Above the Clouds

Rhea Lana's of Honolulu

Good morning from Hawaii! This was my second time to do a live TV interview on the morning show in Hawaii! Pictured is Deanne and her daughter Erin. Also pictured, 4 super kids that belong to a friend and leader, Ceanne. I don't get TV coverage for my own sale, I have to travel 4000 miles! Interesting fact, Deanne and I both have daughters named Lauren and Erin.

I love to go to events in other locations! The Hawaii sale is in a beautiful mall with LOTS AND LOTS of traffic. We could've used about 3000 more square feet, but we fit it in! Moms everywhere love to come and shop a store full of clean, like-new clothing and toys for their kids at reduced prices. The consignors are thrilled to sell their items and pick up a check. I'm truly thankful for my job and for doing something that helps others. Last season I got to go to 4 other sales (plus my two!). I meet the nicest people along the way.

A couple more

PUPU BAR AND GRILL?

I don't know what AKU is, and I don't want to. When the sign says "no blood. no skin" that's enough for me.

Hawaii

Last May I was in Hawaii for the very first time. I really thought it would be my first and only trip, and I was surprised when Rhea Lana asked me if I wanted to go again! Our Rhea Lana's of Honolulu franchise sold to a new owner and we decided to send some franchise support: me!

This time Richard couldn't go so I was instructed by him to not have a lot of fun, but just to mostly work. It was so strange to be in a place so far away where I recognized so much! I drove myself across the big island every morning and every night. My motel room was in between Diamond Head volcano and the ocean. I don't want to live there, but it sure is surreal to me!

My pictures this time around are a little funky! I saw funny signs and things you wouldn't see other places and kept snapping pictures. I also worked every day in a beautiful, busy mall. I'll post the pictures of our great Honolulu event and our TV appearance in another post.

My FAVORITE Bath and Body scent is Velvet Tuberose. This lei had tuberoses on it. They grow in a stalk and this lei was so potent, people were sniffing the air around me. Now I have a wonderful association for my favorite scented lotion!

This is a shopper's foot at our event. She has the Hawaiian islands tatooed on her foot. I posted this pic on my Facebook page and a couple people gasped when they thought it was mine! I'm anti-tatoos, so this would've been funny! Anyway, I asked if I could take a pic and she said "yes!" She told me I wasn't the first person to take a picture of her tatoo!

Island Images

The scenery in Hawaii provoked us to take lots of pictures. I want to record them here but I won't get to them all in one or two posts.

On our first full day on Oahu our host drove us around the outer edge of most of the island. He took us to some hot spots but there wasn't a stretch of space where there wasn't something beautiful to look at.

Here one of several shrimp stops on the east coast. We waited in line and then almost 30 minutes for this meal. It was delicious. Busses were stopping here, locals were waiting, it was a happening place!


We stopped at a lesser known beach that had 3 people on it in the middle of the day. The flowering plants along the walkway had us captured and then...we got to the water.


Oh my!

We stopped at a huge lookout at a huge blow hole on the coast. As the waves come in on the sharp black rock the water sprays through a hole worn out in the rock. We could see another island in the distance and the view and sound of the waves was breathtaking.

tour bus logo...

Hawaii

I've replenished the kitchen with food, washed and folded clothes, mowed the yard and even scooped poop. Yeah, it's back to normal.

It's crazy to think that I was sitting on Waikiki beach two mornings ago and riding mopeds around Oahu. This last week was so wonderful and one of the best trips of my life. Not only was the weather beautiful, but the quality time with Richard was awesome too!

The days of our vacation were long but we weren't ever rushed or on a schedule.

On Friday morning we went to a place called Turtle Bay to see large sea turtles and then enjoyed a less tourist-filled beach on the North Shore.


The sand was like sesame seeds (not dirty and sticky but smooth and shiny) Richard bought a simple snorkel set and he explored the reef in that area.




On Saturday morning we climbed up Diamond Head which is one of the outer rims of an extinct volcano which was also a military base years ago. It was hot and steep but we made it to the top where the view was worth every drop of sweat!



The climb up Diamond Head is steep. There are two stairwells and a tunnel at the top.




That afternoon we rented mopeds and drove around the island for about 3 hours laughing all the way! (except for my little spill)

A break from scooters at a harbor in Honolulu.


As far as work goes, we had a wonderful time meeting moms at Rhea Lana's of Hawaii. The ladies we worked with were so sweet and really ready to learn what we knew about the business. I wrote about it on Rhea Lana's blog here.

Hawaii day 3 - early post

It's still pretty early here but we're taking a break before we go move into our store. We got up at 4:15 this morning because we had a TV interview. It was a pretty big deal and an experience. We only were on the air about 3 minutes and at the SAME EXACT TIME Erin was competing in the Jr High talent show. I knew she was nervous...and so I started texting my teacher friends hoping one of them would have their phone on. I'm so so thankful to live in a small town where my friend found Erin, told her we were praying for her and gave her a hug for me. That's a good feeling when you're 5000 miles away from your kids.

When we finished the interview they were counting votes at home and Erin won. I'm so thankful for her song choice: Free to be Me. Great words for a teenager.

Not sure what I was saying here, but it might have been stupid:

Hawaii day 2

OK, while I've been touring one of the most beautiful places on earth it's been "cold and rainy" on the Lane. Not only that but today Lauren was told she made ALL CONFERENCE in Soccer! THEN, Ryan called after his choir concert and told us he got an award there. THEN, while I'm eating a pineapple sorbet/vanilla twist waffle cone at the Dole Plantation, Sheridan calls to tell me she has pulled her first tooth.

They're all in bed now, so no more calls today...unless the tornado that is going through the area touches down....or until tomorrow when Erin sings in the talent show at school. I'm praying hard about her nerves.

We're going out to dinner now.

I'm missing my family.

Hawaii is a long way from home.

Mother's Day

This has been the LONGEST Mother's Day ever! It's going to end up being 29 hours as we crossed a couple time zones today! My head is a little dizzy now but Richard says we need to stay up a little bit longer so we won't wake up at 4:00am. I thought I'd post a little, but I keep typing the wrong letters...

The flight was so LONG (finished the book I was reading, watched 2 movies, ate lunch and dinner, and took 2 short naps) and it was such a thrill to look out the window and see land!

We drove around part of Oahu today, saw so many beautiful flowers, birds, buildings, clouds, mountains...it was awesome.

We also met with LOVELY Rhea Lana leaders from Honolulu. We talked for over 2 hours about checking in folks at their event and answered questions they wanted to know about the sale. I love this job!