Aimee's Notes

Sun 'N Fun FlyIn

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Sat, 05 Apr 2014 13:19:00 +0000

Some photos from the 2014 Sun N Fun Flyin in Lakeland, Fl. April 25, 2014

Epcot Spring Flower and Garden Festival 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 01:05:00 +0000

March is a wonderful time of year in central Florida, jam-packed with fun activities. The hardest part for us is deciding what to do. Last weekend we welcomed Spring with a visit to the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.

Between the topiaries, the Outdoor Kitchens (aka mini Fall Food and Wine Fest) and demonstrations, we filled the entire day just visiting the activities associated with this event

Karen Nyberg's Space Quilt Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 14:29:00 +0000

Anyone who's read this blog for any length of time (minutes count) knows that I'm a fan of being crafty as well as of the space program. From time to time, I find that these two interests intersect in delightful ways. Along with the subtle justification of having a nutty blog like this, it's fun to connect with others who share these interests.

photo credit NASA TV

Astronaut Karen Nyberg recently returned to earth after an extended stint aboard the International Space Station. A veteran astronaut, she traveled with a few of her supplies and fit in crafting time between orbits. Now back on Earth, she's offered fellow crafters the chance to participate in a fun quilting challenge. One of her space-created blocks will be joined with blocks from those submitted and will be on display at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. Blocks must be star-themed and the square should be 9.5", which will be 9" when paired with the rest of the submitted blocks. Submissions are due August 1st, 2014.

Are you up for the challenge? Check out my Pinterest board for some inspiration. As if we need an excuse to spend time on Pinterest. :)

For more about Karen visit her official NASA bio.
For more about the Quilt Block Challenge, download the flyer from quilts.com
For more about the Internation Space Station visit: International Space Station | NASA
Karen's Twitter Feed: AstroKarenN

Papertrey Come All Ye Faithful

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 02:26:00 +0000

A Christmas card for a friend who has an adorable pooch!

Papertrey City Scene

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Finally got a few cards made. I love this Papertrey City Scene stamp set!

MAVEN Pinterest Board

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 13:47:00 +0000

Pinterest addict? Learn about MAVEN and keep up with mission updates on my MAVEN Pinterest board.

Food Photography 101

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 21:37:00 +0000

I've always envied magazine food writers. Surely they live a utopian existence, writing about incredible food then recreating the experience for the rest of us at home. Although I'll never be a gourmet chef, sometimes I eat a meal at home or in a restaurant that is so delicious I can't wait to tweet/instagram/facebook about it. Unfortunately, my food shots just don't always look very good, no matter how many warmify filters I add.

I had the chance to begin to remedy this problem with a food photography class. The basics are the same, it's all about lighting, composition and knowing your camera. But with food as our subject, we learned some special tricks about styling, props and angles to really enchance those photos. The only downfall, the food smelled amazing. Never attend a class like this on an empty stomach.

The instructors for our class were Gerardo Luna (photography) and Jen Stewart (styling). Wonderful, friendly teachers - and if you ever get a chance to take a class from either of them I highly recommend it. The setting for our class was the Pelagia Trattoria, located in the Renaissance Hotel at International Mall in Tampa.

Thanks for stopping by!

Aimee

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NASA Maven Social Forthcoming

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 21:38:00 +0000

It's official - I will be attending the NASA MAVEN social in Florida on November 16-18. The launch itself is on Monday the 18th, but we'll be socializing and sharing for two days prior. Be sure to follow my twitter feed for updates and check out hashtags #NASASocial, #MAVEN and #AtlasV.

To learn more MAVEN and her mission objectives visit:

NASA | MAVEN
Wikipedia:MAVEN

Go MAVEN! Go AtlasV!

Revisited: White House Kitchen Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 22:15:00 +0000

A year ago I was delighted to be included in the White House Fall Garden Social. Even when I look at these pictures now, I get a little giddy.
The original post: http://rusewcrazy.blogspot.com/2012/10/summary-white-house-fall-social.html
Two months later I returned for the Christmas Pinterest social:http://rusewcrazy.blogspot.com/2012/12/1600-pennsylvania-avenue.html

White House Kitchen Garden, a set on Flickr.

All American 4th of July

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 02:58:00 +0000

What's more American on the 4th of July then swimming with puppies and pooches and having Cracker Barrel for breakfast and German food for dinner? :) Happy 4th!

Atlantis Grand Opening

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 02:51:00 +0000

The new Atlantis exhibit opened at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center on June 29th. I traveled out there with my girls for all the opening festivities.

Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:28:00 +0000

Go SBIRS! Go AtlasV! Go Centaur!

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:24:00 +0000

For two-days starting Monday March 18, 2013 ULA hosted it's inaugural tweetup for 30 space social media followers. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the launch on the second day but I hope you enjoy these photos from day one!

We started at the Air Force Space and Missile History Center, located in Cape Canaveral just outside the entrance to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. They have a wonderful free tour of the CCAFS on Wednesdays & Thursdays. (edited to add: these are currently not running)

A console from the Gemini-launch era inside the History Center. It was used to test Titan II rockets and was located in launch complex 19.

My tweetup lanyard. :) I'll add it to my growing collection.

This event was located at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41). The Vertical Integration Facility, where the vehicle is assembled. The vehicle is a ULA built Atlas V in the 401 configuration with a 4-meter payload fairing encapsulating the SBIRS Geo-2 satellite, attached to a Centaur second-stage.

You can see the rocket just starting to roll-out from the VIF just to the right. It travels slightly faster than the space shuttle, at a rate of about 2-3 mph.

At this point we're about 20 minutes into the rollout, as it travels 1/4 mile to the launch pad.

Approximately 45 minutes later, it arrives at the SLC-41.

During the roll-out, I enjoyed the view from Camera Pad 3 of the historical Astronaut Beach House.

A panorama with the Atlantic to the east and SLC-41 just to our northwest. ...and the Atlantic Ocean

Old lightning detectors, no longer in use.

A view of the side of the VIF from where the vehicle rolled out. Following the rollout, the ULA group was transported by bus to the launch pad.

Here's a closeup of the Centaur with the American flag, Air Force, Atlas V, and ULA logos. The satellite is enclosed within the conical payload fairing. You can sleep a little better tonight knowing that this satellite is in space. The Space-Based Infrared System in geosynchronous orbit(aka SBIRS GEO-2) was built by Lockheed Martin for the Department of Defense.

My friend and photographer Bob Montanaro of lunarcabin.com in front of the rocket.

Another panorama, this time of SLC-41 with the vehicle on the pad being prepped for launch. If you pan around, you can see the VIF and the general surrounding area.

My iPhone photo of the rocket, ready for action. I like it!

Later in the day we visited the Morrell Operations Center, where we toured the Air Force Launch Control room and weather monitoring center.

Colonel Jim Planeaux

Models of the Atlas and Delta rockets inside the Atlantis Space Operations Center, site of the ULA launch control room (and lunch!)

For detailed photos of the launch itself, please visit lunarcabin.com!

ISS Crew Educational Video

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 01:33:00 +0000

I LOVE these videos from onboard ISS when they interact with schoolchildren. The children always ask such wonderful questions and I love watching the reactions of the crew.

In this video:
Kevin Ford (USA)
Chris Hadfield (CAN)
Tom Marshburn (USA)

SpaceX Dragon Launch

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 01:24:00 +0000

Who is Jack Dusty?

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:52:00 +0000

The Place: Jack Dusty at the Sarasota Ritz-Carlton
Who: Yelp Elite
What is a Jack Dusty? Pusser's has a lovely description of some of the fun nautical terms, including the history behind the name Jack Dusty.
I'm not the sort who usually has $450 a night to drop on a hotel room, and as a result, the Ritz-Carlton chain is outside the lexicon of my typical travel destination. However, last night we had the chance to live large, courtesy of Yelp and the Sarasota Ritz-Carlton. Jack Dusty's, a so new it's not even open yet restaurant is housed on the main floor of the hotel's Sarasota location. Specialties are supremely-fresh seafood and handcrafted cocktails made by rockstar bartenders.

Here's my review of the event and some photos:

My first Yelp Elite event! Thanks so much to Brett, event planner extraordinaire, and the staff of the Sarasota Ritz-Carlton for having us!

I have to give kudos to the supremely diplomatic valet staff, who identified me as a Yelper on arrival, not by my dilapidated mini-van, but because so many of us were arriving at once (or so he says) :)

Jack Dusty's is a new restaurant inside the hotel. It leaves behind the usual gilded stuffiness of the Ritz for a fresh, open and relaxed ambience. (On my planet we call this "casual").

This was not a food heavy event, the star of the night was the bar, as highlighted by the live mermaid sitting on top of it. We were treated all of their handcrafted drinks, and the servers wandering the room had trays full of drinks as well. Nothing watered down here folks. I had the Purser's Bane ($12) listed on the menu as: "Pussers Rum, Coconut, grapefruit, passion fruit, Aperol, Cocchi Vermouth," and served in a highball glass with a generous serving of freshly grated coconut on top. The drink was reminiscent of a pina colada, but elevated with the additional of passion fruit and Cocchi vermouth. Sweet and creamy, I'll be back again just for this.

We tried tasty little bites like fried calamari, tuna sashimi, ceviche and blini with caviar. I loved the ceviche, it was so fresh and served with a little chip for crunch, just needed a bit more salt. The calamari was the star, perfectly fried bites of tender calamari served with a mildly spicy harissa mayo, yum! There were servers with some kind of fried-green tomato appetizer going around that I heard was delicious, but I never got to try.

Just outside the restaurant is a beautiful patio warmed with some lovely in-ground fireplaces. It was a great way to end the evening, sitting by the waterfront with great company!

Intelligent Life?

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:10:00 +0000

This happened on Twitter, and it was awesome:

A few more pics White House Pinterest Social Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 23:15:00 +0000

Arrived in DC on a Sunday morning. Just in time for a service at the National Cathedral.

Then went to visit Ford's Theatre. Couldn't visit the inside beside a "Christmas Carol" was playing. And I thought people just went there to see where Lincoln was shot...

Our group waiting early Monday morning to get in.

White House Flower Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 11:49:00 +0000

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The Gingerbread House

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 03:25:00 +0000

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 05:47:00 +0000

Just landed but wanted to give you a few pictures of my trip as a sneak preview before I hit the sack...I'm sore and tired and my fingertips are burnt from the massive White House hot glue tools but it was all worth it! I had an awesome time and met more cool tweeps! Please keep on following me on twitter @rusewcrazy to keep updated!

[gallery ids="348,349,350,351,352"]

Datz Yelp Event

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 14:55:00 +0000

Datz Yelp Event, a set on Flickr.

Yelp recently hosted an awesome event at local restaurant, Datz, in South Tampa. I'm not Yelp Elite (but working on it) but we got a taste of what's it like.

A Special Invitation

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:04:00 +0000

Once again I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. On Monday I've been invited to attend the White House Holiday Pinterest Party in Washington, D.C. I'll be tweeting, instagramming, and of course pinning the White House Holiday decorations.

I would like to invite you to follow me on Pinterest. I have a special board set up where I'm pinning all sorts of cool Christmas images from holiday's past, and check in on Monday to see my special live pin board.

Where does an Elf get his inspiration?

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:40:00 +0000

Apparently a horde of secret, slightly creepy, Elves have been hiding out in the North Pole. However in the past couple of years they have decided to take advantage of American free enterprise and have put themselves up for adoption at some fine adoption agencies such as Target and Pottery Barn Kids. One of the little dudes ended up at our house this year, and was given the name "Magical".

My youngest thinks he's brilliant, but just between you and me I think he get's a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. Check out my Pinterest inspiration board that you can share with your Elf this year.

Look who was on the side of the road

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 02:16:00 +0000

Recognize him? One of my favorite actors, filming something (a PSA?) near one of the launchpads at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Luke Wilson.