Christmas Party

Our first Christmas party was at Chris and Debi's house this year.  A group of Divas spent a Saturday afternoon the week before blinging the place out for the party.  Grace did a fantastic job of heading the project up and even created a "toy shop" for our gift exchange.  After all that work we had a crazy storm come through, which involved lots of taking down and setting back up on Chris and Debi's part.  Just minutes before the party started, the rain and drizzle stopped and we were able to have the party poolside as originally intended.  What a break! 

And what fun! (Here are the pictures to prove it.)



Much to her chagrin, Melissa chose the "censored" gift...



Christmas Cookie Decorating Party for SafeHouse of Seminole

The Divas hosted a Christmas cookie party for the kids at SafeHouse this afternoon.  We went into a baking frenzy the day before and ended up bringing 35 dozen cookies to be decorated.  It was a wonderful day and all of us -- the kids, the moms and the Divas -- couldn't resist the pull of decorating sugar cookies. 
It's the simple things.

At meetup.
What's a Diva get together without a mechanical issue?  Hey, we're getting good at this stuff!

The Divas and Zazoo the Clown



The Divas with some of the volunteers (friends and family) that came out to help us.



At the SafeHouse getting everything ready before the children arrive.

Chris keeping a close eye on the gingerbread cookies in the oven.
 Mmmmm... They made the shelter smell all Christmas cozy!

 



You know, "Too many cooks in the kitchen..."  That's our excuse and we're sticking to it.



We had a little cookie icing mixing incident.

But some of us came prepared.

Prepping the tables for the decorating messy.

Zazoo was on hand to entertain the children with balloons and face painting.

Akili enjoyed holding this little sugar cookie.

The decorating in full swing.

The kids seemed to be having so much fun. 

Even the Divas got in on the decorating action.  Not sure who had more fun, us or the kids.

One of the masterpieces.



A table full of masterpieces.





Poker Run to Benefit Jessi "SunDancer" Sills

On Labor Day the president of the Chrome Angels of Central Florida, Jessi Sills, went down on her bike and suffered numerous severe injuries, including a skull fracture, fractured ribs and nerve damage to the right side of her face.  A poker run was held to raise money to try to offset some of the debt she has incurred while out of work and recovering.  After many years of  dedication to raising money to support breast cancer research and to help its victims, Jessi was now on the receiving end of the generosity of the motorcycling community.  The Chrome Divas were there to offer our support to our sister rider.

The Divas at Harley Davidson

Melissa rolling up her sleeves to help get everyone registered.



Divas working the registration table.



The chow line at Cowboys, where the ride concluded.

The Divas with Jessi and friends



Trish, always the dancer.




Chris, just moments before she won the Strong Woman contest.  She won two gift cards for Beef 'O' Brady's and a gift card from Harley Davidson.  Woo hoo!
Fair warning:  Don't ever get in an arm wrestling match with her. 
(And, Chris, you can't say you never win anything ever again!)

Also noteworthy (but not pictured due to blurriness) is the fact that Victoria won another raffle.  Hellooo, lottery ticket!



Cruising For The Kids

The Chrome Divas of Orlando met up at the Orlando Harley-Davidson this morning to ride in the Orange County Police Athletic League's Cruising For The Kids ride, a fundraiser to help keep kids off the streets.  A nice breakfast was offered and live music was playing while we all registered and visited with other riders. 

Debi and Akili with the Grand Marshals of the Parade, Orange County Sheriff Val Demings and Orlando Police Chief Jerry Demings

Local radio personality Shannon Burke getting things started.  Shannon did a great job getting the word out about the ride on The Shannon Burke Show.  (We'd like to send a big thank you to him for also getting the word out about the Chrome Divas of Orlando's participation in this event.)

Prayer and The National Anthem before the riders' meeting

Our escort vehicles ready and waiting

Let's ride!

The 30-mile ride was escorted by the Orange County Sheriff's Department.  They were stopping traffic for us all along the way as we headed out toward Windermere and ended up at the Central Florida Fairgrounds.

The Divas with Dan Haggerty. 
Most of us know him as "Grizzly Adams."
All you younger Divas will have to Google that one...

Workin' it.
The Divas had a booth to welcome anyone interested in learning more about the Chrome Divas of Orlando.

Lunch at the Central Florida Fairgrounds

Victoria won the $300 cash raffle!
Akili was also a raffle winner of free yoga classes.

Bunny and Dan Haggerty
(After riding with him many times in the Love Ride in California, it was surreal for me to see Dan Haggerty on the East Coast, especially since the Love Ride event was taking place that very day out West and I was feeling a little bummed about not being there.  What a nice surprise!)