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!

Touching lives with our big rolling billboard

We stopped at a truck stop just south of Nashville for a quick potty break. On this leg of the journey Mike and I were re-capping the trip and asking each other if we had done enough. Were we impacting people, have we touched enough people. I got out of the Mobile Day Spa and a young man, about mid twenties said " Maam I'm about ready to leave if you guys want to back up a little bit further." I said " that would be great I will let my husband know." He then said "Hey I think what ya'll are doing is great. My aunt had breast cancer and if you don't mind I'd like to give you a hug." I said "I would love that." We hugged and both parted with tears in our eyes.


You know what we are impacting people, just not fast enough. I believe that a ton of people have seen this rolling billboard we are driving and they are touched, in some way they are touched!

Putting faces with names

We had the esteem pleasure of stopping by Minerva Beauty in Duluth, Georgia on our way back to Indiana. Minerva donated the manicure table, shampoo bowl and shampoo chair to the Mobile Day Spa. We were so excited to share with them what they helped to create. When we arrived we were greeted with a very warm welcome. They even had Chick -fil- a catered in for lunch. We were lucky enough to take a tour of their facility and see how things work (which is my favorite). We spent 3 hours with these wonderful group of people and we are so honored to have them in our circle of support!

If you are need of salon equipment check them out at www.minervabeauty.com

My husband never ceases to amaze me

8 months ago when we found out that we had been invited to the Premiere Show and that it was in Orlando, we started saving our change so that we could purchase tickets to the Magic Kingdom for a day while we were there. Yesterday was that day. What a reward after saving for all that time and arriving at the most magical place on earth. We had a great day and short waits on many of the attractions. One of Mike's favorite is a moving theatre called The Carousel of Progress. As most of you know Mike is a liver patient for 15 years and has his challenges with his health and has come very close to loosing his life a few times. If you ask Mike if he is having a good day he will say to you "everyday is a good day!"

While on this attraction, there was a young boy that arrived after us. I would venture to say that he was 9 or 10 in an electric wheelchair and had a machine that was helping him breathe. The young man was with his parents and a person that I assumed was his caregiver. The little boy was not in good shape. Mike leaned over to me and said "See I am the luckiest guy walking!"

Mike wears a red "Live with Passion" bracelet on his left hand and a watch and a yellow "Livestrong" bracelet on his right hand. After the show Mike removed his

"Livestrong" bracelet and walked over and talked to this young boys father then I watched as the young boy make his hand into a fist and Mike placed his "Livestrong" bracelet on his wrist. Mike explained to this young boy that he is a 15 year liver patient and that he needs to keep fighting! The young man smiled and nodded.

I always say that my husband is the most amazing man and he proves it everyday. He is a man of integrity and passion and I love him more today than yesterday!

A Traveler after our own heart!

So we were unloading the bus today after the show and getting ready for our talks this week and next. There was a luggage cart in the hotel lobby that was filled to the brim with "stuff". This young woman saw our shirts and the bus and said "what do you guys do?" We told her about Hello Gorgeous! about our vision to help woman with cancer. She told us the she was a hairdresser from Boise, Idaho and her name is Kimberly and that she is taking a 6 week tour and taking all of the classes and education that she can. She explained that education doesn't come to Boise, so she had to go looking for it! She had attended the Premiere show but did not see us. She was off to Charleston, NC and making her way to New York City. We gave her a tour of the Mobile Day Spa and a Hello Gorgeous! T-Shirt and a big hug and said our goodbyes.
So many of us won't take time out of our day to learn something new and I had the pleasure of meeting someone that was committing 6 weeks on the road to learn everything she could about something that she loves.
My Hat is off to you Kimberly!

Victory!

What a great job EVERYONE did to make the Premiere Show in Orlando a Huge success! We have the greatest group of team members that gave of their time away from their families and businesses to come and volunteer for
Hello Gorgeous!


Our Hats off to all of you for a Job Very WEll Done!!

A Dream come true!!

The Premiere Show in Orlando is one of THE largest hair shows in the United States.
14 years ago I attended a Matrix conference at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando and I have always wanted to return to attend the Premiere show, never ,ever thinking that we would be able to be a vendor at this show. On Wednesday June 1st, 2011 we drove the bus inside the convention center and parked it on the show floor and were honored to be one of the 2300 vendors at this hair show. The attendance was amazing, as was the outpouring of support from the attendees. We spoke with salon owners, stylists, beauty school owners and students. We talked with people, that without attending this show we would have never met.

A Glimmer of the Future

At the end of May, Sandy's Hair Design held their 2nd fundraiser. It was a Spring Fashion Show and luncheon. Sandy and her team worked very hard and the event was a huge success.
I was fortunate enough to MC the event. Dressbarn provided all of the clothes, Papa Murphy's donated the garlic bread, Max and Erma's donated the soup and Sandy made all of the salads and desserts. The venue, Newton Center, was donated by Hoosier Tire.
All of the models for the event were Gorgeous! Women that Sandy and her team had done make-overs on. I only knew a couple of the women, the rest I had never met, but yet they had been touched by our program. Wow, what a feeling!!
My big dream is to walk into a room filled with people that I have brought together. The trainers that trained the salons owners and their staff and the Gorgeous! women that these salons have performed make-overs on and no one will know me. Sandy gave me a small glimpse of what that big picture will look like.

Thank you, Sandy for always giving 110%

She is a Rock Star!

Jade was nominated by 2 of her co-workers. She is a wife, daughter and the proud mother of 2. She was also diagnosed with Stage 4 liver and colon cancer. We decided that Jade would make a great candidate for our Saint Patrick's Day Tent Party at TGIFriday's on Ireland Rd in South Bend, Indiana. Jade's mom was taking her to dinner ( so she thought) I received a text message describing what Jade was wearing (one of the challenges in making sure that you surprise the right person.)
The Mobile Day Spa was parked outside in the parking lot. Given the description that I was texted, I spotted Jade and her mom as they arrived, only to my surprise she was walking across the parking lot and right toward the Mobile Day Spa. I mouthed to the girls "this is her!"
The volunteers talked her into buying an event shirt and answered all of the questions that she asked. Jade told me that she worked for Monaco Coach and that she had talked to either Mike or I about the donation from Monaco of a vehicle. Jade then asked " are you doing a make-over tonight?" We fibbed and told her no, that this was a fundraiser for Hello Gorgeous! and we were just here to support TGIFriday's. Jade then told me that she loved what we did and that she was a cancer survivor. I told her congratulations and we said our goodbyes and I walked into the Mobile Day Spa and told the girls "That is our make-over!" That had never happened before.

We gave her a few minutes to get settled in the restaurant. We gathered the chocolate, the flowers and her certificate and marched inside TGIFriday's to tell Jade that we had lied. We were doing a make-over and it is on her!

We had a great night! Sandy's Hair Design was the make-over team, and they pampered Jade with a pedicure, manicure, a facial, a new wig and a new outfit from Dressbarn. We revealed Jade on the stage with Shock Roxy in front of 500+ people! What a great night!!!

Jade is now cancer free and an inspiration to all of us!! She really is a Rock Star!!

What a Wonderful surprise for Hello Gorgeous!

Thank you Integrity Payment Systems!

Integrity Payment Systems is the premier payment processor and direct settlement institution for credit card transactions. I met Gayle from Integrity at the ABS Show in Chicago in March of 2011. She toured the Mobile Day Spa and "GOT" our mission. Integrity has given us their support in so many ways.

Gayle introduced me to Janel and the staff at Studio 21 in Gurnee, Illinois, which is now a certified Hello Gorgeous! Affiliate. When we arrived at Studio 21 to certify the staff, Gayle presented Hello Gorgeous! with a check from Integrity. I was completely shocked and humbled!

Thank you Integrity Payment systems for your support of Hello Gorgeous!

The Greatest Kid in the World!

We have THE Greatest child in the world! He is so patient with us and puts up with so much from us never saying a word, I almost forget that he is only 8. We drove for 18+ hours in the bus to get to Florida. Never a complaint, never a whine. We woke him up at 5:00 am to get on the road on Memorial Day never a sore word, he just got up. We arrived in Florida on Tuesday and went to the grocery store to pick up some staples, water, fruit and veggies.

Mike and I were wearing our Hello Gorgeous! shirts(of course) and the check out girl says "those are so cute what is Hello Gorgeous!?" Our son, before we could ever say a word went into his spiel.
"Hello Gorgeous! is a non-profit that my parents founded and we provide complimentary make-overs to women with cancer. We do a manicure, pedicure, make-up and we even give her a wig." Mike steps in and says " Bet you didn't know you were going to get all that?" Seth says "she just wants to feel normal, so we make her feel normal again."

We couldn't be more proud of him. What an amazing life lesson he is learning, compassion for others.

We have THE Greatest kid and we couldn't love him anymore!

Mom and Daughter get to do something fun together for a change!

This is a story that needs to be told.


Heather and her mom had a pretty close relationship and then it got a little closer.
In June of 2010 Heather was diagnosed with breast cancer and in
July 2010 her mom Sharon was diagnosed with breast cancer. Heather told us that she and her mom were able to take many of their treatments together. We recieved a nomination for Heather and when we found out that they both were battling the same disease we decided to perform the 1st double make-over in the Mobile Day Spa. Heather's cousin was able to get her to the Century Center for a Girls Night Out event. Sharon was told that Heather was getting a make-over to get her there. To their surprise they were both recieving make-overs that night. The BeeHive salon came as our make-over team and Maurice's donated all of the clothes. We had arranged for Heather's and Sharon's family and friends to arrive at the Century Center approximately 3 hours after the start of the make-over for the big reveal. ( This too was a big surprise to both girls.)


When the makeover was complete the crowd of over 100 people let out a great big "HELLO GORGEOUS!" and Heather and her mom walked out onto the stage, both with smiles from ear to ear.


Heather told me that she and her mom had been through some pretty nasty stuff together and that it was great to go through something positive together.

Welcome Bangs Salon and Spa, South Bend, Indiana

What a fantastic group of women. These girls sat through a 3 hour certification on a beautiful, sunny, Sunday afternoon to be trained to preform the Hello Gorgeous! Experiences. They were there, like the other affiliates in our family, because they wanted to be. Thank you for your dedication and your devotion to these amazing women that we have the opportunity to serve. Welcome to the Hello Gorgeous! Family!!!

Welcome Chateau Bijou Salon and Spa in Noblesville, Indiana

I am so honored to have such a amazing group of individuals as a part of our
Hello Gorgeous! Family. Their love and passion for our project will be wonderful for the women who suffer from this horrible disease in Noblesville, Indiana. Thank you girls and Doug for your partnership with the Hello Gorgeous! Family!!

Welcome Expressions in Warsaw, Indiana

Warsaw has a special place in my heart. Last year we did a visit on an amazing woman named Tracy Yeager. She was the first visit that we did outside of the South Bend, Mishawaka area.

I am so glad that we now will be offering the Hello Gorgeous! Experience on a regular basis in Warsaw by partnering with Expressions Salon and Day Spa. What a wonderful addition to the Hello Gorgeous!Family!!