The Life of a Working Mom in the O.C.
Welcome to “Angry Julie Monday’s Wordless Wednesday Linky”! If this your first time here, HELLO! I am doing a link-up every Wednesday! Post a picture(s) that you took in the past week and link back to it here.
I’m using a new thumbnail version of linky. By using this version, you are able to see a thumbnail of all of the pictures. Please use a thumbnail of the photo for your Wordless Wednesday Post.
Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes from Skip To My Lou.
Can you believe that it is almost July? This year has flown by so fast. I just barely realized that Sunday is the 4th of July. Due to a change in my work schedule, I’m off for the 4th, which was completely last minute. I think we are going to have some kind of get together or party that day, plus our Homeowner’s Association always has a fantastic fireworks display. But now, I think the panic has set in. I’ve been trying to find some great ideas for our little celebration, and I thought I would share some of them with the lovely people who come to visit me here. That is, if you haven’t forgotten about me, have you?
Cindy adapted the rainbow cupcake recipe that I posted to make these wonderful cupcakes. She is quite creative, and even added stars to the top.
Red, White and Blueberry Trifle
I found this delicious Martha Stewart dot com recipe on Delish. It looks so easy to make, and tasty too.
My friend Kelly posted this summer salad which includes fresh fruit, and cinnamon candied almonds.
This non-alcoholic drinks screams summer. It sounds so refreshing. I’m sure you could find some booze to add to it also, like rum or vodka.
Red, White, and Blue Centerpiece for the 4th of July
This is so simple. A vase, rice, and food coloring. I could even do this!
All you need is a star shaped ice cube tray and some colored juice.
This is a time consuming project, so start NOW. But the end result is quite awesome. You could use this for other Holidays also. Think of the possibilities.
I met Kim in Arizona, and I’m amazed at her creativity. I want her to come out here and plan all of my parties. She pays so much attention to detail.
I hope everyone is enjoying summer so far. It has been quite gloomy and overcast here in Southern California. We haven’t been able to get much pool time, as we would like to. I hope everyone whom is traveling also has a safe trip!
Angry Kid graduated from preschool yesterday. He has been at this particular preschool for three years. We have had our ups and downs with the school. I think everything finally got situated when he turned four and went into the pre-K class. I took clothes for him to wear after his ceremony. But, I wanted to take a photo of him on the last day of preschool for memento (blog) reasons, of course. He said, “No photos mama”. I responded with, “Oh, I’m taking a photo for daddy, to show him your cool shirt.” He responded with, “I wore this shirt to bed last night. Daddy saw me wearing it ALREADY”. I got my photo anyway, and people wonder why I called him Angry Kid?
At the end of the day, we ended his preschool graduation in the Chapel at his school. We were treated with a slide show of photos. That is when I lost it. It has been an extremely long week of drama. I will try and touch upon that sometime in the near future. I started bawling. Angry Husband leaned over and asked, “what is up with the blubbering?” I told him to shut it.
After the slide show show, the kids marched in and sat down. They then sang some songs for us, and got their diplomas. It was too sweet. Then they all shuffled out. Like that, it was over.
We have so many changes ahead of us…new school, new teachers, new childcare, new work schedule..it’s going to be quite the summer.
On our way home from graduation, I had the following conversation with Angry Kid:
ME: Are you excited to go to a new school soon? You will be in Kindergarten.
ANGRY KID: I’m not going to that school just yet.
ME: Where are you going?
ANGRY KID: Safari School
ME: huh?
ANGRY KID: I’m going on an adventure in the jungle, on a safari.
I think someone has played way too many Indiana Jones video games lately. Angry Kid is now a preschool graduate. Many of his friends will start leaving the school this week. He is going to stay in their camp most likely for the month of July, and then he is going to go to another camp (I think). I don’t think he has a clue, that he may never see some of these kids again. On the other hand, I’m kinda happy to not see some of these kids…
Today is the 3rd Anniversary of my first blog post on Angry Julie Monday. I just can’t believe how much my blog has evolved since it started in 2007. My son was barely two years old then, and now he is five. I started this blog to write about the randomness in my life. I cannot believe how much better my photos are now, compared to then. Plus, my writing, wow did I say that? Seriously I actually put my thoughts together now, they aren’t as random as they used to be. I will always been random, but not as random as when I started.
Anyway, I’m going to relax today and enjoy my Blog Anniversary! Angry Kid is graduating preschool today, so it is a big day in our house. I hope everyone is enjoyed their summer so far! I know I am. I love warm weather and can’t wait to eat so more of this great fruit and float around in the pool.
I hope you have a great day, and keep reading my little ole’ blog. Hey maybe even subscribe to it, or something? I really appreciate all of the people who continue to read Angry Julie Monday!
Photo from iStockPhoto.
Welcome to “Angry Julie Monday’s Wordless Wednesday Linky”! If this your first time here, HELLO! I am doing a link-up every Wednesday! Post a picture(s) that you took in the past week and link back to it here.
I’m using a new thumbnail version of linky. By using this version, you are able to see a thumbnail of all of the pictures. Please use a thumbnail of the photo for your Wordless Wednesday Post.
In early April, I was introduced to the products from Backyard Safari Outfitters at The Blogger’s Brunch in Los Angeles. I saw their products and knew instantly that Angry Kid would love them. Seriously, what five year old boy wouldn’t love playing in the outdoors with critters?
When I was approached to do a review of their products, I immediately said, “YES”! I was already a fan of their products since I brought home some of their products from The Blogger’s Brunch.
While I was at work one day, Angry Kid found the box from Backyard Safari Outfitters in our master bedroom closet. I was saving it for a day when he was extra good. Really does that even happen in this house? Angry Kid was immediately obsessed with the cargo vest. He may have worn it when he was not at preschool, for a week straight. He wore it twice to Disneyland. It has a ton of pockets, which are perfect for adventures, and tiny Lego figures also.
Doesn’t he look like he’s ready for battle or what? Angry Kid is armed with his cargo vest, a bug vacuum, and a mega view periscope. He was prepared to go on safari in our front yard rather than our backyard. Our backyard is a concrete jungle.
Notice the precision and crouching while he is checking out things in his periscope. He was impressed with everything that he could see. The periscope also extends over 4 ft. It also has a water tight section for immersible viewing.
Angry Kid was shocked at the power on this bug vacuum. I have no idea what he was using it on though. He came back with a ton of leaves and sticks. I think the bugs were hiding from him.
Angry Kid really loves the products from Backyard Safari Outfitters. It is also nice to see him playing outside in nature. I tend to get worried when he spends too much time inside playing with his Legos or electronics. He would have played out there all night but it was getting cold. I told him that he could hunt for bugs another day.
These toys range from prices of $4.99 and up. They can be purchased at Toys R Us, Walmart, Barnes and Noble, Target, Amazon, and Summit Toys.
Backyard Safari Outfitters can be found on Twitter as @BYSOufitters and on Facebook.
Disclosure: I was provided with these items by TeamMom and Backyard Safari Outfitters for review purposes and play. I was not influenced in any way to write this review. Angry Kid liked going on safari for bugs and stuff…he is a boy after all.
A few months ago, ok it was probably around Christmas, I saw these awesome corkboards at HomeGoods. They had some pretty unique frames and they had several colors to chose from. Unfortunately I did not follow the HomeGoods/Costco Rule that day. Do you know what the HomeGoods/Costco Rule is? If you see something you like, BUY IT! Because if you think about it, and don’t buy it, you will regret it. You will go back to that store, even sometimes an hour later, and that item will be gone.
Seriously, I went back the next day, and all of the corkboards were gone. I think they had over twenty, and they were ALL gone. I was completely depressed, because those corkboards were the perfect size for my project. Well, the project that was in my head. You know those, you think about all the time. You are just looking for the perfect thing-a-ma-jig.
Our office has built-in cabinets, that we had done a few years ago. But we have some empty space that needed filling. I had the perfect idea, now I just had to find the right accessories i.e. corkboards. Did you notice that I did not clean up for all of you on the Blogosphere. Yea, that’s how I roll! Can you tell that we need some organization? Cause we do!
I have dreamed about those boards for months. Seriously, I went to every HomeGoods in Orange County looking for those boards. When I obsess over something, well it’s all over. I was determined to find them. About a month ago, I stumbled across the HomeGoods in Tustin near my house. I love me some HomeGoods, and I usually walk out of there with something in my hand. Well guess what I stumbled upon? I know it’s easy to guess, right? I found TWO of those corkboards that I had been searching for. It was like the clouds parted and the sun was shining right down on me. The bulletin boards were perfect, except for one thing. They were an ugly gray color. I love me some gray. I think that gray is the new black, but alas they did not match the ideas in my head (or the room decor).
I came home and begged Angry Husband to help me with this grand project. How do we get these fabulous gloss white framed corkboards? Well he taped off the frames (bulletin board area), sanded them, then he primered them with two coats of primer (spray can) and then he sprayed 2-3 coats of gloss white. He finished them off with a coat of clear spray paint. We then let them dry for about a day.
Angry Husband did not like the hangers on the back of the boards. He actually rolled his eyes at them. We are huge fans of dry wall anchors and screwing things onto the wall. Angry Kid was a wild toddler so everything is pretty much bolted down in our house. Angry Husband pre-drilled all four corners of the frames for the boards, then he screwed the corkboards into the wall (well the drywall anchors). We now have perfection and it appeals to my OCD. I think that these boards look very professional (and so very Pottery Barn-ish), don’t you?
P.S. The corkboards were $49 each. I got them in May. They are around the same size as these, which cost $179 each. HUGE savings.
At the beginning of the month, I participated in I Heart Faces Photowalk Across America. One of the points or objectives of the event was to get a new profile photo for your website or your blog. You don’t really think about profile photos until you need them. These are traditionally referred as headshots (used by actors and actresses to get work), but in the blogger world, we call them “profile photos”. A profile photo is used to identify the owner of the blog with their readers. You might also be using a profile photo on your Facebook account, or other social networking sites.
Photo by Elaine
This is my current profile photograph on my “About Me” page here on Angry Julie Monday. I change my profile photo about every six months, because I’m always messing with my hair whether it be the length or color. It also reflects my personality/mood at the time. If you know me well enough, you will see my “Julie looks” that I like to give out. Right now, I’m obsessed with turquoise. It is the color of the year!
As a frequent reader of blogs, I want to be able to identify with the writer, and who this person really is. I also identify with people through their Twitter profile photos. I get confused when people constantly change their profile photos (on Twitter). When you are following thousands of people, you learn to identify with a color or theme. I use my blog button on my Twitter profile because of my job and some other things, but mostly because I’m ADD and would be changing my Twitter Profile Weekly.
Why am I writing this? Do I have a point? I’ve gone to two blog conferences this year, and several other blog related events. I’ve attended these events with other people, and other bloggers. Before I went, I checked out everyone’s websites. I wanted to “know” who they were. It is really hard to identify and/or find people at these events when I don’t know what they look like. Even though I may use my avatar on Twitter, I’m pretty narcissistic and post pictures of myself frequently. I want to know what you look like, RIGHT NOW! Not two years ago, not when you got married, not when you were 100 lbs, and modeling.
So this is a little reminder to everyone attending some of these conferences and events this summer. There is a conference this week in Utah, Evo, which I’m totally bummed that I cannot go to. But, I am attending that really HUGE conference in NYC in August, you know the one, BlogHer. PLEASE post a current photo of yourself on your site, unless you are anonymous, which I totally get. I want to know what you look like, if I meet you in person. You will recognize me, because I will be that really loud girl, wearing a headband.
Do you want some tips on how to get a great profile photo? Here are a few.
1. A recent clear, close-up photo of your face
2. No hats or sunglasses
3. Your CURRENT hair color
4. Have someone else take your photo! Maybe there’s a local photographer looking for models for their portfolio? Another bloggy friend. You can take photos of each other.
Do you need an example of WHAT NOT TO DO for a profile photo? Yes, I edited a photo of myself. I may wear this outfit, a lot. I really really really like this headband too.
Here is your mission: make sure your profile photo is up to date!
Conference attendees, you make not think that this is not a big thing, but if you would like to work with brands, turn your blog into a business, etc. You need to look professional. These brands will be looking at your blog, before and after the conferences. All of those link-ups, etc that you are participating in, well potential advertisers look at those lists too.
P.S. This may be one of those pre-BlogHer posts. I’m trying to be not so obvious about it, though.
