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STS-132 Atlantis Last Ride – PRE my departure post

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

Well there is a lot of esplainin’ to do Lucy.  I miss blogging, I hate my blog’s look, I don’t have time to figure out how to make it pretty and I can’t find someone to pay.  So there you have the answer to the  mystery of where I have been.

NOW here we go starting back out with a blog series just for this little trip to Florida.  Let me tell you how it began.  KLT mentioned that @nasa was doing a tweetup for the upcoming launch and that we should register, but they were only taking 150.  He said we’d leave it in God’s hands.  I saw the tweet from @nasa saying today is the last day and you have 30 minutes to register.  So I did what any good woman would do and registered us both.  GUESS WHAT?  I won.  Yeah the first round draft.  On the second round KLT won.  So now we are going to NASA to watch the final launch of the space shuttle Atlantis.

I am really excited to meet so many cool fellow tweeters that are going.  There are 2 ROCKET SCIENTIST who graduated from Purdue.  This will be amazing.

So here is what the schedule looks like

Schedule

Tuesday, May 11

3 pm — Tammy departs work and accomplishes the following: get dogs to vet for boarding, pack final clothing and toiletries, pack coolers, pack food and items for inside car, pack car, clean up & straighten house, lock all doors and windows and water the plants as needed.

?  until ? – DRIVE towards Florida, the more miles we do tonight the better.

Wednesday, May 12

6 am — the overnight stay and head for KSC!!  With any luck we can get there in time to get our visitor pass.

Thursday, May 13/L-1: Day 1

8-9 a.m. — Registration at the Kennedy Space Center Press Accreditation Badging Building

9-10 a.m. — Travel to the press site, set up, meet fellow participants

10 a.m. — Welcome and introductions by @NASA team members John Yembrick and Stephanie Schierholz

10:10 a.m. — Robert D. Braun, NASA chief technologist, NASA Headquarters

10:30 a.m. Jon Cowart (@Rocky_Sci), Orbiter Engineering manager, Space Shuttle Program, KSC

10:50 a.m. — Stephanie Stilson, space shuttle Discovery processing director, Shuttle Processing Office, KSC

11:10 a.m. — Astronaut Janice Voss <PURDUE GRAD!!

11:30 p.m.-12:15 p.m. — Break for lunch

12:30 p.m.-1:15 p.m. — Demonstration of the Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES)

1:20 p.m. — Instructions for launch day, board buses

1:30-6:30 p.m. — Tour of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, including visits to the International Space Station Center and Apollo Saturn V Center. Your tour will drive by the Orbiter Processing Facility, Vehicle Assembly Building, Mobile Launcher Platforms and Crawler-Transporter. The last stop on the tour will be Launch Pad 39A to view retraction of the Rotating Service Structure, scheduled for 5:20 p.m. and space shuttle Atlantis. We will have a short break at the press site at about 4:30 p.m. If you need to leave, you may do so at that time. For the tour, you must wear long pants and closed, low-heeled shoes. Tank tops are not permitted.  <- This means we are going into an OPERATIONAL Facility!!!!

Friday, May 14/Launch: Day 2

9:30 a.m. — Arrive at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 Press Site.

10 a.m. — Group picture beside the countdown clock.

10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. — Free time and visits from guest speakers, including

- Astronaut Dave Wolf <-PURDUE GRAD!!  I met him while working in Alumni Relations @ Purdue

- Lt. Col. Patrick Barrett, weather officer with the Air Force’s 45th Space Wing Weather Squadron

- Chris Meinert, STS-132 Closeout Crew member

- Madi Sengupta (@msengupta), Space Station Robotics instructor at NASA’s Johnson Space Center

- Amiko Kauderer, @NASA_Johnson team member leading STS-132 mission Tweetup

2:20 p.m. — Launch of space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-132 mission  <-Our view is from the press site!

~3:30 p.m. — Post-launch news conference on NASA TV

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What I have learned so far.

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Well there was an ABRUPT move to Nashville TN in November.  I know, I know you are sitting there shaking your head saying “WHAAAAT?  You had been planning  on moving for a year how was that abrupt?”  Well the answer is yes of course we were closing on a house but I had no job and really really did intend on working by either working from home in KBNA or taking long stretches of vacation.  But then I fell into a job.  They moved very quick and I was surprised.

Here is what I have learned so far.

  1. NO ONE down here is in a hurray but KLT and I.  Honest to God no kidding, they talk slow, they walk slow and they just do things nice and slow.
  2. Everyone is OMG nice.  Like at first it really scared me.  Everyone you pass in the store or in the office are like “Hi!”, “How Ya doin’ today?” and all with a nice southern drawl.
  3. When you add 1+2 together while shopping in the grocery store sometimes people run into you, bump your cart, walk out in front of me cause I am the one in a hurray and honest to goodness they stop and apologize.  Something like “I’m sorray I didn’t sea YA”.
  4. They still help you out with your cart of groceries.  No shit!  They still push the cart for you and walk you to your car!
  5. Both of the Publix that I have been to have a REAL MEAT COUNTER with REAL MEAT CUTTERS.
  6. There really doesn’t seem to be a “dinner time” down here.  Sometimes there is a wait and most of the time not.  It’s not like in Lafayette where dinning between the hours of 5-7:30 pm could mean an hour wait at Texas Road House.
  7. Speaking of Texas Road House there is like 1 and it’s far far away.
  8. KLT drives like a jack ass on the interstate – no seriously.
  9. CHILDREN ARE ALLOWED in the bar areas of restaurants.  WTF BBQ!  Now where do I go to drink and swear?
  10. The sun shines down here a lot more than back home.  I am in such good spirits these days and it’s all because I see the DAY STAR!
  11. I live a short distance from the George Jones.  I will post pictures soon to prove it.
  12. Amerigo is becoming my new favorite restaurant.
  13. Cozeymel’s has an AWESOME agave cocktail.
  14. I think I am really going to LOVE it here.

Posted in Everyday Life | 2 Comments »

Tammy’s Tips part 1 of 2

Friday, September 11th, 2009

I decided it was time I shared some of the greatest things I have ever learned.  :)

Filmy build up on glassware and plates

Let me start with the dishwasher.  Did you stop using your dishwasher because it made all your glasses turn white and crusty?  Well let me tell you the solution to this.  CLR.  Nope it’s that simple.  I fill the prewash cup plus some full of CLR, pop the soap packet into the wash cup and check to be sure I have rinse aid.  I do this every other wash if not every wash unless there are not many glasses and plates.  If you have a big buil up on your dishes I recommend you fill the sink and get them good and clean to start.  According to their package it’s safe. 

Built up, dried up and otherwise nasty coffee stains on your coffee pot?

 Wanna get your coffee pot clean without scrubbing?  Well grab a couple handfulls of ice, pour in some lemon juice and add salt, swirl around to clean.  Amazing how sparkling clean your coffee pot will be!

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The best dish scraper, burned on food getter-offer EVAR!

All right this one is more of a confession that turned out to be a great idea.  When I bought the house I spent many many months working on it room by room.  This meant I had a lot of tools laying around.  I was doing dishes and there was someting stuck in the dish, which totally annoyed me.  I look in the other sink and there is a pile of tools that I had washed and left to dry.  AH HA! I grab the plastic putty knife and use it to scrape stuff out of the dish.  OMG! that was the best idea EVAR!  From that day on the little yellow puty knife stayed with the other sink supplies. 

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Cheap cabinet upgrades you can do yourself.

Speaking of the little spatula did you know that you can retro fit your kitchen cabinets with high end modern options? Know those little “blocks” on the front of your cabinet just below the sink, yeah they can become very vital storage space.  Run to the nearest hardware store and pick up a hardware kit.  Come home grab your tools and prepare to be amazed.  First you get to knock those little blocks out with a hammer,they are just glued in there.

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 Pick up the hardware kit from the local home improvement place and install the storage bins on the back side of your blocks. Next install the hardware that allows them to tip out.  DO IT you will be so glad you did. Nothing like hiding all the stuff you don’t want to see yet have handy with out bending over to get it from under the sink.

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Quick, eash and cheap French Manicure for your toes

Love french manicures but don’t have time to go get them done and painting that at home is nearly impossible?  While this tip is useful it is not a long term kind of thing if you are busy like me.  Nail polish hardly last a full 24 hours if I don’t have fake nails.  Go to the nearest big box store with a craft department and buy yourself a white paint marker. 

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If you have med – long nail I recommend a medium tip, shorter nails get the fine tip.  Prep your nails as you normally would including a base coat then get the paint pen flowing and paint a nice little white edge around the end of your nail.  Wait for it to dry and apply a good top coat.  Sometimes I use a pinkish top coat and then a clear super top coat to keep the polish from wearing off.  It’s easy to touch up and looks great.  I do this on my toes practically all summer as it is easy to quickly touch up and maintain. Your toes are far enough away that imperfections are not that noticeable.

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a minor rant

Friday, August 28th, 2009

So you know I just really wanted to keep my site about useful information reciepes, prodcut and resturaunt reviews and the like. For some reason I just need to get this one off my chest and to be honest it’s not a big deal more like a splinter under my skin.  Lately I have started increasing the number of people I am following on Twitter to include more of my hobbies and more of my work skills and that has brought on lost of new things to read.  Most would find the information helpful, validating and new; I however have not.  I really don’t mean to toot my own horn here but I am just so stinking tired of reading things being presented as OMG NEW!  OMG NEW TRENDS in photography.  I watched a video clip about the TOP 10 new trends in Photography.  That was what pushed me over the edge.  I watched the entire clip and loudly proclaimed HELLO AND WELCOME TO 4 YEARS AGO!  Then I started reliving things and rememberd something to the effect of how to take good wedding photos and it was really mostly lame. 

So I guess there is a market for all the usless knowledge I am carring around in my head.  SO if you have seen my site and have any questions regarding any of the things I dable in please send me a line.

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Blackberry Lemon Shake-Ups

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

I was watching a local station while visiting Nashville last week and over the lunch hour saw some recipes for summer time beverages.  Well it’s been hot down there for a while but it was perfect timing for this Indiana girl. 

What normally happens is they use crazy ingredients you don’t have, expensive ones you won’t buy or they leave out some sort of detail.  Of course here it was the details.   So after some testing, I know such a sucky job to have here is what I came up with.

Ingredients
3       oz of Vodka
3.5   oz of sweet and sour -see below  (store bought is good too)
1       oz of Blackberry Sangria -see below
4 mint leaves and 1 for a garnish

Pour ingredients into a shaker, SHAKE and pour into tall ice filled glass. 

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Take the garnish mint leaf and spank it (you know place it in your palm and smack with the other hand) now lay it on top of your drink. You could asd a splash of diet 7UP.  ENJOY!!!  *This is a revision.  At first I was making 1/2 as much, straining and serving in a chilled martini glass.  VERY elegant but difficult to balance and it was to good to sip. 

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Blackberry Sangria
1 cup frozen blackberries
1/2 cup of boiling water
1/4 cup sugar – this can be adjusted to your sweetness likings

Place blackberries and sugar in heat safe container add boiling water.  Let sit until dissolved.  Place in blender and liquefy. I also used this same recipe with frozen strawberries, KLT enjoyed it. 

Sweet and Sour
1 part simple syrup (2 parts water &  3 part sugar)
1 part lemon juice

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ahhh the Mojito

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Well the Mojito is a special drink and many are confused when I tell them what is in mine but let me explain.  A while back we were at the Venetian in glorious Las Vegas Nevada, it was FREAKING HOT.  I don’t care how many times you tell me it’s a dry heat 110 degrees is TERRIBLE and when you are 5’4.5″ like me you are close to the black pavement and the heat being bounced back at you.  We decided to go sit by the pool for a bit one afternoon.  Armed with a wad of cash I ordered a Mediterranean Mojito like the girl next to me just had delivered.  We spoke about it and I fell more in love with it, so much so I could hardly wait for it’s delivery!  KLT was mortified that I would spend FIFTEEN dollars on a drink.  But let me tell you it was worth every penny.  My culinary and bartender skills let me sip, savor and detail every taste in that glass.  So much so I was able to quickly recreate the drink at home.  ENJOY!

10 medium mint leaves (you be the judge it is all about how you like it)
1/2 a small – regular sized lime in two slices
1.5 ounces of Captain Morgan (or Sailor Jerry if you are a fan)
diet 7 up (regular if that is your wish) This beats adding sugar and tyring to get it dissolved.
OJ

Mash the mint leaves (I choose stem and all)  – the technical term is bruise add the lime slices and squish with our muddler. Place this mash into the bottom of your glass, fill with ice (this helps keep the leaves down), add your rum.

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Fill with 7 up and splash with orange juice. Now the organge juice is a nice touch but you can totally leave it out if it’s not available. You won’t miss it after a couple.

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Now let me tell you about mint. It is a weed. You should not plant it direcetly in the yard or else you will end up wit a yard full of mint. Plant it in a bucket with the bottom cut out and then plant that in your landscape. Keep it trimmed. My mint is in pots, however they did not survive the harsh Indiana weather. Let’s hope things work out better this year. Mint propgates easily, just clip some off and place in water, it will root in a matter of days.

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Never trust Amtrak, always trust your friends.

Monday, July 13th, 2009

I have heard from many people that taking the train to Chicago is a PIA.  Don’t do it the train is always late.  But then others tell me they did it all the time and it was a great experience. So here is what happened.

Upon arriving at the Lafayette Station some older gentleman who had a child in tow announced that the train was 2 hours late.  I ask several questions as I have t plane to catch in Chicago.  We were told that at 8 am they would be calling to tell us if they were sending a bus or not.  At 8 am no decision on the bus AND the train is now 2-4 hours late, hasn’t even left Ohio.  The child in tow thought it would be funny to hit the automatic door opener and hit my friend in the ass with the door.  When the older gentleman, who we assumed works for Amtrak was asked a question the little boy would sometimes shout out answers.  Like we asked “Can we get a refund on the ticket?”  Little boy “NO!”.  Awesome experience should of listened to everyone who told me the train was a bad idea.

 

Then while I am waiting to figure out what to do next I contact Amtrak to see how to get my money back and I am told to take my ticket back to the counter.  But we don’t have a ticket counter. They guy on the phone seriously said “well how did you get your ticket then?”.  Shouldn’t he know these things.  So this brings me to the rest of my dismay.  WHAT?!  I have to pay money to send you my ticket and wait for a refund. 

Email sent today to through their website.  Response is “sorry” and we are sending this to customer relations.  Oh BTW: “Due to higher than normal volume, please allow up to four weeks for a response.”  <-more awesome!

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Casey Moores, Phoenix AZ – Review

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

So we decided that upon our “late” arrival to PHX we’d skip the pizza joint and try an irish pub for dinner.  I had discovered a place called Rula Bula but once we got into the shuttle the young male driver asked us what kind of place do we like?  He followed it up with “party type bar” or a “local joint”.  OH YEAH those are words we are always looking to hear.  LOCAL JOINT PLEASE!  So we ended up at Casey Moore’s which is an Oyster House.  That explains the menu. 

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It was a pretty dark and local joint, you could just tell by all the people sitting at the bar having a good time.

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KLT had the halibut dinner special that came with veggies and rice and I had a burger with swiss cheese and fries.  VERY good food.  Service however was slow.  The menu is full of seafood.  There was nothing seemingly Irish about the place and nothing on the menu but beer was Irish.  There meals seemed to be well thought out and detailed for a pub. But hey that’s a bonus for us, right?

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I am not sure this is the kind of place you’d want to visit during the school year, unless of course you like the college campus bar atmosphere.

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Banana Paletas

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

Last summer I discovered Mexican Popsicles, Paletas while watching TV.  There was a restaurant that sold them in any flavor you wanted.  Funny that place is in Nashville, TN.  Las Paletas.  When it’s hot out everyone wants something cool and refreshing but what I discovered was that fruit bars and diet ice cream bars were not all the healthy and were loaded with calories.  So I thought I would give this Paletas thing a try. 

So easy! You will be glad you took the time to make them.  I actually have 3 or 4 molds so that I can make a big batch of them all at once.  Today let’s explore Banana Paletas.  Bananas are a good source of potassium which is probably important as you wear yourself out working in the blazing heat.

Here is all you need:

Popsicle mold (4-6)
2             ripe bananas
1/4 c     Sugar
1 t.         Vanilla
1 c          Milk  (I used 2% cause that is what we like)

Today  got lazy and put it all in the blender. 
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Sometimes I just mash them in a measuring cup and stir until sugar is dissolved. It’s really hard to credit this recipe to anywhere because everywhere has it.  So you are asking yourself  “Where is the Tammy addition?”  Well it’s actually in the assembly of our paletas.  What goes with bananas? Chocolate and Peanut butter.  So fill the molds about 1/4 full then drizzle in chocolate syrup and softened peanut butter (about 15 seconds for a tablespoon in the microwave).  Add more paleta mix and drizzle again if you like.  You will not be disappointed.

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Strawberries and Chocolate Shortcakes

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

So I am really far behind.  I can’t really come up with a reason except that I just lost my motivation.  Suddenly things are picking up around here and instead of doing something constructive I am going to give you a special treat!

I love strawberry shortcake and since NOW is the time to get your fresh strawberries it just felt like a good idea to seek out a recipe for chocolate short cakes.  You know nothing goes better with strawberries than whipped cream and chocolate.  After making adaptions twice to a recipe I found in FOODTV magazine I finally think I found one worthy of sharing.  Next time I will add both baking soda and powder to see if I can get a little lighter taller version.  Warning it looks like devils food but is dense. 

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