Monthly Archives: October 2010

Just The Right Spot

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Just the Right Spot

Oct10-4Our first date was on Valentine’s Day.  It started out just relaxing at my place with both of us dressed in sweats.  Once the evening came, we changed clothes to get ready for our night.  I threw on a cute dress and some makeup and walked down to the basement to see if he was ready.  Milton’s face lit up, our eyes locked and we shared our first kiss.  The rest of the evening consisted of dinner and a Frankie Beverly and Maze concert.  It was a Valentine’s Day that I will never forget.

Spring forward a couple of months.  Milton calls at 1:30 in the morning.  I am already asleep.  I call him once I wake up and asked what is wrong.  He says he needs to tell me something, but that he prefers to email it.  I get nervous and think about all the negative things that he could tell me.  As I opened the email, here is what I read, “I love you! I love you so much! I knew this since the first moment you stepped downstairs into your basement and we met eyes and kissed. I haven’t felt something so right before since I had shoes that fit. I have bottled my feelings up out of fear that I was moving too fast but now I’m going to let my heart take over for my fear.  I need you! I knew this since our first conversation and you made me feel not only wanted, appreciated, and loved, but you make me feel like a king that you want to shine. I told you from the beginning that I could not promise the world overnight, and it may be scary that we both don’t know how the next few months or years of our lives might play out, but I know that the world is a lot less scarier place with you in it. The Lord never promised that life would be easy, in fact he promised that the road to glory would be hard; however, he always promised to be by our side in good and bad.  I want to build a love with you that is unconditional and is strong no matter the weather”

And that was the beginning of our relationship.  Milton helped comfort me through my low points (like not becoming a professional fitness competitor) and I tried to be equally supportive in his life (like studying for the Bar).  I started working in the fitness industry and continue to build OnyxLouisville.  He passed the Bar, was sworn in as a lawyer and already has a job.  It seemed like regardless of what was happening in each of our lives, being there for each other was the overall constant that never disappeared.

Friday, October 22, 2010 was a regular day for me.  Milton drove to Louisville and we went to the Bill Bellamy show at the Improv.  We came back to my house and I took some of my clothes upstairs. As I walked back to the first floor, Milton was nowhere to be found.  I called his name and he asked me to come in the basement.  As I arrived on the bottom step, Milton stood in the same spot we had our first kiss.  As he got on one knee, he talked about the difference I have made in his life and the future he wants us to have together. He asked me to marry him – OF COURSE I said yes…….

M.Y. October 2010

Change Is Good

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Change is Good?

Oct10-3I think humans are huge creatures of habit.  We sit in the same pew at church every Sunday.  We drive the same way to work.  We order the same meals off the menus at our favorite restaurant.   It’s just who we are.

I’m definitely the same way.  I believe that some of my habits were passed down from the things my parents did.  They believed in volunteering, so I believe in volunteering.  They used TruGreen for their lawncare, so I used TruGreen.  They used State Farm insurance and National City Bank – so of course I followed along and did just the same.

I’ve had State Farm Insurance since I was old enough to drive. I just always assumed they gave me the best deal for my money. That was until I met another insurance company that wanted to give me a free quote. I figured a free quote never hurt anybody so I went through the process.  The prices they quoted me were actually a little lower than my current policies.

So I gave State Farm a call.  They asked me to come in for a review of my policies.  I told them the rates the other company quoted me and asked what they could do.  We looked at my car and house policies and found that there were some things that I did need.  I was happy that I saved some money and decided to stay with State Farm.

All was well in Yeagerland.  It was a hot day (we can all relate) and I walked outside across the street to my mailbox.  I felt like a State Farm groupie because I had five pieces of mail from them.   I thought it was a little excessive but was happy with what was inside three of them.  As I opened them, I was greeting with checks that were refunds to my policies.  It felt like Christmas in my bank account.

I learned that you never know what type of positive change can come your way unless you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone.  We have to be willing to see life from a different perspective.  Once we do, we’ll realize that either 1) it’s time for change or 2) life is fine just where we currently are.

M.Y. October 2010

Natural Zumba

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Natural Zumba?

OCt10-2As you know, I LOVE FITNESS!  I already had my personal training certification but needed to get 20 hours of continuing education over the next two years.  I saw that a Zumba Fitness certification class was coming to Louisville and that I could get 7 hours for that.  I’ve always loved doing Zumba and I needed the hours so it sounded like a win/win situation!

After attending the training I was hooked and equally excited to get more people involved.  Zumba is a  fun way to get in shape.  Tomarcus at APT Fitness in St. Matthews allowed me to use his space for the classes and I get to workout while working out others!

But here’s the thing I forgot to factor in.  Back in June, I either had an epiphany (or mental lapse) that I was going to try to grow out my relaxer.  I’d been on the fence about it for so long.  Since it was my offseason from competing, I figured this would be the best time to try it. If it didn’t work, I could always go back.

Dealing with the changes in my hair were fine, until the weeks leading up to my first Zumba class.  I’d practice at home every night and every night I would work up a sweat.  And with each night I worked up a sweat, another bead would lock up in the back of my hair. Another edge went from straight to not-so-straight to magically appear.  So I had to make a decision.  1) Do the big chop – Not for me since it’d only been 4 months.  2) Pull my hair back in a pony tail every day – Not really for me.  I love a ponytail but don’t think it looks professional at some of my meetings.  3) Get a wig or a weave – this was my last resort but really the only option I felt I currently had in order to stay active.

So I called up Chenica, went out, bought the hair and let the sewing begin.  I will admit, it took me some time to get used to having a full head of “not my hair” but I know it’s only temporary to get me through the process.   I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!

If you’re currently transitioning to a natural hairstyle or already are, I’d love to hear your advice!

M.Y. October 2010

If You Only Knew Me

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If You Only Knew Me

Oct10-1Late one night I happened to be flipping channels and came across a show on MTV.   It’s called “If You Only Knew Me”.  The show picks a different high school each week and takes the students through a one day Challenge Day program.  It starts out with everyone playing fun games, but by the end of the show everyone has shared a deep part of themselves.

I started DVRing the show and every time I watch it, I end up in tears.  Here you have a group of youth that start out with their basic labels (prep, jock, emo, nerd, lesbian).  But as they do different activities, each person shares something about themselves (i.e. they are homeless, they hate to look at themselves in the mirror, they’ve contemplated suicide, they feel all alone)  It’s an amazing transformation to see these teens realize how many things they have in common with each other.  They realize that although someone else’s life seems “perfect” he/she has his/her own struggles.  It was often the students with the biggest personalities that had the most to reveal.

It was also an important message for each person to understand that they are not alone.  The person that thought about committing suicide realized that many others had felt at their all time low.  The athletes sometimes broke down crying because all their life they never felt good enough in their parents’ eye.

I don’t cry often, but this show has a tremendous effect on me.  I think it would be pretty cool if adults could do the same type of activities.  So often we judge people by the neighborhood they live in, the crowd they hang around, the church they attend or even the men/women they’ve dated.   We stick our noses up at others and assume the gossip we hear is truth.  But, if we “really knew each other” we could see that we’ve all had our struggles.  Some reach back to childhood, while others have their own personal struggles today.  How often have you talked about someone or posted something on Facebook about them without evening taking time to realize what type of emotional toll it could take on that person?  We need to quit judging each other and instead offer each other a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear.    There’s no time to start like today (and while you’re at it, check out the show!)

M.Y.  October 2010