Today was Homecoming at my alma mater, Slippery Rock University. While it’s no longer a tradition for me as it used to be, I still like today I’m in my homecoming era. I remember for so many years I got up early and made that drive up Interstate 79, arriving early and finding a good spot for the parade. The themes for Homecoming week were always awesome, whether I was in school or long after I graduated. My first year when I was a student they went with a Hollywood theme. A year later, they went with an ’80s theme and I remember seeing some of my friends in legwarmers. I met Dennis Haskins during Homecoming week. You might remember him as the principal from Saved by the Bell.

The Slippery Rock marching band always did a great job in the parade, marching up Franklin onto Main Street and onto campus. They also put together a hell of a performance at halftime during the football game. The show always ranked up there with the homecoming court being announced. I always stopped in the alumni house and had a muffin and something to drink, and I always took plenty of pictures. I got my meal ticket and ate in the alumni tent while enjoying some music from the DJ.

The Homecoming tradition began in my first year as a student in the Fall of 2003 and continued long after I graduated. I went my first year after college and that was a red flag as I should have been getting established at Kings. I missed a few years due to other trips I was taking (Virginia in 2011, Disney in 2015) and could have benefitted from missing a few other years too. Nevertheless, I attended for many years reminisicing about the good old days and hoping to recreate some of those memories. Before I got into the blog and began my fashion journey, I was pining to go back to school for another degree. Even if it was a different field and not worrying about the debt I’d have to pay back, I wanted a do over because early on, I felt like I had a bad experience in school.

My late teens and 20s were like that, as I dealt with anxiety and it got the best of me. I experienced meltdowns and got uptight, but I digress. Back to being in my HOCO era.

While at homecoming, I always paid a visit to the SRU bookstore and came home with a bag full of merch. A ROCK sweatshirt or a t-shirt, a water bottle, and some other fun stuff. I still have my Slippery Rock coffee mug upstairs collecting dust as well as a sweatshirt amongst my Gilmore Girls attire and Old Navy rib knits. A piece of the ROCK still lives in me, even 20 years after gracing the campus with my presence. I still have the book on the school’s history autographed by the author and former VP of Student Life, Dr. Robert Watson.

The Slippery Rock homecoming tradition was retired in 2018, as it had run its course. It was the end of my homecoming era Soon after, I started this blog and began my journey. I attended a Toastmasters event in 2019 in place of Homecoming and dealt with 2020 in all its social distancing and masking glory. Fading interest in my old job, cobbled with COVID restrictions and other changes in my life slowed me down in 2020 and 2021. But I’ve since emerged from the ashes and continue to do well for myself.

Brace yourself, the (End of) Eras blogs are coming as are the five year reflection blogs.

2019 was, to say the least, one heck of a year. It was a year of achievement, new traditions, and a time to say goodbye. Five years ago, I worked some crazy nights at my job as well. If you’ve known me since late 2021, you know I work overnights at Giant Eagle. If you knew me before then, I worked at WIS and traveled long distance to count other stores’ merchandise.

In my 13 years of doing inventory, it was very rare that I worked evenings, much less overnight. Only a few times I pulled off this feat before it became regular to me. Most of these occurred in 2018 and 2019. Either it was a JCPenney or Target (the bigger of these stores would be scheduled at night while the smaller ones ran in the morning). One of my most memorable overnight events occurred on this day five years ago. It was the Target in East Liberty. Mom and I passed this store many times when we would go to Children’s Hospital to visit Benny.

We started a few hours earlier than we usually do. Most Target stockrooms began at 6pm with the sales floor starting a few hours later. This one was a 4pm start. I didn’t have the luxury of a five minute drive as I do now and I wasn’t finishing after eight and a half hours. I could leave when the store was done. It was supposed to be an easy night, but no night at WIS was ever easy. It became the longest night and I almost walked out that night because of how shitty it was. The sales floor was a mess and the stockroom was packed. I didn’t expect it to be THIS bad. Eight hours in and we were nowhere near being done. Can you say train wreck?

I wondered if I was even going to make it to my Fall Symposium the next morning? This is the Toastmasters event that replaced our Fall conference and this was the year that I retired my SRU Homecoming tradition (for now, at least). As bad as it was, there was eventually light at the end of the tunnel. The event came to an end around 7:30 AM. I was allowed to leave since I drove separate and I rejoiced with Wheeling as their van and my car were finally headed home. Yes, I did get to attend my Toastmasters event the next day, in case you were curious.

The Marathon Target that night ranks up there with many other Targets than ran long in 2019. We finally set it right the next year and they all ran in the morning (the ones that did go that weren’t wiped out by COVID). My last Target with WIS was October 8, 2021, in the North Hills. Let me not forget the 14 hour JCPenney at Century III where we had no A/C and I ran back and forth to the water fountain to stay hydrated. That store and the iconic mall no longer exist. I had back to back 11 hour nights in May of 2019 with a Target and JCPenney dragging on. While I’m no stranger to overnight now, back then this was a culture shock.

I’m all ready for Sunday and I will be bringing boxed coffee and boxed hot chocolate to the picnic. The forecast calls for rain but we will have a great time regardless. What I’m not going to bring is self-doubt about my journey, or a chip on my shoulder as I did in 2021. I’m going to enjoy myself and look forward to seeing everyone.

Roll out the red carpet! It was a great night at Laurel Highlands Toastmasters and, it was my first time attending in-person since August. I missed the last meeting as I was spending time with the Johnstown Toastmasters club. Since summer turned to Fall, the parking lot was a little busier with things going on at the community center, in addition to our meeting. We had three speakers, some guests, and a wonderful time was had by all. We’re growing the club and we have a great agenda planned for our next meeting on October 22.

Our three speakers had great topics to share. Ryan talked about the joys of being a father. Andrea spoke on raising the bar, and discussed how we are influenced by alcohol, either through commericals, social media, or at sporting events. Sharon’s sister, Jennifer, gave her ice breaker speech and gave us some inspiring words and some food for thought. I evaluated her ice breaker and just last week at Greensburg Toastmasters I was in the same boat, giving mine as I began my new path. Our area director did her visit Tuesday night, so Greensburg should be seeing her soon (via Zoom).

On Wednesday, I made a rare appearance at Cutie’s (I usually go over the weekend on Sundays). I will likely go again on Saturday since I’ll be at my family picnic this weekend. Sunday is their one year celebration and there will be a market going on as well (across from their cafe in the parking lot). They’re having a staff party today to celebrate their one year anniversary. I got the Maple Cutie latte, complete with maple leaf cookie garnish. If my cousins are looking to go somewhere for coffee on Saturday, I’ll be very happy to mention Cutie’s. I wonder what I’ll drink this time. Next weekend, I’m happy to take a little fall drive to Ligonier if the time allows.

Sunday is the picnic and I volunteered to bring coffee just like I did last year. Since I’ll be en route to the Laurel Highlands, the plan is to stop in South Greensburg or Youngwood to pick up some boxed coffee. I did this last year and it went over very well. If it works well, just keep doing it. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on Sunday and catching up, whether it rains or not.

For those of you heading to Fort Ligonier Days or to Slippery Rock for homecoming this Saturday, you enjoy your weekend as well.

Monday night, we celebrated Annabelle’s birthday at EDO Hibachi. Over the last couple of years, I’ve really grown to love this place. Mr. Clougherty has enjoyed it and Aunt Sue did as well when I treated her to a nice birthday lunch last month. It’s that experience of watching your food being made, catching food in your mouth, and seeing the flames rise up from that onion volcano. The chefs here are very talented and don’t mess around when preparing your food.

Once again, I caught the broccoli in my mouth (I batted 1.000 as I did in September) and cleansed my palate with some sake. Annabelle didn’t do as well, but I gave her some of my winnings.

It was Dad’s first time at Hibachi and I wasn’t sure how it would go over. He liked the food but he passed on the veggies and sake, and the chef was very understanding. We all enjoyed our Hibachi. I ordered the shrimp just like last time, and Annabelle got the steak. Dad got chicken. I had a little bit left over for my lunch at work (which I ate at 2:30am). To challenge myself, I’d love to get the hibachi with the filet mignon. We have gone to Texas Road House in the past, and Annabelle did get to go there last week.

Monday night means it’s Halloween Baking night on Food Network. I’ve been watching this show for the last four years and this season is just as good. Since, I don’t have cable I’ve been watching it on the Discovery App on my Roku. Beats sitting through the commercials as well. Since it airs later in the evening and I’m usually getting ready for work, I watch it on Tuesday or Wednesday evening. While I enjoy this show, it’s second to the Holiday Baking Championship which begins in early November. Talented bakers come onto the show to create some masterpieces and a chance to win a grand prize (a lot of money). They are judged by some very experienced celebrity chefs, including Carla Hall. Their fate when they get voted off is all for laughs and isn’t real.

With three weeks left in the competition, things are only going to get more challenging from here on out, but that’s what keeps you watching. I already have two bakers in mind whom I want to see win that grand prize.

The Halloween Baking Championship runs through October 28.

In 2024, Eat’n Park celebrated its 75th anniversary in business. The years have been good for this iconic Pittsburgh institution that has withstood the test of time. Started in 1949 as a drive-in restaurant on Saw Mill Run Boulevard, they‘re a few years ahead of McDonald’s, which was founded in 1955. Eat’n Park has evolved from being a drive-in restaurant to a nice sit down family restaurant, serving comfort food that has been a favorite for generations of customers. So, why not write a book talking about the history of this iconic institution? That’s exactly what one author had in mind.

I went to breakfast one morning in August after getting some bloodwork done. Fasting for 12 hours, I was happy to have somewhere close by so I could eat some breakfast. The place for smiles was right across the road from where I was so I was definitely eating there. I enjoyed my first meal since the night before. As I was waiting to be seating though, up front were some copies of the book covering Eat’n Park‘s long history. I thought about purchasing the book myself after I ate. Can’t make financial decisions on an empty stomach, however.

I finished up the Harry Potter series at the end of August. I contemplated staying in the fantasy genre and reading Percy Jackson or Lord of the Rings. Then, Kamala Harris announced she was running for President which inspired me to reread her book I bought in 2020. Also, I’d like to finish that book on Barack’s first four years in the White House sometime in my lifetime. Today’s blog, however, is a review about the history of Eat‘n Park, called “The Story Behind The Smile.”

“The Story Behind The Smile” covers Eat’n Park from its humble beginnings to the present day. There are chapters on their involvement in the community, as well as Smiley and some of their other ventures. I’ll be reading about those this week and taking the book to our family picnic next Sunday to show to everyone.

Eat’n Park had ties to another famous Pittsburgh chain, the one with the chipped chopped ham, skyscraper cones, and Klondikes. They also collaborated with Cincinnati-based Frisch’s, home of the Big Boy burger. Those ventures Eat‘n Park was involved with include Parkhurst (which is dining services catered to schools and hospitals) Hello Bistro, and The Porch. I would love to try the other two. In the past, they experimented with a bistro in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. Plus, let’s not forget the Park Classic Diner, which was a trip back to yesteryear. Some of their best items were their onion rings, meatloaf, and the Park Party Cake, as well as their milkshakes. When I worked there, you could pick any flavor you wanted. Oh, and I loved playing songs from the jukebox up front and gaining an appreciation for the classic songs that my grandparents enjoyed.

The most recent chapter talked about some of those best selling items and the work that goes into creating them. The author of this book also interviewed my cousin, who is senior director of marketing for Eat’n Park. She was in a few commercials for Eat’n Park too if I recall, including one promoting the new pickup windows when they became a thing. Fun facts: Eat’n Park debuted their Salad Bar in 1975 at their New Castle restaurant and rolled them out a few years later. The pickup window was first introduced at Monroeville in 2008. The headquarters for Eat’n Park is now located in the Waterfront but they used to be located in Robinson Township. That move came in 2000. Also, the Soup and Salad Bar and the Superburger are the restaurant chain’s two best selling orders. I wonder if the Whale of a Cod sandwich would be number three?

Finally, Eat’n Park was my first job and if I were brave enough to cross US 30, I could have walked to work. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. I worked at the Park Classic Diner in Jeannette, formerly an Eat’n Park. If I would have embraced the job and not counted down the days until I went back to college, I could have made it more enjoyable. Would it turn into something? Who knows.

But, alas, the days of being young and dumb.

Thursday night, I embarked on a little road trip to do some birthday shopping for my almost 12 year old niece. She’ll celebrate her birthday next week with a Taylor Swift themed party. While I was buying her present, I added some more Pumpkin Spice flavored foods to my pantry.

Last month took me to Market District in Murrysville where I took advantage of gift cards from my birthday and our work celebration party in August. This time I traveled to Monroeville where I shopped at Target and Giant Eagle. The two stores are next to each other just like at Hempfield, but much bigger.

I had success buying her present and replenishing some food I liked the first time around, like the Pumpkin Spice pretzels since they were so good. I’ll put out some of those Maple cookies and make some Pumpkin cheesecake bars. I also picked up a six pack of October-fest beer 🍺. It’s best to enjoy this as I want to be ready to plan for Thanksgiving by November 1.

Christmas is coming and I spotted some Christmas lights as well as some Christmas vinyl at Target.

Next weekend will be busy as Annabelle will be celebrating her birthday at Karate and enjoying the company of her cousins at the Gaffron Family Fall picnic. Monday is her actual birthday and she want to go to Hibachi for dinner. This week, I’ll continue my Fall coffee tour at Cutie’s as I try a Cherry Pie Chai and Maple Cutie Latte. I’ll go down on Saturday (as opposed to my usual Sunday) as well since I’ll be at the picnic that day. Next Sunday is the one year anniversary for Cutie’s and in the morning there will be a market. I’ll be getting ready for our picnic so I likely won’t be able to make it out. This weekend is a perfect one to be out’n about with the Apple Festival in Delmont and a Gilmore Girls themed event Sunday in Indiana.

Brace yourself. It’s October and that means Fall Foliage pics, sweaters, and leather jackets. It also means end of era blogs are coming. This is the time when events in my life were coming to an end. Some of these were needed for me to make beneficial changes in my life.

It’s also the end of the rewatch episodes for the Office themed podcast, Office Ladies. Jenna and Angela aren’t going anywhere though as the podcast will be retooled and that makes its debut on October 7. Office Ladies debuted on October 16, 2019 with a weekly podcast recapping all the episodes from nine seasons of the popular show. That podcast and the show got most people through 2020 and the pandemic.

Taylor and her fans are in their Eras, I’ll be in my End of Eras this Fall.

It’s been a bit of a crazy time for me. I’ve been getting content out but it’s been late. Reason being, that I’m spending more time preparing speeches to give at my clubs (Greensburg and Laurel Highlands). Hey, I’m stepping up and speaking more so that’s a good problem to have!

This Pumpkin Spice tour has been a success so far, but I feel as I’m trying to do too much; thus, it has drained my energy. Maybe staying local or in Westmoreland County is best for now. It’s my own journey and no one else’s. Instagram is pretty bad for enabling that FOMO in me. Also, traveling doesn’t come as naturally to me anymore as it did in the WIS era.

In Thursday’s blog, I’ll highlight my Pumpkin Spice shopping spree. For now, let’s recap Wednesday night’s Greensburg Toastmasters meeting.

We had a small turnout for our meeting but it was still a good time. Five in person plus one online and as always, fun times getting the technology up and running. For me, it’s the beginning of a new path in Presentation Mastery. That means my first speech was my ice breaker. After 13 years, what more is there to know about someone? The answer to that question is that there’s lots to know.

I spoke about what I planned to get out of this path, and the number one answer was not to commit “Death by Powerpoint”. I also want to get out of my comfort zone and try different electives for upcoming projects. One of those would be to create a podcast. I enjoy a lot of rewatch podcasts for shows that I grew up with. But I also want to follow those podcasts that are enriching too.

The meeting was good despite the low turnout, but we all agree that membership needs to come up and we’d love to see more people attending our meetings, online or in person. That was the subject of our Table Topics Moments of Truth at this week’s meeting. I’d like to share a couple of the answers, one being my own. One of our longtime members said that a club is doing well when he isn’t always filling roles, be it one or multiple roles. A healthy club should have 20 members. That’s what you need to charter a new Toastmasters club. My question was about Membership Drives and Speechcraft and the importance of those in gaining new members. For Speechcraft, we can help those who work in professions that require working with the public grow in their careers. Membership drives can keep us healthy throughout dues renewal and at the end when our status as a Distinguished Club is riding on the addition of three new members. Four new members plus four more helps fulfill #7 and #8 on the DCP.

In addition to what I hope to get out of my path, I also highlighted those three acronyms crucial to our Toastmasters Clubs, including the Club Success Plan. I also talked about some of the milestone blog posts that I published, as well as the current Pumpkin Spice tour and the upcoming Turkey sandwich and Thanksgiving tour.

We had a guest (one of our five in person attendees) at Wednesday night’s meeting. He enjoyed the meeting and we hope to see him at the next one in two weeks. I also did the agenda for the 16th and we have three speakers on tap. I’ll also be closing the Moments of Truth series in Table Topics.

Summer has ended and Fall is officially in full swing. So far the month has begun wet but the rain will be coming to an end soon. It’s been welcome with the drought we’ve had this summer, but we’re ready for some nice weather just in time for Annabelle’s birthday and the Gaffron Family Fall Picnic next week.

A lot happened in September but in this blog post, I will narrow it down to the three big events that took place in my life. I attended a potluck dinner with some of my amazing Toastmasters friends to celebrate a couple who will be moving to the south central part of the state. They’ll still be a part of the club but will be meeting online. We had a great spread including sliders (pot roast and chicken marsala), potato salad, and a veggie tray. I brought cookies and hummus as well as pita chips. The Teagues were very grateful for the party we threw for them and we wish them the best in their future endeavors.

After a long time gone, I returned to church in September. This came to light after my last Toastmasters meeting when I was talking with my club president and told her my story about what happened. One of the churches that she suggested was one I was familiar with, and so that’s the one I went with. I’d been to Community Church before as I’d attended church services once in a while. I also went there for Christmas Eve services. My first time back in a church in a long time (after I’d gone for 18 years) I told myself I was starting over, plus I was starting over. Last week was even better, the message was good and it was what I needed to hear. I’ll give myself a month before I call it my new church home, but I’m on the rebound.

Finally, I was able to keep my plans to visit Johnstown Toastmasters last Tuesday. I’m no stranger to the club and know most of the members well, having seen them at other meetings or club officer training. I got a warm welcome from the members and volunteered to do the last segment of the night, the one minute speech where I talk about something positive in my life. I said three positive things, including the completion of my Toastmasters path. The club president told me I’m definitely welcome to come back. The vice president of education invited me to the Christmas party in December. If I have to attend online, I will but maybe I’ll come in person. Weather permitting because it’s December in Johnstown, it gets dark at 5 o‘clock, and there may be snow.

Honorable mention for September would include news of the TSO (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) concert that I’ll be going to in November. My cousins are going and I’m happy to be joining them. My aunt told me the good news when I treated her to lunch at Hibachi for her birthday. It’ll be a great time and I look forward to it. A week later, I’ll be on my second vacation at work and starting my Christmas shopping.

The Major League Baseball season has almost come to an end, with two games being played today in Atlanta (Braves host the New York Mets) that will determine standing for the National League playoff bracket. Interesting scenario indeed if you follow the game. I think that this will be an interesting postseason.

As September comes to an end and we turn the calendar to October, it’s time to look forward to changing leaves and cooler temperatures. Let’s look ahead to the new month and see all the opportunities that are knocking.

I’ll admit that I’ve made myself a little crazy when trying to do everything and when I’m making another trip to get more Fall treats. I will do so this Thursday and that should run me through the beginning of November (when my Turkey Sandwich tour begins). The end of August took me to Market District in Murrysville where I was able to cash in my gift cards from my birthday and the nightturn dinner. This time, I’ll go to Monroeville and maybe I’ll use my perks to pay for my groceries, and to prove that I don’t use them just for gas. While there, I’ll make a Target run as well. But I don’t want to buy more than I can handle, as Turkey seasons begins November 1. Maybe that first day of November, I’ll also defrost Christmas Mariah and listen to some holiday music.

Next Monday is Annabelle’s birthday, but before that I’ll be attending Bakery Square Toastmasters online this Friday. It’s a long-awaited visit as I originally was going to go in August but never got around to planning it. Club visits are all” part of my effort to relight my Spirit of Toastmasters fire. Also in the cards is a Cranberry High Noon visit. I wanted to make a visit while the leaves were changing and the drive there was going to be very colorful. I do plan on a December visit though. Whether it’s online or in-person and if I go vacation week is still up in air at the moment.

The Pumpkin Spice Tour rolls on with a couple more trips to my favorite coffee shops planned over the next week. I am hoping to get out this month and try some out of town cafes to see how their drinks are. But am I setting myself up for “fear of missing out”, or FOMO? Look for my blog post later this week . Cherry Pie Chai is on my radar this week and next week, I want to try the Maple Cutie Latte. Also, next Monday is Bible Study, as is the 21st, both nights from 7-8pm. These will likely be the last ones held outdoors. Not sure what is planned for the winter months. Cutie’s Coffee Company celebrates its one year anniversary on Columbus Day weekend.

As I said earlier, it’s Annabelle’s birthday next Monday (at exactly 4:56AM). We will spend the week celebrating her. She’ll have her party on the 12th and do some karate to boot. The last four years have alternated between Twin Lakes and Mammoth Parks. The next day is the Gaffron Family picnic at Laurel Hill. I will bringing coffee like last year. The last three have been good and well-attended. We would like a sunny day like 2022 (which was also a little chilly) but last year, despite the clouds and the cool weather it was just as good. So were all the pictures we took. I slayed my outfit last year as well.

Mr. Clougherty and I will wrap up our 12th season of the Dinner Series on October 24th at Primanti Brothers. It’s an easy commute for both of us and we will enjoy dinner (and for me, a drink) and talk about the finer things in life. We’ll also try to calm each other’s nerves as it’ll be very close to election season next time we get together. From there, Kevin will begin his busy season at the pool and I will begin the Turkey Sandwich and Thanksgiving tour.

Finally, I’m halfway through the book covering the history of Eat’n Park and I’m covering some major ground this week. My cousin makes it into the chapter I’m reading this week. She works in Marketing for the iconic Pittsburgh institution. I’ll be sad when the book is finished later this month but I’m looking forward to learning about the things that make Eat’n Park what it is. I’m going to bring it to the picnic as well and show it to some of my family members.

I also plan to eat there a few times later this Fall to try some of their Fall and Thanksgiving features.