Last month I learned about a Table Topics session that Cranberry High Noon was holding virtually on the Zoom platform. I commented that I would be interested in attending when I had some free time, hopefully in January. When I saw my schedule for this week I knew I was going to be able to check this event out.

CHN Vice President Education Maha reached out to me on Messenger yesterday morning because she knew I was interested in attending based on what I said last month. It didn’t take me long to accept the invitation for this morning’s Table Topics session. I was looking forward to learning a lot from this meeting.

I logged on at five minutes to ten this morning and talked with the host of the meeting Jyoti. As we waited for people to come we socialized via Zoom. We had a couple of guests attend who didn’t take part in the session but just sat in and saw how Table Topics are done.

Jyoti came up with a wheel with our names on it to see who would participate. We also evaluated each other’s answers to the topic and gave feedback in the chat. Jyoti came up with some great questions. Sometimes when you get a question you have to improvise and that’s what happened.

Sarah evaluated me and I evaluated Jyoti. Ale acted as our timer for the meeting and to see how much time we had we could pin her on our device. When the meeting was nearing its end, Maha made an announcement about the next meeting on February 12. I hope to attend but with my new job sometimes that’s not possible. We shall see but I’d love to attend again.

In one of the Table Topics questions, Sarah talked about seeing Mamma Mia the musical at the local theatre in Cranberry Township. I was smiling because I knew her passion for disco dancing and the band ABBA.

I think I got a lot of this morning’s hourlong session. My Toastmasters fire and gender nonconformity fire are starting to burn again, slowly but surely.

Laurel Highlands Toastmasters meeting Tuesday night. Looking forward to submitting my application for membership and being a part of this great new Toastmasters chapter.

Ok. This title is somewhat misleading. I’m only going to highlight the first few months of the new year and what’s coming up.

Next week I will visiting Laurel Highlands Toastmasters and joining their club as a member. I will be in touch with Sharon, the club president, about joining. I will be 50/50 when it comes to club attendance. That means it’ll be in person or virtually on Zoom. It’s a better idea to attend online this time of year because of the weather and, I can also get another’s perspective on virtual presentations.

Club contests are in full force right now and run through the end of the month. Greensburg’s will be held on January 19 at the Courthouse. I’m reaching out to Laurel Highlands for help with judging the contest. It would be nice to have outside clubs attending the contest too. I did that last year with Cranberry High Noon.

2020 was the year of following small businesses and it became really crucial as COVID hit. I went back on it in 2021 as I focused on other events in my life. I plan to continue supporting small businesses through shoutouts on Instagram and sharing posts on Facebook.

I came across an article about Slippery Rock’s Rock Life program on TribLive.com. The daughter of the owners of Sun Dawg and El Diablo attends the university and takes part in the program. As a graduate of Slippery Rock, I felt like I really could have used this program when I was a student. I’ll have a blog up at the end of the month.

Look for my Stylish and Hungry blog posts this month as I visit Lupi and Leo’s as well as the Kentlee (Some Instagrammers and I are trying to plan a meet up there as well). I also plan on eating at El Diablo and doing a review there in February.

It’s great to be back after a week off. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I’m ready to do big things with the blog once again in 2022.

The first blog post of the new year is a look back at this past holiday season. Once again COVID was a big part of it (not for me thankfully). It was a different Christmas for me to say the least.

I started my new job the Monday after Thanksgiving and immediately took very well to it. My first night I felt like I didn’t miss a beat. I already felt like I was getting good reviews from the team leaders and was one of the best new hires that had recently started.

I went Christmas shopping early in the month. Instead of being local, I made my way out to Pittsburgh and visited Robinson Township. I checked out the Market District of Market Districts in Settlers Ridge. It is really big inside that store. I shopped at Kohl’s and then made my way to the Mall at Robinson where I made some purchases at JCPenney. Afterwards I spent some time in the mall and had some Starbucks coffee. It was really beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Mall in Robinson. I wrapped up the night and my Christmas shopping experience by visiting the Target down the road in the Pointe at North Fayette.

Last year while visiting Aunt Sue and Benny at their hotel just above Gabes, we took a trip out past Westmoreland County Community College. We saw the beautiful light display that is Larry’s Lights. Because of COVID, we stayed in our car and viewed it from the road. I went down there again this holiday and saw it in person this time. These people go out of their way to make this display look great and it’s for a great cause. I talked about my experience in my blog post on Larry’s Lights which you can find on my website.

I did my top ten of 2021 throughout the month of December. I had a fantastic four put together with one weekend that gets honorable mention and wasn’t even a top ten event but should’ve been. Check out my website for those top ten events from the past year.

I kept busy at Giant Eagle throughout the holiday season. The week leading up to Christmas Eve was one of the biggest weeks for us. Especially Thursday night when we had just about everything to stock, especially in frozen foods. Part of my Christmas shopping was buying gift cards at my Giant Eagle (I didn’t have to but it was convenient for me). It’s a blessing being five minutes from home too.

It was a wet Christmas and sure didn’t feel like one that was memorable. I’m grateful for the new job and yesterday officially ended my longtime employment with WIS. I feel like I’m getting established there. I had to put my gender nonconformity on the back burner and after laying low, I’m back.

Coming up… I have a new sweater and leather leggings coming soon from Target so there will be a try on blog coming soon. I also have a new Juicy Couture purse that I bought with my JCPenney gift card. Look for that in the blog as well as some pictures.

Also, look for a preview of what’s coming in 2022.

Well we did it! This will be my 300th blog post on Stylish and Trendy. I’m so happy to have achieved this goal. Even as November came up short I told myself that I would get here and I did.

I just finished week four at Giant Eagle and it was a crazy one. Busy nights every day of the week with Christmas coming up. Last night was the busiest of them all. But so far I feel I’m in a good place. It’s a lot different than WIS was on many levels. I think I’m happy to continue on with this adventure for now.

I look back on past Christmas Eves and remember as a kid visiting Aunt Lotte’s house in North Versailles. Those was fun times. Especially the last Christmas Eve there. But I won’t get into detail on that one.

Aunt Lotte always bought us the nicest gifts every Christmas. One year it was Spirograph, another year it was a light up frisbee. It was Aunt Lotte who started the Turkey ball tradition in the mid 1980s. She also made that alcoholic punch with the strawberries in it. I wish we would have had more Christmases there that I could remember. Sadly, Aunt Lotte passed away just a few weeks after Christmas 1996. We’ve held down the tradition since 1998.

Mom makes a lot of food for Christmas and we’ve honored Grandma by having roast beef and sausage. She used to make her broccoli crab bisque every holiday but not this year. My aunt from Centre County started that tradition. We still have lebkuchen at Christmas, a favorite of my Gram’s over the years. Gramma Gaffron also had the Endless Gaffron Christmas tradition when everyone came to visit and celebrate the holidays. That usually ran until just before the New Year.

Mom also makes a ton of Christmas cookies. I was enjoying waking up every day to the smells coming from the oven. She’s made devil’s food, peanut butter cup, chocolate chip, and thumbprint cookies. She also makes her brickle which is amazing every year.

I tend to feed on the most annoying Christmas songs and that includes “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” I’ve long been a fan of 98 Degrees’ This Christmas and NSync’s “Merry Christmas Happy Holiday”. It was that generation I grew up with. I think Wham’s “Last Christmas” is the most annoying Christmas song of all time. Sorry Mariah haters.

“The Christmas Waltz” by Frank Sinatra was always one of Gram’s favorites and she played it every Christmas Eve when they would decorate the tree. We just got the Frank Sinatra Christmas album on vinyl and it plays well. My mom fell in love with the artwork on the back and it reminded her of those Christmases past.

Time to close off the blog and close off 2021 with my stats over the last two years. These are my blog posts over that period. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

Merry Christmas. ❤️ you.

If 2020 was the Year of Shopping Small and Social Distancing, 2021 is the Year of Gender Nonconformity and Dressing Nontraditionally. I’ve never been more happier or felt more confident than I have this year. While on break at a Lowe’s back in October, I talked to Maura about some outfit ideas. She saw how happy I was and said to me, “I really think you found yourself.”

So when did this gender nonconformity journey start? Around the summer of 2020 when I bought my purple bag and a pair of infinity scarves from Amazon. It took me a while to start wearing them to work because of how my coworkers might react. It didn’t go over quite as well in 2015 and eventually I gave up and got rid of my purses I bought from Amazon. Fortunately this journey has more staying power.

On my social media, I get bombarded with ads and one of them was for Coach. Combine that with the big Coach purse my coworker brought to work and I started to gain a huge interest in the designer brand. I eventually bought one in February and updated my wardrobe throughout the Spring. Even when sick and in the hospital I was fashionable. Fashionable 4eva 👗 👠!!!

I wore a nice outfit to Rob and Sara’s wedding. Her and her mother fell in love with my leopard print cardigan, hat, and my Coach purse. All of Sara and Rob’s friends were complimenting me too. Sara even asked me what the inspo was for me dressing nice. Some of it is the what but most of it is the who. At work back in August, Maura did crew briefing a little different asking us questions pertaining to how to count Lowe’s. I did one better and asked her “What my favorite brand of designer bag was” and “What (or who) inspired me.”

The dressing non traditionally has really taken off since the summer as the blog has really grown and the content has gotten better. I shop on Amazon but have started to buy clothes on Target.com. Here’s my leggings and a sweater dress that I bought in November.

On our last day at work before the changeover, I told Maura some things and I applaud her for being understanding. I told her that I came out as queer and she was really proud of me for admitting it. She and Ashley have been very supportive of me in this journey as are some of friends from high school who have read my blog. They’re always telling me, “Be You.” Rocco and his wife even have cheered me on in my gender nonconforming adventures in my fashion. My cousins have all been behind me in this adventure too.

Living my best life has taken a backseat until I got established at Giant Eagle but I think everyone is all right with it regardless. It’s hard when you have people who are old school who don’t get it. My gender nonconformity journey has been great and I’m not about to give that up because I made a few changes in my life.

My friends on Instagram have told me that I could inspire some people with my message. For example, Ragged Roots told me, “Don’t worry about the negative, just focus on the positive and be yourself. Not everyone will be on board but at least you are happy doing what you love and that’s what’s important!” Greensburg Live said this to me, “I wish people didn’t have to be afraid to be themselves. You could really help a lot of people.” What’d I say about being an inspiration?”

After Christmas, the journey continues. I have some cute bags in mind and another cute outfit in mind as well. Here they are.

Merry Christmas. Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

Tomorrow night I will reveal the #1 thing about my 2021. I’m excited to share what it is and I know some of you will too. Some of you may not like what I’ll post and that’s ok. Before I post 2021’s top event, I’d like to review the top ten from #10 to #2. I’ll also include some of the big omissions from the list that I included but just couldn’t find room for. This was a hard list to put together… no really it was. This year was the end of an era in many ways and I’ll hit on those points too. Without further ado, here’s my Top Ten of 2021 so far. Enjoy.

#10–Dinner, Disco, and Dancing—I got a dinner invite to my Toastmaster friend Sarah’s home for a night of fun. We had fun playing Catch Phrase. We then wrapped up the night with Sarah’s favorite activity, disco dancing.

#9–DTM Gala—This black tie affair held at Westmoreland County Community College was the same day as the girls’ wedding. Those of us who couldn’t run the gauntlet last year due to COVID finally got our opportunity. The fire alarms went off but that didn’t stop the dancing.

#8–Going to the Hospital—I went to the doctor to get a referral for a dermatologist so I could have my head cyst removed. It turned into a four day hospital stay. Health has never been more important to me than it is now.

#7–Katie and Matt Buy a House—My crazy Spring continues when my sister moves into her first home. It’s really close. It was the end of an era as my Grandma’s house went on the market and sold quick.

#6–Ten Years Toastmasters Strong—I celebrated ten years involved in Toastmasters. I’ve been to great places and visited many different clubs, netting me my Spirit of Toastmasters award in 2020. I’ll be joining Laurel Highlands Toastmasters in January.

#5–End of an Era—I looked back on 13 years of working at WIS and shared some of my best memories. I started my new job at Giant Eagle and I’m not complaining about the commute either. I celebrated Friendsgiving with Rob, Sara, and Rae the weekend before Thanksgiving.

#4-OMG I ❤️ COACH—I went shopping at Tanger Outlets and bought some Coach bags and a wallet. I went in feeling confident but window shopped at Kate Spade ♠️ to prepare myself. It’s my favorite designer brand of purse and it was my coworker who inspired me to buy one.

#3–Life Begins at 40–I had three celebrations for my 40th birthday. I celebrated with family at the Jean Bonnet Tavern. I had a fashionable lunch with my sister/fashion buddy at the Olive Garden. I capped off the weekend with a fantastic Fourth of July picnic that my mom put together.

#2–The Wedding—I got my invitation to Rob and Sara’s wedding after I got home from the hospital. It took me no time to RSVP. The ceremony was beautiful and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect for such a special day.

You may notice I omitted some other keynote events in my life. The Columbus Day weekend was one of the best as we celebrated our family reunion at Laurel Hill. The next day I really enjoyed myself at Ligonier Days and got to chat with one of my fellow Instagram friends (thebombshellsuite).

It was the end of an era for my family as my Grandma’s house went on the market and sold quick. Also, my parents and aunt retired from their jobs. My dad is working on becoming a bus driver for the Hempfield Area School District. Mom is enjoying being retired as is my aunt. It was also the end of the road as my company merged with its competitor, meaning major changes. After we broke the office up, I started planning my exit and it came in the form of a five minute commute to work.

#1 will be up tomorrow night.

A couple short but sweet blogs will be up in the next few days leading up to #1 which will be up Thursday night. I can’t wait to share what that is with you but if you view my Instagram stories you know what it will be.

Today’s blog is a Happy Birthday greeting to one of my FAVORITE 😍 people. Sara and I have known each other since 2008 when I attended church with her family. We saw a lot of each other until I left Greensburg Alliance for Cornerstone in 2015. We would reunite again in 2018 and our friendship since has never been stronger. We’re not just friends, we’re siblings. Actually we’re twins.

Sara has been a big supporter along with Maura and Ashley and my cousins when it comes to my gender nonconformity journey. She has been very accepting of me for who I am. She loves seeing me look very fashionable and she gives the thumbs up when I show her an outfit I want to wear; or, a bag I want to buy. Here’s a Lauren Conrad purse I’m interested in as well as a Juicy Couture purse.

Sara has been one of my inspirations when it comes to me dressing nice. Others who have inspired me include Rogelio from Jane the Virgin, Harry Styles, Hunter Schafer (Sara introduced me to her), and my former coworker Emily Swager (I think Sara would really like her and the girls). Sara and I always look amazing when we’re together. Paula always tell me that we’re have to help her pick out some nice clothes eventually.

I’m grateful for all our experiences this year. Being invited to her and Rob’s wedding, having coffee at Abigail’s (I wish we’d have seen more of each other when they lived in Ligonier), and of course Friendsgiving last month with Rae and Shannon. Oh, and lunch at the Olive Garden for my birthday. Plus all the get well wishes when I was sick and in the hospital.

Happy birthday fashion buddy. I’m so proud to call you family too.

I got the invitation right after I came home from the hospital. I was one of the first to RSVP. I was one of the few non-family members to be invited. Oh wait.

“You’re family. Of course you’ll be there.” That’s what Paula told me.

May 15 was the big day. It was a year in the making too. Rob and Sara’s actual wedding was May 16, 2020, but because COVID was going strong, they couldn’t have a big ceremony. Therefore they had pictures taken at Twin Lakes. A year later, this weekend was going to be very special and, I’m glad I got the invite.

I’ve had a special relationship with Paula and the girls since 2008. We met when I was attending Greensburg Alliance Church. She’s always said we’re family and the girls have always loved having me around. Sara sometimes forgets that we’re actually not related.

Our friendship (I never want to call it that because we’re like siblings to each other… more like twins) took a break but got stronger in 2018. Sara was working at Old Navy (it was her first job) and I bought some jeans while I was there. We caught up and both of us were going through some storms ⛈ in our lives.

I met her and her new husband Rob for dinner in December 2020 when they were living in Ligonier. We ate at the Tavern and the time there was well spent. I was just breaking into gender nonconformity carrying a bag. Enough backstory though. Let’s cut to the chase and talk about the Newsom wedding.

The wedding and the reception afterwards were held at the Westmoreland Country Club. The big day was finally here and the weather couldn’t be any more beautiful than it was on Saturday. This after the chilly Mother’s Day weekend. It was a perfect Spring day for the most part with sunshine and a few clouds.

After a short ceremony that included a great speech by the mom of honor/best mom Paula, the wedding party got some pictures and we socialized. The cutest little flower 🌸 girl ever (Ula) did a great job as did the Mighty ring 💍 bearer.

We then assembled into the ballroom and welcomed the bride and groom and their party. It didn’t take all of us long to reunite. I was seated at a great table near the wedding party. I got to know Sara’s brother in law Bill and Uncle Scott a little bit better. Rae came over and thanked me for coming (first time we’ve seen each other in ages). We also talked Bob’s and Target. Like Maura, Rae also loves Halloween. I think these two would get along great.

Paula thanked me for coming to the wedding and raved about me to everyone there. Her and Sara did their mother-daughter dance. They were trying to emulate the father-daughter dance Rogelio and Jane did when she married Michael on Jane the Virgin. They didn’t but that’s ok. I’d have loved to see that though.

During the reception, we’re all outside and everyone is having a great time (drinks and all). I’m decked out in my leopard print cardigan and hat, which Paula and Sara have fallen in love with. While getting a picture with Sara and her friends, she asks me what the inspiration was for my outfit and my inspiration for dressing nice. One of their friends also got a few pictures of me with the bride and groom. I think that picture of us is the best picture of 2021.

By now my health had improved from where it was a month and a half ago and both Paula and Sara had seen it in me. I began to head out as the sun began to go down. What a beautiful end to such a magical day.

I wasn’t at this next wedding but two of my former coworkers also tied the knot this past summer. Maura and Ashley were also planning to have their wedding in 2020 but that too was wiped out due to COVID. They had their wedding on July 24 (the night of my DTM gala at WCCC). Like Rob and Sara, they too had a beautiful outdoor ceremony.

I enjoyed seeing all the pictures that they posted on their Facebook pages as well as the video. The girls (as we always call them) honeymooned in Hawaii. We heard all about it when they came back on Aug. 8 when we had a 7-11.

I’m thankful for my friendship with the girls, as well as with Rob and Sara.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

Last week I caught up with the girls (Maura and Ashley) on Messenger and let them know how I was doing. They said they missed me and the subject arose on me coming back again . I let them know that things were going well at Giant Eagle. Maura told me that I had a spot on the Pittsburgh-Dollar crew at WIS if I ever wanted to come back. I told her I’d keep that in mind.

If anything it’s a nice fallback plan should Giant Eagle not work out. Things are great right now and we’re heading into our busiest week of the season. I talked to my mom and I do miss my friends at WIS but the best advice for me right is to stick with the Eagle. It’s convenient for me as I’m five minutes from home plus I’m guaranteed forty hours (for now). Don’t know what January and February will hold yet but I’m confident I’ll be in good shape.

This isn’t the only time I’ve struggled with staying at my current position, going back to what I was doing, or applying for something else. Let’s go back 20 years to the Spring of 2001.

I just completed my first semester at the community college and did very well. I was planning to take some summer classes while continuing to live at the Hiram G. Andrews Center. But I missed my friends at HGA and wanted to go back there and take their accounting curriculum. The difference between the programs is that the college is more theory, while HGA is more hands on. My OVR counselor and my friend told me that if I go back to HGA there’s no going back from it.

I stuck with my original plans and continued to attend the Community College. It worked out as I was able to transfer credits to Slippery Rock University a year and a half later and enroll there. I began my courses at the Rock in Fall of 2003.

If I go back because I miss my old life, I might miss out on a great opportunity.

Another time I was in this situation was during my time at Kings. Let’s go back to Christmas in 2006. I’m a few months into being employed by Kings and I hated my life. I thought to myself, “I have a little work experience under my belt”. I looked ahead to the WestPACS job fair in March. Then in 2008, I just wanted to get the hell out of there and contemplated going back to school. I got brochures from CALU and had two majors in mind. I was even going to set up a campus visit.

The WestPACS job fair in March 2007 was a bust. I was in over my head. I applied for a sales position at Bankers Life but it wasn’t going to pan out. Sales isn’t really my strong suit. I’ve been back to a few job fairs since but became comfortable with working at WIS and stayed there 13 years.

I was talked out of applying at CALU in September 2008 because I still had the loans to pay back from Slippery Rock and there was no way OVR would helped me anyways. That didn’t stop me from trying again in 2011 and once again I even scheduled orientation. But once again I backed out. It took me more than a decade to get over my funk. I become more content after 2013.

I didn’t really need to apply for jobs that weren’t for me; or, go back to school for a degree that wasn’t for me. I just wanted to get out of jail.

While the offer is there to go back to WIS, make it a fallback plan. Don’t do it because you miss your old life. Don’t tank Giant Eagle either to go back. You may just miss a golden opportunity.

Best advice is to just stick with it.

I completed my third week at Giant Eagle and have a busy one starting tomorrow night as we stock up for the Christmas holiday. It seems like I’m starting to have a better understanding of where things are in the store and continue to enjoy the team I have to work. However there are a few bad apples in the bushel. But that can be found anywhere. I know that from 13 years working at WIS. As I continue to work there I’m finding ways I can improve my production. Am I in it for the long term? I’m not sure yet but we shall see.

I had my appointment with my cardiologist on Wednesday. It went well. My blood pressure is lower than it’s ever been (130/80) and I had the doctor discontinue some of my medications. One of the current ones I’m taking is a stronger dose and I was put on a new brand of medication. I will need to have blood work done twice before my next visit in April and have an ultrasound done on my kidneys.

I caught up with one of my fellow WIS coworkers on Wednesday as well. Maura reached out to me on messenger and asked how I was doing. It’s been a month since my last inventory. They have had very little work on the Dollar side over the last few months. I know I wasn’t working much and my days I did work were very short.

Everyone wants me to come back. They upped the starting rate for counters and drivers as well. Maura said they would gladly take me on the Pittsburgh-Dollar side if I ever wanted to come back. After our conversation, it did get me feeling nostalgic for WIS again. It made me feel good that Maura, Ashley, and Mike were asking about me.

Would I come back… again? That remains to be seen. I’m not sure what January and February hold for me as the hours at GE will be reduced. I’ve had a taste of freedom being five minutes from home. There would need to be factors that come into play. I would rather drive a van to stores that aren’t close and, I want to know I’m getting good hours (30 a week at least).

Honestly, I do miss wearing my colorful WIS shirts every day. I miss looking fashionable every day at work. I also miss it because I was getting comfortable with my gender nonconformity there and I don’t want to lose that after working so hard to find myself and be happy.

Gender nonconformity is staying and I’m slaying 🔥 🔥 🔥. No matter where I work.

I’ll close off the blog with a picture from our work Christmas party a few years ago. I talked about it in my Stylish Christmas Party blog.