This was the first year that I started out in a different country, and I have to say, it was quite amazing. This had to be the most different New Year's celebration I ever had.
What makes NYE in Aruba so crazy? Hands down...FIREWORKS! Holy fuck! So all the crazy fireworks that are totally illegal in Cali, you can buy from one of the many stands scattered throughout the island. Of course all the fireworks are from Chinese vendors, so you know they had to be crazy.

Most of the locals in Aruba stay home with family where they bbq and do their own fireworks during NYE and head out to the clubs after the countdown. We decided to do a few fireworks at the house then we made reservations for dinner at Senior Frogs for the countdown.

^Lol.
^The goods... sweet baby Jesus...
^Um...me hamming it up on the messy counter. lol.

Growing up, I've always had a bit of a phobia of fireworks, ever since my mom traumatized us with horror stories of her friends losing hands playing with fireworks when she was a child. Eck.
^what we had to work with...the clear evening sky.

Fireworks make me pretty antsy, but they were able to convince me that everything would be safe and that they were just going to shoot everything toward the water....I was able to stay out to watch a few. I had my camera and tripod set up not too far from where they were lighting the first rocket. They light it and I turn around to see everyone running behind me! LOL. My tripod was set low to the ground, but I got up and ran with them. The rocket ended up exploding into the ground shooting lots of debris right at where I was crouching. Then Diego says, "Oh maybe you shot it upside down!" I'm like, "Oh hell, no! Safe my ass!" haha

Here are some shots we were able to get. Although the covered much more of the sky. The camera was just set up way too close, but this does give one the idea of the danger I experienced. lol.

^Lol. in the last shot it looks like my sister was inches away from meeting her demise.

After letting of 3 huge ones, I'm talking not your bullshit disneyland fireworks and right above my head... I saw shit falling on everyone and I pretty much just boned the fuck out- straight to the house. I actually felt like I was in a war for a minute cuz there were loud blasts and bright lights exploding right behind me. lol. I ran and didn't look back until I crossed the street. I looked up and I still felt like the fireworks were way to close. haha. Yeah. I'm a big vagina, but at least I had the guts to stick around for a while, even though I already had a pre-existing fear of fucking fireworks. I'm much more content watching them from afar. No, I did not feel safe lighting some crazy chinese fireworks with a bunch of amateurs in a foreign country. Sue me. lol.


Then we changed and headed to Senior Frogs for dinner and the countdown. I have to say it was cheesy, but nothing a little good ol' inebriation couldn't fix.

They have more photos and videos, I'll probably never get around to posting. lol. The dinner wasn't very good, but it was fun. After the countdown right outside of Senior frogs was more amazing fireworks that I enjoyed until someone shot a fire extinguisher right up my dress. WTF? lol. Then we headed to the Paddock to dance more. Then home to dance more.

It was a really great New Year and I was glad I was able to share it with my favorite person- My sister. =)

I know, I haven't been updating much on here, but I moved my old posts from blogger to keep things up. I still can't just drop xanga. We've had way too much history...

So last night I went with my sister to see the Pee-Wee Herman Show live at the Nokia theatre in Downtown LA. I fucking loved Pee-Wee when I was a kid. I watched that shit every time it was on TV and I even own the original Pee Wee's Playhouse series on dvd, so you know I was stoked when my sister told me she copped us tickets. =) (click photos to enlarge)

^My sister and I after entering the Nokia theatre. Lol at the dude posing like us in the far background. We tried to dress somewhat Pee-Wee-ish. I was actually planning on wearing the red bow belt that I wore to the last Pink Powwow that I went to, but I couldn't find it. There were actually plenty of people wearing red bow ties and Pee Wee inspired garb. It was cool.

^Before heading to our seats.

Photos were not allowed in the theatre during the show, but I was able to steal a few shots...
The stage was set up to look like Pee-Wee's Playhouse. I so wanted to jump on the stage for a photo op, but there were so many people standing around the stage when the show ended.
^I felt like an giddy little school girl when the curtains opened to expose my dream playhouse, complete with Pee-wee, Chairry, Mr.Window, Magic Screen, Conky and the rest of the gang. God I wanted this playhouse so bad when I was a kid. I'm actually seriously thinking of having a Chairry made for my second living room. Oh man, that would be sick.

^I had to steal another shot with Pterri in it. Chairry and Pterri were my favorites as a kid. =)

^After the show. My face hurt from laughing so much.

The show was great. It was actually funnier than I thought it would be. It was a bit more grown up without being too raunchy-totally well done. The audience was totally into it, which made it even more fun. AHHHHHHH!!!!! "Fun" was actually the secret word. Lol. The house was packed. Pee-Wee has lots of followers. If you ever grew up watching Pee Wee's playhouse, I would totally recommend that you watch the show. It was extremely entertaining and totally worth it. The had all of the characters including Cowboy Curtis (played by Phil Lamarr not the original Mr.bigshotmatrixdude lol), the original Miss Yvonne, Jamby, Randy, the King of Cartoons and more! They even showed a quickie of Pee-Wee's ball of foil. God, it really brought back memories. It was an awesome experience.

^They changed downtown LA a lot. I guess they're trying to make it a bit like NYC. It looks way cooler and there's so much more to do.

Guess that's all.

To be honest, Aruba was pretty much more like a combo of work/vacation, so it really wasn't a completely relaxing retreat, but I'm happy I was able to go. On top of that, I was really stoked that I was able to have my sister and her bf flown out to spend NYE and some leisure time with me in Aruba. Hey, it wouldn't be an NYE celebration without her. =)

So I have lots of pictures (like always) and lots to write about, but of course, I lack time. It drives me nuts that I still haven't really posted about Europe, but I feel like that ship has sailed. I think in my mind, I want to write a full day-to-day log of my trips, but it's really not easy with my lack of time. I think for this trip I'll just try to post sporadic accounts of what I did in aruba with some photos included. Nothing in any particular order. (Click Photos to Enlarge)

It's shitty because the first half of the trip I had no pocket cam, which is stupid because I just got a new canon point and shoot right before the trip and didn't bring it. Since there were sporadic showers (which actually felt amazing), I was afraid to bring my SLR around because I really didn't want it to get damaged. We finally caved and got a Sony Cybershot for the last few days of the trip. So my pictures are all scattered on my iPhone, which I broke during the trip, my Nikon, my sister's pocket cam, and the Sony. Blah. Okay Why the fuck am I already rambling... moving right along...

We stayed in a 2 bedroom house in a nice little area called Malmok. It was right across from a nice beach and snorkling area.

Here I am doing my usual self-shot portraits with the good old remote. I was right outside our house.
^You can see the remote strap looking like the outline of a flaccid penis. lol

^The comfortable ass hammock I claimed throughout the trip. I slept on this a lot.

^The weather in Aruba was perfect for me. About 8o something degrees Fahrenheit all day. Nice humidity. The itching I was suffering from here in LA disappeared immediately. If the weather here in LA permitted, I'd lounge in bikini's and sun dresses all day. I thrive in tropical weather.

For the most part, I spent my free time doing one of 3 things. 1)Laid out across the street in the sun. 2)Laid out on my hammock above. 3)Went snorkeling across the street. Our location was perfect. If you want to have a nice chill experience, I totally suggest renting a house in Malmok. It's the shit! Aruba is a lot less congested than Hawaii. I liked how I felt much more secluded there.

^Right outside our property.
Directly across the street is this...
^The snorkeling was amazing. This is an area where boats would dock throughout the day so tourists could jump into the clear, calm water to snorkel and it was right outside our house! I must've seen thousands of sea creatures. Different schools of fish floating around, Angel fish, squid...we even saw a huge triggerfish on my last day of snorkeling. It was following us a bit and I sorta freaked out. lol. My friend would bring artificial crab meat and feed the fish. We would be surrounded by so many fish and they would just eat out of his hand. It was such a trip!

To the right...
^We would snorkel up and down that area. Effing amazing! I jumped off that rock into the water during my first swim. It was choppy and it was pretty scary. It took a few minutes for me to get talked into it. lol.

To the right...
^Candid shots of my sister and Blaine. It was so easy to spot them on any beach lol. Just look for the girl with the hot pink rocker swimsuit and the palest guy anywhere on the island. lol. They are totally night people, but I think Blaine loved snorkeling so much, he's going to make it into some sort of hobby. =)

I laid out under the little hut to the right. It was nice because the water just reached my toes while I worked a my sudoku puzzles. Super chill. I was so relaxed.

I guess I'll write more about Aruba and NYE later.
Before I go, I wanted to thank my 3rd place contest winner-the lovely Rozylipop for the sweet little thank you gift that was waiting for me when I got back from Aruba. You rock, babe. =)

She gets the whole recycling deal. Shiet.
^Who needs fancy boxes when you've got an empty carnation box. Shoot. You know how we do. lol. Awesome.
^Eyelashes. How did you know I love falsies! Also sweets= Yum! ...and of course a sweet note. Thanks for the love! =)

That's all for now. xo