Guest Post on Mom*Tog

July 7, 2011

What? Why are you here? Did you think that there would be something interesting to read here today? Well there’s not! Go and enjoy summer and the sun. I don’t want to hear the complaints during wintertime about the snow, etc. Ok, I’m totally kidding. Of course, I have some of my usual awesomeness for you to read.

Today, I’m over at Mom*tog posting about “Your Best Camera”. DrewB, a fabulous local photographer, and owner of Mom*tog is enjoying herself in Maui and I’m trying not to be jealous. Seriously, Drew needs to stop posting fabulous photos on Twitter!

So go on….head on over to Mom*tog so you can learn a little about taking photographs. Find out about my specialty.

Filed Under: Blogging, Photography 2 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: A Holiday Sunset

July 6, 2011

The 4th of July was a busy day. Angry Kid and I left the house at 6:45am to do a 5K run, watched a parade, and then attended a party at a friend of my husband’s. I was tired. I am usually snapping dozens of pictures, but my DSLR sat on the table. Angry Husband glanced up at the sunset and told me that I should take a picture. Gee thanks, dude. I was trying to play with my settings, etc. to get the perfect shot. I was getting extremely frustrated so I whipped out my iPhone.

I was rather pleased with myself after I took this photo. I looked at the photos from my DSLR later, and my iPhone photo was so much better. It is always good to have a second camera, even if it is your cellphone. It was seriously the longest day ever, but we had some great times.

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. Rachel {at} Mommy Needs a Vacation	2. Ms. Latina in NYC	3. Cathi	4. My Organized Chaos {LINKY}	5. Motherhood Unadorned w Linky
6. Kristi @ Live & Love Out Loud *LINKY	7. CREATE WITH JOY w/LINKY	8. Crazy About My Baybah {Linky}	9. Karen @ Time Crafted	10. Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional
11. Alysha (Supermom) W/LINKY	12. michelle @ this little light	13. Me, Him and the Cats	14. EdT.	15. sweetest.smile
16. By Word of Mouth Musings	17. Yvonne @ Socrates Book Review Blog	18. Hair Bows & Guitar Pick	19. Harriet-LINKY	20. MAMA TO 4 BLESSINGS W/ LINKY
21. AlwaysBackroads	22. jenni from the blog LINKY	23. Lolli @ Better in Bulk LINKY	24. Amy@Coffee with the Mrs.	25. The Info Mouse w/ Linky o
26. Carly	27. Misadventures with Andi	28. MY BIRTHDAY ::Marvelous Mommy Linky::	29. CanCan	30. Martin Mommy
31. the mom diggity	32. Deb @ WebSavvyMom.com	33. Home of OHM	34. Annie @ mama dweeb *linky	35. Sarah @ OneStarryNight
36. Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas w/linky	37. sobeit	38. Tractor Mom	39. Kim @ This Belle Rocks	40. Rhino Beetle {linky}
41. Planet of the Apels - Dog House	42. Stoopmama	43. ciaran	44. accordin gto kelly	45. Jen (Sticky Note Queen)
46. Happiness @ Squashed Mom	47. Just Another Mom of Twins	48. Minimal Mom	49. Because I'm the Mommy	50. Wendy

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Filed Under: Holidays, Photography, Wordless Wednesday 31 Comments

Joy Through Running Together

July 5, 2011

I’ve been quite of a slacker on working out and running for the past year. I blame it all on stress, but really I’m the one to blame. I make excuse after excuse on why I can’t go to the gym, run, etc. About a month ago, I signed up to run a half marathon race in January. I made that commitment to myself. Of course, I completely freaked out about running in the past week or so. I actually ran four days in a row, and even did a 5K run on the 4th of July.

The best part about running the Surf City 5K today, was Angry Kid also ran the Kid’s Race. I kept asking him if he wanted to run, and he could never commit. Angry Husband even told me a few days ago that Angry Kid did not want to run on the 4th of July. Well on Sunday, I went to get my race packet and Angry Kid decided to run the Kid’s Race, a 1/2 mile. I signed Angry Kid up and got his Official Race Number.

I had my mom take this picture with my iPhone before my 5K Race started. You should have seen her trying to figure out my iPhone and the camera function. It was hilarious, but the picture turned out great. Angry Kid was super excited to run the Kid’s Run, and he was also excited for me to run my race.

I pushed myself during my run (wow, I have gotten a little slow in my downtime), and made it back before the Kid’s Race. The announcer was soo great. He told the kid’s that if they passed the Police Motorcycles whom were leading the race, that the kid’s would get to keep the motorcycle. Angry Kid wanted to win a motorcycle to give to me or his daddy. It was too cute. He ran as fast as he could. It was a great day because Angry Kid and I had a bonding moment over running the races.

It brought so much joy to see my son get the medal at the end of the race, and to see him all ready to run the race. We were a great team.

I’d like to hear about your moment of joy! Share your story and upload a photo (optional), and in return Shutterfly will gift you $5 off your next photo book to commemorate life’s joyous moments, and you”ll be entered for a chance to win a $200 Shutterfly Gift card.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Shutterfly. The opinions and text are all mine. Offer valid for $5 off one photo book order and valid for one-time redemption per member. Taxes, shipping and handling will apply. BlogFrog hosted gift card contest live from June 17th to July 14th. A winner will be randomly chosen and announced on July 18th. All participants remain the copyright holder of their photos.

Filed Under: Holidays, Just Julie, Parenting, Photography

Happy 4th of July

July 4, 2011

Happy 4th of July!!!

Angry Kid and I are running this morning in the Surf City 5K and Kid’s Run in Huntington Beach. I haven’t ran a race since 2009. We went and got our race information yesterday, and Huntington Beach was already crowded. In between cleaning and baking tonight, I laid out our outfits for today’s run.

I’m wearing a tank top from Target (fancy) and a Red Team Sparkle Skirt. Angry Kid is wearing shorts and a tank top from Gymboree.

My Sunday night was spent baking and doing laundry. I baked another two dozen red/white/blue cupcakes, which I will frost tomorrow afternoon. And of course, some yummy Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies from Picky Palate.

And because it was a busy weekend, I thought I would share some more photos.

Angry Kid yesterday afternoon in Huntington Beach. He’s a badass with his ice cream.

And while mommy is at work, Angry Husband took the kid out to the desert with his friends. Angry Husband’s friends gave the kid some proper training.

I hope everyone has a great holiday!!! Stay safe!!!

Filed Under: Holidays, Just Julie, Orange County 1 Comment

Project 365: Week 26

July 2, 2011

Can you believe it? I’ve made it halfway!!!! I’m giving myself a pat on the back for this one. Twenty-Six weeks of Project 365 so far!Summer…well summer is BUSY!!!! Entertaining kid, work, etc…takes up all my time. But I’ve had some great times hanging with friends lately. I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Project 365 176/365: Lunch at Panera, BBQ Chicken Salad.

Project 365 177/365: Things on my coffee table #Warhammer figures.

Project 365 178/365: The kid is ready for the pool. He’s stylish with his shades.

Project 365 179/365: I bought @Sanrio Hello Kitty fabric today for my next project. No time to start it today.

Project 365 180/365: Pink cupcakes with cream cheese buttercream icing….yum.

Project 365 181/365: 3 doz. red, white, & blue rainbow cupcakes with cream cheese buttercream frosting. All gone already.

Project 365 182/365: Helicopters…

Filed Under: Orange County, Photography, Project 365 3 Comments

Friday Favorites: Roller Skating

July 1, 2011

When was the last time that you went roller skating? Seriously, I went roller skating all the time in elementary school. But as an adult, well….

On Wednesday night, I went to Holiday Skate Center in Orange for an impromptu birthday celebration for Kelly. Carrie had this brilliant idea and it was all organized within 24 hours. She even suggested wearing costumes. Apparently, this is all the rage, because almost everyone was wearing some kind of unique outfit, and even the guys dressed up.

We had a great group of dedicated roller skating divas among us: Kelly, Carrie, Elise, Elizabeth, Lisa (not a blogger type), and me.

Photo via Carrie. Pictured: Kelly, me, Elise, Lisa, and Elizabeth.

I felt a bit awkward using rented old school lace-up roller skates. It had been so long since I’ve worn a pair. It was too funny seeing all of us growing women, all moms, and one mom-to-be, skating. There were some people at Holiday Skate Center that I called “the regulars”. They were really showing off, which made me laugh. I had to channel my inner twelve-year-old self from 1987 to remember all those rad skills. Unfortunately, I don’t have rad skills now, and I didn’t in 1987 either.

We even snacked on some birthday dessert. I brought pink cupcakes that I had made earlier that day.

I think Carrie would make an awesome Roller Derby Gal, don’t you? She already has the “mean face” down. Kelly is smiles as always. But really, Kelly was quite awesome on the rink. Such a show off!

We had a fun time, and I didn’t break any bones. Seriously, my mom was worried that I was going to break my arm or leg. She called me immediately on Thursday morning to see if I survived. I told her that I was a bit sore, but nothing was bruised or broken.

I told Angry Husband that we had a fun time and might go again. Ironically he was really supportive and kept telling me that roller skating was a great workout. I nodded and told him, “yes” but I wasn’t wearing stinky rental skates again. I’m sure Elizabeth will agree with me on that one.

I am very excited though, because now I have my own Official Team Sparkle skirt. Doesn’t the red look fabulous with my cropped jeans and roller skates?

Our next challenge? We all want to learn how to roller skate backwards!

Filed Under: Just Julie, Orange County, Photography 10 Comments