Chili, Sand, and Music

The past month has been quite the whirlwind of activity in the Casa de Mimi. Pin-ups in Paradise is putting out a calendar. Non-profit status is on its way. Band is playing weekly at Iggie's Beach Bar. I'm cooking (and playing) for the chili coo-off this Sunday. Work. Stuff.

I have so much I want to tell everyone, but I spent until the wee hours in the morning working on a press kit for the band. So, hugs and love. And naps. They are a good thing. Would love to talk to you all sometime!

I should go run errands, but I am bone tired. Going to crawl in bed now. 

Where I'd Rather Be...

What's that there?

Today is one of those days. Started out with a scare and finished up with an, "OMG I'M STUCK!!!!!!" I just for a second felt like I wasn't going anywhere. I had to sit back and relax and remind myself that even though I would rather be on the beach and even though I feel at this very moment like I am going nowhere fast, it is all a lie. I have gotten lots of places fast. I am just at a rest stop.

Another beach???

 Maybe today I am agitated at certain things. Yes I would rather be on a beach playing guitar, napping, eating, snorkeling, or some mixture of the above. Am I though? No. I do not own or work at a beach shop/bar/location. I work at a desk, now. That was my choice to make. At the time, it felt smart. It was painful, but felt smart. Would I rather be doing my art again? Absolutely. Realistically, though, we are about to go into off season. No sense in me getting all adventurous now. I have a good job with a good wage and I live in paradise.

Jellyfishing!!!!

Maybe this is just a small stop. Maybe I need a long break. Who knows? Maybe I will end up with a beach shack selling fancy sandwiches and hand painted goodies and renting out snorkel gear. All I know is sometimes you just need a reminder of how good you actually have it. Do I get to see the pretty sea critters and turquoise waters the way I want to everyday? No. But the water is visible from the roads and the views make up for it. I guess, right now, it's not soooo bad. :)

How do you keep sane in your environment?

Weather Conspirators

They must exist. I finally have a day off(ish) and was planning a fabulous beach day with some friends and dear Floyd, and it's cloudy and poopy. The weather networks say sunny high of 82! What the heck!? I guess I will just hang out here! This could have been poor Floyd today. She needs a doggy beach day badly. *sniff* The weathermen are conspiring against me... I just know it!

Home Sweet Vacation

So the hubs is on vacation this week and we decided to stay here. We figured we could try the whole "staycation" thing that seems to be so popular. It's really easy to do here since we feel like we are on working vacation all the time anyway. People spend a lot of money to come here on real vacations after all.

I think we would feel differently about taking a stay-at-home vacation if we lived somewhere like Salinas, Kansas (no offense to the people of Salinas). Although, while driving through Kansas once, Nick and I had some car trouble and got towed into the town of Goodland. We saw the coolest thing we could have seen there, too. It was a giant reproduction of Van Gogh's "Sunflowers." Really. It was awesome. I know I have a picture on one of my discs somewhere. Just can't find it. That was the neatest. It really made Kansas cool. You can follow this link to see someone else's picture of said painting.

Anyway... back to our plans. We are going to enjoy ourselves the way we always do: lots of rum, sun, sand, and ocean. We may throw in a few more days hanging with the turtles (which we do a lot) and maybe try some really touristy things and go parasailing or something. Not a bad vacation in the end though. I really do live in paradise.

Update on the Show

On Tuesday, I set up shop (or is it table?) for the first time with the "Roadshow" as they call themselves. Tuesdays there are two shows, in the mornings at Bluebeard's Beach Club, and at night at Marriott Frenchman's Reef. My husband works at the Marriott so this could work out! However, it is off season here and the Marriott show is the money show so everyone shows up and there is no more room. I opted for the morning show at the Beach Club. The sun was shining, the water was crystal blue, the ants were biting.

The hotel does a beach party on Tuesdays for guests. It includes lunch and music and us artists set up a few tables. There were only 5 of the 16 artists present. Only 12 people came to the party. I sold two things! Not to bad considering it was my first time and there were people who didn't sell anything. I am really excited! I am waiting for my tablecloth to be complete so I can do more shows. I think I will do the Beach Club and Bolongo for now. Artist belonging to the Roadshow can set up tables at Bolongo Bay's Caribbean party on Wednesday evening. They have moko jumbies, steel pan, and all sorts of cool stuff. I think, until season starts, these two are at least the most entertaining. When season rolls around, we also have shows at a few other locations on island and by then, I should have painted enough to be able to do at least four shows a week.

I'm babbling a bit, but I am really excited. I think this could really work out. Funny thing though, is I didn't even sell a bag, I sold some of my minis! The picture to the left is my hubby at the Beach Club (locals call it Lime Tree) beach two years ago. Sorry for the bad quality, it is a scan of an actual picture. You know, 35mm film? :oD Not to bad of a place to spend a few hours though. Not really work at all!

Black Sand

This beach was known as Dieppe Bay in St. Kitts and was gorgeous! That little point in front of Nick is the exact point on northern St. Kitts where the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet. The wave action was pretty incredible. I will go back there one day. I have to. St. Kitts was way to pretty to NOT visit again. There was too much we did not get to see.

What a Day!

I went to my favorite beach on island today (well, second fave if you count where I was married). Actually, I have a few favorites, but all for different reasons. Brewers Bay, however, is way up on the list. The reasons are it is sooo easy to get to since it's on UVI's campus, it's gorgeous (the opening credits to my videos on Potspoon! are all at Brewers), and I ALWAYS see sea turtles. Today I got to see two. Not bad. Not bad at all.

The sad part was there was so much litter in the water. I mean, not like the Hudson River or anything, but still. It's such a pet peeve of mine. I mean, here we all are, on this beautiful tropical paradise, and you don't even have the courtesy to take your garbage to the bin? Really?

Beer bottles, plastic bags, cans, and plastic cups were all removed by the hubs and me today. And a SunChips baggie to top it off. All at the bottom of the bay in the turtle grass bed. It makes me mad. It's not like there is a lack of receptacles on the beach. It's just a lack of respect. Maybe that, combined with a lack of understanding of what their stupid litter does to the fragile ecosystem in our waters, adds to the mix. I wish there was more I oculd do, but there is only me and the hubs and we do what we can. We always pick up any litter we see on our lovely beaches and collect sea glass. It helps a bit. It's just frustrating. We still had a blast. The water was delicious and blue as ever and the turtles and fish were in abundance. It was beautiful, breezy, and a humid 84 degrees. It's hard for me to let a little litter ruin that for me.

How do you feel about litter? Be honest.