Well thus ends another season of Gilmore Girls. I’ve made it through the Chilton years. I’ve survived the Dean-Jess-Rory love triangle. Would Rory go to Harvard or Yale? “She’s going to Yale”, an excited Emily and Richard exclaimed when their loving granddaughter made her decision on what college she was going to attend. This season had some great storylines. But one of the best episodes was the flashback episode, “Dear Emily and Richard”, which showed young Lorelai and Christopher and the events leading up to her being pregnant with Rory. “Here, here”, says young Lorelai.

Senior year meant some surprising changes for the Gilmore girls, as both Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) wrestled with their pasts in order to figure out what the heck they were going to do with their futures. In the wake of finding out that her relationship with Rory’s dad was not to be rekindled, Lorelai endured a variety of suitors as she attempted to keep her life on an even keel–not easy when her former flame’s girlfriend was pregnant (and clueless), her former fiancé shows up unexpectedly, and her beloved inn suffers some unforeseen damage.

If it was minor drama for Lorelai, it was full-fledged soap opera for Rory, who broke up with longtime boyfriend Dean (Jared Padalecki) in the wake of her attraction to the moody bad-boy Jess (Milo Ventimiglia), only to find her new relationship fraught with difficulties. Add to that the pressure of getting into college (Harvard or Yale?) and stressful senior class politics at the snooty Chilton private school, and it’s a wonder she still had time to crack wise at breakneck speed with her mom and the rest of Stars Hollow.

The center of the third season of Gilmore Girls was the Rory-Dean-Jess triangle, which played out with surprising sensitivity and not a bit of sadness; it all came to a head in the episode “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?” in which Rory and Lorelai’s quest to win a dance marathon ends in tears and break-ups. The year’s teen drama did have a tendency to put the adults on the back burner, but the luminous Graham made the most of her character’s dilemmas, whether gauging her growing attraction to diner owner Luke (Scott Patterson) or wrestling with her parents’ continuous meddling. While it is hard to pinpoint a specific compelling story arc for this season, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t filled with the charm, smarts, and rapid-fire dialogue that made Gilmore Girls one of the brightest shows on television.

Stellar supporting turns from Liza Weil as Paris, Rory’s friend and nemesis by turns, and a pre-O.C. Adam Brody, as a band member who falls for Rory’s best friend Lane (Keiko Agena), also punctuated the drama of the season with great comedy.

The end of the Chilton years means it’s likely the end for two of my favorite recurring characters. I always thought Madeline (Shelly Cole) and Louise (Teal Redmann) added a nice touch to the show. I personally liked them better than the annoying, whiny Paris. The three of them and Rory remind me of the movie Heathers. Corn nuts, anyone? I also had a crush on the two ditzy classmates. They make a couple of appearances in season four but that’s about it.

Alas, onto the Marty, Doyle, and Logan years. Oh, and I’m looking forward to meeting Asher in season four.

Gilmore Girls ran from 2000 to 2007. This mirrored my college years almost exactly. The Chilton years for Rory were my Johnstown years. I was attending classes at the local community college and living at the Hiram G. Andrews Center. I got to know most of the city during my time there. I ended up getting my Associates in the Spring of 2003, just as Rory finished up at Chilton. 2003 was The Year of the Graduation 🎓.

Choosing between Yale and Harvard for Rory was like how I chose between Slippery Rock and IUP. Eventually I fell in love with Slippery Rock and applied there. I got accepted that Spring and made plans for the next phase of my academic life. Looking back though, I wish my major would have been closer to hers. (I actually wanted to work in TV, something I’ve never told anyone). I tanked as an accounting major and didn’t do much better in finance. But in extracurriculars I could have went summa cum laude.

Time to close off this blog. You’re probably all stir crazy with nothing to do at home. I miss my Toastmasters family and am very disappointed that I’m not going to be able to attend the upcoming contests or the conference. But it is what it is. I’m enjoying every minute of getting you guys content and will continue to do so. I want to continue to grow this blog and I have aspirations of a motivational or inspirational speaking career.

You’ll see my Spring Wardrobe blog tomorrow night. I have plans to do head shots later this Spring, just not sure where yet. Christina recommended a great photographer in Allison Park who does wedding photography and also head shots. I might look into her studio. For now though it’ll be more of the same. Mirror selfies do make a blog.

Remember, Stylish DTM family, to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Don’t forget to laugh because laughter is the best medicine. A smile 😊 is the best accessory. Make it contagious.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 💋 🤗.

This week has seen my whole world come crashing down. Church? Cancelled. Financial Peace University? Cancelled. All Toastmasters meetings and contests and now the Spring Conference? Postponed. Work? All events cancelled until March 31 (that will likely change). The world is on lockdown because of the quarantine from the coronavirus outbreak. It all sucks but better safe than sorry. But it ruined my plans and those of many others. I was looking forward to attending my Division contests this weekend and next. But it’s given me an appreciation for everything around me.

I still have four walls around me and a bed to sleep in. I will never take those for granted.

I have a good relationship with my family too. This morning I took up my dad’s offer to walk on the bike trail with him. It’s not often we get to do stuff like that so it was nice we were able to get out. I did it again this afternoon with Katie and Annabelle so I appreciate getting outdoors and the opportunity to walk. My aunt is having a party this Saturday and it gives us the opportunity to enjoy ourselves.

I’m blessed with two college degrees that I appreciate having now. With this downtime, I’m going to go through my old textbooks and brush up on some of that subject matter. For a long time, I wondered what the point was having those degrees since I had trouble finding jobs in my field and had to settle for menial work.

I have a great church home at Cornerstone Ministries and was able to grow my church family. I will continue to do so once it reopens. I’ll also be able to continue with my Financial Peace University class and learn how to budget and other things.

There’s many other things that I’m grateful for. But I’ll save those for a future blog. Otherwise I’ll be here all night.

Shoutouts coming to the blog now. My first one going out to a good friend of mine in Toastmasters. Terye Carney and I met at a Division makeup training in Cranberry Township back in July of 2017.

At the recent winter TLI this past December, she gave me mad props on my blog and encouraged me to keep working at it. I’ve only done a great job since. Terye just received her Distinguished Toastmaster award today. Great job and I just wish I could have congratulated you in person this Saturday.

My other shoutout once again goes to all the small businesses that will no doubt suffer as a result. If you want them to be around after all this, buy a gift card from them, put an online order in, order takeout. They need your help now and after the ban is lifted. My money’s going to help out all the local restaurants and other businesses in town.

As I close tonight’s blog, remember in these hard times to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it.

Don’t forget to laugh because laughter is the best medicine. Smile everyday and make it contagious 😊 😷. Put together a nice outfit and rock it even if no one’s paying attention.

Make this week lovely 😊 even if your plans have been scrubbed.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 😘 🤗.

Believe me, there’s nothing stylish about what’s going on in the world right now. Jobs have been lost, small businesses are going to suffer mightily, retirement accounts have been wiped out. The best thing is do is stay positive and that can be hard when most people have lost everything.

I’m still thinking stylish because, hey, I like to look good even if I’m going to be stuck at home. Those of you who have been reading my blog frequently are probably wondering, how is the stylish DTM holding up?

The answer to the question is in the picture below next to my stylish lovely pink water bottle. Ok I’m kidding but I thought I’d give you a little humor in these tough times. Chocolate is a good thing to have, and so is coffee. But seriously, all things considered I’m doing just fine (lyrics to a country song from 2000).

As I will likely be off work for a while, and the contests are likely going to be scrubbed as well as the conference, it’s giving me time to think about what to do. I’d like to grow the Stylish DTM page. You’ll see lots of inspirational and motivational material on here. Plus more style blogs.

I’m doing a photo shoot Friday night, so get ready for some mirror selfies. Once this coronavirus craziness dies down, and I’m sure it eventually will, I have a plan to do some head shots. A friend of mine recommended a lady in Allison Park who does great wedding photography as well as head shots. But first here’s my clothing I’m going to model later this week.

I bought more V-neck tops because I love them so much. That makes it ten now. I’m going to rock a leather jacket. If you know me by now, you know I love my leather jackets and boots 👢. I even inspired a friend of mine to buy one.

I bought white pants last month and can’t wait to wear them as the weather warms up. With that Slippery Rock windbreaker I’ll definitely be showing my Rock Pride.

Anyway, enough about my sense of style and eye for fashion. I do have some great ideas for the blog, and one of those is talk about what I’m thankful for. It’s hard to have gratitude in these tough times but we can always find things to thank God for.

What is the one thing most scientists 🥼 agree on? It’s that our lives are moving in the direction of our most dominant thought and what we focus on the most. If we make our strongest thoughts about what people think of us, we’re going to feel inferior about ourselves. If we depend on others to make us feel happy, then we’re going to feel let down when they blow us off. What we think about throughout the day will determine the direction that our life is headed in.

Once we reopen everything after the COVID-19 scare, small businesses are desperately going to need our help. Those of you in the Greensburg area, please take it upon yourselves to get a cup of coffee 🍵 at White Rabbit, a meal 🌮 at Sun Dawg or the Pourhouse 🍔, and shop at any of the boutique stores 👗 👠 👢 along Pennsylvania Avenue. I’m a regular customer at Majesty 🙏 in the Old Route 30 plaza and they will always get my dollar.

I’m so pleased with the work that City Cribs LLC is doing to make downtown awesome. But we have to do our part and shop small, not just on Small Business Saturday but everyday.

Time to close off the blog. I want to give a shoutout to my cousin and fervent supporter of my blog Katie Nicholson. Despite the health scare that’s plaguing our country, she’s staying positive. She and her husband Brendan and young sons Patrick and Henry had a great time at the Camden Aquarium this past weekend.

The pictures gave me something good to look at. We’re far from perfect right now but those boys give something to smile about amid the chaos right now.

Can’t end this blog without praising the Alma mater. SRU students, you probably wish you were on campus right now. Well, we will beat this pandemic and come out stronger than ever. That’s what we do. I’d like to be on that campus sometime this summer just walking and reminiscing about the good old days.

In these trying times, remember to always live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Show compassion and kindness to those who are in need. Always look for the helpers in times of tragedy. Put together a nice outfit and rock it even if no one’s paying attention.

Stay awesome. Stay classy. Stay stylish.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 😘 🤗.

Back in 2008, I enrolled in Financial Peace University at my home church, Greensburg Alliance. Then it was a 13 week course and it was going to teach me: how to do a budget, buying on credit, insurance, saving for retirement (at 27 far from my mind), and real estate 🏡.

I got through the course but the truth of the matter is that in 2008, I was angry with myself. I was broken and I felt like the world was laughing at me. I had a degree from Slippery Rock but what was the point when I worked a menial job? My 38-39 year old self understands this better than my mid-20s self did. Why is it so hard for us to understand that nothing goes according to plan? Shoutout to Jim and Michelle Teague and Teague of Your Own for providing this piece of advice yesterday.

I registered for the class a week ago and on Sunday introduced myself to Pam Hill, the coordinator for Financial Peace University. I told her that I had taken the class before as a 13 week course. She told me that the nine week course would be just as good despite some of the changes.

I arrived on Tuesday night ready to learn. I said hi to Pam and ran into a familiar face (Ed Malinoski). I found out he has been involved in FPU since 2008, Pam since 2009. I took my seat at the table assigned for me. I met my leader, Scott Lauer, and those who would join me at the table. We all got to know each other and after prayer 🙏 we would watch the video.

Dave Ramsey was on stage talking about budgeting. He told some great stories that had the audience laughing. Dave, if you don’t know him, has a reputation for making sure you will be debt free. His radio show has had many folks call in trying to get rid of their debt and start saving money so they can live like no one else.

His daughter Rachel told us you can have fun putting together a monthly budget with your spouse if you can agree on it. I liked her thinking when it came to breaking it down too. She played the percentages well. Chris Hogan, a financial coach for Ramsey solutions, also chimed in on the video. He specializes in personal finance and retirement planning.

We learned that when it comes to budgeting, there are nerds and free spirits. Nerds love doing the budget. Free spirits feel threatened by the budget. There has to be a balance between the two ⚖️. We ate some nerds after our class wrapped up.

We learned our first baby step out of the seven the Dave talks about. Baby Step #1: Put $1000 in an emergency 🚨 fund. If something comes up and it will, then you will have that money ready to go. It’s also known as a rainy day fund.

This was a serious blog and for good reason. It’s important to have common sense when it comes to money. A majority of marriages end because of money 💰 fights. That’s what this class is for, to teach you to be smarter with your money, to plan for big events like college and retirement, or to pay off your home as well as to give.

Time to close off the blog with my advice to you as the weekend nears. Live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Live like no one else so, later, you can live like no one else.

Put together a nice outfit and rock it even if no one’s paying attention to you. Don’t forget to laugh because laughter is the best medicine.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 😘 🤗.

What is the one thing most scientists 🥼 agree on? It’s that our lives are moving in the direction of our most dominant thought and what we focus on the most.

If we make our strongest thoughts about what people think of us, we’re going to feel inferior about ourselves. If we depend on others to make us feel happy, then we’re going to feel let down when they blow us off.

What we think about throughout the day will determine the direction that our life is headed in. For example, if we spend the day worrying at our jobs about when we’re going to get done, then our life will seem like one of uncertainty. We’re going to feel as if we are too distracted to set the goals that we want to achieve. Here’s a list of steps we can take every night to ensure that our lives will be go in the right direction the next day.

Feel good about the outfit you picked out for yourself. If you look good in what you wear, then what does the opinion of others matter to you? Take that class to improve yourself, to get smarter with money 💰. Do that dance even if no one’s watching you. You need to feel good about you. Don’t depend on others to make you happy. You do you and you be you.

I’m dropping the squad name at work as it has become a little distracting. Plus we’re not always together and I feel I’m on a different path than them with me being more involved in Toastmasters. I’m also building my church base at Cornerstone and getting to know more people there outside my usual Front Line Ministry family The squad thing was fun while it lasted and I still want us to be friends even if my life seems to differ from theirs. As for my Toastmasters family, it just keeps growing and growing 🌱.

Tonight begins the nine week Financial Peace University class at Cornerstone. I am looking forward to learning and my goal is to live like no one else. I also want to come away being smarter about giving and preparing for events like retirement plus learning about insurance.

Time to close off the blog with my advice to you. Live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. A break this week with no contests scheduled but next week really heats up with Division Contests starting. Looking forward to spending time with my Division B family next Saturday.

I hope I inspire all you to live up to your potential.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 😘 🤗.

What a great contest yesterday. It’s been such a great run these last three weeks in Division C. From State College to Johnstown to Oakmont, I’ve been everywhere. Now that the area run is done, we all know who’s going back to Johnstown March 28.

It was a quiet week but work was so crazy and continues to be that way. If you don’t see a blog everyday I do apologize.

I’m proud of myself for coming out of my shell these last few weeks, getting to meet new people. I continued that trend this weekend at the area contest and once again at church where I made new friendships. I’m starting to divorce myself from my work family and not rely on having friends there to get by. My friends and I are on different paths anyways so it’s for the better. They want to advance at WIS while I’d like to be elsewhere. Best to leave the squad names and designation to Cornerstone or Toastmasters anyways.

Coming up this week is the nine week Financial Peace University course. I took the course in the Fall of 2008 at Greensburg Alliance Church. It was thirteen weeks then. I think this time it will be just as good. I’m a lot more mature now than back in 2008. I look forward to working with Pam and those attending the event. I am continuing to build my base at Cornerstone and getting to know more people.

I’ll be on the horn Wednesday night to prepare for the upcoming Spring conference. I’m confident about my role and glad that Jim and Michelle are leading the way. The Conference call begins at 8pm.

I’ll be making another visit to Greensburg Alliance next Sunday to kick off my 2020 church tour. I’ll visit a church every two or three weeks. I plan to visit the Bible Chapel in McMurray the Sunday following the conference. My visit to Allegheny Center Alliance Church will be over Palm Sunday weekend.

March 21 kicks off the Division run of contests. Division B and D will have theirs on this day. I’ll be attending Division B’s contest. It’ll be held at Division D will hold theirs at BNY Mellon in Downtown Pittsburgh later that afternoon. Division B will hold theirs at Hope Lutheran Church in Cranberry Township.

The next day is Division A’s contest and it’ll be held at the same place it was last year. West Allegheny Community Library in Oakdale.

Division C rounds out the run on March 28 at the same place that Area 21 had theirs. University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown at the John P. Murtha Center. I’ll be attending three of the four contests and will likely have a role in all of them as well.

Thursday night dinner with Mr. Clougherty will start up again this month. He and I will meet up March 19. All of our dinners are exclusively going to be in Greensburg now.

I took advantage of the nice weather today and walked the full 2.4 miles around Twin Lakes. I even enjoyed a picnic lunch from Sheetz. I took time to read some books as well. Before that I attended church and learned about Nicodemus in John 3. The sermon closed out with verse 16. I’m working on building up my Cornerstone family and so far it’s working.

Time to close out the blog with my advice to you as you start this new week. Live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it.

Practice makes perfect. If you want to get better at something, you need to work at it everyday.

Make this upcoming week lovely and rock that outfit even if no one notices.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 😘 🤗.

Another stylish Saturday, another stylish area contest. Today I completed the Division C run of area contests by attending the joint Area 23 & 24 contest. I got some breaking news early when I found out I was going to be in the International Speech contest. It was going to be an exciting contest. Third contest in a row I’ve attended.

Our contest was being held for the third year in a row at the Riverview Community Action Corporation in Oakmont. Area Directors Sue Mals and Nate Stephens served as our contest chairs. Before the contest, I socialized with fellow Toastmasters Christina Keener and Faerie Grace. While I praised Faerie for her videos that helped motivate my blog, she praised me for my sense of style. She said my look was perfect 👌 for me.

Nate and Sue briefed us in the other room and told us what to expect. We cast numbers to see who would go first. The order for the International Speech contest was Yasmin, Faerie, Sanchita, me, and Nick. The order for Evaluation was the reverse order of our names. Sanchita was first, followed by me and then Faerie would close out the Evaluation portion of the contest.

The speech contest went very well. All the speakers did a great job. Faerie and I both came in unprepared and gave it our best effort. Yasmin, Sanchita, and Nick also gave it their all. We would await the winners later.

We took our intermission and Faerie and I discussed how we did. We also discussed my wardrobe and I was told that I made a great advertising piece with the outfit I had picked out. I rocked my jeans with a white cardigan, teal top, orange scarf 🧣 and my whiskey boots 👢.

It was now time for the Evaluation contest. Our sergeant at arms Amy Noll took Faerie and I to another room while we waited our turn. BPMI’s Laurel Stevens served as the model speaker. Her speech was on books and how they relate to people. One book was like that relative whom you’re stuck with. Another is like that friend you can’t say no to. The third book was like that acquaintance you knew from high school. Overall a great job by Laurel. The closing piece I put in my evaluation was that the speaker and the audience should ask themselves “Is there a book genre that seems like a “mystery” to you?”

After the Chief Judge and his team reviewed the ballots, it was time to decide the winners. In the Evaluation contest, I placed third, Sanchita placed second, and Faerie won first place. In the International Speech contest, Yasmin placed third, Faerie placed second, and first place went to Sanchita. Both Faerie and Sanchita will represent Division C in the next contest March 28 at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

Sue extended an invite for us to go to Oakmont Bakery. I gladly accepted the offer. We all met there and we knew it was going to be a long wait. So we made the best of things and decided what we were going to order.

I ordered an “Oakmonter Dolce” as well as some hot cross buns to take home. I sat down with Brett and Sarah (Souri) and we waxed Toastmasters. Brett ordered some macarons as well. I tried a pink one. Same color as my water bottle. I was assured that it was stylish, as I worried what some people would think about my pink water bottle, orange scarf, and love of Gilmore Girls. I made plans to attend a future North Hills Toastmasters meeting.

After Sarah and Brett left, I socialized with Yasmin, Sue and Carol (Snyder). We talked about former Toastmasters and how great the Area contest was. We kept Mike Dalton in our thoughts and prayers as he buried his mother on Saturday. She passed just recently and he gave a good testimony at our recent Greensburg meeting.

Time to close off the blog by inspiring you to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it.

Coffee ☕️ and friends make the perfect blend. Find time to get together whether it’s at Starbucks or White Rabbit 🐇 or in your kitchen.

Remember to follow the Golden Rule. Do to others as you would like them to do to you (Luke 6:31).

Put together a nice outfit and rock it even if no one’s looking at you. I had a nice outfit picked out today and got some nice compliments.

Make this weekend lovely. Enjoy the sunshine ☀️ and take the sunglasses 🕶 ❤️ ❤️ tomorrow.

Bye everyone. 💕 you 😘 🤗.

I almost didn’t want to come because the day ran too long. I was going to come up with some excuse why I wouldn’t make it to the meeting. I was too tired. I needed some self care.

But then we left at a decent time and traffic wasn’t so bad on the Parkway. I got home with enough time to spare. I had my outfit ready to change into. Yes I call jeans, a V-neck top, sweater and boots 👢 an outfit. I ate dinner and left a little before 6 for my Toastmasters meeting.

I arrived just as we were ready to start. Michelle Teague served as acting President since Jim was out sick. We had a guest speaking from the Westinghouse chapter, Denise McMurdo. She’s working towards her Distinguished Toastmaster award. Our other speaker, Faerie Grace, was preparing for the area contest. Some of the inspiration for my blogs comes from her videos.

Ina Bazley was our Toastmaster for the evening. She introduced our speakers. Denise’s speech was on her Toastmasters journey. It was an interesting journey indeed as closes in on getting her DTM. Along the way she won Area Director of the Year honors and chaired the recent Fall Symposium in October 2019. She got my excitement going as she mentioned the DTM gauntlet, which I will be running in April.

Faerie gave her contest speech that she’ll be presenting on Saturday at the area contest. While she felt unprepared, and she didn’t have her pump for her balloons 🎈, it’s apparent she could have done this speech in her sleep. She spoke from the heart on her topic and she got us involved in her speech. She is a great motivational speaker. I can’t wait to hear this speech on Saturday.

Mike Dalton had a great Table Topics session. He called on one of the members to pick a word that fit the question. Tell us about a great (insert word here). Then he called on another person to tell that story. Everyone had a funny or heartfelt story to tell. Mine was about my trip to Maryland for the District 18 Fall TLI event. I met new Toastmasters and enjoyed some great workshops.

Sam Wieder served as General Evaluator. He introduced me as the first Evaluator and Diane Svec as the second evaluator. I gave Denise feedback on her speech and it was one of the richest evaluations I have given in almost nine years of Toastmasters. Diane was doing just her second speech evaluation and she reviewed Faerie’s contest speech. She was impressed with how well it was put together.

Sam always gives great feedback of the meeting. Last night’s meeting was no different. For me, he suggested some great pointers for Saturday’s evaluation contest. He got reports from Michelle and Denise (Pullen) for Grammar and Timing. Chuck Dietz served as ballot counter. I won best evaluator of the meeting.

I want to give a shoutout to Michelle Teague for how well she ran the meeting in place of her husband. She is doing awesome as Vice President of Education. I also learned that she was recently named club coach for Achievers. That was a godsend for me. I’ve been bogged down serving two roles. I’ve focused more on my presidential duties and unfortunately, the VPE role has suffered. With Michelle coming in as club coach, she should be a huge asset.

I wish I had been able to get some pictures of the meeting to post to the blog as well as on Facebook. I also wish I’d have had sometime take my picture because I had a very stylish photo opportunity in mind. I was rocking my outfit very well and I had the perfect pose planned. Oh well, there’s always next time.

It’s been a while since my last green and white university. Spring break is coming soon. I remember how I spent mine at Slippery Rock. That’ll be coming to a blog in the near future. Today was a beautiful day and the sunshine really makes this campus stand out.

Time to close off the blog with my advice to you. Live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it.

Spring will be here before you know it. That means warmer weather. Therefore, come sit on the porch with me. The drinks 🍷 🍸 🍹 are cold and the friendship’s free. Stay awhile.

Friends make the best memories. A friend loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17).

The weekend’s almost here. Make it lovely.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 😚 🤗.

This was a great weekend. I talked to some girls at White Rabbit. We had a well-attended Area contest in Johnstown despite the cold and snow. Finally, I made some new acquaintances at church. I leveled up socially this weekend.

You could say this whole leveling up started on Thursday night with me attending the Area 13 contest. I’ve already said my piece on this event so I won’t say anymore.

This blog will cover the three events I just mentioned. As you know this past weekend I attended the Area contest in Johnstown. Before that, I had a coffee date at White Rabbit or so I thought. I guess my friends forgot. Do I cancel my visit to my favorite downtown Greensburg cafe? Actually it was business as usual. I ordered my matcha 🍵 latte and biscuit with honey butter. The barista brought my biscuit to my table.

Was I disappointed that my coffee date was a bust? A little bit but it wouldn’t be the one thing that ruins my day. I enjoyed my biscuit and sipped my matcha 🍵 latte. Then I went over to the window and started chatting with some girls who were enjoying their coffee. The little baby 👶 who was with them smiled at me. We broke the ice and enjoyed each other’s company. I learned that one of the girls graduated from Hempfield and the other was from Florida. We talked hockey and I learned that she was a Lightning fan.

Time flies when you’re having fun. Soon, it was about 10:30 and time for me to get on the road to Johnstown. I asked for the girls’ names and gave them my name. They were happy to meet me and that I recommended the matcha latte to them.

I was off to Johnstown next for the Area contest. I braved the snow flurries and occasional squalls on US 22 to make it to my destination. I arrived an hour before the contest so I could be briefed by my chief judge. I got some pictures of the building where we had our contest. I saw some familiar faces and some new ones. The most noticeable ones were the ladies from Elk County who were speaking in the contest. Later on I introduced myself to them and took a few nice pictures of the group. I was commended for my outfit on Saturday. I had on jeans with a cardigan and fuchsia top. The real admiration was for my scarf 🧣 and boots which matched. One of the contestants asked me if I had a friend who was a fashion designer.

I did a great job socializing with everyone at the contest. I opened up and was vulnerable when I made contact with the girls at White Rabbit. and the new faces (and old faces) whom I saw at the contest.

Sunday morning when I got to Cornerstone I ate my breakfast and headed into the sanctuary to enjoy the Sunday morning service. I sat with some people I never met before. We raised our hands in worship and sang along with the worship band. Pastor Donn preached on giving and promoted the upcoming Dave Ramsey program called Financial Peace University. That begins next Tuesday at Cornerstone Ministries.

I talked to Pastor Mark (Pastoria) after the service and got to introduce myself to the people I sat with. Loic, Ryah, and Mecal were pleased to introduce themselves to me as well. I complemented the women on how nice they dressed as well as their colorful hair. I chatted with Brianna at the Welcome Desk. I set a time to meet with Pastor Mark at Chick Fil-A. It’ll be in April. Yesterday was the day I began to build my Cornerstone family. I already have some close friends in the Front Line Ministry team on Saturday nights.

Time to close off the blog with my advice to you. Live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Don’t forget to laugh because laughter is the best medicine. A sweet friendship refreshes the soul (Proverbs 27:9). I think I formed some good ones this past weekend. Shanda and Manda; Ryah, Loic, and Mecal, I’m glad we got to meet. Hope to see you all soon.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 😘 🤗

February has come to an end and we are less than three weeks away from the official start of Spring. Contest season is in full swing with four contests going on Saturday. I was in attendance for two over the last week. But before I review those two contests, let’s do a rewind of last week.

I started off the week by encouraging everyone to smile. It does so much more for you and makes the day better. I also used Vitamin C’s song Smile 😊 in the blog.

I encouraged people to level up spiritually as well. I already leveled up in the style department last fall, plus I started blogging regularly. My plan for those to level up spiritually included devoting more time to prayer and studying a book of the Bible. I suggested Proverbs since there’s 31 days in the month. I also previewed the Division contests later this month as well as my upcoming church tour this Spring.

Anyway, time to talk about what really made this week special, and that was attending the Area contests. Talk about getting out of your comfort zone. I made the drive to Cranberry Township Thursday night. I braved the snow and cold to attend a great Area contest at the Cranberry Municipal Building. Since my wonderful friend Sarah Souri was competing in the evaluation, I knew I had to rock a leather jacket for her since she loved my stylish attire. I wore the red leather jacket.

Just like at the High Noon meeting back in December, I felt at home. We had awesome refreshments. Monte Cellos provided the pizza. The brownies and cupcakes were very good too, and there was plenty to drink. Our contest chair and chief judge were on the ball. The speech contest was short and sweet. Our model speaker did a great job with her speech on vaping. The evaluators all gave great feedback. Nervous as she was, Sarah’s evaluation was good enough to get her the win. Cranberry High Noon would representing Area 13 in the Division B Contest March 21. You know I’ll be there. Bob, Judy, and Kim, you missed a great Area contest.

On Saturday, I attended the Area 21 contest in Johnstown. It was one of their most well-attended contests since I joined Toastmasters. Elk County cleaned up big time with six attending. That’s not the best thing though. How about six contestants in the speech contest? How about four in the evaluation contest? In the past I’ve been lucky to see one or two in each contest.

Our contestants did an awesome job. The speeches ranged from making you laugh 😂 to reaching for the Kleenex 😭. Michelle Teague gave a hilarious test speech for our evaluators. A 5k and a beer 🍻 run on my 21st birthday? Just give me an ice cream cake instead.

Dave Jones took the speech contest 🥇 , with our Elk County participants Shanda Kelsch and Manda Shaw taking second place 🥈 and third place 🥉. Dave also took first place in the evaluation contest🥇 with his amazing feedback. Lisa Sukenik took second place 🥈, and Tim Panzigrau took third place 🥉. Dave, Lisa, and Shanda will move on to the Division C contest March 28. It’ll be at the same place we held the Area 21 contest. Same time as well. That’s the John P. Murtha Building on the Pitt-Johnstown campus.

This week wasn’t big because of the Toastmasters contests. I not only escaped my comfort zone by attending contests outside Westmoreland County. I also initiated conversations with people I didn’t know before this weekend. What was supposed to be a coffee date 🍵 at White Rabbit with my favorite people didn’t happen. But that didn’t ruin my day even though it could have. I befriended two girls and a little six month old. We talked for a while until I had to leave for Johnstown at 10:30. We admired each other’s boots 👢 and shared some stories. What could have been a disaster with my friends not showing turned out great.

This morning at church, I sat with a couple and their friend or relation whom I never met before and enjoying worshipping with them. Pastor Donn gave a wonderful message on the subject of giving. He also promoted the upcoming Dave Ramsey program Financial Peace University which starts March 10.

After the service, I introduced myself to the couple and their friend. I also made plans with Mark Pastoria, one of our pastors, to meet at Chick Fil-A at a future date. I’m proud of me for stepping out of that comfort zone too.

Time to close off the blog and I have to say I’m proud of myself. I’m dedicated in my Toastmasters journey. Despite having my DTM, I still want to help out the district. I’m coming out of my shell when I go out. I socialized with a couple of girls at White Rabbit, talked to people at the contest, and initiated conversation at church. Today was the day I started to build my Cornerstone family.

As we start a new month and a new workweek, remember to live your best life and be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Put together a nice outfit and rock it even if no one notices. Don’t forget to laugh because laughter is the best medicine.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 💋 🤗