The best birthday ever

Today is my birthday... I won't tell you which one, but I will tell you that I just got the best birthday gift ever from my 11-year-old daughter, Nicki.

Nicki set our table with flowers she bought herself and made a tablecloth with fabric we had leftover from when we redesigned her bedroom. She is making dinner tonight for our family and gave me this homemade card that had me bawling! It was so special that I wanted to share it with you because I am so proud of the young lady she has become.

Happy Birthday, Mommy!
You get me up in the morning and make me breakfast.
After school you ask me how my day was.
You taught me how to walk, now I can run.
You were my first singing coach, and now look how far I've come.
I've done a lot of hard things to do, and I've accomplished many things, but all with the help or because of you.
I want you to know that when you are older and can't make your own breakfast, I'll make your breakfast, and after work, I'll ask you how your day was.
I want you to know that when you're older, and can't walk, I'll be your legs.
Age is not a bad thing, when it represents how many years you've been around people who love you.

Nicki Lee

The cutest young retailers

Thankfully, the rain gods were smiling down upon us yesterday for the Sony Open, and no one was more pleased than my daughter Nicki. You see, one of the benefits of living on Waialae Golf Course is she’s able to have some fun and make some money selling drinks and treats from our back yard.

Bright and early Sunday morning, she was joined by cousin Megan and her friend Emma. They sold coffee, iced tea and iced bottled water and gave away free donut holes to anyone who bought a beverage for $1.50. Later the girls slashed the price to $1 to drive up sales.

They did all of this with a smile, and just as Mama taught, said “Thank you for doing business with me!”

One tip I did have to give them as throngs of golfers were walking by, which is also an important tip for retailing, is to catch the attention of your audience or clientele. So I told Nicki to create a little visual display, which she did by setting up a little table and chairs so her stuffed animals could have a tea party.

Sure enough, this cute display caught the attention of passersby, which allowed them to see the beverages for sale.

The girls tied in their visual display, their marketing prowess and of course a cute smile and a bright “Good morning!”

Good going, girls!