What's your perspective?

The Gorgeous! Woman that we had the opportunity to meet over the weekend was an amazing woman.  She was in her early 60's and a retired 6th grade science teacher.  I loved listening to her and her story of courage and optimism.  This was her 3rd time battling Ovarian cancer since June of 2011.  Janis told the story of her surgery.  She arrived at the hospital expecting to have her port removed and her colostomy reversed.  When she awoke afterward alone in the hospital room she realized that she still had the port and the colostomy.  While in surgery the doctors found more cancer. It was that day that she changed her perspective.  Janis told us that she views her cancer as a chronic illness that occasionally needs to be treated and she said it with a smile on her face.
I thought about this many times since last weekend. It truly is how we look at things that keeps things in perspective and defines our outcomes. 

What is your perspective?  Are you looking at the glass half full or half empty? Change your perspective and you will change your outcome!

Once a Hero Always a Hero

I have made it no secret that I have the best in-laws in the world.  They have always treated me like one of their own.  My mother in law passed away 16 years ago but my father in law is still with us and lives 2 miles from us.  We see him most days and talk to him every day.  My father in law is a pretty "cool dude."  He wears Levi Jeans, cowboy boots and Lacoste shirts. John, my father in law was a firefighter for 32 years, he has been retired for 17 years.  He loves to tell stories about driving the fire truck and he would tell of some of the biggest fires in South Bend's history that he had fought.
Mike has always said that his dad is his hero and today that was confirmed that the hero lives on. 
We are in the process of preparing for our big fundraiser for Hello Gorgeous!  My father in law was on his way to help us, when he had to make a stop to help someone else first.  It seems that my father in law came upon a 4 car accident.  He stopped to make sure everyone was ok.  In one of the cars their was a pregnant woman and a young girl.  The doors were jammed and could not be opened,so my father in law crawled inside the car and sat with the pregnant woman and her daughter until the fire trucks arrived.   He told them that the doors would not open, they had to use the jaws of life to get her out. When he knew the situation was under control he went on his way to help us.  He mentioned not a word of this to me, but he did tell Mike.  While he was with us, he received a phone call from the pregnant woman's husband thanking him for being there with his wife and invited him to dinner. One of the firefighters that still knew him on the department gave the husband the number. 
My father in law did not make a big deal about this.  As a matter of fact, I didn't find out about it until we got home. Just and ordinary day for him turned into a heroic day for someone he didn't even know. 
What have you done lately to help another human being? What have you done to be an unsung hero?

My father in law is my hero and always will be.  And by the way, he is 76 years old!

My Sisters

When I'm the happiest

I am the oldest of 4 girls.  I love my sisters and I can say that some of my happiest memories come when the 4 of us are all together.  When my mom was pregnant for each of us she wanted a boy.  We were all supposed to be named Todd.  We said that she finally just got tired of trying and gave up after Trisha was born.  I am glad we were all girls and I know she and my dad wouldn't have had it any other way.

 

There is something special about a sister: the history we have shared over the years, being there for the wonderful moments that life gives us and the not-so-nice things that come down the pike when you are all growing up together.  What I love is that no one knows you like a sister does.  I love the connection that is made through all of the good times and the tears. We fought when we were young, and we still fight, but I cannot imagine life without all of them here with me.

 

In the last 2 months we have grown even closer. Tina, my 2nd youngest sister, was diagnosed with Endocervical-Uterine Cancer.  I have worked with women with cancer for more than 6 years now and have performed hundreds of makeovers for these amazing women. And yet nothing could have prepared me for the day Tina called me. 

 

It was a sunny day in June and I received a phone call from Tina.  I answered the phone and could hear her tearful voice saying, "I have cancer."  WOW!  Now what do I do!  I assured her that we would get through this and that it would be alright.

Tina has had a surgery and has started Chemotherapy, and her prognosis is great. 

 

 But I can say that it has truely opened my eyes to so many things. 

 

 

Life is way too short.  Live every day as if it were your last.

 

No one is immune to this horrible disease.

 

And Friends can never take the place of sisters

 

I can not imagine my life without Amy, Tina and Trisha I love you girls!!!

 

Hello Gorgeous! founders write first book

Hello Gorgeous! founders write first book

Video: Hello Gorgeous! Helps Cancer Patients

Thank you Modern Salon~~
Tommy Vance Productions
Expressions Salon and Day Spa
and Maurices for Making Dina's Day so Special!

Video: Hello Gorgeous! Helps Cancer Patients

Elizabeth Arden has her Red Door.......

I have always said Elizabeth Arden has her Red Door and I have my Red Chair, now I have 2 Red Chairs. On our visit to Minerva the entire team was able to come and tour the Mobile Day Spa. I had no idea what was going on. Justin and another young man came out to the Mobile Day Spa with a box. The said "We decided this would look better in here." They brought in a brand new Red Shampoo Chair!! They took it right out of the box, assembled it and put it in it's place. It looks awesome!!! What a difference that made. I would smile and then I would cry( a happy cry of course.) The Mobile Day Spa looks even more like the palace we wanted it to be for these amazing women that we have the opportunity to serve. Thank you Minerva for Blessing us!!!!

The Rolling BillBoard Part 2

So tonight we are sitting at dinner and Mike's phone rings. He answers it "Hello Gorgeous! this is Mike how can I help you?" The man on the other end of the phone starts to tell Mike his story. He told us that he saw the bus as we passed through Nashville, TN and he wrote the phone number down. He was calling us from his wife's hospital room, she had just had a portion of her liver removed due to a cancerous tumor. He went on to explain that he is in the Military and that they have a 2 month old child. The reason for his call is that his wife is an esthitician and that when they get through this hump in their life that they would like to help us with Hello Gorgeous!. Mike told him to keep us in the loop and to contact us when they were ready and by then hopefully we would have an affiliate in their area. These people are absolutely amazing and I wouldn't miss this journey for the world. May God Bless this couple and their family!