‘Fantastic’ negates June Gloom

June 6, 2010

Flyer I did recently for a combined Church primary/ward activity. It was meant to be just a B&W design, but the little design devil that sits atop my shoulder and encourages me to use up grips of printer ink with no abandon insisted, “Color! COLOR!”

I find it very ironic that I’m trying to replicate a 2-3 spot color poster here. Someone who understands printing would get what I mean.

The blog is a bit of a mess right now

August 5, 2009

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A Week of Mothers – Day 3

May 7, 2009

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Today, I am very excited to introduce you to the very fun Amy Locurto; amazing mother, designer, and blogger of Living Locurto.

Hello Amy! Share with us what you do:
I’m owner and designer of Atomic Egg, a Dallas graphic design firm specializing in brand identity, annual reports and various other print and online media. I do a lot of work for a Fortune 500 Company in the Industrial Industry, so I started my design blog, Living Locurto, to have a place for my fun and whimsical side to come out!

I’m also co-founder of I Heart Faces, a photography web site with weekly photo challenges, tutorials and tips. In just a short time, it has grown into a wonderful community with thousands of photography enthusiasts. I love to draw, make anything crafty, photography, traveling, entertaining, baking, hip hop dance class (ha!) and tennis. I’m lucky to have my office at home so I can devote a lot of time to my 2 young kids.

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Motherhood is a full-time job and then some. What keeps you inspired and motivated to create?
I am more motivated to create things now that I have kids… they inspire me with so many ideas! Being creative comes natural for me and is something that I can’t NOT do. Plus, doing something artsy takes me away from the potty training and tough part of parenting:-) The kids also love that mommy is fun. I’ll just start drawing on the wall and soon it will become a wall mural with their actual photos modge podged in the scenery!

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I’ve learned that being a stay-at-home mom and business owner/artist does not have to be mutually exclusive. How do you maintain a balance between the two?
I drink a lot of strong coffee!! Running a business takes a lot of effort and motivation. I think it’s very important to put family first, so balance is something I strive for daily! It’s hard enough getting work done from home, when you add small children to the mix… it’s pretty impossible.

For me lately, balance is saying NO. It’s such a tough thing for me personally, because I have so many hobbies and interests. I want to do it all. I want to do all kinds of fun things with my kids, take every cool job that comes my way, start new businesses, learn a new skill, volunteer, etc. It took me many years to realize I can’t do it all and it’s okay… I’m not a failure if I can’t get to something right away.

I also try to stick to a schedule and only work while my kids are at school or napping. I make sure my clients know that I work from home with small children and can only be available during certain hours. I don’t worry about my house being a mess anymore either. If I fretted over that, I would never get any work done. Luckily my husband is great with the kids and helps me out a lot on the weekends by doing all of our laundry and usually cleaning the kitchen too!!

Before I started blogging, I used to take Fridays off. I hope to get back into that schedule again soon. Now that my kids are getting older, it’s becoming much easier. They love to hang out in my office and pretend to work. My 2 year old loves to color for hours, so I got lucky with her!!

As an artist, what do you hope to pass on to your children?
I hope to pass on my passion for entrepreneurship more than anything. Maybe by seeing how hard mommy works and what fun she is having all at the same time, that they won’t settle for just any old job and live to pursue their passion whether it be creative or not.

Do your children have any special talents?
My son is a whiz on the computer. I’m going to teach him to do my html code soon! ha. I think he’ll be the musical child because he loves to play with iTunes, listen to rock and make music. He also has an eye for photography and loves taking pictures, so I’m excited about that! My 2 year old daughter is my performer and artist. She will be my little craft partner in crime. We’re going to have so much fun dancing and making things!

And lastly, what do you wish for this mother’s day?
I wish for an entire day to myself with nothing to do. {Ahhhh}  Needless to say, my husband will get the entire weekend to himself while I drive alone with my 2 kids for 5 hours to visit my mom and grandma. Happy Mother’s Day to me! LOL! I guess he deserves it for all the laundry he does:-)

Thank you for the interview, Amy! And I hope your kids nap well for you during the long drive!

Come on By

October 2, 2008

I hear it can get wild. You know, those crazy moms and all…

Details here.

“Shocks, pegs…lucky!”

August 19, 2008


Bob Revolution AW Duallie (that’s a mouthful) up for sale.
Takers? Email jenniferkirk@gmail.com for price. Pickup only.


And no, I’ve never taken it off any sweet jumps.

Thoughts and Prayers for the Nielsons

August 18, 2008

I can’t stop thinking about Stephanie and her husband, survivors of a very terrible plane crash on Saturday. I actually “met” her through email a few days ago and found her to be every bit as charming and friendly as she is on her blog. My heart goes out to them, their little ones, and the rest of their family.

Cheapy Chic

August 15, 2008

I am living in these jeans from Forever 21. A very forgiving, alternative way to go the skinny-jean route. The dark wash, and cropped length is really flattering, especially if you top it off with a tunic-length blouse. The best part is they’re only $12.50 a pair. The worst part is that I literally have to peel it off my sweaty and sticky legs at the end of a hot, humid day. Sorry, was that TMI?

‘Handlebars’ by Flobots

July 25, 2008

I don’t think I’ve watched a music video with this much symbolism, imagery, and metaphorical content since, well, ever. You’ll probably need to watch it at least a couple of times to catch the details I outline below, so first, watch the video and enjoy it (I highly recommend full-screen mode):
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Then, consider the following:
  • Symbolism of handlebars
  • Significance of letter ‘C’
  • The consequences of being able to dismantle a remote control, while being unable to assemble it again — whilst being represented as a single, dirty apple mixed in a group of supposedly good apples
  • Why not rap to a metronome? What’s the significance of the girls who jump rope slightly off-beat from the drums, which happen to sound like a metronome?
  • Usage of birds in multiple instances
  • Why are ‘new antibiotics’ represented by a winking beauty eye with too much makeup?
  • What irony is visible when he ‘sees the future?’ What does the chart represent?
  • Radiation causing cancer as a consequence to a supposed advancement
  • Color of money
  • Color of blood in death of rebels
  • Image of Abu Ghraib torture
  • Symbolism of the mixed architecture of the tower
  • What’s the final message?
Not sure why I’m nostalgic for my college writing classes, but apparently I am. I’ll follow up later via another post with answers to all of the above, as well as a final thesis and analysis.
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- Ryan

Free Dodger Tickets! Dodgers vs Nationals

July 24, 2008

I have two tickets to the Dodgers game this Sunday, July 27th, against the Washington Nationals, that I need to give away ASAP! The seats are in Section 21 FD, row P, seats 7 and 8.

Leave a comment, and I’ll hold a raffle for the winner. Make sure you leave contact info. The catch is, you have to pick them up in Ventura by Sunday morning. If no one bites, we’ll just assume that our entire (very small) readership is made up of upstanding Mormons that keep the sabbath day holy. Good for you.

** UPDATE ** Since I have received absolutely no responses, I gave them to a co-worker!

- Ryan

Highlights from the Tahoe Trip

July 22, 2008


Part of the huge house we all stayed in at the Tahoe Keys.
I believe there were 22 of us in all.


Dax checking out the new terrain in the backyard.


Can’t get enough of the lagoon.


The paddle boat in the back was the activity du jour.


Family photos the next day. Here’s everyone trekking down the beach.


Kai and his cuz Alaeshya.
I’m amazed that Kai stayed clean in his white shirt.


Dinner that evening at Harrah’s to celebrate my grandparents’ 50th anniversary.


At the arcade in the casino.


Happy anniversary to Lolo and Lola!
More celebrating, more people, and more food back at the house.


Dax with his great-grandpa.


Hanging out at the lake the next day with my cousins.


What’s a beach trip without being buried in the sand?


And lastly, celebrating my birthday with my family.
The end.

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