Angry Julie Monday

Project 365: Week 48

December 2, 2011

I am entering Week 49 of this challenge tomorrow. I’m shocked that I lasted so long. I am currently attempting to learn how to sew, along with decorating for Christmas, moving around our Elf on the Shelf each night, and opening our Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar each day.

Our Holiday Cards arrive on Monday, and I think I’m ready to assemble them and send them out. I just need to get a few more addresses. I’ve done the majority of my Christmas shopping, and I just need to figure out what I want. My husband and mom keep asking me, and I have absolutely no clue.

Project 365 330/365: Brand new sewing machine. I have absolutely no clue on what I’m doing. Craft challenged.

Project 365 331/365: Angry Kid making an owl mask at @Patchworkshow today.

Project 365 332/365: My dog is sound asleep outside under our dryer vent. She is probably snoring too. The life of a dog.

Project 365 333/365: Faux tree is coming together. I fluffed it for an hour tonight. Someone, I mean me, is allergic to real trees.

Project 365 334/365: I wonder if my neighbors would mind a flock of pink light-up flamingos in my front yard for the Holidays? They would fit in nicely with our eclectic Griswold theme we have going on. #Christmas

Project 365 335/365: Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar: Day 1. Republic Frigate. #starwars #adventcalendar

Project 365 336/365: Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar: Day 2. Nute Gunray. A Neimoidian from the planet Neimoidia. #starwars #adventcalendar

Filed Under: Photography, Project 365 3 Comments

Million Moms Challenge, Being Prepared

December 2, 2011

As a mother, I have all sorts of advice to give. Whether it be good or bad. I have being participating in the Million Moms Challenge for the past three months as a contributor. This month’s topic is about “Tips For Raising A Healthy Baby”.

I wrote about my son, Angry Kid, having several febrile seizures starting at sixteen months old. As parents, Angry Husband and I learned to be prepared for the worst, and being keen observants of our son’s behaviors.

Please join me in the conversation and my story over at the Million Moms Challenge Site: Prevention and Being Prepared Is My Mantra.

Show your support for the Million Moms Challenge by liking MMC on Facebook.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Million Moms Challenge. The opinions and text are all mine.

Filed Under: Blogging, Parenting 1 Comment

Long-Term Planning For Your Future

November 30, 2011

My husband and I have been married for thirteen years. We both have had our careers for almost that same amount of time. My husband has a 401K, while I have a pension and deferred compensation. But I constantly question myself, is that enough?

I feel that sometimes we live paycheck to paycheck, and it is somewhat scary to think of the future. Although we have a good healthcare policy right now, the co-pays for doctor visits and prescriptions are getting more expensive each year. Plus, our son is six years old and he has had some health issues throughout his life.

My parents are still working with my mom retired from her long term career and my dad still working. I see my mom constantly juggling between two health insurance policies and the expenses. What will it be like when we are older?

With our current economy, we are all struggling to get by. We constantly are looking to cut our budgets and the “extras” in our lives. How will this impact our future? Will we be ok? Will our savings be enough? Will we have health insurance? These are the things and questions that are currently going through my mind. I plan to discuss some of these things with our accountant at the beginning of the year.

My grandmother passed away seven years ago. My mom was her only child. Luckily, my grandmother was very frugal with her money, and had a savings built-up. A few months before she died, she was diagnosed with cancer, and was in-an-out of the hospital several times. She finally came home from the hospital and was put on 24-hour Hospice Care. Our family lived over an hour away, so my mom had to hire a Hospice Nurse. It cost her several thousand dollars to make the arrangements, and unfortunately, my grandmother passed away within a week.

My friends, Janice and Susan, over at 5 Minutes for Mom have invited me to participate in a campaign with with Genworth Financial. This campaign is to raise awareness among moms about the importance of taking an active role in planning for their financial futures. I think as parents and families, we need to take a closer look at these things and our futures.

Do you have a plan for your long-term finances? Have you discussed this with your family?

Disclosure: This sponsored post is part a series we and several other bloggers are writing for Genworth Financial to raise awareness amongst moms about the importance of taking an active role in planning for our financial futures. To find out more about long term care planning or to talk to a financial professional visit Genworth Financial.

Filed Under: Reviews 4 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Family Photo Shoot with DrewB

November 30, 2011

In early April, I contacted a fabulous and somewhat local photographer, DrewB, about scheduling an appointment for Fall/Holiday photographs for our family. We last took family photos in 2009, and it was time for some new ones. Drew was able to get me an appointment in October. She said that she was actually booked up for Fall already, in April. Because really, she is THAT GOOD!

I was lucky to meet Drew in person a few weeks after I had booked the appointment. We were both attending a craft night party. Drew and I both agreed that we were not good with glue guns, and that we should stick with taking photos. Although Drew makes some very tasty cupcakes in a jar.

I first saw Drew’s photos on Julie’s website. Drew’s photos of Julie’s family are always amazing. So you can image how nervous I was about this photo shoot. I completely freaked out about what we would be wearing and where we would take our photographs. Like everything else in my life, I should trust my instincts and just wait till last minute panic. I am a complete procrastinator and I do things better when I’m stressed out. I bought my husband at least five different shirts to wear and ended up returning them. I searched online for the perfect dress/skirt/outfit for me. But in the end; my dress was borrowed, cardigan from my closet, shoes from e-bay, and the boys’ shirts were from Old Navy. We went to the Orange County Great Park to take our photos. You can view the rest of our photo session on DrewB’s blog.

I think our photos turned out amazing. Angry Husband was not into any of my “great ideas” prior to the photos, but Drew was able to work her magic. And of course, my son was a total model for the camera. He would do anything that Drew told him to do, me not so much. Seriously, I am a complete photo snob now. After having these photos done, and see Drew’s work prior, I’m a bit obsessed about future photos.

I had a hard time figuring out which photo to do for our Holiday cards. The photo I selected is not pictured below. I wanted that to be a surprise. I will be posting our Holiday card in a few weeks. I hope to do some kind of Holiday card link-up also.

Photo by DrewB Photography
Photo by DrewB Photography
Photo by Drew B Photography
Photo by DrewB Photography
Photo by DrewB Photography
Photo by DrewB Photography
Photo by DrewB Photography

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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.

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

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

And, I can’t forget Krystina from Lollipops whom does “What I Love Wednesday” every week with a great big link-up.

Filed Under: Just Julie, Orange County, Photography, Wordless Wednesday 39 Comments

Cookie Exchange Party Ideas

November 29, 2011

I have been invited to two Cookie Exchange Parties during the month of December. For one of the parties, I have to bring NINE dozen cookies. They have to be homemade and have flour in them. Yikes!!! The only family recipe that I have is for sugar cookies, the kind you frost. I mean those are amazing, but I need something brilliant. I’m currently searching blogs and of course, my BFF, Pinterest.

Here are some of the pretty Cookie Ideas that I have found so far:

Image via sprinkle bakes

Colorful Spiral Cookies

Image via Glorious Treats

Let It Snow Cookies

Image via Recipe Girl

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

Do you have any suggestions? Please share in the comments below!!

Filed Under: Holidays, In The Home, Just Julie 18 Comments

Disneyland During The Holidays

November 28, 2011

We recently went to Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure for a fun day to check out all the festivities that they have going on for The Holiday Season. Honestly, when Disneyland is decorated for the Holidays, it is my favorite time of the year. We headed into Disney’s California Adventure first.

Of course, everyone in my family was hungry so we to Taste Pilots’ Grill for lunch. My husband and son love going to Taste Pilots’ Grill. We always go there when we are at California Adventure. After filling ourselves up with food, we headed towards our first ride, Toy Store Mania!. Along the way, we passed these really neat giant postcards advertising the new Cars Land which will be open next year. Cars Land is going to be huge, 12 acres.

After taking the scenic route, we made it to Toy Story Mania. Angry Kid always puts on the 3D glasses and acts like a crazy kid. Here he is posing with his glasses on.

After going on Toy Story Mania!, we walked through California Adventure and headed towards the main gate of Disneyland. Angry Husband, his friend, and Angry Kid headed towards The Haunted Mansion while I met some fellow bloggers so that we could go on a scavenger hunt throughout Disneyland. I teamed up with Ciaran of Momfluential, Caryn of RockinMama, Suz of Alive in Wonderland and OCFamily, Lisa of Babes in Disneyland, Shelby of Glitterful Felt Stories and especially to Heather of The Disney Food Blog.

My teammates and I set off for quite an adventure. A large majority of our scavenger hunt involved us taking pictures of things on our list, and tweeting them out on Twitter. Unfortunately, my iPhone was at 52% battery left, which can go very fast, so I assisted on finding things on our list, rather than tweeting. Later that day, I set off on my own scavenger hunt, looking for wall outlets to charge my iPhone. I brought my 10-foot iPhone charging cord, which made things a little easier. Before, we went on the hunt for some of the things on our list, we did some strategizing.

Caryn, Lisa, and Heather answering some of the questions on our scavenger hunt list. We tried to get the easy stuff done first. Disneyland Trivia went fast with our Disney Savvy Group. Ironically, we named our group, The Winners. After doing our preliminary tasks, we headed on our way. It turned into quite an adventure, almost like our very own Amazing Race, throughout Disneyland, of course. Ciaran did a great job of organizing all of the photos during the hunt. And the best part, we found out later that night, that we were THE WINNERS!

Photo by Ciaran aka Momfluential.

While we were on the Scavenger Hunt, I was able to snap some photographs of the Holiday Decor at Disneyland with my DSLR. Since we went throughout the park, I got some great photographs.

My view of the Christmas Tree at the beginning of Main St. USA. This tree is over 60-feet tall, decorated with more than 2,000 ornaments, including the three-foot star on top, and has nearly 4,800 energy-efficient LED lights.

Santa’s Reindeer Round-Up at Frontierland Ranch. They have real live and somewhat frisky reindeer, along with Santa and Ms. Claus. Santa is available for photographs, and we may have gotten a group shot with Santa during our Scavenger Hunt. The reindeer were partaking in some reindeer games, which in this case would be, getting angry with each other and fighting. I wouldn’t want to be in the middle of these animals. Although most of them were just hanging out.

Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle is decorated with Holiday wreaths and ornaments and coated with “snow” at the top. The nighttime Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle light show is divided into three “acts” over the course of the evening. Each one begins at the Castle and travels the length of Main Street, U.S.A., finishing at the Town Square Christmas tree. Each act features a magical snowfall, and the final act concludes with “Believe…in Holiday Magic” fireworks. The nighttime light show employs more than 200,000 points of light, 2,600 individual circuits and more than 85,000 individual wiring connections. Can you believe how much work goes into the nighttime activities at Disneyland? Wait, until you see my pictures at the end of this post!

I was able to catch the end of the Christmas Fantasy Parade but I was unable to get photographs, because people were standing in front of me, and I caught the tail end of it, near It’s A Small World. I love this parade because of the roller skating snowflakes. I love to watch the girls aka snowflakes, spin around. I know it sounds cheesy, but it just reminds me of how special Disneyland is, during the Holidays. Since I did not get photographs this year, I went back into my archives. I took some photos in 2009 of the parade, and I re-edited them. My photos are quite scary. I have improved quite a bit with my photography in the past two years.

After going on a few more rides, and charging my iPhone, we headed over to Disney’s California Adventure for a private dinner. The Angry Family was tired, and needed to rest our feet. Of course, I got some good photo opportunities while we were at dinner. And the dinner, was AMAZING. Angry Husband and his friend, Jayson, were stuffed from eating so much.

A family portrait. Love the background with Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Green screen of course.

Some crafts Angry Kid made.

And my newest friends, Phineas and Ferb.

After a very filling dinner, we headed back to Disneyland to view the Believe… in Holiday Magic” Fireworks Show. We centered ourselves in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, for the fireworks performance. I may have posted about some obstacles that I had to overcome while watching the fireworks. I love the “snow” at the end. That is really the best part.

Aren’t those fireworks just breathtaking? I love them all!!! After such a long day, we headed home. Of course, I had to get one last photo. I love the lighted trees in Downtown Disney.

It seems like I covered mostly everything about Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure during the Holidays, but I didn’t. There are so many events going on at the parks with the attractions, entertainment, shopping, and dining that I can’t name them all. Please go to Disneyland’s site for more information about The Holidays at Disneyland and also, the Disney Parks Blog.

Disclosure: I received tickets and a invitation to a special event hosted by Disneyland. I was not paid any cash. All opinions are mine. I would also like to thank Traveling Mom for organizing the scavenger hunt.

Filed Under: Holidays, Orange County, Parenting 5 Comments

Project 365: Week 47

November 26, 2011

Last Saturday, we went to Disneyland all day, and enjoyed all of their Holiday events. We had a great time. My post about Disney will be up this week. On Sunday, Angry Kid and I were exhausted, so we just hung out at the house. We started prepping our decorations for Christmas early in the week. On Thanksgiving Day, I had to work so Angry Husband cooked. He sent me pictures of the food. And I was a crazy person and went to Macy’s at 12am with my mom on Black Friday, just to get more Fiestware pieces…CAH-RAAAAZY!

Project 365 323/365: Angry Kid is too cool with his 3D glasses for the Toy Story Ride. #disneyholidays

Project 365 324/365: Playing Monopoly Junior with my little gamer.

Project 365 325/365: I went with the romantic theme for my @dominos pizza tracker.

Project 365 326/365: Christmas Decor Prep is underway. All categorized: outdoor decor, indoor decor, and Christmas tree stuff. Husband is on a mission. #Griswolds

Project 365 327/365: Love this wreath that I saw at @TaiPanTrading aka TPT Home. Gorgeous!

Project 365 328/365: Husband texting me meal progress. The Creamy Mashed Potatoes via @thepioneerwoman’s recipe. Yum!

Project 365 329/365: Yawn….Peacock Fiestaware for me while everyone else is buying rice cookers? #blackfriday

Filed Under: Holidays, Orange County, Photography, Project 365 1 Comment

Turkeys Go Wild

November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

I worked during the day today. It went very slow. I came home and dinner was almost ready. Hello perfection. No fighting in the kitchen. No trips to the grocery store. I sat down and was immediately served food. My husband even did the dishes…frightening…

Angry Kid did some drawing and art last night. These umm turkeys have some bright tail feathers. I can totally see the next popular videos series, “Turkeys Go Wild”, which will be the animal version of “Girls Gone Wild”. I think we’ve got a hit on our hands.

I hope everyone had a good day.

I “think” my mom and I might be heading to Macy’s at midnight. Yes, we are crazy! But after our dinner tonight, I decided that I need to ditch my burgundy Fiestaware plates. As Julie says, “Peace out burgundy. You mess up the whole vibe.”

Filed Under: Holidays, Parenting 2 Comments