DNC

I have been lucky enough to run into some pretty big events so far. I must really know how to be in the right place at the right time because I was living in Salt Lake during the 2002 Winter Olympics, and this year I was in Denver for the Democratic National Convention. I don't live right in downtown Denver, so I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to check out any of the festivities. But to my surprise, I got a call with some very exciting news. John Paul and Eloise DeJoria (the owners of Paul Mitchell, Patron Tequila, House of Blues..) were coming to the DNC and needed hair and make-up for the events they were going to. I was very excited to find out that she wanted my boss, also named Kara, to do her hair.. ME to do her make-up.

After freaking out a little, and an expensive trip to the MAC counter for extra supplies I was feeling pretty good about things. This was kind of an intimidating job, because not only is she a celebrity, but an ex model, and she and her husband own one of the biggest hair companies in the beauty industry.

We first met up with her on Tuesday. Rather than staying in a hotel, they were staying on the Patron Tequila Express, a train car parked outside of Union Station. It was somewhat of a tour bus situation, but way cooler! The it had an India type theme inside. Tons of handcrafted wood, the original curtains, and bottles of Patron EVERYWHERE. I learned that Patron makes like 6 different kinds of tequila, including a Coffee flavored one, and one that costs $500 a bottle! Of course I opted out of tasting any of them, but I did have some lemon cake that was made with Patron and it was delicious!!

Doing her make-up was actually pretty easy. But her skin was basically flawless, and even though she's 51, she looks like she's 41. I ended up doing it 3 separate times. Once for Hilary's speech, once for a breakfast with other female celebs, and once for a private concert hosted by the Black Eyed Peas. She was SO incredibly nice and laid back. She kept asking for fashion advice, told us about her and JP met, talked a ton about her kids.. it really made it easy to not be so nervous! Seeing John Paul running around was kind of surreal. But he was so polite, and made sure that we were comfortable and having fun. I didn't get very many pictures (and none with JP unfortunately!), but here is what I got.

hellogoodbye

We're going to go for more of a picture book than a novel today.

Here's Peri on Friday. We went to Salt Lake and took pictures so that we wouldn't have to do them all on Saturday. It was a great idea, because we spent about 4 hours downtown! I can't imagine doing that on Saturday.



This is my favorite shot I took of Peri and Jacob. The light was perfect!!



Peri and Jacob in front of the Salt Lake Temple. SO so so beautiful!!




Me and Sam. I am looking haggard after the all day wedding. And Sam isn't wearing make up but she's always gorgeous.



Hailey is getting SO big! She will be 2 in December. I love seeing her when I'm in town.





This is Brady. He was my client in Denver, but now lives in Salt Lake. Isn't he a hottie?



Julianne moved to New York City to become a rich and famous photographer. She is so very talented, and an amazing friend. I am going to miss "J" very very much!!

taking a break

I'm headed to Utah, again. I feel like I just left, but I am still really looking forward to going. After losing Neva, I am extra appreciative of my family, and my friends. Especially the ones I don't get to see very often.

Peri is getting married on Saturday, which is the whole reason for my trip. Her dress is SO amazing, I can't wait to see her in it. I did her make-up for her bridal photo's a few weeks ago, and the pictures turned out awesome. She is so pretty! I am so lucky to have her here in Denver with me, and have her as my best friend. It's crazy to think of the good ol days at PMTS and Cosmo. When I decided to move to Denver and she brought up coming with, I never in a million years thought she'd actually come. Now a year and a half later, not only did she end up in Denver, but met her fiance here. Totally nuts! Tomorrow night we're going to dinner at Baja Cantina in Park City and having a sleepover at a condo up there. I'm excited! Then the wedding is Saturday morning in the Salt Lake Temple, and the reception is that night in Oakley.

This will definitely be a much needed break. The salon is semi back to normal, or as normal as it can be right now. I'm still having a hard time, but the water works have slowed to a trickle. We have started a fund for a scholarship in her name, and her clients are being so generous. Even people that didn't know Neva. It's cool to see everyone come together over such an amazing person. Here is an article printed in Sunday's paper.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10146118

The girls got back from Vegas last night, so today was our first day having everyone back at the salon. We all came in early to have a "Foushee Family" meeting, and talk about what's the best way to handle the situation. It's been really hard so far, even before everyone was back. Clients have called because they've heard the news, and many people have called just to schedule appointments with her. It seems so wrong to break the news of Neva's death to her clients. I think they're just as lost as we are, some have even just hung up when they've heard the news. Unfortunately it's going to take awhile before everyone's found out. Even though a lot of people in the area know about the accident, her name wasn't even released until Monday morning. This morning we all cried, a lot. It was hard to be together without her.. I really consider the girls at the salon to be family, and having Neva missing is going to make a huge impact on my daily routine.

They had a memorial service for her tonight, and her funeral and burial will be this weekend in Alamosa which is about 6 hours from Denver. We decided that we aren't all going down for the funeral, but instead will go when they lay her tombstone at her grave. The service tonight was hard. Her family sat in the front row, they all looked as if they were on auto pilot. Some of her extended family spoke, and then Kym and Kara both talked about all of the things we loved about Neva. Kara told this awesome story about how they went to France and took the stairs all the way up the Eiffel Tower and she had to carry Neva on her back to the top. It was great to remember the things we love about Neva. I am so lucky to have known such an amazing girl. She was such an inspiration to me, and I looked up to her.. even though I had to look down to her since she was a full foot shorter than me.



Here's a story that the Rocky Mountain News printed.



Man comes upon fatal accident involving his fiancee

By Hector Gutierrez
Monday, August 4, 2008

Neva Christine Mondragon was expecting to celebrate one of the most memorable days of her life later this year.

The 27-year-old was getting married in October.

On Saturday, she was planning for another big day: her fiance's birthday on Sunday.

But Mondragon was going to Las Vegas on Sunday, so she and another couple decided to celebrate her fiance's birthday on Saturday evening.

She headed out Saturday morning to get her nails done at the beauty salon where she worked, Betty Valdez, her aunt, said. "She left us at 7:30, and we kissed her goodbye."

It was Mondragon's last moment with her family.

When she didn't show up at Salon Foushee and Day Spa in south Jefferson County, her co-workers phoned her aunt.

Her boyfriend, Jose Carlos Maez, was running errands when Mondragon's aunt called him to say she had not shown up at the salon.

Maez decided to look for Mondragon, traveling the route she would have taken south on South Santa Fe Drive.

Perhaps her car had broken down.

Perhaps her cell phone simply was turned off.

When he reached the 5200 block of Santa Fe, Maez came upon a wreck involving three vehicles.

A crushed red Ford sedan belonged to his future bride. She was dead.

"This is what makes it so tragic. He did come upon the accident," Valdez said.

Another driver, Richard S. Hogsett, 36, of Jefferson County, also died at the scene. A third driver, Kelly Joan Horan, 26, was seriously injured and was being treated Monday at Swedish Medical Center.

Littleton police said they think Hogsett, who was driving a Mercedes sedan, was heading in the wrong direction on Santa Fe Drive when his car plowed into a Honda driven by Horan before smashing into Mondragon's Ford.

Hogsett's father was too upset Monday to comment.

Maez proposed to Mondragon last Christmas Eve at the lavish Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. "She was getting married Oct. 18," Valdez said.

Mondragon was born in Denver and attended school in her father's hometown of La Jara in southern Colorado. She graduated from Centauri High School. She then enrolled in beauty school at Emily Griffith Opportunity School, where she earned her cosmetology license in 2002.

Valdez said that she and Mondragon's mother, Ana, own a salon in Cherry Creek, and her niece had followed in their footsteps. Mondragon lived with Valdez in northwest Denver.

"She enjoyed traveling and she loved camping and cooking," Valdez remembered. "She liked to cook and give parties - any kind of outside party - so she could cook and have all her friends over."

In addition to her parents, Mondragon is survived by two brothers, numerous aunts and uncles, and her two grandmothers. Her brother had a 6-month-old nephew who Mondragon just adored, Valdez said.

"She was wonderful, and she had a big, wide smile," Valdez said.

Neva

Last night as I was driving south on I-25, I passed an accident. It was after midnight and probably caused by someone under the influence. As I passed I looked over to the lights of the cop cars, and the dented in vehicles affected from the crash. The drivers and passengers were close by, staring at the damage caused by the collision. I had a good 20 more minutes of my drive, and being late at night my mind wandered and I thought about how we never know what's going to come at us. I was thinking about how unfortunate it is that we often think, "I'll be happy when..." instead of just appreciating each day we have on earth.

It wasn't until this morning that I realized how my reflections last night would prepare me for the challenges of today. This morning while on her way to the salon, Neva was killed in a car accident. For some reason a car entered Santa Fe going the wrong direction, collided with a car head on, that hit and killed Neva on impact.The driver of the first car was also killed. They don't know why the driver was going the wrong direction, or if he was intoxicated. I saw photos of the scene this afternoon on the news, and they literally made me sick to my stomach.

Most of the girls from the salon are headed to Vegas today, so there were only a few of us working. Neva was supposed to leave for the hair show in the morning, she had delayed her trip until tomorrow because today is her fiance's birthday. Time was moving so slow today... from the time where I got to work and found out she was already an hour and a half late, my client telling me that Santa Fe was closed for an accident, calling her cell phone, receiving the news, and finally breaking down. I have never once seen my boss cry, and as she received the news I watched her eyes over flow with tears. How could it be that "little Neva", only 27 years old, who was engaged to be married in 2 months, was gone? Her empty chair next to me haunted me all day. How will the salon ever be the same without one of our best stylists?

I am going to miss her ridiculously good smelling food in the break room, her extra crazy clients, her amazing blow drying skills, her using a stool the reach the tops of clients heads, her crazy dancing, her little laugh, her being as proud as her nephew as I am of my nieces, parties in her backyard, her taking naps EVERYWHERE, and everything else about her... It's still hard to believe it's real. I think it will take a few days, when the girls are back from Vegas, for me to realize that she's not going to be returning back to work. This is the first death in my "adulthood" that I've really had to deal with. Neva was a constant in my life, I saw her nearly every day and it's hard to picture my life without her in it. Please remember Neva's family, friends, and coworkers in your prayers. We could all use a little extra comfort right now.

Here is a photo from the scene of the accident. The news reports that the after Mercedes SUV hit the first car, it landed on top of Neva's red Ford Sedan.

So so busy!

Thing have been so hectic that I haven't even had time to write anything for awhile! First and foremost, I have to say Happy Birthday to my Grandma Dianne who is the coolest grandma ever. And not just because her name is my middle name! She is awesome and I don't know what I would do without her! She turned 65 on Wednesday, and spent the whole day at Lagoon with all of her kids and grandkids. And when I say she turned 65 that isn't exactly true, but I will always think she's 65. And I'll always think my mom is 35. I think they're probably okay with that.

My new roommate, Cary moved in last weekend. She is really cool, but she's crashing on the couch for a little bit until Peri gets her stuff moved to Jacobs. Things are going well, she is a really cool girl! She is actually married, but her husband is in the military so she is out here doing Teach For America. It's been fun having her around, I think we're going to have fun together!!

Last weekend was full of birthday celebrations. Friday night was Karen's brother Tommy's 30th birthday. Tommy is special needs, and so so so so fun to be around. He is always asking for girls numbers, and always asking for a pen to write down their number. As a gift some guys from his ward bought him a package of pens, and a little black book they called the "chick-tionary." Here's a picture of Karen and Tommy with the cake, and a picture of me and my friend Stephen who is home from BYU-Idaho right now.











Saturday night the salon girls went out to celebrate Peri and Kym's birthdays. We went to my favorite bar called Rock Bar. I love it because it's never been remodeled from the 70's. Also, they play lots of "old school" music. The dance floor is small so everyone packs on and has a good time. The night "Midnight Madness" was going on, which is a moonlight bike ride. People in Denver are really into fitness, including bike riding. I obviously didn't participate, but there were a million people downtown on bikes! It was so crazy, I've never seen anything like it!!









Other than that, I've just been keeping busy. Work has been jam packed, which is so nice. I love being busy, the days fly by.. and the paychecks are nice! I've been working out a ton still, and I'm really starting to enjoy running. I am so lucky to have such strong legs! I am sure I will feel the same way about my arms.. once they are actually strong! I am about to head out to a wedding reception which will be the first of MANY for the summer. I am so excited for my friends to be moving on and getting married, but it seems so crazy to me! I'll be back in Salt Lake for Peri's wedding so soon, it almost seems surreal.

dress shopping

I have been shopping for a dress for Peri's wedding for the last month or so, and have been getting frantic about it this last week. Her wedding is just a month away, and I have been stressing out about what I was wanting to wear. Originally I thought it would be fun to find a green dress, but lately I've been trying on just about anything that isn't ridiculously expensive. I went over to Park Meadows today, and FINALLY found one! I have probably tried on close to 100 dresses in the last month, so it was such a relief to find one that I liked. It is black, which is typical of me but it fit right and it's a little more dressy than anything I already have. And since i have about 348576 friends that are engaged right now, I am sure I will get plenty of use out of it.

It was Peri's birthday this week so I whipped up a meal of Dorito Casserole and "chubby brownies" via Peri's request. It was also my friend Chris' birthday so he came over for the feast. We got all caught up on Tila Tequila, and watched part of season three or The Office which is one of my favorite shows. Last year we were in Utah for Peri's birthday and had a joint party with our friend Crob. It's crazy to think that was a whole year ago!!

I have been thinking a lot lately about how things can change so quickly. Thinking back to last summer I had completely different friends, and was still relatively new to Denver. I still wasn't 21 and was counting down the Saturday nights til I could go out downtown. It's just so crazy to me how fast things and people can come into your life....and also how quickly they can leave. I have had a rude awakening lately, I realize that there have been some people that I took advantage of having around. I guess that learning those kind of lessons is part of what life is about, I just wish it wasn't so hard. I don't believe in regrets, but hindsight sure is 20/20. I recently read a quote by Marilyn Monroe that I have been thinking about a lot. It said, "Sometimes things fall apart, so better things can fall together." I guess that just means that good things have to come to an end to open up opportunities for things even better. I know things will fall into place, I just hate the waiting game..

Utah Pictures

Here are some pictures from Utah that I didn't put with the last novel I wrote.


Harper and I after her blessing





Hailey and I.. she was distracted by the swing set apparently





My Momma. I cut her hair shorter, and now we look the same




Grandma Di, one of my most favorite people on the planet






And this is from Denver, but last night I got to go dancing with my friend Natalie. Her birthday was last Monday and she was very excited to be 21. We hit up a lot of the popular bars/dance clubs in Lodo, and appreciated that we can have fun sober.

Aunt Kara

There are no words to say how much I love my family! I loved spending time with them in Salt Lake, and can't wait to see them again. I am learning to appreciate how important family is, and must say that I am lucky to have awesome parents, siblings, sibling in laws, nieces, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.

I must say that I have two of the cutest nieces ever. Hailey and Harper are so adorable, and I feel truly blessed to have them in my life. They are so very lucky to have so many people that love them, and to be raised by my wonderful sisters who can teach them the important things our parents taught us. Being able to be there for Harper's blessing was awesome, and a great reminder of how important the Gospel is to our family.

It's crazy how quickly "the little girls" (Carly and Kelly, who are now 14 and 13) are growing up, and how fast our family is expanding! I was able to get a really cool gift for my dad for Fathers day/birthday, I got a copy of The Proclamation To The Family framed, with a picture of my parents and each of my siblings matted around it. Eventually it will have pictures of each of our complete families. It's really cool and I'm telling you about it because it was so big and awesome that I couldn't bring it on the plane so it's sitting in my room all wrapped up! Hopefully it will be to Salt Lake soon and my parents can enjoy it!

I guess I could give a few details of the actual time spent in Utah.. Sam was kind enough to pick me up from the airport, since my mom was still at Girls Camp when my flight got in. We did some shopping and then I went to her house to cut her hair, and ended up doing her moms too. When I finally got to my parents house I spent the afternoon cutting and coloring my mom, Kelly, and Carly's hair. As the weekend went on I also did Chase, Erica, Eric, Grandma, Grandpa, Teresa, and Brady's hair. I also was able to give Hailey her first ever haircut!

I spent the rest of the weekend baking for the blessing, and trying to relax. Monday I got to go to lunch with my mom, grandma, and several of my aunts which was really fun! I also go to see two of my very good friends from high school, Michelle and Tiffany! It had been several years since I had seen them so it was extra special. Saturday while Erica and Tom went to see Tom's grandma, they dropped me at University mall so that I could drop in and see my good friend Adam. I met Adam at 80's night about 3 years ago and we've been really good friends ever since. Monday night I went to dinner with Kyle and Cameron, two of my good friends from Provo. I also got to spend time doing Teresa's hair.. I am doing her hair and make up for her wedding in October, and also for her bridal pictures in August. We also went and got snow cones with her fiance, Shane. I'm really excited that I get to participate in their wedding!

Even though I was in Salt Lake I caught up with two people I had met in Denver. I ran into Steffany from Arvada while I was at University mall, which was unexpected but awesome. And Sunday night I went to Draper to hang out with Brady, who was in my ward here and also used to come into the salon. It was fun to see them in Salt Lake, but definitely reminded me how much I was missing Denver! It reminds me that I am definitely in the right place, and am just lucky that my family is such a short trip away!

coming to SLC

It's barely been 2 months since I was last in Salt Lake, but I'm headed there again on Friday. Erica, Tom, and Harper are flying in from LA to bless Harper in my parents ward. I am SO SO SO SO excited to meet her! This is the first time my whole family has been together (with the exception of Ty on his mission) since Thanksgiving, and will be the last time until Christmas. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to come out on such short notice but everything fell into place. I'll be there from Friday morning, til Tuesday night. I was trying not to tell anyone I was coming, I get so overwhelmed trying to run so many places while I'm there! But I probably mentioned it to more than enough people so I am sure I will be jam packed with activities and people while I'm there. Not to mention I have 11 people on my agenda to have their hair done. 11! That's like 2-3 full days of work. But it's cool, because I like to keep my family and friends looking good.

Fortunately, I'll come back for work on Wednesday and Thursday, and then I will have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off for the 4th of July. I don't have any plans yet, but I am sure it will include bbq's, fireworks, and hopefully sleeping in! It's pretty awesome when you need a vacation from being on Vacation.

I've had a pretty busy week or so at work since I'm going to be gone next week. All of my clients have been crunching to get in before I leave, or before the holiday. It has been nice being busy because the time has been flying by! Sometimes long days are hard being on your feet all day.. so I treated myself to a pedicure yesterday. It was nice to get off of work and relax, where as most days I head straight to the gym after work.

Okay, so the most random thing happened yesterday/today. There is a gas station on the corner of the end of my street. I always tell people "turn left at the Starbucks/Sinclar station" but yesterday when Peri went over for some peanut butter m&m's and a diet coke it was closed. I didn't really think anything of it because it's kind of a sketchy place.. but today I pull onto my street and there is no signs whatsoever of a gas station. The place is completely demolished. I guess Peri will have to walk a little further for her diet cokes from now on. Nothing with businesses really surprises me any more since the Starbucks popped up within 2 days, and the sushi restaurant next to us changes names on what seems to be a weekly basis...