Lisa Yee's Blog: Wow -- What a Way to Kick-Off the New Year!!!

Where were you on 1/1/11?

At the stroke of midnight, I was watching the Rose Parade floats being lined up and readied for the parade . . .

Since we live in South Pasadena (which is actually a separate city and not part of Pasadena) . . .

. . . and the parade is in Pasadena, this is something Peepy and I do every year. Plus, everyone knows that Peepy brings good luck for the New Year. (If you don't believe me, you can look it up!)

It was freezing cold (well, for this Southern California gal), but still lots of last minute flowers were being placed on the floats . . .

Here are some of the gorgeous sites we saw. Keep in mind that EVERYTHING you see are made from flowers and plants!

Because we saw the float prior to the Parade, we got to sleep in on New Year's Day. Then it was off to the American Girl Place in Los Angeles.
It was so exciting, because I got to see my books, ALOHA, KANANI and GOOD JOB, KANANI, on display, and to see the gorgeous Kanani doll and all her friends and accessories!!!

(Isn't Kanani gorgeous? Illustrator, Sarah Davis, did an amazing job!)

There were lots of special events to celebrate Kanani being the 2011 Girl of the Year. Like hula lessons!!!

In ALOHA, KANANI, Kanani and her friend Celina hula dance. So, as research, when I was in Hawaii, I had a lesson. I'll have incriminating photos of that on an upcoming blog, but in the meantime, here the girls learning the hula at the American Girl Place in Los Angeles . . .

The displays in the store were amazing . . .

Here's Kanani looking good!

It was weird (in a good way!) to see Kanani and her friends, like her dog Barksee, and Malana, the baby Hawaiian monk seal she helps rescue. I mean, it's one thing to sit in your office and dream up stories, but then to see them come to life like this is incredible . . .

BTW, for every plush monk seal sold, American Girl will donate $1 to the National Wildlife Federation!

In GOOD JOB, KANANI, Kanani works at a shave ice stand to earn money to help raise awareness of the plight of the monk seal . . .

An elderly friend of hers makes leis, so while I was in Hawaii I learned to do that, too. The girls who came to Kanani's debut got to make leis, too . . .

And here's Kanani's paddleboard and hula outfit . . .

I've probably tired out your eyeballs with all these photos! So that's it for now. I'll be visiting all the American Girl Places, but until then, stay tuned for the next blog when I show proof that I learned how to surf!!!!

Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to win a free copy of WARP SPEED, Lisa's new book that will debut in March? If so CLICK HERE.