2024 Winter TLI: A Centennial of Success!

Saturday morning, I attended club officer training at Westmoreland County Community College. We had a split amount of officers attending in person and online. I arrived super early to help our Logistics manager out. I put signs up reminding folks where to go. It reminded me of the job I had as District Sergeant at Arms, when I braved the cold and snow in January to put up signs at Seneca Valley High School. In 13 years of Toastmasters, I still haven’t figured out how to delegate (LOL!).

Our speakers all impressed, from the Toastmaster to the presenters to our trio and past district director. I got to introduce myself to the Toastmaster of the day, who belonged to the Beaver Toastmasters club. The Regional Advisor was the first presenter of the day and she presented online. She was from District 83 in New Jersey and she gave us some great words of wisdom to take back to our clubs.

The next presenter talked about AI and, how it works to our advantage but can also land us in a sticky situation. I learned about how stuff searched for in AI ends up in the “landfill”. I also learned that ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot are two most popular AI programs and both have their respective pros and cons. They all do no matter what you use. Also mentioned was Google’s AI tool, Gemini. Since my laptop has many Google Apps to use (Google Docs being one of them), Gemini will be the one I familiarize myself with the most. The presenter did an excellent job keeping us engaged in the material. He talked about how his home club is using AI in their meeting agendas. Maybe when I write the next meeting’s agenda for Greensburg this week, I can follow the lead of Johnstown and that also includes my Duolingo bestie.

During the lunch part of our club officer training, a big book was passed around for everyone to sign. The book covered the one hundred year history of Toastmasters since its beginning in 1924. It made me think of the book I picked up at homecoming in 2012 that covered the history of Slippery Rock University, even going back to its days as a State Teachers’ College. The book was authored by the Director of Student Life Emeritus, who served as Director while I was a student there. The book covering the hundred year history of Toastmasters is available online on toastmasters.org.

Other presentations included a couple at the end. One was by our past International Director, past District Governor and, another of my Duolingo besties. The other one was by our District Historian. Our past International Director talked about finding out what our leadership superpower is. He has a new book set for release in early 2025 and has authored a range of books that include poetry, photography, and leadership and personal growth.

Our District Historian has taken on this project covering the history of Toastmasters since 2021. With a hundred years of Toastmasters history, there’s a lot to go over. So, the presentation was abridged. He is going to continue with the history of the organization from the 1990’s and beyond. That includes 2020 and all of the madness that year brought with it. I think you all know what I’m talking about here, people.

The program wrapped up at 2:00pm and soon after, it was time for the Hall of Fame festivities to start. Awards were handed out to the best clubs in District 13, as well as to the clubs that had the most success in the past Toastmasters’ year. Also, area and division directors were honored for their success, as well as those in the division. Even the Toastmaster of the Year was picked. Whether it’s this or the Spirit of Toastmasters, it seems like someone from Greensburg wins this award. In 2020, that someone was me.

After the Hall of Fame and the distribution of the awards, we were treated to some appetizers. Our DJ played some music for us, including some classic disco tunes. I left the event at 3:30pm, making sure someone found the signs and left them with the Logisitics manager. Today felt like a great day, as I left with my heart and my cup full. As this time off is beginning to come to an end, everything I felt worked out for me. Look for a review of the week off tomorrow on the blog.

Some of my takeaways from Saturday’s Toastmasters Leadership Institute include the presentations. I have a deeper meaning about AI from the morning presentation and have plans to understand it better. The closing ones were good too, from two amazing district leaders. I’ve been on board with the history of Toastmasters since I’ve been seeing it pop up in my social media feed every week since 2021. I can’t wait to see the new updates on the history from the 1990s and onward. I’ve been a member of 2011 and while I’ve felt tempted to leave many times, I’m still there and doing as much as I can. Finally, it’s good to give yourself a refresher in the club officer breakout sessions and that’s what I did while attending the Vice President Education session.

I will close this blog by saying that I finally validated myself yesterday with my fashion sense. That made all the compliments I got seem very worthwhile. One of the people attending really loved my sweater and wish she’d have worn hers. That shows I’m doing a good thing in this journey that I’ve been on since 2021 and that it’s definitely better to give and be pleasantly surprised when I do get.

My Pittsburgh Shopping Tradition!

On Friday, I picked up where I left off with my 2024 Christmas shopping. Instead of an unprecedented third day in a row at Westmoreland Mall, I took to Pittsburgh for the next round and visited the South Hills.

This is something that I’ve done since 2016. The first trip was memorable and it kickstarted a tradition for me. Every year since then (save for 2020), I’ve taken turns shopping in either the South Hills or in Robinson. I also venture into the North Hills and Cranberry as well when I’m visiting Toastmasters clubs.

I like to travel because of my previous work experience where I’d be in the Pittsburgh area counting inventory at various stores. Even as I started working closer to home at Giant Eagle, I still enjoy making these trips to Pittsburgh on occasion. However, I also know why I wanted to switch jobs and not have quite a commute anymore. The reason I enjoyed traveling to other Toastmasters clubs was because back then, I had that leverage working for me. Of course, I was a recipient of the Spirit of Toastmasters award in the Fall of 2020.

Every shopping trip has to include a trip to Market District, thus why I like going to the South Hills or Robinson (or sometimes Wexford). I used to go to buy seasonal beer from Sam Adams. More recently, I’ve began to pick up some things at the store for Christmas Eve for my mom like candied dill pickles and chicken crackers. These things were a staple at my Grandma’s house on holidays. Today at Market District, I also picked up a bag of Sarris Pretzels and some Peppermint Bark. I also got some mustard and some little sausages. This is all stuff we can have for our guests on Christmas Eve, besides the main course. I wonder if we’ll do charcuterie again.

In the first year that I started this tradition, I pulled out all the stops and began my shopping trip at Kohls before going to Michaels and the former Toys R Us. These are all located in the Village Square Mall in Bethel Park. After that I spent some time in the mall before going to the Market District along the way and eating lunch that consisted of hibachi. This was a few years before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, so it was safe to do this. On that trip, I also got my niece (who was four at the time) at gift card for Build-A-Bear workshop because I thought it was cute. I did it twice, also getting her a gift card for her birthday the next year when she turned five. After that I stopped because making your own precious memories aren’t cheap. I guess my family doesn’t take to shopping in Pittsburgh like I do.

Braving the Cold Weather for a DangeRUSS!

Wednesday night we held our Greensburg Toastmasters meeting. I thought about the weather as the forecast was calling for snow in the evening. Luckily, it held off until later that night. If I needed to, I’d have suggested that the President make a decision to hold the meeting online.

We had our old room back for our meeting. The jury room had been our home for the last few months, it seemed, because our normal room was always in use. In November, we were fortunate to have a room for our meeting. Otherwise, we would have held our club meetings online. If that had been the case, I’d have considered visiting the DuBois Toastmasters club online. On Wednesday, we had five attending in person and three plus one attending online.

If there was a theme for Wednesday’s meeting, it would be something medical because that’s what the topics centered around. Our Table Topics Master taught us that there are a lot of holidays in December, besides the usual ones we celebrate. Every day in December is National (insert title here) Day and so we talked about how we celebrated this special day, whatever it might be. Our evaluators gave great feedback to help our speakers, and mine even gave me some food for thought. I’ll be giving that speech that I gave on November 20 with some of the suggestions I picked up in my evaluation from that meeting. We have a great agenda planned for our final meeting of the year.

Thursday night, I braved the winds and the snow flurries and began my Christmas shopping at Westmoreland Mall. I checked out the bookstore near the casino and found out where the Cutie Cart is located. I hope to see them at the mall sometime but I’m overdue for a few visits next week. I had dinner at Primanti’s and ordered the DangeRUSS sandwich. Overall it was good. The lunchmeat helps give it flavor and I put some hot sauce on it as well. You can really taste the salami and other meats.

Scoring a Muppets Hat Trick!

Since Black Friday, I’ve gone into my routine of watching Christmas specials and movies. In honor of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’s 60th anniversary, I’ll have to watch the special. I might watch it on Youtube or another streaming service to avoid the long list of commercials. That and I’m not a fan of NBC showing this special after so many years on the Tiffany Network.

Thus, I began my Christmas special and movie marathon by watching Muppet Family Christmas on Friday. I completed the Muppet trifecta watching John Denver and the Muppets holiday special and the Muppet Christmas Carol on Tuesday and this afternoon, respectively. You can still find the Muppet Christmas Carol on Disney+ and Amazon Prime. Muppet Family Christmas and the John Denver/Muppets Christmas special are lost gems as are a few other specials which I’ll highlight in the blog this month.

My favorite thing about Muppet Family Christmas is how all the Jim Henson creations come together during the special. It starts with Fozzie Bear going to his Mom’s house for Christmas. Doc and his mutt Sprocket (from Fraggle Rock) come to spend a nice, quiet Christmas at the farmhouse. Pretty soon all of the Muppets (minus Miss Piggy) crash the party and then the Sesame Street gang arrives. Some of them you don’t see on the show anymore. Hilarity ensues during the show, and everyone rallies when Miss Piggy has to get rescued during the blizzard. It was cold enough to freeze your winnebago. When everyone is together for Christmas, they break into song, with some classic Christmas songs. It’s bittersweet to see Jim Henson at the end of the special, as he would pass away a few years later at age 53.

Recently, my cousin did a review on Maple Bacon oatmeal from Quaker. Seeing this posted had inspired me to a review of my own for another seasonal brand of oatmeal. I’m reviewing the Hot Cocoa Oatmeal from Quaker. It’s funny that I almost bought the Maple Bacon oatmeal on Tuesday when I was at Walmart with Mom on her errand run. I picked up the Hot Cocoa Oatmeal at Giant Eagle one morning after working all night. It’s sweet but not too sugary. The chocolate adds a nice flavor to the oats. It gives off Maple and Brown Sugar vibes. I have a few packets left and will finish them before Christmas. Katie, enjoy your Maple Bacon oatmeal. The Hot Cocoa oatmeal gets five stars.

I’m at the halfway point of my vacation which began Sunday. I had to take care of some business during the week, including an ultrasound for my kidneys. Everything was good, so no need to worry. It was worth a 7am trip to Independence Hospital in Greensburg. This morning I had to have back tires put on my car and what perfect timing with the snow that came this morning. With these two things out of the way, I can focus other things what I want to do, and that’s Christmas shopping and TLI. I may not have the warm weather of my June vacation. Plus, it’s too cold to swim or do anything fun outside. At least I’m getting into the Christmas spirit.

Finally, in my music travels yesterday, I listened to some of Perry Como’s greatest holiday hits. Mr. Como was a Canonsburg native and had some great hits along the way. I don’t know too many of his other songs, but his Christmas songs are just as great. Just another artist to add to the list of favorites.

Accompanying Mom on her Errands!

This morning, I had the opportunity to go on my Mom‘s errand run with her. It all worked out perfectly with the timing. I had an ultrasound that morning at Independence Health in Greensburg but it was done almost as it was getting started. I had breakfast at McDonald’s, and was surprised at how different it looks inside. Those remodels do kill the soul of the chain. It probably would have been more worth it to go to GetGo by my house for breakfast and use my discount. Oh well, everything worked out and I enjoy a nice morning with Mom.

I got to experience a ride in Mom’s new car, which has a lot of great features. I hadn’t gone up to Somerset because I was sleeping later on Thanksgiving Day due to work and because I had a bad cold. Our first stop was Walmart so Mom could make some returns and she got a few other things. She knew to avoid Giant Eagle because I worked there (though we could have gone to Irwin). After Wal-Mart, we went up to the Sam’s Club plaza and stopped at Aldi (formerly Staples) for some more food before we walked over to Marshalls/HomeGoods. I hadn’t been in there in forever (last time was when it was just Marshalls in 1999). It was a nice experience and Mom got to knock out some Christmas shopping. We finished up with Sams Club and Mom picked up chicken and a mix of different chips, among other things. The Sam’s Club was the old Wal-Mart from the early 1990’s until 2005 when it moved into Greengate. It felt nice to get out and for Mom to have some company and so this morning felt like a win.

I continued my Christmas viewing with another lost special, John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together. This aired around the time that the Muppet Show was on TV (1976-1981) and when the first movie came out to theaters.

The Muppets run big in my family and were a huge favorite of my Gramma Hilde. It’s been forty years since all the movies in the Muppet trilogy were released. I watched Muppet Family Christmas on Friday and I’m thinking that Muppet Christmas Carol is next on my list of Christmas movies. I’ll start on the big ones soon (Elf, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone) but I don’t want to forget the ones I missed last year. I finished another Holiday Baking episode last night and it’s now down to the final two to see who wins the title of Holiday Baking Champion.

December is Made for Football!

The 2024 NFL season is turning out to be one of the greats. After last season, which I felt was disappointing, 2024 has made up for it with some great games. Even Thursday Night Football has been good with great divisional contests. Sure, Kansas City and Buffalo still rule the AFC and Detroit is having a dream season. But Pittsburgh has had quite a resurgence after two middling seasons.

Russell Wilson is doing the job (and to be fair, so has Justin Fields). #3 really proved himself on Sunday with a monster performance, throwing for 414 yards and three touchdowns. Despite the 4-7 record, Cincinnati put up a good fight with Joe Burrow and his receivers JaMarr Chase and Tee Higgins. The Steelers’ defense came up clutch when it mattered though. Pittsburgh could have easily put up 50 yesterday. I’m making a trip to Primanti’s this week to try the Dangeruss sandwich. Maybe when I do my Christmas shopping somewhere in Pittsburgh.

In Baltimore, it was supposed to be a battle between the two top running backs in the league, Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry. While Saquon put up decent numbers, it was the Philadelphia defense that got the gameball. The early hole the Eagles was quickly erased with touchdowns from Dallas Goedert and Jalen Hurts. The supposed greatest of all time when it comes to kickers really struggled. Now a lot of question marks surround the Baltimore kicking game and Justin Tucker. Two missed field goals were the difference in this game and now Pittsburgh has a cushy lead in the division. We in Pittsburgh all know Chris Boswell is the best kicker in the game. Lamar Jackson may have had the numbers, but Philly had the last laugh yesterday.

Detroit may have the best record in the NFC (11-1 along with Kansas City), but I like Philadelphia better. If these two meet in the conference championship, whether Detroit or Philly, it will be a close game. Philadelphia has won eight straight contests and shows no signs of slowing down as a cross-state matchup looms in two weeks with Pittsburgh.

Last week, the snow really fell during the Steelers vs. Browns contest. But it made for a memorable game that Pittsburgh almost came from behind to win. Buffalo played in similar conditions last night against the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers.

Lake effect snow pummeled the Great Lakes over the holiday weekend from Ashtabula to Erie to Buffalo. Some places in upstate New York have around five feet of snow. Would the NFL postpone this game due to the elements? The answer was no. The Bills took advantage of the snow and were game, while the banged up 49ers weren’t so lucky.

The early losses to Baltimore and Houston were nothing to worry about for Buffalo. The Bills are in a better place than year and have really silenced the critics who said they would finish third behind the Jets and Dolphins (LOL). The AFC looks better too, though I’m biased because of Pittsburgh’s improved record and depth at QB.

Buffalo clinched its fifth consecutive AFC East title Sunday. This is a feat they didn’t even accomplish in the Jim Kelly/Marv Levy era which is the best era of Bills football in my opinion.

Finally, the NFC North is a beast, with Minnesota and Green Bay both having great seasons despite being in second and third place, respectively. I think the Packers and Vikings could be hard to face early on in the playoffs. The NFC West is anybody’s division but the 49ers’ window is closing fast. The NFC South may end up going to Tampa again (9-8/10-7) if Atlanta continues to falter.

A Recap of November

If four things could sum up the month of November for me, it would be turkey sandwiches, great holiday coffee, great football, and going to Hershey for the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert. Even a cold at the end of the month which I’m over now hasn’t sullied the month for me.

I started my turkey sandwich tour on November 1 with a Pilgrim sub and was impressed with the ratio of turkey and gravy to stuffing and cranberry sauce. The next week I went to Mad Mex in Monroeville and ordered my Gobblerito along with a Cranberry Margarita. I also visited a few stores to look at their Christmas merchandise. Lastly, it was off to Primanti’s for their Primanturkey sandwich which I ordered with a Pina Colada flavored drink. In addition I had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner before the beginning of November and again at Thanksgiving (my mom was able to get her free turkey from Giant Eagle). While all the sandwiches were good, nothing beats a good homemade turkey dinner. I was even able to get three days worth out of all the food last week.

Cutie’s launched their holiday menu on November 9 and I was there to try some of the amazing flavors. I began with the Chestnut Praline and then worked my way to the White Chocolate Pretzel Mocha. On my last visit two weeks ago, I had the Gingerbread Latte. How I’ve missed you the last two weeks, Cutie’s. I’m overdue for a visit or two this week while I’m off.

Lots of great football was to be had in November, both in the pros and on the college circuit. The Steelers took care of business in November (we’ll look past that loss to Cleveland) and look better with Russ at QB. The defense is playing well and Tomlin just can’t have a losing season despite all the shade critics throw at him. Kansas City lost its first game of the year at Buffalo, so the old Dolphins and their fans and Chiefs haters could pop their champagne. What more can I say about Detroit? They’re having a historic season, even though I like Philly’s chances in the NFC a little better.

It’s not just the football, but also the weather that goes with it. As long as it’s not a lot, snow and cold weather make for the best football. Just look at the game two weeks ago in Cleveland, won by the Browns. In Buffalo, the conditions may not be right for San Francisco, but they’ll be perfect for the Bills Mafia as their team continues to roll coming into December. The Bills can accomplish what the Jim Kelly and Marv Levy Bills couldn’t in those Super Bowl years. They can win the AFC East five years in a row.

Finally, it’s not a look back at November without the fun trip we took to Hershey to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We beat the snow coming out of Somerset and south central PA and made it to our destination. The first night we were in Hershey we saw the Hershey Sweet Lights (located near Hersheypark where the Christmas Candylane was going on). I got some great pictures of the lights and we got to hear some good Christmas music. Saturday was the big day as we met my cousins and enjoyed the show, lights and all. We even ate dinner at an upscale Italian restaurant in Harrisburg. Sunday, we wrapped it all up with lunch at Funck’s and a visit to Chocolate World. My cup runneth over that weekend before Thanksgiving. I may have gotten a cold that I’m just about over now. I was worried that I might have lost my vacation (I didn’t though). As long as I don’t set up for disappointment and filter out the voices in my head, it should be a good second vacation despite the snow and cold weather.

A Look Ahead to December!

Here are some things that define what December will be like. I am taking my second vacation and included in this week off are Christmas shopping as well as club officer training, or Winter TLI. I’ll also do some grocery shopping for Christmas. I have enough in perks to make a few free trips to the store. I’m also going to be writing as I’m posting every day until Christmas.

This week of vacation will be more laid back compared to the summer due to the cold weather and the snow. I’m just getting over a cough and cold as I write this, all on the heels of my Hershey weekend. June saw me take some road trips to Slippery Rock and Indiana. December will see me take it easy, watch some Christmas movies, and do some Christmas shopping. My winter vacation will start with a day of watching football and rooting for my Steelers. My summer vacation opened to such excitement, but early on I got in my own way and it took me until halfway into my week off to get it together.

There’s lots of baking to look forward to. Mom bakes lots of cookies for Christmas as well as her brickle. Pretty soon, she be getting her stuff together for turkey balls which we have on Christmas Eve. Here at home, the decorating is just about done and the trees are up and looking very festive. I’ll show them off in a future blog this coming week. Mom and I will continue watching the Holiday Baking Championship as it gets down to the last few weeks.

I’m getting into the habit of watching Christmas specials and movies in December. I found Muppet Family Christmas on YouTube yesterday. Talk about a lost holiday gem. The collaborations were amazing, between the Muppets, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock (if you were an 80’s kid you know what I’m talking about). Look for a blog post on some of those amazing holiday specials from years gone by. Maybe a top ten of Christmas specials and movies sounds better than a top ten of what happened for me in 2024. What do you say?

Finally, this is going to be a big Christmas Eve for us with the company we’re expecting. Last year was difficult for my family but hopefully this Christmas will be better. For me it was good because I was able to spend Christmas Day with my adopted family. I hoped to do it in 2021 but we couldn’t get together because of the latest strain of COVID. We ate turkey and shared the laughs at the dining room table. My fabulous sister and I had fun talking about some of her best shit posts. My fashionable sister showed me her new Kate Spade bag. The only thing that would have made it better was watching some Christmas episodes of The Office.

This year, we’re having my cousins over and the little ones will be having fun. We’ll have our usual guests as well. Last year, my mom put together a charcuterie board for the first time ever and it was good. We’ve had them at our last couple of family reunions and I brought one to Friendsgiving. It’s become quite the thing.

700 Blogs and Writing!

Friday marked a huge milestone in this blog. It didn’t seem like that long ago that I posted the 500th or 600th blog, but here I am. If you think about it, this is the 200th post within a year. That’s pretty impressive too.

Over the five years I’ve written on this platform, I’ve dealt with my own life changes, a pandemic, and loss of loved ones. I’ve celebrated family members and spent time with them as they had their own struggles. I’ve gotten familiar with Children’s Hospital, and I’ve learned to be me and live my best life. Over the course of 700 blog posts, there are a few that really stand out, even the ones I posted in 2019 before COVID hit. Without further ado, here’s three of my favorite blogs from the last five years.

Friendsgiving tops the list of memorable blog posts. My fashionable “sister” put together these gatherings a couple of times and they’ve both been memorable. The first time was in 2021, just as I was transitioning over to Giant Eagle from WIS. I got to enjoy a vegetarian feast but it wasn’t that bad. The second time was last year and I was able to enjoy life in the South Side. Once I found my way to her apartment, we had a great time. The second Friendsgiving blog post was my 500th post and one of the top events of 2023.

Five years later, the blog about me talking about my innocent workplace crush is still memorable and I still do read it once in a while. We were on an overnight trip and when we went to dinner, one of my co-workers (who was added to the trip) was wearing a cute pink dress. I immediately fell for her though I kept it a secret for a couple of months and that was killing me. I didn’t want to embarrass myself nor upset the person she was taken with. However, I could probably take him if he wanted to fight in the parking lot. I had dinner a few months later before Thanksgiving with two of my co-workers. Once I told the girls and they were cool about it, I felt better. But the memories of that Ashtabula overnight trip will always live on.

I’ve done restaurant reviews on my blog and they’ve been helpful. I have given some fair reviews and maybe ones I was a little hard and could have done better on. I started this with the Ligonier restaurants in the summer of 2021 and eventually moved into Greensburg and other locations. There’s still a few places I’ve never been to that I’d like to check out.

I’ve also done top ten blogs at the end of the year that highlight the best from that year. Last year’s was a tie with the birthday and reunion weekend and Friendsgiving 2023. The latter was because it was a milestone blog post for me. When I look back at 2021, my nontraditional style and the changes in my life were two of the big stories for me. However, I would say the Gaffron Family Reunion and Rob and Sara’s wedding both tie for #1 event of that year.

How I Spent My Thanksgiving

I had the pleasure of attending the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert a week before Thanksgiving. Also, since I spent the weekend in Hershey that we planned back in September, I worked the week of Thanksgiving. I actually agreed to it this year since I worked Christmas night the year before at Giant Eagle. It doesn’t matter though, as I’m getting holiday pay for it.

Mom and Dad went up to Somerset for the afternoon while I slept in. I was in the middle of my five day stretch before I would take my week long vacation at the beginning of December. They had dinner with Aunt Sue and Ben before coming home. I treated myself to a turkey dinner after I got up and watching the Lions and Bears do battle on CBS. You can see by the picture I’m using the thumbnail that I did a great job putting this together. I know it feels like I was spending Thanksgiving alone but I didn’t mind.

I was dealing with a cold as well that I picked up just as I came back to work Tuesday night, so I was happy to rest up. The house was starting to look very festive for Christmas but Dad still had a little work to do. It was my third year at home eating Thanksgiving turkey and I didn’t mind it one bit. I did it last year when Mom and Dad went to Children’s to deliver a home cooked Thanksgiving meal. The year before that still feels memorable to me. Not because COVID wasn’t as bad, but because I was climbing out of the hole I was in earlier in 2022. Having company there made it feel like a great holiday and, thanks to one of my coworkers, I got to watch the Christmas Story sequel, A Christmas Story Christmas. It’s definitely worth watching this holiday.