Weddings, Babies, and Obesity.

A lot has been happening lately!  Usually when I don't blog, it's because life is redundant and I feel like I have nothing to talk about--that's not been the case lately!!

Event #1: Jessica got married!  Talk about crazy!  I was responsible for her hair and makeup, as well as decorating the reception venue, so when I was back in Iowa last week, there was quite a bit to accomplish.  The ceremony was beautiful and the bride, GORGEOUS!!!!!!

And we had a surprise the morning of her wedding, which brings me to...

Event #2: WE'RE PREGNANT!!!! :) :)  I've started experiencing "wonderful" symptoms, such as bloating, cramps, nausea, obscene gassiness, and difficulty breathing out of my nose without sounding like I'm an obese person that just walked up a flight of stairs.

Event #3: Courtney got married!  This one was a short notice and quick planning, but everything turned out beautifully and her and Tim are now in their little apartment, getting ready for Baby #2--WHICH IS A GIRL!!!!!!!

Event #4: I got a promotion!!  I'm now a beauty stylist, which means that I'm kind of the concierge of cosmetics.  My job is to find you the best products based on your personal style, skin needs, and budget.  It's awesome!

Oh... and Emily changed my hair color and cut.  I'm "growing it out" for Isaac....

Anna

This past weekend I was working at Nordstrom, like usual.  I had made a bunch of really cute foundation samples and was handing them out in the aisles when my manager pulled me to the floor and asked me to help a customer who was searching for a good foundation.

Of course, I happily took on the task, since matching people in foundations is one of my favorite things to do--right up there beside giving people complete makeovers.  There is an artistic aspect to doing this that requires a keen eye for color, and my eye seems to have developed quite well in that area.

My customer's name was Anna.  I've helped her find a mascara before, but hadn't ever had a chance to sit down and talk with her for more than a couple of minutes.

Anna is a beautiful Philippino woman.  Her natural hair color is a soft charcoal that fades in the popular ombre style toward a mid-level caramel brown on the ends.  It lands a little past her shoulders and I've noticed she likes to wear it curled in a wave.  Her eyes are a deep brown that glint gold when the light hits them, and you can tell by their shape that she smiles quite a bit.  Her skin has a strong gold tone with very few imperfections, which I found amazing once I learned about the last few years of her life.  Most people wear their stress on their face.

Before you start thinking I'm a creeper, know that these are the things I pay attention to when I'm searching for what color to use on people.  I can tell you these details about almost any person that I've put foundation on.  I'd probably also be able to recall the depth of color and thickness of their brows, if they had any distinguishing marks on their face, and if they had strong cheekbones or not.

Somehow we got on the topic of cancer.  I think she thought I'd noticed her scar on her neck.  Being someone who has a scar from cancer, I can tell you that sometimes I'm self-conscious of it and sometimes I think people notice it.  Oddly enough, though, I don't usually recognize them on others.  I mean, I'll notice them, but my mind doesn't stop and think, "This person has a scar.  I wonder what it's from?"  I guess I my assumption is that everyone is scarred, but only some of us have them on the outside whereas others carry them only on the inside.

Turns out she's had thyroid cancer.  She was diagnosed a few years ago and has been through several surgeries and multiple rounds of radiation.  Her journey has been long and difficult.  During one of her surgeries, one of her laryngeal nerves was clipped, and consequently, her right vocal cord is now permanently paralyzed.  Did I mention she's a professional singer?

At one point, she was completely unable to speak, or even whisper.  In her book, My Lipstick Journey Through Cancer, she talks about how she had to grieve the possibility of not being able to sing again.  Possibly ever.  However, she's been in therapy for quite some time now, working on restoring strength to her working vocal cord so she can continue singing.

Every time she's visited the cosmetic counters at Nordstrom, Anna is always smiling.  Always.  I was thinking about it while reading her book, and I hope that I have a positive effect on people like she does.  I hope that I am a little ray of sunshine for people who meet me on a daily basis, that I smile, and that people feel a little more cared for and respected because they met me.

***Update, 3/16/13: Anna isn't doing so well now.  It is believed that the cancer is coming back and has spread to different areas, but she has no insurance to pay for a PET scan that would reveal more.***

Business, Business

I had my PET/CT scan this morning.  I think it went pretty well.  The biggest upside to the immediate experience is that I only had to get poked with a needle once!  Hallelujah!

Tonight Kim and I are going to pretend that we're really fancy folk and go to an event that is being held at Partridge Creek at J. Barbaro Clothiers.  It's a high-class (or at least, high-income) men's store that sells pretty nice ties, shirts, suits, etc. for a pretty penny.  Isaac and I happened to wander in there last Sunday after church while we were mall-walking because he was hoping to get ideas for clothes for when he has to start dressing up for clinical rotations come this next school year.

It was a little bit comical, in my opinion.  Neither one of us were dressed nice, my hair looked all crazy, and Isaac is in dire need of a cut himself.  The sweet lady at the counter either must have been blind and didn't realize that "no, we can't pay $125 for a tie," or she did a killer job at following that rule of business which states that you should never assume your client's income or spending habits.  Either way, she was leading us all around the showroom putting together combinations of shirts, ties, and jackets in hopes that I would "get ideas" for Isaac for Christmas.

As we were heading out the door, she stopped us at the counter and invited me to attend a ladies' night later on in the week.  I'm not exactly sure what those events look like, but she led me to believe that it will be cocktails and snacks of some type.

We left and as we neared the car, I told Isaac that I was considering going to the event, simply because it would be a good networking opportunity where I might get the chance to hand out my card.  Plus, I'm assuming that if the women attending this event are going to pay $125 for a tie and upwards of $195 for a button-down shirt, they're probably not going to be all that opposed to investing some good money in their hair.  We'll see.

I had to create a new temporary business card (partially for this event, partially for my own sanity) as well because the one I was handing out didn't quite portray what it is that I do.  To me, a business card is something that, if executed well, will draw in new clients to you almost on its own.  Here's what I ended up doing:

Back side of original card

Front side of original card

New card front, back is empty

I got some tips from a friend on how to hand my card out in a non-tacky way as well.  I've never really had to hand a card out to someone I don't know, aside from college students, who are generally very un-scary, and so I'm a little nervous.  Plus, I'm not sure if there are business card hand-out faux-pas...

Anyway, Kim and I will be attending tonight and I'm sure I'll have some interesting stories about our experience.

And in even cooler news: I get my port out on Monday.  I'm super psyched!!  YES!!