The Outlawz Friday Coloring "At the Beach" Challenge

At the beach. I wish...

Friends of ours just got back from 10 days on Maui. I was living vicariously through them as they posted their vacation photos on Facebook. I could almost smell the sea. And feel the ocean breezes and the humidity.

Speaking of humidity, it's really, really high in the desert right now. We have had the most horrific storms this week. Thunder, lightning, lots of rain, and wind. So much wind. We saw uprooted trees and broken branches everywhere we looked the last couple of days. So sad. I hate seeing trees die like that. I read on FB that one of our friends went to the Chandler airport Wednesday to check on his private plane. Fortunately for him, it wasn't one of the 20+ private planes that flipped over. Nature can be so unnerving, can't it?

Now where was I? Oh, yeah, wishing I was at the beach. Not that I don't love my backyard with our pool and all. I do. We even had a pool party for our dinner club/fantasy football friends on Saturday. Miraculously, that day was sandwiched between storms, so we had a really pleasant day. Peeps brought pot-luck, Gary fixed yummy burgers, and we all got in/near the pool at some point in time. They said our yard looked like a resort. That was really nice to hear, as we have put so much effort into creating that atmosphere...

But, I would fly to Hawaii at the drop of a hat. Well, except for the days that we have Cardinals' games, of course. Cannot miss my football, doncha know. Speaking of that--which I was not, but now I am--we went to a practice session on Monday at the stadium. That was actually really interesting--watching the various drills that each position group does. And then to see them put it all together to pit the offense against the defense. Really enjoyed that. Might even do it again before the full season starts. We have a preseason game tomorrow night to attend. And I am so looking forward to that, even though it is just preseason. Gives us a chance to see what all our new players are capable of when competing against another team. We have Kansas City coming in this week.

On a culinary note: we had lunch with Merrilyn and Ron before we went to the football practice. Wish there was a Mika's near us. Had a fabulous spicy gyro/salad combination. Oh, yum! And then Gary took me to a cheesesteak restaurant, Forefathers, on Thursday. He used to go to this one when he worked near the place. Not impressed. At all. I had a chicken cheesesteak, which was chunks of chicken. Whaaaat? It should be shredded, like the beef used in regular cheesesteaks. And it had no flavor. Tasteless, even with onions, peppers, and mushrooms on it. Soooo disappointed. We have a much better place, Philly's Famous, which is closer to us, to get cheesesteaks. Fantastic flavor, even with the chicken ones. Love it! Last foodie mention: my friend, Ellie, and I are having lunch together today. So we can celebrate her birthday, which was the 6th. We don't see each other often enough since we moved away from Trilogy--it will be good to catch up again this month.

Totally off the point, but I just watched a little lizard running up and down my block fence. I love lizards. But inquiring minds want to know--how in the heck do they run so fast on such short, little legs???

Did I mention that this month's sponsor is Sweet Pea Stamps? I didn't? Well, I am now. And our lucky monthly winner will get his/her choice of 3 digis. You will love shopping for those--it will take a while, as there are many talented artists showcasing gobs of fabulous images! I am envious...

I used Sweet Pea Stamps Wind Swept, by Rebecca Sinz, for my beachy, (is there such a word?), image this week. I printed it on X-Press It BC, and colored it with my Copics and Twin Touch Brush markers:

Skin:  E000, E01, E11

Hair: N6, N8, N10

Wrap: N0, N2

Tail: BG000, BG53, BG57

Water: BG000, BG53

Sky: BG0000, BG000

Sand: YR30, YR31, Y26, E42, E47, TTBG3

Island: TTBG3, TTBG5, TTBG7, TTBG9

I chose DP from the Graphic 45 By the Sea collection and paired it with Stampin' Up CS. I added die cuts made with Lawn Fawn Spring Showers, Cheery Lynn Lighthouse, and Marianne Designs Sea Side dies. Voila! Fini!

Do stop by our challenge and check out the fabulous inspiration by my talented teammates: Carla, Kathi, Vannessa, and Karen! And then, hand-color an image for your project, using any medium you wish, and play along with us this week, won't you? We'd love to see what you create...

And have a wonderful weekend!