Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Little Boy Blue

So I have a card today that I made for a few challenges. Not for anyone special, or for anyone not special. Just for the challenges.

Before I go into the specifics of the card, here's a little story for you. Last night Gary and I went to a Diamondbacks baseball game. We were offered free seats in a suite at the ballpark; a reward, I guess, because we had bought a 10-pack ticket package this year. Hey, I jumped at the chance to sit in a suite--a new experience, right? Cross off another item from my bucket list. I have been told that you get great food in a suite that you can't get elsewhere in the ball park. For real? I have no idea. Because when we got there, we were told that there was no food available in the suite last night. So we had to go buy our food at the Diamond Level concession.

A few years ago, the food available in the Diamond Level was outstanding for ballpark food. We loved it. So, this year when we bought our tickets, we made sure that we had Diamond Level seats. Great food this year? Not so much. In fact, I am sure that you can get better at the other seating levels. About all they offer is a cheese-steak sandwich or burgers for $8.50. Fries with that? Another $6.00. Yuck. I want a wonderful stir-fry or salad. What the heck? And then I asked for iced tea, only to be told that they were out of it. ???? How can you be out of iced tea at the beginning of a game? Anyway, my sandwich was edible, but not delicious last night. So I opted for red licorice for dessert, as I love me some red licorice. Oh, good grief. It was so stale I could hardly chew through it, and I threw most of it away.

The suite was too warm, as it had a low ceiling, which held in the warm hot air. The seats were no different than any other seats in the ball park. Not more comfortable, which I actually expected they would be. We were pretty far down the third baseline, so it was a little hard to see home plate. All in all, if I was complaining, (and, make no mistake about it, I am), it turned into a fairly unpleasant experience. Except for the game. Now, that was really fun! The Dbacks won in great fashion, complete with one player hitting for the cycle--which I had never seen before. And the guys got their bats going after scoring no runs for the past two games. The evening was not a total loss. But the moral of this story: the next time we are offered free tickets for a suite, just say no. Or, more politely, no, thank you very much.

Today was ginormous fun. Yes, I am being facetious. Most definitely. I took Donovan to the physical therapist. And spent $195 for the first appointment! This did include an exercise disc and some joint medication.So there was that. And there is the fact that he will only need 1/2 hour appointments from now on. The rest of the appointments should only cost $50 each. (Only?) But I got to see all the exercises that I have to put him through, (hopefully I'll remember them), as well as the swimming pool workout. Or, as in my case, the bathtub workout. And let me tell you something. The only thing worse than doing physical therapy yourself is having to do it for/with your dog. Pray for us both. Please. Pray that we get through this with no biting, broken limbs, or death by drowning. I am afraid. I am very afraid. Mostly that I won't do it right, or that I won't be as religious about it as I should be, or that I'll accidentally hurt Don. Crossing my fingers here, people.

I will say that Don is quite the little swimmer. He started swimming the minute he was released into the water and kept going for 6 minutes. Not bad for his first time in a pool, huh? The therapist--oh, can we just call him Jeff, to save time? Easier for me than typing out "the therapist" each time I mention him. So why did I take so much time to explain this? I don't know--sometimes I amaze myself at the nonsense I come up with. Anyway, Jeff said that Donovan was a very strong swimmer. Jeff also mentioned that he didn't feel Don's knee pop out of place during all of the exercising and swimming that Don did today. Thank heavens for small favors. And, according to Jeff, there is an 80% chance that this therapy will take care of the problem, thus eliminating the need for surgery. I am planning on it being 100% successful. I have heard about the gory 6-week recovery that dogs must go through after knee surgery. And I don't plan on that for Don. (To say nothing of the extra $1800 it would cost!)

At least tomorrow I don't have to put Don into the tub for swimming therapy, as he only needs that every other day. However, the rest of the exercises must be done daily. And I am not overly thrilled about the walking twice a day that we are supposed to do. The temperature was 102 yesterday, today, tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future. I don't relish 10-minute walks in that heat. Which means I must get up early to walk the dog. Really early. You know--like about the time I am usually going to bed for the night. HELP ME!

Emough. Enough of my moaning and groaning. Even if you aren't tired of it by now, I am. So let's get on with the card I have made today.

I have several challenges to enter with this card. I just kept finding more that fit what I was doing and figured, why not? I may as well enter them, too! The challenges are, in alphabetical order:

Cheery Lynn Red, White and Blue Challenge
Digital Tuesday Tag It Challenge
Dilly Beans Sugar Challenge
DP2 Mo's At the Park Challenge
Love to Create Summertime Fun Challenge
Oozak Two Papers and Embellies Challenge
The Outlawz Copic/Promarker Favorite Color Combo Challenge
TTCRD Summer Lovin' Challenge

I have to apologize to The Outlawz Copic/Promarker gals. I have not submitted my favorite color combo because I don't have one. I find myself using different color combinations with every card I do, because I pick what will go with my papers, not what colors I like to use. In fact, I have tried various red combinations that I really abhor using, (due to the difficulty in coloring with reds), just because my papers have required the use of those reds. Please forgive me for  submitting something I colored with my markers that paired with the designer paper I chose!  ;^)

My image for this card is "Justin's Ice Cream" by Mo's Digital Pencil. I printed it on Cryogen CS and paired it with a stamp from the SU Pendant Park collection. I used a digital sentiment by Create with TLC and two Tim Holtz Adage Tickets. The dies I chose were: Cheery Lynn's Victorian Picket Fence, Magnolia Doohickey Vintage Tag, and Spellbinder's Classic Stars. My papers are from the Basic Grey Life of the Party collection and SU CS. I used SU ink, a Signo Uniball white gel pen, and Glossy Accents on the image after I had colored with it with the following Copics: E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, E31, E35, E37, C00, R02, R24, YR20, BG0000, BG02, BG05, BG07, YG93, G82, G85, G94, G99.

Well, that should do it for this edition. If you read the entire post, I offer you my sincerest congratulations or deepest sympathy, whichever should apply.

Hoping you all have an excellent week!






47 comments:

  1. SUPER cute, sorry about your experience though! xoxo Thanks for joining us at Dilly Beans. :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Jenn! I've had a couple of goofy days, but nothing serious! LOL! :^)
      Hugs,
      Penny

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  2. Oh my goodness this is adorable! Love the scene and your fabulous coloring, Penny.

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  3. OH, so beautiful card and i like colour you card!

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  4. This is fabulous, Penny! That image is so sweet and you've colored up quite a wonderful little scene! Great details! Sorry about your poor pup, but hopefully all this PT will really help him! Thanks for joining us for Mo's Challenge this week (and the CPC challenge, too)!

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    1. Carla, thank you so much for the compliment & thought about Don! :^)

      Hugs,
      Penny

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  5. This is such an awesome card Penny! I love this little guy. Have been eyeing him myself and the stamp you used to supplement couldn't be more perfect. Love all your little extras. This is really fun! Thanks so much for joining us at Mo's!

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    1. Thank you so much, Tracy! You should get him--he is a lot of fun to color! :^)
      Hugs,
      Penny

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  6. You made a darling card, love this image. Beautiful coloring and beautiful scene and layout. You just did a fabulous job on this card. Hope your dog gets better and the pt does not get you down.

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    1. Thank you for the compliments and the kind thoughts about Donovan, Linda! I appreciate both! :^)
      Hugs,
      Penny

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  7. Hi sweetie this is stunning, hugs pops x x x

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  8. Adorable card, love the added foliage around the image. Good luck and thanks for joining in on the fun at Cheery Lynn Designs challenge blog.

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  9. Really cute image and great card design. Thanks for joining us this week at Love to Create Summer Time challenge. NancyD

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  10. I love this little guy. Your card is wonderful. Such great colors. Thanks for joining in over at Love to Create Challenges. Hope to see you again next week. joann sassy raggedy

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  11. Look what a beautiful card you created. Even if the outing was a bomb and the heat makes you melt, the card was a huge success, right? Love the coloring. Thanks for joining us at Dilly Beans this week.

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  12. What a stuinning card and so beautifully coloured well done .
    Enjoy your weekend too, hugs Elaine

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    1. Thanks so much, Elaine! :^)
      Hugs back,
      Penny

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  13. super cute!!! Thank you for playing along at Cheery Lynn Designs!

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  14. What a Stunning Card!! The Details are fantastic! Great Image & amazing coloring!! Thank you so much for joining us at Love to Create Challenge this week!! Come back and play with us again really soon!

    Many Blessings,
    Tina

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  15. ohhh fantastic card, love it, it's perfect! Wow you had a time at that ball game and ss to hear about Don, gl with all his therapies :)
    ty so much for joining our hop and becoming my newest follower, I greatly appreciate it, and if I'm not following you already I will be before I leave :) Have a great day, big inky hugs :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Cindy, for your compliments and kind thoughts!
      I am glad to be following you! :^)
      Hugs back,
      Penny

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  16. Penny, this card is GORGEOUS!!! Wow!!! Your coloring skills are OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!

    I am sorry that you did not have a good time at the ball park :( There is nothing worse than paying money for food that is less than satisfying. Hopefully, the next game will be better :)

    Praying for both you and Donovan...and I am sending some hugs to help get you through. Thank you for stopping by my blog during The Outlawz celebration :) I appreciate the follow and am now following you as well!

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    1. Pryn, thank you so much!!!!
      Thank you also for the lovely thoughts about Don! He is doing well so far.
      Glad to be following you and thank you for following me, too! :^)
      Hugs,
      Penny

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  17. Wow! This is so adorable! Gorgeous image, sentiment and layout, its fabulous! :)

    Thanks so much for joining us at Cheery Lynn Designs this week,

    hugs

    xxalisonxx

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    1. Thank you so much, Alison! :^)
      Hugs back,
      Penny

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  18. What an adorable card and such a cute stamp!!
    Thanks for joining us over at Cheery Lynn designs!
    Good luck!
    Love from France, Kianel.

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    1. Thanks so much, Kianel! :^)
      Love back from Arizona,
      Penny

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  19. 1. "So why did I take so much time to explain this? I don't know--sometimes I amaze myself at the nonsense I come up with." Um. I understand. You read my blog. I do the same thing.

    2. I've never seen anyone hit for the cycle. That's very exciting.

    3. I would have thought you'd get great food, waiter service, and cold air conditioning in one of those fancy-schmancy seats.

    4. Is your stadium the one with the pool in the bleachers? Have you done that? Can you bring Donovan there and give him therapy while watching the game and staying cool-in-the-pool? Just wondering.

    5. You could have said anything was your favorite color combo. Outlawz does not have police. Or not that I know about.

    6. It's a great card. Wonderful coloring of that super-cute image. Adorable scene. Great use of die cuts and the adage tickets.

    7. If you read all this, congratulations AND sympathy. *big cheesy grin*

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    1. Gosh, Kathi, I think we were twins from another mother. LOL
      1. Yes, yes you do!
      2. Yes, yes it was!
      3. Me, too!
      4. Yes, it has the pool. No, we haven't done it--too danged pricey. But I like the idea about Don and the pool. Gave me quite the giggle! ;^)
      5. They shouldn't have police. They are outlawz, after all.
      6. Thanks so very much! :^)
      7. Yes, yes I did, and thank you for the congrats and condolences in the same sentence. "big cheese grin" back atcha!

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    2. Oops, I spelled cheesy wrong. HAHAHA!

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  20. What a simply gorgeous card! The little boy is the cutest thing! Sorry I did not make it here to comment before the challenge ended...but you did a wonderful job!

    ~Jeannie
    ~Cheery Lynn Designs Team

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    1. Thank you so much, Jeannie! I am just glad you stopped by! :^)
      Hugs,
      Penny

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  21. Penny, Thanks for stopping at my blog and leaving such a nice comment. If you give the card a try I would love it if you would let me know, I would love to see it.
    Your card is just so cute.. You did a awesome job with Mo's image. Love your colors. I could not tell you what my favorite color combo is, I'm just like you it depends on the paper I pick out.
    Hugs

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    1. You're welcome, Patricia! Thank you so much, too! I hope to try that technique soon! :^)
      Hugs,
      Penny

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  22. Gorgeous card, I like the images and the colors, Thank you for joining in with us at TTCRD and the Outlawz! Good luck!

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  23. The card is adorable! Love the expression on that little boy's face; what a great image! And I love how you colored everything, too, using those vibrant blues and greens.

    Sorry to hear the suite life didn't work for you so well, and that the food has been disappointing.

    Kudos to you on all the therapy you're doing with Donovan. I have to wonder if you're ending up soaking wet after those tub sessions. :)

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    1. Oh, thank you! He is a cute image, isn't he?

      Yeah, well, I love the seating we have now! So it's all good! :^)

      Thanks, but I don't actually get too wet. He's pretty good for the swim, considering he hates it!

      Hugs,
      Mom

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Thank you for visiting my blog! I appreciate the kind comments more than I can say! :^)
Hugs, Penny