It’s been a perfect weekend. It all started with my shopping adventure at Tanger. I bought my fall line of fragrances and lotions at Bath and Body Works. I also shopped at Coach and bought myself two more cute bags. I do love my totes (I now own two from Coach) and I’ll love my satchel.

Saturday I celebrated Aunt Sue’s 6️⃣0️⃣ at Nyko’s. We enjoyed lunch outside on the patio. Friday night I had a breakthrough. I showed my mom my purchases and she was pleased. As long as I like it, that’s all that matters to her. All this time, I was worried that my parents would have a problem with my Coach obsession and my definition of style. Now her and Katie didn’t like my pink satchel, but I didn’t let that sway me. I’ve come a long way haven’t I. Just a few years ago, hearing this would have discouraged me.

Today we had a picnic for Aunt Sue’s birthday. The weather could have been somewhat better but we still had a great time. The cake was from our local Giant Eagle and it was great. Aunt Sue loved her birthday and retirement gifts. We capped off the night by watching Toy Story 4 before her and Benny made that trip back up the mountain 🏔.

I also did a try on with my stylish Stars Hollow themed sweatshirts. Two I already own and one I just bought. I also showed off my new Coach purses I bought Friday at the Tanger Outlets. Here’s a few of my best shots. I even included some ideas for nice fall trips.

Last year Aunt Sue and I celebrated her birthday lunch at Nyko’s Restaurant. This year to celebrate 6️⃣0️⃣, we went back to the same place. Like last year it was beautiful weather and we got to eat outside. For the first time since the wedding, I rocked my leopard print cardigan. I was feeling good about myself after my Mom praised my purchases yesterday from Coach. Anyway, here’s my review of Nyko’s Restaurant on Scalp.

Menu: Nyko’s has a very good selection of appetizers and entrees, as well as something for everyone. If you don’t like sushi, you have your choice of a burger or sandwich. I liked the choice of appetizers as well. How about the price on that 8 oz. Filet Mignon? I give the menu a 9/10

Service: Our waiter took good care of us. Like every other restaurant, Nyko’s was short staffed and despite that, we got our drinks, soup, and lunch in a decent time. We asked for a table outside and our hostess was very nice. Great service will have you coming back. Common sense in the restaurant business. I give service a 9.5/10.

Food: No complaints on the food. Everything we ordered was worth the money and the flavor was good. Aunt Sue loves sushi and her Volcano 🌋 sushi was excellent. I enjoyed my chicken Parmesan and Italian wedding soup. The iced tea was good too. Benny ordered the Whaler fish sandwich but he finished it at home. Something for everyone as I said earlier. I give food a 9.5/10.

Ambience: We are outside. The weather was perfect, and there was no humidity. We felt very relaxed. The inside has seating for big groups and there’s TVs inside as well (the Penn State game was on when we were there). I give ambience a perfect score of 10/10.

Decor: I didn’t pay attention to the decor as we ate outside. The main dining area looked very nice and there’s very plentiful seating. Decor gets a 4/5.

I was very pleased with my experience the second time around. Excellent service and our lunch was great. Glad there’s other options too and that wraps this edition of Stylish and Hungry. See you next time. Here’s last year’s lunch. I ordered some badass Sushi 🍣 and I finished my trip by walking around HGA.

Final Grade: A

Friday was the beginning of my Labor Day holiday. With the weekend already filling up, I took advantage of my extra day off to shop at Tanger. The objective was to stock up on some of the newest fall product from Bath and Body Works as well as buy some more Coach.

I started off the experience with lunch at the Primanti’s in Washington near the Meadows. I didn’t do a review of it on the blog but I’d give my visit there an A. Once I finished lunch, I made my way to Tanger. My first stop was Bath and Body Works to see what I could buy from their new fall line. I spent a lot of time sampling before I made my purchases. I bought two Fall scented lotions and some fragrance mists. I still have the tropical lotions that I bought from February.

After checking out Old Navy and window shopping at Michael Kors and Kate Spade ♠️, I finished up my shopping trip at Coach. I shopped around for a while and thought about getting one of their great deals before I made my decision. I wanted some pastels this time around. I hit a home run with my City Tote and Crossbody in February. I bought another tote and a satchel this time around. I was tempted to buy the city tote with apples 🍏 on it. I even got out on the mail list. I saved almost $500 on my new purses yesterday.

One year ago was the opening of the cutest little gift shop in downtown Latrobe known as Masterspieces. During that four day stretch, I had the opportunity to attend one of the grand openings. I came away pretty nicely with some good buys and made some new friends along the way. I really loved that Mister Rogers Neighborhood book and really learned a lot about the show. I also loved that Shop Local tumbler. Also, how sweet were those Wolf and Whisk cookies?

When I came home from Tanger, I showed off my purchases to my family. My mom has finally gotten on board with my Coach obsession and anything else I buy. She already had been but I felt as if my definition of style was a turnoff to her and my Dad. I finally wore my leopard print cardigan without feeling ashamed and hiding it in my purse. Here’s to better days.

Just like during the COVID-19 pandemic 😷, District 13 Toastmasters was innovative. During World War II, they did their part to aid in the war efforts, all this while growing the interest in Toastmasters. Despite the world going through a trying time, the District was poised for growth. The Waynesburg chapter came up with the idea of having an alternate speaker on standby should the scheduled speaker be unable to fill his role. In May of that year, they teamed up with Washington to form the newest chapter, the Canonsburg-Houston Toastmasters.

Canonsburg is America’s Small Town Music Capitol. Like Ligonier and Indiana, the small town comes alive during the holiday season and draws comparisons to a Hallmark Christmas Town. It’s the home of legends Perry Como and Bobby Vinton, and it’s the town where Sarris Candies are produced.

I think a Toastmasters chapter would thrive in this bustling town. It could serve the towns around it as well. Residents of Burgettstown, Hickory, Houston, McMurray, Southpointe, and Washington would greatly benefit from a club in the Canonsburg area. For venues, you could look at Sarris Library, AHN Canonsburg, or Canonsburg Shop’n Save. As for the area, it would greatly compliment the successful Pittsburgh and South Hills chapters as well as Crown Castle.

Now to conclude the blog by talking about Wednesday night’s meeting. Five of us showed up in person while everyone else was virtual. Three meetings in and the hybrid meeting is a success. You just need a great and experienced tech guy to help set up the meeting. With Jim and Michelle at a convention in Orlando, our newest member Bobby Veitch led the way and for the most part he did a bang up job. A little bit of lighting on stage would have helped. After the meeting he and I caught up and he too is on board with my gender nonconforming practices. He has even given me some beauty inspo as well 💅. Fashionable 4eva!

Friday marked 25 years since I began high school. Holy cow 🐮 I’m getting old.

It also marked 25 years I’ve known the man who not only became my teacher, but also my Coach, mentor, and a longtime friend.

Mr. Clougherty and I met in Pre-Algebra class on my first day of ninth grade. This guy looked older than he was with his gray hair but he was really young. Before coming to Hempfield, he taught in the inner city and at Pressley Ridge. I know straight out of Compton right?

I lasted a few weeks in his Pre-Algebra class before switching to Applied Math for the remainder of freshman year. It was there that I want to share one of my three favorite Kevin stories that will be in this blog. One of those stories and I couldn’t celebrate him without it.

Without further ado, here are my best memories of Mr. Clougherty.

Mr. Clougherty promised me a copy of Steelers Digest freshman year.

One thing that I always loved about Mr. Clougherty was that he was always a good motivator. During the Fall of my Freshman year, he came to an agreement with my Ceramics teacher, Mr. Billeck. If I did the assigned work in my Ceramics class, then Mr. Clougherty would buy me the latest edition of Steelers Digest. Needless to say, I did my work and earned the prize.

Mr. Clougherty was always good at checking up on me too. He always asked me how things were going in my other classes. This would become a common theme throughout my time at Hempfield and later on in life as I got out into the real world.

Mr. Clougherty made me into a social butterfly.

For most of my young life, I was not a very social person. That changed when Mr. Clougherty came into my life.

During my sophomore year of high school, he approached me about an opening for a swim team manager as he just recently accepted the job. It took some time for me to think about it and he almost moved on from me but, I said yes. Becoming manager would change my life. For one, it improved my social life and was one of the experiences that molded me into the person I am today. By senior year, I was taking down all the stats and, since I graduated, there hasn’t been a manager like me since.

Without Mr. Clougherty to extend this invite to me, who knows if anything in my life would have happened? There might be no HGA or Slippery Rock, no Toastmasters, and no blog. I’ve been blessed with wonderful friends like Mr. Clougherty, as well as Paula and Sara (who are family to me), who lift me up and inspire me to be unapologetically me.

Mr. Clougherty and I eat dinner once a month.

During the off-season, Mr. Clougherty and I get together once a month to have dinner. This is a tradition we’ve held down regularly since 2013.

We’ve eaten everywhere from the chain restaurants to the local eating establishments. Kevin is patient and listens to me even if I spend the whole hour that we have together complaining. I’ve come down a lot from who I used to be and that makes the dining experience more enjoyable. I really appreciate his support as I’ve begun to go against gender norms in terms of the way I dress. He loves how confident I am and is proud of how far I’ve come since high school.

I’m grateful for the bond that we have, even 25 years later when others have moved on in life.

No matter what (and I’ve tried paying for dinner on multiple occasions) he always has my back. It’s his way of saying “Thank You” for all my years of service to the swim team.

Even all these years later, I still attend water polo every Christmas Eve (the tradition was cancelled this past year due to COVID-19) and love hearing him recite “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

The best part about our friendship is that he always introduces me to his new crop of freshman swimmers during conditioning. He always tells them the story of how I was the best manager ever and he even does the birthday trick with them. Those of you who know me know what I’m talking about. Of course some of the kids like to throw out weird dates to stump me but that’s all in good fun. The practices are hard but having me there makes it so much more bearable.

We all need a Mr. Clougherty in our lives.

Toastmasters Internationa has crowned a new World Champion of Public Speaking at this year’s virtual International Convention. One of these years I’ll attend the big event. Maybe next year or in 2023. I remember when Aaron Beverly won the title two years ago and then proceeded to give that championship speech at our 2019 Fall Symposium held at the Ramada in Greensburg (now demolished).

Congratulations to Distinguished Toastmaster Jackey Collier for accepting the nomination of District 13 Club Growth Director. She takes on the role as Stephanie Scott moves up to the Program Quality Director role in light of the resignation of Dr. Elizabeth Carter. I wish Jackey the best as she joins the trio and the best to our clubs as well as they go after their goals for 2021-22.

1943 was definitely a year of many firsts for District 13. It saw the formation of areas in the District. Toastmaster Magazine began showcasing the best of various club bulletins (newsletters). I love that name Waynesburg came up with. Toasties sounds very clever. Speaking of the formation of areas, whoever has Area 1 must be dreading that commute to Wilkes Barre. Somebody put me up in a hotel please?

I wonder where that Lieutenant Governor name came from. We used to have them in the trio before the titles changed. Director sounds better.

Looking forward to next week’s throwback, Dana, Bob, and Kat.

It’s Saturday night and I’m on my way to church. I decided to make a pit stop in my travels. It’s a little bit out of the way but, I decided on Moe’s this evening. It’s number two on my Murrysville restaurant trifecta. Burgatory will be sometime early this Fall.

This is my third trip to the Murrysville location. I have been here before twice with Mr. Clougherty back when he lived in Plum. I’ve had excellent service both times I was there so I’m hoping the third time will be just as good.

This is also my first time doing a review on a restaurant with counter service so let’s see how I did.

Service: The service was quick and efficient. They asked me what I wanted, helped me out with what the toppings were, and they got me in and out in a timely manner. The kitchen staff here did an excellent job. My grade: 9.5/10.

Food: The last two times I ate here I was impressed and the food was good. I ordered bowls my last two visits. This time I got the burrito 🌯. The free salsa was good (I got a small cup of the tomatillo and the roasted tomatillo chipotle). Great for dipping my chips. You also get a lot of options for what you want on your food, just like at Chipotle. My grade: 9/10

Menu: It’s pretty straightforward. You order what looks tasty to you. I love the bowls and the burritos when I come here or to Chipotle. Maybe one day when I’m brave I’ll come back and try the homewrecker. You also get your choice of sides (both the queso 🧀 and the guac 🥑 look tempting). My grade: 9.5/10

Decor: Even for a counter service type restaurant I was quite impressed. Great lighting and signs telling you “Welcome to Moe’s”. It’s not quite as fancy as the more modern Taco Bells but it does the job. My grade: 8.5/10

Ambience: Great dining atmosphere. A step up from Taco Bell, on level with Chipotle, and a small step down from a nice sit down Mexican restaurant like Patron or Acapulco (I’d like to review these in a future blog post. My grade: 9/10.

Overall, not a bad experience here once again. It’s quick (I’m surprised there was no line), efficient, and the food is on par with my Mexican/Southwestern restaurants. And that wraps up this edition of Stylish and Hungry. See you next time.

Final grade: A-

This weekend Cornerstone Ministries held its annual Uncommon Weekend, where instead of attending church, members are the church to the local community. For the first time in the six years that I’ve attended this church, they focused on one community instead of all around. That community was my hometown of Jeannette.

Before I go into detail about this year’s events, let me tell what Uncommon is all about. Credit goes to Senior Pastor Donn Chapman.

“It is with excited anticipation we here at Cornerstone Ministries look forward to our Uncommon weekend in Jeannette. We are so grateful to the community leaders who have worked so hard with grace and efficiency to help us prepare for this special time. We have found so many wonderful people coming to work alongside us.”

“Uncommon is a signature event for our ministry. We purpose to make a little difference in the lives of some folks who might need a helping hand; and we seek to leave a fresh dose of hope for many more.”

“Uncommon is vital to this church as well. We need to remember that before Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins, He picked up and towel and washed feet. We can’t be like Jesus if we don’t grab a towel as well. Our young people need to learn the joy found only in giving their lives away. While we pray that we can make a small difference for our friends in Jeannette, we believe that God will make a difference in us as well. We believe it will be a great weekend for all of us!”

Church family, I am so grateful to be serving with each of you this weekend. Let’s go and love our neighbor!

The Uncommon service started around 2pm with food being served as well as a bounce house being provided for the kids. So many book bags and school supplies were donated to kids who would be starting school this week. Food stores in boxes would donated to the local food bank. Uncommon weekend teaches us to “Be The Blessing” and to “Love our Neighbors.”

The worship team came onto the stage at 3:30 and led us in a round of uplifting worship music. After Pastor Trent led us in the last song, he welcomed Pastor Donn up to the pulpit, encouraging us all to take this weekend and make something of it. Becuase God has started something in us. Where will we be in our walk with God two weeks from now. He closed our special event just thanking the volunteers and everyone who worked together to make this weekend a success.

Pictures of the community projects can be found on the “Cornerstone Ministries” and “Cornerstone Friends” Facebook pages.

A big thanks to Pastor Henry from Father’s Heart Ministries in Penn for attending and just being the wonderful Man of God that he is. Shoutout to MOSAIC church as well. A wonderful team of volunteers stepped up this weekend to make Jeannette great again.

Prayers for the pastor of MOSAIC who’s at home under quarantine due to COVID. Prayers for my adopted mom as well with all she’s going through health wise.

God bless Cornerstone Ministries and God bless the City of Jeannette.

On this day in 2003, I was beginning the second phase of my college education. That morning we made the drive up I-79 to Slippery Rock University and moved me into my dorm room. I had help from SRU’s welcome team to get all my things into my room.

We had lunch at the Grove City Outlets and shopped for a bit before returning me to my residence hall and parting ways. We cried as we said our goodbyes, but it was a good cry.

I got settled in at Kraus Hall and thought about all that I would get accomplished in my first semester at Slippery Rock. I had my first meal at Weisenfluh (or “the Fluh” as everyone referred to it) and met up with a couple girls whom I’d be attending church with at Slippery Rock United Methodist (I met one of the members there a few days before). They educated me on some of the religious organizations on campus, as well as some of the trips Campus Crusade for Christ did.

We met some more new people in one of the off campus housing developments. Pretty soon I put a wrap on my first day on campus. After a fun filled weekend that included watching Bruce Almighty on the big screen, it was off to class Monday morning (the 25th).

But where did it all begin? It was an icy late October morning in Johnstown. The local technical school was holding a transfer fair and I felt it was best if I attended. I looked at about four schools that interested me (California, Edinboro, IUP, and a nice school about an hour from Pittsburgh and 90 minutes from home).

After reading through all that literature, I was hooked on that green and white school with the funny name. The rest is history.

I applied in the winter of 2003 and made a visit up there with my mother where we spoke to the Director of Transfer Admissions. We liked what we heard about the campus and a few weeks later after I sent in my application, I was accepted. Slippery Rock University here I come!

After a few minor hiccups (one being housing), I was officially on my way. I graduated from Community College and spent that summer planning my first semester at “The Rock”. I counted down the days and before I knew it, the time had come for us to make that trip up there and get me moved in.

Time to meet new people and make new memories.

Hard to believe that 18 years ago today that I was arriving at Slippery Rock.

It’s time for this week’s Toastmasters Throwback but first I want to share some highlights from this past week.

At work this week we had our usual Lowe’s. For Day 2, our supervisor did something different for briefing. She asked us questions pertaining to Lowe’s counting procedures. If we answered the questions right, we each got a candy bar. See where this is going?

On break, I asked her “What’s my favorite brand of designer bag?” To which her and my boss easily answered, “Coach.” Then I asked “What or WHO sparked my interest in Coach?” Maura gave me the best answer and told me she reads my blog (remembering the Ashtabula trip). It was the same girl who wore that cute pink dress.

At Toastmasters Wednesday night, we welcomed a new member into our club. This guy has podcasting experience and he dropped some famous names. I should have dropped Jordan’s name and his Local 724 podcast. With Jim and Michelle attending a big event out of town next meeting, Bobby agreed to take on the role of setting up the virtual platform for our club. We may have just found our new VP Multimedia guy.

Now onto the Toastmasters Throwback.

By now District 13 was hopping with four clubs and room to grow. Washington’s club had aspirations to charter a club just south in Waynesburg. That dream came true in May 1943.

The roulette wheel seems like an interesting way to get folks to participate in meetings. Maybe that’s something we should do in our club meetings. It might a good way to pique interest in other members to do their part or our guests to join the club. It was used at the Division C contest to determine speech order for contestants.

One of the Jeannette Toastmasters plugged his chapter in the local paper, and that same year the first ever District Speech contest was held at the Spring Conference. It took part at the Roosevelt Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. All five clubs sent participants, and the winner was the (original) Greensburg club. Woo hoo! The new Toastmaster year began on July 1 and saw a changing of the guard to a new District Leader.