Blog Anniversary Contest Winners!!!!

My Doodle Bugs Stationery giveaway ended yesterday and my Meringue Bake Shop giveaway ended today!! I thought I would do one post for the winners!! So here they are!!!

Doodle Bugs Stationery

and the winner for the $25 Gift Certificate is:

Congrats Mandie!!! I'm sending you an e-mail to contact Doodle Bugs Stationery about your prize!!

Meringue Bake Shop Cupcakes for my Orange County Readers

and the winner for the cupcakes is:

Alyssa, I e-mailed you about the giveaway!!! I just need your info to send to Kristin from Meringue Bake Shop!! Congrats and enjoy!!!

ScanMyPhotos dot Com: A Review

Last week I mailed a box of photographs to ScanMyPhotos. I followed their packaging tips and sent them in a USPS Priority Mail Box. About a day later, I received a telephone call from one of their employees. She told me that some of my photographs were the wrong size, etc. No problem. The next day, I went to their actual location (about 5 minutes from my house) and sorted through my photos. I removed all of the odd-sized photographs. About 1.5 hours later, I received another telephone call to tell me that my photographs were done being scanned.

On the way to Angry Toddler's swim lesson, we picked up the photographs and the DVD. Yep, they scanned over 500 photographs for me, and put them all on a DVD.

I had gone through my tote of photos and just randomly put them all together. I had no clue on what I sent. Well after looking at the DVD, these are the types of photos that I saw: Sorority Girl Julie, Police Julie, High School Julie, Julie and Angry Husband, before marriage, Fat Julie, Skinny Julie, Red Headed Julie, Blond Haired Julie, and about 200 photos of our cats (which now live at my parents).

These photos are pretty rough, and need some editing, but I thought that I would share a few:

Me and My Best Friend, Melissa from High School. I think that this was the first day of our Senior Year. That car, a 1966 Ford Mustang. Ironically, my parents still have that car.

Angry Husband in the US Marine Corps. I think that this was his 2nd overseas deployment. I can't remember where he was...but it was in 1996ish.

Angry Julie in her "country phase". Definitely 1996, I was 21.

Melissa and I. I'm thinking early college. It was probably in 1993/1994ish.

Ahhh, Angry Husband and I. We had just started dating..he was about to go on a 6 month overseas deployment with the US Marine Corps.

I can't wait to go through all of the photos. I need to categorize them for iPhoto. I also want to do some posting on Facebook. ScanMyPhotos provides several services for photographs, besides scanning.They provide:

• Ordering photos online


• Photo cards


• Photo books


• Photo kiosks


• Photo collage printing


• Photo restoration


• and VHS to DVD transfer

If you live out of California, it's no problem. They have instructions on their website for mailing in your photographs. The will mail everything back to you after it's all done.

I will definitely be using their services again. Plus, they are super close to my house, which makes it even better!

I've had a lot of inquiries via e-mail about the cost for these services. You can get 1,000 photos scanned for $49.99!!! I wanted to add this!!

Summer TV

Well most of my regularly scheduled shows are on hiatus right now for the summer. That's probably a good thing since I'm working the night shift. I don't get to enjoy watching them when they actually air live. But, really, do you know people who actually watch TV live anymore? We have (2) DVR's in our house. Angry Husband's stuff tapes in our family room, and my stuff is taped in the bedroom. We are going to drop it down to one DVR soon. I'm going to try and start a new series on my blog "Angry Julie on a Budget", so stay tuned.

This is what I have been watching this summer though:

armywives is on the Lifetime Channel. This is the 3rd season and I have been watching it since the beginning. Angry Husband told me that he heard that it was cancelled after last season. I'm very happy that it wasn't cancelled. It's moving very slow right now, hopefully it will speed up some more. I can see drama coming..

It airs Sunday at 10pm et/pt.

NYC Prep is on Bravo. I would call NYC Prep, a real life Gossip Girl. But really, these kids (yes KIDS) seem to be trying a little too hard. Why would you want to grow up so fast? I thought kids grew up fast in California, geez these kids are awful. This is one of those most narcissistic groups of teenagers that I have ever seen in my life. Yes, I KEEP watching this. Why? It's like a train wreck, I have to watch it.

It airs Tuesdays at 9/8 c.


This is Season 5 of Weeds. My friend Londie got me hooked on this show. I went and rented all the old seasons to get caught up with it last year. It's a show about a woman who's husband died. She had two sons to raise, so she decided to start selling marijuana. It has had all sorts of twists and turns in the previous 4 seasons. Weeds is on Showtime. I actually called and added on Showtime, just to watch Weeds. I also watch Dexter when its on Showtime.

It airs Sundays at 10pm et/pt.


Nurse Jackie is a brand new show on Showtime. I only watched it for the first time because it aired right after Weeds. So I thought, why not. O-M-G, I love Nurse Jackie. Jackie is like the Angry Julie of Nursing. Her haircut is even similar to mine. Ok, I'm not having an affair with a pharmacist, but you get the point. She's an Angry Nurse. Plus, I love Edie Falco. I first saw her in Oz and of course, The Sopranos. I just wish it was an hour long show. Thirty minutes is way way too short.

It airs Sundays at 10:30pm et/pt.

If I find anymore good summer tv, I will be sure and let you know!

Oh, and don't forget to enter my giveaways!!!!!

Doodle Bugs Stationery- $25 Gift Certificate!!! This giveaway ends Monday, June 29th at 12pm PST.

Orange County, California Peeps- Meringue Bake Shop cupcakes!!! This giveaway ends Tuesday, June 30 at 12pm PST.

Running and My Guest Post At The Orange County Register

Through blogging and Twitter, I've found and met some great people along the way. One of those people is Suzanne Broughton. Suzanne is a very talented writer, and a super mom, of course. She runs/writes/operates the following sites: Alive in Wonderland (Personal Blog), MomCrush (OC Register Blog), BlogCrush (OC Blogger Group), Orange County Daily Photo, and all of them are on Facebook too..

A few weeks ago, Suz asked me to write a Guest Post for the OC Register "Mom Blog" about running. I was very excited. Of course, right after that, I got super busy, and my entire house became sick.

But yesterday, my post made the website!!

So check me out here, "See Mom Run".

Show Us Where You Live Friday-Master Bedrooms

For this weeks installment of "Show Us Where You Live Friday", we will be touring Master Bedrooms. I love this carnival from Kelly's Korner. I get some many decorating ideas when I tour every one's homes, ahem I mean blogs.

Oh, and let me remind you...my house is tiny, think 1100 sq. foot.

Welcome to my Master Bedroom, actually our Master Bedroom at the Angry House!

An overall view of the bed and nightstands. Bed frame is black metal from Crate and Barrel. One of my favorite things in our house. Probably my most favorite. The nightstands are Rustic Pine. They were custom made for us. Lamps are from Z Gallery. Ceiling fan from Lowe's. Candle holders above the bed are from Pottery Barn. And last, but not least, the bedding. It's from Target, a Waverly Collection from 2004.

The view from our bedroom, the back patio area. We have a sliding glass door to the patio. The curtains are from Pottery Barn.

This is our dresser and TV. YES, we have a TV in the bedroom. I can't fall asleep without it. The dresser is Rustic Pine like our nightstands. The pictures are of Angry Toddler, of course. The TV is a Samsung, a 32", I think. The TV was hung and mounted by Angry Husband. That's his job. You are probably asking, "Where is the cable box, and DVD player? They are in our linen cabinets. See that cabinet in our bathroom area, to the right of our TV, that's where the components are.

This is our closet on the side of the bed. This is opposite of the sliding glass door. The original doors were these ugly off-white ones which were mounted to the ceiling. We had to special order these, due to the height, from Lowe's.

Why did I post a picture of the interior of our closet? It's not that special. We have the Elfa System from the Container Store installed. But do you see what's among the clothing on the shelf? It's an XBOX 360. That XBOX is connected to Angry Toddler's TV in his room. When he's been playing the XBOX too long, we go and pull the master plug. Then we tell him, "Oh no, the XBOX over-heated. It's time to stop playing for awhile." Yes, we lie to our child. He's only four.

Thanks for touring our tiny Master Bedroom. I can't wait to check out every ones!

Orange County Peeps: A GIVEAWAY = CUPCAKES

If anyone has read my blog in the past two months, you would know that I have a special love for cupcakes and for my favorite cupcake baker, Kristin. Kristin is the owner, baker, cupcake maker, and cupcake creator at Meringue Bake Shop.

In honor of my TWO YEAR blog anniversary, Kristin has graciously offered her services to me for a GIVEAWAY! That's right, I'm doing a cupcake giveaway. This will only be for my Orange County bloggers, well, and anyone in the surrounding area if you want to come pick them up in Orange County.

Kristin is offering, 1 dozen regular size or 2 dozen mini size cupcakes (1 flavor) decorated with custom fondant or sprinkles. Valued at $30. Must be used by Sept 1, 2009.

I thought I would have a little local giveaway since I've been given a lot of love lately from my local peeps.

Here's the rules!

1. Check out Kristin's site at Meringue Bake Shop, and her blog too!
2. Let me know what you like from her site.
3. Follow Kristin on Twitter!
3. Comment here, obviously!
4. Blog about this giveaway! Let me know here in a comment!
5. Tweet about this giveaway! Let me know here in a comment!
6. Become a follower of my blog! Let me know here in a comment!
7. Follow me on Twitter! Let me know here in a comment!

I will be giving this away at 12 PM PST on Tuesday, June 30, 2009. I will be choosing the winner randomly!

Doodle Bugs Stationery Giveaway!!!

In honor of my TWO YEAR Blog Anniversary, I'm going to be having some giveaways in the next few days. I want to be able to give back to my readers, and the people who actually read my ramblings.

I've been buying from Kacey at Doodle Bugs Stationery for almost three years now. My friend, Londie, got me hooked on them. My drawers in my office are full of stationery from Kacey, plus they make great gifts too. What woman doesn't love personalized stationery?

I'm giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to Doodle Bugs!

Look at these cute Striped Flip-Flop Folded Notes. They are special edition just for summer!

Aren't these great and preppy too. Square address labels!

and what a great idea for the kid in your life, Flat Thank You Notes


So here's the official details for this giveaway!!

1. Check out Kacey's site at Doodle Bugs Paper, and her blog too! Follow her, she does giveaways!
2. Let me know what you like from her site.
3. Comment here, obviously!
4. Blog about this giveaway! Let me know here in a comment!
5. Tweet about this giveaway! Let me know here in a comment!
6. Become a follower of my blog! Let me know here in a comment!
7. Follow me on Twitter! Let me know here in a comment!

I will be giving this $25 Gift Certificate away at 12 PM PST on Monday, June 29, 2009. I will be choosing the winner randomly!

Please check back at my blog. I will be having more giveaways this week!!!

TWO Year Blog Anniversary

On June 24, 2007, I started my blog off with The Virgin Post. I had no idea on what I was going to blog about, how long I would be blogging for, or if anyone would even read my ramblings.

In my son's early years, I was on several parenting forums or message boards. I was that first time mom with lots of questions, but didn't want to bug my in real life friends. I went on the forums looking for answers and found friendships. I was very active on the forums, the first two years of my son's life.

I found that the "forums" were like anything else online, a popularity contest. I had posts with no comments. These were message boards with 10,000+ members, yet I didn't get responses like everyone else. I was tired of being ignored, and wanted to share all of my thoughts, and general "Julie-ness" with someone.

After two years of blogging, I think I've found my "niche" and my people. I've met a ton of people through my blog and on Twitter. I have found that there are people out there like me, and which makes me smile.

I'm glad I stuck with blogging. I'm able to go through my archives and read all my randomness, about Angry Toddler's events, and everything else.

Since it's my 2 YEAR Blogging Anniversary. I will be giving out some gifts! Stay tuned in the next few days for some giveaways. I will be doing some National Giveaways and some local giveaways for Orange County Peeps! I will be posting more tomorrow!!!

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

One Lovely Blog Award

A couple of weeks ago, I was given this award by Migraine Mom. I'm such a dork. I completely forgot to post about it, I swear. I have tons of things to reply to in my inbox, but I've been a total slacker lately. She's a runner and will soon be a Middle School Counselor!

There are a ton of lovely bloggers in my life, well actually my reader. But I read them daily so I feel like they are a part of my life. So let's highlight their loveliness.

Here are the rules:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Leslie at Lambert's Lately. I found Leslie through Kelly's Korner. Leslie is going to be starting her first year as a teacher soon in her very own classroom. She is also a blog designer. She whipped up an awesome design within a day for my family blog. I love reading Leslie's posts and especially about her dog, Hardy. P.S. She's having a giveaway right now also..a free blog makeover!

Kelly from Just Spotted and According to Kelly. This woman is super mom. She is very active on her blogs, she Twitters, Facebooks, and has (3) kids, including a newborn. Plus, she actually finds time to workout. She's very inspirational to me. Hopefully soon, I will get to meet Ms. Kelly since she lives in the O.C.

Danica from Chic Runner. Danica is a crazy runner girl. She just completed her first marathon last month. She has a ton of followers on Twitter and her Blog. I read Danica's posts to mostly motivate myself. Ahh to be young again...Oh, and I'm totally jealous cause Danica is now rocking her blog on Wordpress. I've been thinking about going to Wordpress, I just can't commit quite yet.

How We Saved $65 Yesterday

Our dog, Bruiser is a Maltese/Chihuahua mix. He was the most adorable puppy. He was snow white and cute as a button. Bruiser is still cute. Although he's crazy hyper and has this wild hair. His hair is definitely a cross between a Maltese and Chihuahua. He gets these odd long curly hairs all over. He then has a goatee and wild hair above his eyes. It's not pretty.

We usually take him to the groomer to get shaved. He looks so much better after he gets shaved and groomed. But we are cheap and poor right now, so I grabbed the clippers yesterday. I was walking out to the backyard yesterday and Angry Husband asked what I was doing. I told him that I was going to shave Bruiser, with the clippers, duh.

He came to the rescue and helped me. Because really, I had no clue about what I was doing. Bruiser kept moving, but we were able to trim/shave most of his wild hair. We then gave him a bath with some dog shampoo and the hose in the background.

I think this is what we are going to do, from now on. He really needs to be shaved about once a month. His hair grows so fast. I'm sure we will get better at this shaving thing, eventually.



Oh, and I had to take a picture of Wolfie too. She stayed far away from our shaving party. Smart dog. She is a Chihuahua mix too. We got her from a rescue.

What a Week

We started off the week with Angry Toddler getting a cold. Because of Angry Toddler's history with bronchitis, asthma, and those lovely febrile seizures..we freak when his nose starts running. I swear our kitchen and bathroom cabinets are like a mini pharmacy. I should buy stock in the over-the-counter medications that we buy for Angry Toddler.

Angry Toddler also gave me his cold. Which really sucked. I had issues all week. I'm finally feeling better.


Angry Toddler missed preschool on Monday and Tuesday. Thankfully Mr. XBOX and Ms. Wii were able to babysit in lieu of preschool. I had to take Angry Toddler to the doctor on Tuesday, because he was not getting any better. She diagnosed him with an ear infection, which equals prescription medications.


So Angry Julie heads to Target pharmacy and throws down the debit card for $95 (YES, ninety-five dollars) worth of medications. The only positive thing about my Target visit is their kick-ass prescription bottles. When we use other pharmacies (cough, cough CVS, you suck), you have to pour the liquid meds on a spoon and hope that you don't spill it everywhere, will convincing the kid to lick the spoon. Target has these plastic lids on top of the prescription bottle, where you insert this plastic syringe and suck out the meds. Angry Toddler loves the syringes and he happily takes his meds. Yes, I know you can buy the syringes, etc. But I love how Target has these automatically built-in.

Wednesday came...Angry Toddler went back to preschool. Can I get a YIPPEE! And I got a wonderful delivery from the Fed-Ex man. The PR peeps from Sonic Drive-In sent me a $25 gift certificate and some goodies for Angry Toddler. They saw my post about Sonic and wanted to thank me for it. I also felt a little better and worked out Wednesday night. I did a TKB (Turbo Kick Box) class at 24Hour Fitness. It literally kicked my butt.


Thursday, I had to go to the dentist and get two crowns done. I've had the temporaries for 2 months. I should have gone back to the dentist within 2 weeks. I just hate sitting there. It really wasn't that bad.


On Friday, I cleaned the house. I haven't cleaned that much in a really long time. It actually still looks clean. I'm very proud of Angry Husband and Angry Toddler for keeping it that way.

Today, well Saturday, so now yesterday...I took Angry Toddler to his sports class and a birthday party. Angry Toddler's sports class did track and field today. He loved running around. I didn't like the misty rain that was coming down on us. And of course, I dressed my son inappropriately again. He was wearing shorts, while everyone else was wearing pants.


Father's Day..well I ran around and picked up some things tonight while working. I'm not as prepared as usual. BUT I spent $10 on CARDS. Seriously, I should have just drawn some or something. I'm really anti-card right now, because they are like $4.

Hopefully I will get to sleep in this morning...and maybe I can dream about some really good blog posts for next week...maybe...

Show Us Where You Live Friday-Laundry Room

Welcome to the latest installment of Kelly's Korner "Show Us Where You Live Friday". Today, she is featuring play rooms, bonus rooms, and laundry rooms. I will be featuring my "laundry room", or better known as "the laundry area in the garage".

In our old house, we had the laundry room on the second floor near the bedrooms. It was very convenient. In this house, the laundry room is in the garage. Our house is a small one story, so it's not a very far walk to the garage. Although sometimes, I get lazy (this week), and forget about the laundry. I know we all have those days where we've washed the same load of laundry three times, because we forgot it was sitting in the washing machine. Don't tell me that I'm the only person who does this, because I know EVERYONE does this.

Here's the tour:

Overall view of the laundry area. It's the front, right side of our garage. The bike is hanging over the dogs area (bad fur parents). The washer and dryer with cabinets overhead. The washer and dryer are LG brand. The lovely water heater in the corner. Oh, and I'm white trash like that, see my black bra in this photo!

Close-up view of the washer and dryer. After five years, I'm still not completely sold on this front loading washing machine thing.

My fancy drying rack. I hang dry most of Angry Toddler's clothes and my running gear. All the junk behind the drying rack is Angry Husband's. He needs to clean it up! Notice my lovely black bra again! Oh, and see Angry Toddler's awesome new bike!

Cabinet near the washer and dryer. This is where I store all the hangers. I'm OCD and have all of our clothing on wood hangers. I hang dry Angry Toddler's clothing on the plastic hangers. The boxes below the hangers are for e-bay, etc. I sell most of Angry Toddler's clothing on parenting forums. We have all of our cleaning products stored up high. Angry Toddler likes to get into things.

I hope you all enjoyed the tour of my tiny laundry area. I can't wait till next week when we do "Master Bedrooms". That's probably the best decorated room in our house. I'm very excited!!

I can't wait to tour everyone's houses this week!!

The Circus is Coming to Town

(click on photo to make it larger and easier to read)

I'm very excited that the Circus is coming to town. We are taking Angry Toddler and his bff, Stella, to the circus in July. This will be their first time at the circus.

The circus will be at the Honda Center in Anaheim, in Los Angeles, and also Ontario. You can arrive at the circus at 6:30pm, at which time you can enter the All Access Pre-show. You’ll head down to the circus floor to get autographs, clown around, walk the low wire, meet the stars of the show (again!), try on a costume and even meet an elephant that paints! This is FREE to all ticket holders for all shows.

If you want to buy tickets for the Circus in Southern California, here is a discount code: MOM. You can purchase a 4-pack of tickets to the circus for $44 on ticketmaster.com.

I can't wait to see Angry Toddler's face when we go!

Wordless Wednesday: Contents of my Purse

An AD on Craig's List, Here in Orange County...

This is a real ad..one of my Junior League gals e-mailed this out yesterday. The responses we all gave were awesome...

Recently separated O.C. male 32 years in age, in need of a part time confidant and friend for conversation, affection and a shoulder to cry on. Not into the whole process of dating and finding someone. It just gets too tedious & complicated. This is a business arrangement where you will serve as someone to help ease the stress of daily life and brighten my days.


Like I said I am single male out of The OC and part time in North L.A. County & a working professional. YES I work a lot, but like everyone, there comes a time when even I need to be shown a little affection, compassion, kindness, care. You will also be assisting me with domestic duties like pick my dry cleaning, walk the dog and so on and so forth.


Who am I looking for? Qualifications? An affectionate, passionate, caring and loving young lady. She must be between the ages of 18-25, be white or hispanic and attractive. If I'm paying someone to do this she may as well be attractive right? LOL.. Be well spoken and able to hold a conversation. Be fit, toned or of average weight. Be at least 5'2"-5'6" in height. I am looking for nothing more than just someone to share some good times with, some who is ready at a moments notice, someone who is willing to listen and lend an ear, someone who knows how to show affection. Someone who can appreciate the "compensation" I can offer. This is a mutually beneficial relationship. You make me Happy and I make you Happy. Why am I advertising in the jobs section, well because I think this would be a perfect job for someone who is attentive, a good listener and someone to act as my partner in everyday life and needs a little extra cash. Picking up dry cleaning, groceries, and driving me to church. All expectations will be presented on the table ahead of time with no questions to what is expected and not expected before your tenure with me begins. Personal transportation is a plus but not a must. Must live within a 15 mile radius of Orange County and have a stable living situation. ABSOLUTELY NO DRUGS.


Hours: Some Days and Mostly Evenings Averaging 10-20 Hours A Week


Compensation: Will Vary Upon Availability and Experience but average pay will be more than McDonald's but way less than JP Morgan

Anyone ready to apply?

Winner: ECOSTORE USA $25 Giveaway

My giveaway ended at 12PM PST on Monday, July 15th..Yes that was officially yesterdays news. I've got a winner!!!! My winner is comment #8 by EVILMOMMY!!!!!

She commented the following:

EVILMOMMY said...

"I would love to try the laundry powder. I just replaced my washer and dryer with front loading ones. We recycle as much as possible, we each have several re-fillable water bottles, I try not to use plastic bags for storage and reuse them when I receive them from someone else."

EVILMOMMY....I see that your blog is private. I'm going to try and contact you, by adding you. If you see this, please contact me!!!

Magic Shoe 5K Run: A Race Report

On Saturday, June 13th, I ran the Magic Shoe 5K in Newport Beach. This is the first time that I ran the Magic Shoe. It used to be called The Bastille Day 5K, I ran that two years ago. This race started and ended at Corona del Mar High School.

I trained for this race with my favorite run club at the lululemon store in the Irvine Spectrum. We trained for four weeks. My running pal, Monique, was also supposed to run it with me. Monique slept through her alarms, and was unable to make it.

It was a pretty easy flat course. It was also a smaller race, with less than a 1,000 people. Lately, all of the races that I've done have had quite a bit of people, which adds to the fun.

Unfortunately the day prior to the race, I started getting sick. I got some kind of cold from Angry Toddler in the middle of the week. I thought I was fine, but it got worse on Friday night. Of course I paid for the race on Thursday night. I didn't want to waste the $31 that I paid. So I sucked it up and ran.

My chest hurt a little and I was tired during the run. I didn't PR, but finished decently. I go back and forth between the same 30 seconds for the past 3-4 races. It's probably because I need to lose some weight and work on some speedwork. I do so well at the beginning, and then I seem to hit the wall.

Once again, another FAIL at the finish line. I had to run through the finish line, and then walk around the corner for water. Is this a new thing? What happened to getting water at the end? Seriously, I'm tired of walking through the crowds trying to get to water.

I had to leave immediately after the race to take Angry Toddler to his sports class.

After the 5K race, they had a High Heel Dash. I would have liked to see that.

My next race is the Huntington Beach Fourth of July 5K-The 2009 Surf City Run. I have a love/hate relationship with this race. I love the patriotism and the great feeling of running in Huntington Beach. It's such a festive city. My hate is that it's not a timing chip race. It is usually very hot and muggy.

Unfortunately, I have no photos of me at this race. Hopefully, there will be some decent official race photos. But that is highly unlikely.

P.S. I did something new this race too. I ran without music. Yep, no iPod. It really wasn't that bad at all.

June Gloom

We've had serious June Gloom here in Southern California. It started out in late May and has continued. It slightly rained here several times last week.

I keep seeing everyone post about warm weather, going to the pool, and eating popsicles. I actually wore a jacket into work today.

I'm also gloomy because I'm working swing shift right now, 4pm-2am. I haven't working this shift during the summer since 2006.

While everyone else is having fun, BBQing, and spending time with their families on the weekend, I'm at work. I have Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays off. On Tuesdays, Angry Toddler has The Little Gym, and on Thursdays, I had run club. My run club is out of service for the next few months. I should get a little break until early fall.

I bought Angry Toddler a baseball and a mit last week from Target. We've been taking a sports class through the city for the past month. He still doesn't quite get the throw and catch thing, but we are working on it.

I also got Angry Toddler a new big-boy bicycle. I bought it used from Marisa, whom I met through Twitter actually. Angry Husband's best friend, Eric, was trying to teach Angry Toddler how to ride a 2-wheeler last week. Angry Toddler is doing pretty good. He knows how to use the brakes now. We aren't quite ready to take off the training wheels though.

I went to a Tweet-Up last week at a local restaurant. We talked about our websites, blogs, and Twitter. I met some cool new people. I also learned about TweetChat, as I was complaining about TweetDeck. I go to these meet-ups because I do genuinely like people. Some people in my "normal" life do not get the whole blogging, Twitter thing. Even my own mother is confused by it, but really she can't even check her own e-mail.

Yesterday, Angry Toddler and I started getting a cold. I think it's something to do with the weather and possibly that Angry Husband has had the dogs inside the house all week. My allergies are driving me crazy. Angry Toddler was up all night coughing last night.

Today, I got up extra early and ran the Magic Shoe 5K run. I trained for this run with my favorite people from lululemon's run club. I will have that race report, tomorrow, or the next day.

Maybe, we can get some sunshine here in So. Cal tomorrow. Angry Husband has some things to do all day, so it's just Angry Toddler and me.

Show Us Where You Live Friday-Bathrooms

I've been participating on this blog carnival for the past few weeks, showing off my house. This carnival is sponsored by Kelly from Kelly's Korner.

This week's feature is bathrooms. The bathrooms are two of the worst and least decorated rooms in our house. We need to get the flooring done in them, so we are totally behind the decorating. I also want to let everyone know that it is EXTREMELY hard to photograph bathrooms, and even worse, small bathrooms. I've learned this in my professional experiences at work, trust me.

So let's get this tour started with the Master Bathroom:

This is the view from the master bedroom. See how tiny our sink and dressing area is. Yep, one sink. The cabinets are our linen closet. We also have our cable receiver and blu-ray player inside the cabinet.

Our sink and counter area. The medicine cabinet is from Pottery Barn. I got it on clearance. I hate in the wall metal medicine cabinets. This is one of the first things we did to the master bathroom was remove the metal in-wall medicine cabinet. The cabinet is original but we added the granite counter, the sink, and the new faucets.

Our tiny shower and toilet area. Blah, blah...no paint on these walls, just white primer.

This is the Guest Bathroom, or better known as Angry Toddler's Bathroom:

The shower curtain is from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The granite counter was new to the bathroom after we moved in. The cabinets are original to the house. We even re-did the window above the shower. The floors are awful, vinyl.

Close-up of the sink area.

Medicine cabinet is from Lowe's. Umm, yea the light. Isn't that wonderful. Angry Husband was trying to change the light bulb and broke the fixture. We haven't found a replacement yet. But really, we haven't looked for the replacement.

Our house is 1100 square foot. Tiny house = tiny bathrooms. Thanks for checking out our two bathrooms, which need a total makeover. I'm at a loss for ideas.

Oh, and I'm hosting a giveaway for a $25 Gift Certificate to Ecostore for "Green" Cleaning Products. Check out this post for more details. The contest ends on Monday, June 15th at 12pm PST.

A New Sonic for Orange County

Tonight, we dared ourselves to check out the new Sonic Drive-In in Mission Viejo. This is the second Sonic in Orange County, and the closest one to our house. The new Sonic opened last week and I've read and heard how crowded it was. They actually had a staging area for cars in a local Target parking lot.

I first fell in love with Sonic while visiting a friend in Dallas, Texas. I was a Sonic virgin then. In Texas, they are all around like McDonald's here in California. I loved it so much that I made her take me there every day I was visiting.

When I visit a new town or state, I always look to see if they have a Sonic. When I go to Las Vegas, Sonic is one of the first places that I visit. Yes, there's a Sonic in Anaheim too, off of the 91 Freeway, but it's totally inconvenient and the 91 Freeway is not my friend.

Angry Husband knows that I've been wanting to go to this new Sonic, really really bad. He granted my wish tonight. We picked up Angry Toddler from preschool and headed on our way. We went on the southbound 405 Freeway, which was a mess. We wented up exited on Lake Forest. We took Lake Forest to Jeronimo. The Sonic is on Jeronimo and Los Alisos.


We immediately noticed that it was not that crowded, which was nice. This Sonic actually has a drive-thru as opposed to just car hop areas. The drive-thru was very stream lined. The cars were not piling up at all. We choose to part a car in the shopping center parking lot and walked in. We were met with an employee with a hand held electronic order board. He took our order and we went and found a table. Within, ten minutes our order was brought to us by a car hop on roller skates. All of the car hops were wearing roller skates. There were also employees skating around the business, perhaps for practice. I even saw one female car hop lose it and fell pretty hard, luckily she was not carrying an food.


We all enjoyed our food. Angry Husband got his chili cheese tater tots and I got my beloved 44 oz. Cherry Limeade. Angry Toddler got a kid's meal with popcorn chicken and tater tots. We enjoyed our food and went on our way. Angry Toddler wanted to sample my drink on the way home, and he instantly fell in love. He did not want to give my 44 oz. goodness back.

I can't wait for the next time I get to go back there.

And if you are wondering...

The Newest Sonic in Orange County is located at: 25502 Jeronimo Road, Mission Viejo.

Wordless Wednesday: Shakes at Woody's Diner in Laguna Hills

Ecostore USA, Green Cleaning Products: A Review and Giveaway

In March, I was contacted by Ecostore USA about doing a review and giveaway of their products. I told them that I would be definitely interested in participating. They sent me three products which I requested to review, the Front Loader Laundry Powder, the Toilet Cleaner, and the Citrus Spray Cleaner. I did not do the review/giveaway right away because I had conflicting issues with my advertising network for my blog. The issues have been resolved since I cancelled the network.

I have used all of these products that we sent to me. They are truly great products. I think my favorite is the Front Loader Laundry Powder. I was very intimidated by the small box that it came in, it was about the same size as a box of crackers. There was also a teeny scoop inside the box. It is good for 32 washes. I will have to say that I've been using the powder for over a month now and I still have about 1/4 of the box left. I usually go through 2 boxes of my name brand laundry detergent in a month. The box is about 2 times the size of Ecostore's. I'm very impressed and it's well worth the money.

About Ecostore USA:


ecostore USA (www.ecostore USA.com) loves making a difference in people’s lives. We are passionate about improving the planet and bringing you everyday household products that are safer and healthier for you and your family. Originating in 1993 as a New Zealand-based manufacturer, wholesale distributor and retailer of sustainable household and personal care products, ecostore USA offers plant-based cleaning products as well as body and baby care products. The guiding principle of our formulations is that the end product must not only be good for the planet, but must also be good for the user. Individual health issues are at the forefront of product development. The Fairground Foundation is a charitable organization created by ecostore to promote sustainability through on-the-ground action. For more information, visit www.ecostore USA.com and www.ecostore.co.nz.

Ecostore USA offers Free Shipping on ALL orders over $25.

You can also find select Ecostore USA products at Meijer Supermarkets.

I'm giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to Ecostore USA. Comment on what products you would like to try out with Ecostore USA. Comment on what you have done to go "green". Twitter about my giveaway, and comment that you tweeted. Blog about my giveaway and comment with your link. This giveaway will end Monday, June 15th at 12 noon PST. I will close comments then and choose the winner randomly based on the comments.