It was a beautiful 78 degree day, very warm by late October standards. I took advantage of the nice weather and had a Cutie’s date with myself. Still ordering off of their fall menu, I got the White Chocolate Cinnamon Pretzel Latte. Hence, the inspiration for the title of today’s blog. I parked on the street for the first time, being brave (it’s not hard, I just never do it). The Pumpkin Spice and Fall Treats tour is drawing to a close soon as just a few weeks remain. My Turkey Sandwich mini-tour begins next week, as we turn over a new month. Fall is going by fast too. I’ll finish what I started by topping it off with a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Toastmasters celebrated its 100th birthday on Tuesday. While Greensburg didn’t have a meeting, Laurel Highlands had one. It was our three person meeting that was mighty even with the SMALL turnout. Also having meetings that night were South Hills and Johnstown. Cranberry High Noon held their meeting on Monday and they also celebrated Toastmasters’ centennial anniversary. I’ve never been to a South Hills Toastmasters meeting (maybe in the future) but I’ve been to Johnstown. I was there last September. Looking at Dashboards, which shows the performance from the District level down to the club level, membership has dropped off from its initial base at the beginning of the year on July 1. Despite the small turnout at my meetings and feeling tempted to give up, I’m continuing to dedicate myself to my clubs. I’m also getting up there and giving speeches. I’ve just begun my newest path and am working through that first level.

Thursday begins two nights off in a row for me at work. Having consecutive nights off at Giant Eagle is rare for me, and I want to make these days count. The key to victory and a relaxing two day reprieve (easier said than done) are not to get in my own way. Again, easier said than done for me. It happened at Spring Conference and also for about the first few days of my vacation in June. I’m too hard on myself and I hear those voices telling me it’s a bad idea or I’m going to embarrass myself. I’m better about my journey when I don’t do things for attention or try too hard to seek acceptance. I enjoy experiences more too when I’m not looking back at the past.

My next stretch or two or more days off in a row will likely be when I go to Hershey a week before Thanksgiving. Time to think positive and stay awesome so I can make the most of my upcoming trip as well as my vacation.

Tonight at Laurel Highlands Toastmasters we held an online meeting with only three in attendance. We could have easily cancelled the meeting but went through with it and we still had a good meeting. We dispensed with Table Topics and had a stealth General Evaluation. Sharon and I spoke and evaluated each other’s speeches. Ryan came on the beginning and gave us the word of the day. He also introduced me and I introduced Sharon. I give us all props for agreeing to hold the meeting as even the smallest Toastmasters meeting can be one of the best.

I spoke about the history of Eat’n Park and talked about the book on the restaurant, “The Story Behind the Smile”. I put a lot of details into my speech and it was hard to cover 75 years in 7.5 (minutes). I could have limited it to two things, one being my work experience with Park Classic Diner, or a speech about their community involvement or even Smiley. The speeches were done and we talked about some club business before wrapping up at 7pm. We decided last minute to hold it online and that was a good thing as it would have been a waste to drive down to Connellsville for nothing. I also got to watch the latest Halloween Baking Championship and that series will wrap on Monday.

On Friday, I took a nice drive to Ligonier, taking advantage of my day off. It was a nice day with wall to wall sunshine. It was little cooler than this week’s weather but perfect for October. In a few weeks, that gazebo in the Ligonier Diamond will have a Christmas tree to adorn it and families will be scheduling sessions in the Diamond. Ligonier will turn into the perfect Hallmark Christmas town. While there, I walked over to Second Chapter Books. These days I don’t buy books like I used to as I’m focusing on what I have now and also I enjoy writing more on this platform.

While in Second Chapter Books, I found some interesting reads that I mentioned in Friday’s blog. I talked about staying in the fantasy genre but David McCullough’s books catch my eye too. Perhaps I’m more into history like my dad and my uncles. One is on the Johnstown Flood of 1889 and another is on 1776. The two I saw on Friday were on Paris and the Brooklyn Bridge. A nice Christmas gift would be a collection of his works, maybe four or five. My dad read the Johnstown Flood book a long time ago. Robert Jeschonek is another great author and historian, covering Johnstown. I was looking at his Penn Traffic book on Friday as well. His other works include Glosser Bros. as well as the long gone Richland Mall.

Another book I saw in this little gem in Ligonier was on Squirrel Hill after the events of the Tree of Life shooting in 2018. This read also looked very interesting and highlighted the predominantly Jewish town not too far from the city of Pittsburgh. The author focuses more on the residents than the tragic events of October 27, 2018, and it’s definitely worth a look.

In my Eat’n Park book last week, I focused on the next to last chapter which covered how the restaurant navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospitality industry was affected greatly by the events of the pandemic and Eat’n Park was no exception. The company made sure its employees and managers were taken care of. Takeout windows (which debuted in 2008 at Monroeville) became essential during COVID, and there was a plan in place long before 2020. Eat’n Park did all they could to ensure long term success after exiting the pandemic. I’ll be wrapping up the book this week and tomorrow, I’ll revisit that chapter.

After an active weekend that included our family reunion and Annabelle’s birthday party at the karate studio, this immediate past weekend was much quieter by comparison. Sometimes, that’s what is needed. This week ahead will be busy, and also it’s a wrap for one of my summertime traditions.

Mr. Clougherty and I have our last dinner meeting of the year coming up Thursday night. We’ll finish where we started our season and that is Primanti’s. Downtown Greensburg will be a little crazy due to the night market that evening. If the market ran during our Toastmasters meeting, we could just have our meeting online. I enjoy my friendship with Kevin and that we can still get together. Once November gets here, he will be busy with swimming. I come up with talking points to discuss with him and this week will likely be centered around the Election.

I’m also going to finish the Eat’n Park this week and continue with my Obama and Kamala reads as we near the big day. Tuesday night at my Laurel Highlands Toastmasters meeting, I will be giving a speech on Eat’n Park, highlighting some of the things I learned from reading “The Story Behind the Smile”. It will be hard to condense 75 years of history into a five to seven minute speech but I’m working on it.

Finally, I’m in my End of Eras series this month and next month. I’ll post a blog every Friday highlighting a special era of my life or one that has ended. I’ll also have some autumn leaf pics up as well. There’s some beautiful trees in the parking lot of my Giant Eagle that I want to get pictures of while we have our best color. Some of the higher elevations are beginning to go past peak, so it’s only a matter of time before trees go bare and the snow starts to fly. Maybe I’ll work it around my Cutie’s visit tomorrow afternoon after I wake up.

On my day off today, I took advantage of the beautiful 64 degree day and drove out to Ligonier. Even though it bleeds red, I still love my little Stars Hollow/Hallmark Christmas town. This will the first of multiple visits between now and Christmas. Leaf peeping is at its peak right now as the color is perfect at this time in the Fall season. With the lack of rainfall this year (hard to believe when April was so wet), some may say it isn’t a good season for color. While that may be partially true, you just have to look for and take the small victories where you can find them. While in Ligonier, I also stopped at Abigail’s and treated myself to a pepperoni roll and a Caramel Apple Latte (iced)

When I drive out to places Ligonier or Somerset, one of the best practices I use to get my time out being there is double how long it takes me to get somewhere. For example, Ligonier is a 40 minute drive, so I’ll spend an hour and twenty minutes hanging out there. Most of that time I’ll be taking in the scenery that makes this small town what it is. That gazebo in the middle of town will soon be adorned with a beautiful Christmas tree.

After I finally completed Wednesday’s blog a few days later, I took a little stroll over to Second Chapter Books and spent about fifteen minutes shopping. Some of the reads I was interested in were two books by local historian David McCullough (one on Paris and the other on the Brooklyn Bridge), as well as one on the history of Penn Traffic written by the same guy who wrote about the history of Glosser Bros. My time in Ligonier wound up around 4:20. Perfect timing as I had a few minutes left on the meter. I went over time though and snapped a few pictures of the spectacular color in town (near the Y as well as the Presbyterian Church).

Finally, let’s talk about some of the beautiful foliage I saw this week. Yellows lit up my drive into Laurel Hill on Sunday as I was on my way to our family reunion. Also on Friday, as I passed Latrobe en route to my destination, some of those yellows and oranges really popped out on Route 30 near Kingston. Both experiences saw vibrant color. Right now is a great time to get out there and see the leaves. It’ll soon be past peak in Somerset County so get out there and enjoy it while you can. This time of year is when I enjoy being in my Autumn Leaves era.

Last night at Greensburg Toastmasters, we had fun. Whether it was the speeches, getting the technology, or taking part in the last Moments of Truth Table Topics. Both of our speakers were coming to us virtually. Would they be able to join us?

We had a small turnout and it was a good thing we got Zoom to run, otherwise we’d have a small meeting centered around the Moments of Truth and Table Topics. It was Wednesday and on this day I was wearing pink. I won’t always wear pink, but when I do I’ll make sure I look good. My Sergeant at Arms complimented me for my shirt matching my bag. Our area director was also in attendance (via Zoom) and she loved that we were using the MOT theme for Table Topics. She gave her report following the meeting via email.

Our speakers both did well with their projects, which were informative and humorous. We got a late start but it didn’t feel like it and we caught up really quickly. I led the Table Topics session and picked the perfect people to answer the Moments of Truth related questions I came up with. I planned our agenda for the next meeting and Hillary did great on her first time serving as General Evaluator and Timer. We’ll talk about Winter TLI in our Officers’ meeting which is coming up October 24.

I’ll be speaking at both meetings in November as well as this coming Tuesday at Laurel Highlands Toastmasters. I should have the speeches done for my Level 1 in Presentation Mastery by Thanksgiving at the rate I’m going. Again, I want to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone in Toastmasters.

My second vacation is coming soon. It will be right after Thanksgiving, during the first week of December. I’m starting to get a clear picture of what I want to do with my week off. I will definitely be visiting a few Toastmasters clubs. I will be visiting Cranberry High Noon as well as Bakery Square Toastmasters, and my own meeting at Greensburg is that week too. That Saturday is Winter TLI at Westmoreland County Community College. I also plan on getting Christmas shopping done. I’m leaning on doing that following the Bakery Square meeting and going to the South Hills to shop. I’m now interested in going to the Greensburg art museum for an event and even making a return trip to Indiana. In addition to all that I just mentioned, I’ll be watching Christmas movies (classics and Hallmark) and doing some Christmas baking as well. This week won’t be as warm as June, but it will be festive.

The Pumpkin Spice tour is still going on for a few more weeks. Locally, I’ve done very well, mostly frequenting Cutie’s, the newest coffee shop in town, with a few visits to the other local cafes in town. Friday, I plan on taking advantage of the nice weather and traveling to Ligonier. Just like last year, I shot too high trying to plan this tour and take it outside of Westmoreland County and should just learn to keep it local. It’s that Fear of Missing Out that social media only makes worse. I just read that the Pilgrim is now being made at Getgo and I plan on getting one very soon when I kick off the Turkey Sandwich and Dinner tour. That’s set to begin November 1 and will overlap with the end of the Pumpkin Spice tour by a week.

Finally, I’ve really been enjoying the Fall coffee menu at one of Greensburg’s finest coffee shops. I probably doubt I’ll get an opportunity to enjoy a Spooky coffee flight or Gilmore Girls coffee flight; however, I’ve been very happy with the choices that I’ve made so far. From lattes to matcha to chai tea, I’ve had some great tasting fall coffee so far this Fall season. I’ve also enjoyed the seasonal coffee and treats I’ve bought from Giant Eagle and Market District. Pumpkin Spice Latte, you began my tour and it’s only appropriate to end it with you. Date to be determined but it’ll be between Halloween and the week after.

The new Christmas, or Holiday, coffee menu at Cutie’s rolls out on November 9 and I am beyond excited about what’s going to be offered.

In Tuesday’s blog, I did a review of the book I’m reading about Michigan’s 2023 season where they win the National Championship. This despite all the battles they faced, like not being good enough to win it all. There was also the drama going on with coaches being suspended due to NCAA violations that occured at the height of the pandemic. That too could have been a distraction. In Wednesday’s blog, I wanted to talk about the some of the battles I faced during that same time period. This all coming off of a successful run in the mid to late 2010’s, which rivaled my Hempfield and HGA years (1996 to 2003).

In 2020, I battled isolation and the new normal as I had to deal with social distancing, herd immunity, masking and other new terms because of the global pandemic. All the plans I made for 2020 were dashed like that. It didn’t hit me at first but when it did, I crashed hard. I also battled the status quo in my fashion and started wearing scarves and buying bags.

2021 I battled getting older as I turned 40. I also dealt with health issues as I had to be hospitalized for high blood pressure. I also went up against change at work as we were merging with our competitor, and we lost some key faces in our office. By the end of the year, I was gone from WIS. I also encountered disappointment as my Christmas plans were dashed due to the latest strain of COVID.

In 2022, it was depression and new routines I was going up against. I started my new job and didn’t have the support system I did a year prior. I thought I found myself but alas, it was back to the drawing board. Even though the year started bad, it got better as it went on. The holidays were much better for me than the previous two years, but it still wasn’t a happy holiday for some people. I had my first paid vacation in 15 years when I took a week off in December.

In 2023, I was battling the critics and myself, as well as worry. It was a bridge year for me as well. We made plenty of visits to Children’s to see Benny that year, and I dealt with self doubt in my journey once again. But I prevailed over the haters.

In 2024, I was battling against myself once again. My way of thinking was really unnecessary and took away from some of the great times I’ve had this year. As I’ve learned to love myself and not rely so much on attention, it’s brought for me a change in attitude when it comes to my journey.

Despite all the wars I’ve been up against, I’m still here and that matters.

Last week, I followed in the footsteps of my cousin who has started to do book reviews on her blog and did one of my own. I reviewed The Story Behind the Smile, which covers the history of Eat’n Park going back to its humble beginnings in 1949. I will finish the book next week. Today, I’ll be summarizing what I’ve read so far in the sports book Michigan vs. Everybody. This book chronicles the 2023 National Championship season of the Michigan Wolverines football team.

So far I’ve only read a few chapters of the book on my Kindle. What I’ve learned so far is that Michigan was determined to win it all after coming up short in ‘21 and ‘22. They made it to the College Football Playoff and lost both years.

Jim Harbaugh came to Michigan in 2015. It was the school where he played quarterback in the mid ‘80s before he started a lengthy NFL career. His biggest hurdle was beating Ohio State. He finally got over the hump in 2021. There was a petition for his dismissal as coach following the pandemic-shortened 2020 season but he had his contract restructured and came back.

The team was full of superstars that led Michigan in 2021 and 2022 to the playoff. The losses to Georgia and Texas Christian hurt but Michigan was hungry to win it all in 2023. NCAA violations that happened during the COVID dead recruiting period sidelined Harbaugh and other coaches but the interim guys were ready to fill their shoes. Michigan last won the title in 1997 when they were co-national champions with Nebraska. Cornerback Charles Woodson won the Heisman Trophy that year.

I am just starting into the 2023 season and will write more at certain points. Reading about the Harbaugh era Michigan teams, I’m reminded of how the past year went for me. My 2023 was a lot like ‘21 and ‘22 Michigan. It was a good year and I had success but I came up short. 2023 was like a bridge year for me. 2020 to 2022 for me was a lot like the Steelers seasons of the late 90s and 2000. Mediocrity and regression. For me there was also fleeting interest in my old job before things eventually went downhill.

More on this in my next blog.

This isn’t my first book on Michigan football as I’ve read other books about the program. I’m not a Michigan fan either so Ohio State, Michigan State, and Penn State fans can rejoice. I just like reading about teams that are successful.

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.