Angry Julie Monday

Hello Monday…It Has Been Awhile

September 23, 2013

Hello Monday!

Hello to the start of a new week!

Hello to bad things happening last week.

I miss-judged a pole in my work parking lot and hit it. Dumb! Luckily that portion of my bumper is soft plastic. My husband banged most of the dent out. I still have some scratches on my bumper but it doesn’t look as bad as it did before.

So ya, this happened today. I'm an idiot. And I obviously need more sleep!

Hello hydration!

I’ve not been drinking a ton of water lately. I had to amp it up! I bought a 40 oz. Hydro Flask so that I could be cool like my husband and all his friends. But I have to admit, this container always stays cool. I used to use a Sigg water bottle before I got this one. My water did not stay cold. I also use Nuun in my water.

Morning routine. Filling up the 40 oz. @hydroflask with watermelon @nuunhydration. Just received a huge order of watermelon after I freaked out that it was going away! #hydroflask #nuun #workdaymusthydrate

Hello Panera Bread salad!

Hello Apple iOS7!

I waited patiently until it was promptly 11am the other day so that I could get a salad at bbq chicken salad at Panera Bread.

I downloaded the new Apple iOS7 for my iPhone5 last week also. They added filters into their stock camera function. I used the these filters on this picture. I think the color is very rich and perfect for this photo.

I went and looked at a lot of tips, tricks, and tutorials about iOS7 online this weekend. I’m not so confused about the features any more and I’m very pleased with it. I am helping friends and co-workers to figure out the changes on their phones also.

My husband got the iPhone 5s and he loves it!

Early lunch @PaneraBread today. Starving!

Hello sandbox mischief!

We live relatively close to a park. My son loves to dig holes over there. Well he dug the hole so big over the weekend, that he could sit in it with the sand around it at his shoulder level. I just knew that this was going to cause trouble.

Sure enough the next day, while he was digging in the sand with his friends, the HOA people came by. I went to the front yard of our house and grabbed the shovel. You can only guess who filled in the hole! The HOA employees went on and on about someone falling in the hole, etc. Sigh….

My son's job this week is to apparently piss off our HOA. He has been digging huge holes in the sand at the park nearby.

Hello arm party!

I have a thing for wearing bracelets. I had to add a new one to my collection. I added the black leather “As I run. As I run, the universe is running with me” from Endorphin Warrior this past week. I then have my Boston tribute bracelet, GoSportID, paracord bracelet, and “Conquer” bracelet from Endorphin Warrior, and “Sparkle On” one that I got made at Walt Disney World. Oh yes, I have more. I just don’t wear them all at once.

Arm party going on. New black @endorphinwarrior bracelet, @GoSportID bracelet plus Boston bracelet, paracord bracelet, old @endorphinwarrior bracelet and some Sparkle On! #armparty #armcandy #runningbracelets

Hello to a new week!

Hello to hockey playoffs for my son’s summer season!

Hello to keeping up with the chaos of homework, school, and back-to-school night this week!

As always, I’m going to try and blog some more. I just need to fit it in with working, keeping organized, laundry, cleaning, homework for the kid, running, and whatever else comes my way!

Oh, and I have a 5K race next Sunday also! EEEK! It’s been awhile since I’ve ran a 5K race!

What do you have planned this week? Is it starting to feel like fall for you?

Linking up with Lisa Leonard and her weekly “Hello Monday” series!

Filed Under: Just Julie, Orange County, Parenting, Photography, Running Leave a Comment

Operation Pixie-Cut Grow Out: Two Years Later

September 17, 2013

This post is over a month late, but August was quite a hectic month. In August of 2011, I decided that I was finally done with short hair. This was my second time growing out my short hair, but I’ve never let it get this long.

I’m proud to say that I’ve been growing my hair out for TWO years now! Woot! And I’ve only had some little much-needed trims in between.

I’ve known several people who have gone through this phase, or even asked, “how long does it take?” So I wanted to chronicle the entire grow-out process via photographs.

This photo was taken in August when I got my hair colored last. I go to Tera Rae Stephens for all my hair needs. She is AMAZING!

I also did a side-by-side of a picture from my last pixie cut in 2011, and last month’s photo. So you can see the before and after.

I’m an kind of an obsessive selfie taker with my iPhone. It is a good thing though, so I can show how my hair has grown the past two years. My friends Stacey and Megan make fun of me all the time for taking so many pictures of umm myself. They only know how many pictures I take, because I text the photos to them.

2011-2013

And because my hair doesn’t always look good. Believe me, I have many many bad hair days, and very few good hair days. Usually my good hair days only occur when I’ve had my hair colored and trimmed by Tera.

I obviously have a thing for hats. And I have no shame in wearing pigtails. Please laugh at me, cause I’m 37 years old, and wear my hair out in public like this!

It has been a long process. My hair is also very thick. I’ve been dealing with that lately. I have to keep my hair up for work, and I’m starting to break rubber bands because my hair is soooo thick. So hence, the pigtails are here to stay!

I also did a post in 2012, to show my hair at the one year mark. There is quite a difference between 2012-2013.

If you are wondering what type of hair products I use: Pantene shampoo, Tangle Teezer for pulling out the knots in my hair, and random water wax (whatever is on sale) to straighten my hair and control the frizz.

I have many days where I want to cut off my hair again. MANY MANY DAYS! But I’m still growing it out. I want to see how long it will get before it makes me insane.

Have you grown out your hair from a short hair cut?

Do you have any suggestions?

Filed Under: Just Julie, Photography 26 Comments

iTry Triathlon, My Race Volunteer Experience

September 16, 2013

So the day before I was leaving on a week long camping trip, I got up at the crack of dawn….um 4am-something. I somehow also forced my friend, Kelly, to get up with me.

I (We) had volunteered to help out/volunteer at the iTRYathlon Women’s and Youth Triathlon. There are always a ton of races and events that I want to do, but I never have enough time. I figured that it was about time that I pay it forward and volunteer at a race.

Kelly and I were in the transition areas for the triathlon. She monitored the area where the runners were coming in, and I monitored the bike area. I helped manage the athletes get on their bikes, and also when they came in from the bike ride.

Before the race even started, I helped wrangle the athletes and parents in the bike set-up area with Kelly and other volunteers.

It took a lot of work and even some strong words with people to get everyone situated. Athletes and runners, be nice to the volunteers cause they put up with a lot of flack from people. We (They) just want to make sure everyone is safe, and the race flows smoothly.

@according2kelly pouring water at the 2013 iTRYathlon

It was a little cold that morning while we were helping prep before the race. Kelly had my jacket on under her shirt along with a blanket that I keep in the back of my car. She was a trooper pouring the water, even while she was shivering from the cold.

The racks looked a little chaotic before everyone even started. Many if not most of the athletes are first time triathletes. So I assisted people with setting up their bike and gear while I was working in the bike transition.

This was my staging area during the race, the bike transition. I took the photo post-race but it pretty much looked like this during the race. Just imagine several volunteers in bright yellow t-shirts assisting the athletes.

I had a great spot during the race, and I was able to see many of my friends at the beginning and/or end of their transition.

Heather aka @hmgiraffy heading towards T1 at the iTRYathlon

Check out Heather, first-time triathlete, heading towards T1 with her bike. What a rockstar!

@FasterBunny at T2 at the 2013 iTRYathlon

Margot who was also a first time triathlete going through T2 (Transition 2), and getting ready to head into the swimming pool.

@stridingmom at T2 at the 2013 iTRYathlon

Sheila who might just be a little crazy was also doing the race. I caught her at several points during the race but this was my favorite photo of her. Why do I say that she’s crazy? Well not only was she doing the triathlon but all three of her son’s were also participating in the events! One of her sons, along with Sheila placed 2nd in their age divisions! How awesome is that?

Happy Volunteers @renegaderace #itryathlon today! @according2kelly and I glowing with happiness...oh wait it's just the neon shirts! #volunteer #renegaderaces

Kelly and I were able to get a photo together at the end of the race. We were both VERY exhausted plus we were starving. We survived though.

Volunteering at a race is a ton of work, but also a ton of fun! I was able to take some pictures of my athlete friends and kids while I was standing at my post. These were pictures that they might not otherwise get/take. When I got home, I sent all of the pictures out via email.

While I was volunteering, I got yelled at a lot, but I also yelled back. I like to call this “information and instructional” yelling. When the kid’s triathlon was ending, I was moved toward the end of T2 where the parents were standing to cheer on their kids. It got a bit crowded and the parents overflowed into the roadway, cause a bit of chaos for the kids riding their bikes. I politely told everyone to get back on the sidewalk area. I might have had to get a little loud and forceful with the crowd during this time, but they did COMPLY, so something worked.

I honestly recommend volunteering and would do it again! But like I said, standing around in the heat all day causes exhaustion. And hunger, very bad hunger, which is almost similar to runger…which is hunger from running.

I’m not sure if I’m ready to do a triathlon yet. I’m not the best swimmer and my biking well….needs some assistance. So I think I will stick with the running thing for awhile…

A special thanks to Renegade Racing for letting me have this opportunity!

Have you volunteered at a race or athletic event before? Would you do it again? Have you ever done a triathlon?

Filed Under: Blogging, Just Julie, Orange County, Running 5 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: First Day of Third Grade

September 11, 2013

Yesterday was my son’s first day of school. He started third grade. Yes, his school district started really really really late!

First Day of School. FINALLY! Third grade!

Paper sign from Designs By Nicolina.

And my kid, he doesn’t even look like himself in this picture. So odd. Maybe because he is smiling so big!

I even got him to take a photo with me. Let’s see how long that lasts!

And to see how much he’s grown. I made a little collage of photographs from the first day of kindergarten through third grade.

First Day of School-Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade

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, Crazy About My Baybah, Dear Crissy, Five Minutes For Mom, Live and Love…Out Loud, Sarah Halstead, Parenting By Dummies, Seven Clown Circus, The Divine Miss Mommy

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

Filed Under: Back2School, Just Julie, Orange County, Parenting, Photography, Wordless Wednesday 9 Comments

CuppaKim’s Annual Mug Swap 2013

September 8, 2013

This is my second year participating in Kim’s aka CuppaKim Mug Swap! I was so excited to hear that it was that time again! I got super excited. And then I realized that I had to have my package mailed out right before I left on vacation! Luckily, I work well under pressure!

I was given Kristen Cheney as the person to whom I was sending a package to. I follow Kristen on Instagram and I knew that she was a runner like me. Which it pretty exciting! I also found out that she likes to bake. So I ummm went a bit overboard when I sent out my package.

I went shopping at Daiso which is a local Japanese store and picked up some fun baking goodies, a mug, and other miscellaneous items. I also added in some Nuun because I’m a huge fan of Nuun, and everyone should stay hydrated!

While I was gone on vacation, I received an awesome package from Tegan. She sent a fun box with a turquoise sparkly cup, fun straws, and Starbucks Refreshers! You know that I love sparkly things! It was awesome to see this surprise when I arrived home from Yosemite! Thanks Tegan!

Super fun package that I received from @teganaubrie for @cuppakim Annual Mug Swap! Love the sparkly "mug", super cute straws, and Starbucks drink pouches! #mugswap2013

Kim was pretty awesome for organizing all of this! It was a pretty big endeavor. She posted the following stats for the swap:

Total Participants: 877
American Participants: 829
Canadian Participants: 20
International Participants: 28
Countries Represented: US, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Germany, Spain, France, Slovakia, and Turkey
States Represented: 50
Coffee Drinkers: 583
Tea Drinkers: 177
Hot Chocolate Drinkers: 108
1st Time Mug Swappers: 754
2nd Time Mug Swappers: 104
3rd Time Mug Swappers: 17

Filed Under: Blogging, Just Julie, Photography 5 Comments

Renegade Summer Trail Series #3

August 12, 2013

Obviously, I did not learn my lesson, and I signed up for a 2nd trail race within a one month time frame. In July, I did the Renegade Summer Trail Series #2, which was race 2 of the 3. I’m kinda sad that I didn’t do the first one so that I could say that I did all 3. But I did end up doing race #3 in the series on the 1st of August! Renegade Racing hosts this Summer Trail Series every summer.

But after doing my first trail race, I realized that if I was going to do more races/trail running, that I probably should get some trail shoes. I went with Brooks of course. I usually wear Brooks PureFlow 2 as my current running shoe, so I wanted a trail shoe that had a similar fit. So I headed to the store and came home with a pair of Brooks PureGrit 2 to run trails in! I love the color of them!

Can't wait to wear my new @brooksrunning PureGrit2 at @renegaderace Summer Trail Series #3. Yippee! #pureproject #runhappy #runoc

This time I actually got to the race in time, and didn’t have to rush to the starting line. I’m sure that made me a little less stressed. Heather found her way to the start also.We run a similar pace so it only makes sense to do the race together!

So before we started the race, Heather kept telling me that the race course would be so much easier this time. She said, that it was the opposite or reverse course from Race #2, and that we wouldn’t have all of those hills at the beginning. Umm Heather, you are a “liar liar pants on fire!” It was totally harder!

Oh look it’s a hill. It’s warm outside, even at 6pm at night. Let’s totally run up that hill! Yay, we love hills! That is what I was totally thinking when I was running this, right?

I had to get an action shot of Heather, since she was the main photographer for the last race. Look at her go in her Sparkle Athletic Skirt!

It was beautiful at the top of the hills. I had to take in all of my surroundings! It was about 6:45pm when I took this photograph. I had a perfect view of Peter’s Canyon.

If you couldn’t figure it out, there was awesome signage telling you to “run this way” along the course. Besides the people running the race, there were a ton of walkers/hikers/mountain bikers out and about on the trails that night.

Post-race obligatory blogger group photo. Heather, Me, Sheila, and Sheila’s son. Heather and I ran like gazelles that night, ok may not. But we ran race #3 three whole minutes faster than race #2, which is a total PR for us! Woot woot! And of course, Sheila is the fastest and was quite speedy!

I didn’t get to stay for the BBQ this time, unfortunately. I had to meet my family at the OC Fair. So I said my goodbyes and went on my way. I was quite impressed with myself, and the PR.

That Sunday, I actually took my husband, my son, and several of our friends out for a hike on the same course that I had ran. They really enjoyed it. Although they might have been a little too slow for me, giggle. I actually ran up the hills. Geez, what have I done with myself? Am I a trail runner now?

Renegade Racing’s next event is the iTry Series on August 24, 2013 which features a women’s and youth 5K and triathlon.

Disclosure: I was provided entry/bib for the Renegade Summer Trail Series #3. I was not compensated with cash, but rather sweat and a PR on a trail race! All photographs, and humorous opinions are mine. I’m not a professional athlete but rather a 37-year old mom who is attempting to figure out this running thing, one race at a time!

Filed Under: Just Julie, Orange County, Photography, Running, Wordless Wednesday 4 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: Thug Life

August 7, 2013

Today was “costume day” at summer camp. I thought it was “Valentine’s Day” at camp today, so we had ten minutes of chaos. We had to find a costume. This is what I came up with! The “thug life” knuckle tats were added in the camp parking lot with Sharpie.

Welcome to “Angry Julie Monday’s Wordless Wednesday Linky”!

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

Project Alicia, Better in Bulk, Crazy About My Baybah, Dear Crissy, Five Minutes For Mom, Live and Love…Out Loud, Sarah Halstead, Parenting By Dummies, Seven Clown Circus, The Divine Miss Mommy

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

Filed Under: Orange County, Parenting, Photography, Wordless Wednesday 4 Comments

The Neon Splash Dash Race Recap

August 5, 2013

Last weekend I ventured out to the Pomona Fairgrounds with Kelly to do a FUN RACE! I mean, every race is FUN right? But for this race, I left all thoughts of Garmins, finish times, and PRs out of my head. I was going to experience a race with a ton of super excited people at NIGHT!

We were going to do our first ever, Neon Splash Dash. In the pre-race email we received, we were told to wear WHITE shirts. But of course we had to add a little sparkle also.

We made ourselves some shakes for energy and headed out on our way. We also realized that you can take great selfies {self-portraits} if you position your iPhone on the dashboard of Kelly’s car, giggle!

Girl's Night = Race Night. On our way to @NeonSplashDash. We are drinking our secret formula shakes to get ready to race. #neonsplashdash #mostmagical5k #teamsparkle

Before the race, I made sure to get some neon/glow stick bracelets for the race. I ordered them from Amazon and they were perfect. I’m pretty picky about stuff and I actually read the reviews for the different types of glow stick bracelets. The package arrived super fast and came with connectors, a glow ball/flower and glow glasses kit.

Kelly and I should have started assembling the bracelets on the way to the race, but ended up doing it while walking in the parking lot. I wanted to wait to the last minute to preserve the “glow”.

Kelly and I had on similar outfits, but it was totally unplanned. We both obviously had on white tank tops, but we also wore pink Team Sparkle visors, and Team Sparkle skirts. Kelly wore a white skirt, and I wore my pink skirt. We also had on rainbow race legs and old shoes. We are pretty picky about our running shoes and we didn’t want to get glow color on our every day running shoes.

And we lined up in the corrals with everyone else and got ready to run! Everyone looks so fresh and clean with their white shirts on!

They started the race in groups to space things out and to prevent chaos. This was the group of people behind us, waiting to start the race. They looked super excited!

Team Spark Skirt Check; Neon Bracelets Check

While we were waiting to start the race, I put on several glowing bracelets on my wrists. They were super bright! Meanwhile Kelly was “cracking” the excess glow sticks to hand out to other runners in the crowd. We had 100 glow sticks which was way too many for just the two of us.

Sunset in Pomona before The Neon Splash Dash

The race started just as the sun was starting to go down. I captured this beautiful photo mid-run. You are probably wondering what type of camera did I have with me? I took my Sony Cybershot TX20, which is waterproof, so I figured that it would be perfect for the race when I took photographs while getting “splashed”.

We made it to the first “neon splash station”. The trick is to not really run through the station, because you won’t get adequate coverage. Kelly and I kinda ran through sideways and rotated around through the stations. I covered my face though because I was wearing my contact lenses and didn’t want to get anything in my eyes.

Kelly and I after the first station, we had just gotten “splashed”! It was watery, although it looked like we had been slimed.

Volunteers at The Neon Splash Dash tossing pink neon at the runners

We went through several other splash stations, but I did not capture them all. I waited at one of the last stations, pink, to get some live action photos. These volunteers looked like they were having a blast covering everyone in pink neon!

@according2kelly under the black lights at The Neon Dash

At the last part of the race, we ran through a tunnel where they had black lights hung up. It was getting crowded so they hustled everyone through. I captured this photo of Kelly taking a self-portrait in the tunnel. She definitely “glowed”.

Oh look it’s the finish line! It was so bright and colorful!

At the end of the race, they had a long series of “step and repeats” with black lights, where you could take pictures. We had fun capturing our glowing outfits. Obviously, I had none of the glow paint on my face, so you can see in the photo that my face is almost black. But look at all of the pretty neon!

Kelly and I got some fun pictures together too! She got way more neon on her than I did though. I think I may have had some “neon jealousy”!

@delovelydetails at The Neon Splash Dash

Look who we “ran into” at the race? We caught up with Nikki from Delovely Details and her husband right at the finish line. I captured this photo of them while they were taking self-portraits at the step-and-repeat.

Kelly, Nikki, and I even got a photo together showing our Team Sparkle skirts and our neon-splashed race gear!

After everyone finished the race, there was a dance party going on. A DJ was playing music and everyone was having. There were food trucks and refreshments for sale there also.

We brought extra clothes to change into post-race. I captured Kelly before she changed into her non-neon clothing. She looks so bright and colorful. We brought towels to wipe off the color too, and as usual I brought baby wipes which are good for cleaning pretty-much almost anything!

After cleaning up, we headed back to Orange County and made our way through the In-N-Out drive thru for some post race food!

My nightstand was glowing last night with all the bracelets that I was wearing during the @neonsplashdash last night. I found these bracelets/glow sticks online and they were brighter than anyone else's at the race. #neonsplashdash #mostmagical5k #neon #

Oh, and if you were wondering how long my glow bracelets last? We started them around 6:30pm, and they glowed until at least noon the next day. They were very bright glowing on the night stand next to me.

We had a blast doing the Neon Splash Dash! It was so fun to do a night race and even better with a friend! It was a great way to spend a Saturday night. I saw a ton of large groups of people, and some were even wearing matching outfits. I’m pretty much hooked on these “fun runs” and can’t wait till the next one!

Disclosure: I was provided entry to the Neon Splash Dash free of charge. All opinions and photographs are my own. I also used some affiliate links within my post, but sometimes it works and why not, cause you were probably wondering where I bought the stuff anyway!

Filed Under: Just Julie, Photography, Running 8 Comments