I was today years old when I learned that National Sandwich Day was yesterday. What is National Sandwich Day? National Sandwich Day is a delicious celebration of one of the most beloved and versatile culinary creations—the sandwich. Whether you prefer the Grilled Cheese Sandwich, a classic BLT, or a Buffalo Chicken Wrap, yesterday would have been the perfect day to indulge in this iconic culinary creation.

Here’s a few ways to celebrate National Sandwich Day:

• Create Your Perfect Sandwich: Experiment with different ingredients, spreads, and bread to craft your ideal sandwich combination.
• Visit a Local Sandwich Shop: Explore your local area for sandwich shops and delis that offer unique and delicious sandwich options. There are plenty in Greensburg and the surrounding area.
• Host a Sandwich Party: Invite friends and family to a sandwich-making party where everyone can build their custom creations. Sounds like a good idea.
• Try International Sandwiches: Venture beyond familiar flavors and sample sandwiches from different cultures and cuisines. A great place to go for this would either be the Strip District or Squirrel Hill. I follow some Pittsburgh food influencers who would definitely do something like this.
• Share Your Favorites: Share your sandwich creations or recommendations on social media using #NationalSandwichDay. Tag those in your stories who you think should see this too.

My Turkey Sandwich Tour has kicked off with the start of the new month. Friday, I stopped at Getgo for lunch and ordered the Pilgrim for lunch. No stranger to Getgo’s seasonal sub, I came away pleased. The mini tour continues up to Thanksgiving. Maybe in my travels to or from Hershey, I will order another holiday themed sandwich. Coming up next on the Turkey Sandwich and Fall Treats mini-tour are Mad Mex for the Gobblerito, and Primanti’s for their Turkey Sandwich. I’m hoping to get to Eat’n Park for a Turkey Sandwich or Turkey Dinner before the big day too.

Finally, today is National Candy Day. It’s fun to discover these holidays that I never knew about until just recently (er, today). I’ll be going to Hershey in a few weeks for the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert. Hopefully, I will find some Hershey’s kisses along the way to aid in my own Christmas haul this season. While I’m off the first week in December, I hope to visit a little candy store in Indiana. As I do my Christmas shopping that week, I look to score some Christmas coffee from Starbucks and even some chocolate where I can find it. Market District or mall kiosk, perhaps?

We are now a weekend into November 2024. We have a presidential election coming up on Tuesday that will determine the future of our country. But the real debate in today’s blog is not about who the better candidate is.

It’s about whether November 1 is too early to decorate for Christmas.

I’ve been seeing the pictures and the stories and reels on Instagram and Facebook. Social media influencers going from Halloween on October 31 to Christmas on November 1. I’m out there thinking, is there something that we’re forgetting? Like eating turkey and stuffing and remembering what we’re thankful for?

Now, I love Christmas like most others because of the joy it brings out in us during the season. Not everybody loves the holiday season, whatever they might want to call it and that’s OK. As I’ve gotten older, there’s things I want that money can’t buy (I might get it Tuesday lol). I always feel tempted to play Christmas music a little bit early but try to restrain myself. But I feel it’s a little early to begin celebrating. Here’s my answer to the question, when is the right time to start thinking about Christmas.

I like to fully get into the Christmas spirit a week before Thanksgiving. A little bit of overlap doesn’t hurt. The color on the trees by then is past its peak and you go from looking at the foliage to the lights on the Christmas trees. The color is there but it’s serving a different purpose. As for Christmas music, Mariah has already been defrosted but I’m tempted to hold her and other overplayed songs of the season at bay for a few more weeks. If one of the Pittsburgh stations have holiday songs playing next week (WSHH or WWSW), then I’m tempted to give it a listen.

Light up nights at the malls and in Pittsburgh are coming up soon. Westmoreland Mall is either this Friday or next. Pittsburgh is always the week before Thanksgiving. As much as I would love to go to either, it’s a little too crowded for me.

As for when to decorate for Christmas, we usually take Black Friday to get the decorations out of the attic and take the weekend to put up the Christmas tree and the ornaments and get the lights up outside. My dad has the lights timed perfectly and it’s only a matter of time before our house looks like one of the most festive on the block. I’ll talk about some of the house tours we take as well as Overly’s in a future blog post. Coming up soon, I’ll have another Ligonier trip planned soon. I’m sure by then, the tree will be up in the gazebo and the best little Hallmark Christmas town will be getting ready for the holidays.

In conclusion, there’s nothing wrong with having a little bit of fun. Being in the spirit of Christmas on 11/1 is OK, but don’t do it because everyone else is doing it.

2021 brought with it many life changes for me, the most since 2006. For starters, a new decade of my life began. I had health issues which led to changes in my eating habits. My employer of many years had merged with its competitor bringing with it massive changes including an eventual breakup of our office.

I worked for WIS from the end of 2008 through most of 2021. My nearly 13 year tenure at WIS was bookended by two bad years at the beginning and two bad years at the end. While the reason for the last two years may be obvious, the first two years (2009 and 2010) were riddled with growing pains. I still wasn’t over my college days and the pain from those days. Going back to school still loomed large for me. I felt unwanted by the power counters on my team when I was put on a dedicated crew and I often got into scrapes with them. The boiling point came in the Fall of 2010 when I got under my co-worker’s skin over office drama. The last two years were tied to the events from the pandemic. Also, my health issues that landed me in the hospital led to a wake-up call down the road. Changes in my office that weren’t in my favor would have an impact on my future with WIS.

The beginning of the end for my employment is debatable as to when it started. You might think it started:

In the Spring of 2020 when the pandemic began.

The day I found out my assignment.

When we started losing key people from our office, or

When I had my health scare.

One day at a Target late in the Spring of 2021, I began to hear rumblings of the merger between WIS and RGIS. I turned 40 that Summer and speculated for most of it over my future with the company. That Fall, early in October as a matter of fact, is when I got my assignment. While it wasn’t what I wanted, I was going to make an effort to embrace the change that was coming.

The final month that we were 3609 was bittersweet. For me, my journey had just started to take off. It would have to be put on hold as I got established at my new job. Just as it was coming to fruition, I took one step forward and two steps back. For the first half of 2022, I dealt with loneliness, isolation, depression, and doubt as the support system I had around me disappeared. Though through it all, I’m still doing me, I’m still here and, I’m not changing to please anyone.

In our last days as an office, there was fear, sadness, and the reality that we weren’t going to be together anymore and that was hard.

During the last week, we all said our goodbyes. I got to work with the girl who sparked my interest in Coach as she didn’t have much going on in the office that week. She was my innocent crush for the last two years that I was there. I wish I’d have given her a hug after that quick and easy Dollar General we did. That last day at Rite Aid in Lawrenceville, I shared some things with the girls about my journey. They told me they’d always be there for me if I needed anything. I was glad the universe worked in my favor that last morning we were 3609.

We parted ways that morning. There were tears, no doubt. It finally hit me that these people I called family weren’t going to be in my life anymore (or so I thought). We officially became office 371 on October 30. The next day was Halloween and I worked my first assignment under the RGIS name using their machines. It was a Shop’n Save in Penn Hills on Frankstown Road. We started at 5 and were done by 11:30. First day at RGIS in the books.

Well, it was the end of an era for sure and the beginning of a new one. Would I be happy in this new regime? Only time would tell.

It’s Halloween today. Tomorrow is November 1. Pretty soon, you’ll be hearing Christmas music in all the stores (including Mariah). Christmas candy will be everywhere in all the stores (Giant Eagle included). You want to get excited for the holidays but realize that there’s still plenty of Fall to go around. By next weekend, I’ll begin to filter in some Christmas music. It’ll be sporadic up until the week before Thanksgiving and by then, it will be more widespread. Excitement aside, here’s a look at what to expect in November, which begins Friday.

The Pumpkin Spice and Fall Treats meets its end early next week. It’s been a good run with lots of great-tasting Fall Coffee as well as some awesome treats. I’ll make one more Cutie’s stop early next week before they debut their Holiday menu next Saturday. So plenty of once or twice a week visits to Cutie’s are in my future once again. I might still make some pumpkin treats at home in November. After all, pumpkin pie is a staple of Thanksgiving.

I need to learn not to stretch myself too thin. I did well keeping the tour local (mostly Cutie’s and a trip to Steep Mountain and White Rabbit) but I tried so hard to keep up with all the influencers on social media. Seeing this, one might label the tour a failure and not a success. I didn’t and I’m OK with how it turned out. In conclusion, it’s my journey not theirs, and as long as I look at it like that, I’ll be fine. There will be an occasional trip to a Starbucks kiosk when I go Christmas shopping, and maybe I’ll hit up a good coffee shop in my travels. But that should be a surprise trip for me, not an expectation I’m trying to fulfill.

The end of the Pumpkin Spice tour means it’s time for the Turkey Sandwich mini-tour to begin. This is a good way for me to avoid the Christmas rush and enjoy the next holiday. I’m eyeing a Pilgrim tomorrow and then next week either the Gobblerito or a Primanturkey sandwich (I’m thinking next Friday for lunch). Also I’m thinking about going to Eat’n Park for a Turkey Dinner or sandwich closer to Thanksgiving.

Everything is set for my trip to Hershey in three weeks. We have our hotel booked and our itinerary set. The fun begins Friday night with a trip to Hersheypark to see the Christmas lights. Saturday is the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert. We’ll throw in a meal at some point and you might see a review on this blog. That’s something I haven’t done in a while. It’ll be a fun weekend and it’ll be nice to get away. Then, it’s a busy week at work, Thanksgiving, getting the decorations out of the attic, and the beginning of my vacation. Nice way to end November.

Even though this mild Fall has been a gift for us with one of the warmest and driest Octobers, I am hoping for a little bit of snow soon. Nothing disruptive, but maybe a few snowflakes when we make our way to Hershey. A little snow on the mountain when traveling to Somerset would be nice to look at as well. Again, nothing disruptive and something picturesque.

I’m aiming at setting records and achieving milestones this month as I look to publish a whopping number of blogs. 27 posts for the month will be one of my busiest months for content. This weekend, I’ll set a record for most blog published in a year. The blog will turn five a week before Thanksgiving. That same day I’ll have another milestone in my Duolingo streak. If I stay true to my goal, I will have published 700 blogs by Black Friday. Crazy when you think I had 500 at the end of last November. OK, that’s enough numbers for one blog.

If I play my cards right, a goal that seemed unattainable at the beginning of October might be reached just before Christmas.

Finally, and most importantly in November, get out and VOTE this Tuesday. Let your voice be heard. The future of this country depends on it. The good thing is, at least after this week, no more political ads on TV or YouTube.

For the last couple of days, I’ve been hard pressed to find content to post on here. Not really, it’s just that nothing interesting has happened that I can think of. Since it’s been a slow day in the content department, I’ll focus on some other things for today’s blog.

The calendar reads October 30 so that means it’s time for me to think about the top ten events of 2024. A few things that come to mind this year that impacted me include: going to Children’s Hospital to visit Benny during the Spring, making online visits to other Toastmasters clubs, and the wild weather we’ve had this Spring. There was more noteworthy stuff that happened during the other months as well. The Top Ten List will be revealed just before Christmas at a date to be determined. Separate blog posts will posted in the weeks leading up to the big reveal.

It was an exciting weekend of football with very close games in the NFL this past Sunday. Cleveland coming back to beat Baltimore, thus opening the door for the Steelers to take over sole possession of first in the AFC North where they belong. Washington’s Hail Mary which helped knock off Chicago in the closing seconds of that game. Nice to see both teams playing well (and having the game on CBS reminded me of old days). Blowouts including Detroit and Philadelphia. Of course, the cherry on top being an awesome Monday Night win for the Steelers over the New York football Giants.

Going off to college, the best game of the day this Saturday is Penn State and Ohio State at Beaver Stadium. That game will have serious college football playoff implications. Florida vs. Georgia no matter the record is always a good time for the fans and tailgaters. Oregon and Michigan in the Big Ten matchup looms large as the Ducks try to stay undefeated and on top.

Now to weather and I can’t complain about the mild October we’ve had, much less the mild Fall. There have been some chilly days but not too many. We had a mild day for our picnic two weeks ago, and we’ve also had record highs a few days. Possibly, Halloween will be just as warm too. Nothing compared to past Halloweens which brought a lot of snow (1993), or were rainy and windy (2019). Those two stand out in my opinion.

Yesterday, I talked about milestones and one I forgot falls on the five year anniversary of this blog. That would be my 950 day milestone on Duolingo. Every 25 days I get a notification in orange celebrating that achievement. I will make to a thousand just after we turn the calendar to 2025.

Finally, I took advantage of the mild late October weather and treated myself to an outdoor coffee date at Cutie’s. I ordered the Pumpkin Spice Matcha Latte. The Fall Coffee menu is wrapping up soon and I think one trip down there is in store next week before their holiday drinks debut on November 9. It’s either going to be a Classic Pumpkin Spice Latte or the Maple Cinnamon Matcha to send this Pumpkin Spice and Fall Treats tour into the sunset.

Over the last three months, I’ve gotten up on stage and spoke five times. I’ve finished one path and started another. I’ve reflected on my path and my life and, I’ve begun a new path. Twice I’ve spoken in my new path, giving an ice breaker and talking about the history of Eat’n Park.

This month and the remaining two months of the year will be very busy for me, as I get ready for the holidays. I want to commit to achieving a big milestone with my blog as I strive to put up 200 blog posts for the year. I also have other things I want to do, and that means I’m going to forgo speaking until 2025. I’ll still come to the meetings and evaluate or help where needed.

Holidays–Thanksgiving and Christmas are in full swing in my place of work, so that means lots of baking needs will be in stock beginning Thursday. Mom is going to be stocking up on flour and sugar for all her holiday baking. Our one day sale next week includes Pumpkin Pie filling if you’re planning on making pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Pumpkin season is in its twilight and starting to fade, and soon we will give way to Peppermint and Gingerbread season.

The Dinner series with Mr. Clougherty is officially closed for the season.

Anniversaries–I am at the halfway point in the (End of) Eras series which comes out every Friday. It’s around this time of year that I look back on some big moves in my life. Five years ago, I moved out of my Grandmother’s house. I traded places with Katie and Annabelle, technically, but it was still a big move for me. They lived there temporarily and it was truly the end of an era when we sold the house in the Spring of 2021.

Later next month before I embark on my weekend trip to Hershey to see Trans Siberian Orchestra, this blog will celebrate its fifth birthday. Yes, I posted last year when it turned four but I will do so again. Yes, I had a blog before this and, yes, I merged some of the content there over to Stylish. Every birthday is special though and while I didn’t keep every post from the Slippery Rock Toastmaster, I was happy to bring what I could over to the new platform.

Milestones–After I sing Happy Birthday to this blog, the countdown to the big milestones begins. I’m on pace to set a record for yearly content very soon (the record is 154 from 2020). But even after I post #155 for 2024, I’m still going to keep moving.

I’m looking to set a record for monthly content in November. Later that month, if all goes according to plan, I will have posted my 700th blog. Just before Christmas is when I will have written my 200th blog for the year. These are milestones I know I will achieve and I’m proud of myself for continuing to commit to this platform.

Finally, I ate breakfast yesterday morning at Eat’n Park. I had just fasted for 12 hours since I had to have bloodwork done for an upcoming appointment. I was in and out quickly and then it was off to breakfast. I ordered the Griddle Smile and it was very good. I plan to be back later this week for a slice of that Pumpkin Cheesecake.

I finished the book on Eat’n Park’s history and I must say it was very good from beginning to end. Eat’n Park has a lot to be proud of in their 75 years of business. One of my favorite chapters talks about some of the other ventures they got into, like Park Classic Diner as well as Parkhurst. Someday, I’d love to eat at Hello Bistro as well as the Porch. The book is worth the money and goes towards a great cause. You can find it at your local Eat’n Park or on Amazon.

Here’s a mural showing some of the best memories of the chain over the years.

This week’s era is tough to pick because I just ended my Dinner Series era Thursday night with Mr. Clougherty. It’s Fall and I’m trying to get into the habit of decluttering everything in my life. I still read books, though I can afford to get rid of a few. I need to put away my summer clothes, but I’m being sluggish on that. Not because of the warm weather, but because I haven’t had the time. If I stay focused, it will take no less than thirty minutes to get rid of everything. Easier said than done.

I’m soon going to enter my End of Eras, looking back on leaving a job I held for a long time. I’m comfortable now at Giant Eagle and don’t miss traveling for work the way I used to. It’s nice to be five minutes away though, especially in Winter. But I still like to look back on this era because I spent a lot of time getting to see different places every day. It was an 13 year era book-ended by two difficult first years (growing pains) and two difficult final years (COVID).

Looking back on the Dinner Series era, my favorite dinner experience with Mr. Clougherty this year was EDO Hibachi. I’ve been there three times this year and each time has been enjoyable. We recently went there for Annabelle’s birthday. Second would be Eat’n Park where I got to show Kevin the book on Eat’n Park’s history that I just finished. Honorable mention goes to my birthday dinner at Olive Garden, though I think I ate too much now and could have used half that dinner for my 2:30am lunch at Giant Eagle.

I’m going to be in my Top Ten era soon as I start to gather up some of the best moments of 2024 and put them in my countdown. It’ll be one of my final blog posts of 2024 and will go up either before or on Christmas Day. I can’t wait to share them all with you.

Today’s title sounds like a great name for a restaurant that serves all kinds of wraps. If you’re a Slippery Rock graduate, think of Cyber Fresh in the University Union. My favorite wrap was a Spinach Buffalo Chicken wrap with Buffalo sauce. Afterwards, wash it down with a smoothie from Taylor and Byrnes. Good times from 20 years ago.

Getting back to today’s post, this week was one of saying goodbye. What I mean, is I said goodbye to some of my traditions. The Dinner Series wrapped up on Thursday night. Mr. Clougherty is entering his busy season with the swim team as the season starts soon. Thus, our dinners will have to wait until next Spring.

We ate at Primanti Bros. in Greensburg. We started our season in early May and I felt it was appropriate to finish where we began. We enjoyed our sandwiches and hammered out our usual talking points (swim team, nonexistent high school renovations, and the presidential election). I also talked about my recent Gaffron family reunion at Laurel Hill. When I talked about how I nearly broke down because of my attitude, Kevin simply reminded me that I was being too hard on myself. That, and plus I don’t give myself enough credit for everything that I have going for me in my life.

Kevin ordered the roast beef sandwich and I ordered the corned beef. You may think I also had a beef with myself as I just mentioned. It isn’t a nice dinner without a good drink, and I had a Very Cherry Duck drink (comes with own rubber duckie). My next time at Primanti’s I’ll be getting the Primanturkey sandwich as part of the Turkey Sandwich and Thanksgiving mini tour. Date and location to be determined.

On Friday, I’ll wrap up The Story Behind the Smile, which talks about the history of Eat’n Park. I’ve had fun learning about this iconic Pittsburgh institution which turned 75 in 2024. It’ll have its place on my bookshelf along such best sellers as Becoming by Michelle Obama and my books on Kennywood written by Charles Jacques, Jr. I’m hoping that Brian Butko book on Kennywood gets written soon as the most recent book is pretty outdated. Eat’n Park will also be a stop on my Turkey Sandwich tour as I try out their Turkey Dinner. Date to be determined but it will be close to the holiday. This will likely be a local trip.

Speaking of wrap ups, the Office Ladies podcast is at least ending the rewatch portion of their podcast as Angela and Jenna are on the show’s series finale. The are plans to continue the podcast after the last episode rewatch. I started watching the Office in 2022. Most found it during COVID but I didn’t as I focused on Gilmore Girls and other shows. I stopped watching after season six and with it, I quit on the podcasts as well. I will return to Dunder Mifflin in 2025 as I’ll start watching the episodes and podcasts after the holidays come to an end. I’ll also be rereading the books on the show as well (Off the Deep End and Office BFFs).

Bakery Square Toastmasters celebrated their fifth anniversary on Thursday. It seems all of the good things happened for me late in 2019 (getting my DTM, the birth of my blog and my journey, and a new Toastmasters club). I didn’t attend as I was having dinner with Mr. Clougherty, thus enjoying our last dinner of the year. If he cancelled, I would have considered attending this event. I was at one of the first meetings in October of 2019, before COVID. Even though I missed the party, I will be at an in-person meeting during my vacation week in early December.

Even as the world went to hell, I’ve been determined to keep those good things going in my life.

Finally, I’m in my eras this Fall, from Autumn Leaves to Fall coffee at Cutie’s as well as Fall gatherings. The cooler weather and this time of year reminds me of the End of Eras as well. Coming up in this series, I’ll look back on the end of a long-running era once again that provided much needed change in my life. My pumpkin spice era is about to draw to a close and usher in the Turkey Sandwich and Thanksgiving Era.

In just a few weeks, the Christmas music will be playing too as malls light up for Christmas.