Bloggy Boot Camp San Francisco

August 20, 2010

Tomorrow, I will be heading on a road trip from Southern California to Northern California.  I will be carpooling with Ciaran (@momfluential) in a brand new 2011 Lexus LX SUV.  Ciaran says that we will be floating along in a gray cloud of luxury.   I hope we float along smoothly, and make it through Los Angeles before the traffic starts.  Our third partner,  Kelly (@according2kelly), had to cancel last minute as her son had an accident and broke his arm.  Ciaran and I have been thinking about Kelly and little Owen all day.  Kelly didn’t know it, but she was supposed to be our pilot.  She is the planner….

Ciaran and I are headed to Bloggy Boot Camp in San Francisco….we will be joining over a 100 other bloggers for a one-day conference. Ciaran and I will both be speaking at the event, and we can’t wait!

I’ve been working on fabulous presentation the past few days, ok maybe, I’ve been up all day and night working on it.  I even taunt myself how to save my document from iWork09 to a PDF, yay me.

I can’t wait to speak, although I’m sweating bullets.  I just won’t mention that I took public speaking about three times in college.  I went from an F-to a D-to a B, I think?  I have a problem with talking too fast.  I might have to remember to breath amongst my chatting, I mean speaking.  I’ve developed a presentation that works around my fast-talking/non-memorizing issues.  I will be combining a handout with some storytelling.  I’m always good at telling a story.

I guess I should start packing, or sleeping right now…since I’m leaving at 5am, or something like that.  Oh, and my presentation, here’s my topic!

PRIVACY and YOUR BLOG
Privacy, tracking visitors, and more about keeping your personal info personal, while still blogging authentically.

P.S. While writing this post, my blog crashed.  It was a server issue with my host company. They were able to fix it.  I swear, I have a curse.  EVERY time, I go to a major event or conference, my blog goes down, and messes up.

Disclosure: Ciaran got the Lexus LX SUV for a review.  I know, crazy, isn’t it.  We get to do a road trip in style.  How posh is that!

Filed Under: Blogging 12 Comments

Pop On Pals

August 19, 2010

Pop On Pals Review

Recently, I was given the opportunity for a review of Pop On Pals.  Pop On Pals encourages developmental skill building in children ages 2-4.  At this age, daily work is play, toddlers spend an average of 5 to 6 hours every day engaged in this activity.  Play is an integral part of a child’s developing emotional, physical, sensory, and cognitive make up. They love to explore the world around them with energy and enthusiasm as they discover the joys of experimenting and accomplishing new things through playtime.

Angry Kid was a little too old for this toy, so I brought in a guest reviewer, Evan, whom is three years old.  Evan fell right in the middle of the suggested age range for this toy.  Evan gave the toy a few ooohs and aaaahs with little puckered lips with his saw the toy.  He played with it for quite some time.  He loved changing out the arms, with the pop on rings.

Overall this toy was great.  The only issue that I had, was that it came with one figure.  It would have been better if there was more than one little person included with this playset.  The one little person got quite lonely riding the ride by himself.

Pop On Pals was bright and colorful. It is well crafted, and perfect for developmental play.  The playset was the perfect size that it could be put away in a closet or toy box after play.  It is hard when you have a toddler, because many of the toys are big and bulky.  This set was safely sized, but also not too bulky.

It has a retail price of $29.99 and can be found at Toys R’ Us, Target, Amazon, Sears, K-Mart, meijer, and more.

Disclosure: I was provided with these items by TeamMom and Pop On Pals for review purposes and play.  I was not influenced in any way to write this review. These opinions are mine, and mine only…ok, Evan helped too.

Filed Under: Reviews Leave a Comment

Wordless Wednesday: Scary Mommy and her Pretty Pink Drink

August 18, 2010

Jill and her drink

Welcome to  “Angry Julie Monday’s Wordless Wednesday Linky”! If this your first time here, HELLO! I do a link-up every Wednesday! Post a picture(s) that you took in the past week and link back to it here. Wordless Wednesday is a great day to post an awesome picture that “speaks” for itself, no words needed.

Filed Under: Blogging, Photography, Wordless Wednesday 24 Comments

The Fourfecta

August 17, 2010

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I would like to start this post off with a little perfection, or as we would like to call it, the $4.99 martini.  On Saturday night, while I was in New York, I had one of these.  As you can see, there are four of them in this picture.  I had one and the other three were drank by some fabulous women.  I have really good luck photographing “things” as in, not PEOPLE.  I always have issues with my “people” pictures, with lighting, etc. I’ve found that “things” do not move, and they are easier to photograph.  I rarely drink, so I had to photograph evidence of me drinking.

I think that this is a FABULOUS shot for my3boybarians Sweet Shot Tuesday. So here’s my submission for this week’s little challenge.  The martinis are really the last part of a great day at BlogHer, so below this, I will be telling that story.

Sweet Shot Day

So one of the biggest issues that I had with BlogHer was the lack of food.  Seriously, I just wanted some protein.  I know that people got out every night, and experienced the city, while enjoying a delicious meal.  No, I was that nut job running around with a camera in my hand, photographing parties, and trying to get at least five minutes of quality time with my friends, who live all over the country, and other countries.

I can’t help it, I’m a social butterfly.  That is probably the reason that I have over 17,000 tweets on Twitter.  I talk to many many many people on Twitter, but never read their blogs.  Yes, I just admitted that, publicly. But I hit bottom, on Saturday afternoon.  I realized that I needed a real meal, and something that was not conference food from a hotel, served in a buffet line.

I ended up venturing out for some meat, yes MEAT with my pals, Jill, Cara, and Cynthia.  It was quite random how we all ended up with each other, but we were making plans amongst ourselves, without even knowing it.  ALL of us were complaining about getting a real meal.  I had pizza at 10pm with Jill, the night before.

I told everyone that I heard of this really awesome burger place, The Shake Shack from Alexis.  We were talking about it the night before.  I should have gone there Friday night.  So we asked for directions and headed that way.

Shake Shack in NYC

We arrived at The Shake Shack and saw a huge line.  We immediately got intimidated and made those, “I’m not waiting in this long for just a burger”, comments.  You know the “I’m soo hungry, I could eat anything, but will wander around some more and not wait in line”, thoughts.  I then commented, “oh it is not a sit down restaurant, you just order your food and find a spot”.  We decided to wait in line, which moved rather fast.  I think we were also smart (maybe because we have CHILDREN), and sent Cara to grab a free table.

You would have thought, we were all on the show Survivor for the past month, or something.  Seriously, we all gobbled up the burgers and fries, and barely took a breath.  I had to take a picture of Jill eating her burger, because she was talking about burgers on Friday, like all day and night.  I think she enjoyed her burger, don’t you?

The Best Burger Ever...

Of course, I’m a narcissist and had Jill take a picture of me. I was also enjoying my burger. It was like the best burger I had EVER tasted. Seriously, it was good. Can you tell how tired I was? I was a hot mess. People, don’t EVER let me fly red eye flights! I do not recover well. As a matter of fact, I think I’m still recovering from lack of sleep.

@AngryJulie and her burger

Photo by Scary Mommy…editing hijacked by me, I’m OCD like that.

The Fourfecta at LunchPhoto by Scary Mommy and Random Unknown Tourist Type

After eating those fabulous burgers, we headed back to the hotel.  We decided that we needed a group picture.  But we were scared to hand over our cameras to a random stranger, in NEW YORK CITY!  But we finally found a tourist looking person, and Jill handed over her camera.  We did not realize till later, that Laura Linney totally photobombed us.  Can’t you see that odd look that she is giving us? She is a total STALKER!

While walking back to the hotel, after the group photo, we were accosted by an employee of a deli.  He called out to us, literally.  We couldn’t pass up $4.99 martinis or as I would like to call them, vodkatinis. I think the bartender got excited with the cheap vodka, you know it was cheap for $4.99. But did we care, not really. So my first photo in this post, was our drinks…

We all reflected on our conference experience so far, and decided that this was the best part of the weekend.  We got to spend some quality time together, and we bonded.  We re-capped each of our experiences, and shared the ups and downs of BlogHer.  We all agreed that BlogHer was a bit different this year, but I think it is different every year.  Last year, it was my first conference and I did not know what to expect.  This year, I was overwhelmed but I had an enjoyable time and lasting memories.

And this is where you get the FOURFECTA….through random conversations, we dubbed ourselves, “The Fourfecta”.  Don’t we clean up well? The last photo was taken after we had eaten, had a martini, and changed our clothes.  I think we cleaned up well.

I miss my girls already. Why do we all live so far away?

The Fourfecta

Photo by Scary Mommy.

Filed Under: Blogging, Photography 7 Comments

Defining Myself

August 15, 2010

AngryJulie in Action by ForTheMommas dot com

Photo by Shannon from ForTheMommas

A little over a week ago, I attended my fourth blogging conference within one year.  It all started with BlogHer09′ in Chicago last year, and last weekend was BlogHer10′ in New York City.  When I headed to Chicago last year, I had dread, skepticism, and apprehension as it was my first conference.  Would I fit in? Would I have a good time? Would I attend another conference?

In the three plus years of blogging, I have never thought of myself as a writer.  I can tell a pretty funny story, but usually my stories are delivered better in person.  I have an odd sense of humor, and you really have to know me to understand.  I always tell people, “I’m better in real life than my blog”. Seriously, I can’t tell you how many times people have told me, “you are not really angry”.  Duh, I have a hint of sarcasm to my humor. When I talk to other bloggers, I will always mention, “Oh, I loved your post and xyz, etc.”  I NEVER get that said to me.  I get, “Oh I loved the photograph that you took at Disneyland, or I heard you photographed Bloggy Boot Camp.”  I write about some awesome things, sometimes, I swear.

When I start working on blog posts, I tend to write them around my photos.  It is very rare that I publish a post without a photo.  I rarely use stock photographs.  I mostly use those when I’m doing some kind of review or giveaway.  You can tell when I have a busy week, because I don’t post as much here.  When I’m busy with work, family, or whatever, I don’t always have a camera in my hand.

I think my photography and blogging has completely evolved in the past year.  I’m spending more time on my photos and I’ve learned to edit them better.  I actually attended two sessions at BlogHer this year, and one of them was about photography, shocking, I know.  I attended the ROYO-How to Take Great Pictures, Whether You Have a DSLR or Point-and-Shoot session which was put on by Mishelle, Lotus, and Rachel.  While listening to the lovely photographers in front of me, I did a lot of head nodding.  As in, “Ok, I’m doing this photography thing right, I think?”

I think my perspective behind the lens has definitely changed in the past year.  I’ve also tried editing my photos a little bit different, here and there.  While I was in NYC for BlogHer, I served as one of the official photographers for a private party, better known as “Social Luxe Lounge”.  I took over 300 photographs at that event and dealt with some of the major nightmares for a photographer; white balance issues, lighting, night club atmosphere, and some colored lighting.  I learned a lot while editing those photographs.  I hope everyone enjoyed what I captured though.

So when people ask me now the million dollar question…what is that question? Oh, you should know by now.  “What is your blog about?” I will answer, “Photography, I blog through my photography. Whatever I capture through my lens, I blog”.

I’m sure that I will be writing a ton of other posts related to BlogHer and my reflections on it.  I enjoyed it this year, much more than last year.  I was more comfortable this year in my own blogger skin.  I knew what to expect.  I was prepared.  But {giggle}, the photo editing was much worse this year, after.

A view from the Hilton in NYC

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I took many many more photographs, but I’m doing other posts, where I will highlight specific events I attended, etc.

If you want to see my photographs, feel free.

BlogHer10′ Set

Social Luxe Set

Filed Under: Blogging, Photography 20 Comments

Back-to-School Giveaway Bonanza Recap

August 14, 2010


The Back to School Giveaway Bonanza Bloggers would like to give a HUGE Thank you to all of our wonderful sponsors!!
Thanks to all of our wonderful readers, old and new, who entered the giveaways. Each of the giveaways are open for 5 days, please see the closing dates below. All winners will be announced after the giveaways are all closed.

  1. Dell Inspirion 14R Laptop (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)
  2. Mabel’s Labels (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)
  3. A Modern Eden (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)
  4. Crocs (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)
  5. Agoo Childrens Clothing (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)
  6. Goodbyn Lunchbox (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)
  7. KIND Snack Bars (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)
  8. DaySpring School Supplies (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)
  9. Carter’s $100 Gift Card (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)
  10. Flip Ultra HD (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)
  11. Office Max Backpack with school supplies (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)
  12. Cisco Valet (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)

Please see the Terms and Conditions on the Facebook page. Comments are Closed on this post, please enter each giveaway separately.

Filed Under: Back2School, Reviews

Cisco Valet: Back-To-School Giveaway

August 13, 2010

I am always looking for the latest and greatest in technology. This is a great router, but the Cisco Valet is not just any router. It’s a simple to install, easy to use, router and parental online service in one!

My friend Shannon decided to install her Cisco Valet the other evening. I told her don’t do it unless you want your internet to be down for a few hours.   She shocked me.  She  literally had 5 computers up and running in under a half an hour. Thanks to a simple USB Key, the Valet virtually installs itself. You need to just plug it into the computer and it does the work.

The Valet is a new wireless router made just for people who are intimated by the traditional router. The Valet is made by the folks who brought us the Flip video camcorders and it comes from the tech savvy Cisco, a router brand that people know and trust.

Along with its super easy setup, the Valet creates a guest network to go along with your main network. This gives your friends and family the ability to connect to the guest network – without disrupting your network. (Think of when you go into Panera and log on to their network).

The best feature of the The Valet is the parental control software which is perfect for Angry Kid. You can set restrictions blocking certian websites or cutting off Internet access after a certain time on school nights or weekends. After a password is set up, content can be blocked on some or all devices.  Time restrictions on Internet usage can be set up here, with different settings for school nights and weekends. This is a great feature if your child has their own computer.

The Prize:

I will be giving away (1) Cisco Valet Router.

Required Entry:

1. Leave a comment below:Tell me what feature you like best about the Valet.

If you are reading via email or in a reader, please click through to the post to enter.

For up to (2) Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each):

2. Subscribe via RSS and/or become a “fan” of Angry Julie Monday on Facebook. You must confirm your email subscription for it to be a valid entry! Leave a separate comment letting me know you have done so. If you’re already a subscriber (thank you!), simply leave a separate comment.

3. Become a fan of Cisco on Facebook. Leave a separate comment here on my blog, letting me know you have done so.

Giveaway will be open until Tuesday 8/16 at 11:59 pm PST. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.

Make sure you visit the other awesome blogs in the Back-to-School Bonanza for more chances to win!

Filed Under: Back2School, Reviews

OfficeMax: Back-to-School Giveaway

August 13, 2010

School starts in three weeks here. I’m trying to not think about it, but I have to. I have only one child and he will be starting Kindergarten. This is our first year where we have to buy a backpack, a lunchbox and school supplies. Angry Kid is quite excited to get everything ready to start school.

I think I shocked my mom when I told her that we have a supply list. We received it in the mail a few weeks ago. A simple list with supplies to bring to the classroom, divided up by our last name. With budget constraints, the schools and the teachers have been hit hard here. I think most schools send home a supply list now. They usually publish them on the school website.

When shopping for office or school supplies, I usually hit one of the bigger stores, like OfficeMax where I can find everything in one place. I hate having to go to multiple stores just to find a few things.  OfficeMax has individual pages/forms set up by school grade on their site with suggested office supplies. These lists are great in addition to your local school list, or in lieu of, if your school doesn’t have a list.
OfficeMax is helping you get ready for school by participating as my next giveaway sponsor!

The Prize:

I will be giving away (1) One Backpack with a $100 worth of school supplies from OfficeMax

Required Entry:

1. Leave a comment below: Check out the Back to School Lists on Office Max and tell me which list you will be using.

If you are reading via email or in a reader, please click through to the post to enter.

For up to (2) Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each):

2. Subscribe via RSS and/or become a “fan” of Angry Julie Monday on Facebook. You must confirm your email subscription for it to be a valid entry! Leave a separate comment letting me know you have done so. If you’re already a subscriber (thank you!), simply leave a separate comment.

3. Become a fan of OfficeMax on Facebook. Leave a separate comment here on my blog, letting me know you have done so.

Giveaway will be open until Tuesday 8/16 at 11:59 pm PST. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.

Make sure you visit the other awesome blogs in the Back-to-School Bonanza for more chances to win!

Filed Under: Back2School, Reviews
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