Diosa De Cancion

Part 1 of the explanation is that he is 'Dead Man #1' as Kate and I labeled him. He happened to die in the area where Kate and I were taking pictures....so I stood over him for a few minutes discussing CPR options and he desperately tried to control laughing. Kate then joined in and we went into detail about the stripping of him...and then just taking his things and leaving him naked and in St Augustine with no payoff... etc etc... I am pretty sure we abused the poor dead man for about 10 minutes.... Part 2 was me asking him to put me out of my misery for having to wear the blasted cap :) Just because I can dress the part (kind of) doesn't mean I am going to behave.

Aye, I am pretty sure we just need to come over that way, kidnap you and not let you free until you are at the event (although if Sterling shows up you may not even be freed then....)

Sophia, It was also a pleasure to get to see and spend time with you this time around. Also, there would be quite a few more pics of you if you didn't have your blasted eyes shut all the time! I swear over 50% of the shots I had of you ended up with your eyes shut! How the heck did you see where you were going with that pike?!?!?!?!

Nuh-huh.... The sommelier (Pronounced "Small-Eh" in Canadian) was the best Marshmallow roaster.. And I would bet on her every time in a ROAST OFF! Red Handed Jill wins hands down! I don't think you had any of Conrad's hot.... roasted.... marshmallows.... you wouldn't know. I also got style points for marshmallow consumption... you have to work on that... you got goo all over your fingers, I didn't even use my hands. Mickey, the whole lot of us were thrilled to be in your pants....er... be attached to your....ummm... I think I mean make buttons for you... Seriously, you were an awesome sport.... I can't think of the last time that I've seen 4 women (me included) turn into obnoxious teenage girls picking on the little brother.... (which is essentially how the scene played out) lucky for you we didn't think of the dress although Melissa was trying to find some rouge for your cheeks... You were a fantastic Barbie doll (I would say a ken doll, but his hair was too short, so you get to be Barbie) Did you say the cheque? Are you sure you don't mean the stays? the mantua? the any of the things i don't want to sew? :) Those will keep me quiet so much longer than money. Just remember, there are still pictures of you Sunday morning...

mmmmmmm marshmallows. I don't have any idea how many marshmallows I ate. Conrad wins for best marshmallow cooking skills. He must have fed me a dozen perfect marshmallows Saturday evening....something about liking watching me eat them off the skewers... sugary goodness mmmmmm

That was fantastic!!! Possibly my favorite of all the journal pages... in part because of the lion story and in part cause you were visiting the stomping grounds of my Mayan ancestors :)

That's why the link is there... all the pictures are in the flicker link...

Well Mickey and Katie are not quite home yet....I believe they will get back today. They stopped in Pitt to get a few hours ZZZs... Do be sure to tell him how adorable he looked when he does get back though :)

Yes Cheeky, I really am just about as innocent as a look (which is not at all....) Will the bottle be something that makes me skip about like a crazy woman? Was that a Dogge compliment? I'm not sure what those look like so I'm checking :)

Mickey was truly lovely almost a princess :) I just wish we had more colorful ribbons to do him justice. There were also no flowers around. Sadly, Mickey did not lose a bet or anything of the sort. He was merely the least sober person around when there were four mostly sober women which included me (the instigator) and Melissa (Sgt Johnson's wife who had the brilliant idea and the ribbons to do it with). She thought that 2 am would be a brilliant time to give a 'hair ribbons' class to the rest of us and as long as we kept sangria in his tankard he didn't seem to mind.... that was until he saw it this morning. I did not get a paper, but we will have to check with Sgt Johnaon when he pops on here. As for their travels, I got a check in from S. Carolina... so, they're moving up that way and will be stopping in Pittsburgh for a few days.

Aye Dogge, you would be a great addition and can shoot your li'l guts out! I am actually in a few of those if you look.... In the sewing ones, I am in the back.... I'm on the motorcycle... and well here's a shot after I pulled my hair down last night... Playing Music Here's another The Girls But I did even have my hair up and in a cap earlier in the day..... yuck. that will take some getting used to..... With that said Mickey and Kate are still discussing how to make me 'lady-like', since I am obviously clueless in that category. I had actually been working on a bodiced gown, but it and I had a few differences of opinion and it ended up being left behind, incomplete for the event.... D

Thank you ever so much for the use of your knife! Without it I likely would still be trying to cut that meat! As for Drakes, that's another 100 years back and costumes we don't have right now... but I would love to come back, so we'll see.

Mickey decided to show us his great skill.... Remove the Lady from her stays.... One after the next.... And finally, we did try to make sure we had PC hair styles.. and practiced a few up dos..... A fantastic time was had by all. Here's a link to all the pictures.... While this was just my funny look at things. I also got some fantastic battle pictures that you can see at this link! Everyone did a great job! Much thanks to the MOM (Men of Menendez) for all the work they put into making this a wonderful event! It was much appreciated! Searle's Pictures

Next I had the notion that if we were to be prepared to replace our soldiers with bikers, we need to have the proper apparel. Kate found just the place.... Next thing you know all the ladies are picking out a little something in leather. I also helped Kate to find some new bling that I am pretty sure is PC... Thankfully our men lived and when the evening came, I am sure in part due to the constant watch being kept by Sgt. Johnson

Ahoy! I have returned safe and sound from Searle's Raid. I have plenty of pictures to share as well as a few tidbits. Hurricane and I arrived bright and early Friday morning to see a camp already well underway in construction. We set up tents for our crewe throughout the day and settled in. Not much later we saw our visitors from the white north, Mickey and Kate Souris, Callenish and Salty Pots along with Wee Hammish! Poor Kate was suffering from the horribly long drive so I insisted the rest of them take care of the set up and leave her to rest (or socialize, call it what you wish). As the day progressed more and more people arrived. I am not sure what the final tally was, but among those in attendance were Sophia Eisley, those mentioned above, St Johnson, Willie Wobble, Jill Handed Red, Doug & William, and plenty of other people I am sure I am forgetting, but I didn't sleep last night... so... well I'm entitled. Saturday had the ladies creating passamentry buttons for Mickey's pants... Next we ladies considered what would happen if all the Spanish and English wiped each other out. We needed replacements in the wings, just in case. Luckily it was Bike Week as well, so we headed to town to find ourselves some bikers..... We found a couple that were willing to take all 6 of us home.... More to come...

Don't get my wrong... I am not working that hard to lose a bunch fast... I guess I was really out of where my body was happy being and it's dropping the initial stuff quickly... I actually know where my plateaus are and I am not far from one now... when I get there it will be there for a while before the next drop... but I have turned my eating into a habit... Here's my current program....and I wouldn't call it a diet.. I have never liked diets and I'm pretty happy with what I am doing... I have a huge smoothie in the morning with a banana, OJ, Mixed berries (frozen from Sams) a couple strawberries and ice... That's breakfast and it's substantial enough that it gives me plenty of energy and keeps me doing til lunch. I start lunch with a salad... and I can make a killer salad... may I recommend the Mrs Dash Salad seasonings, they REALLY add great flavor I have a garlic and herb one that rocks. I use celery, carrots, peppers (if you have a Sams, they have this big bag of little assorted colorful peppers that are various flavors of sweet and they are fab!!!, cucumber.. and frankly I skip the lettuce... leaf lettuce is useless to the body and well I am too lazy to chop up romaine every day. I make 3-4 days of salad at a time, put it in little ziploc tubs and at lunch it's happy and colorful and waiting for me :) I top with the seasoning, a little bit of shredded cheese and sunflower seeds and a light dressing. I make the salad substantial enough that it's usually enough, but I can have something else if I want. For dinner, whatever I want, I just try to look for wise things... like making sure there are lots of veggies to go with what I am eating or choose chicken instead of beef...or whatnot... I had been exercising 30-50 minutes a day until 2 weeks ago when I got the crud going around... since then I haven't been able to as much (but I did do yoga last night and hurt this morning) But the weight just fell off... Again, I know there are hurdles ahead that are going to be slow, but I'm pretty happy and for a change not having a problem sticking with my little program, which is a first in my 35 years....

Ok Nell and everyone else... how are we all doing? I'm officially down 13-14 now... and was able to get into a pair of leather pants that I hadn't been able to prior!! That was my most recent success...and I liked it!

I would agree, right now air fares are REALLY LOW!!! If you can, sign yourself up for them now... you know they'll end up fluctuating down the road.

Much love to everyone for the kind wishes!! Dear Capt Sterling - I do sometimes wonder if you will survive with me hanging about .... although I suppose I should not use that word lest I really be found hanging about..... Mr Bagley, I say you toast me with a hot plate of peas and rice in a few weeks to remind me of the great foods I love from Jamaica! Mission, I'll walk the streets barefoot for you any time! Oh wait.... that won't happen... you tend to be afraid of me an always walk 10 feet from my encampment... nevermind... Mama and Papa Ratzi - I miss you guys oddles and oodles! It was wonderous to hear your voice tonight - much love!!

Birthday or not, you are always welcome to talk peas and rice! that is no interruption at all :) The tree still has coconuts... hopefully they are good after the couple of freezes we had, so I will get some up there! Diosa

Thanks so much to all! Aw Capt Sterling do you have a tough time with the words 'sexy Mayan mistress' :) Crispy! I will definitely cash that in tomorrow and yes, I'll be happy to give you the old ID (You're too sweet) Dogge, thanks for the toast, and never fear, I happen to know where you can get a replacement! :) and Hurricane.... here you need to clarify.... 29.95 is not the asking price... it's the age :)

As always! Beautiful work! I am so appreciative that you guys made us a part of this. They are beautiful!!

thanks for sharing babe! I'm actually down 10 or 11 so far, but I have another 25 or so to go to be where I want to be. oh wait, that means I'm already almost 1/3 of the way there... woohoo! (I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes) I am not doing fad stuff... just changed my eating lifestyle (don't use the word diet... it seems to be a failure bomb) and added exercise. Then I got the crud that hurricane had and now I'm cranky cause I haven't worked out in 5 days.... damn men and their germs.... Diosa