Author Archives: yeagerturner

Wedding Dress Drama

Posted on by
Reply

Wedding Dress Drama

Apr 11-3When you have less than six months to plan a wedding, everything must be done at a rapid pace.  The location, photographers, wedding cake – everything had to be locked into place pretty early on because most of them were already booked for an event.

When I first went wedding dress shopping, each location would tell me that I needed to order the dress ASAP to ensure I would receive it on time.  Time was definitely of the essence.  I drove to each bridal store in Louisville.  I found the dress I thought I wanted. On Election Day 2010, I also stopped by The Bridal Suite of Louisville.  They had a rack of dresses deeply discounted on sale for $100.  One of the sale dresses was the same dress I wanted at the other store – at a MUCH cheaper price.  I left the store to think about the purchase, but Milton said I needed to go back in and buy it.  It was a deal I couldn’t beat.

Fast forward to last week.   I had dropped my dress off to be fitted and the day had come to pick it back up.   I was excited to see it, but nervous to see if she (we’ll call her SH) could make the correct alterations.   I was also a little set off by the alterations lady because she asked to be paid in cash.   Because of that, I arrived with a chip on my shoulder.  As I arrived at her house, her husband was working in the garage.  He asked if SH was supposed to meet me.  I said yes.
SH wasn’t there.  She thought my 11:00am appointment was at 5:00pm.  She said she’d be there in 15 minutes.  So now the chip on my shoulders has become a boulder.  She lived in a different end of town and I’d driven 25 minutes to get there.  I start doubting SH and tell myself I should have worked with someone else.  She pulls into the  driveway 16 minutes later and we walk into her basement.  I put on my half smile and try on the dress.  My half smile turns into a beaming smile as I realize that she did a great job taking it in and tweaking it!

Any doubt, negative views or issues that I had with SH were overshadowed by her amazing work at a very reasonable price.  I left a happy bride-to-be.  Operation wedding countdown – 16 days!

April 2011

Facebook Reunion

Posted on by
Reply

Facebook Reunion

Apr 11-4I survived my speech last week at Jefferson Technical Community College and everything went well.  I briefly mentioned a Facebook conversation that I had randomly received and here’s what it said (please note: I have never met, seen or heard of the person in this exchange)

Chris Wright March 21 at 2:20pm
“Hi Michelle, You don’t know me but I have to ask you a question. Your name and face kind of flew out at me when I saw it on my FB page and a rush of memories from the early 80′s came rushing back, so I looked at your pics and saw that your mother’s name was Lillian, but saw no pics or mention of your father; was your father by any chance Dr. Gary Yeager who worked at JCC in the early 80′s? If so, I worked with him at JCC during the time that you were born and remember sooooooo many wonderful stories about you as you were growing and what a proud father he was. If not, I so apologize for this intrusion. Please let me know. He was such a wonderful man. ~Chris Wright”

Michelle Yeager March 21 at 2:26pm
“Hello Chris, my father worked at JCC but his name was Thomas (Steve) Yeager. He was there from 1976 until he died in 1993.”

Chris Wright March 21 at 2:34pm
“Steve!! That’s it; Steve!!! I am so, so sorry. He worked with Gary Steedly in the continuing education dept, I was Gary’s admin at time; I mixed up their names. I am so sorry. But Michelle, I have goose bumps. I actually remember when you were born and as you were growing he would come in with some of the most awesome proud father stories. Two in particular that stay in my mind… one, the morning he came to work just laughing so hard because he said that every time he left to go to work, you would start singing “My Baby’s leaving on the train… until he comes back home….” ?? (i can’t remember that exact song, but he was just hilarious and so proud) And then… during the royal wedding of Princess Diana he said you watched every detail and were absolutely a princess and would marry the same way. Oh Michelle, it’s so awesome to have known those stories of your very early years and to have known such a wonderful man; I absolutely looked up to Dr. Yeager as a great inspiration. It’s wonderful to see you now and have those memories. May I friend you on here? My name is Chris Wright and I’m a web producer at WHAS11; that’s how I saw your exchange with Renee Murphy. I’m goose bumpy right now. hah. ;-) ”

Michelle Yeager March 21 at 3:11pm
“We definitely can keep in touch. He passed away my senior year of high school and my mother passed away from ovarian cancer five years ago so I cherish all stories I hear!
It’s interesting that you mentioned the royal wedding. I am actually getting married the day after Prince William’s wedding and Renee Murphy is my maid of honor”

…..And the conversation continued.  Who would have ever thought that a simple post on a friends page would connect me with someone that shared some amazing childhood memories of my father especially right before I get married.  To the tune of Walt Disney – “It’s a small world after all!”

April 2011

My Biggest Speech Yet

Posted on by
Reply
My Biggest Speech Yet!
I’ve been going since I was a kid.  30 years to be exact.
I was four years old when I first started attending because I was FORCED to.  There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  But, as time went on, I found that I truly looked forward to attending and would try to re-arrange my schedule in any way to attend.
I’m talking about the Student Acheivement (formerly known as Black Achievers) Program at Jefferson Community College (now JCTC).  You may question why I’ve attended this event for the most part of 30 years.  No, it hasn’t taken me 30 years to complete a degree.  I’ve been a part of the program for that long because my father, the late Thomas Stephen Yeager, created the program and the Black Affairs Advisory Council at JCC.
I can tell you, though, its a very uplifting ceremony and you hear stories of people that have overcome odds to better themselves and further their education.  The past several years there have been guest speakers and I have taken photos for OnyxLouisville.  But, to my surprise, this year I was asked to play a larger role.  I – Michelle Yeager – am going to be the guest speaker.
At first I was on cloud nine to be asked, but then all of the emotions hit me. Here’s a program founded by my father, that I’ve attended numerous times in the audience, that my mother (and then myself) passed out the T. Stephen Yeager Scholarship at and now they are asking me to be the featured speaker at the 30th Year of the event.  Whoa!!
I think for days before starting to write my speech.  I want to make it just right.  I don’t really know what to say.  Do I write about my personal accomplishments and success?  Do I talk about the great influence my parents were to me and the community?  Do I tell a bunch of knock knock jokes and hope they get it?
I finally figured out which direction to go based on a Facebook message from someone I’ve never met….  I can’t share that email with you right now because it’s the basis of my speech.  But, you’re more than welcome to come and listen to it tonight at 7:00pm at the Student Achievement Program in the new Health Science Building at JCTC.  Although I’ve given plenty of speeches, this one feels like the most important one yet – how do you say THANK YOU to people that mean so much to you?!
March 2011

Neva Gonna Get It

Posted on by
Reply

NaturalHeart  

 Neva Gonna Get It?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the process of going natural.  An OnyxLouisville reader emailed the following:  “I have been told numerous times by my guy friends that the average Black man does not want a woman with natural hair…and that as long as I am natural, I will be single.”  I wondered if this was true so I did some investigative work.

I talked with some natural females.  One person said that a guy told her “if I wanted to see all that natural ish, I’d go to Africa”.  Another woman was in a longterm relationship with a man and as soon as she cut her hair, he completely left the situation.  Another person enjoyed her natural hair but ended up getting a relaxer because of the pressure from her boyfriend (and they are no longer together).

Some said they the haven’t had any trouble dating since they went natural.  I remember last year we did a “Singled Out” event.  I tabulated all of the matches.  One female had a lot of men interested in her.  I actually looked her up on Facebook to see who she was and she is someone that wears her hair natural in locks.  That was a true indicator that the words love + natural can go together.

The men that commented had one general view.  Many men said they like natural hairstyles that are nicely kept.  One guy said “Men are very visible and I’ve seen some natural hair on woman that looks a hot mess.”  So, it’s more about whether or not it’s natural – it’s more about how you keep it styled.

I also found that men seem to generally prefer long hair (either natural or relaxed).  Many women with natural hair found that as their hair grew longer they started receiving more compliments from men.  The great thing about the people in the discussion is that the majority of the women in the discussion are currently dating, engaged or married!! So love is definitely possible.  Kevin Wigginton summed it up best – “Brothers and Sisters please keep in mind Natural hair is just that Natural. Some of our Sisters have hair that’s Straight, Curly, Kinky, and Wavy. We have to remember not only do we have different shades of beauty but different grades of hair. All of which are Beautiful Naturally. Be proud my Sisters no matter what your hair texture is or the amount melanin that’s in your skin because all of you are beautiful.”

CLICK HERE to read the discussion and give your view

New Growth

Posted on by
Reply

New Growth

Mar 11-3I am a proud member of the Ponytail Nation.  Morning, noon or night you can see me rocking a ponytail.  I’ve been trying to grow out my relaxer since June of last year and it definitely has not been an easy experience.

I thought I was insane when I decided to start the process at the same time as working in the fitness industry full-time.  They seemed counterproductive.  However, it has been a blessing in disguise.  When you’re in sweats all day, people don’t expect you to be made-up and cute.  They don’t care about your hair, they care more about your physique and what you can do to help them.  Nobody skips a beat when your hair is pulled back every day!

I get my hair straightened regularly and boy does it look great when I leave the salon.  However, that look is oh so temporary.  When you teach 10 Zumba classes a week and sweat in each one – it’s pretty much a lost cause.  That’s the awesome thing about being part of the Ponytail Nation.  Brush it (or as much of it as you can), pull it back and you’re good to go.  I can always tell when I’ve had really good workouts because the back of my hair is so nappy and it balls up so tight like it’s holding on for dear life.  As much as I’d like to cut my hair to bob length, I know it wouldn’t work right now because I couldn’t pull it back in a ponytail.  And nobody wants to see a bob with rows and rows of naps that look like Easter eggs all over the White House lawn.

I’m not quite ready to do the “big chop”.  I’m getting closer, but am just not there yet.  We actually almost did it a couple of weeks ago.  However, after further conversation we realized that I wanted long hair for my wedding so the cut has been put on hold again.

Each visit to the salon is a check on the length of the new growth.  You can see by the photo at the top that I’m on my way.  I’ve had some good growth over the past nine months and can definitely see a difference in the natural texture and the relaxed texture.  The more I go through the process, the more I notice the beautiful natural hairstyles of the women in Louisville.  I received a lot of great tips.  I am excited to see how my hair will look when I make that transition.  Time shall tell when locks will drop.

YeagerNewG2

M.Y.  March 2011

Magical Moments

Posted on by
Reply

Magical Moment

Mar 11-2You never know you’re making a difference until you see that you’re truly making a difference!  This past weekend I was invited to speak to a group of young ladies at an event called Magical Moments.  It was organized by Jessica Taylor and Regina Johnson.  They started the buzz about it several months ago with adults.  Everyone was asked to go through their closet and find formal dresses, shoes and accessories that they are no longer wearing.

Part II was finding enough volunteers to assist with the event.  Women signed up to help with registration, sort through the dresses, do makeup and hair and just serve as a voice of inspiration to the young ladies.

The third group of people was the most important – high school ladies were invited to come out FOR FREE – YES FREE and pick out their prom dress and matching accessories.  This is the second year Jessica has put on the event and she had no idea how the turnout would be.  Well, let me tell you – the high schoolers came out.  The looks on their face was simply prices.  In front of them were racks and racks of beautiful dresses. All different shapes, sizes and colors.   They looked like little kids in a candy shop trying to find the perfect one.  You could always tell when they found it because the girl’s face just lit up and beamed.   Some of the girls didn’t even want to take the dress off because they were so in love.

I was surprised when two ladies came up to me.  They participate in our Zumba class at First G.  From head to toe they looked fabulous!  I can’t wait to see their prom pictures and am excited to help get them in shape for their big day!  Over 200 dresses were donated and over 100 high school ladies came out.  The event has grown so much that they will probably need to move to another larger location.  The great thing about this event is that Jessica and Regina did it all on their own.  They didn’t work through a non-profit organization or a business, they did it by themselves because they wanted to make a difference.  Regardless of your status, simple gestures can make a huge effect!  Magical Moments….  Enough said!

M.Y. March 2011