The Outlawz Friday Coloring Anything Goes/Christmas Twist Challenge/Kelsey's Birthday Card

If you saw the title, you realized that I did not do the Christmas Twist for this new challenge. I had a birthday card to get ready for our granddaughter, Kelsey, as her 13th birthday is July 7th. Thirteen. Unbelievable. An actual teenage grandchild. Oh, my word, does that make me feel old...

Yeah, like I needed anything else to help me feel that way, right? After all, my 66th is fast approaching. At least I will be able to draw Social Security this year. So there is that...

Before I get to my card for the week, I need to mention a couple of things. One, our sponsor for this month is Norma Burnell of Fairy Tangles Art. Her prize will be three of her wonderful digis, so be sure to play along with us again this week! You will love her images--they are gorgeous and unique!

And, two...oh shoot, I forgot what two was. I just received a call from my sister, Barbara, telling me that she was in a car accident. Apparently, some young men failed to yield the right of way and ran into her car. Barbara said that she is OK, just sore and stiff. I am relieved that she didn't get more seriously hurt, for sure! Her car may have been totaled, due to its age. Advanced years. Thank goodness, people don't get totaled for being old. Otherwise, my sisters, brother, and I might all be gone...

Anyway, whatever else I was going to tell you has completely escaped my mind--lucky for whatever it was. I wouldn't want to be trapped in there...scaaaaary!

Oh, btw, Gary let me order a new swimsuit from Chico's yesterday for my birthday gift. Chico's was having a screaming sale. Well, it wasn't screaming exactly, as I never heard a sound, but it was a really good deal. I'm getting a new swimsuit for 1/3 of the original price. What I want to know is this: why the heck are stores able to get sooooo much money for such a tiny bit of fabric? Inquiring minds would like to know. At least mine would--and remember, it is a scary place in there. Also, why do they charge so much when they are able to still make money when the item is 2/3 off? Perhaps because they can...

Well, enough about nothing. On to Kelsey's card. I chose an image I am pretty sure she will like. Kelsey is a dragon fanatic. Loves all things dragon. So I chose Sweet Pea Stamps Dragon's Keeper by Charmaine Flannery. Really sweet image, don't you think? Love the itty-bitty baby dragon. If they stayed that small, I would want one myself.

I printed the image on X-Press It BC and colored it with my Copics:

Skin: E000, E01, E11

Hair: E40, E42, E44, E47

Lips: R000, R01, R02

Dragon/Wings: BG11, BG13, BG15, BG18, YG93, YG95, YG97, R01, R02

Eyes/Dress: BG11, BG13, BG15, BG18

I added Glossy Accents and Star Dust Stickles to the dragon. I then fussy-cut the image, which meant I had to lop off the fly-away strands of hair. I used DP from the October Afternoon Midway collection, and paired it with Stampin' Up CS. My die cuts were made with MFT Double Scallop Border and SCACD Dandelion Knoll Statement Corner dies. (I had to add a small punched circle behind the little dragon so that you could see it.) 

Do check out the fabulous inspiration by my talented teamies: Carla, Kathi, Vannessa, and Karen, and then play along with us, won't you? Just hand-color an image for your project with any medium you wish. Looking forward to seeing your creations!

I have to mention that something really weird happened with this photo. I see cross-hatching on the hair, which does not appear on the original photo, nor is it on the card. I have no earthly idea why this shows up, and as a matter of fact, am really ticked that it does. Gary thinks it is because I had to reduce the size of the photo, but this has never happened to me before that I can remember. Of course, my memory being what it is...(snicker...snort).

Have a great weekend!

The Outlawz Friday Coloring "Color/Photo Inspiration" Challenge/Catherine's Birthday Card

It's Friday and another very hot one here in Arizona. Yeah, temps in the one-hundred teens is really hot. Thank goodness, it's a dry heat. Riiiiight. Who am I kidding? When the temp gets that high, it does not matter if it is a dry heat or not. I can do up to 110, but after that I wilt. Like a very old lettuce leaf. Left out of the refrigerator. For several days...

However, that swimming pool does refresh, even in the heat. Just float around on the surface of the water and splash yourself a bit here and there. It is actually cooling. Problem is, the dog feels he has to be out there, too, and he really shouldn't be. He keeps running around the pool and panting. So I have that yet to work out. Guess I'll have to limit the pool to early in the day, or after the sun goes down so that Donovan can be out there with me.

We had my sister and BIL, Merrilyn and Ron, out for dinner on Wednesday. It was a very fun day. Mostly because I didn't have to lift a finger for anything. Gary cleaned inside and out while I was making cards. And he made the entire dinner, which was really delicious. We had cold honeydew melon soup, cold quinoa salad, and turkey burgers on the grill. And then chilled melon for dessert. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. Do you call me spoiled? Yes, yes, and well you should. I am.

I think we all enjoyed the fun in the pool and the lovely meal. I had to laugh, as Merrilyn seemed quite shocked at how "busy" Gary kept himself. He is a very antsy guy and needs to be on the go most of the time. That's why he is at the bowling alley, fitness center, driving range, or yoga studio so much...complete opposite of me in so many ways. I am the original slug.

Oh, well, we do have a lot of interests in common, too! And one of them is baseball. This year, we did not buy season tickets, as the Dbacks were sooooo bad last year. Not the least bit fun to watch. But this season they have a bit of a spark, and we watch most of their games that are televised. Gary won a ticket deal at his fitness center, so we decided to go to the game yesterday afternoon. We bought one ticket and got the second free. And sat in the nice diamond-level seats. And that's where the fun ended. The game was the pits. Oh, well, you win some, you lose some. (But did they have to lose on the one day we attended the game? Couldn't they have waited until today to lose 7-1?) Sigh...

On the bright side, Merrilyn and Ron took care of Donovan the dog while we were at the game. And, after we got back, the four of us, (sans dogs), went to Mika's Grill for a yummy dinner and a lively conversation. That helped sweeten the sour taste left in our mouths from our Diamondbacks.

OK, on to this challenge. We are sponsored by Norma Burnell of Fairy Tangles Art. Her prize consists of three of her wonderful digis, so be sure to play along with us again this week! You will love her images--they are gorgeous and unique!

This week we have a color/photo inspiration for you to work from. I love the beautiful blues, but didn't manage to match them as well as I had hoped...oh well. It's the thought that counts, right?

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I used my image by Norma Burnell the first week of the month. This week I needed a card for our friend's birthday. Catherine turned 64 yesterday, a mere youngster! This image, Sweet Pea Stamps Gardenia by Rebecca Sinz, just spoke to me, so I printed her on X-Press It BC and colored her with my Copics:

Skin: E000, E01, E11

Hair: E53, E35, E57

Eyes: B00, B34, B37, W00, W3, W5

Lips: R00, R30, R32

Flowers: E40, E41, E42

I picked some DP from the Basic Grey Picadilly collection and paired it with Stampin' Up CS.  I added some lace, a Cheery Lynn Gardenia die cut, a pearl, a couple of Cheery Lynn Lace Corner Deco E die cuts, and a couple of Marianne Designs Flourish die cuts. I wanted the image to be the main focus, but needed to jazz it up just a bit for Catherine's birthday. She really liked the card, which was a very good thing for me! 

Okey dokey, that does it for this week. We have some fab inspiration for you by our talented DT: Carla, Kathi, Vannessa, and Karen--so do check them out! And please play along with us; we would love to see what you come up with for this week's inspiration challenge!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Sweet Pea Stamps Progressive FB Challenge for June/Carol's Birthday Card

I know, I know. I just wrote a very lonnnnnng post yesterday. And I am back today. Whaaaaat? So sorry, but I promise to keep this one short and sweet.

I entered the Sweet Pea Progressive FB Challenge for the month of June with my card from here. Why? I don't know, as I never seem to enter challenges anymore. So this is a wee bit weird for me. Anyway, I received the free image for entering, which is to be posted for the second half of the challenge. Now, for a typical Penny story.

I got the image on my tablet from Sweet Pea. And it's a cutie: Karen Middleton's Mushroom Fairie. And I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to get it to download to my computer so I could print it. Chalk it up to being technologically inept. But I wanted to honor the fact that I received the image and would use it. So I bought it from Sweet Pea Stamps, snicker on me, and colored it up. And the rest, as they say, is history.

She was printed on X-Press It BC, and colored with my Copics:

Skin: YR0000, YR000, YR00, YR01

Hair: YR14, YR18, E08, E18

Mushroom: BG93, BG96, BG99

Wings: BG70, BG10, BG11

Stockings: BG70, BG10, BG11, R81, R83, R85, C0

Flower/Dress: R81, R83, R85, R89, C0

I have to say I don't generally find green mushrooms. Probably, in fact, have never seen one. But I wanted to match my DP from the Carta Bella Wildflower collection, so green it is. Oh, I paired my DP with Stampin' Up CS and used die cuts made with a Whimsy Corner die and a Memory Box Macarena Corner die. I also added Stampin' Up Candy Dots to the image panel. Voila! Fini! And to think I have Carol's birthday card done two months in advance. Scary!

Will leave the link for the challenge here. You are free to enter the second part of the challenge by purchasing the image from Sweet Pea Stamps--like I did, only you didn't have to enter the first part of the challenge, snort...

Have a great rest of the week. Be back on Friday for The Outlawz Friday Coloring Challenge, doncha know...

Path of Positivity Midway Reminder Challenge #27: Happiness

So much to cover on a Monday, goodness me. The first order of business is to let you all know that I am stepping down from the PoP DT this month. I have had eight wonderful months on this special DT, thanks to Lisa and all the gals! I so appreciate the time they have let me spend with them, creating with unique images and themes. It has been a great pleasure, so thank you so much!!!

And I need to remind you all that our theme at PoP this month is Happiness. Which is one of my favorite themes, as I have found happiness in so much of my life. I certainly don't have to look far to feel good. I have such a fun family and group of friends. A beautiful home and neighborhood; wonderful craft-room filled with goodies to help me create to my heart's content; and really, good health.

Which brings me to the update about my skin. I no longer need to hide my neck in public, as the redness and swelling have gone way, way down thanks to the Prednisone. Hallelujah! The itching is virtually gone now, too, so I expect a complete recovery shortly. Thank goodness! That certainly makes me happy!

And now for the update about our wine dinner at Kai. You can skip ahead to my card details if you are not a foodie. Otherwise...

Well, the winery being represented at the dinner was Sand Reckoner from Willcox, Arizona. Don't know if I have mentioned lately how delicious the wines are that are being bottled in southeastern Arizona. Just amazing. We really love several of the vintners there. And this one is really top-notch!

So, at 6:30 p.m., there was a private reception with hors d'oeuvres to munch along with a yummy rose wine--made with Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, and Syrah. What a fabulous blend! It went with all three little bites that were so different: a roasted fig seated in a cloud of goat cheese, a crispy fiddlehead fern served with a spicy chili dip, and a wafer with a lovely caviar mix on it. I was so surprised that this one wine would pair with all three, but it did so beautifully! And I would have had more wine, but I needed to pace myself!!! This was to be a three hour eating adventure, doncha know.

At 7:00 p.m. we were seated in the main dining room. John and Carol and Bob and Connie were joining us for dinner as they did last July at Kai's wine dinner. However, John had forgotten to bring his slacks along, and there is business casual dress required. He had to drive all the way back to Fountain Hills (a considerable distance) to retrieve his pants. He missed the reception, but managed to make it just in time for the first course. Carol was seated with the rest of us, though, so she was able to partake in the items John missed.

The first thing they did was bring around a bread tray and give us three different scrumptious breads to try. The recipes were based upon native American breads, and were soooo good, as they always are. They were served with a fab olive oil.

Then they brought around a little dish to stimulate your appetite. (Yeah, as if mine ever needs additional stimulation!) It was a corn soup shooter--the glass was rimmed with frozen corn bits--and a darling little wrapped bite that had some fruit and who-knows-what-else-but-it-was-yummy in it.

OK, then there was more bread delivered, yes, thank you very much. And more olive oil because I had used up all of mine as you can see from the above photo! And then the wine started to flow again. This time we were given a 2013 Malvasia Bianca, which I could drink any time, anywhere. So yummy! And we were served the first course, which was an outstanding soft-shell crab flown in that day, (bet their claws got tired flapping all the way to Arizona). They were cooked to perfection, crisp exterior and tender inside. There was a "fermented soot", which was corn smut (a native American delicacy), mixed with what I forget, a peach and elderflower vinaigrette, and summer harvested garden bites. Oh, save me, I died and went to Heaven. I ate every bit of everything on that platter, including all the decorative drips and drabs. And, of course, the entire course paired perfectly with the Malvasia Bianca.

Our second course was preceded by a pouring of 2012 "2". This is a Sangiovese-Syrah blend, and I do love blended wines--especially good red ones. This one is sooo good! And Chef Joshua made a fabulous pairing with Braised Kurobata Pork Cheeks. These cooked slowly for many, many hours and were seasoned beautifully. There were wild ramps, soprasada, and fall spiced plum preserve served with the cheeks. Again, I totally cleaned my dish. And oohed and aahed over the brilliant combination of food and wine! 

Then we had a palate cleanser between the second and third courses. It was a refreshing limeade, served with a sprig of lavender. Delightful!

On to the big guns. OK, the next pouring was a fantastic, bold Syrah, 2012 "7". Had bigger body than the blend, which stands to reason. But it matched perfectly with the bold main course. Now, I have to preface this course with the statement that I was a wee bit horrified when I saw what it was. Growing up in northwestern Montana, I had tasted venison as a child and found it to be absolutely yucky. It had such a gamey taste to it; it was tough and just not something I thought I would ever eat again. So, of course, we were to be served venison.

Well, this is not your mama's venison. Or your papa's. This was AWESOME! I was totally surprised, but completely thrilled with the entire course! There were cherry-smoked tenderloin medallions, served with vanilla gnocchi, wild mushrooms, black currant compote, truffle jus, and bull's blood puree. Hilarious note: Carol took one look at the bull's blood puree on the menu and said, "Nope, not going to eat it. Can't." So she gave her meat to John. And the funny part about this is that the "bull's blood" was actually a beet puree. And Carol dearly loves beets. So the rest of us had a good laugh on her for that one!! I am not a beet lover, but it tasted perfectly delicious underneath the rest of the goodness on my plate. BTW, tenderloin meant just that with this venison. There was not only NO gamey taste, but you could virtually cut the pieces with your fork, it was so tender! So scrumptious. I can no longer say I hate venison. Just has to be raised and prepared correctly!

So, now it is time for the dessert course. And I am all about dessert. Always. In all ways. Well, we were poured a glass of port, 2011 "11" Red Dessert Wine. And it is made with Zinfandel and fortified with a neutral grape spirit--wine alcohol, basically, I guess you could say. I loved it. Gary thought it was too sweet--he is not real big on dessert wines. I could have had the wine by itself for dessert, but then I would have missed out on the fabulous concoction that was presented to us. It was a Dark Chocolate Custard, with bitter cocoa sable, caramelized white chocolate, whipped white chocolate ganache, hazelnut, wattle seed micro-sponge cake, and confit cherries. Oh, my heavens. So much goodness on a plate!

I finished off my gorging with a lovely cup of coffee. What a stellar meal! Really enjoyed having it with good friends and my sugar daddy, Gary! Another year, another success! (But what else would you expect at a 5-star, 5-diamond restaurant, right?)

So, now that I have made myself hungry all over again, I guess I'd best finish the true reason for this blog post...

This is the midway reminder, once again, for our June challenge #27, Happiness. I was given a really cute image to color, Bear Guitar, by Sentimental Susan. I printed him on X-Press It BC, and colored him with my Copics:

Bear: E21, E23

Guitar: E21, E23, E25

Not many markers, for me, that's for sure! I found a wonderful quote about music and happiness, and then used a couple of die cuts on my CAS design, made with Memory Box Treble Clef and Musical Interlude dies. And that's it for this edition.

Please check out the wonderful inspiration by my talented teammates and then share a little of your happiness with us! Here are the deets you need to know:

The sponsors and prizes for this challenge are:

• A $10 gift certificate from Imagine That! Digis By Kris, one of our guest sponsors this month, for the post or project that the DT deems most inspiring of the bunch.
• Five images from Sentimental Susan, one of our guest sponsors this month, for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.
• One digital image from Creative Bug Digital SnapShots for each person chosen as a DT Delight.

There will also be:

• One digital designer paper (made to order in a couple different ways) from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles for one lucky person who leaves a comment on the start, midway, pondering or top picks post for Challenge #27.
• One digital sentiment for every single person who enters the challenge.

Have a wonderful week! 

The Outlawz Friday Coloring "Roses for Red Rose Day" Challenge

Howdy! I am sitting here with egg on my face. (Shouldn't it be in my stomach?) Guess I should tell you why. I have not mentioned anything over the past three weeks about my skin condition, which I thought was another outbreak of shingles on the back of my neck. So I used an anti-viral refill at the start and then just waited for the breakout to go away. Shingles can last from two to four weeks. Which is an awfully long time if you are suffering the pain that shingles cause. Well, my hubby kept pestering me to go to the doctor. But, no, I was just going to wait it out. 'Cuz I am enormously stubborn that way. I just despise having to go to the doctor. (The opposite of said husband, who visits his doctor at the first sign of a hangnail. Well, no, not quite, but he thinks of doctors the same way he thinks about restrooms. He never met one he didn't want to visit at every opportunity.) Do I sound a wee bit snarky? Chalk it up to him being right about my skin problem. (Which is why I have egg on my face. Scrambled or over-easy? Perhaps sunny-side up with a side of grits.)

Anyway, Tuesday morning I awakened to an entirely new break-out area on my neck, right below the one which still hadn't completely healed. Sigh. I called the doctor and got in to see him late in the afternoon. When I told Gary I was going, he high-fived me. Yes, he was terribly proud that he had won the battle of the wills. Gag me.

So my doctor comes into the examining room and asks me what seems to be the problem. And I tell him that I have shingles on the back of my neck and on my eyelids. (Yes, my eyelids are red, itchy, and raw, too. Hooray. Lucky me.) I turn around for him and show him my neck. Then I pull my glasses off so he can see my eyelids. And he says to me: "You do not have shingles." And I look bewildered and say, "I don't? What do I have?" And he says, "That's the worst case of cooties I have ever seen in my life. I can't believe my eyes." And I faint dead-away...

Snicker. Naw, he said I have an allergic dermatitis--a reaction to what we don't know. He suggested shrimp, but I have been eating them forever, and never had a problem. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what could have caused this problem. Unless it was something I ate early on during Restaurant Week, because that's when this skin thing started. Anyway, the doctor started me on prednisone, but warned me to wait until Wednesday morning to take the first dose. Because the meds can make you hyper and unable to sleep. Just ask my sister, Merrilyn. Who is on her second round of prednisone for her ear condition. She said she's been getting 2 hours of sleep a night. Oh, gosh. Help...

Anyway, I am not contagious, thank heavens. I am not going to die. Well, not from this anyway. And I am going to get well. Sing it: 'Girls, hit your hallelujah, whoo!' (Uptown Funk, doncha know. Can't get that song out of my head. Hope it doesn't get into yours, but if it does, just sing it. And dance. Like I am right now while I am sitting at the computer. 'Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh. Hah!')

Hey, we are going to Kai for a wine dinner Thursday night. Yippee! Which, at this posting, was last night. But at the time I wrote this, it hadn't happened yet. So I cannot tell you what wines we had, nor what we ate. But I will take photos and share it all with you on my Monday posting. So stay tuned for that, 'K? (Are you confused? Good, because so am I. I cannot even tell you how my meds are working, but I will do that on Monday, too.)

So. Back to the ranch. Or the story. Or the real reason for this blog post. Yes, yes, at The Outlawz Friday Coloring Challenge we are celebrating roses for Red Rose Day, which is June 12. So timely, as that is today. We ask that you hand-color an image on your project, (with any medium you wish), and include something rosy. Like a rose image. Or rose embellishments. Okey dokey...

As I mentioned last week, our sponsor this month is Fairy Tangles Art, by Norma Burnell. She is giving away a prize of three of her fabulous digis, so be sure to play along with us throughout the month! And do check out her images on Etsy.

I used my Fairy Tangles image last week, so this week I am using a Sweet Pea Stamps image. She is called Mad Queen Alice, and was beautifully drawn by Enys Guerrero. I printed her, (Alice, not Enys), on X-Press It BC and colored her with my Copics:

Skin: YR000, YR00, YR01

Hair: T4, T8, T10

Leaves/Vine: G82, G85

Roses: R02, R05, R08, R81, R83, R85

Crown/Skull/Butterfly/Bandages: YR20, YR21, YR23, YR24, YR27

My DP was taken from the Prima Anna Marie collection, and it was paired with Stampin' Up CS. I used die cuts made with Cheery Lynn Mini Butterfly and Memory Box Macarena Corner dies.

Update: I have entered this into the One Sweet Challenge for June, using die cuts or punches.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is that. Except for you going to our challenge page and checking out the wonderful inspiration by my very talented teammates: Carla, Kathi, Vannessa, and Karen. Be sure to join in the fun this week! We look forward to your creations!

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Outlawz Friday Coloring Friendship Challenge

Oh my gosh, here we are at the first Friday in June. Holy moly, Rocky! And it's time for another challenge at The Outlawz Friday Coloring group. Our new theme is "Friendship". This is in honor of Best Friends Day on June 8. We also have a new sponsor this month: Fairy Tangles Art, by Norma Burnell. She has the most unique and beautiful images, complete with Zentangle, to color--so be sure to check out her digi stamps. The prize is 3 digis, and I know you will have fun choosing them if you win! So be sure to hand-color an image on your project and play along with us...

The image we are working with this month is Jaye and Feathered Friends. I have the honor of using this image the first week, and, as it happens, the image is perfect for a friendship challenge! Lucky me! I actually made a Christmas card with this image, so will be giving it to friends of ours for the holiday this year.

I printed the image on X-Press It BC and colored it with my Copics and Twin Touch Brush markers:

Skin: E000, E01, E11

Hair: E53, E35, E37

Flowers: R24, R27, R29, Y15, Y17

Leaves: YG61, YG63, YG67

Birds: R24, R27, R29, W5, W8, YR07

Wings/Feathers: BG11, BG32, BG34, TTBG61

My DP is from the Jillibean Soup Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup collection, and it was paired with Stampin' Up CS. I Zutterized the DP and my image panel. I used die cuts made with the following dies: LaLa Land Crafts Wings and Cheery Lynn French Pastry Doily. That's all she wrote. Well, for the card anyway.

Gary and I went to Barrio Queen in downtown Gilbert last night for dinner. I happened to see a listing of the restaurant openings in the Valley of the Sun for the month of May yesterday. And I was so shocked to see that Barrio Queen had opened. I had heard that this was not going to happen, much like the first time we were teased with a Barrio opening in Gilbert. (The original Barrio Cafe in Phoenix is super-tiny and super-good! But it is a long drive for us!) I am doing my happy-dance right now. The food is just as good as I remember from the Barrio, with the exception of the chips, which seemed much too thick. (And that I do not remember.) But the Barrio pollo and carnitas are unsurpassed. Totally fantastic! Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. And we were there early, so took advantage of the happy-hour $5 house Margarita, which is really, really good. Yup, like I said before, it is so hard to be me. Snicker...

Please stop by The Outlawz and check out the fabulous inspiration by my very talented teammates: Carla, Kathi, Vannessa, and Karen. And then join us this week, won't you? 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Path of Positivity Challenge #27: Happiness

Well, how do I spell 'Happiness'? H-A-W-A-I-I. And nothing represents Hawaii better than the Hula, IMHO, KWIM? (OK, for my sisters, IMHO is 'in my humble opinion'. And KWIM is 'know what I mean'. Just so you can follow my thought process. Yeah, and good luck with that!)

If you are a new reader, then let me introduce you to my favorite vacation spot! Yes, it's the land of Hula and beaches and whales and sea turtles and all of God's other sea creatures. Not to mention fabulous food, lava, gorgeous sunsets, ocean breezes, and plenty of aloha. Hawaii just spells happiness to me.

I saw this cute little hula girl and it made me smile. I knew I needed to use her to represent happiness for this first posting at PoP this month. And the sentiment that I found online really says what happiness should be, no matter where on earth you are. (Though being in Hawaii just doesn't hurt any.) Be happy at this instant, because this instant is all you have. Until the next instant, which then becomes this instant. Capiche? So it is always this very moment. Right on, Omar!

I printed Hula Girl (from the Imagine That collection) on X-Press It BC, and colored her with my Copics:

Skin: YR000, YR00, YR01 (another new skin color combo for me)

Hair: C5, C7, C9

Flowers: E02, E15, E13, E07, E09

Shoes/Clothing: Y32, Y35, Y38

My DP is from the Graphic 45 Tropical Travelogue collection, and it was paired with Stampin' Up CS. My die cuts were made with LaLa Land Crafts Palm Tree and Memory Box Palace Oval Frame dies.

I started to laugh when I typed 'shoes' above. Silly reason. But Saturday night, (as I getting ready to run out the door to yet another fabulous meal at Citizen Public House in Scottsdale), I noticed the shade screen on the patio was still in a down position. So I ran outside, (or walked quickly, actually, as my body no longer does running, does yours?), and began to madly crank the screen up. I moved my hand a little too close to the patio wall and scraped my knuckles on my right hand. Which caused bleeding, which is a no-no in public these days. Am I right? So, I ran back into the house, (yeah, yeah, I walked quickly again), to get something to stop the bleeding. My poor right hand already looks like Frankenstein's wife, with the lovely scar from my surgery earlier this year. With two lovely new scrapes, I was PO'd. Yes, I said PO'd. Please don't be so shocked. Anyway, I managed to stem the bleeding, and now we were a few minutes late according to Gary's schedule.

Well, you know what that is like, right? Don't mess up "The Schedule". I was a teeny bit flustered, but hurried to get into the car and got myself buckled into my seat belt, just as Gary was driving away. And then I shut my car door as we careened around the corner. (Oh, just kidding, he doesn't get that goofy about being late. And he goes so slowly around corners it irritates me.) Where was I? Oh yeah, the shoes. Well...we got about two miles down the road when I noticed that I had forgotten to put on my nice sandals before we left the house. Because of my angst about my bleeding knuckles. And I still had my sloppy, slightly broken-down, but very comfortable, sandals on that I ONLY wear around the house. Do you have a pair of those? Not-ready-for-prime-time shoes? Well, I do. And I don't EVER want to wear them anywhere in public. 

Not only was I wearing my ugly shoes in public, but I was wearing them to downtown Scottsdale. That's like the biggest faux pas you can imagine. (At least in my own mind, which is sometimes a dark and scary place.) It took me about 15 miles to get over my horror and see the humor in the situation. Yes, I actually did giggle a bit before we got to the restaurant. But I begged Gary not to mention my shoes. And, bless his black little heart, he didn't. And no one said anything to me. Like, 'why the hell are you wearing those ugly shoes to dinner, Penny?' Thank heavens...

So this posting could have been about something other than happiness, (like pain, exasperation, or embarrassment), but I have to say that I became quite happy again, while eating that wonderful chopped salad at Citizen Public House. And then we had a crazy burger, which was really scrumptious and loaded with cholesterol. You see, it was created with ground sirloin, short ribs, and pork belly. And topped with cheese. And the brioche bun was brushed with butter. Yeah, my arteries clogged, but the rest of me was extremely happy. In spite of my ugly shoes. And we had lots of laughs with our dinner club friends. So it was a really good night after all.

Hope you plan to join us this month--get happy! Check out the wonderful inspiration by my talented teammates, won't you? Here are the deets for this challenge.

The sponsors and prizes for this challenge are:

• A $10 gift certificate from Imagine That! Digis By Kris, one of our guest sponsors this month, for the post or project that the DT deems most inspiring of the bunch.
• Five images from Sentimental Susan, one of our guest sponsors this month, for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.
• One digital image from Creative Bug Digital SnapShots for each person chosen as a DT Delight.

There will also be:

• One digital designer paper (made to order in a couple different ways) from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles for one lucky person who leaves a comment on the start, midway, pondering or top picks post for Challenge #27.
• One digital sentiment for every single person who enters the challenge.

Have a wonderful week filled with happiness! (And don't wear your ugly shoes anywhere.)