You take the good, you take the bad

So today was my first day at work. Let me start by saying everything/one is fine. Everything did not start out great though. I settled in pretty early with my clothes all picked out and my to do list made for the morning. I went to sleep only to be woken up at 1:30 by the phone ringing. I saw on the caller id that it was our friend Moira, who happens to be on a business trip with my mom in New Orleans right now. My first thought: "Oh my god, s**t". It turns out that somehow, while at dinner with their colleagues, my mom lost her footing and fell, breaking her ankle severely. She has a compound fracture of 3 bones all of which made their way to the outside of her leg, severing a main vein in the process. She was sent into emergency surgery at 2 am to repair the tissue and fix the bones as much as possible. They couldn't set the bones much because of the risk of infection from the surgery. So needless to say, I spent the whole night getting zero sleep just physically sick to my stomach. I felt so terrible for her being in a strange city with none of her family there to help her. Thank God for Moira, she was there by her side all night long. My family is so grateful for her. So anyway, she made it out of surgery fine, my dad flew in this morning to take care of her and they'll be headed home first class tomorrow. She'll have to see an orthopedic surgeon when she gets home and I'm praying she won't need more surgery. I'm hoping that she'll be able to heal relatively pain free (thanks meds!) and have no further troubles walking etc. I just can't wait to give her a hug after work tomorrow.

Speaking of work, I managed to get through the day by attaching my cell phone to myself. My boss is awesome and told me to do whatever I needed to do, be it talk on the phone all day or go home. I ended up having a good first day. I learned a lot and was able to help some of our clients work out their registrations. Everyone I work with is great and I'm looking forward to learning more. I'll update more when I learn more! Until then, I'll just be thinkin about my Mama and doin the best job I can!

Contest Alert!

Janice from 5 Minutes for Mom has an awesome contest going on! It's for an Insignia 37" Flat Panel LCD HDTV! The contest is sponsored by Best Buy, so go check them out too!

New Job Starts Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the first day of my new job! I will be a customer care representative/ meeting assistant for a company that does training, consulting, and publications for Native American groups. I am so excited to be starting my career and also to be working for a cause that I care so much about! Everyone is so nice and I can't wait to get to know everyone even better. I'll post tomorrow to update about how the first day went!

A Tribute to the Monkey Princess

As the reality of this tragic situation sets in, I find myself to be cried out (for now) and more able to focus on the sweet little lady who has rightfully warranted all this attention. The very first time I spent time with sweet Hannah, she looked up at me with her big blue eyes and sweet little smile, and in her darling but oh so mature 2 year old voice said "Look Allie, I have clickety-clack-clack shoes!". She then proceeded to demonstrate how her shoes did indeed "clickety-clack-clack". At that moment I thought "Well surely any 2 year old with an affinity for shoes is a very cool and special little girl!"

That was the first but certainly not the last time that the little Monkey captured a piece of my heart. I am always excited to get "Fancy Hannah" stories from Jess when she would come to stay and would always laugh at the fun stories that Rach would share on her blog. I've been responsible for arming little Hannah with "big girl makeup" (for play purposes only) as I know the face is one of the most beautiful canvases, and hence responsible for her losing said makeup as she tried to wear it to school! :) (Hey, every girl needs to make a statement right?) My life has certainly had more smiles thanks to Hannah.

The Earth has lost a bit of its sparkle, but the stars are surely shining brighter now. I will always have nothing but happy memories of this sweet little angel with whom I share my favorite animal and a passion for fashion. Fly happily sweet Hannah, you finally have your beautiful wings.

Prayer Request

Today is a very sad day. My friend Rachael (who is also my dear friend Jess's sister) has lost her beautiful little girl today. There are no words that can explain the grief that accompanies such tragedies. Whatever your faith or beliefs, please send your prayers and good thoughts to Jess, Rachael, Brien, Lily and the rest of their family. Rest in peace sweet "Fancy Hannah".

Fab Find!

Thanks to Jessy, my favorite shopping guru, I found this awesome bag at CVS for $4.99! What a steal! It's great for lugging your junk to work, packing books or magazines for a trip or to/from the library, to tote toiletries for an overnight, to use as a fun purse or as a shopping bag (way prettier than plastic or paper!). Go grab one before they're gone!

Front and back have different designs! They also have a couple other colors. :)

Happy Shopping!

Bangs, Versatile Bangs

It's no surprise to anyone that knows me when I show up with a new hair do. After working in a salon for years you just run out of things to do! So on a whim, I decided to make the chop and get bangs. Not swoopy side bangs, but real, "all the rage", "very now" bangs. I can't have a celebrity lifestyle but darn it, I can have celebrity hair! So here they are in their many forms! Steph- hope this helps with your decision! Jessy- here ya go since you can't see the live version this weekend! :)

Here they are normal style:

In a ponytail:

With bangs to the side for a more common look:

In my favorite "poof":

And the obligatory "I refuse to do a thing with my hair today" style: