Last night was the first Greensburg Toastmasters meeting of 2021. Overall it was a successful meeting.
Our president Michelle Teague opened the meeting and introduced me as Toastmaster. I introduced our three speakers.
Awesome speeches by Greg, Chuck, and Sam. Greg really spoke to me with his speech on retirement plans. Should I go with a 401k or Roth IRA? I actually have an IRA CD with my bank. But at my age, this is something I need to get serious about and really commit to. I’m learning more about retirement from Chris Hogan. Chuck’s speech involved humor. With his setup, I thought he was going to give us a comedy routine. Break a Leg is what we tell those in the entertainment industry when we want to wish them good luck. Sam’s speech was something very near and dear to him. It’s also something that we need to pay attention to.
Jim Teague led Table Topics. The answers were very creative as we found out everyone’s theme song. Mine was ‘Smile’ by Vitamin C. I laughed as I learned everyone’s song.
We welcomed Josh Dilly to the meeting as our club coach. He brings lots of leadership experience to the table, serving as an area and division director.
Our club International Speech and Table Topics contest is during our next meeting on January 20. We have three speakers lined up (Denise, Jim, and Chuck) and four Table Topics contestants (Myself, Greg, Diane, and Jim).
Our Area contest is February 7 from 1:00 to 4:00 and the Division C contest will be March 13 (same time). I’ll be attending the Cranberry High Noon club contest Monday from Noon to 1:30. All three events will be covered in the blog.
This is a blog for all things Toastmasters primarily in District 13 and Division B.
Leadingoffthis blog, TLI Make-Up is scheduled. You can attend either training. Register in advance on the District 13 website at d13tm.com. Dates and times listed below:
January 16, 2021 – 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM
January 27, 2021 – 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM
FRED VORNBROCK RECENTLY APPOINTED AREA 13 DIRECTOR
District 13 and Division B congratulate Fred Vornbrock, DTM on his appointment as Area 13 Director. Fred is supporting the district in multiple roles including Corporate Liaison and President of the McKeesport Club; as well as other club officers roles, club coach, club mentor for two clubs and a personal mentor for various individuals. Recently retired, Fred is a dedicated Toastmaster and he is changing lives and having an impact on those whom he is serving.
Here is a schedule of upcoming Toastmasters events and contests.
I will be attending all division contests in addition to the area contests (Area 12 and 13, and three from Division C).
April 9-11, 2021 District 13 Conference and Annual Business Meeting
June 2021 Toastmasters Leadership Institute (Club Officer Training)
The Cranberry High Noon Toastmasters club, is hosting its international speech and table topics contest on Monday January 11th at 12 noon EST. Let the club know if you are interested in attend this event. The event is online and is free of cost.
I’ll close the blog by giving a shoutout to our district leaders for representing Division B this year. Thank you for your dedication in making District 13 successful.
Time to put the past behind as it has no place in 2021. What happened in 2020 stays there. I don’t mean the pandemic and all the shutdowns, but the grudges I held against others and the fights I may have had with people. It’s a new year and that means you’re forgiven.
A fresh start awaits me in 2021. That includes reading. I already started on a reading project at Christmas, and that’s the story of Hall of Fame safety and former Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu. I’m already on Chapter Six and thus begins the USC part of Troy’s life. He would play at Southern California before being drafted in the first round by the Steelers in 2003.
He was the heart and soul of the Pittsburgh defense in the 2000s. He descended from a great Samoan king. I !earned a lot about his upbringing in Oregon and his family life. His other brother was a great athlete, however, drugs and gangs derailed those dreams. His USC days set the tone for the Trojans to become of the best teams in the nation. He played with Heisman trophy winner and top pick in the 2003 NFL draft, Carson Palmer.
In the spring of 2020, before COVID became a household word, I was taking a class at church called Financial Peace University. I had taken it before in another life and wanted a fresh start this time around. The class was much different this time, with only nine weeks but the same seven baby steps. Joining Dave Ramsey this time around was daughter Rachel and personal finance and retirement planning expert Chris Hogan. Rachel definitely is following in her dad’s footsteps and educating everyone to live like no one else so later, they can live like no one else.
While I was off work in the Spring, I took the time to read their books. Chris Hogan’s Everyday Millionaires and Rachel Cruze’s Love Your Life Not Theirs. Both books pertain to the world of personal finance and money habits.
In Chris’s book, I learned that ordinary people can build extraordinary wealth. You can have $20 to your name in your early 20s and think getting rich is just a pipe dream. But if you educate yourself and discipline yourself, then it’s possible. The testimonials from these everyday people who became millionaires are astounding. Buy the book and read it. You won’t be disappointed.
Rachel’s second book was the one I read. Her first one is about teaching kids how to use their money wisely. I learned in ‘Love Your Life Not Theirs’ not keep up with the Joneses. When someone keep up appearances, you know something’s up. Life isn’t always as good as it looks on social media. Comparing your life to theirs will only make you feel insecure and inferior.
Here’s what I learned from my boss babe and blogger friends, social media is not real life. Facebook isn’t the whole picture and neither is Instagram. If you stay true to you and live and love your life, you will be just fine.
I look forward to reading ‘Retire Inspired’ starting this week and learning from it. I’ll have an updated report next week in the blog on this book as well as Rachel’s new book ‘Know Yourself Know Your Money’. I’ll dive into both this week.
Before I close out the blog, I want to give The Trendy Bunny Studio a shoutout for their event tomorrow night. This Goals Journal Class will help those create a Visual Goals journal and there will be a guest speaker. Tickets are required for entry. For those who can’t make it tomorrow night, Alisha has said this event will likely be once a month and a series. Sounds like a great night.
This holiday season was different for many reasons. Those of you who had planned to travel were stuck at home. If you wanted to have a big party, you were only going to be limited to a few people. Or you were going to have learn how to throw a party virtually.
I took advantage of the virtual platform known as Zoom and attended a few holiday gatherings myself. I attended four Christmas parties and I have Zoom to thank for that.
On December 17, I attended a joint Christmas party with the McKeesport and Penn Hills chapters. We heard a few speeches, played games, and sang songs. I also crushed it on the trivia that night, answering almost every question right.
The following Monday, I took in the Cranberry High Noon Christmas party. The word of the day was ‘festive’; the theme of the meeting was “Two Truths & A Lie”. We had to get the club to guess the one thing about us that wasn’t true. For me, I had the misfortune of making my question too easy to answer.
The next night at South Hills, we rocked our Christmas colors and had everyone laughing with our holiday swag. We also discussed our holiday traditions. The day before Christmas wasn’t a virtual meeting, but I stopped at Trendy to pick up a gift from Juliet to give to my co-workers for Christmas. I also had my picture taken with Team Trendy. They loved the picture when I gave it to them a week later.
The Gaffron Christmas party would have to be done virtually this time. My family had some experience with the platform. It turned out to be a success. We ate our cookies, rocked our bluelights, and whose Christmas tree that was. The virtual Gaffron Christmas party lasted a little bit over an hour. I even explained to my family what Trendy Bunny was. Liz and Olivia’s bluelight glasses reminded me of Trendy because Lacey always wears them. They do help out when you sit in front of a computer screen all the time.
Your plans may have been interrupted this year and you might have had to take it easy. But maybe a quiet Christmas is needed sometime in order to reflect. This was a crazy year after all.
Here’s to a Happy Healthy 2021. Wear a mask 😷, wash 🧼 your hands, and stay safe.
If I repeat some stuff in today’s blog, I do apologize. It’s been that kind of year.
Just like 2019, let’s break down the year 2020. Bet you didn’t think we’d be dealing with a pandemic when the year started, did you?
Early 2020– It started out normal. I developed a love for Gilmore Girls. I wanted to grow my work friendships from the previous year with my Squad. I was blogging every day. During the middle of the month, I had a ugly run in with a total stranger over a comment I made on a Pro-Trump page. She then started to attack my blog and my selfies. I got a vote of confidence from my District 13 Toastmasters family and from my cousin.
I started to realize that I was on a different path than my work family. They had their interests and I had mine. Toastmasters contest season heated up around the middle of February. Still a pretty normal start to the year if I do say so myself. I did a model speech for Area 22 and was a contestant in the Area 24 Speech contest. The best weekend was leap day weekend. It started out bad when I got ghosted by my friends at White Rabbit but I began to introduce myself to other people. The Area 21 contest was very well attended and I made some new friends from Elk County Toastmasters. I even started to make more friends at church.
I also began to follow local business around Westmoreland County. This would have a bigger impact on my life later on in 2020 and showed my love for my community and small businesses. The Trendy Bunny Studio opened up on March 6. I followed the shop and Masterspieces on Instagram and really enjoyed the content.
Then, the pandemic hit.
Spring 2020–With local businesses and malls shut down, there was nothing to do. Most people stayed at home and started eating junk food, gaining their “quarantine 15”. I was able to attend virtual Toastmasters meetings, go out to Ligonier, and walk around Twin Lakes. Parking was free as all the stores were closed.
Eventually I began to make the transition back to work. Masks would be required while working, and managers did their best to social distance the crew. Overall, it wasn’t too difficult to jump back in. The weather in May was crazy. From snow flurries on Mother’s Day to hot and humid just after Memorial Day. We had virtual club officer training on June 20. Over 200 toastmasters attended.
With the pandemic wreaking havoc everywhere, we decided to stay close to home for vacation. Instead of going to Cape May as in past years, we went to Erie instead. We went to Waldameer Park, Presque Isle, and I even went to the Dobbins Landing and saw all of downtown. It was a quick and easy vacation that concluded with a stop at the Grove City outlets. Just like last summer, it wasn’t very eventful. But excitement was in the air for the fall. Remember Masterspieces, which at the time was part of Trendy? Courtney, the owner, was getting ready to open up her own store over Labor Day weekend. One summer day in Latrobe, as I was appreciating the beauty of the fountain and the Fred Rogers statue, I looked for the location of the new shop. I knew it was going to be a great location. Next to Greensburg and Ligonier, Latrobe has became my favorite local town.
I attended my first night market in late August. I met Wolf and Whisk Baked Goods owner Kelsey Blahovec and bought some cookies (included was a GBG sticker from Masterspieces). I was excited about the grand opening. She was going to have a popup one of the nights of the grand opening. This night was the start of many local business experiences for me in 2020.
That night, I also made the decision to let go of my past. It was 20 years since I started at Hiram G. Andrews center. It could have been so easy to just relive those good old days but in the end it was best to just let the past go. Labor Day Saturday I decided to bid my past farewell.
Just as late 2019 was about improving my style, late 2020 would be about growing friendships. I began my Labor Day holiday by visiting Masterspieces for their grand opening celebration. The next day I made my first ever visit to the Trendy Bunny Studio. I also stopped at RSVP before making my way up to Johnstown for my aunt’s birthday. I began to build great relationships in the community. I also grew my network on Instagram by following the bloggers who attended the event at Trendy on September 20. One of those people has encouraged me to find the joy in my everyday life.
At the Fall Symposium, I was recognized for my DTM and as an added bonus, I also won The Spirit of Toastmasters award. I was quite surprised when my name was called. In December at our Club Officer training event, we held a panel discussion about the Spirit of Toastmasters and answered questions pertaining to membership, education, and other club experiences.
This might be the third time I’ve done this blog so it might be a bit redundant. But I can say with enthusiasm that I’ve gotten 2020 out of my system. It’s time to do 2021 and look ahead to all that this exciting year has to offer.
I’m sure all of you are ready to end this year we called 2020. I am too. I’m ready to jump into 2021 and set some goals. But let’s talk about the good that came out of this year.
I came into 2020 hoping to improve my work relationship with my four friends I collectively called the Squad. It started out well and then we all got busy and we didn’t always work together. Our last day working together was right before everything shut down due to the pandemic. We all reconvened at some point in June.
I became active on Instagram and began to follow small businesses and boss babes on the network. I learned more about businesses that were opening up like the Trendy Bunny Studio and Masterspieces. Eventually, I began to visit these stores in person. Thanks to Instagram and Trendy, I also began to grow my blogger network. Plus, I’ve grown my friendships very well this year. I traded up and it’s benefited me very well.
My shining moment came in September when I won the Spirit of Toastmasters award at my Fall Symposium. I earned the award because of passion for visiting other clubs in the District and promoting them in my blog. I shared my award with my work family as well as my church family. I was quite surprised when I was honored with the prize. It even led into the three of us who won the award to take part in a panel discussion at the club officer training.
But let’s get into what this blog is about. My plans for 2021. The whole year isn’t quite set in stone, but the first three months look exciting so far. Let’s talk about it.
January will bring some interesting reading. I have some Christian books as well as some personal finance reading in mind. I will be promoting Division B in the blog as well as the upcoming event at Trendy on January 4. Now that I’m debt free, I’m going to get serious about saving and planning long term for retirement. There’s also that little trip to Disney coming up in September. I’ll have to plan for that too. Club contests start up in January and I’ll be participating in those too.
February is when we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Area Contests will be starting up as well. Hopefully, it won’t be as crazy come March like last year. I’d like to plan a shopping trip to Tanger Outlets around the end of the month to usher in Spring. I want to treat myself while at the same time planning for the future.
2021 will be a milestone year and it will be a magical one as well. It will also be a year of self care.
Continue to look for my #joyspotted posts on Facebook as well as positive affirmations.
I’ll start this final blog of 2020 by telling you what I told accidental_farmgirl (Bria). If I learned anything from this year, 2020 has taught me to invest in my community, let go of my past, and support my local everything.
This year was my 20th since graduating from Hempfield Area High School and starting college at the Hiram G. Andrews Center. It’s been very easy for me to want to relive my past and recreate those moments because they were my good old days. On Labor Day Saturday, I made the decision to leave the past behind.
2020 brought me new friends and connections. Courtney from Masterspieces; Kelsey from Wolf and Whisk; and Cheri from Maisy Cakes. Also, the girls from the Trendy Bunny Studio. Before I visited these people and their businesses in person, I followed them all on Instagram. I was keeping up with Team Trendy even before their grand opening. Masterspieces followed, and late that summer brought Wolf & Whisk and Maisy Cakes.
I’ve become great friends with all of Team Trendy. I’ve shared my Toastmasters achievements with them (my Distinguished Toastmaster medal and my Spirit of Toastmasters award). I’ve shopped there and I’m always giving them my encouragement and blessing. The event held there in September encouraged me to keep up with and befriend those Instagram bloggers who attended and I might have some ideas about what kind of content to post in 2021.
The new name for my blog symbolizes my last two years. 2019 taught me to dress nicer (the Stylish) and 2020 brought me new friends (the Trendy). Both experiences were the inspiration for my new blog name. You know what they say, third time’s the charm. I think this name will stay.
“Stylish 👢 and Trendy 🐰.” I really love it, and I know you will too.
The year 2020 is almost over. Good riddance. It’s been a hard year with COVID, social distancing, and a crazy election year. But 2020 also had its moments where it was wonderful.
The blog was really beginning to take off. I was hoping to grow my relationship with my work family before COVID hit. But things turned out for the best thanks to social media.
I was so excited about upcoming Toastmasters speech contests and the conference, and then the pandemic shut everything down.
2020 taught me to find new interests, develop a routine, and appreciate my community and local businesses. My work has taken me around most of SWPA and even beyond. In the past I would go to Pittsburgh and shop. This year was different. I started to hang out more in downtown Greensburg, Latrobe, and my new favorite hotspot, Ligonier (my little Stars Hollow).
Oh yeah, I discovered Gilmore Girls in 2020. Around the holiday weekend just before New Year’s Eve, I began to get into the show. I watched all seven seasons on Netflix. It really related to me this time around. The series ran during my college years. I didn’t have as much interest for it when it aired on the WB. Now I’m a huge fan of the show and would definitely rewatch the series. I’ve accumulated so much Gilmore merch this year. Can you say fanatic? Here’s my latest Stars Hollow find.
Downtown Greensburg had a grand opening for a store that would have a major impact on me later on this year. On March 6, the Trendy Bunny Studio opened it doors to a packed house. The line to get in stretched all the way back to South Pennsylvania Avenue. The place consisted of three women, three businesses, and big dreams. For a long time, I followed Trendy and another business (Masterspieces) on Instagram and learned about them by following their posts and watching their videos. Eventually we began to share common interests. Alisha and I both love Gilmore Girls. She wanted to be like Lorelai and I wanted to be like Rory.
When COVID hit in March, Trendy was shutdown along with everything else. They were only open a week before being forced to close. But they persevered though it all and reopened in June. This pandemic would teach me to appreciate small businesses and to support my local everything.
This summer, due to COVID-19, was uneventful. Our Cape May trip was cancelled as my family worried we’d bring home symptoms. Therefore, we settled for Erie. It was still fun but nowhere near as fun as the shore. The end of August marked 20 years since I’m started college. Rather than try to relive it all again and again, I felt it was best to just let it go once and for all and leave the past in the past. My walk around HGA on Labor Day Saturday marked the end of an era. Just as last year when I retired my SRU homecoming tradition, so I did the same thing with Johnstown.
Just as I wrapped up my visits to the past, I began to shop small and support my local everything. My visit to Masterspieces on Labor Day Friday was awesome. I got to meet Courtney’s family and hooked up once again with Kelsey. We had met up a week before at the Greensburg Night Market. She did a pop up that night. We talked about night market and this visit would be a turning point.
I worried that people would look at me weird because of how I presented myself. But everyone made me feel confident. I learned how to “Be Me” and I made out pretty well that night. The Mister Rogers book and Shop Local tumbler are still two of my favorite purchases from Masterspieces.
My visit to Trendy the next day would be the first of many. I introduced myself to Jen and Lacey and got to know more about the business. We talked about life and I learned that we’re all Hempfield graduates. Soon after, in subsequent visits, I got to meet more of Team Trendy. The girls have all become wonderful friends of mine.
In September, the Trendy Bunny Studio held a blogger event. I read about it on Instagram and while I knew most of Team Trendy (I’d meet Juliet a week later), I got to meet some other new faces and start following their pages and reading their blogs. One of those is Joyfullyyoursamanda, and boy does she have a story to tell. She has had her struggles with depression and isn’t afraid to talk about her mental health. But she started her page to spread joy, and I’m blessed to call her friend, just like I am friends with Team Trendy.
Amanda posts those things that bring her joy, also known as #joyspotted. Her passion for finding the joy in every day has encouraged me to do the same. She’s one of many Instagram bloggers and boss babes whom I’ve had the opportunity to befriend this year. Others include Kati (LondynnKate Photography) and Bria (accidental_farmgirl).
Here’s some pics of Team Trendy from their big events this year. Halloween, Small Business Saturday, and Christmas.
The District 13 Awards Ceremony was last Saturday. It was held virtually. The awards ceremony was held first before the main portion of the Fall Symposium. I was recognized for my DTM and as an added bonus, I also won The Spirit of Toastmasters award. I was quite surprised when my name was called. But visiting other clubs paid off as well as my passion and personality. Cranberry High Noon won club of the year for Division B and, along with Earlybirds, is one of my most visited clubs in District 13.
In December at our Club Officer training event, we had a panel discussion about the Spirit of Toastmasters. The three award winners all answered questions that pertained to membership, education, and other related topics. The theme was a Christmas Carol, so the panelists dressed like the Spirits of Toastmasters Past, Present, and Future.
I’m going to close off the blog by talking about how much I love going to Ligonier. It all started during the pandemic when I needed something to keep me busy. I made it up there a few times in the Spring. I walked around Main Street, ate lunch in the Diamond, and sat in the gazebo. Once the restrictions were lifted, I was able to go in some of the shops and look around.
Ligonier is pretty at Christmas. I can’t say that enough or don’t go there enough to appreciate it. The Diamond is just stunning with all the decorations and when it’s all lit up. I took many pictures this holiday season. Here are just a few.
Merry Christmas. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and be grateful for what you have. Remember that Christmas is not about the presents under the tree, but the people you’re close to. You don’t know what someone’s going through, so be good to them this holiday. Remember when someone helps you out to pay it forward in the future.
On December 5, District 13 held its biannual club Officer training (or TLI). The three Spirit of Toastmasters award winners (Nate Stephens, Tina Kramer, and myself) took part in a panel discussion that topped off the awesome event. Kat Licause served as the moderator. Her questions were split among the three of us. In addition, it was a Christmas Carol theme and we had costumes for our Spirit roles. We also had backgrounds that tied into the theme.
Today, I am going to tell you what I did to win the award; how I can encourage you to have a true award winning Spirit of Toastmasters (plus what can really break that Spirit and your club); finally, who do I thank for this award 🥇?
I won the award because of my interest in visiting clubs outside of my own. In my nine year Toastmasters career, I’ve gone from being just a member, to serving as an area director twice, division director, and having multiple club officer roles.
However, my most memorable role so far has been serving as District Sergeant at Arms. I had a lot of people in my court cheering me on. As I performed the role at conferences and at club officer training, I began to grow. My spirit and confidence had risen. I was well trained in my role and had a lot of fun doing it.
What fuels my interest in Toastmasters? Getting the opportunity to form friendships with those members in my club and in the other clubs I visit. One of the most frequent clubs I check out is the successful, award winning Cranberry High Noon chapter. They even treat me like an unofficial member of the club.
The reason I won the award is because of my Toastmasters personality. I am a goodwill ambassador to the District. I promote Toastmasters on social media and in my blog. I am a congenial, kind person and a friend to you and everyone I meet in my Toastmasters travels.
Nate Stephens won the award for his work leading Penn Hills from Extinguished to Distinguished. Tina Kramer won it for her role in helping lead Earlybirds to President’s Distinguished. I won it for my passion for traveling to other clubs and my personality.
But how can I encourage you to develop that true award winning Spirit of Toastmasters? 1) Ask around, and see what you can do to help. Take the initiative and run with it. 2) If you’re active on social media or have a platform, get on that soapbox and promote your club and District 13. Plug the upcoming events and give shoutouts to your clubs and members when they earn achievements. Visit those clubs and participate. Talk about your experiences to get others fired up for Toastmasters. 3) In your home club, develop a passion for success and don’t give up. Push the Distinguished Club Program, and encourage your members to give those speeches and earn those awards.
One thing, however, that can extinguish that Spirit and cause division in your club is “membertude”. It’s that constant complainer who might feel they’re overworked or they don’t want to do more than they feel they need to.
It’s a detriment to your club and can cost you members and discourage others from going for their club or Toastmasters goals.
Whom do I thank for the award and for my Spirit of Toastmasters?
I want to give a round of applause 👏 to the members who were kind enough to have me visit their club. Great example of this was last December when I visited Cranberry High Noon. The members gave me a warm welcome when I walked in the door. That itself shows a true Spirit of Toastmasters and from a successful club.
I also want to tip my hat to my home club and those who are passionate about their club’s success. These people never stop pushing the greatness of their chapter.
To close, I want to thank those District leaders past and present who have been there with me from the beginning. They led the way in my early years, encouraged me as I worked toward my Distinguished Toastmaster award, and their Spirit of Toastmasters has rubbed off onto me.
The night before was my Trendy March around Greensburg. For Black Friday, I had plans to visit the Neighborhood and my little Stars Hollow.
Before my adventure in the evening, I spent my Black Friday morning decorating. My mom decorated the house while Dad put up lights outside. Christmas decorating was queen 👑 that morning. I also decorated my little tree and strung lights around it. I also put up my ornaments that I bought from Target. My two foot tree had a red star atop it. It’ll look nice on my dresser. The Nutcracker snowman will be my Countdown to Christmas starting tomorrow.
While doing my decorating, I decided to put on Gilmore Girls. I caught a couple of the Christmas episodes. Stars Hollow looks so much like Ligonier doesn’t it? The Bracebridge dinner from season two is one of my all time favorite episodes. I even wore my Stars Hollow sweatshirt.
I stopped at the mall en route to Latrobe just to see if I could spot a hot chocolate bath bomb at the Maisy Cakes cart. Sadly there weren’t any there. But I did get to chat with Cheri and ask how business was going. She was going to keep one for me on Saturday (a hot chocolate or Grinch). After a brief stop at the mall which included buying a Christmas present for my aunt and mother, it was back on my adventure.
I arrived in Latrobe just as it got dark. I was greeted with beautiful lit up storefronts in downtown Latrobe. The pictures alone tell the story.
The tree was all lit up in Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Of course I snapped my picture of him on the bench. Daniel Tiger greets you as you come into town. I got him and all his friends. The storefronts looked so beautiful and lit up.
I rounded out my Latrobe adventure at the Latrobe Art Center. It’s a great place with a nice little cafe inside. Can’t forget that Latrobe is also home to the banana split.
I then made my way into my little Stars Hollow. I was in for a treat. The Ligonier Diamond was just stunning. I parked my car and got some pictures of the lights in town.
I walked over to the gazebo and witnessed a marriage proposal in front of the lit up Christmas tree. I even offered my congratulations to the newly engaged couple. I also got a few selfies. The pictures tell the story more than the words. I wasn’t here long, just enough to see the sights. What a nice little excursion this was.
I am feeling full after this wonderful time off. Thanksgiving has ended and now it’s time for Advent. The Countdown to Christmas is on. More joy planned for this upcoming week. I’ll post it on Facebook and Instagram and on the blog.
Have a great week. I smell snow. Bye everyone. ❤️ you.
