Air Force Thunderbirds Photo Gallery

We live within a few hours of an Air Force base, and as a child we'd travel to the annual air shows, only within a few hours drive. I've always loved them and really get a kick out of seeing the fighter jets in particular. our (very fragile) vintage windows.

After about five minutes I realized this wasn't the typical F-16 flyover. I ran out the front door to be greeted by the site of a red, white and blue Air Force Thunderbird screaming overhead. They were practicing for the air show this weekend! Woo hoo! We stayed outside for at least 30 minutes watching them run through their routine.

This is the view from our backyard when they practice. I had the chance to speak to a crew member and learned a little more about their schedule. The Thunderbirds arrive at their site on a Thursday, practice on Thursday and Friday at showtime (to get used to the sun angles, etc), perform during the weekend and depart on the Monday to their home base in Las Vegas. Their only day off is Wednesday.

#5 or #6 going directly over the house.

A nice shot of their delta formation.

#1,#2, #3 & #4

Engine shut-down. Amazing show.

I don't know the story here. This plane is being towed by a tow truck. The number
has been removed.

#5 Lead Solo Major Tyrone Douglas. He is upside-down for the majority of the show, as his patch(click) & plane number indicate.

Standard Twilight Blog Post

Over the past several months several of my favorite bloggers have discussed the book series (and now movie) by Stephenie Meyers called "Twilight." Surely you're familiar? I learned the premise of the books and dismissed the idea of reading them because I really should be studying and not getting obsessed with a novel. I still wasn't convinced after one of my childhood friends told me she read the books, which was a real shocker considering she's never been shy about her distaste for reading. After my oldest daughter picked up the Twilight bug when she saw a picture of Edward, I decided to read the novel. And really, I wasn't impressed. It took me a couple weeks to get through it, and I only finished because I hate unfinished projects.

Continual begging from the oldest led to us finally seeing the movie in the theater a few weeks ago. I had to giggle at some of the other patrons, when we sat down we were asked "how many times" had we seen it so far? Because of Lea's multiple viewings, I wasn't surprised when they told me they'd seen it 10 times.

Surprisingly, I really liked the movie. Especially the baseball scene. Wow! (Who doesn't love Jasper's baseball flipping action?;) )

I've since read New Moon (which I thought was much better written then the first) and I'll probably take Liz to one of the DVD release parties.

Who knew?

I like Twilight because of the aesthetic appeal. I made the bracelet above using my Simply Swank Kit and some photos that I printed on my photo printer, after editing in Photoshop. My soldering needs a *lot* of work! But it sure is fun. :) BTW - This was of course heavily inspired by Lea Sanders awesome Twilight Charm Bracelet, linked below. :) Thanks for the inspiration Lea!!!

Check out some other fellow bloggers Twilight craft goodies.

• Lea Sanders Twilight Charm Bracelet


• Lea Sanders Twilight Mini Book


• Twilight Tuesday - Weekly Challenges with a different theme every Tuesday
  


• A variety of cards and projects on Splitcoast Stampers.

Happy Hello - Hero Arts

Happy Friday! Days like today make me wish the kids were at home. It's such gorgeous weather outside, it'd be a perfect day to go over to the beach, or even to Disney for a few hours. The weekends are too busy for my tastes these days, full of ballet lessons, laundry & grocery shopping. I'm just itching for a few relaxing days without any chores to do or any place to go. I bet you feel that way too sometimes.

I'm finally making some progress clearing off my dining room craft table, and I made this very quick card today. The Hello stamp came from the $1 section at Michaels, and the wood-grained flower is from Hero Arts. I think it took five minutes? Maybe six if you count the time it took to fold the brown cardstock.

No recipe today, I've decided to not do that anymore because I think it's basically a waste of time. I'll usually mention the stamp company, and the rest should be obvious, right? :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blog Hop Hop Hop

 Ribbit! This is a spring-themed card that I made using Pond Life from Papertrey (again!).  It's a case of a card that Michelle Zindorf created, and I got a lot of practice with brayering and sponging.

Recipe:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Pond Life
Ink: Distress Ink China Blue and Tea Dye, PTI Berry Blossom, Palette Landscape Green
Accessories: Martha Stewart Doily Edge Punch

Bon Temps Rouler!

Happy Fat Tuesday! Today is Mardi Gras, in case you didn't know. I lived in New Orleans several years ago, and I still love to mark the day. We'll have jambalaya and king cake for dinner tonight, and my front door is decorated with purple, gold and green beads (caught during Gasparilla, of course). Do you know what the colors of Mardi Gras in New Orleans stand for? They were established by the Krewe of Rex, one of the earliest Krewe's in New Orleans celebration. Purple is for justice, gold for power, and green for faith.

Although it would have been fitting, I didn't create a card for today. My craft area has been taken over by my file cabinet reorganization project and I just haven't been able to craft in a while. I've got some new Hero Arts and Basic Grey goodies though, so it's just a matter of time.

I've been recently inspired by all the beautiful ephemera that is associated with Mardi Gras. In the early 19th & 20th centuries, invitations to balls were extravagantly decorated and often imported from France. I've shared a few examples below. Bon vivant!