Starting this blog off with a couple of awesome shoutouts.

The first one is to my Alma mater. How sweet is this view of Old Main? This is from the first day of classes this past Tuesday. Still a little snow on the ground from the weekend but it makes for a nice view. I used to make this walk to classes, the University Union, or the ARC every day.

You’ll see shoutouts to Slippery Rock every day as I promote the university on the blog. Contemplating a return to the old homecoming tradition this fall (I’m going). Maybe the year away helped me realize how much I really love doing it.

I also want to give a shoutout to Chase and Emily. Chase gave me the drive time this morning, even though he drove the van to Brentwood. Had I not left at 9, I think we’d have had a fun van ride home. Emily deserves a shoutout too because she’s a hard worker at every job I work with her on, especially at Lowe’s. The girls (Maura and Ashley) also get a shoutout just for being awesome. I love my squad.

I don’t have much on my mind for a good blog today without having to do research. I want to do one on libraries but I’ll keep that in mind for a later date. I have my cousin in mind on this one.

I’ve been taking a break from reading because I’m having a hard time concentrating on one book. However, I’ve been enjoying Lauren Graham’s “Talking as Fast as I Can”. I’m trying to read this book as fast as I can 😝.

I think I’m starting to break out of my reading funk. I’m also reading an easy guide to understanding Shakespeare. I fancy myself as a Shakespeare enthusiast. I enjoy the classics and autobiographies. I also have some Christian ✝️ books as well as a few textbooks. As a Gilmore Girls enthusiast, it’s best to read like Rory.

Here’s some of my favorite reads

I’m going to close this blog off. It’s going to be a quiet weekend with no real sports events to speak of. No Toastmasters until next week when Greensburg gets together. But contest season will be here soon as well as registration. Here’s a mirror selfie to wish you all a great Friday night.

Bye everyone ❤️ you. 💕 😘 🤗 😚

Looks like I’m showing no signs of stopping.

After getting attacked Friday night for my content (all the leather jacket pics), I’m on fire 🔥 with the blog. Some words of advice I picked up today: Be Fearlessly and Unapologetically YOU!

Look at me ROCK out! 😊 👍❤️

Yesterday I got my seasonal Slippery Rock magazine in the mail. Along with it came a 2020 calendar. Now I did say I swore off Slippery Rock and homecoming after last fall when I attended the Fall Symposium in October. But did I really mean that?

With the Stylish Traveling DTM really taking off, I’m rescinding that plan. Slippery Rock University will always be a part of me. Maybe I owed it to myself to take a break and check out the big Fall Event that I missed the year before.

I’m going to promote the Rock in my blog and once again make some trips up there. Many memories of that place from the mid 2000s timeframe. The free publicity will be good for them and who knows, they may want to share my stuff too.

This blog ROCKS.

While I know no one up there anymore, the school will always live on in me. Walking the campus always brings back memories. The residence halls have changed since I graduated in 2005, moving to the south end of campus. The new student union (The Bob as I passionately refer to it) is just awesome. Where that stands were the old residence halls of Harner, Bard, and Dodds.

Even though it’s been 15 years, it still feels like yesterday that I was just there.

I follow Slippery Rock on Instagram and on Facebook so anything Rock-related will be up on the blog. That includes graduation 🎓 and other big events.

My favorite buildings on campus are still Swope and of course, that beautiful ARC (Aebersold Recreation Center).

Congratulations to the Slippery Rock football teams for advancing far into their playoff run.

In Toastmasters news, I had a short phone conversation with District 13 Director Denise Etter about my article from Monday (Fashionable Reports and other Stylish Shoutouts).

She said it was fantastic and that I had a lot of good to say. It looks like another good year for District 13. Some well deserved shoutouts for Earlybirds and Cranberry High Noon. I’ll be making an Earlybirds visit this Spring.

We’re going to put my article in the newsletter but it needs to be whittled down to two paragraphs. Once Denise and Patti (Thor) look over it, I’ll have a better idea of how to word it in the District newsletter. I’m excited to see how it turns out.

I’m so glad that my blog is getting rave reviews and that’s it’s helping people and my Toastmasters District as well. This has been good for me and I show no signs of slowing down.

For a Rock Solid Education, check out Slippery Rock University. Learn more at sru.edu.

To improve your speaking and leadership skills, join Toastmasters.

Have a great Thursday. Weekend’s almost here. ❤️ you.

It’s been a great start to 2020 for the blog and for me. 

I’ve got 25 posts up on the Stylish Traveling DTM so far. The last few blogs have gotten great views and are setting records. I got some new clothes (part of my annual New Year’s wardrobe update) and rocked them in my mirror selfies. I do plan to improve my photo opportunities in the coming months.

In TV, I’ve been enjoying Gilmore Girls (to the chagrin of some people, my dad one of them). I’ve even found some people to share my newfound love of the show with. I have my Lorelai and Rory T-shirt and plan on buying a GG sweatshirt. The Lauren Graham book is great and the calendar hangs on the door in my bedroom.

I could spring for the GG Squad Goals shirt but it’s a girls T-shirt so I don’t know how that’d go over. I have my own 3609 WIS Squad Goals in mind.

So anyway, onto what I want to accomplish for February. The early part of the month I’ll catch up on good Nintendo Switch time as well as watch some movies on Disney+. I’m thinking Toy Story 4 or Pirates of the Caribbean. I want to play Luigi’s Mansion 3 as well as the old standbys (Mario Kart 8, SMB U Deluxe).

I’ll get back to TV around the 9th when I start season 3 of the Gilmore Girls. I’ll also continue with B99 and HIMYM.

Toastmasters contests will begin for me on the 22nd with Area 22’s in State College. Area 21 will hold theirs on Leap Day at Pitt-Johnstown.

From mid February to mid April, most of my weekends will be reserved for Toastmasters functions.

I plan to put money toward the conference and hotel as well.

The last leg of my wardrobe update will occur as well. Look for a stylish outfit blog around mid February. Maybe I found my plans for Valentines Day. Here’s what I’m getting in addition to the GG sweatshirt.

Another leather jacket blog is coming as well as a blazer blog. You’ll see all the pics and colored V-neck tops once again.

Exciting things to come next month. Spring and longer days will be here soon.

It’s almost the weekend. Just keep plugging away.

Have a great night. ❤️ you.

To all of you who read my blogs and enjoy the content I put in them, thank you for liking what I post.

To those of you who liked my pictures on last week’s style blogs, thank you for your support.

To all of you who had my back last weekend when I was verbally attacked on Facebook, I’m grateful for you coming to my rescue.

To everyone who checked out my latest blogs, there’s more where that came from.

I’m pleased 😀 to be able to do this for all of you. The blogs have become like a good luck charm for me since I started doing them regularly back in November.

I updated my wardrobe and I looked forward to taking pictures. I’m pleasantly surprised at how well the Leather Jacket Blog did Friday night.

I want to get someone to take pictures so you can see the full me rocking my outfits. I also want to find a great setting to do a photo shoot at like Twin Lakes; or, downtown Ligonier in the diamond at the gazebo.

When I got home from work on Friday, it was time to do the photo shoot that would be my Leather Jacket blog. I was rather proud of my mirror selfies.

Unfortunately I made a comment in passing on a Pro-Trump page over a free Trump calendar and wouldn’t use it as toilet paper 🧻. This set off someone with obviously nothing to do but tear me down. She bashed my blog and me. But I’m not quitting this blog by a long shot. I eventually blocked her and we had her reported to Facebook since she had no business going on my page. I’m so thankful for the support I’ve gotten on my blog and know who my real friends and family are.

My latest blogs have gotten the views. I think adjectives that stand out in the title get people coming to my blog. I’m going to keep that practice going.

Thank you all for taking an interest in the Stylish Traveling DTM. ❤️ you.

Some of you will get some nice shoutouts from me today in this Toastmasters blog.

During Saturday’s Division Classy (yeah, like Division Awesome and Division Brilliant), our Divison Director Brett Aristegui covered the bases on how clubs in Area 23 and 24 are doing. While BPMI and Sallie Boggs were doing good, things at Ambassadors and Penn Hills were not as peachy. How those clubs do will have an impact on the area and division and if they make distinguished.

Brett has done a superb job this year serving as our Division Director and led a great breakout for Div. C during our winter TLI. He has also appointed the Greensburg husband and wife duo Jim and Michelle Teague to roles within the district. Jim as Area 21 Director and Michelle as Division C Program Quality Director. I’m blessed to work with all three in District 13 this Toastmaster year.

Area 24 is looking good. Greensburg is leading the way as a premier club thanks to the leadership of the Teagues and other officers and dedicated members who come out the first and third Wednesday. They’re on their way to being Presidents Distinguished. I think a celebration is order if we hit that benchmark. If so we need to invite Brett and Area Director Sue Mals because their leadership and hard work has helped too.

Monroeville is down due to members being hesitant to start Pathways. Always the one holding up the area, they need some help now.

McKeesport gained a few more members in the new year and is trying to defend their Distinguished status. They were so close to Select Distinguished. I credit the club with letting me coach them to success and in turn, achieve my Distinguished Toastmaster award. Unfortunately they’ll be down a member as I’ll be stepping down after March 31 and not renewing.

Achievers is the new kid in the block. A select distinguished chapter last year with quite the comeback story, they’re down to 11 members and need some help. We’ll be trying to promote them at the upcoming Spring Conference. They’ll be gaining a member next month with Michelle Teague joining the chapter.

Other shoutouts include the Earlybirds chapter in Butler. They’ve gone up in membership since July 1 and have a past district governor leading the way as club president. Ten members has grown to 18 since the beginning of the year. I hoped to attend an event of theirs back on October 26 but was too sick to attend. I might go up in the Spring if I’m not too busy. It’s worth getting up early on a Saturday to check them out plus I can drive up to Slippery Rock afterwards.

The Moon Toastmasters club always does good. Starting out as a corporate club, they struggled with membership. Eventually they converted to an open club. I visited back in August 2017 and was impressed with how well they were doing. I hope to make a visit up there later this Sprjng or in the Summer.

The club that has been my club away from home: you know what it is. The Cranberry High Noon Toastmasters club. Anytime I get the opportunity to have a Monday off of work, I make the drive up I-79 to visit this amazing chapter in District 13. Just six years old, this club has achieved Presidents Distinguished honors every year. The members there are great and make me feel welcome anytime I attend.

I have a great story and that is from the December meeting. I walk in the door just before Noon and everyone is there to greet me. They even call me by my new blog name. Apparently everyone got wind that I was starting the blog. Sarah Souri, who has become one of my great friends and a big supporter of my blog and stylish attire, asked what led me to start going stylish. I gave her the whole story. There are others in that club besides Sarah who have become not just friends but family to me. Bobby, Kathy, Kim, Tina, Mike, Rashmi, Judy, and others are pleased when I come to visit. I wish I was more available and close to the area because I would definitely join in a heartbeat.

Bobby, Kathy, Sarah, and Leslie all received their Distinguished Toastmaster awards at last Spring’s conference and formed what I call the DTM huddle. I plan to have my own this upcoming conference plus an awesome DTM Dance.

Moon and Cranberry High Noon are just about to Presidents Distinguished. Greensburg is going to get there. Earlybirds will be Distinguished because they’ve grown their base. If members complete pathways projects,I have no doubt they’ll be President’s Distinguished too.

I love my District 13 Toastmasters family and am looking forward to this contest season. April 17-18: Save the date for Spring Conference. Hilton Garden Inn at Southpointe. Have a great Monday. ❤️ you.

It was a great weekend, despite a few minor hiccups (one being the weather).

Friday was the big day I’d been waiting for. I’d tried on my new clothes the Saturday before and earlier in the week. I was going to kick it up a notch by modeling my colored V-neck tops with my jeans (I had a certain pair I wanted to use for this photo shoot) and my leather jackets. I took plenty of “mirror selfies” but chose only a dozen to post on Facebook. Here are my top 3.

I really rocked the leather jacket that night. Unfortunately, the night didn’t go off without a hitch. A total stranger came onto my Facebook and bashed my pictures and my blog. It was because of a comment I made on a pro-Trump page. I blocked the person last night and my cousin reported her to Facebook for harassment.

Yesterday was Division C TLI makeup training. Our area directors and division director ran an effective training and 20 people showed up. I gave an overview of winter TLI, served as Toastmaster, and gave a testimony about my Journey to DTM. Also covered were Officer Roles and Responsibilities, Moments of Truth, and Pathways. The training started on time and ended on time. Here’s us with our certificates of participation.

I served on the Front Line Ministries team at Cornerstone last night in the Welcome Center. I learned something last night and that is I know some people who like Gilmore Girls. We talked about our favorite characters and how close Lorelai and Rory are. I listened to the Bangles because of the episode where Lorelai and Sookie take Rory and her friends to a concert. I’m still planning on springing for that sweatshirt and the red leather jacket.

Today I posted a blog inspired by a fellow Toastmaster about looking at the glass half full. This afternoon I attended my monthly Achievers meeting with just five in attendance. We made some plans to promote the club at the upcoming Spring conference. We’ll be welcoming a new member next month. I also plan on promoting The Stylish Traveling DTM to the club.

Have a good evening. ❤️ you.

We all know the old saying: Is the glass half empty or half full? Are we a pessimist or an optimist?

This was brought to my attention this morning by a fellow Johnstown Toastmaster who was enjoying his morning coffee. He asked us on Facebook if we look at the glass half-empty or half-full.

I always look at a glass (or cup of coffee) half full. I have a great outlook on life and have seen my mood improve greatly since the summer ended (I think getting my DTM and starting my blog helped; also growing my work relationships and improving my sense of style).

I see the positivity in a bad situation and try to make the best of it. Others would tear me down and tell me I’m wasting my time.

I look at a great meal and call it half begun instead of half done. I go to work and think the opposite, but that’s a good thing.

Now a good cup of coffee, I consider that half full. Here’s a matcha 🍵 latte and pumpkin spice latte to make you think positive.

Happy Sunday. ❤️ you.

See I can break away from being Stylish. I just hope you appreciate this as much as my other blogs.

Stylish Outfit Party 3: The Leather Jacket Blog is taking off and I thank you all for checking it out.

Today Division C held its second makeup training in a week as Division Director Brett Aristegui and Area Directors Sue Mals and Nate Stephens put on an excellent training. We started right at 9:15am.

I served as Toastmaster of the meeting and introduced our first presenter, Distinguished Toastmaster Tyler Crummy. His presentation was on having a good open house. Tyler presented us with handouts on what to do before, during, or after the open house.

Next up to present was another DTM, Amy Noll.

Before I talk briefly about her presentation, I want to give her a shoutout for praising my blog. I came across some hate last night (over a comment I made on a Pro Trump page). The woman left disparaging comments about my blog and called it and myself childish.

Amy loved the pictures and told me to not let that person get to me. I left her with a link to my blog.

Her presentation was on How to Build Membership in Struggling Clubs. Of course we all go through that in our clubs at one point or another. Like Crummy’s talk, Amy’s was also short and sweet.

Next up was Area Director Sue Mals speaking on Club Executive Committee practices. Before we took break at 10, Alison Laird presented the Distinguished Club Program and the Club Success Plan. She explained how things are changing now with Pathways taking full effect on July 1.

After break, I elaborated on December’s TLI event. I talked about my personal experience and commented on how well attended it was. 143 people in all attended. We then shared a little bit on the Officer roles. Nate and Sue did a double take on Sec/Treasurer and SAA/Immediate Past President, respectively. Another quick break to follow.

We brought it home with great presentations on the Moments of Truth, Mentoring, and Pathways. I gave my testimonial on my DTM journey and then handed it back to Brett to close out the training. Those of us who helped out got certificates and a group picture.

We got wrapped up and made the journey home. It was no problem for me despite the icy roads which were mainly wet.

Overall it was a great makeup training. I told my district leaders I’d see them all March 7 for the Area 23/24 Speech and Evaluation contest.

Enjoy the blog. ❤️ you

Today I’m rocking the leather jacket in my blog.

This is another blog which will have more pictures than words. I’ll be accentuating some nice outfits once again.

I’ll be modeling the V-neck tops once again but pairing them up with my leather jackets.

Yesterday I showed off my outfit from the club contest but paired it with an infinity scarf. I put the pictures on Instagram and Facebook. Here they are again.

On Tuesday, I did the blog where I repped my V-neck tops with my jeans. Like Emeril, I’m going to kick it up a notch. I’m modeling the colored tops (I wore black Wednesday night and white goes better with khakis or track pants) with my black and brown leather jacket(s). I’ll show off my boots 👢 as well. I think the whiskey 🥃 color will do just fine for this photo shoot.

It wasn’t easy but here are six pictures I chose for today’s style blog.

Overall the selfies I chose came out great. Excellent use of light in the room. Considering I didn’t have much to work with, these pictures came out great. I’ll do them again when I pick up the red leather jacket next month. I think that will really supplement my black outfit very well.

I think it’s high time to talk to someone about some photography work so I can do more poses. Maybe we can do shoots at Twin Lakes or Idlewild or the Diamond in Ligonier. Here’s some of my other pics. My boot 👢 pictures came out superb all things considered. Definitely a good value.

This solo photo shoot was fun but a little exhausting. Those of you who read my blog I really hope you enjoy the pics as well.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

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.