Caribbean Ramblings . . .

I just want to preface this post by saying that I sincerely would much rather be home in the freezing cold weather in Utah, expecting snow storms than having to be away from my dear wife. This has been a longer trip than usual, and I'm anxious to get home.

With that being said, I could definitely think of many worse places to be on a business trip right. I flew out on Thursday morning, taking a cab to the airport at 4:30 am in 7 degree weather, to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Jamie and I went on our honeymoon to Jamaica five and a half years ago - and at the time, I didn't particularly care for what I saw of Jamaica (except for the incredible Ritz Carlton property we stayed at).
But this time, I really like Jamaica. The topography is beautiful. Lots of lush, green hills. Beautiful beaches. Colorful plantation houses. That being said, Ocho Rios isn't a place I'd like to vacation to. It's not a place you feel safe walking around in after 8 pm. That's for sure. I think that's why all of the hotels there are all-inclusive resorts - hotels where you don't have to leave the property are most popular here. But the people with whom I've been meeting and working with couldn't be happier and more friendly. They're so hospitable and so welcoming. I mean, I get offered a 'good time' or a chance to 'get irie' every time I walk down the street!

The good news is that my purpose in being here worked out great. As some may know, I've been given a new position within our company to head up a new brand, a new business. The name of the new brand is Cariloha (www.cariloha.com), and we're opening three stores in 10 days. The first was in St. Thomas (January 23rd). The second was Ocho Rios (January 28th). And the third is Cozumel (February 1st). So, I got to Ocho Rios just in time to build out a new store within two days. Needless to say - it was a lot of work. We worked two consecutive 18 hour days, and we put together the most beautiful store in the entire shopping area. Our store opening made quite a buzz our first day. Here is a picture of our store and staff:




Well, now I am in Cozumel - the Pearl of the Caribbean, as its called. And I couldn't agree more with that name. Cozumel has a special place in my heart. And in contrast to most islands, you always feel safe walking around here at night. It's 'todo tranquilo'. The food is fantastic. The shopping is great. The diving is even better. It's just a cool, cool place. And it's growing so much - for the good and bad. Bad, because it takes away a little of its charm. Good because there are so many more options for restaurants and the area just looks nicer.




But not all is 'todo bien' here in Mexico. We've come across some complications. Check this story out: Our designer, a young lady named Sabrina, flew down here by herself to get started on overseeing the build-out of the store. Well, she was in the store, and some store manager from another store who felt threatened by our presence, apparently called immigration, reporting that Cariloha has 'illegal americans' working in the store. So, Sabrina's in the store on her first day. Keep in mind she speaks no Spanish. And immigration comes in and asks for her working papers. She doesn't have them, so they apprehend her and take her to the courthouse. Fortunately, she's not having to stay the night in a mexican jail. She was just given a subpoena and ordered to not leave Mexico and to not enter the store, and she has to appear in court at the end of the week. Crazy!
So, fortunately we're working with a great attorney who does all of the work permits for the church when they construct churches and temples internationally. I think it will work out fine, and Sabrina has been a good sport. She's just working from the hotel room. The poor girl has barely left her room - even though she's in paradise here.
We did all go to Carival last night. They actually began doing "Carnival" here several years ago when some brazilians came and taught them how to put together a traditional Carnival. I saw it six years ago when I was living down here, and it was neat then. But now its huge. They had a parade with, I'd guess, over 100 floats, and most of the spectators and participants were wearing costumes. There was loud music - salsa, merengue, techno - and everybody was dancing. There were taco stands, juice stands, esquites (corn with mayonaise and chile and really good) stands set up on every block. It was awesome! If anybody is ever planning on traveling to Cozumel, I highly recommend planning your trip during Carnival, as it's just a ton of fun.
Well, this morning, since we're under the 'federale' microscope until Sabrina's court date and we can't work in the store, we went scuba diving. Cozumel has some of the best diving in the world. They've got the second largest reef in the world along its coast with a constant drift. It has great visibility and pretty good marine life. I went with a group that didn't have as much experience, so I was the most experienced. But you wouldn't think so. After our first dive (we dove the Santa Rosa wall, which I highly recommend. It has caves, tunnels, and goes down about 100 feet), I came up with a huge head ache and was throwing up. Somebody pointed out that my eye sockets were really red - and it turns out that I had several popped blood vessels. Apparently, the pressure from my mask was too high, and it caused major pressure in my head, and caused me to get sick.

But I'm alright. The good news is that I may be able to come home a day earlier than planned. Despite not being able to work directly in the store, we're meeting off-site and making great progress. We likely going to be open on Saturday, which is exciting.

I'm really excited about this new business and this new career opportunity. The next few months will tell us a lot about where we are and where we need to go.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

I guess this wouldn’t be a journal if I didn’t write down my thoughts about a man who has just passed who has had such a profound impact on my life. President Gordon B. Hinckley (President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) passed away around 7pm on Sunday, January 27th. Just over an hour after that, breaking news had hit the television sets and the news spread like wildfire. I wasn’t watching TV and Dustin (who was in Jamaica) was calling me to break the news. Within minutes I received 5 more phone calls. This is a man who others strive to be like. His knowledge and testimony of the church along with his natural charm, charisma, social grace and wit have touched the lives of so many all over the world. Not only those of the same faith, but those of many other faiths, the non-believers, the cynics, and the hard-core reporters as well. He was so in tune with everything that was going on in the world, yet he lived as though he was detached. He has won over the hearts of teenagers throughout the world. (I work with teenagers on an almost daily basis and I truly understand how hard that can be). When many of those in high school here in Utah found out about President Hinckley, there were at least 5 or 6 high schools in which the students decided to dress in their Sunday best to go to school on Monday in order to pay tribute to this man. My Grandma didn’t believe in a lot of teachings of the church, but she always had the most wonderful things to say about President Hinckley. People couldn’t help but love and respect him, even admire him. He won over the hearts of everyone he came in contact with. Not to mention that he was able to accomplish more in 1 lifetime than I could ever do in 10. At the age of 97 he was traveling the world and touching the lives of so many. As many have said, I cannot even begin to imagine the reunion that he must have had with his wife and so many others that had passed before him on Sunday evening. We may be mourning the loss of him here, but there is a big celebration on the other side. I never was able to meet him in person, but I was able to attend quite a few meetings where he was speaking or in attendance. The feeling in the room when he was speaking was truly amazing and I will hold onto those feelings for as long as I live. I am so grateful to have learned from such a remarkable man. It has been a blessing in my life.

Greatest Snow On Earth

What a winter. It seems like it's been winter for too long already. I remember going to the Utah/Utah State game in September during a freezing snowy day. Now, it's near the end of January, and winter is only half over.
I don't know how many out there aren't football fans (if you're not, you're just not watching a game long enough), but watching the two conference championship games made my bones hurt. I couldn't imagine playing in sub-zero temperatures like they did in New England and Green Bay yesterday. When you play in weather that cold, it just intensifies the pain you feel. It's hard to justify how much professional athletes get paid - but I'd have to say that they earn every cent of their paychecks during January.

Well, last night we went to bed, and it seemed that the weather was warming up a bit. The snow was mostly melted from the driveway. I had started to run a little at night. Well, I woke up this morning for my early morning meeting, and there was about six inches outside with plenty more to come. But what I loved about the snow was that it was pure Utah snow. We busted out the shovel - but I could have removed the snow with a broom. It was so light and powdery. That's why Utah has the best skiing in the U.S. - hands down. I've been to Colorado. I've been to Wyoming. They may have great terrain - but their snow doesn't even compete. And there's nowhere like Salt Lake, where you can get to your choice of nine world class resorts within a 45 minute drive. Now, I just need to get up there to ski a bit more. Attached are some pictures of the 12 inches that finally fell at my house when it was all said in done.




One more fun thing. I guess the Salt Lake Tribune was doing another article on my brother Steve about his chances of going to the NFL. There were some recent mock drafts projecting him to be a fifth round draft pick (http://www.nfldraftsite.com/). Well, he told me about it, but I didn't think much of it (Jamie and I have almost become immune to the news as he's kind of a media slut), and had even forgotten about it.

Well, he called me last night to remind me to read it (which he never does). So, I went to the website to read it (http://www.sltrib.com//ci_8025907?IADID), and it was what I expected . . . except for the second to last paragraph where it mentions that he and Savanah are expecting their second child. WHAT? That was news to me. I guess they've known for more than two months, but this was how they decided to break the news. So - my little brother who is six years younger - will have two kids before we have one. Who'da thunk?

Duddies and Yamie

Most people know us as Dustin and Jamie, but in the world of our nephew Bo, it's Duddies and Yamie. It was Savanna's birthday on Wednesday so Steve took her out to dinner and I had the distinct honor of watching Bo. At almost 20 months old, he has more personality than he knows what to do with. When he was walking up to our house, Steve asked him who's house it was... his response was Quique. Little does anyone realize just how right he is! When he walked in he saw me and gave me a big smile and then gave me his perplexed face with scrunched eyebrows and a tightened mouth (it's the signature Bo look). "Duddies?" He didn't understand why Duddies wasn't at the door to greet him too.

Quique gets so excited any time one of the kids comes over, she loves kids so much! She just kept kissing Bo, whether it be his hand or his face or his back when he bent over. One time Bo leaned over to her said "kisses" and then kissed her mouth and Quique licked him. For any of you not grossed out by that, it was adorable!!!

That night I had to go to Young Women (church) since I was leading the activity that night so I brought Bo. From the moment he arrived, I don't think that he stopped talking. Now when Bo talks it's ja bla di la ma cha ra ta star dah blah de. In other words, there are usually a whole bunch of words that I don't understand mixed in with some that I do. So he was walking around the perimeter of the room at church saying his jibberish and then points up to a picture on the wall and says "Jesus" and then continues with the jibberish. It took me a second to realize, wait, that kid just said Jesus!

When we got home, "Mom and Dad" were ready to take Bo home, but first he wanted to go downstairs and play with the cars some more. Dustin and I seriously have 3 or 4 toys for the nephews to play with and we always think that it is so funny how they always want to stay and play more. I can guarantee that their toys at home are a lot more fun than what we have to offer. So after a little bit of playing, it was time to go home. Another funny thing that Bo does is he will tell on you if you're doing something he doesn't like. Anyway, Steve picked up Bo to take him home. Bo immediately starts in"Duddies (followed by some jibberish and then points at Steve) no daddy (followed by more jibberish). He was trying to tell on his Daddy to Dustin. Pure Entertainment! (And these were only a couple highlights from the 3 hours we spent with him).

We have been blessed with such awesome nephews, each with their own distinct personality. Even though the oldest just turned 3, it has been so fun watching them grow and learn and watching their personalities unfold. Of course the spoiling part is a lot of fun too. The only thing more fun than being an aunt is probably being a mom and maybe a Grandma, but those I have yet to experience. I love being an aunt!!!

I'm Spoiled!

On Saturday I had to work, so apparently that day Dustin had the great idea to make me dinner on Sunday night. This is probably the second time that Dustin has made me dinner, (not including reheating dinner from the night before) since we’ve been married. And for Sunday, we’re not just talking pasta or salad, we are talking the works! He was actually on the computer looking for recipes as to how to cook our fabulous dinner.

Drum roll… he grilled up some steaks or shall I say pan-fried steaks and made an excellent bleu cheese butter for the top. He cooked mussels in some type of sauce made with garlic, green onions and who knows what else and how could the meal be complete without two crab legs. WOW!!! It was awesome!

So while Dustin cooked and learned the art of multi-tasking in the kitchen (at least I got some empathy there) I was able to kick back on the couch, catch up on food blogs and watch football while smelling all of the wonderful aromas from the kitchen. In all fairness, I do love to cook so I don’t expect Dustin to do the cooking. But can I tell you how wonderful it was to sit back, relax and be catered to! It was truly amazing! I love my husband so much and I was so blown away by this romantic and thoughtful gesture. He didn’t just make me dinner, he made me a feast! I don’t even think he can begin to realize just how much I appreciated our Sunday dinner. It was one of the best! Thanks My Love! Maybe I should work Saturdays more often...

PS A very special THANK YOU to Liz. This meal couldn't have been made possible without the cloves of garlic she gave us. Thanks Liz!