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fontman
08-12-06, 05:52 AM
Model dreams come true for military wives
By Linda McIntosh
UNION-TRIBUNE COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER
August 12, 2006

CAMP PENDLETON - Lillian Ruiz dreamed of going into modeling when she was growing up.

Instead she married a Marine and had three children.

But after 19 years of being a military wife, her dream of being photographed for a national magazine is coming true.

Ruiz is one of four Camp Pendleton military wives who will be featured in a fashion and beauty story in the mid-November issue of Woman's Day magazine.

"You think it's never going to happen and it does," said Ruiz, 39.

Ruiz and three fellow finalists were chosen out of about 150 applicants from Camp Pendleton for a free makeover at the Three Sisters Salon in Oceanside. Before and after shots will be published in Woman's Day.

The contest, which was coordinated last month by the Camp Pendleton Armed Services YMCA and hosted by Women's Day, invited Camp Pendleton active-duty female service members and spouses, ages 20 to 50, to write about their families in 150 to 200 words and submit a photo.

"I've never won a makeover before, but I thought I'd try," Ruiz said.

In her application, she wrote about her three daughters and renewing her vows with her husband, Gunnery Sgt. Rafael Ruiz, next year for their 20th anniversary.

"We got married by the justice of the peace before my husband left for boot camp in 1987 and he always promised I'd get my wedding for our 20th," she said.

The stories of the four women will be part of the Woman's Day feature.

"These are amazing women. If I think I've got it tough and see them, it puts my own life in perspective," said Anne Fritz, fashion and beauty editor at Woman's Day, who interviewed the women last month.

This is the third year the magazine has partnered with the Armed Services YMCA to feature military families from bases across the country in their November holiday issue.

"This year we wanted to take it a step further," Fritz said. "We wanted to give back and show our appreciation for what they're doing."

The big day began at 9 a.m. with a catered breakfast and wasn't over until 7 p.m. after the final after-makeover shots were taken at Camp Pendleton.

"It was surreal. I kept thinking I never win these things," said Anna Wisherd, 29, another winner.

Wisherd's family story included meeting her husband when she was a freshman in high school and attending several colleges while her husband was stationed on the East Coast, the West Coast and Hawaii.

She earned a master's degree from Pepperdine University in April, and her husband, 1st Lt. Aron Wisherd, graduated with a bachelor's degree from Hawaii Pacific University in 2004.

They juggled their studies along with raising a daughter, 11, and son, 3.

Wisherd's husband is currently deployed to Iraq, She serves as a key volunteer for her husband's battalion, providing support to spouses.

Wisherd heard about the makeover from a friend and decided to give it a try.

"It was nice meeting the other wives, Wisherd said. "We all have our own unique stories."

Ruiz, whose husband has been deployed twice to Iraq and is awaiting deployment this month, said the makeover made her feel special.

"I was on cloud nine and didn't want the day to end."