Pin-ups in Paradise Card Ordering Link!

Hello everyone,

Te'Lisha by Jeff Lange

 I created this link to make it easy for you to order the cards you want. It's nice and secure and you have a copy of the receipt forever in PayPal. You can even leave me a note if you want to change it up a bit. Of course, if you want LARGE quantities, let me know on Facebook and we can work out a special price.

I am so thrilled that all of you are so supportive of this amazing cause and the fun way we have come up with to raise money! You have no idea how much it all means to me. If you are still in the dark as to what we are doing, check out Pin-ups in Paradise and read all about us! Here are a few shots of the lovely ladies!

Cici by Frank Allard

Danielle by Jessica Howard

Charnie by Frank Allard

Chelsa by Frank Allard

Silver by Frank Allard

We are expecting more shots from more models and photographers in the future so keep checking Pin-ups in Paradise for updates!

None of the photos are the finished postcards. Postcards have the watermarks and St. Thomas logos. The backs mention what the charity is about. They are all standard post-card size. Please do not use photos without contacting me or the photographer for permission. All photos are copyright. 

Don't forget: the event is Memorial Day at Hull bay Hideaway so mark your calendars! More info on that to come. Postcards will be available then as well as opportunities to meet some of our Pin-ups, play games, win awesome raffle prizes, and so much more!


POSTCARDS

Danielle $1.00 USD    Charnie $1.00 USD    Chelsa $1.00 USD    Cici $1.00 USD    Silver $1.00 USD    Te'Lisha $1.00 USD    Set of all six! $5.00 USD

It's Carnival, Baby!

So I have been working (yay!) this year which means no food fair, no j'ouvert no late night parties.... well, there is the weekend!

This Saturday is the adult parade and fireworks. This means I can have my fireworks party at my art studio!!!!! Carnival is 60 this year and the parade is sure to be filled with fantastic costumes and fun dances. The fireworks promise to be spectacular as well. If you didn't know, I am fortunate to have rooftop access at my studio and I overlook the harbor: perfect fireworks vantage point. I may not have been able to do all the other fun Carnival things, but I will finish it with a bang. Food, friends, fireworks! What more could I ask for?

Blirthday Video....

Fun and Free (ish) With a Rant in the Middle

I love the views here!

 Many times in your life you will hear the old saying, "the best things in life are free," and you know what? It's absolutely true.

I am a little spoiled to live in a veritable paradise, I will admit, but island life does have its own set of downfalls. Will I dwell on it? Not usually. I find it much more pleasurable to remember the happy times and to enjoy the simple things. Sure the traffic on the waterfront may be atrocious, but the views are spectacular. You're stuck anyway so enjoy the scenery.

Regardless of geographical location, however, one should still be able to enjoy all the little things.
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to go with a friend for a little ride around the island. Well, we covered the WHOLE island, but it's not very big. What was so special about a day cruising? The scenery was spectacular as always and it's easy to forget that. It the whole not seeing the forest for the trees. Yes, some of the houses are wrecks; yes, there is litter (which maddens me, but baby steps help); yes, there are strays; too many power lines; bad crime... whatever! When you just step back and take a good look, as a whole, it's amazing and beautiful.


Yes, I can spend time dwelling on the bad, but there is already so much of it in the media. NEWSFLASH: Politicians were never honest, not even in "your day." Crime was always bad: it was just usually across racial lines and "back then" it was okay to beat up coloreds, communists, Jews, fags, cripples, women, spics and what have you. You know, all the people with no rights so they couldn't really call the police anyway? Don't pretend it wasn't true.



Fighting with pirate statues.



Now that I made my statement for all the elderlies reading my blog.... glad I got that off my chest... let's get down to the point! ENJOY THINGS!

nifty vest

Yes, enjoy. I had so much fun just seeing the island from a slightly different vantage point. I enjoyed playing with bubbles and scoping the scenery and watching the pavement zip past and feeling the wind in my fingers and having easy conversation. I liked pretending I was a tourist and then freaking out. I enjoyed seeing the flowers and butterflies. I had FUN. It was great. I got some sun. I had a big ole grin on my face. It was free (ish)... gas did need to be bought. I didn't drink, I didn't need to spend all kinds of money, I didn't need a bunch of fancy things to do it. It was nice.

Plus I got to wear this nifty vest for a second. Shhhhh....

Playing On-Air

I have to say, I honestly wasn't  sure how I would deal with my new job. As a morning show co-host on a radio station, the hours are ridiculously early, the pay isn't so great, and it means that you can't stay out too late the night before. It is exhausting to try to be humerous at 6:30 in the morning.



Fig. 1 A wall in the studio



It's a bit tough to get used to, but I actually enjoy waking up before the sun and really like having witty banter with my co-host. Well, it's more like I'm his sidekick, but I have learned a lot from him. I have no radio experience whatsoever and I am having a blast!

The perks can be kinda nice, too, like this little concert I went to in Puerto Rico a few weeks back.  



Fig. 2 Little Concert



This still is a ton of work as I do have a full time job as a call room person for cell phone tech support... usually until around 9 pm. I don't have many days anymore. I don't mind too much. The days go quickly. I can't spend a whole lot. I REALLY appreciate my days off. I don't have time to stress and think about things anymore. The Buzz is an incredibly enriching experience so far. I speak more slowly (thank goodness), my confidence is up, and I feel better about public speaking. I think I may stick to it!


 

Things You Need but Didn't KNOW You Needed

OMG FINGER LIGHTS!!!!!!!!!


Apparently I really have been living under the rock I am supposed to be living on... hmph! Anyway, I didn't think I needed these until I saw the link below. It was all clear at that moment: they really are perfect for night blogging. Or night digging for cellphones in cars. Or night gaming. Or playing piano in the dark. Yes.

The possibilities are so boundless. I am so excited to have stumbled across something that made me giggle so much today. I needed a good laugh. 

What's something funny you want that is practical in an impractical way?

Art or Something Like It

The poster for part 2 of the event

Steve Rockstein is one of the most amazingly talented people I know and I am honored that he has allowed me to participate in what is sure to be an outstanding event in our community. His photography exhibition— aptly titled STEVE ROCKSTEIN: PHOTOGRAPHY 1971-2011— is his life’s work in every sense of the expression.

The exhibit will showcase more than 100 of Steve’s photos and covers every type of photography from photo-journalism to nature photography to portraits… whatever genre you want to put it in, the fact is it is all truly artistic. He cuts right to the core of the subject matter and really brings out the essence of what the subject (or his rendition of the subject) is attempting to portray. Steve’s shots all have a rawness and almost candid feel to them. He has an unapologetic take on photography that I would love to call “refreshing” amongst all the scores of people with expensive digital cameras and auto-focus that have websites and consider themselves photographers, but I can’t. It is just who he is.

He has taken pictures this way for far too long for me to call his take “refreshing:” it is simply genuine. It is provocative. It is introspective. You are sure to find a piece that will make you smile, make you wonder, make you reminisce, make you turn away, make you sad. His images invoke such an array of emotions every time I am fortunate enough to look at them. I am duly honored that I can even consider such a talent a friend as well. Luckily I know his awesome wife or she may wonder at my praises. It’s the artist in me: I can’t help it.

One of the most nerve binding views and he captured it perfectly.

Part One of the exhibit is at Oceana in French Town and Part Two will be at Seven Minus Seven in Subbase. Both parts take place on March 18th from 5-8pm and 9pm-midnight, respectively. I am honored that my band UncovereD will set the musical backdrop for a show that is not to be missed. If you can’t make it for the opening, the show hangs until April 15th.

A Mode of Transportation

I finally got one. I am so excited. Honestly, I didn't want to spend quite so much, but I did and I am glad that I did.

This week I did something I never thought I would do on my own. I bought a used car and got financing. A 2008. Yes, dear friends, Mimi bought a car that was built within 10 years of her driving it and it wasn't a beater that cost less than $2000. That never happens. It is just what I need, too: good gas mileage, four wheel drive, room for gear, working windows, no leaky roof, great price and functioning seats. The seat thing is a long story but let us just say that my passengers usually got a great core work out or a good nap in while riding with me.

The whole reason I have been carless was the topic of much controversy as of late. All one really needs to know is my beloved Beast is dead. It died the week I accepted a second job that takes place in the wee hours of the morning on the top of the mountain on the other side of the island. Yeah. Awesome. So now I must wake up to be at the station at 5:45 am, leave there by 9 - 9:15 to be at work usually between 10 - 12 to then put in my eight hours. Fantastic. Especially when you do not have a reliable mode of transportation. Trust me. There are not too many friends who will help you out for a ride at five something in the morning.

Fig. 1 Yes, I bought the blue one

I managed, though, and asked around and looked at beaters and even rented a car and then, when I was dead to the world yesterday, I insisted on car shopping. Then I found it. The price was right. My bank was awesome. Now I have keys.

There is something to be said for having an enclosed vehicle with good ground clearance. Being dry while it is raining is a luxury I was okay without, but rolling up my windows and not having my car leak on me yesterday made me realize that I was okay with that luxury, too. Oh, and I don't have to worry about my music equipment getting wet, and I can lock the doors, and give people rides without apologizing for the wildlife that made it's home in my open to the elements car. This could be good.

WooHoo Steeker Time

Yes! Stickers are in and you are gonna buy them. If you want. Because it makes you feel good. They're only $2 and it's about the same as buying us a beer. So stock up! They're 6 inches long and SUPER shiny. They also happen to be your new favorite band's first ever sticker. So you should get one, or two, or 20. I set up easy pay thingy just for you. You could just call or text or Facebook me, too. Just saying.

TOGA!

I'm really excited that our bands next show is a toga party. It is right during the peak of Carnival festivities so I am hoping someone comes! Carnival is one of my favorite times of year here and I am hoping this years doesn't disappoint! Parades, pageants, food, and concerts abound this time of year so the competition is rough. I hope we can compete! Any excuse to wear a sheet usually gets people out though.

One of the highlights of Carnival every year for me is the food fair. Food is good. Rising Stars Steel Pan Orchestra is better. These kids are the only reason I go. Imagine a double decker open air bus filled with kids from age 6 to 16 all jammin' and swinging' and playing steel pan with a few adults thrown in for supervision. It is a sight and sound to behold and I can't wait!!!!

If you happen to be on the Rock for carnival these are your two best odds of finding me. Either that or I will be tramping it up at the village and maybe dancing until my feet bleed for j'ouvert! Gotta love Carnival!

Something New!

I'm so excited. My hubby got me this awesome pair of knee high Chuck Taylors. They were replacing my super-awesome-limited-edition-2004 Peace Chucks that are finally falling apart. I didn't think they would be this rad. Normally I am not into fancy new things, but these are pretty rad. I am gonna paint them up Mimi style! He says he bought them for when I rock out. He's a great stylist. :D Awesome! And we got the after Christmas super cheapo price. I'm in love. These will last me another 6 years.

Do you have any rad shoes?

Stuff to be Thankful For...

I suppose I could get all mushy and list the many reasons I am thankful this year, but in case you guys haven't figured it out, I am easily pleased and find pleasure in the smallest things. I think that is what keeps me young! Anyway... one thing I am thankful for is (and super excited about) is my Bento USB. It finally came in the mail. If you couldn't tell by the picture, I want to eat it. I took the close up so you could see all the mini food! In case you forgot, I won a contest on Adventures in Bentomaking. Thanks, Pikko!

I'm doubly thankful that I get to have a non-traditional Thanksgiving at a friends house. No turkey here! We're going Cuban style with roast pork. It's in the oven now and smells super yummy! A lot of the people here on island are "orphans" and don't have a lot of other family here. It's nice that we still feel like it's a family gathering. I can't wait. My friend bakes such awesome pastries!

I know that I am grateful for a lot of other things as well, like my health, my finances (come on, I could be living in a slum... you don't have to be rich to be wealthy... perspective peoples!), my hubby and such, but I think being grateful for the little things is so much fun. So what silly little thing are you grateful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

The One Ring

The exhaustion is coming again. I should be painting, but I am blogging. It is my zen moment. Odd, isn't it? I'm trying to curb the sleepiness with diet Monster beverages. I have designs swimming in my head. Maybe I need to go for a walk or something.

I lost my wedding band in my car earlier in the week. Two days ago, really. I spent all yesterday in tears and going through my car with a fine toothed comb. I even had a friend come help me out. My car is a disaster. There is enough sand in my car to start my own beach. We go to the beach a lot. There is only one car wash in my vicinity on island (you know, with the giant shop-vacs) and it's across the street from a whore-house. I don't go a lot. So my car is a portable sand box. It happens.

Well, I didn't find it combing through the car. I went to pick up the hubs, friend still in tow, and we pulled over to grab some snacks at a gourmet grocers. Nick, my tall husband, rubbed his head in frustration that I hadn't found my ring. His hand bumped the roof. Guess what he felt. Yup. My ring. I have a really ghetto car— we call them island rides here, for the record- and the fabric on the roof is saggy. I don't know how it ended up in there and I honestly don't care. I NEVER would have looked there. It was a serendipitous head rubbing. I have my ring back.

My band where it needs to be. Woot!

WOOHOO! First Listing...

Okay, it took a while but I did it! I listed my first thing on Etsy. So it's only one listing... whatever. I am working on it! Woohoo! Little by little. Now, off I go to deal with my stupid cars! Have a great day!

Rockstar

Ok, so I'm not really a rockstar, but I definitely am pretending to be. Aside from the crazy amount of painting and shows I have been doing, which are going great by the way, I auditioned for a hard rock band. Very different from the chic rock, folksy stuff I do on my own. One person in the band was pretty sure that he did not want a female in the band because he did not want the band to be "chic rock."

Well, I must've done something right because I have gone to two practices already and the band is very excited. We all have a lot of positive energy and agree on a bit, which is really surprising. I'm finally using my electric. When you are a one person show, doing metal songs alone is silly, so you do campfire acoustic sessions. Having a band makes such a difference. The band website is here. We are reworking a bit on it. I hope I can keep up though. The guys are such awesome musicians, but I already see myself improving my knowledge of guitar. It's so nice.

The art shows are doing great as well. It's kinda funny, because when I was really young, I told Mom that I would live someplace beachy, do science during the day, art for tourists, and play music on the weekends all in cutoffs and flip-flops. Well, I do write about science on Potspoon!, I definitely do art for tourists, and now I do music too! Oh yeah, and I live in paradise. Not the EXACT dream I had, but, this is pretty close to living it, I must say. Now all I need is a Vespa and I'm set! ;)
So that is what's keeping me busy, well, that and Floyd... What's new with you guys?

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.

And the Winner is....

Me!

I'm in shock. I have to cheat at Go Fish to win. It's sad. I actually won. So what did I win? This nifty bento USB drive. It's 2 gigs! It's got food! I'm a happy girl. So how did I acquire this nifty prize? It started a long time ago. Oh yes, I am going way back. You see, when I was younger I hated boring lunches. I was always packing myself really quirky lunches of the style Sailor Jupiter did on Sailor Moon. I didn't know that it was called an obento, or bento lunch. I just liked it. There is a lot lost in the English translation of Japanese animated shows. Once I did know, I became obsessed with bento boxes and anything to do with bentos.

Fast forward a few years to the point where blogs entered the scene. I had looked on the internet for bento sites and most were in Japanese. No help. Then there was a trickle, small at first, of bento enthusiast coming on to the scene. Cooking Cute was great while it lasted. A little more decorative than I wanted, but awesome and worth the look. Lunch in a Box is gigantic now compared to when I started reading it. Then there was Pikko's site. Adventures in Bentomaking was a simple blogger blog just like mine when it started. I was immediately attracted to her site because she mixed the simplicity I needed with cute touches I could handle. Her photos are awesome, too. She is honestly one of the few bento blogs I read regularly and there are tons of them now. It's very popular. Anyway, back to the contest.

Pikko has contests. I never win them, but it is always nice to participate. This one was no different. I leave comments occasionally anyway so it's not like I am saving myself from lurkerdom or something. However, I HAD to win this contest. The minute I saw it, it was meant to be. The question posed was great. I had a solid answer. I love USB gadgetry. I am a geek in the end. Luckily, Random.org was on my side. Then came the post. I had won. Where was I? Who knows. It took me a week to reply. That is what I get for slacking. I'm just so thrilled though. I can't wait! Woohoo! I will post pictures when I get it!

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!

I DID IT!!!!!

I know, I shouldn't use all caps, but today I feel like I should be allowed to do so. Who made that a rule anyway? I'm really excited to say I made it into the show I wrote about a few posts back! I got the call last night. Now I really have to get to painting! This is great news for me and for some of my friends. There is no way I could produce enough on my own! I'm going to try, but I'm pretty sure I will be calling for back up! This is fantastic!