One of the best things about Instagram is that it has kept me in daily contact with one of my favorite people in the universe.  She and her family moved away last summer and since then, she has made me smile with her beautiful pictures of her precious family and art.  When I realized that she was participating in the Photo a Day Challenge, I was thrilled.  Now I get to see her literally every day.  So, to return the favor….I am jumping on the bandwagon and using this to add to Curran 365…..for now anyway.  I am not promising I will have as beautiful pictures as some other, but I will try.  We will see how this “theme” each day inspires or just becomes a barrier.  Either way, you can follow the feed on the sidebar here at R&TM or on Instagram /readandtellme.

Happy Thursday!!!

Last weekend we celebrated my Baby Sister’s Birthday with a family dinner that generally followed the theme of her favorite things.  Mary is not shy when it comes to things she likes AND things she does not like.  So, I was excited to kick off our first family birthday dinner (at home……too many kids, we have outgrown restaurants for awhile) with Mary’s favorite things.

1. Family (She adores us…..I swear, she does!)
2. Caprese Salad
3. Fried Green Beans
4. Mom’s China
5. Gifts (We gave her three “experiences” and let her choose her favorite…..it was a challenge for her, I am not going to lie.)
6. Coke.  Not Diet Coke….I made sure we had “real Coke”
7. The seat at the head of the table.
8. Candles were lit everywhere.
9. Pinterest (Both the Fried Green Beans and Banana Pie were from Pinterest)
10. A lot of DRAMA thanks to the newest Drama Queen of the family, Lucye Jane.

I love Pinterest just like the next person.  However, I try not to use it too much as a time vacuum.  Generally I use it for inspiration to create something new.  I only follow people who I admire their style and most of the people I follow I have never met face to face.  Here are a few things that have inspired me over the last couple of weeks!!!  You can sum it up best with books, food, knitting and words….some of my favorite things!

So, here lies the dilemma, where do I spend my time?  I wake up on Monday and tell myself that I have so ordered my life that I can keep the must do balls in the air while I am working on my latest “project(s)”.  Then, I get up, go work out, return home and *BAM I am back to my hamster wheel doing laundry, picking up breakfast, retuning calls and emails….the day is over and I am exhausted and defeated.

 How does this happen EVERY WEEK???  Newish plan (well, I do this with housecleaning, because I despise cleaning my house….I know, what a great house wife I am….please refer to last week’s post).  The Pomodoro Technique.  It goes something like this…

1. Make a list of your to-do’s
2. Set a timer for (25 Minutes)
3. Do a task
4. Take a 5 Minute Break (more coffee for me)
5. On to the next task (every 4 breaks you take a longer break)

This seems totally doable.  So the first thing I did was find an alarm on my phone that would not send me into a seizure every time it goes off…I currently have it set to church bells.  Then, I made my list and I am off.  We will see how it goes but if nothing else, I will have thoughts of Tomatoes in my head all of the time.  I love a good Sin Apple.  And who knew there is even an App for that although I kind of just want a cute Tomato Timer!  What do you do to stay focused?

But, things are really looking up around here.  We now have the Thunder, our local NBA team.  Devon is erecting a huge tower in downtown that will forever change our city’s skyline.  The Myriad Gardens have become a amazing place to spend an afternoon and I cannot get enough of the amazing restaurants and multiple art districts.

Law Man and I love our date nights.  Last week was no different.  I was feeling a little under the weather and he was running late so I killed a little time on Twitter.  @LudivineOKC was serving a Seafood Stew and it sounded delicious.  Much to my surprise, when LM walked in and said we were heading to Ludivine I was THRILLED and I knew exactly what I was going to order.  The Stew was delicious and I got a crazy hair that I could recreate this little bit of heaven.

Tuesday I stopped by Whole Foods (Oklahoma even has a Whole Foods now and it is minutes from my house).  I stocked up on fresh seafood (Squid, Scallops and EVEN Mussels) and headed down the bean aisle to find some dark colored lentils.  I measured out the correct amount and checked out.  I was sure not to close off the bag mussels because they “would suffocate” I was told.  Who knew they were still alive in the store?  Probably a stupid question, but I am in the middle of the landlocked states.

It took me a good 24 hours to find the courage to combine the two recipes that I thought I could adjust to create just the meal I was going for, but I did it.  Last night I, Amy Curran, made a seafood stew from scratch….fresh fish and all.  And, it did not disappoint.  I will definitely make this stew again.  Next time I will invite over some friends because it made enough for the entire street.  So, I am officially landlocked no more.

However, with the good comes the bad.  I am pretty sure my sister Tracy, would agree that our ploy to deliver Lucye ASAP was one of the worst.  We were somewhere between excited to meet that sweet girl and VERY nervous about Tracy’s insistance to have a VBAC.  She was forced into a c-cection when the twins had complications and ever since she has insisted that she would not do that again.  Now, I will not go into details about childbirth on this blog but let’s just say we have had some major drama in the delivery room for three of the five kiddos.  Luckily two were delivered together.

We decided that Friday, February 25th was the day that little Lulu should be born.  Friday, was the day of the week my mom and both of my sisters were born.  Again, without going into details, Tracy was clearly approaching time to deliver the baby.  The plan began on the 24th.  We all invited ourselves over to Tracy’s house to *watch* HER make US dinner.

I was sure that after working all day and then preparing a big family style meal, Lucye would make an appearance.  No such luck.

So, the next day, we had planned to all be together oohing and awing over the new baby.  Plan B.  A family game of charades with a few special rules.

1. No mention of the words Baby/Lucye/Pregnancy….you get the picture.
2. DO NOT ask Tracy how she is feeling
3. In fact, just all together pretend she is not pregnate at all.

The game started off pretty slow and the new dad was really not into it.  However, the more we went on doing the silliest things possible to not be on the losing team, the more we all got into it

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Finally, the new dad was into it as much as the rest of us.  

Tracy was up and down and even on the floor.  We were laughing so hard I thought the baby might just pop out on the floor.  Four rounds and hours later, no baby.  Finally, we gave up.  But not before Law Man had his first heart to heart with is newest niece.

“The opposite of war isn’t peace….its creation!”  –La Boheme

This line applies to so many things, but in my attempt to find peace through the life changes of parenthood and losing my mother….it has really resonated with me.

So, although I have been quiet on the blog, I have been creating.  Here are a few sneak peeks….

I designed this based on the Rube Goldburg Machine to be part of the invitation to Little Guy’s 5th Birthday Party…..the Invention Convention.

A hat for my niece….Tinkerbell

I have been taking a lot of pictures with my iPhone.  I realize that I always have it with me and when I use the filters on Hipstamatic I can “create” almost anywhere.

1. Old Tree FPC Enid, 2. First Presbyterian Church, Enid, Oklahoma, 3. Enid High Football Stadium, 4. Fall Leaves, 5. One of my favorite times of the year to live on this street., 6. Front following me home from NM, 7. I love this sign!, 8. NM telling us goodbye on the morning we left., 9. Winter coming in over Hermit’s Peak

I have done my share of making things….a lot for Christmas, but quite a bit of other things too.  I am most proud of the Spy vs. Spy costumes I made for the boys on Big Guy’s Request.  They are my favorite Halloween Costumes yet and the only ones I have made.

1. Christmas Surprise, 2. Take to on a Favorite!, 3. More Christmas Surprise, 4. Scarf for Emerson School Sale, 5. Spy vs. Spy Costumes for Halloween, 6. My KNITWitch Costume, 7. Spy v. Spy process, 8. Scarf for Arabella in NM, 9. Pixie Hat for Lucye Bird

Finally, I have had the opportunity lately to admire so many other peoples creations and their process.  I think it is contagious!  

1. Burritos from Arabella in NM, 2. JD Creating…or trying to!, 3. Adam’s Creation, 4. Adam’s Full Creation, 5. Nathan trying to build a “real robot”, 6. Yarn Bomb….Victory Ranch, NM, 7. Tosha made Pumpkin Bowling for Jack o Lympics, 8. Tosha Made food for Jack o Lympics, 9. Aunt Mimi Made the boys Witches Broom treat bags, 10. OKC Myriad Gardens Opening Weekend, 11. Uncle Devin created this amazing cake for my niece’s birthday., 12. Aunt Michelle created these awesome aprons for my niece’s birthday.

When I stop to realize that all of this has been going on in just the past 30 days, it is no wonder I have been quiet on R&TM.  Now, I need to get back in the groove and create and post!!!

What have you created lately?

Yay!!!  We did it.  We have all of these things and more and yes, we do live in Oklahoma City.  We spend Friday nights at one of the Art Districts monthly events or dining at one of our favorite local restaurants.  The kids love to scooter down by the Oklahoma River and we all love to wander around the Myriad Gardens.  Twenty third street is unrecognizable.  I remember when we laughed at the idea of outside eating feet from the busy street with almost constant sirens.  Now, take your pick…..a Mary Poppins at Cuppies and Joe, the Rancher at Big Truck Tacos, a bacon wrapped dog from Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs or the classic Tucker’s onion burger.  Oh yes….and we have a brewery and Coop Ale Works is an awesome one!!!  Now, if only they would brew me a Pumpkin Ale, life would be perfect.

This weekend is the bookend two of the most amazing weekends we have here in Oklahoma City.  I have posted in the past the excitement that makes up OKC the last week of April.  Now, we have the second weekend in October.  There is so much going on I will list out my favs at the end of the post.  But, the one thing that these two special weekends have in common are the Myriad Gardens.

If you visit R&TM often, you know I have a crazy love affair with public places. Remember, last year my excitement led me to throw a 100th Birthday celebration for the park down the street.

The concept for the downtown gardens developed in 1964 when Dean McGee initiated a revitalization plan for the downtown area.  The 17 acres was purchased in 1975 over the next 10 years the project, including the Botanical Gardens, came to fruition as money became available.  Since then, things have been rough.  Remember the Banking Crisis of the 1980′s and the Oil Bust of the 1990′s?  The Garden took a hit like the rest of the state, but thanks to many generous people, they were able to maintain with fairly mild wear and tear.

In the past several years as Oklahoma City leaders have looked to again revitalize our city, the remaining 15 acres of the Myriad Gardens was included in the plan.  This weekend will be the grand opening, the Festival on the Green as it has become known.  There is now a dog park, several stages including a remodeled water stage, a children’s area and hope of a restaurant….have you seen Mr. Popper’s Penguins????  You get the idea.  LOVE IT!!!  The boys and I are beyond excited for the opening and I assume you know where I will be a good part of Saturday and I will have my camera.

Lawn before the renovation…..Arts Festival 2009, I think.

Botanical Garden’s Pre Renovation

Another look…

Beautiful Cardinal at Gardens after Ice Storm

Preview of new Renovated Botanical Gardens

Preview of one of the New Stages

One last teaser preview….

Other events you won’t want to miss….

Heritage Hills Home and Garden’s Tour

Mesta Festa

Desmond Mason Art Show at LIVE on the Plaza

@1614 | Desmond Mason from christopher hunt on Vimeo.

STOCKtoberfest

and I really wish I was going to get to see The Man From Earth….another time.

Here is the rub…..well, I guess there are several.

1.  You miss out on the ambiance of the art and design of the blog.  When you are reading content using Byline, you are looking at a white screen with words and pictures only.  If you follow a blog that does not have the appropriate settings, then you only get words and no pictures.

2.  You do not show up as having visited the site.  For a fellow Blogger, this is really frustrating.  I like to know that people are reading.  Numbers are just numbers, but they do keep me motivated.  Comments are best, but I have a lot of shy readers.  I know you are reading because you ask me about things I post on my blog all over town and Law Man now has quite a following of people downtown who address him as such.  THAT IS AWESOME, by the way….keep it up.  I love it when he comes home and reports that ‘so and so’ called him Law Man.  **BTW, I know you can change settings on your blog so that it forces you to “jump” to the actual post on the web, but that makes me feel like I am being told what to do and I despise being told what to do.

3.  Finally, I find it hard to comment using your mobile device.  It is possible, but depending on the blog, the security settings and your mobile device typing ability commenting can be anywhere from tedious to impossible.

Long story a little bit shorter, when people have asked me how I keep up with the blogs that I do, I gave them a very vague answer to avoid them falling into the number of lurkers who read my blog and I have no idea they are out there.

A few weeks ago I discovered something that has apparently been out since 2007. Someone really should have told me this, I feel betrayed.  I will not betray you.  Here is the secret.

Step 1:  Set up an account with Google Reader.

Step 2:  Go to upper right hand corner of Google Reader home screen and click on the settings button.

Step 3:  Go to the Goodies Tab

Step 4:  Add Subscribe Bookmarklet

If you find yourself repeatedly visiting a website to check for updates, or if you just stumble across a page you want to keep track of, you can easily subscribe to it in Google Reader using the subscribe bookmark.

To use the subscribe bookmark, simply drag the link below to your bookmarks bar. Then, when you’re on a web page, you can click the bookmark to view it in Google Reader.

Once you see the feed preview, confirm your subscription by clicking the “Subscribe” button within Reader

Step 5:  Add Next Bookmarklet

The next bookmark is an innovative way to read your subscriptions. It allows you to use Google Reader through just one link – clicking on it takes you to the next unread item, marking it as read in the process. It is particularly useful for subscriptions which only include snippets or when you want to read an article in context.

To use the next bookmark, simply drag the link below to your bookmark bar.

You can also create a next bookmark for a specific tag. To do so, select a tag below and drag the resulting link to your bookmark bar.

You are set.  Now you can keep up with all of the blogs your heart desires, comment and participate and get the full experience of the art and design on each site.  It will continue to sync with Byline or any and all other Google Reader apps you have on your computer and mobile devices.  Yay!!!  Problem solved.  I love it.

By the way, Instapaper and Pinterest both have Bookmarklets too in their Goodie Section.  I also have one for Ravelry and Ziplist.  Check them out and let me know what you think.  If you have any technical questions or problems leave them in the comment section or shoot me an email.
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I cannot tell you how great it was to get to know them as an adult.  It was like we had spent holidays together for years.  They told me things about my grandparents, my great aunt and uncle, my mother and her brothers.  And of course there are always Aunt Char stories…(*well, sh*t, Char would say….I just realized I never posted about my birthday surprise trip when we went to visit her in May.  That will come.)  Most of the stories they told me I had never heard.

My Uncle Gary reminded me so much of my grandfather it was creepy.  Even more so since they are not blood related.  (My grandfather’s brother was his step-dad).  The day we arrived at their house their daughter, Sonia, drove in from L.A.  (As a girl from Oklahoma, I have always wanted to say that.)  Again, I had not seen her since the family reunion when I was in the 8^th grade, so I did not know what to expect.  Aunt Charlene talks about her nieces often, but she never mentioned that Sonia is a graphic designer who loves make pottery and eat good food.  She even blogs and has an Etsy shop.  She really is my long lost creative type twin.  Please excuse the creepy stalker feel, but it was really exciting. The only difference is she lives in L.A. and makes money with her creative ventures….but, really, who is keeping score?

When Sonia arrived, we headed down to the beach.  This always makes girls from Oklahoma giddy.  Gary taught me to boogie board.  If my pale body that hadn’t exercised all summer due to the extreme heat dome that sat over Oklahoma for two months, was not a dead give away that I was not from California, my boogie boarding skills sure were.  Seriously, I looked like a toddler learning to walk.  But I was determined, so I kept after it.  Gary was trying to get me to listen to the waves and pick the right one.  Finally, he said, “stand here and do what I do.”  He jumped on his board and went sailing toward the beach…..I just belly flopped onto my board and went about six inches.  As soon as I stood up, I saw it….the wave he described.  It had the right sound, the right foam and I jumped on.  Two seconds later I was on a wave heading to shore only I was several feet up and the wave broke right over my great uncle.  I bailed and tried not to kill my host on the first day.  He was fine but I looked like a mess as I tried to discreetly get the sand out of my swimsuit.  This was about the time I noticed the surfers laughing at me.

Don’t worry friends.  I didn’t give up.  We continued until I was so beaten by the waves I could barely haul my poor little body up on the shore.  The next day I woke up and felt like I had been run over by a truck.  It was almost noon before I connected my pain to the boogie board.  I am so glad I could educate those Californians on what it is like to be from Oklahoma.

While we were at the beach, I took a picture of this cute little family with children near our boys age.  They were building a sand castle.  Big Guy as asked for years to go to the beach and build a sand castle.  I emailed a picture to Law Man so he could show the boys.  That night, I get word that it took dad quite some time to console the boys that the black shapes they were seeing in the background of the picture were surfers, not sharks.  Lesson learned….do not send a picture with surfers in the background to children in Oklahoma the week after Shark Week.  I think I postponed the beach requests for a while anyway.

The infamous “shark” picture.

We spent the next 36 hours eating at local restaurants, drinking local beer and took a great trolley ride around the city.  The most interesting part was to hear the stories Gary and Cathy told about their time in California and how things had changed and evolved. It was priceless time.  I so wish my mother could have been with us.

I got to educate them on my obsession with taking pictures of food.  :)

I *heart* BLICK….and I finally got to go visit one and I did not buy a single thing.

Aunt Cathy is a knitter…..*swoon*!

I was giddy over their four Rosemary Bushes….and bragged about the Crape Myrtles I have that are as tall as our two story house.

I had been in search of “my people” the whole time I was in California and with my Aunt, Uncle and Sonia…..I found them.