On New Year’s Day 2022, I treated myself to a nice shopping trip. It wasn’t the same as past annual New Year’s Day shopping trips which would take us to Borders in Monroeville or Barnes and Noble in Greensburg. The weather was miserable and nothing like January 1 should be. I prefer sunshine and a little snow on the ground from an earlier winter storm that week after Christmas.

I stopped at South Hills Village and walked into the ULTA Beauty which was behind the mall in the annex where Dicks Sporting Goods was once located. This wasn’t my first trip there as I’d visited the one in the new Block at Northway last summer. I got some great deals on bath and body type things such as a loofah (I swear by those things in the shower, some hand soap, and a Toy Story themed shower set. For the first time all year, I got to make use of my ULTA haul.

I’m also going to use some of my makeup from my ULTA Beauty box that I got for Christmas from Rob and Sara. What a fun gift exchange that was, plus we got together and had lunch in Ligonier at the Wicked Googly during IceFest. I got Sara a Burt’s Bees set and Rob an Office page a day calendar. I’m really into the show and I have them to thank for that.

I spent that day talking about my new job but also my old coworkers from WIS too. One of these days we’ll get Sara and Rob to meet them. We also saved my pink Coach purse from getting destroyed as my leopard print scarf got stuck. Luckily we sacrificed the scarf to save the bag and you can’t even tell.

I had a wonderful time visiting family at my house on Easter. We had a nice turnout and my aunt came to visit as well. My relatives from Berlin came as well.

Because I had to rest up for Giant Eagle last night, I couldn’t do too much with my ULTA Beauty box. I was able to try the sheer lip gloss however and I did paint my nails for the first time since we were at IceFest. We’ll try again when I have dinner with Mr. Clougherty Thursday night.

Has it really been three years since we last had an in person Toastmasters Conference? Has it been that long since we got together for a fun weekend? Has it been three years since we got to hear great contest speeches that were just amazing and left us with a tear in our eye and many laughs?

Yes it has, and the upcoming conference on April 29 is long past due for those who are hungry to meet up in person once again.

The conference will be held at the Pittsburgh North Marriott in Cranberry Township.

Coming off the heels of the greatest contest season since 2019, the District 13 Spring Conference is a great way to bring everyone back together after two years of six feet apart and social distancing. The event doesn’t plan to disappoint with the Evaluation contest Friday night and plenty of fun 🤩 scheduled that evening. Saturday morning will feature the first live parade of banners since the last great conference three years ago.

There will be workshops where those attending can take what they learned back to their clubs. DTM Melissa McGavick will be the keynote speaker at the Conference. Don’t forget the amazing District 13 International Speech contest in the afternoon. The evening’s banquet will celebrate 80 years of District 13 and all of the Toastmasters who earned their DTMs (present and past). Plus, there’s a special Sunday event going. “From Speaker to Trainer” will be held that Sunday at 9am.

The 2019 Spring Conference was definitely up there in my Top Five of 2019. I didn’t do one but I will post a future blog on some of the great things that made the year before the pandemic special. A great Toastmasters contest season, getting my DTM, starting my blog, and an overnight work trip that changed me are definitely up there.

2019 was a year of Toastmasters, tragedy, good friends, and fashion (accentuated by a cute pink cherry dress).

It was the last sane year before the everything went to crap in 2020. It was my year. Now, let’s talk about how great that conference was.

I arrived Friday afternoon and checked into my room at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott in Moon Township. That evening a group of District 13’s finest hung out in the hotel lobby. This replaced the popular Friday fun night that was a big part of past District conferences.

The next morning we had breakfast and were treated to a wonderful Parade of Banners. We heard wonderful keynote speakers and were blessed with wonderful contests consisting of Tall Tales and the International Speech contest. That weekend, we really found the words. That was the theme for the 2019 Spring Conference.

It was the final contest Charlie Wilson competed in before he passed away in April 2020. Jim Teague competed in the contest as well with a speech that involved a fruitcake. It was the final conference for me before I would be awarded with my Distinguished Toastmaster in September of that year.

We had a great turnout for new DTMs that year. Four members from Cranberry High Noon got their Distinguished Toastmaster award. That conference I coined the term “DTM huddle” when I saw the wonderful CHN members achieve their great awards. One of my favorite terms I came up with in 2019.

The night ended with some great disco dancing. For newly minted DTM Sarah Souri, that would be a great way to cap off a great confernice weekend.

The last great conference before the world shut down in 2020. Enjoy this year’s Spring Conference if you plan on going. It’s hybrid (virtual and in person) and we will be “Facing the Future”.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

Earlier this week my cousin brought it to my attention that I hadn’t posted for a while and expressed her concern. While I’ve been busy with other events in my life, I appreciate Katie for reaching out to see how I was doing. That evening the Laurel Highlands Toastmasters asked me about my blog and inspired me to keep going, and that’s what I plan to do. I will keep getting content out to you guys and continue to hone my wonderful writing skills.

Recently I attended my third District 13 Toastmasters division contest in as many weeks. It’s been a great contest season and Division D was well attended. All the contests ended with a group of us going out to eat. First it was Mad Mex, then it was Papa Sal’s, and following the Division D contest, we ate at the Oaklander in the Marriott near the University of Pittsburgh campus.

In the last month, I’ve started watching The Office on Peacock 🦚. I was inspired by my sisters (Rae and Sara) who enjoy the show. Two years ago, it was Gilmore Girls; last year it was Jane the Virgin and Gossip Girl; now it’s The Office (and Parks and Rec this summer).

So many of my friends have watched the show when it was on NBC and when the pandemic started in 2020. The characters all play off each other well, whether it’s Michael being incompetent or saying something stupid, or Jim pranking Dwight, or Kevin just being childish. I’m only into Season Three so I have a ways to go before I really give my full opinion of the show.

In addition to watching The Office, I’ve taken on the task of listening to podcasts related to all things Dunder Mifflin. Brian Baumgartner interviews the actors and staff involved with the show on The Office Deep Dive, and Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer review the episodes on their Office Ladies podcast. I also ordered a book which will be out in May written by the Office Ladies called “Office BFFs”. Creed Bratton performs the opening music for both of these podcasts and he’s a pretty good musician. I’m only in Season Three but so far I’m a Dundie for life.

I also finished the first season of Bel Air on Peacock. The show is dedicated to the original actors from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air (and in loving memory of James Avery). It’s a more dramatic take on the original show but it’s just as good. Jeffrey Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff and the actor who played Jazz) does a podcast related to the Peacock series. I think I might try that one out as well. I plan on coming back for Season Two.

Our theme for Tuesday night’s Laurel Highlands Toastmasters meeting was Spring into Action. One way I’m doing so is learning a new skill. As I’ve begun the process of decluttering, my mind has become more clear. It’s easier for me to focus on other things now.

I recently opened “A Promised Land” by Barack Obama. For a long time having belonged to conservative churches, I’ve felt I had to hide any book related to Obama or things that those most people didn’t agree on that went against their ideology. One time at church, one of my friends saw the cover of “The Audacity of Hope” and told me to “Get that socialist away from him.”

So far, I’m enjoying the book. I’ve also read “Becoming” by Michelle Obama and it was well worth the money.

I’m back to listening to jazz music full time as well. It’s been an on and off thing, as I’ve always listened to CCM music and other genres. I like a little CCM music now and then but I did it mostly to keep up appearances. It’s my third time reading it, but I just bought “The History of Jazz” by Ted Gioia. It’s a new edition which recently came out in early 2021.

I don’t want to give up my gender nonconformity either as I worked really hard to find myself last year. While I’ve had to establish myself at Giant Eagle, I’ve brought it back in bits and pieces with my bag, scrunchies, and sometimes my nails 💅. I’d love to show my cousins my ULTA Beauty box that Rob and Sara got me for Christmas. Time for me to wear some that lip gloss.

My new skill, by the way, is learning a new language. Duolingo is an amazing and affordable way to learn the language of your choice. Plus that little owl 🦉 is so cute. It breaks my heart when you make him cry because you’ve been inactive for a while.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you. Haven’t closed with that in a while.

This is not a post about 2020 or last year, although I did have my own pain to deal with during those times. A global pandemic and a health scare are nothing to sneeze at though.

Before the late 2010s and the present day would see me living my best life, there was the early 2000s and The College Years.

This post is about March 2006, the beginning of my own personal “pain era”. I had been out of Slippery Rock a few months and I was still in my grace period for my student loans (which weren’t going to be a lot to pay back). My first “job” failed miserably as I lasted three weeks at Reese Teleservices but I tried again with Xentel.

It was a quiet few months where the Steelers got “one for the thumb” and I was embarking on my job search. I also applied at the new Target in North Huntingdon, which was getting ready to open in February, as well as Walmart. I was also making an attempt to apply for jobs in my field. I got a few calls but had little success so far.

But in March 2006, I was going to get a big wake-up call.

I was busy ramping up the job search when I got the news that my Great Grandma was put in a nursing home. I wasn’t driving at the time and my Dad started panicking with everything going on. It began to get very overwhelming. I needed to start driving immediately. Eventually I was hired by Xentel as I gave telemarketing one more chance. It would still be a while before I took the wheel, however.

While working at Xentel, I also applied at Kings Family Restaurant in Hempfield as they were looking to hire a Prep Cook. I aced the interview and was actually hired. I was very excited to start this job but Xentel wasn’t having any of it.

My biggest regret during this time was turning down this job offer to stay at Xentel. I was a lackluster salesperson who didn’t turn many sales and after a few months there, was let go; thus beginning my summer of unemployment. As I was taking civil service tests on top of looking for work, I began to feel entitled and would turn down menial work just to hold out for a better work. I thought my degree would save me but knowing what I know now, that’s not the case.

I’ll have a future blog post on my Summer of Discontent at a future date.

As Spring rolled on, I didn’t have the confidence to show myself or talk to anyone. I never returned voicemails either. I was so ashamed all because I had was a college graduate looking for work.

Back then, the College Years felt like the best years of my life. Now that graduation came and went and that they were over, I began to feel depressed and despaired.

I used to follow the YouTuber known as McJuggernuggets. You may remember the staged video where his dad shreds his video games with a lawn mower. Back in 2006, I felt the way that he would when his beloved Psycho Series ended in 2016. I went through the motions trying to find myself as my academic life came to an end and my real world life had yet to really take off. He tried to recreate the Psycho Series in the way I did the same recreating my past and college years.

If things couldn’t possibly get any worse, they did. Gram went into the hospital at the end of the month. She was at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville for a few weeks before she would be sent to Woodhaven Care Center, near the hospital. We spent time visiting her there before taking her home to our house, where she’d spend the summer. More on my jobless summer coming at a later date.

I spent 💰 💰 💰 on a suit for a job fair that was less than successful. I checked out companies that were looking to hire but none of them got back to me. My lack of work experience would be my undoing (unless I was looking for work in food service).

Give credit to 2006 for my downfall but the cracks began to show during the summer and into my last semester of college.

To Be Continued

Last week The Local 724 Podcast sat down with the guys from 4TheCity Church. I was looking forward to this upcoming episode when I first heard about it on Instagram a week prior. This is the story of 4TheCity Church—which is looking to a big footprint in the city of Greensburg.

(Credit goes to 4TheCityChurch.com)

4TheCity Church exists to magnify Jesus by making disciples who share and show the transforming power of the gospel and plant churches that multiply in the city of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and to the ends of the earth. Their mission is making disciples who share and show the transforming power of the gospel.

In sharing and showing Jesus to others, we share and show the transforming power of the gospel. Because this gospel is the power of God, it is of first importance to us, and we make sharing and showing the transforming power of the gospel our mission.

Pastor Scott Rising and Pastor Kevin Giddings have come to love Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and they are very excited about starting a church in the city! But what they are starting in Greensburg is just a continuation of the journey God has had them on for many years.

Several years ago Scott began attending a large church in the Kittanning area where the lead pastor there took him under his wing. In his hometown of Indiana, as Scott was sharing the Gospel, before long, he had a core group of people who started gathering together, which eventually became a campus extension of his home church. Scott planted his first church several years before the genesis of 4TheCity Church. He is continuing in ministry as the lead church planter—4TheCity of Greensburg—tasked with casting vision for the church and preaching.

Kevin has been in ministry a bit longer than Scott (approximately two decades). Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Kevin started full-time ministry serving the church through community outreach and church planting as a young adult in Texas. Whereas Scott will be the primary visionary and preacher, Kevin will be tasked with church operations.

When Scott had the vision to start 4TheCity Church in Greensburg, he talked with Kevin about teaming up together since they were already very effective as a ministry team. Kevin was on board immediately, and the drive to establish a new church in Greensburg began.

The endeavor Scott and Kevin are starting—the launching of 4TheCity Church—might seem daunting. However, they are stepping out assured in the knowledge that God loves Greensburg. They are ready to make His love known to every person living there.

The vision of 4TheCity church is to plant churches that multiply in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and to the ends of the earth.

4TheCity church is located on West 4th Street in the same building where Stage Right theatre company is located. Services are at 10am on Sunday.

The first in person contest season since 2019 continued with a fun drive to Punxsutawney this morning.

After a quiet commute the weather changed just as I passed Indiana. From there, the journey to Punxsutawney got a little more exciting.

I arrived at my destination, the Cobblestone Inn and Suites in Punxsutawney just before 10am and was greeted by my fellow Toastmasters Dana Mitnik and Bob Johnson. I talked to Dana about taking on an officer role for Laurel Highlands Toastmasters in 2022-23. Before long Bob (Chief Judge) and Joe Arnold (Toastmaster and Contest Chair) gathered up their officials and contestants for pre-contest briefing.

The evaluation contest was up first and three contestants took part in it. Anna Lisa Haughwout representing McKeesport; Dave Jones representing Johnstown; and, Jim Teague representing Greensburg. Ryan Jacobs was the model speaker and the speech he gave at Laurel Highlands on Tuesday night was the one he also gave at the contest.

Ryan spoke about fatherhood, having recently become a new dad. What I took away from the speech was that the importance of a father in a child’s life is paramount. As we were leaving, I recommended that he check out the movie Courageous sometime. I remember seeing the movie with my church in 2011 and it’s a great film about fatherhood.

The evaluation contestants all gave great feedback to the model speaker. This was going to a difficult contest to judge. Joe Arnold took five minutes to interview the model speaker and we learned a lot about Ryan.

During the break I chatted with Dana who was complimenting me on my sense of style. Jackey Collier, District 13 Club Growth Director, did so as well, complimenting me on my leopard scarf. As Maura used to tell me, leopard print is my trademark. Shanda Kelsch, competing in the International Speech contest and representing Elk County Toastmasters did the same. It matched her heels she wore for the contest. I told her the story of how I had to sacrifice my scarf to save my pink Coach purse (with the cherry 🍒 charm). She’s a fan of Coach too.

The speech contest was amazing. Six quality contestants who would be hard to judge. Being a judge at these events is one of the toughest jobs you can take on. I’ve done it many times though.

Joe was a master interviewer as we waited for Bob and his team to tally up the votes for who the best evaluation contestant and speech contestants were. The top two winners from today’s division contest would go on to represent District 13 in the District Evaluation and International Speech contests (the Evaluation contest is April 29 and the International Speech contest is April 30).

Dave Jones and Jim Teague will go on to represent their clubs and the district on April 29 in the Evaluation contest. In the International Speech contest, it will be Shanda Kelsch and Sharon Joseph competing for the title of the District champion. Maybe one of them will even make it to the big stage at the World Championship of Public Speaking this Summer.

I had to turn it down but a big group of District 13 Toastmasters stopped for lunch at Papa Sal’s in Blairsville.

I’ll be in attendance next Saturday for the Division D contest which will be held at Scaife Hall in Oakland on the Pitt main campus. The conference remains to be seen but I hope to come at least one day out of the three.

We are in the midst of contest season in Toastmasters and in District 13. I’ll be en route to another contest this Saturday morning in Punxsutawney as contestants from Division C will be competing for the District finals. My attendance at those events remains to be seen and I will come to a decision prior to that.

Last night’s Laurel Highlands Toastmasters brought a plethora of great speeches as we heard new member Angela give her ice breaker, new dad Ryan Jacobs speak about fatherhood, and soon to be new member Danielle Doerfler talk about the Power of Decision Making. Danielle and Shelly attended a meeting as guests in January and came back for last night’s open house. We also had a visit from our Area 24 Director, Yasmin Brown and Chanae, another guest who was a Toastmaster in New York City.

Our Table Topics session was short and sweet and tied into the theme of the Power of Decisions. Lisa Shorter served as Table Topics master and called on me, Yasmin, and Judy. My question centered around how I decided to make a career change last Fall. After 13 years of traveling and doing inventory for various stores, I started applying for different jobs and was hired by Giant Eagle. Working close to home has been a blessing (I know I can’t say that enough).

The Power of Decisions can have an impact on our future. As the leader of a sports team, the power of decisions can make or break our season and our role on that team. It can also have an impact on our future with an organization. I took a lot from Danielle’s speech last evening.

I served as General Evaluator for the meeting and gave a great recap. I was told I was concise and that I gave a great overview of everything. Our Toastmaster of the evening, Nick Cecchetti, got next week’s meeting scheduled. Angela will be speaking again and so will I. Sharon closed the meeting by talking about nominations for new officers in 2022-23 (Yasmin also mentioned this via Zoom).

I’ll close off the blog with a shoutout to fellow Toastmaster, friend, author, and motivational speaker Faerie Grace. Speaking with a Twist is amazing and makes your events memorable. Faerie is awesome at her craft and she also makes some sweet balloon animals. I’d highly recommend her for your next workshop, team building event, or women’s retreat.

On this day in 1928, Fred McFeely Rogers was born in Latrobe, PA.

His television show ran for 33 years on PBS and was produced at WQED Pittsburgh. A children’s television icon, he inspired kids around the world with his messages of kindness, compassion, and learning. 20 years after the show ended and almost that long since his passing, his legacy and teaching are more relevant than ever.

The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the Plane Crash in Shanksville occurred just a week and a half after the last show aired. Even though he was no longer with us physically, we could look up quotes on the internet to help us through some of the more tragic events that have shook the nation. Here’s one we can always turn to when bad things happen that’s always been a favorite of mine.

I saw this posted on social media when the Boston Marathon bombing occurred in 2013. It rang true during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic when we speak of the essential workers. In our own world when something happens to a loved one or in our own community, we can look to inspiration from America’s favorite neighbor and Latrobe’s favorite neighbor, Fred Rogers.

I’m blessed to live in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and see how Latrobe has honored the legacy of its favorite son. Street signs have trollies 🚋 next to them. The statue of Mister Rogers in the park (named after his father) and the words “You are Special” still ring to this day.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood came out in 2019. I saw the movie in theaters just before Thanksgiving. Tom Hanks played the role of Mister Rogers very well. I’ve also read books on Rogers including The Good Neighbor and I have one about him written by a local author as well as this gem. I picked this up at Masterspieces during their grand opening week in September 2020.

On today, the 94th birthday of Fred McFeely Rogers. Remember that “You Are Special”, “It’s You I Like”, “I’m Proud of You”, and it’s always “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”

The first in person Division Contest in three years surely did not disappoint.

On Saturday I attended the Division A contest which was held at West Allegheny Library in Oakdale. It was the first in person division-level contest I attended since March 31, 2019. That was the Division C International Speech and Tall Tales contest. That contest was held at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Blairsville and Greensburg Toastmaster Jim Teague was competing in that contest.

Representing Division A were members from Bettis, Moon, and South Hills Toastmasters. Our model speaker for the Evaluation contest was from the oldest club in District 13, Pittsburgh Club 144 (established in 1939). His speech was titled “Everything Sucks” and he started off talking about the state of the world today, before listed four ways we can live a better life. One was the celebrate the wins and another was to stop comparing ourselves to others.

Our evaluation contestants all gave great responses to the model speech. All points of view were different. The first half of the contest was really good and we were now awaiting the start of the Speech contest.

I was happy to have the opportunity to talk up my new job with all of my Toastmaster friends. Four months in at Giant Eagle and I am at home with my new job (nice play on words that I enjoy saying). They have a corporate club in District 13 but that club hasn’t met since COVID shut everything down in March of 2020. That gave me inspiration to come up with an open club for the company. It could be out of District 13 but open to Toastmasters in Cleveland, Akron-Canton, and Columbus (Districts 10 and 40). Therefore it would likely be an online club.

Our District Trio promoted the upcoming District Conference, which would be a hybrid event. The conference will be held at the Marriott in Cranberry located just off Interstate 79. I’m hoping to attend at least one day of the event.

The winners of the Division A International Speech and Evaluation contest will be moving on Cranberry. John Harshman (Bettis) and John Sinclair (Moon) will compete in the Evaluation contest. John Sinclair and Donna Morasco (South Hills) will compete in the International Speech Contest. The evaluation contest will be held Friday night (Apr. 29) and the speech contest will be held on Saturday (Apr. 30).

After the contest I joined up with my fellow Toastmasters for lunch at Mad Mex in Robinson. For all the times I’ve seen my cousins post about the place, this was first time eating there. I’ll be coming there in the Fall for my Gobblerito.

Mad Mex has locations all throughout Pittsburgh. Check them out in: Monroeville, Shadyside, Fox Chapel, Cranberry, Robinson Township, Green Tree, and McMurray.

I ordered the Shrimp Tacos with rice and black beans and a “Big Azz” 22 oz. black cherry 🍒 margarita. My tacos also came with sour cream and guacamole 🥑. The service, atmosphere and food were excellent. I give the experience a 4.7/5.

I appreciate all the opportunities that I’m able to get together with friends now due to the last couple of years being awash due to the pandemic. I won’t always be able to set too much in stone because of my work schedule but when I can, it’ll always be a good time. I’m glad I can attend next week’s Division C contest in Punxsutawney on March 26.

Congratulations to Dave Jones who competed in Saturday’s Area 21 International Speech and Evaluation contest. He placed first in both events and will compete next Saturday against Sharon Joseph and Jim Teague in the Division Contest.

Last night was my second Laurel Highlands Toastmasters meeting. It was also our wonderful president’s birthday so we celebrated by singing Happy Birthday. We had a great turnout with two guests in attendance. One was online and the other in person.

Lisa Shorter served as the meeting Toastmaster. While preparing my Ice Breaker, I emailed her an introduction about me which was well written. In my inaugural Laurel Highlands speaking role, I talked about my Toastmasters journey, my blog, and my professional life.

Some of the best memories of my Toastmasters journey included: serving as District Sergeant at Arms, attending countless District events, and being an adopted member of Cranberry High Noon. My favorite blog posts included my Top Ten of 2021; Dinner, Disco, and Dancing; and of course, the ones I kept from 2019 (especially the Stylish Crush and Hiding a Crush posts). When talking about my professional life, I spoke about how nice it is to work close to home after a lifetime of traveling to stores. I loved my 3609 family but I knew I needed a change. Giant Eagle presents plenty of opportunity and I had family who worked there in the past.

Dana Mitnik went second and spoke on the state of Laurel Highlands Toastmasters. He gave his take on the first club to charter as a hybrid club. They didn’t take long to get off the ground. He also talked about the history of Toastmasters in Fayette County and presented us with the question, who will succeed Sharon Joseph as the next club president of Laurel Highlands Toastmasters?

Judy Eans presented us with great Table Topics questions. Our guests participated as did myself. I answered the question on who some of my favorite leaders were.

I talked about the GOAT 🏆, the man myth and legend himself, Mr. Kevin Clougherty and how he encouraged me to take on the role of swim team manager in tenth grade. I also spoke about of some of favorite bosses to work for at WIS. I learned a lot from Chase at the big events, felt confident with Zach at the helm, and applauded Maura for their growth as she and Ashley took on more supervisory roles. Maura ran Lowes and Target well (her crew just happened to be amazing too) and Ashley was an exceptional stockroom leader on Target.

Sharon was our General Evaluator and she gave great feedback of the meeting. I’ll be taking on that role at our next meeting on March 22. Ryan and Nick were both really good in their evaluations of me and Dana, respectively.

We ended the meeting by sharing cupcakes 🧁 in honor of Sharon’s birthday, which will be this Thursday.