It’s hard to believe but we are at the halfway point of the year already. So much has happened so far in 2023 and we still have six months to go. While I reviewed the first five months of the year in my “41 so Far” blog post, let’s take a look back on some of the things that shaped the month of June. After that, we will take a look ahead into the month of July, which starts tomorrow.

Pride Month

June 1 marked the beginning of Pride Month. For me, this month helps me to celebrate those near and dear to me who are part of the LGBTQIA+ movement. Over the last year, I’ve become a huge fan of the Netflix series Queer Eye and just wrapped up the seventh season last week. The experts who make up the Fab Five continue to impress me and while it’s hard for me to pick a favorite, they’re all good in their own way.

Some of my friends also took part in Pride Month festivities, including my old co-workers as well as a friend of my sister’s. I wish I would have taken part in the festivities (either with Ashley and Maura, or with Rob, Sara, and Kit). Due to my work schedule, it would have been hard to find time. Also, I once again let the opinions of others tell me that I need to move away from this lifestyle.

The critics and voices in my head told me “You Can’t.” I told them, “WATCH ME”. Even though Brogan and Donald wished me a happy Pride Month, I just wasn’t feeling it on June 1. To add insult to injury, the personal attacks on Dylan Mulvaney and how wokeism is destroying our country affected me personally and I fell into depression. But, just as my journey was about to come crashing down, it came right back up and just in time too.

Summer TLI/COT

The other two highlights of June are Toastmasters-related. This past Saturday was Summer TLI. TLI is short for Toastmasters Leadership Institute, or Club Officer Training. Our chair and her team put together a great program. We learned a lot about the things important to Toastmasters, including how to do our roles effectively.

The biggest takeaways from this recent TLI were the benefits of using LinkedIn and MeetUp, which I used to find the event CHN Toastmasters was holding for their tenth anniversary. Also, the importance of the Club Success Plan, Moments of Truth, and the Distinguished Club program were highlighted by our immediate past and future District Director. We’re still digging out from the COVID-19 pandemic, but for me my Toastmasters Spirit is burning once again.

I’ll highlight my Toastmasters journey in my speech on Wednesday night, including going through the motions the last few years.

Happy Tenth Anniversary, Cranberry High Noon!

Monday, I attended the tenth anniversary celebration for the Cranberry High Noon Toastmasters. It was originally going to be held outside but moved indoors due to the threat of rain. Smart move. In attendance were two thirds of our District Trio, as well as the Division B Director and Area Director. We met Toastmasters past and present who belonged to Cranberry High Noon at one point. We learned of all the members who served as President of the club, and celebrated those who won awards and the club itself for achieving Presidents’ Distinguished honors.

As always, I made plans for future visits in September and am going to try for a November/December visit.

Coming Back Every Time

Just as I thought my days of dressing non-traditionally were done and over with for good, it all came right back to me. Just like when Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk prayed to God to take away his gay, I wanted to have my nontraditional style taken away from me. Even though I was a pioneer and an inspiration and icon to people, I was trying to do it to please my parents and other people.

Then I picked out a nice outfit for last Saturday’s TLI and chose one of my Coach purses (the blue, hardly-ever used one that I’ll take to meetings). I also wore my leopard scarf.

My style wowed Dana Mitnik, who introduced me (by my nickname) to Cassie, incoming Divison B Director. He encouraged me to keep being true to myself and encouraged me in breaking down boundaries.

We will take a look ahead to July and what it has to offer, later this weekend.

Not my first trip to this Burgatory but overall it was another great dining experience. Mr. Clougherty met me at approximately 5:15 and we were quickly seated. I took advantage of the custom burger options and ordered an amazing burger. It was a Wagyu Burger with Gouda Cheese and Chipotle Horseradish and some other tasty toppings.

Kevin praised me for getting full time at Giant Eagle and brought me down from my soapbox. I let all the negativity about Dylan Mulvaney and wokeism (seriously is that even a word) get to me. It was enough to get me to almost abandon my journey once again.

Even though I almost came crashing down I came right back up again and rocked my outfit at Summer TLI. I knew Dana (Mitnik) would call me out if I didn’t bring the flare. I’m sure it will make Brogan, Donald, and Dana (Kubistek) feel good that I’m not giving up on my journey. Others will the say the same too.

Anyways, back to my meal. Our server took great care of Kevin and me and suggested an awesome shake to which I took advantage of ordering. The Strawberry 🍓 Funnel Cake Milkshake complimented my burger perfectly. That and the russet potato chips.

I always suggest ordering a custom burger and a shake, and you have the option whether or not to have alcohol added. Bacon Mary? Sounds good.

Overall experience at Burgatory: A+. Fourth time eating here and yet to be disappointed with the meal or the service. Bonus points: We met an former swimmer Kevin coached so it was nice to catch up and have him introduce me. I also hung out by the fountain and checked out an indie bookstore.

It’s in a busy retail complex so it make take some time to find parking depending on the time of day.

I got a voucher good for two tickets to a Pittsburgh Pirates game for my birthday. Kevin and I picked a game to attend and it’ll be the contest against the Atlanta Braves on August 7. I was smart in picking one that wouldn’t interfere with work or other appointments. Even though I was tempted to blow off tag night at work.

Kevin and I scheduled our next dinner date in the 2023 Dinner Series and it will be July 27. We will meet and eat at Rizzo’s in Crabtree. I was inspired after the swim team held their banquet there this past Spring. I wish we would have gone there more with Grandma and our family back in the day. I might even be able to score a free jar of Rizzo’s Spaghetti Sauce (we also sell it at Giant Eagle).

Happy birthday to this icon tomorrow. Here’s to 42 but, then again, age is just a number. Here’s where I celebrated my birthday two years ago. I’d love to get back here sometime soon.

Part II of the Summer TLI blog picks up at the Club Officer Training Sessions and goes on through to the last general sesssion. Nate Stephens led the Presidents’ Training while Bob Johnson and Jing Humphries led the Club Success (which included a panel discussion led by our event chair and Area 24 Director/incoming Division C Director Mary Ellen Vornbrock).

For the Presidents’ Training, Nate used TOASTMASTERS as an acrostic and ended the session with Table Topics-related questions pertaining to challenges Presidents face in their clubs.

Take Charge;

Organize–Plan Ahead!

Achievements

Strategize a Club Success Plan

Training–encourage all officers to get trained. Greensburg had all seven of its officers attend yesterday.

Monitor DCP Goals–I plan on sending my awards to my Vice President of Education to get us closer to my goal of Presidents’ Distinguished. I also share the DCP standing at the business meeting prior to adjourning.

Assessments–Moments of Truth

Share the work–In other words, delegate

Try New Things; also, Themes

Execute Club Officer Meetings

Read District 13 Emails and Newsletters

Spot Talent whom you know will benefit from Toastmasters.

After lunch, Bob and Jing taught us about some very important acronyms in Toastmasters. Those are the DCP, the MOT, and CSP. In the panel discussion that Mary Ellen led, Russell Drake gave us some more acronyms which were tied to the Moments of Truth. Our panelists, Angela, Bob, and Russell, answered questions pertaining to the Club Success Plan. A lot we learned in just over an hour.

We ended the training session a little after 2 o’clock and we were on our way, eager to take what we learned and apply it to our clubs.

Yesterday we had a sort of birthday picnic for me with the most family we’ve had for an event in quite a while. My cousin and her family were home from Eastern PA and the boys were excited to spend time with Cousin A. The spread was perfect with chicken strips, buffalo chicken dip, pasta salad, and so much more. We also had a red, white, and blue marble cake from Giant Eagle.

At a future date, my mom will treat me to lunch at The Olive Garden. This Thursday night however, Kevin and I are celebrating my birthday at Burgatory in Murrysville.

On my day off Monday, I drove up to Cranberry Township to help the Cranberry High Noon Toastmasters club celebrate its 10th anniversary. The club chartered in 2013 and has always been successful. I attended my first meeting as a guest in December of 2016 and since then have become an unofficial member of the club.

My favorite meetings as a guest will always be the December 2019 meeting before Christmas when I promoted my blog. I was greeted very nicely that day and treated like family. November 2021 was another fun meeting as well when we went to Chen’s for lunch.

The speakers highlighted the history of the club and presented awards to the members, as well as inducted the new members. We heard from the club sponsor and club mentor and one of the original members as well. We had some time for table topics. The 10th anniversary celebration was up there with the awesome Laurel Highlands red carpet event and DTM Gala events from 2021 as great ways to celebrate our fellow Toastmasters.

I look forward to seeing how this new team of officers will do in making Cranberry High Noon a successful club. I’ll be planning a September visit during my vacation week, and possibly December.

Time to close off the blog and as I do I will promote Cranberry Township’s retail scene. When I visit Cranberry High Noon, I usually take some time before or after the meeting to stop somewhere so I get the most of my time up there. Sometimes I make a Target run or shop at Michaels or ULTA in Cranberry Mall. Today, I checked out the open-air Streets of Cranberry a few minutes from where our meeting was. It’s a nice little mix of restaurants, gift shops, and clothing stores. I stopped at Old Navy (didn’t buy anything but I looked around for a few minutes). I found a nice little coffee shop and had a cold brew before I made my way to my destination.

If you’re read my blog from two weeks ago that I was going to abandon my gender nonconforming adventures, kindly disregard it. I’ll keep the post up but don’t believe it. I wasn’t loving myself enough and felt depressed. That included all the negativity toward Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney as well as others’ opinions on my journey.

Let’s get one thing straight, the word “woke” is so stupid and the way it’s used is unacceptable. If I ever come across it, I will shut you down.

I’m not ending this adventure yet (if I ever end it) because it would be a wasted opportunity since I didn’t look into finding a community or therapy. Therapy is my next step but I’ve held back since I’m worried that I would put my family on blast. I have support, especially from my Giant Eagle and WIS families (my store leader and present and past coworkers, as well as my adopted sisters).

I almost changed my appearance for Saturday’s TLI but then thought it was going to be too expensive to uproot my whole wardrobe in such a short time. I loved the outfit that I picked out for the event, including my leopard scarf and my Coach purse. Toastmaster Dana agreed and he was proud that I stayed true to myself. Both Dana’s would tell me the same thing. The incoming Division B Director agreed with me and I loved her Michael Kors purse as well (I’m still interested in a three in one set I saw at Christmastime).

Leaving the event yesterday to head home, I knew I had to keep on doing this no matter what anyone says or thinks. Family included.

When you really want something, you play through the pain.

Lessons learned: Don’t change for anyone. Be True to You. Stay true to you.

Today was Summer 2023 Toastmasters Leadership Institute which was held on the Westmoreland County Community College campus in Youngwood. Our theme was FORGE ahead to Success. The program was executed very well by our area director and her team.

We had amazing club officer breakout sessions and presentations by our exceptional group of Toastmasters. The breakouts for club officers were held both in person and hybrid. The same could be said for our first presentation on Meetup and LinkedIn. Great job TJ (in person) and Colleen (online). I used the Meetup app to confirm an event coming up this Monday, celebrating the Cranberry High Noon Toastmasters 10th anniversary. You’ll see a blog on that event coming up this week.

TJ Rose and Colleen Bynum taught us to Frame our goals and Overcome our fears of using social media. We were given the stats on Meetup and how to RSVP for events, including Toastmasters meetings. Hence, how I found out that Cranberry High Noon is holding a picnic in celebration of their tenth anniversary. I’m no stranger to LinkedIn but I could probably benefit from using it more as it’s tied to Toastmasters. Meetup is beneficial in that it helps with membership and aids in the Moments of Truth. It’s also great for the community.

TJ is Area 3 Director (he is incoming Area 21 Director) and belongs to the Johnstown Toastmasters club as well as the Achievers club. Colleen is a member of the Bayview Club as well as the Achievers Club. She recently competed in the District 13 Table Topics contest.

Angela Rogers of the State College Toastmasters club was our next presenter. She taught us to Rise to a new take on Pathways. Using a small piece of paper, she asked us what our purpose was in Toastmasters, as well as how we could use that purpose in our club officer role in the coming year. Also, she asked how we could leverage Pathways and how we could promote it.

I’m definitely making a habit of signing up for more speeches so I can keep myself accountable in my club and be a good example to my members. I have a speech scheduled for July 5, which will help me get my Level 3 in Dynamic Leadership. We’ll get those educational goals early so we can get a jump on the Distinguished Club Program. The biggest takeaway from Angela’s session was that Change is beneficial. If you don’t evolve with the times, you’ll become extinct.

Kids, the word of the day is Change.

Change is inevitable, and I’m looking at it outside my window right now as I see some rain falling. We’ve been dry for the past 19 days, so any rain we get in the near future will be beneficial. The extended forecast has chances for precipitation over the next week, so bring on the rain.

I’m 19 days away from turning 42 and with another birthday comes the second half of the year (that’s what happens when you’re born right in the middle of the year). The new Toastmaster year begins on July 1 (the day after my birthday). That means we’ll see a change of the guard in our district leaders and in those who serve at the club level. For me, I will be serving as president of the Greensburg club.

I recently was told that I would become a full-time employee at Giant Eagle (not bad after a year and a half working there). That will also bring some changes with it. It means I’ll always be guaranteed 40 hours a week even during the slow periods in January, February, and March. It also means I’ll get added call-off time for bereavement (five days) and other added benefits. Change is good.

With another birthday approaching, I’ve decided to make some other noteworthy changes as well. Gender nonconformity was a big hit for me around the time that I turned 40 in 2021. While it’s not going away completely, I am going to take a break and restructure; thus, I’m going to “play it safe”.

For now it’ll be less prevalent in my fashion as I go back to dressing more traditionally. I decided to make this change in my journey as I wanted to take on a more conservative, business casual look as I prepare to lead my home Toastmasters club.

I credit people like Hunter Schafer, Harry Styles, Billy Porter, and Jonathan Van Ness for their style and their journeys (though I do believe Harry is straight). While it would have been nice to emulate them, I’m going to take this time to reflect on my journey and pursue new interests. It’s best to go into a new year with a clear mind.

One thing that has been piquing my interest, in addition to my love of reading, is books on home decor and design. Even though I don’t have a home of my own to design, I still want to keep up on the subject. Plus, I have inspiration from my mother who has had books on this subject as well as on crafting.

I’m looking forward to getting these books when they arrive this Fall and some of the authors include a design expert, Instagram influencer, and a country music star.

That right there, is change I’m looking forward to.

The school song is a special part of our senior year. It’s the lyrics we remember as we walk in our commencement ceremonies and accept our diploma. The message in the song is what we take with us as we finish high school and move on to the next adventure in our lives.

For us after we finish high school, we either: go on to college; off to the workplace; or, get shipped off to the military branch of our choice.

My class song when I graduated in 2000 was “I Will Remember You” by Sarah McLachlan. While it was a fitting song for our graduating class, it wasn’t necessarily the best choice of song. I say this because the song was used to remember the victims of the Columbine High School shooting a year prior. Therefore, the song brought with it a dose of sadness.

When I look back at my graduation year, I think a more appropriate song for our class would have been “Graduation (Friends Forever)” by Vitamin C. It’s a fun upbeat tune that reminds us of all of the good times we had in high school with our friends. What is the future going to hold for us? Will we be successful? Are we ready to grow up and take responsibility?

We must learn never to take these moments for granted and enjoy every minute of being young, because it’ll be gone before we know it. I learned that the hard way as my college years had come and gone in the blink of an eye.

Other popular graduation songs include “These Are Days” by 10,000 Maniacs and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life” by Green Day. I say this because they are the songs of the Hempfield Area class of 1998 and 1999, respectively. Green Day’s song will always remind listeners of the last episode of Seinfeld.

“Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds is appropriate as well, plus it reminds me of The Breakfast Club. “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack is a great graduation song too with a great message. Who wants to look back on the years and wonder where those years have gone?

There are many great songs so it was hard to pick a few. What was your senior class’s graduation song?

23 years ago this week marked a huge milestone in my life. It was my high school graduation. I was part of a special graduating class at Hempfield Area High School. Our class was the first class to graduate in the new millennium. Even though it was so long ago, it still feels like yesterday.

It was a chilly night for commencement ceremonies and my mom recalls everyone wearing winter coats on the field that night. We had to move graduation back a day because of the rain and almost postponed it again. As the ceremony ended the clouds broke and sunset became visible in the background.

That weekend was my graduation party. The weather was perfect and we had a great turnout. Friends from the swim team showed up, as well as lots of other family members and friends. Even Mr. Clougherty himself made a visit. I’ll always remember two of my friends from the swim team helping our elderly neighbor sit down at our table we had set up in the yard. That was very sweet of them.

When the party came to an end, I wrote out thank you cards and put my money in the bank. My parents always made sure to keep me in line at my young age.

That summer, I got ready to plan for college. I would be attending the Hiram G. Andrews Center in Johnstown come August. The plan would be to attend classes there as a pre-baccalaureate major before transferring to the local community college. I repeat myself constantly in these blogs, but I don’t care. Thus, the $64,000 question.

Why didn’t I stay home and attend Westmoreland County Community College?

That was in the plans at one point, but also Robert Morris College and The Bradford School (both of those schools would have been super expensive). Attending WCCC would have helped me get my credits transferred to a four year school and I could gotten a job to make money to pay for school. But, my mother wanted me to experience life on my own and that’s why we decided on the Hiram G. Andrews Center. I did transfer to a four year school down the road with those credits I got from community college though.

I’ll talk about the move-in day experience at HGA in a future blog post as my experience itself. But I will say, my first semester there went well. I experienced some homesickness at first but I adjusted to college life very quickly.

Eventually, I would begin to prepare myself for my next challenge.

My last month of 41 is here. So today we will take a look back at how it’s gone and what’s coming up.

It wasn’t a spectacular birthday unlike the year before. But 41 has had its bright and shining moments. I started it with a trip to the Gaffron farm for the annual Fourth of July picnic. In August, our store had a cookout for all of its night turn employees as a way to appreciate the hard work they did. All the higher ups even attended.

In September, I discovered Queer Eye on Netflix and fell in love with the show. I’m currently on Season 7, which takes place in New Orleans. In October, we celebrated Annabelle’s tenth birthday and had the Gaffron Family Reunion all in the same weekend. I took a few Sundays during the Fall to go to Ligonier and just sit in the Diamond.

Our family had one of the best Thanksgivings I’ve seen in a while. We usually go to Somerset but moved it to our house and it turned out well. In December, I celebrated my first paid vacation since 2007, when I worked at Kings. While Christmas was cold, it was a better holiday than the last two years were. I even found two new Christmas movies to watch.

I got back to blogging in January thanks to a new laptop gifted to me from my cousin and her family. I sent them gift cards for Starbucks (for the parents) and Chick Fil-a (for the boys). Unfortunately, the first half of 2023 has also seen us make several trips to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh as Cousin B has dealt with numerous health issues (he was there for two weeks in August and before Christmas as well as a few days in January).

When they went again in February, we figured it was time to nip this thing in the bud. They just got home last week.

It was a quiet Spring for the most part. I accepted the nomination for President of the Greensburg Toastmasters club in March. I saw the Super Mario Bros. movie in April. In May, Aunt Sue and I saw the Billy Porter floral exhibit at Phipps. I visited her on Mother’s Day. Other than that and work, not much else has gone on.

I tested the waters of gender nonconformity and dressing non-traditionally but now I know what works and what doesn’t. I’ve enjoyed my journey and will continue to support the LGBTQ community like Mama Tammye from Queer Eye has. It’s not going away, just being restructured. With me becoming President at Greensburg next year, I wanted to shift back to dressing more traditionally.

I’ve gradually gotten back into going to church again and I will be there this Saturday night as Cornerstone honors the graduating seniors. I attended earlier this year for the Doer series covering the book of James.

I hit a bump in the road with my church back in 2021 but now I am ready to get back to it. I was having a lot of other problems then but the church wasn’t one of them.

This week I began to take on the process of decluttering. I have a lot of stuff I don’t use so why keep it around? Progress has been made but there’s still a lot of things to go through and get rid of. That will take place most of next week. I would love to finish this by either Father’s Day or before Summer TLI on June 24.

As I alluded in the look ahead, it’s a big Toastmasters month for our club and for the District. Wednesday night is our open house and we’re hoping for a nice turnout in person and online. It’s crunch time this month for clubs to achieve their goals so they can qualify for the Distinguished Club Program or achieve high honors. Greensburg is trying to qualify for Select Distinguished status in 2022-23.

June 24 is Club Officer Training for our District as new officers to learn to do their roles effectively and apply what they pick up at their upcoming meetings. I’ve been to many of these events and with the exception of one Winter TLI, we’ve always been at WCCC.

You’ll see food posts this month from me as I am going to French Express and maybe the Kitchen on Main. I’ll be doing my birthday dinner at Burgatory on June 29.

42 will be here before I know it.

When one looks back at May, they could say that it came in like a Lion 🦁 and came out like a lamb 🐑. Some even saw a little snow.

It was election season so Greensburg Toastmasters had to meet online for both May meetings. I spoke at the second meeting, giving a eulogy about Mister Rogers. I also stepped up at the Laurel Highlands meeting and gave a speech as Ryan had no speakers scheduled. Volunteering to give a speech with two hours or less to prepare was a great way for me to set an example for the club. Maybe one day I’ll pull that off at Greensburg too.

I saw the Billy Porter exhibit at Phipps Conservatory on May 19. The floral designs were very neat and the photos I took really told the story. Billy is a Pittsburgh icon and you might remember him from such shows as the Masked Singer. My aunt and I ended the day by driving around Oakland and then eating dinner at a cool Primanti’s five minutes from the hospital.

Benny came home on Friday and that felt like a red letter day for us. We celebrated his homecoming on Memorial Day with sandwiches and a picnic outside. We’re hoping he’s out of the woods. He seemed very happy Monday while we visited.

Changes are coming in June as I begin to declutter and downsize (more the former than the latter contrary to what I said on Monday). I’m taking an hour a day on it but I’m convinced this may be its own summer project. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf as I turn 42 at the end of the month.

It’s a big month for Toastmasters (for me at least). My home club will be hosting an open house on Wednesday, June 7 and we are hoping for a nice turnout. We are in line to finish Select Distinguished in Greensburg. The open house will be hybrid, meaning it will be held online and in person. You can live in eastern PA and still attend the event through Zoom.

A few weeks later will be District 13’s Club Officer Training, or Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) which will also be hybrid. This event is held twice a year (usually in June and December, sometimes later) to train new club officers to be the best at their officer roles for the new Toastmasters year.

There’s general learning sessions followed by club officer “breakouts” where you meet with others who are also serving in the same officer role as you. Here you can pick up tips on how do your job effectively and apply those at your upcoming meetings. I have some good ideas on how I want to run the Greensburg Club and I plan to lead us to Presidents Distinguished status in 2023-24.

We’ll have lunch provided to us and have one more session before adjourning for the day. For those who are serving the District, there will be a council meeting following the event.

District 13 TLI will be held on June 24 at Westmoreland County Community College and online from 8am to 2:30pm.

While today (June 1) begins Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈, the end of the month signals another year around the sun for me. Mr. Clougherty and I will celebrate my birthday on June 29 at Burgatory in Murrysville (tentative) as part of our Eating Out series. The rest of the schedule is now set through October. This will be my fourth trip to the hip burger joint and shake shack and they never fail to disappoint.

My food adventures will take me to Burgatory at the end of the month but also French Express and maybe Ligonier’s The Kitchen on Main if I make it to Night Market on July 15.

I had hoped to be planning for our vacation trip to Delaware next week but things changed earlier this year so that will have to wait until 2024. My vacation will be in September so instead of spending time on the beach, I’ll be looking at the leaves as they start to change.

Happy first day of June everyone. Hard to believe the year is almost half over.