Who Is Julie?

I am a wife to Michael, and a mom to two teenage boys named J.R. and J.T. Actually I didn’t name them that legally, but that is what everyone calls them. J.R. stands for Johnathan Ryan, and J.T. stands for Justin Tyler. Sometimes the “J’s” confuse me when I am hollering at one of them, so the initials help. I was born with the name JulieAnn, but in 9th grade my friends started calling me Jules, and the name stuck.

I was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where I lived throughout my childhood. As I reached my teenage years I knew I was different, and I didn’t belong. I hung out for the next 5 years trying to fit in, but nothing ever clicked for me. There was something bigger and better waiting for me, and I needed to find it, so I packed my bags and moved to Los Angeles when I was 22.

I wasn’t in Southern California for long when I met a guy that truly moved me. He wanted a wife, and he wanted a family, and I was willing to give up my single life of clubbing it in Hollywood with unknown bands like Guns N Roses, Faster Pussycats, and Motley Crue (HA!) to settle down.

I got married in December of 1990 wearing the best dress I could find to hide my 4 month pregnant belly. My whole family was there, except my Grandmother. She had never flown on an airplane because she was too afraid, and the fear got the best of her. 17 years later and that still pisses me off.

I wandered through life for the next 11 years thinking this is how it should be, and this is what a marriage is. I gave birth to two incredibly amazing children, and dedicated every fiber of my being to them.

On 9-11 I was in the middle of escrow, buying a house and moving to Las Vegas. As stressing as it is buying a new house and moving into it, add in the scenario of terrorist flying planes into tall buildings, and then you can imagine the enormous fear I was under.

After being in Las Vegas for a year, I realized that the comfy life, the big house, nice cars, and the pool parties, were never going to truly make me happy, so I went on a search for a different life.

I divorced my husband and moved on.

I landed a job at an SEO marketing firm, and I was the happiest I had ever been in a long time. I honed my skills in internet marketing and advertising, and made lifelong friends in the process.

One particular programmer caught my eye. I didn’t waste anytime in trying to get to know him.

We got married on November 17, 2006. It was the happiest day of my life. Well that day and the two days I gave birth to my two boys. Our wedding was part of a contest promotion that PayPerPost did, and we had a blast. The whole thing was broadcast live on the internet, and we had over 1500 viewers.

Our Wedding