There isn’t anything better than eating a donut by the edge of a swimming pool, right?

 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.

One thing I will always remember about my childhood is going to the hardware store with my dad. It seemed like every Saturday we were going to pick up odds and ends for some type of repair or project. I’m pretty sure that is why I like doing projects and visiting my local hardware stores so many years later. I’m comfortable around all sorts of tools, wood, and other supplies.

Forward to my own family, and there are tons of father/son moments going on in our house. Usually these moments are spent in the garage, or as some like to call it, “the man cave”. My husband has acquired quite the collection of tools, and he always has some kind of random project going on. Seriously, it is never ending. A few months ago he built a dog house, and this week, he’s building a work bench for a friend. And since he likes to go “above and beyond”, he’s staining the wood on the work bench. My son is always eager to learn, even if he gets in the way sometimes. Lucky enough, there are some great “clean up” opportunities within my husband’s “project chaos” going on.

Father’s Day is coming up and I have already come up with the epic gift. I can’t wait for him to see it. But I think the “perfect” Father’s Day card is also essential. I sent out some great Mother’s Day cards to my friends from Cardstore.com and I can’t wait to use their site for a Father’s Day card for my husband and my dad. Using Cardstore.com’s website, you can create custom cards by adding personal photos, personalized messaging and your signature for a personal touch. Plus, this really is my most favorite part: Cardstore can print, stamp and send your card via US postal service for you.

To Enter Cardstore.com Pin it For Papa for $50 weekly prizes and the $300 grand prize:

• Follow Cardstore.com’s Pinterest page.
• Repin an image from the Pin it For Papa board that most remins you of the activities you love doing with your dad.
• Repin as many images as desired for multiple chances to win up to $300 in Visa gift card prizes.
• Be sure to hashtag your pins and tweets with #PinitforPapa
• Cardstore.com will give away three $50 gift cards, one for each week of the contest, and one grand prize of $300

I am also giving away a $100 Visa Gift Card to one of my readers!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post. All thoughts, opinions, and photographs are mine. CardStock is a rad site, and great for lazy, I mean super busy people like me, who hate to go to the store to look for greeting cards!

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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, 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.

*This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own.

Last Thursday night, I was invited to a pre-Grand Opening party at the new Land of Nod in Costa Mesa. I was super excited because I had been eyeing a few things from their awesome catalog, and the new location is very close to my house. Before the store opened, I followed their Instagram account to see to progress of the store being stocked and decorated. I loved seeing the progress of the painted brick wall behind their cash register area. I may have taken a picture of the awesome colorful wall as soon as I walked into the store that night.

I love how Land of nod styled the store. They don’t really do the super matchy-matchy look for their children’s furniture and decor. They go with a more mixed vintage style. I loved the traditional beds like the Jenny Lind and the simple bunks. I usually lean toward basics for my son’s furniture which gives me more luxury to get creative with bedding and other decor in the room. Plus, kids are super finicky and change their minds over the years.

Jenny Lind Bed (Rasperberry), Jenny Lind Nightstand (Raspberry), and Jenny Lind Bookcase (Raspberry)

Isn’t that gallery wall in the photo above, fantastic? I love all of the different themes and prints used. It is funky, but it works!

I love good quality bedding because it lasts. The Land of Nod has some great prints and patterns that mix and match. Plus they are not too theme-y. The fun stripes, bold colors, and cute prints were great. I almost wish that everything came in California King, so that I could get the bedding for our master bedroom.

Ok, I have a little secret to admit. Yes, Land of Nod is children’s decor and furniture, but can I say that I saw many things within the store that I could use for myself, in other parts of our home. How fun are these random colored storage bins? Wouldn’t they look great in a home office or craft room?

Land of Nod really wants you to be able to enjoy yourself while shopping in their store. They have the decor, furniture, and beds accessible. They encourage you and your children to try out the furniture, feel the texture of the bedding, sit at the desks, and play with the toys while you are in there. The best part is that they have stations with toys to play with and even coloring/drawing supplies for the kids.

While I was enjoying and checking out all of the fun things in the store, I was able to catch up with friends, new and old. I carpool-ed to the event with Sharon, and met up with Amy while we were there. We took some fun photobooth photos that night. I guess I didn’t get the message that you can’t make the same smile in every photo, oops! And I may have a thing for bright and/or rainbow colors, just look at my dress that I wore that night.

I saw many other people but ummm I’m a slacker and obviously didn’t get any photos with them, silly me. But I did chat a lot, I promise. I’m not that much of a wallflower.
So with all of the amazing things that the store has to offer, did I make any purchases that night? But of course! Really there were too many things to chose from, but alas I have a super small house, which already has a lot of crap, I mean stuff in it.

I picked up a cute pirate pillow for my son’s bed. It is a charcoal color and it totally fits in his room. Like I said before, home office and craft room storage = yes, with the three-tier flea market bin, which has nothing in it, just quite yet. And the best purchase of them all, a rainbow throw blanket. There were three of us that purchased the throw blanket, Kyla, Elizabeth, and me..we all had to have it. I wasn’t quite sure about what my husband would think of the rainbow blanket, but he loved it. He said that it is perfect for our couches and super soft! Which is a win in my book!

Disclosure: This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own. #PMedia #NODinCA http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

Obviously, I’ve been quite the runner for the past year or so. You are probably wondering how I keep up the motivation? Sometimes, I even start to wonder. There are two things that have kept me focused: 1. A training plan and 2. Haus of Girls Instagram and Twitter Mileage Challenges.

Prior to each race {half marathon}, I’ve been following the Hal Higdon Novice 2 Program for 12 weeks, with a little mix-up of the mileage here and there. I always take a blank calendar and map out the twelve weeks of running. I know what mileage I have to do that week in advance. Although I have certain mileage scheduled on certain days, it doesn’t mean that I always follow the schedule, by-the-book. I lead a very busy life and sometimes, have to flex around my mileage. I’ve only missed a couple of my scheduled runs in the past year, because the guilt seriously gets to me.

I don’t have my next race until November, and I’m kind of winging it right now. I’m not following a dedicated schedule right now, and it is very hard for me to remember to get my mileage in. But I am working on some different things with running, like speedwork, and eeekkk running on a treadmill because of time constraints. I have improved my speed and I’m about 30 seconds faster per mile now, because of this training. Yay me!

You are probably wondering what the Haus of Girls Instagram and Twitter Mileage Challenges are? Marta posts a “mileage challenge” every month on Instagram. Each month she posts a cute graphic with a hashtag similar to #56milesinjune which is this current month’s challenge.

I did a pretty good job in early 2012 with updating and posting about my running and mileage, but obviously, I haven’t posted much in the past few months. I had to go through my archives and I found that the last time I posted was September’s mileage. So I went through and found the challenge miles, and then I also added my actual mileage. I’m pretty impressed with myself.

Challenge: 41 miles Reality: 81 miles

Challenge: 50 miles Reality: 74 miles

Challenge: 46 miles Reality: 74 miles

Challenge: 43 miles Reality: 92 miles

Challenge: 48 miles Reality: 74 miles

Challenge: 50 miles Reality: 84 miles

Challenge: 48 miles Reality: 79 miles

Challenge: 52 miles Reality: 81 miles

Is there something that you do to motivate you motivated to work out? To keep running? Goals? Competitions? Challenges? 

Let me know, I love to hear ideas from other people. I have several friends who are experiencing burnout right now. And I want to be able to have some other options for myself, because I’m getting there…

I think small creatures have landed in our neighborhood, and they have been taking over our house the past few months. It is getting quite annoying.

We had to cover up a hole in our family room to keep the mice out. We have our home theater equipment in the garage, so we have the wires go through the wall that is adjacent to the garage. We started finding mice in the house, and they were coming through teeny tiny holes in the wall, where the cables went through.

Then, the lizards came. We have no idea how they got into our house. My son caught one in the garage, and decided to make a habitat so that he could keep it for a few days. I finally freaked out and my husband made him release it, “to nature, to be with his lizard friends”. Then I was in our dining room one afternoon, and saw this lizard on the screen to our sliding glass door…on the inside of the house.

Luckily my son was home and was able to get the lizard outside, safely. Good thing my son has some awesome lizard catching skills. Because I was completely freaked out that this thing was just hanging out…inside the house, like no big deal.

And of course, the day after we got rid of the lizard, we had a new set of creatures appear. The gnats….all 200 of them, buzzing around our house. Totally annoying, and totally gross. We had no food out, and we’ve never had this problem before. They won’t go away!

I started researching “how to kill gnats”. I found this home remedy trick of using vinegar and dish soap in bowls. The gnats are attracted to this combo. But I’m pretty much over seeing bowls of vinegar and soap around my house for over a week now.

 Is this a summer thing? What’s next, the ants? I swear if the ants show up, I’m calling the pest control!

Yet, another reason to keep running! A fun one, right? I’m joining the streakers…that is, the “Runner’s World Run Streak”. I will be attempting to run at least one mile per day, every day, starting on Memorial Day (Monday, 5/27) and ending on Independence Day (Thursday, 7/4). That’s 39 consecutive days of running.

My son had a 5-day weekend for the Memorial Day holiday, yes Friday through Tuesday, so I took him with me today. We did an easy 3-miler in the sun. He rode his bike, while I ran. I’ve survived 2 days, 37 days left.

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.

Girl’s Night. Fondue at The Melting Pot. S’Mores Fondue was my favorite.

 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.

Since my son was born, I’ve redecorated his room three times. It started as a frog theme, then went to dinosaurs when we moved, and now it’s an extreme skateboard theme. I loathe character-themed rooms. Because kids go in and out of their different phases, I want something that he can have for several years. Unless I get the decorating bug again, his current room theme should last until pre-teen years.

When decorating, I try to mix and match things. I usually buy things from several different stores. I’ve bought things online, and in stores. I’ve also refurbished old things to make it new. But I will say that I love good quality items and furniture. Because kids are hard on things.

One of my favorite furniture stores, Crate and Barrel has a company called Land of Nod in their chain. Land of Nod sells baby and kids furniture plus decor and bedding. I was super excited to find out the Land of Nod is actually opening a brand new store, locally here in Orange County, CA at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. The Land of Nod in Orange County opens on May 31st and they will have giveaways happening in store throughout the opening day, and free goodies for those who arrive early to shop.

Since Land of Nod is opening locally, I am going to have to check out their store, of course. I’m sure that it will be super awesome, given the location that they have chosen. I love their catalog and website, but sometimes I just need to see something in person. Not that I’m shopping for anything in particular, but my son has been asking about bunk beds. We have a super small house and he only has a twin bed right now. If he was going to have someone over for a sleepover, they would have to sleep on the floor because we do not have an extra bedroom, or spare beds.

I thought I would put together some ideas if I did a re-do on my son’s room using bunkbeds and different storage options. We are huge on storage in our house because our house is smaller.

 Furniture and Bedding Featured (From left to right): Walden Bunk (Chocolate) and Bedding Mix (Side 1) Bedding

 Desk and Work Space Storage Featured (From left to right): Walden Desk and Hutch (Chocolate), Down To The Wire Stacking Bins, Cubby Cups (White)

 Bedroom Accessories Featured (From Top Left to Bottom Right): On The Grid Bookcase,  If You’re Shaggy and You Know It Rug (Grey), Color Edge Curtain Panels (Blue), and 40″ Ginormous Beanbag (Red)

Land of Nod is also having a “WIN A ROOM” Sweepstakes!

The Land of Nod Win a Room Sweepstakes runs from now until 11:59 PM CT June 17, 2013.

GRAND PRIZE AND APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE:

One (1) Grand Prize is available to be won. The Grand Prize winner will receive a Room designed by The Land of Nod, including:

(1) Design consultation with The Land of Nod design team.

(2) Room makeover with selected product from The Land of Nod.

(3) Feature in The Land of Nod Real Families section of an upcoming Catalog.

Total ARV of the Grand Prize is $4,000.

Disclosure: This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own. #PMedia #NODinCA  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

Yesterday was my son’s eighth birthday. This is the first year that we didn’t have a big party. I had no pre-party planning anxiety, which I usually do. It feel awkward and so nice, though. My husband, my son, and some of their friend’s went to Palm Springs. They went shooting in the desert, they saw swamp, and even saw the new Star Trek movie.

I spent the weekend working, cleaning, and well…cleaning. I took it as my chance to get caught up with some things. The house was spotless when they got home.

My husband texted me when they were leaving Palm Springs. I immediately ran out to the grocery store and bought some balloons to greet my son when they got home. I also went shopping with my mom at the local hockey store for some gifts for the kid. We {husband and I} got him a week at hockey camp during the summer.

My husband said that they had a good weekend and it was chill. I got to sleep in. Win-win!

My husband’s friends collected money and bought my son a Lego Millenium Falcon. It was pretty big but super cool. I’m impressed that it was already put together. My son was actually playing with it today. Usually he’s more of a Lego hoarder, as in “puts the Lego kit together, and never plays with it ever again”.

We took the kid to Chili’s for a birthday lunch. We told him that he could order anything he wanted from the desert menu. He responded with, “I want a margarita.” We forgot that it was a desert and drink menu, ooops!

Totally mello birthday. No blinking and noisy electronics for gifts. No overspending. No clutter!

I hope that this is a glimpse into our future.

Happy 8th Birthday Caden!