It was my first time on stage last night.

Last night, the Greensburg Toastmasters chapter held its club contest. We had four contestants in both the International Speech and Evaluation contests.

Our contest chair drew lots to see who would go first. The order of speaker was the same as the list of names. Faerie Grace went first and her speech was great. She is a whiz with balloon animals. Title of her speech was “What Would You Say” and love was the center of her speech. Here is the balloon she made for me.

I was the second speaker. Title of my speech was “Three Lessons”. It was about three things I learned over the course of the last two years. When things didn’t work out at Giant Eagle and I went back to WIS, I learned that things worked out the way they’re supposed to. When my Grandma was diagnosed with cancer and her health deteriorated, I was told “When it rains 🌧 it pours 😭”. It felt the same way when my colleague had a bad night and quit a few days later. I understand he needed a break but I took it hard. When I got the news, I felt like crying 😭. Despite my good fortunes in Toastmasters, things were looking bleak at home.

Grandma took a bad fall in her kitchen right before Mother’s Day and went to the hospital. She went downhill quickly from there. She was put into hospice and a few weeks later passed away. As I said, “When it rains, it pours”. That summer was one of the loneliest of my life despite going on vacation (or staycation). I celebrated my birthday and the Fourth of July but it was still a hard summer.

In late August, the rain ended and the clouds lifted. The rainbow 🌈 was visible and the sun finally came out. My colleague finally returned after his four month hiatus. This would be a major turning point for me.

Things began to fall into place by September. My work friends and I became closer and I made plans to move back home. I had an experience in Ashtabula while on a work trip that helped me to take a look at myself and become a better person.

I was honored with my Distinguished Toastmaster award in October in front of my club and guests who were there for the Open House. I finally moved back home in November.

I started to blog more regularly and it has become one of my passions. 2019 was sad with the loss of loved ones but it was a good year as well.

Denise Pullen and Claudette Kane also gave excellent speeches. Both were entertaining and family friendly.

We took a break and then it was time for the evaluation contest. Michelle Teague served as model speaker and it was our job to evaluate the speech she gave. All contestants gave great feedback. Her speech was on growing membership in the National Speakers Association.

Best speaker award went to Faerie Grace with Denise Pullen as runner up. I didn’t win but the experience was valuable. Faerie also won Best Evaluator with me taking second place. I’ll be representing Area 24 in the contest on March 7 in Oakmont.

Here’s the outfit I wore for last night’s contest.

I’m proud of myself for giving it the old Toastmasters try and our club for all they did to ensure a smooth contest. I love the praise I got for my stylish outfit I picked last night. I love us for being an awesome chapter.

Style blog tomorrow with more pictures of me rocking my V-neck tops. I’ve loved doing this all week. Saturday will recap the TLI makeup training in Monroeville.

❤️ you.

This blog will be a repeat of Saturday but it’ll have more words than pictures.

I started off Saturday morning with breakfast at my favorite place and then I went home and got ready to try on my new clothes. I laid them all out on my bed. Around Noon I wanted to start. I paired my khakis with one of my Dockers woven shirts. After a quick lunch, it was back to showing off my outfits.

The best part was trying on the colored V-necks (tops, not sweaters). I paired them with jeans. I’m not trying to attract attention to myself but here are a few pics from Saturday once again.

I’ll retake a few because I do like this pose. I’m trying to find my good side in pictures. I really like pairing these jeans with the V-neck tops. I bought them back on Labor Day at the JcPenney at the Mall in Robinson.

If I had two hands available I could have pulled off a Batman pose or something else (like holding a book 📖 or eating a piece of fruit 🍑).

I like this picture with the cardigan from Saturday. That is a coral V-neck from Old Navy. I bought both of these together online to avoid the shipping cost.

Now some of you may wonder why my face is missing in all these pictures (no I’m not camera shy). I was told that I accentuated the new wardrobe more by focusing on what I was wearing over taking selfies. Thank you Chase for the compliments yesterday. You are a true friend.

No blog tomorrow as I focus on for the speech and evaluation contest. A full report on the blog Thursday. I’ll have a recap of the Division C Makeup Training on Saturday.

More Stylish Outfit Pictures later this week.

❤️ you.

This is one of my daily life blogs. But it does have a little style to it.

I wore some of my new clothes yesterday to church and at home. Here’s how I looked.

I wore the sweater on top to church yesterday morning. I bought it at JCPenney. I paired the sweater with my cognac leather jacket.

I wore the bottom one that afternoon with the teal V-neck. I bought it on oldnavy.com. The Old Navy cardigans are nice to wear around the house or for going out.

Today I’m wearing the beige cardigan with a fuchsia V-neck. It always feels good to change out of my WIS attire into something nice. Here’s that outfit.

Chase enjoyed my pictures from the weekend shoot and he liked how I accentuated my outfits. There’s more where that came from. Can’t wait to rock that red leather jacket.

On to Toastmaster news. Wednesday night is Greensburg’s club contest. I’ll be taking part in the International Speech contest and Evaluation contest. The title of my speech is “Three Lessons”. The speech takes place over 2018 and 2019 as I deal with unsuccessful job changes and go back to where I am; go through a stormy period in my life; as the rainbow appears and the sun comes out, things begin to fall into place.

Division C TLI makeup is this Saturday at the Monroeville library by Gateway High School. I’ll be presenting as the meeting Toastmaster, and giving an account of my journey to my Distinguished Toastmaster Award. It should be good times.

Coming up in February is the Monroeville Club contest. Area contests for Division C begin February 22 with the Area 22 contest in State College. February 29 is the Area 21 contest being held in Johnstown at Pitt-Johnstown. March 7 is the joint Area 23/24 contest being held in Oakmont.

As was the case last year, I’ll be attending all four division contests. March 21 is a double contest day with Division B and D both having theirs that day. March 22 is Division A’s contest and March 28 is Division C’s contest.

April 17-18 is the District 13 Spring Conference.

Exciting times ahead of us with the blog and in Toastmasters. Have a great night. ❤️ you.

Today we started a brand new sermon series at church called “Advice for Aliens”. Naturally we kicked it off with a clip from Men In Black starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

In the Bible this morning, we turned to the Book of Daniel. He was not only a prophet but also an alien 👽. He was an Israelite taken captive as a teenager; he lived the rest of his earthly life on frozen soil. But he was extremely successful.

Daniel can be broken up into two parts. Anyone familiar to Daniel knows about the Fiery Furnace, King Nebuchadnezzar, and the Lion’s Den. That’s the first half. Daniel, like Jeremiah, was not just an alien, but also an amazing prophet.

Daniel became a top level leader in two empires and did it without changing who he was to please the enemy. His secret would be revealed in later years in a message delivered to him by an angel. Sounds like a good reading project. The message can be found in Daniel 10:19.

Christ followers too are aliens 👽, meaning they are not of this world (Luke 17:16). We also referred to Psalm 73 and 1 Corinthians 15:13, 16-20.

Five simple things that formed Daniel’s daily life are also the keys to living a successful alien life. They are:

• Don’t fear
• Understanding how precious you are to God.
• Peace
• Be encouraged
• Be strong.

Paul says that our citizenship is in Heaven. Peter calls us aliens in the first verse of his first letter. Heaven is our real home as followers of Jesus Christ however we live here on Earth 🌍 until that day we are called home. The five keys given to Daniel must apply to us too. This will be a good sermon series and I look forward to continuing with it.

Today was the day I was waiting for. It was the day I got to show off my clothes to all of you.

I went online to JCPenney.com and ordered an assortment of clothes from socks to V-neck T-shirt’s. I also ordered a couple of woven shirts that go great with khakis as well as a sweater. I spent Saturday afternoon putting together outfits and trying on my clothes and they all look good on me. Another stylish clothing party coming in February (not as big but I am going to rock my blazers and red leather jacket). I want to have some nice outfits for the contests and Spring Conference. Here’s the pictures of me modeling my new stylish attire.

The Dockers shirts are good for Toastmasters meetings. I’ll pair them up with khakis and either canvas or boat shoes. I like rocking the V-neck t shirts with jeans 👖 and boots 👢 or sandals. The Polo sweater goes good with jeans or chinos and boots or dress shoes 👞. Here’s more pictures.

I love wearing patterned socks. They go great with anything I wear. This brings me to nine pairs so far. I loved my cardigan I got for Christmas so much that I sprang for another one at oldnavy.com.

I’m so proud of this wardrobe update and I love you all for the support you give me by reading my blogs. I love my squad who applauds me on my attire and make my workplace better just by being there. We don’t always work together but when we do it’s always awesome. Squad goals: Style and blog like me.

I’m looking forward to ordering my blazers and red leather jacket in February and that will be it for a while on clothing. But online is definitely the way to go anymore. Brick and mortar stores are an endangered species. Even JCPenney and Macy’s aren’t immune.

I look forward to showing off my new threads. That’s it on the stylish blogs for now. Toastmaster time coming up with the contests and makeup TLI next week.

Enjoy your weekend. ❤️ you.

Tonight I am celebrating having finished season one of Gilmore Girls, which I did on Tuesday. I thought I’d be crazy to enjoy the show but I did.

I’ll rate the show by my favorite characters and talk about the episodes that stood out.

I think that Lorelai and Rory have a great bond. Having had a kid at 16 and running away from a wealthy family, the main character has turned out well despite everything that’s happened. Rory gets accepted into a fancy prep school. So, Lorelai needs to humble herself and ask her parents for money. Lorelai’s relationship with her parents has been strained so it’s a tall order. The price to pay is Friday Night Dinner with her parents.

The supporting characters do well. Sookie is the cook at the Independence Inn where Lorelai is the executive director. Lane is the aspiring rockstar and Rory’s best friend. Luke is the owner of the diner and Lorelai’s friend who gives her advice. Michel is the grumpy concierge who puts up with Lorelai’s antics. Then there’s Emily and Richard Gilmore, the parents who worry about how their daughter is raising their grandchild.

The second episode stands out as it’s Rory’s first day at Chilton and her mother arrives in shorts, a T-shirt, and cowboy boots. There’s also the one where Lorelai and her boyfriend Max (who is Rory’s English teacher) have a romantic night in the middle of a snowstorm. Rory meanwhile is stranded at her grandparents during the winter storm. Later on, we finally meet Rory’s Dad, Christopher. He’ll be in later episodes of the series. The meeting with Lorelai’s and Christopher’s parents is stormy as they argue over the events that led to Rory being born out of wedlock and plans being ruined.

Sally Struthers has a recurring role as Lorelai’s neighbor, Babette. Too bad they couldn’t get Rob Reiner to play her husband but by then he’s a famous director. Liz Torres plays the owner of the dance studio, Miss Patty. She was a boarder on All in the Family.

Overall, this show has a wonderful cast of characters who are great in their own way.

The setting is quaint. A small town in Connecticut between Hartford and New Haven, Stars Hollow reminds me of downtown Culpeper and even Ligonier. Now I want to spend time in Connecticut.

The writing is good for the first season. We will see if it’s just as good as the series goes on.

Overall I’m happy with the show and I look forward to season two and what it brings.

I’m drinking my coffee as I work on this blog.

Watch for my Stylish Outfit Party tomorrow. Enjoy your Friday night. ❤️ you.

I was never a fan of Gilmore Girls when it aired on the WB. I stuck my nose up at the show for the longest time. I couldn’t understand why folks enjoyed this show and thought it would be funny if they collaborated with, say, Everybody Loves Raymond. Frank and Marie at Friday night dinner? They’d complain so much it’d be hilarious. Ray would whine at Luke’s over how unfair Debra treats him. Robert in Stars Hollow? Everybody loves Raymond better than me. Woe is me. Ok, enough of that collaboration which is just silly to me now.

20 years after its premiere on the WB, I’ve had a complete change of heart about the show and absolutely adore it. I just finished season one on Netflix and will start season two Sunday night. I’ll do my review of the show on tomorrow night’s blog. Today is about the awesome Gilmore Girls Merch that I just purchased.

I picked up this book at Barnes and Noble on Monday. I’ve finished a chapter so far so I don’t know much about it but she did write it during the making of the Gilmore Girls reboot. I’ll let you know more.

I ordered this calendar on Amazon.com Monday and it came yesterday. It comes with stickers so you can plan your events. It also has quotes from the show as well as photos of my favorite pair. Is it hard to believe I used to despise this show with a passion?

I took a selfie of this picture last night. I absolutely love this T-shirt and want to get it as a sweatshirt in a future Stylish Shopping trip on Amazon. I’ll take another pic when I get the infinity scarf 🧣. This will go great with my leather jacket, jeans, and boots 👢.

Another Stylish Gilmore Girls blog tomorrow as I give my review of season one and talk about my favorite characters so far. The Stylish Wardrobe Update blog will be this Saturday. I’ll take pictures of me trying on all my new clothes.

Have a great night guys. Weekend’s almost here. ❤️ you.

Christmas came again two weeks after it occurred.

I made plans to update my wardrobe, which I do annually. I took the easier route and shopped online where most of my stuff would be available.

After a week and a half, my packages arrived in the mail. Here’s how I made out.

I liked my Polo sweater so much I bought another one. The woven shirts will go great with my Old Navy Khakis. I brought back the V-Neck T-shirts. They’ll go great with the blazers I’m buying on Amazon before I jump into contest season.

I just love patterned socks. I already have six pairs and am growing my collection.

I’ll be modeling my new wardrobe and putting together some great outfits this Saturday. Keep it tuned to the Stylish Traveling DTM.

Stay tuned tomorrow as I blog about my Stylish Gilmore Girls merch. Here’s a selfie of me rocking my Lorelai and Rory T-shirt. Have a great night. ❤️ you.

So stoked for this week’s coming blogs, but you have to get through the workweek to read them.

Friday’s blog will center on my newfound love of the Gilmore Girls. I’ll have finished season one and give my review of the show so far and who my favorite characters are. I might even model the new T-shirt I’m buying on Amazon if it comes in time. I’m excited to start season two and watch the whole series.

I’m blogging as fast as I can.

I need my coffee ☕️.

I think I found something that irritates my Dad more than Donald Trump.

Saturday is the big day. I’ll have my new clothes and I’ll be rocking them. Mostly some V-neck T-shirts (I wore one in Ashtabula when I was on the overnight and looked too casual). I also got some woven shirts that will go great with khakis. Here’s the pic.

Yeah I love rocking the patterned socks. I think the Amazon items will go great with one of my leather jackets or jeans. I’m hoping to find a pair of white or black jeans to pair them with. But I can’t wear white until Spring.

It’s Monday but Friday’s coming. ❤️ you.

It’s my first church visit for the new year and new decade. What better treat than having a prolife speaker there to share the message? It’ll get us in the mood for the March for Life later on in January as well as in May in Harrisburg.

Happy Pro-life Sunday. I admit that video leading up to the sermon made me emotional 😭. It’s ok to cry no matter who you are. Looking forward to the new sermon series next week.

First off I want to give a shoutout to the worship bands at Cornerstone. These guys do an amazing job week in and week out. I attended church in the Loft this morning and Jeremie, one of the worship leaders, just killed it this morning. I heard some familiar tunes as well.

I met Daniel Ritchie this morning in the lobby when I walked in. His books all sold last night but luckily the church has put some on back order. I signed up for a copy and it will be there next week. He even signed a 3 x 5 index card with his feet. If you’re asking why, it’s because he has no arms.

Daniel shared the story of his birth, having been born without limbs. Despite the odds, his parents didn’t give up on him. He talked about life growing up without any limbs. He also shared some funny stories. Despite his physical handicaps, he lived a normal life and did normal everyday things that most or all of us take for granted.

Ritchie and his family grew up in North Carolina. He is an avid Carolina Panthers fan.

He travels the country to speak to other church group and is a motivational speaker.

He always wondered why he was different when he was growing up. Why he didn’t have any limbs while others did. He struggled with doubts and insecurity 😟.

He said in his message that GOD shows His love to us no matter. Ritchie is pro-life because GOD is, not because of political platforms. He encouraged us to Believe that Jesus is the Son of GOD, but to also beware of the enemy who will steal, kill, and destroy. In GOD all things are made and He knew what He was doing when he created Daniel.

Ritchie shared his pro-life views and addressed how bad the problem has gotten with infanticide. His view of pro-life is not just being for the birth of babies no matter what risks come with the pregnancy. His view of pro-life is to take the Gospel to places unknown and spread it to those who really need it.

Daniel Ritchie’s life is one you can’t put a price on. I can’t wait to read his book when I get it next week.

Enjoy your week ahead. ❤️ you.