Nothing But Good Feelings

Let me just go through why my day was so good:

     Whose brother got married today? Mine! Who was the Best Man? I was! The whole day was filled with good feelings, good people, and a great wedding/reception. The day started with waking up to cinnamon rolls, our usual Christmas morning tradition. Mom wanted to make them because it was the last morning with the family as it was (we have one more person now!). After breakfast, I watched football with the guys (my dad and brothers) until it was time to go to the church. Although wearing a tux for 7 hours wasn't too comfortable, I didn't mind it (I looked pretty good if I do say so myself). The pictures were not as bad as I thought they were going to be. I went into the church with the expectations of taking a lot of pictures, so I was prepared. I am actually really excited to see how they turn out. It was the first wedding I was in, and I was Best Man, so it is definitely a wedding to remember (even if for no other reason).
     The ceremony itself went very smoothly, and didn't even last too long. From where I was standing, I was facing Caitlin while her and Chris were doing the vows, standing there during the song, etc., and her facial expressions were hilarious! Her and Chris were talking to each other during one of the songs, and although I couldn't hear what was being said, I was laughing because she was making the funniest faces while talking to Chris. After the wedding, the siblings of the bride and groom and their spouses and kids all rode on a trolley from the wedding to the reception downtown. I felt really important, not going to lie.
     The reception hall looked very classy and well-decorated, and walking into it escorting the matron of honor made me important once again haha. Caitlin wanted to do a family dance, so the Yarbrough's and Smith's tore up the dance floor right after the bride and groom dance. Needless to say, my dance partner (my older sister, Ashley) and I owned the floor. In fact, my family was very impressed with my dancing for the evening. After the dance came dinner, which was a salad with a double-meat plate entree. So. Good.
     After dinner, it was time for the speech. My speech. The only toast to be given to the bride and groom that evening. Talk about pressure! I wasn't expecting to get nervous, but when the DJ handed me the microphone and all eyes turned towards me, I froze. My hands started shaking, and I didn't think I could speak. But after the opener and everyone laughed, I knew it would be ok. A few days before the wedding, everyone asked me if they needed to proofread my speech for inappropriate words. I told them not to be worried. I was right. Everyone was so impressed, and my toast was definitely talking about all night. The father of the bride (ahh movie reference!...and yes, we made references during the rehearsal) even told me it was the best toast he had ever heard, and he'd been to several weddings and heard several toasts. It made me feel really good that something I wrote completely on my own (no one heard the speech before tonight) went over so well, especially to the bride and groom (they loved it). Although I felt so proud/happy/whatever for the bride and groom, it was definitely a personal victory for me :)
     All in all, the night was so wonderful, and everything went as planned. I am so thankful for this weekend, my family, and everything else I have been blessed with.

Introduction: Let's Try This Again

     I already had this blog because of my BUSA1000 class last fall, but I posted very rarely and because it was a requirement for the class.

     I have to say that the main reason I you are reading this now is because of my twin/girl version of myself/good friend Tracey Cordle (check out her blog at traceycordle.com!). She has a successful blog of her own, and I figured, "Hey, we're the same person, maybe I can have a successful blog too!" Tracey posts on her blog, and then talk about it with her friends, which makes them want to check it out. After a lot of talking about/reading Tracey's blog, I decided that I should get my old blog up and running again.

     I may not be very good at it, but secretly, one of my hobbies is writing. I love to write. I'm not at a skill level to where I can write music, but writing is fun to me. Growing up, my sister and I would write short stories and children's "novels" (very short novels) quite often. I wish I kept those so I could go back and look at them now. Even writing essays/papers in high school and now college is not that big of a deal to me because I get to write. It may be research over a topic I don't find enjoyable, or it may be over a book I haven't read, but I'm writing.

     One thing that in particular that my dad (it's actually his birthday today. Happy birthday, dad!) has said to me that I remember most was this: we were riding in the car together, talking about J.K. Rowling, and how I think she is an incredible woman and author. My dad looks over to me and says, "You know, you could do that too. I've seen some of the things you've written, and you can do it too." It was so weird to me. I did not know that my dad had ever read anything I had written, but he had. And he liked it too. That could just be him being my dad and saying nice things because he has to, but it could also be one of those genuine "I really believe this" kind of things. I'm choosing to go with the latter.

     With that being said, I am not looking to become the next J.K. Rowling. It is just nice to have the confidence of my dad, especially with something I am putting on the internet to represent me to (hopefully) a good number of people.