I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to be done with January.

From the tragedies in Minneapolis, to seasonal depression, winter storms, and extreme cold, January 2026 has left its mark. Despite a lackluster start to the new year though, I still have a lot to look forward to in February and beyond. I still posted content, including Mike Tomlin’s resignation and a few mental health blogs. But I don’t think my heart was into it as much as it could have been. 

I’m going all in for February as I get ready to post my 900th blog entry. Even if we get snow and Phil predicts six more weeks of winter (*sigh!*)

My cousin and I had a great time on Thursday at Abigail’s, enjoying Ligonier and talking about TV and Gilmore Girls. My fashionable sister will be meeting me at Cutie’s later in February. It’ll be her first experience at one of Greensburg’s best coffee shops. We’ll also take the opportunity to catch up as well. I’ll wear something leopard-print for our coffee date.

• Despite staying home this week due to the snowstorm and extreme cold, I’m still planning to stick to my workout commitment in 2026. In fact, I’m planning to go next Tuesday as well as next Friday… weather permitting. 
• Later in February, I’m also planning a Going Going Gone trip to pick up some new activewear. Maybe I’ll get Josh Shapiro’s book while I’m out. I’ll likely go to Monroeville, but maybe I’ll go on a road trip to Bridgeville or the North Hills instead. 
• Not sure if I’ll be able to attend area or division speech contests yet. The universe really  worked in my favor. We shall see. Area 23’s International Speech and Evaluation Contest is scheduled for the end of February in Morgantown. 
• Next week will hopefully erase the depressing January vibe I dealt with. We won’t see a thaw but it won’t be bitterly cold like this week has been. 
• It’s my sister’s birthday on Saturday but before that, I’m hoping Wednesday’s appointment goes well. 
• So what’s coming up this Spring? After the way this month has gone, I think we have permission to think about longer days and more time outside.
• Mid-May brings us the final District 13 Spring Conference before the merging of Districts 10 and 13 into District 219. I’m getting ready to make plans for that weekend. 
• Also, this Spring, I’ll be visiting the Beaver Toastmasters club. It’s been in the works for a long time. I could have moved my Johnstown Toastmasters visit up to September had I known I was off. This could have opened up a visit to the club while I was on vacation in October.

This morning, I began the process of decluttering. First up is my wardrobe as I have accumulated too much. I was able to get a few garbage bags worth of clothes I never wore. This will go to Goodwill or Salvation Army with time. Maybe next week.

The decluttering will happen in waves and it wasn’t going to be done in one fell swoop. Not immune to it are some of my bags as well. I’m keeping my Coach (though I may give up one or two) and Michael Kors and will be using them again once the weather breaks.

Declutter is a verb that means to remove unnecessary items from an untidy or overcrowded place. An example of the word used in a sentence is, “There’s no better time to declutter your home”. A synonym for declutter is to simplify. In 2026, one of my goals is to simplify my life.

I set aside my Spring and Summer clothes. They’re in a storage tub along with my Christmas shirts. There’s no plans to get rid of these now. Hence why I said this was going to be done in waves.

As I clean out my drawers, I do plan on getting some more activewear later this winter (thinking late February). I’m getting more serious about the gym and having a routine all set up. Once the weather breaks (and January finally comes to an end), I want to schedule some time to walk outside.

The new park will soon be opening up just off of Mount Pleasant Road. That gives me another avenue for getting my steps in. When I have nights off, maybe a trip to Mammoth or Cedar Creek will be in the cards.

I‘m also thinking about heading to Going Going Gone or Old Navy next month to help me in my exercise journey.

My nontraditional style isn’t going away completely at the moment. I’ve been wanting to restructure and have less for a while. I’ll still have my scarves and my bags for now. My leopard 🐆 print isn’t going anywhere either. That’s my trademark and it’s always a hit. Maybe when Sara and I do our coffee date at Cutie‘s next month, I’ll wear something spotted. In these four years, the journey has been 50/50. It hasn’t been a failure, even though I could have taken my time growing it. It’s far from perfect though.

This blog is part of the Mental Health Series that I’ll be doing that goes through February. In it, I’ll be focusing on the things we can control, as well as what we can’t control. Today’s blog will highlight what we can do something about, and that would be our attitude. 

Attitude is a noun that means a settled way of thinking, or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person’s behavior. Synonyms for attitude are viewpoint, outlook, and reaction. Attitude can range from positive to negative, or it can be either neutral or specific. An example of that could be our attitude towards work or a change in attitude. 

One of the places that we can change our attitude is definitely the workplace. This is especially true when change is involved. At my old job, we would sometimes have big events scheduled. These were the department store accounts we did like JCPenney, Kohls, and Target. Attendance at stores like the big box stores was more important than on dollar stores. Unfortunately, people would blow off attending because there were enough people there and a few call offs wouldn’t make a difference. What happens when a few of those call offs, and then some. That all depends on our attitude. Do you fight or flight? Are you calm, cool, and collected; or are you burning up? 

In addition, social media is another avenue where our attitudes can get out of hand. This is true, especially in today’s political climate. It’s changed how we view current events, and everyone has a voice. Opinions are best kept to ourselves, but we can’t help but air our frustrations. In these troubled times, it may just be best to scroll on ahead. 

Christmas is over and we’re in the middle of a long winter. This week and next week look to be trending extremely cold. Spring seems so far away and you want to get out of the house. What is one to do and how do they cope with the long, dark days of Winter? I’ll close off the blog with the answer to that.

I googled some creative ways to get through winter and found a video on YouTube, which listed five fun projects. 

• Create a cozy environment (one of the things I found in the comments was using seasonal stickers that go along with season). 
• Romanticizing the season and diving into hobbies.
  • I got a Bob’s Burgers coloring book for Christmas along with some colored pencils. I’ll set aside a half hour to color some pictures. 
  • Cooking or baking one night a week or even 2-3 times a month
  • One of the ambassadors suggested doodling. I’d like to draw or sketch. 
  • Writing daily gratitudes, as putting your thoughts and joys down on paper can change your mindset about the season). 
• Learning a new skill, and there’s plenty of things that I’d like to do. But I’d like to perfect some other skills as well.
• It’s going to be even colder next week, so why not embrace the cold? Taking a walk in Lincoln Heights while it’s super cold over the weekend. It’s a great excuse for drinking a hot chocolate afterwards. 
• Having a game night. 

It’s a new year and my plan is to do less blogs. Instead of 15 or 16, I’m only doing between eight to twelve posts a month. I’m hoping less content will benefit me in the long run. While this month has been stagnant so far, I’m planning to take on a new series. This is a topic we need to learn more about, and I’m hoping to make the subject interesting. 

For the second half of January through the month of February, I’d like to jump in and talk about mental health. It’s a topic that is often overlooked, but I feel it is imperative that we educate ourselves on it. I got the inspiration for this upcoming blog series thinking about some of my own personal experiences. I also follow a page on Facebook. A friend of mine is a behavioral health teletherapist based out of Carmichaels in Greene County. She works with adults and teens living with past and present traumas, additions, and difficulties within relationships. 

In this new Mental Health Series (name change may happen but is to be determined), I want to focus on some of the things that I can control. In addition, I also want to write about some of the things out of our control. 

Milestone blogs are coming this year, and very soon I’ll be posting my 900th on this platform. In March, my 911th post will look back on the events of five years ago. That will also tie into this mental health series. Later in the year, I plan on celebrating by releasing my ultimate 1,000th post. That will be slated for the holidays.

I’m weighing in on the events of the past week. The Steelers once again went one and done in their wild card loss to the Houston Texans Monday Night. Unlike most of the weekend games, this one wasn’t close at all.

Then, what happened Tuesday afternoon shocked the city and the NFL.

Unless you’re living under a rock, then you know the events that unfolded after Monday night’s Wild Card. The Pittsburgh Steelers were blown out by the Houston Texans. Two records fell. Pittsburgh lost a home game on Monday night (we don’t count 2020). Should it count since it’s a playoff game? That remains up for debate. In addition, Houston won a road game for the first time in their franchise’s short history. Can they win a divisional playoff game on Sunday when they face New England? We’ll see.

Tuesday, news broke of Mike Tomlin stepping down from the Steelers. This on the heels of the recent firing of John Harbaugh by the Baltimore Ravens. Thus, the true end of an era not only in Pittsburgh and Baltimore but also the NFL.

Yes, we all know about Mike Tomlin never finishing worse than 8-8 in his 19 years coaching the Steelers. Does that matter when the team played down to its competition or couldn’t win a postseason game the last nine years? It’s a shock to learn of his resignation, but it was a long time coming.

Pittsburgh has been known for staying consistent with its coaches. For Bill Cowher, that was a good thing as the Steelers struggled in the late 1990’s. Other teams would get rid of him, saying the game had passed him by. He got his Super Bowl towards the end of his coaching career, and it wasn’t the greatest Super Bowl performance either by his quarterback.

Other teams like the Jets have gone through 20 coaches in the same timeframe. The standard is the standard is a phrase that gets a bad rap because of Tomlin. In a blue collar town like Pittsburgh, it may hit differently because of the city’s industrial history. It’ll be interesting to see who replaces the longtime coach. I’d like to see an offensive mind and someone older, but Mr. Rooney (Art II) will stick with tradition I am sure.

Update: Whomever the new coach will be really plans to clean house. Not sure how true that is, but it may be a sign of major changes in the organization. Even though the regular season just ended, I’m not expecting too much of a miracle.

Mike Tomlin was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 22, 2007. The day before, the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts won their respective conference championship games. They would both advance to Super Bowl XLI in two weeks on February 4. In the Winter of 2007, I was a little bit over a year removed from college. I was still trying to find my way, hoping a little bit of work experience would help. That Spring, I was unsuccessful at trying to find work in my field. I also spoke in front of a group at the Hiram G. Andrews Center about my time there.

Wednesday night was our first Greensburg Toastmasters meeting of 2026. Our meeting was remote and we had a good turnout. The meeting had two speakers on the agenda, with an ice breaker speech being one of the projects.

The Table topics theme was This or That. Our Topicsmaster had a wheel of topics ready for us to spin. The questions were rather entertaining as were the answers. My topic was do I prefer the sun or the moon?

During this time of the year, when the weather is cold, wet, and most of the time overcast, the sun is a welcome sight. On my endeavors yesterday, it was most certainly appreciated. For January, it was also mild as it felt more like April. Don’t get used to it though as the second half of the weekend trends colder. It is winter after all.

On summer nights when the sun sets at 9 p.m. and it’s clear, the moon is beautiful to look at. It goes well with the stars that may be filling up the night sky. At least the days are longer with every passing day. Before you know it, we’ll be turning the clocks ahead.

Eight of us were in attendance. Not much business to discuss afterwards. District 13’s days are coming to an end as they merge with District 10 to form the new District 219. We’ll have contests to look forward to this Spring. We planning our upcoming meeting and then adjourned around 7:40pm.

Our next three meetings are January 21, February 4, and February 18.

It’s a new year (that we’re about a week into now) and that means new hobbies that I can take on. Now, I want to continue writing in 2026, and the blog isn’t going away. I’ll just be doing less content. I posted an astounding 200 blogs in 2024, and just a little bit less in 2025 with a grand total of 166. But enough numbers for now.

I want to focus more on Toastmasters and my speaking projects. I don’t put as much time into preparing them as I should, and while note cards help, I’d like to eliminate that crutch 🩼. I also want to work on my physical fitness as well. I’m trying to make it to the gym 3-4 times a week, and not trying to limit myself to cardio. So far so good. When the weather gets warmer, I’d like to devote more time to being outside. I’d also like to pursue some new hobbies, out of my usual comfort zone. I’ll cover those momentarily.

As for my blog, I’m looking at 8-12 posts a month. For the year, I’m shooting for just over 100 posts. I’d like to end the year having achieved a major milestone for the platform. I’ll go from there. While it seems like it won’t be much content, it reminds the reader of thing.

Less is more.

My sister loves to crochet and make things with yarn 🧶. While knitting isn’t one of my strengths, I’d like to try my hand at some new crafts. I’d also like to try working on a few others. Over the last year, I’ve watched my sister make some cute creations, such as this octopus 🐙 that graces my desk. In addition to yarn, she also makes things with her Cricut (pronounced “cricket”)

Crafting runs in my family, as my Gram used to love making quilts. She also made t-shirts and sweatshirts using little paints, in addition to putting together other crafts. I had an NFL quilt on my bed that she gave me for Christmas my first year of college.

Looking back, I wish I’d have spent more time in the recreation area during my HGA years.

I’d like to work on my photography and culinary/baking skills, and learn to draw ✍️ and paint 🎨.