Angry Julie Monday

Friday Favorites #10: My 4th Blog Anniversary

June 24, 2011

Today is the day, Angry Julie Monday is FOUR years old. I can’t even believe that I’ve been rambling this long. It seems so long ago. I have evolved so much. Most of my beginning blog posts were rambles about non-sense. I am much focused now. I hope everyone keeps reading my blog for another four years or whenever!

(It is an awesome thing that I take photographs. I borrowed this photograph from my son’s 4th birthday invitation. He’s 6 now!)

And since today is Friday Favorites, I’m going to post some of my favorite blog posts from my archives. Some of them are my popular posts and some have been hidden, because they are old.

I Went To BogHer and All I Got Was This T-Shirt (August 2009)

No, I Won’t Join Your Mafia (September 2009)

I Was That Mom (September 2009)

We’ve Been Cloned (December 2009)

Our Real Simple Closet Makeover (December 2009)

Making Rainbow Cupcakes (March 2010)

Awestruck By the iPad (July 2010)

Fear and Parenting (August 2010)

Ok, that is enough links for today. Those should keep you busy for awhile. Anyway thanks for stopping by!!!

Filed Under: Blogging, Just Julie 16 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: Tanaka Farms

June 22, 2011

Angry Kid’s Kindergarten class took a fieldtrip to Tanaka Farms located here in Orange County, CA awhile ago. I went along as a volunteer, and of course, I brought my camera. I’m still trying to play catch up with all of my photos for the past year. All of the kids got to try some vegetables, and then they picked some strawberries. It was a perfect day.

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 may be a little wordy today….

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

Project Alicia, Better in Bulk, 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.

Be sure to check out their posts too. I wish I had the extra time to do all of these fabulous link-ups.

Filed Under: Orange County, Parenting, Photography, Wordless Wednesday 26 Comments

Ten Ways To Pay It Forward When Blogging

June 21, 2011

I joined in on a fun discussion on Twitter yesterday. Every Monday at 1pm PST, Crafterminds has a chat with a specific topic. Yesterday’s topic was “Promoting Other People”. I think that I spend a fair amount of time promoting other bloggers. I have a “Pay It Forward” philosophy on blogging. If I promote other people, then they will promote me in the future. I have received more blog traffic and invitations to special events via other bloggers, because I have helped promote others. We all can’t be narcissists in the blogging world.

Source: Joy’s Hope

I’ve listed TEN (10) ways that you can pay it forward, or help promote other bloggers.

1. Commenting on Blogs

I make an effort to comment on at least ten blogs a day. Some days I get a little busy and I just don’t have time. I might add a few more blog comments on days when I’m less busy. Who am I kidding? I am always busy, but I make the time and effort to do so. I use Google Reader to read and subscribe to blogs. Although I might not comment on the day something was posted, I sometimes “star” posts to go back and comment later. I have actually commented on posts almost two to three weeks later. I might have done that last week with a few of my favorite blogs.

I also comment on blog posts that are tweeted out on twitter. I read “The Twitter” a lot. If I see a great post that I want to comment on later, I email the post to myself. I loathe commenting from the iPhone. But when I get to an actual computer, I make sure to comment on that post.

And bloggers, try and reply to comments on your own blog. Your readers appreciate it! When you respond back to the comments, you create a discussion. I love using WordPress and threaded comments. It makes a conversation flow much easier. I also use a plug-in for WordPress, replyMail, that emails my comment to the person that I’m responding to. I can’t always respond to the comments every day, but I try to answer all of the questions directed towards me.

I also love the SITS Website for blogger support and comment love. They feature bloggers every day, and you show them some love with comments. The site is also great for blogging education too.

2. Twitter

I love the Twitter. Twitter is my BFF (sorry Stacey, I have an online addiction), my boyfriend, my lover, my news, and everything else all rolled into one free website. Twitter has been amazing for bloggers and promotion of their sites, posts, events, etc. I’ve found so many new and awesome websites from Twitter. I usually go by a 10-1 rule. With every tweet that I put out there, I tweet 10 other things not related to me. Because really, Twitter is not all about me.

And people who just tweet out their posts, events, etc. and don’t reply, well that is not the point of Twitter. Did you see my hint….Twitter is good for Promotion of others. So why not share the love, and RT or Tweet out some goodness for fellow bloggers. P.S. True Story, I found out about Michael Jackson’s Death on The Twitter.

3. Facebook

I have a love/hate relationship with The Facebook. I love that I can connect with people without having to make zillions of phone calls, emails, etc. I can just pop on by their wall and say “Happy Birthday” or “Cute Kid”. But I loathe and hate the drama that Facebook creates. Why wasn’t I invited to your party? Why did you un-friend me. But for blogging, that “Share on Facebook” button is genius. It is so simple to share awesome material on Facebook.

I have a personal Facebook account (locked down for the privileged few) and a Facebook Fan Page (hate the term “like page”). I have my blog posts go to my Fan Page via Networked Blogs. I also posted relevant and interesting information from other blogs, websites, etc. on my Fan Page. It is about sharing the wealth, or content.

4. Stumbleupon

StumbleUpon is an Internet community that allows its users to discover and rate Web pages, photos, and videos. It is a personalized recommendation engine which uses peer and social-networking principles. (Wikipedia). Cheryl from TidyMom wrote an AWESOME post for Crafterminds on Best StumbleUpon Tips. It is such a great tutorial with visual graphics and everything. Not only can this woman bake, but she is a genius for writing blogging tips. I’ve had great success with StumbleUpon.

I use the tool bar for Firefox on my Macbook. I also make sure that I leave a review and properly tag my stumbles. When I do this, my favorites get more views. Not every Stumble will go viral, but many of them do. I get a large amount of traffic to my blog every day from posts on my blog that are from one to two years old. You can follow me or friend me on Stumbleupon also. I go by AngryJulieMonday.

5. Pinterest

Pinterest is a virtual pin board. Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes via Pinterest. Pinterest is invite only, comment or email me if you need an invite. I love it. I used to have all of this favorites and bookmarks on three different computers. Now, I can save all of my favorite things from the web on my Pinterest Pin Boards. One of the most important things that I can suggest us to use the FULL URL or otherwise known as PERMALINK for an item when “pinning it”. People want to know where to go for that recipe, or where to buy something. Plus, you also need to make sure to give credit to the actual and original author.

This site is great for discovering new bloggers and awesome posts. I love all of the recipes and craft tutorials. It was soo beneficial when planning my son’s birthday party. Oh, and here is my account if you want to follow me on Pinterest: AngryJulie on Pinterest.

6. Featured Posts or Link-Ups

Do a round-up of featured or your favorite posts for the week. Do you have a niche blog? I love all of the craft and DIY bloggers because they have the GREATEST link-ups. I get some amazing ideas from this link-ups. I used to do Spotlight Saturdays on my blog where I would find five of my favorite blog posts of the week.

I post my Project 365 posts on Saturdays now. But I share my favorite posts on my Facebook Fan Page wall now. On Fridays, I have been doing Friday Favorites where I have been finding great ideas and topics from Pinterest. On Wednesday, I have been doing a Wordless Wednesday link-up for almost two years. But seriously, Skip To My Lou, Today’s Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, Thirty Handmade Days, Tatertots and Jello, and Whipperberry are my favorite sites for craft/DIY link parties every week.

7. Guest Posts

Having or doing guest posts is a great way to grow your blog. You are able to gain a new audience who has never seen your awesome blog before. ProBlogger has some great insights on How To Guest Post To Promote Your Blog. I’ve written some guest posts on photography, and other things. I really need to have more guest posters on my blog. I need to figure out topics or something for them to write about. It is hard to figure out guest posts for my blog, because I have a weird non-niche or random blog.

But seriously, guest posts are amazing and a breath of fresh air. Guest posts are also great to have when you are on vacation, busy, or just need a break from your regular blogging routine.

8. Tribe Groups

When you form or gather a group of other bloggers to form a tribe, you become a superpower. Seriously! It is always nice to have people who “have your back”. I have several people whom are bloggers that I can toss ideas around with, email, or even call to complain to. These people get me. I have my tribe mates on Skype, Twitter, and on Facebook. I love the private groups that you can create on Facebook. This has been awesome for networking with like minded individuals. I’ve found some great online articles from Michaele Harrington and SITS Girls. I also am a big fan of forums and message boards. I started off blogging because of interactions on a message board.

I have sent and received emails from other blogging friends that have wording such as: “Can you please RT my last post on Twitter, Can you stumble this (with link), Can you send this around to your friends.” Really, it doesn’t hurt to ask. If you send it to a group of ten people, at least 1-2 people will follow through.

9. Social Media Icons

PLEASE put some kind of place to contact you or social media icons on your site. I want to be able to email you, put your RSS Feed in my reader, Tweet you, Facebook You, etc. Bloggers love Social Media Site Icons because it makes things easier. I have my social media networking links on the top of my right sidebar on my blog. I have my RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr Accounts linked. I also have a place for Email Subscription and my Pinterest account on my sidebar.

Here are some great tutorials for social media icons on Blogger and on WordPress. I am also a HUGE advocate for putting social media icons somewhere or on each blog post. If I read a great post, I want to be able to promote the post with one click. I use the Jetpack plug-in for my blog. Some other ones are TweetMeme, Add This, ShareThis, and SexyBookmarks. I may have sent messages to some of my favorite blogging friends to PLEASE ADD social media icons to their posts.

10. Proper Linking

Give credit where credit is due. Believe me, it is rare that I have original thoughts. I am always inspired by all of the awesome blog posts, photographs, projects, recipes, and crafts that I see online. But when I post about them, I make sure to give them proper credit or link back. Please CREDIT your sources. It is the nice and proper way to do things. Bloggers love when you talk about them. Make sure you link to them.

Use proper Blog Etiquette. I get sad when I see pictures that I’ve taken posted, without crediting the source. I don’t mind people using them, really I don’t. Just link back. Also, there is copyright issues. This can hurt you big time. These copyright issues involve REAL MONEY and ATTORNEYS. Sara an attorney, has a great series on Blog Law.

Filed Under: Blogging, Just Julie 86 Comments

Poolside at The Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach

June 20, 2011

On a warm Sunday afternoon, I pulled up to the valet at The Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach. Angry Kid and I were there to spend the day at Slyder’s Water Playground which has three water slides, a shallow children’s wading pool, and an oversize hot tub. It sounded like paradise to me. It was a perfect day to start the summer off with a bang.
But really, even though the sky was blue and the sun was shining…I thought I was in heaven. With poolside cabanas, awesome lounge chairs, and palm trees surrounding me, I was in my own personal paradise.

I was ready to sit and relax in the cabana. But of course, Angry Kid had other things on his mind. He was ready to try out the three water slides only a few feet away. I couldn’t blame him really. When was the last time that you were on a water slide? It has been a few years for me.

While Angry Kid was busy water sliding, I was busy sipping this delicious smoothie that I got from Shubee’s poolside cafe. I drank the smoothie while enjoying some pork sliders also. Don’t hate me, I was in paradise. Angry Kid polished off two hot dogs when he actually stopped to take a little break.

Of course, Angry Kid got some swimming in too…but you can never forget your water gun. Angry Kid has acquired quite the arsenal of water guns for the summer. He enjoyed the main pool as much as the water slides.

Of course, you need some sugar in the mild of day, right? We were able to cook up some s’mores right in the fire pit located in the pool area. Deliciousness. I even let Angry Kid cook over the fire. Believe me, it was a bit scary. I think he likes charcoal flavored marshmallow.

At the end of the day, Angry Kid was exhausted, but he didn’t want to leave. Honestly, I didn’t either. He asked if we could come back again. I promptly called my mom and told her that Angry Kid wants Nana and Papa to book a little mini vacation in Huntington Beach.

I mean really, it is the perfect local place to take a mini vacation, or even a real vacation. They have a ton of activities also: surf lessons, adventure packages, bike rentals, Blues and BBQ, Dive In Movies, sandcastle building, kite connection, and cookie decorating. In addition to all of those other activities, they have Camp Hyatt on site for kids ages 3-12. The adults can enjoy the spa facilities at Pacific Waters Spa while the kids are having fun at Camp Hyatt.

The Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach has many special offers on rooms and entertainment packages this summer, including a 10% AAA discount, Get your 4th night free, Disneyland packages, spa wellness retreats and more.

Seriously, I am dreaming of that pool right now. Angry Kid really really really wants to play on the water slides again too. I kinda want to move in there….

Disclosure: I was invited to a special event at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach and The Slyder’s Water Playground as a part of MomsLA. They gave me drinks, they fed me and the kid, plus we got in a little water slide action. They didn’t give me any cash to post this though. Honestly, I should be paying them. We had so much fun.

Filed Under: Blogging, Orange County, Photography 5 Comments

Project 365: Week 24

June 18, 2011

The week was filled with caring for my mom’s (formerly our) cats while my parents were in Vegas, shopping for a new refrigerator, doing laundry, organizing, doing laundry, and receiving the new refrigerator. I know, our life is exciting, right?

Project 365 162/365: I went to check on the cats at my parent’s house. Jake woke up from his nap and was quite inquisitive. cc: @modchik

Project 365 163/365: Another Sunday night of caffeine so I can stay up to do the mounds of laundry.

Project 365 164/365: My child apparently disappeared into the maze @BestBuy. I found him gaming.

Project 365 165/365: Currently organizing my shoes which are in the garage. Time to purge.

Project 365 166/365: Last day of school. Kid fell asleep tonight playing the iPad.

Project 365 167/365: Our new refrigerator. Our kitchen is tiny so every refrigerator takes up space.

Project 365 168/365: I come home from work to laundry everywhere. I just want to sleep. Husband is crashed on couch.

Filed Under: Just Julie, Photography, Project 365 3 Comments

Friday Favorites #9: Kitchens

June 17, 2011

Last week our refrigerator died….it was not a slow and paintful death. It was very fast. It started making a VERY loud noise on Thursday night, and by Friday morning, it was starting to warm up. Angry Husband called a repair company and they could not come out until Monday to look at it.

On Monday, an awesome repair guy came to check out the refrigerator. He let me know that the compressor was bad, and that it would cost several hundred dollars to fix it, close to the thousand dollar mark. I had a very bad feeling that this was going to happen over the weekend. We were already on Day 4 without a refrigerator. Can you imagine going that long? Well, we did.

I alerted Angry Husband via text message about our situation, and he told me that we would go looking for refrigerators that evening. Of course, I already had my mind made up on the refrigerator that I wanted. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I recently wrote an entire blog post about Bosch’s French Door Refrigerator. Honestly, I’ve turned into a Bosch snob and I’m ok with that. In the past year, I’ve taken two trips to their showroom. I am an extremely educated consumer now, and know all about their products.

Of course, all of our appliances in our kitchen are old, and they make me angry. Don’t even get me started on our stove. It is electric, and it is original to our house, circa 1984. I knew that the refrigerator purchase would be the start of replacing the rest of our appliances, plus some inspiration to start some kind of kitchen remodel.

Of course, I won the war with my husband, and we got the Bosch refrigerator. It was delivered last night while I was at work, but my husband sent me a picture. It is soo pretty. Don’t you think?

This just starts a whole new track of thought for me now. My new refrigerator is shiny and pretty. The rest of my kitchen is dull, broken, and boring. I need some inspiration for my kitchen. Of course, I have an entire board on Pinterest for kitchens. I thought I would post a few of my favorites things for kitchens.

Source: me oh my

I love the white cabinets and the white subway tile backplash. And the granite, of course, it is pretty similar to our cabinet/granite color scheme now. Only this kitchen is 100% more awesome. I think we need to stick with white cabinets, because of the color scheme in our house, and the size of the kitchen.

Source: Pacific Northwest Cabinetry

Because we have a smaller kitchen space, we need tons of storage. I love the way that these cabinets are set up. The drawers are deep, and also built to hold lots of stuff. I like how they have the dishes in an under the counter drawer also, easier for kids to reach.

Source: House of Turquoise

I love farm sinks. I mean really, it is a total pain to wash dishes in those side by side sinks. The plates and cooking utensils never really fit right. You have to prop them up on the sides of the sink. With a farm sink, you just pile it up.

Have you recently redone your kitchen? Do you have any awesome ideas for kitchen? Do you know someone whom would want to finance my kitchen remodel (totally kidding, maybe)? Seriously, I need to start saving some money, because we need a new kitchen in a bad way.

Disclosure: I went on a trip via Bosch Appliances last month. They paid for it. They taunted me with their wonderful appliances. My refridgerator really really did die. I swear. No lie. We lived with a mini fridge for a week. Bosch Appliances assisted me with a discount in purchasing my new refrigerator. I might have begged a little. But then again, Bosch Appliances in an enabler, and have made me a Bosch snob.

Filed Under: In The Home, Just Julie 3 Comments

School’s Out For Summer

June 16, 2011

Today was Angry Kid’s last day of school. He is no longer a kindergartener. He has grown up too much. Last night he read Green Eggs and Ham all by himself. I took a picture of the Angry Kid on the first day of school, and I had Angry Husband take another picture of him today too. You can tell in the pictures how much he’s grown. Now, it is time to keep this kid entertained. I need to make one of those summer to-do lists or something?

Filed Under: Parenting 7 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: Bridesmaid and Ring Bearer

June 15, 2011

On March, Angry Kid and I were in my lifelong friend Kelly’s wedding. Angry Kid was the ring bearer, and I was a bridesmaid. I had the photographer, Lydia Messenger take some additional photos of our family while we were. She recently emailed me some of the photos. Angry Husband didn’t know, but I already knew I was going to have some kind of family picture taken that day. I purposely matched his shirt to our outfits. I’m sneaky like that.

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