend. So far so good but things can change and life could get in the way. For now, I’m in the clear. Anyway, what’s going on this weekend? 

Saturday is Winter TLI/Club Officer Training at Westmoreland County Community College, and Sunday is tentatively when I’ll do my Christmas shopping. If anything, I’ll do a majority of it this weekend. Where and when I go is dependent on my work schedule. I don’t work most Sundays as others will likely have their set schedule (and we only get one truck). But this is Giant Eagle and it’s the holidays, so anything goes. 

If I’m off, I’m leaning towards going to South Hills Village. If not, I’ll head up to Westmoreland Mall Friday night. Any gift card shopping will be done closer to Christmas! A Market District visit will be in the works too, possibly on Sunday as there is a 50% chance this will be the day I do my Christmas shopping. 

As for Saturday, I’m looking forward to seeing everyone and learning how to grow our clubs. Big changes are coming with the merging of our District with Northeastern Ohio to form the new District 219 in the upcoming Toastmasters Year. I need to pick out a nice outfit as well, but ultimately I want to make myself happy.

November 2025 Recap

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.

Thanksgiving 2025!

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday at our house. For me, I worked overnight (as I have for all four years I’ve been at Giant Eagle). This would have been our slow period at WIS with only a few Rite Aids and Lowe’s scheduled. Since I’ve come to Giant Eagle, Rite Aid would file for bankruptcy and eventually close all its stores.

We had our relatives from Somerset come celebrate Thanksgiving and help us enjoy the feast. We watched football and enjoyed everyone’s company. Even the pups had a great time. The pod was pretty neat too.

Earlier this week, I watched Garfield’s Thanksgiving. This special debuted just a few years after Garfield’s Christmas and it was the first time I’d seen it. The orange cat holiday trifecta is finally finished. The cartoons aired three times over a five year period in the 1980’s. Garfield’s Halloween Adventure aired in 1985, followed by the Christmas special in 1987, and finally the Thanksgiving special in 1989. In my opinion, Garfield’s Thanksgiving is a lot better than “It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown”. That to me is one of the worst Peanuts specials and it led to a change where Charlie Brown wouldn’t be much of a punching bag in future specials.

I also watched a Thanksgiving episode from Gilmore Girls. I moved ahead to season three and viewed “A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving”. This is a classic episode and one of two themed around the holiday. The other one is from season six.

Getting back to our Thanksgiving spread, we had three pies and an apple crumble. My cousin made the crumble, the chocolate pie was from Giant Eagle, and both the apple and pumpkin pie were homemade. The apple pie is always hard to make. A good pie is a cherry pie with the lattice crust. My favorite pie to eat is lemon meringue but that can be a hard one to prepare. We also had cranberry bread, and my mom used my aunt‘s recipe. That also turned out good.

Friday was a good day to finish up some of those leftovers, and the turkey tasted just as good on Black Friday. I’m hoping to complete the “piefecta” with a slice of pumpkin pie on Saturday.

Happy Thanksgiving at Laurel Highlands Toastmasters!

Tuesday night was my night off and also Laurel Highlands Toastmasters night. We were online which made sense due to the inclement weather. I found a new spot in the house to attend an online meeting as well. 

When we cleared the spare room out, the purpose was to make room for more seating. With the help of a stool, I was able to prop up my laptop and discover a more comfortable place to sit. I can also work on my blogs down here if I don’t want to be upstairs. In the future, I may invest in a table for my computer so I don’t have to rely on my lap or a stool all the time. 

At the beginning of the meeting, the seven of us who attended the meeting all shared what we were thankful for. For me, it was having a job that takes care of me and pays well. Saturday for me marked four years since I started at Giant Eagle. It was during Thanksgiving week that I did my paperwork and my training. The latter consisted of watching videos about OSHA, safe lifting, food safety, etc. Always nice is the fact that I have good benefits including paid time off and holidays. Next week, I’ll have a nice paycheck and that should really help with Christmas shopping. 

Our speaker gave his “Reflecting on your Path” speech and talked about his experience in robotics. I signed up to evaluate his speech and gave him great feedback. Table Topics kept with the theme of Happy Thanksgiving. It would have been nice to have a little get together with food but it is what it is. Our next meeting is December 9, coming off the heels of club officer training. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends tomorrow. Is it crazy that Christmas Eve is just four weeks away?

Making (Early) Holiday Plans!

Thanksgiving

At home, we are getting ready for the holidays. The fridge upstairs is packed full and ready to go this week. The turkey is sitting there awaiting its fate.. Thursday morning it will be put in the oven and be eaten along with the stuffing and other sides.. At work I’ve been pretty busy getting the store well stocked for Thanksgiving with all of the canned vegetables including the yams. Lots of pumpkin pie filling, flour, and sugar line the end caps and displays. 

As for our plans, we’ll be staying home and enjoying our turkey. I work Wednesday to Saturday; therefore, it’s better for me to stay home than to travel. Originally, I was off Wednesday but this change works out better for me as I won’t have to lay down during the day on Thanksgiving and I can get up a little bit earlier to enjoy some of the Lions game. We are expecting a small turnout with just my Somerset family and maybe a few others for dinner. This is the fourth year in a row that I’ll be home and six out of the last seven (one of the years being due to the  COVID-19 pandemic). Now that the bed has been moved out of the spare room, that makes room for extra seating on Thursday and for Christmas Eve. 

Holiday Viewing

Thursday is our normal night to watch the Holiday Baking Championship. It airs too late for me to watch on Mondays since I usually work. With the holiday on our usual watch night, we plan to push it up to Tuesday night this week. I’m on season two of Gilmore Girls and plan to watch The Bracebridge Dinner episode today. This week I’m going to check out some of the Thanksgiving episodes from the series, including “A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving”. I watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving over the weekend and I plan to check out Garfield’s Thanksgiving sometime this week. 

The Bracebridge Dinner is a holiday-themed episode and is one of the best in the series. 

Decorating

I’ve been in my Christmas music era since the beginning of November, ramping up my listening as the month goes on. Just a little bit at a time so I don’t get burned out before Thanksgiving. Just this morning as I was on my way to the gym, I listened to the Carpenters’ Christmas album, having began putting it in my rotation a few years ago. A few of their songs are part of the Christmas music playlist on the radio. With Thanksgiving upon us, I am about to enter my Christmas movie era. 

Sunday, we got the decorations out of the attic in preparation for the big decorating spree on Black Friday. Last year on Christmas Eve, my cousin posted on her blog about how nice our house looked, saying it was decorated “to the nines”. It’s then we’ll begin to put up the Christmas tree as well. We previewed the upcoming holiday with a small desktop tree in the living room. 

I began the Christmas movie season a few years ago with the sequel to A Christmas Story. That may be in the plans for Black Friday. That, or kick it off with Elf. I also want to watch a few of the Christmas-themed Office episodes as well. Yes, it is the Committee to Plan Parties. 

Early December

Last year the first week of December saw me take vacation. It was cold, we had a fresh blanket of snow, and I was getting over a cold that I caught between my Hershey trip and Thanksgiving. This year, I’ll work and luckily it’s the calm before the Christmas storm. My likelihood for attending Winter TLI on December 6 are probable to 100%, erring on the side of I’m definitely going. In fact, my registration just went through this morning. With next Friday or Saturday open, I also need to think about when I’m going to do my Christmas shopping. 

Market District visit in the cards?

That first weekend sounds like a perfect time to get some Christmas shopping done. Last year I did some at Westmoreland Mall and the next day went to South Hills Village to finish it. I’m hoping to do that again although I have shown interest in that new shopping district down in East Liberty. Recently, Giant Eagle opened a new Market District and a new Barnes and Noble is about to open. I’m impressed that they are doing well in the digital age and still opening stores even in 2025. I’ll check my schedule for that week and see what the best fit will be. Time to make that list and check it twice. 

Wrapup–Sunday visit to Cutie’s

Finally, I made the most of my Sunday off with a trip to Cutie’s. I was in the festive mood and recently tried the Peppermint Mocha Latte. Up next on my Christmas coffee agenda was something with Gingerbread. I was surprised at how steady it was for 3:00pm on a Sunday. I saw a group of four enjoying their Gilmore Girls coffee flight. I took my drink outside and enjoyed the seasonal 53 degree day. I took the scenic route home driving down PA 130 through downtown Jeannette. There’ll be some more of those as we go through December, maybe into North Versailles. 

The schedule change means that I’ll switch my next visit to Small Business Saturday. I’m thinking about getting the Cutie Tree Latte. This is the one that comes with the Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake. I have some of those in my fridge. In addition, I have that Little Debbie creamer in mind and may buy a bottle of it before I head home. With plenty of Peppermint Mocha, I may try this closer to Christmas. 

Bridge Between Two Eras!

November four years ago was a huge transition period in my life. The company I had worked for had officially merged with its competitor. I learned of the changes in June of that year. The changes that were made were not going to be in my best  interest. I tried to embrace the change, but it was clear by now that I was done. Coming off of being hospitalized earlier that year, I would need something more sustainable and with better benefits. But, in the closing days I was able to count a few Rite Aids and work with those whom I had been used to seeing. 

That month I had come across some great opportunities to socialize: 

  • I was able to celebrate the new Laurel Highlands Toastmasters club at a red carpet event held at the library in Connellsville. 
  • I had lunch with some of my friends from Cranberry High Noon after visiting their meeting. 
  • I was invited to a fun event with one of my close friends whose wedding I attended in the Spring. 

Just after we merged and I was part of the Traditional crew, I began the process of applying for other jobs. This wasn’t the first time I was thinking of jumping ship at WIS. Three years earlier, I had become frustrated with the lack of help in the office and how I was being scheduled. I began to apply at various Giant Eagle locations including Eastgate and Irwin. I also applied at Hempfield. 

Eventually, the special projects came to an end and I was happy at WIS again. However, I gave Giant Eagle the benefit of the doubt. When Eastgate called to schedule an interview after Thanksgiving, I went through with it and got the job. After about a month there, I went back to WIS in January 2019 and they welcomed me back with open arms. 

It’s not that I didn’t want to work there, I just wasn’t ready to leave. 

I put in applications at Giant Eagle and at Goodwill. I went through a good recruiting process at Giant Eagle, interviewing over the phone and online. I went to a job interview at the Goodwill in North Versailles. Both of these interviews took place the very same week. Other companies I looked at included Target and Wal-Mart, and I also thought about applying at Allegheny Health Network and Excela Health had retail not panned out. 

That week that I did job interviews also saw me attend my final two work events at WIS. A Rite Aid in Mount Pleasant which was close to home. The final event was in Beaver County, a Rite Aid in Rochester. I remember being on break that morning and we talked about where I might end up. My former colleagues wished me the best. One thing that we should have done was a little get-together as we were pretty close in the last few years. 

That ride home from Rochester on my unofficial last day was bittersweet. 

So the bridge that I mention in the title of the blog could refer to my brief two week stint at RGIS. But, the upcoming Friendsgiving celebration is also a bridge as well. Plus, don’t forget the month of November as by this point I was between jobs without being unemployed. You make the call. 

I got hired on by Giant Eagle. I took a little drive that afternoon through the Laurel Highlands and pulled over on top of the mountain to take the call. 

The next day, I attended the Friendsgiving event. I bought a pumpkin bread kit which made two loaves and took one up to that party. Having been introduced to this new tradition, the feast was nontraditional. Peppermint Patty would have had her say and it wouldn’t have been pretty. We played a great game of Cards Against Humanity, and we ended the night by walking to the Johnstown Incline. I might have stayed a little longer than I should have but I still had a great time. It was hard for me to leave as I was around people who understood me at the time. 

A few years later I went to another Friendsgiving but this one was in the South Side of Pittsburgh. 

Finally, I did my training at Giant Eagle which took place during Thanksgiving week. I did the paperwork the first day. It was a Monday afternoon. Friday morning, just as we were recovering from eating turkey and pumpkin pie, was the training. I watched videos on OSHA, safe lifting, slip and trip, etc. After that, I got my schedule for my first week. These hours were going to take some getting used to. 

Just as I began to find myself in 2021, I was going to have to take some time to get reestablished. But, this new era in my life was beginning.

Happy Birthday Stylish!

Wednesday marked six years since I launched this blog. It’s been a little longer since I started my writing hobby, having begun that a year earlier. Since 2019, I’ve been through a lot but the blog still stands.

When I began Stylish, it was under a different name. The new decade arrived with high hopes before things came crashing down when the world went into lockdown. I had to adapt and adjust, attending online Toastmasters meetings.

I began the blog too big and got humbled. The next year, 40 arrived and with it some major changes. The biggest one being the transition to a new job closer to home, after years of travel with WIS.

Eventually, I was in need of a laptop to continue my writing hobby. My cousins came through for me and gifted me a laptop. My Toastmsters fire had gone out during COVID and soon was rekindled as I accepted the nomination for President in the Spring of 2023. I embarked on a magnificent speaking streak from August 2024 to July 2025. Not only did that help me my polish speaking skills, it also proved to be very therapeutic.

I’ve set milestones over time. Now, I’m almost at nine hundred posts.

I must say that I’ve done very well in life.

Rudolph Saves the Day in Pittsburgh!

The Steelers may have won the battle on Sunday over their division foe the Cincinnati Bengals, but Aaron Rodgers got hurt during the game. Thus, Mason Rudolph stepped in and saved the day. The defense really stepped up as well (the true MVP of the game). This team has been a mystery with some real dud games against the Packers, Chargers, and the first Bengal game on a Thursday night in Cincinnati. This win on Sunday was well-needed going into a difficult three game stretch against the Bears, Bills (at home), and resurgent Baltimore. But, anything is possible in 2025’s NFL. Just look at Kansas City being on the outside looking in. 

Week 11 also provided some exciting late game matchups that went down to the final seconds. Seattle’s missed field goal keeps the Rams on top, and Denver’s last second game winner keeps them winning and the Chiefs reeling. Mason Rudolph played hero, but can he work that same magic if he has to next week against the resurgent first-place Bears?

Sunday’s matchup in Chicago is a big deal for my family. My cousins grew up in Chicago and are lifelong Bears fans. However, my relatives grew in Western Pennsylvania and rooted for the Steelers. So when the Steelers and Bears get together every four years which has been the case since 2005, they may be rooting for both teams.  The last game in the Windy City was just as memorable as we all got together and we even got to Skype with the midwestern Gaffrons during the game. This was the week of the infamous news of the players staying in the tunnel during the national anthem. Not wanting to talk politics on my blog, I’m going to leave it at that. Despite the uproar and a loss for the Steelers to Bears backup quarterback Mike Glennon, we still had a great time. 

My favorite Mason Rudolph moment was him replacing Mitch Trubisky in Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season. Pickett was injured earlier in the month and Trubisky was ineffective as the Steelers lost to two teams with ten losses. They also laid an egg against the Indianapolis Colts the week prior to fall to 7-7. Mason Rudolph played lights out and led the Steelers to a decisive victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers’ playoff hopes remained alive at 8-7. The announcer for the game made the remark that “Rudolph saves Christmas in Pittsburgh”. Pittsburgh did get to the postseason but was one and done, losing to the Buffalo Bills. 

Mason may start Sunday, but Rodgers may be back. I’m looking forward to the game regardless of who starts. Let’s go Steelers and Bear Down!

Sunday night provided a defensive struggle as the Eagles stifled Detroit’s high powered offense. Philadelphia is my number two team to root for, but watching three games on Sunday comes with a cost. An opportunity cost, that is.

This weekend is the release of Wicked 2, a year after the first movie came out. I didn’t see it on opening weekend as we were in Hershey for the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert. Afterwards I was busy or I was under the weather or a little bit of both. Amazon Prime has Wicked and I might consider downloading it to watch this weekend.

Putting a Wrap on Things!

This week saw the end for some books that I read, as well as my seasonal coffee.

I purchased a romance novel online last month, If It Makes You Happy. I read a couple of chapters a day and got it done within a month. I figured I’d like to read it that way to get myself ready for the holidays. The book, set in 1997, was “Gilmore Girls meets ’90s romcom” material. Leaving out spoilers in the book, I loved the story and the character development. I also liked how it tied to Stars Hollow. The novel is set in a small New England town in the fall. Part of the book takes place at the local inn that will have fans of Gilmore Girls thinking of the Independence or Dragonfly Inn. The quirky characters will remind the reader of their own small town experience. The friendship between the two main characters definitely evolves as the story goes on.

After a month long break, I finally wrapped up Obama: A Photographic Journey. This is a book that I got for Christmas several years ago. I read it a few times like his memoir, but never finished it. The picture book takes the reader through Obama‘s Senate run up to the Presidency. There’s some good stories in there as well, including the emotional one just after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December of 2012. This was one of the hardest moments of Obama‘s presidency. The person who put this book together did an amazing job and also was the chief photographer during the Reagan administration.

Michelle Obama’s The Look is now in stores. Is that book on my Christmas list? I’m thinking about it.

I’ve also wrapped up my Fall Coffee run as I finished the last Pumpkin Cheesecake Latte K-Cup. I’ve begun the process of moving onto holiday flavored coffee. I bought two boxes from Green Mountain, one being Holiday Blend and the other Cinnamon Sugar Cookie. Maybe Peppermint Mocha and Gingerbread will be on my radar come December. There are plenty of Cutie’s visits coming up this Christmas, with a few coming up Thursday and next weekend.

Finally, the Christmas music season is going into high gear as we get close to Thanksgiving. I’ll play some of the old standards from Frank and Bing while also jamming to the sounds of Mannheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It’s been a year since I saw them in concert at the GIANT Center. What a show and what a weekend that was. I’ve found some new (yet old) holiday hits (Perry Como and Dean Martin), and enjoy some of the newer songs. 

I admit that I’ll also give Mariah Carey’s Christmas album a spin or two this Christmas. It’s Tiiiiiiiiime!

Finding Uncommon Leaders at Laurel Highlands Toastmasters!

We were a virtual crowd on Tuesday night at Laurel Highlands Toastmasters. That meant I could stay warm and cozy while attending the meeting, as it felt more like January than November.  Our theme was “Finding Uncommon Leaders”. 

We got off to a late start and had to make some adjustments to our agenda, but overall it was still a great meeting. We had a guest in attendance, Terre, from Country Roads Toastmasters. Our word of the day was “Integrity”. The definition of integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. It also means moral uprightness. Used in a sentence, he is known to be a man of integrity. 

We had two amazing speakers at our meeting and I led the Table Topics portion of the meeting. I also evaluated one of the speeches, so I wore a couple of hats. At the November 25 meeting, I would like to give a speech as I begin my level 5. Thus, I’ll be getting ready to wrap up the Presentation Mastery Path. 

A Toastmaster wears many hats. 

For Table Topics, I came up with eight questions and had my participants pick a number from one to eight. All of those who took part gave a great answer. If I knew the theme beforehand, I probably would have come up with some Uncommon Table Topics. Next time I lead the session and we’re online, I’d like to try and do a Wheel of Table Topics. 

In Toastmaster business, Toastmasters Leadership Institute is just a few weeks away. It will be at Westmoreland County Community College on December 6. I already know of a couple good presentations taking place there. One from our vice president Membership at Greensburg and another from our Program Quality Director. The latter will highlight some of the new projects in Pathways that we’ll need to do in order to complete a level. Contest season begins this month as we have the International Speech and Evaluation contests. Finally, the Spring Conference in May marks the final event as District 13. In the 2026-2027 season, we will merge with Northeastern Ohio to form the new District 219.

Our next meeting for Laurel Highlands is November 25 and we will have a small potluck to celebrate Thanksgiving. December 9 will be the meeting that follows, and I am uncertain if we will meet December 23.