July 2011 - Angry Julie Monday

Project 365: Week 30

July 31, 2011

At the start of this week, I had a little freak out. I dropped my precious iPhone and shattered it. Luckily I got it fixed. But I’m a lot more protective over it now. Summer with Angry Kid is busy. Work is busy. And honestly, I want to blog but I’m so tired all the time. I love posting these simple photos every week for Project 365.

Project 365 204/365: My iPhone screen is fixed, and Hello Kitty at Yogurtland is awesome. All is good in the world.

Project 365 205/365: I’ve done laundry, cleaned up the backyard, & made the bed while this occurs. This 6 year sleeps like a teenager.

Project 365 206/365: My son is watching videos on YouTube about TapZoo, a game he plays. He keeps yelling at the video that the guy is lying, & that trick doesn’t work.

Project 365 207/365: Angry Kid loves his strawberry shake from Ruby’s.

Project 365 208/365: Best birthday present for a 6 year old, a @ThisIsMeJournal with @Target gift card attached. cc: @thisiscarrie

Project 365 209/365: Sunset @ocgreatpark for the @razorusa event tonight.

Project 365 210/365: I think my son was having some kind of gun battle earlier today.

Filed Under: Orange County, Photography, Project 365 4 Comments

Friday Favorites: Pre-BlogHer Link Party

July 29, 2011

Next weekend I will be in San Diego attending the BlogHer Conference. I will be hanging out with my roommates Kelly and Laurie. This will be my 3rd BlogHer Conference and their first. BlogHer can be a bit overwhelming just because there will be a ton of people attending (over 3000), and it can get chaotic.

I wrote a humorous post over a week ago comparing Blog Conferences and Sorority Rush, but really, it is not that scary. I think the #1 thing that you can do while at a conference is meet people and introduce yourself.

So let me introduce myself!

I’m Julie, and sometimes people call me “Angry Julie”.

I’m in my mid 30’s, married, and have a 6 year old son. I live in Orange County, CA. No, I am not a Real Housewife of Orange County. I’m not sure that I can even qualify to be a Housewife. I work full-time outside of the home. Amongst the chaos of having a 6 year old and working, I like to take photos. I am a Nikon girl, so don’t try to convert me to that other brand that starts with a “C”.

I like to dress up like a girly girl at blog conferences so you might see me in dresses. When I’m on my own time, I’m usually wearing jeans, t-shirts, and my Rainbow flip flops.

This picture was taken of me last year. I really need to get a new profile picture. I’m a year older now, and not quite as tan. I even use a different camera.

I hope to meet you while at BlogHer. Please come introduce yourself!! I promise to be nice….

I figure that you might want to meet other people attending BlogHer 2011 also. I’m starting this today so that you can go and check out the blogs and sites of other attendees.

So if you are going to BlogHer, please link up, and visit some other bloggers and Twitter peeps whom are attending.

Please, link up here if you are attending BlogHer11' in San Diego:

1.	Jaime @ Debutante Media	20.	La Jolla Mom	39.	Mama Bub
2.	Kim Trimble	21.	Trish	40.	Chris [What I Run Into]
3.	Mo (Maureen)	22.	Lolo @ Crazy About My Baybah	41.	Shelby @glitterfulfelt
4.	Ginger at RambleRamble	23.	@SuperSavingSara	42.	@WhitneyMWS (Mommies with Style)
5.	Rachel {at} Mommy Needs a Vacation	24.	Shauna Epting	43.	Cheryl @Mommy_pants
6.	Jules	25.	@cookingnburbs	44.	Donna Schwartz Mills
7.	Galit Breen	26.	AllThoseThingsILove	45.	Sassy Mama in LA (Yoli)
8.	The Miss Elaine-ous Life	27.	Idiot Mom (amy)	46.	@Eva_Smith
9.	Penelope: Foster2forever	28.	Tera Stephens	47.	Stephanie Schwab (@socialologist)
10.	Tracy (@onerebelmom)	29.	Nancy (@Wife of a Dairyman)	48.	Jeanne @JollyTomato
11.	Kerri ( @_themaven)	30.	My Time as Mom	49.	Forty Cakes (Karla)
12.	Robin	31.	Erin	50.	Debbie Goldberg
13.	Hanan @ Lilac City Momma	32.	Lori Cunningham	51.	Presley's Pantry
14.	@StacieinAtlanta	33.	Suki	52.	Patricia Patton
15.	Sarah Kimmel {Tech4Moms}	34.	Amy {A Million Boxes}	53.	verdemama
16.	Tonya Staab	35.	Corrie aka Mrs Organic	54.	Shannon @Sweepstakes Mama
17.	Crazypants	36.	Diane @CreatedbyDiane	55.	Jen @ Anybody Want A Peanut?
18.	Lizz (@libismorgan)	37.	Tracey (@justanothermom)
19.	Everyday Mama	38.	Jen {Tiny Oranges}

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Filed Under: Blogging, Just Julie 33 Comments

Easy Canvas Prints and Giveaway

July 28, 2011

On my blog, I like to call myself a photographer. While I can take some decent images, I can’t call myself a professional photographer. In the Fall of 2009, Jen Johnson took some family pictures of our family. We used them for our Christmas Cards that year. It was the first time that we had professional photographs taken of our family.

Did you see where I wrote, we used them for our Christmas Cards only. I never got any of the images that Jen took printed. Honestly, I really did not know where to put the photos once they were framed. I’m a complete planner and well, I’m a little obsessive compulsive when it comes to accessorizing our home. I have an entire wall in our hallway that is blank, waiting for photographs.

I was recently contacted by Easy Canvas Prints to do a review of their product. I chose their 11×14 inch size with a .75 inch border wrap. I did a colored border wrap in black. I think 11×14 is a good size for a canvas print. I usually pick an 8×10 for framed pictures, but for a canvas, the 11×14 is a comfortable size. There are two choices for sizing on the border wrap, .75 inch and 1.5 inch. I chose the .75 inch because we have some narrow walkways in our house, and I did not want the canvas knocked off the wall. I did a black colored border, because I previewed the image and mirror wraps did not look quite right with the photograph that I selected.

Photo taken with my iPhone, not my best photography.

I loved the easy process that Easy Canvas Prints offers. During each step of the process, I was able to preview my canvas, and how it would look. Easy Canvas Prints also offers re-touching, if you need some extra help. I was able to move my imagine from side to side, and I also cropped it in more to fill up the canvas more. I then submitted my order, and waited. Approximately, one week later, I was greeted with a surprise at my door. My Easy Canvas Print was delivered, and packaged very nicely to prevent damage.

I was immediately impressed with the quality of my 11×14 inch canvas print. I loved it so much that I immediately uploaded another photograph from the photo shoot. I wanted a second canvas to compliment the first one. I was going to display the two canvas’ together. While working on my second canvas, I noticed that Easy Canvas Prints had a Facebook page. I went and “liked” the page. Upon “liking” the page, I realize that they offer Facebook Fans an Exclusive 50% plus Free Shipping discount.

Photo taken with my iPhone, not my best photography.
Photo taken with my iPhone, not my best photography.

Easy Canvas Prints also offered to do a giveaway for my readers.

Here are some of the rules/instructions for the giveaway:

Giveaway is for one 11×14 canvas print.
Winner must be a U.S. (United States) Residence in the Contiguous 48 States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.
Winner will be selected randomly.
I will email the winner once they are selected. If I do not receive a response from the winner within three days, I will select another winner.
Comment: What picture would you like to have on a canvas. Describe the picture or when it was taken. (One Entry)
“Like” Easy Canvas Prints on Facebook. (One Entry)
Tweet or Facebook about my giveaway with the following “Win an 11×14 Canvas Print from @EasyCanvas and @AngryJulie http://bit.ly/o6unpF ” and comment that you Tweeted or posted on Facebook about the giveaway. (One Entry per person)
Giveaway ends 08.03.11 at 12am EST.

Disclosure: Easy Canvas Prints provided me with one 11×14 Easy Canvas Print. I selected the photo and used their online process all by myself. The really sloppy photos of my canvas’ were taken by me with my iPhone. It is extremely hard to photograph canvas. I learned that really fast. I got tired of trying to edit the photos of my photos. This review is my opinion.

Filed Under: Just Julie, Photography

Wordless Wednesday: Funnel Cake with Strawberries

July 27, 2011

I swear that I don’t eat all of this food that I post on my blog. Angry Kid is six, and has a very fast metabolism. We went to the Orange County Fair with my parents last Sunday. I took a bazillion photos with my DSLR but I still need to edit them.

I thought I might share this goodness that I took a picture of with my iPhone. My fixed and brand new iPhone.

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) and link back to it here. Wordless Wednesday is a great day to post an awesome picture that “speaks” for itself, no words needed.

I’m trying to make it to every participants post if I can. I’m trying to get through all these fabulous photos that link up with me, and comment too. It just depends on my schedule.

Be sure to check out Wordless Wednesday Link-Ups at these other sites also:

Project Alicia, Better in Bulk, By Word of Mouth Musings, Dear Crissy, Five Minutes For Mom, Live and Love…Out Loud,Parenting By Dummies, Seven Clown Circus, Supermom, The Divine Miss Mommy

(P.S. if you do a Wordless Wednesday or similar link-up, let me know. I will add you to my list above.)

Also, Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy does “What I Wore Wednesday” every week with a great big link-up

and

Krystina from Lollipops does “What I Love Wednesday” every week with a great big link-up.

Link Up Your Wordless Wednesday Post:

1. Joy @ Joy of Desserts (LINKY)	2. Martin Mommy	3. Rachel {at} Mommy Needs a Vacation	4. Driving Duo {LINKY}	5. WW: Ash
6. Polos, Pearls, & Pacifiers	7. CoffeeJitters \| Green	8. Mimi @ Woven by Words (linky)	9. Flick Four	10. Erin
11. Merry With Children w/Linky	12. Temporary Insanity	13. Shiju Sugunan	14. From PDX with Love -linky	15. Kristi @ Live & Love Out Loud *LINKY
16. Dancing in Israel	17. Lisa @ My thoughts w/Linky	18. project alicia linky	19. Why We Love Green Linky	20. By Word of Mouth LINKY
21. NickTay w/Linky	22. CREATE WITH JOY - PEEK A BOO KITTY - LINKY	23. Windshield Rider with *LINKY*	24. Mel @ TamingMonsters	25. Goodbye Disposable, Hello Cloth w/ LINKY!
26. Life with Dylan	27. Sparkle the Designer Cat	28. according to kelly	29. Eclectic Mommy	30. Stephanie @ The Blue Zoo
31. Alysha (Supermom) W/LINKY	32. Owl Cake w/linky	33. EdT. - linky	34. Nola Mommy - Sunset	35. Puppy Dogs
36. flower w/ Linky	37. my-2-cents (with linky)	38. Harriet-LINKY	39. The Ish Blog	40. Deb @ WebSavvyMom.com - My Thoughts About the Debt Crisis
41. Caitlin {Pacifier In My Pocket}	42. Weds Words of Wisdom with linky	43. blueviolet @ A Nut in a Nutshell	44. Rachel	45. momma totally in love w/linky
46. The Info Mouse w/ Linky o	47. Just Winging It w/Linky	48. Moose and Tater	49. Proudly Posting Personalized Watermarks! :)	50. Tracy
51. Just not into it	52. Twelve	53. Amy@Coffee with the Mrs.	54. Misadventures with Andi	55. Planet of the Apels - Professional Pictures
56. Nicole (OliveBlue)	57. oneSTEP@aTIME	58. the adventures of curly tot	59. Home is with you...	60. Tanya @starryeyedsurprise
61. Six Cherries on Top	62. Thrifty Ninja	63. Raising Paityn	64. On the Road Mom	65. Wendy @ Wendy Will Blog
66. Catch My Words	67. Coffee Mom Kee	68. Beyond the Boob	69. Happy Dance	70. Birthday Countdown @ Squashed mom
71. Jen (Sticky Note Queen)	72. Frugality Is Free: A Steamy Roof - LINKY

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Filed Under: Orange County, Photography, Wordless Wednesday 45 Comments

The Only Child

July 26, 2011

My son is a third generation only child. I’m an only child, my mom is an only child, and so is my son. The women in our family have had difficult pregnancies, and/or very sick children. I had bronchitis and asthma so bad as a child that I can remember spending almost every Holiday in the hospital. My son was born at 36 weeks old, had surgery at four weeks, and has had over 15 febrile seizures, which he has now grown out of. So believe me, I practically growl now when someone asks if I’m going to have another child.

My son is a social butterfly. He makes friends easy, and he has tons of them.This has been a hard summer though. When you have an only child, you are their playdate and companion. We have been pretty low-key this summer so I didn’t sign my son up for a ton of things. My husband and I have completely different days off so that has helped with childcare. But on certain days of the week, it is just me and the kid. I know that he wants to play with his friends and peers. It is pretty bad that he asks to go to 24Hour Fitness just so he can go to the kid’s club. Every summer before this, Angry Kid was in a year round pre-school. We didn’t have to worry about playdates or camps.

We didn’t sign Angry Kid for any camps this year, because we felt that he was a little too young. I know that he will want to attend some sports related camps in the future when he is older. I have a friend who runs an amazing day camp during the summer, but alas she is in Los Angeles. Many, almost all of his friends have siblings. When you have multiple children, you have the “go play with your brother or sister” theory. Not so much in my house. It is just me or Angry Husband.

Angry Kid is constantly begging to play with certain friends. I kept telling him, “they are not home, they are out of town, etc.” It is getting quite old. We have had some plans, but I’ve learned not to tell Angry Kid about them until we are on our way. I don’t want to disappoint him when people flake out.

My BFF Stacey is experiencing the same thing with her daughter. Stacey works from home, and has an only child also. If Stacey or I lived closer to each other, we wouldn’t have these issues. We are 30 minutes apart. She doesn’t always know when work will come in, so scheduling can be difficult for her. She said that her daughter is basically stalking the neighborhood children. Stella constantly asks, “are they at home, do you think that they want to play?” Stacey tells her daughter that since the neighbor girl is constantly playing with her sister, the girl sometimes wants some alone time. Stacey told me that she was recently “bitching” to the mother of these neighborhood girls that the only person to entertain Stella was her (Stacey). The mom then started complaining that all her daughters do is fight and annoy each other.

I remember EVERY summer being like this growing up. It pretty much sucked. It was like people disappear during the summer, and return again on Labor Day. I totally feel for my son, and want him to have a great childhood with no regrets. I guess we need to pack his summer full next year. He did go to Las Vegas last week with my parents and had a great time.

So if your child have friends who are only children, remember this. And parents of only children, we need to unite. That only child wants to play with you, please give them a call. And people don’t use the excuse that I am a working mom. I work a unique schedule. I can re-arrange things and take time off.

Now, I’m off to 24Hour Fitness, because I am fat, and I need to entertain my child….

Filed Under: Just Julie, Parenting 19 Comments

Shattered

July 25, 2011

I have a major addiction. Really, there is no way to get around it. It is a constant, nagging at me, almost constantly beeping. It is my iPhone. We are kindred spirits. I love it. It is always by my side. It is the last thing I touch before I go to bed at night.

And then, this happened….

I could see it in slow motion. I was walking down the hallway. Someone came out around the corner. I looked up, and it fell out of my hand. I’ve dropped my iPhone before. I have a sturdy case around it. But this time, it was different. I instantly knew this was bad. My iPhone hit the flat surface, straight down, on the front (glass) side. I could hear the vibrations from the glass. I could see the spider web effect from the cracking.

And then the thinking started. How much was it going to cost? When would I have time to fix it? Why did you not have the phone put away?

But I knew it was bound to happen. My husband has had a cracked screen on his iPhone before. I knew I was due. I’ve had iPhones for almost three years with not even a tiny scratch. Luckily, I was able to get an appointment at The Apple Store. The “Genius” was super-duper nice. I may have told him that I was slightly freaking out. That this phone was my lifeline. That I was a photographer, and gasp, a blogger. He just smiled. I’m sure that he sees crazies like me all the time.

And then it was replaced. For a VERY low cost.

You have no idea how happy I was. Right before I went into the Apple Store, the screen started shattering more. While I was writing this post, I showed my husband the picture. He responded with, “ohh that was bad, really bad.”

Filed Under: Just Julie, Photography 21 Comments

Project 365: Week 29

July 23, 2011

I survived Carmaggedon and went to a bridal shower last Sunday. Of course, Monday morning, I woke up with laryngitis. As in I could not talk. Do you know how hard it is to parent a wild and crazy 6 year old at the pool, without talking? It drove me crazy. I just got worse as I took my parents and my son to the airport on Tuesday. I was sick all day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. At night, I annoyed my husband with craft projects, while I marched around in pink shoes. I felt a little better on Friday, while I trimmed, well hacked at a bush in my backyard. While on my sick bed, I kept looking out at the busy. It drove me crazy to see all the bees and spiders coming out of it.

Project 365 197/365: Emily Post “Etiquette” is one of my traditional bridal shower gifts. Shower tomorrow.