Ay Carumba!

I originally intended to make something with a Christmas theme... but I couldn't pass this one up. Enjoy!

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

It's snowing (again)!!

Joy

This weekend was great— we spent a lot of time working on the house, which was wonderful. The kitchen is officially unpacked! Jason put all the cabinet doors back on, and it is almost to the point where I can post some before/after pictures. Stay tuned.

Also this weekend, I took a 4-1/2-hour trip to IKEA with Theresa. It was so fun! She got all kinds of things to furnish her future apartment, and I practiced great restraint, but still managed to get some necessary and fun items for the house.

We also had dinner with friends on Friday night, at a great restaurant called Doolittle's. If you come to visit us, there is a 90% chance that we will take you there (unless you are a vegetarian). Their rotisserie chicken is amazing.

It was so nice to relax at home this weekend (in between projects) and spend time with friends! Things are really starting to come together at the house—and Jason is turning into quite the handyman!

I'm starting to feel like I need to do some Christmasy things to get ready for the holidays! Blame it on the stores having their Christmas stuff up BEFORE HALLOWEEN, but I am ready! Ready for lights, decorating, trees, parties, etc. Does anyone have any fun holiday ideas/plans in the works?

b

Happy Halloween!

So, I saw this costume at Target, and I had to have it. But of course, I didn't buy it the first time I saw it, so after much searching I am happy to say that it was found once again, and Mocha dressed up as a rooster for Halloween. The first time I put his costume on him, I just laughed at him for a good five minutes. SO funny!

I'd also like to make the disclaimer that as ticked off as he looks in these photos, the cat actually didn't mind dressing up! He was more angry at having to sit on our laps and pose. After the photo shoot, he happily wore his costume for another 10 minutes before I took it off.

Progress

Here's some what we've been doing for the last three weeks...

Our colors


The cat thinks we're building him a playground....


Cupboards are painted, walls are next!


Theresa is happy to spend her entire weekend painting things green


Kitchen drawers


Yay, the living room is painted! Color: Water Fowl (ave aquatica)


Jason paints the entryway green


The lovely view from our living room window

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2 years today!

One Year

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go..." Genesis 28:15

This week marks our one-year anniversary of moving to Minnesota. The year has gone by so quickly, with so much newness and change. New jobs, new apartment, new church, new cat, new friends, new climate, and now a new house.... We have been so blessed in our first year here. We love our church and are forming deeper relationships with our friends there. We are growing into our jobs, and learning to thrive at work each day. God has provided for us in more ways than we could have imagined.

I remember all the pre-Minnesota talks, wondering where we would live and work, how we would make friends, would we be happy here? It's amazing how much energy we spent on worrying, and trying NOT to worry. Once again, hindsight shows that we never need to worry about anything, because God is always faithful.

Our new house has been taking up most of our time lately—painting, cleaning, repairing, etc. This weekend we will be doing some more painting, in the kitchen and entryway. It's so exciting to see how different the house already looks from when we first bought it! I hope to post some pictures of our progress very soon. Next weekend is the big move, and then we are excited to curl up in front of the fireplace at our new place, and NOT move for a while!

HOUSE: Part 2

We are home owners!! The closing last Friday went smoothly, and we are so excited to own our very first home. I really can't mention enough how much my aunt, and our agent (Melissa's mom) helped us through the process. We couldn't have done it without them. We are so thankful that we were able to work with people we know and trust, and they both worked really hard to help us out. And we are just so grateful to God for providing us with a great place to live, and to share with others. We are truly blessed.

Here are a few pictures of the house—these are just the ones the seller took, but I know our Missouri relatives have been itching to see what it looks like! I will try to get some of the photos WE have been taking up here soon. Also, we have several projects lined up before we move in, so expect this blog to start sounding like an episode of Trading Spaces....

HOUSE

Most of you have probably heard by now, but in case you haven't—we're buying a house! We looked at house for about 3 weeks, and made an offer on one that we loved, and a few nail-biting paperwork-filled weeks later, we are about to close on it. Next Friday, by the end of the day, we will be home owners! I have been holding back from getting TOO excited, because it seems like every time we move forward, something else STILL has to be done before we can really feel like we ARE GETTING the house. But the closing was scheduled today, so we're feeling pretty good about it!

The house is 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, split level, with a great yard in a great neighborhood. It has 2 fireplaces, hardwood floors upstairs, and basically is more than we ever expected to find. I'll try and get a few pictures up here very soon.

We have been so blessed, and have felt so protected and guided during this whole time. Everything has gone very smoothly so far (knock on wood) and we have had wonderful people helping us through the process. We are so thankful for that! And so excited to own our first home!

At Last - Vacation Photos!

Jason and I at the Branson Landing - we ate at a GREAT Mexican restaurant and watched the fountains!



Trying to get a picture of ourselves in front of the Dixie Stampede building. That show was one of my favorite parts of the trip!



Beautiful Branson at sunset



The Titanic museum at night - this museum was pretty cool, and featured a lot of rare artifacts and photos.

I'm So Excited!

Shows, shopping, relaxing, fun times, all with my favorite person - it's gonna be great!

Birthday

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Da-ad,
Happy Birthday to you!

D.C. is the place to be

I (Becky) had a great time in Washington, D.C. the weekend before last. I attended the ALA (American Library Association) National Conference. Highlights included meeting and greeting lots of publishing bigwigs, seeing some of the momuments in D.C., gaining more knowledge about the educational publishing industry, and seeing design trends for children's books.

A couple other highlights that were captured on film were seeing Marilyn (for the first time since college!) and surfing with my boss/coworkers on a giant inflatable wave!




(Bob looks like such a natural!)

Una actualización con fotos

Last weekend we attended Greg and Kelsey’s wedding, which was SO MUCH FUN. Many of our best friends from college were there, and it was wonderful to see Greg and Kelsey start their life together. Good times all around. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the weekend:

During the ceremony




The gals in black and white



Jason and me



Nobody puts BJ in a corner



Greg and Kelsey!



I am trying to organize my photo life, so hopefully we will post more pictures in the future. For now, here are a couple bonus pictures of the cat!





The season is winding down for me at work – just trying to get the last few books out the door. Once the majority of things are done, I’ll post some links to the books, so you can see what I’ve been doing for the past 6 months!

Jason has been busy at work as well. In case you haven’t seen one of his latest creations, here is a Hummer with a wrap that he designed:





How cool is that??

At last, an update!

Well, the past few weeks have flown by! Two weekends ago we were in Missouri for Kali’s high school graduation. Last weekend we were in Milwaukee for Theresa’s college graduation. It was great to see both of them be recognized for all that they have accomplished – Kali was valedictorian of her class, and Theresa graduated magna cum laude!

This weekend, we are at home. Plans include spending time with our bipolar cat, eating an exciting Peruvian dinner prepared by Jason, laundry, relaxation, and going to a Saints game! I am teaching Sunday School this weekend, and Jason is playing in the worship band. It should be a great weekend!

Next weekend we will be in Des Moines for the wedding of Greg and Kelsey! Wahoo!!

I have great pictures from the past two weekends, which I hope to add soon (maybe over the weekend?)! In the meantime, enjoy your Memorial Day!

For some reason I have this song in my head… “A-camping we will go, a camping we will go…” Where did THAT come from? Anyways… later!

Balance

I seem to be struggling lately to have a sense of balance in my life. I feel like I’m always playing “catch-up,” always behind on something. Work has been so busy, and our lives outside of work have been equally busy, if not more so. Everything we’ve been doing lately has been great, and we enjoy what we are doing (teaching Sunday school, playing for worship, learning about finances, hanging out with friends and family, etc.), but we are starting to feel the drain of too many full evenings. How do you decide what to say no to? How do you do the things you want to do, and still leave time for the rest of life? How do you live in an intentional way, instead of being dragged around by your schedule? I don’t want to let things stay so crazy that I am rushing around all the time, neglecting the things that really matter, or not doing what I truly enjoy. The balance between free time and obligation escapes me. If anyone has some good ideas about living a balanced life, please let me know!

busy

Hello hello!

Sorry we have been so delinquent in updating lately - I have been SUPER busy at work! All is well here in MN, except that winter has crept back in. We are more than ready for spring at this point!

The main project keeping me busy at work lately is the design for a series of books about the "heroes" of NASCAR. It has been a true learning experience, since I knew absolutely nothing about it before. It has also been very entertaining! A few of my favorite finds:


(this guy is NOT one of the Heroes of NASCAR)


(I'm thinking of getting my nails done like this, to help me keep all my books straight!)


(Perfect for your NASCAR-themed wedding!)

Hopefully I will get a moment to breathe again soon, and then I promise a more substantial post!
b

Update

It has been a long week... we've been so busy! It's all been really good stuff (worship at church, shopping with Mom, small group, dinner with Heather) but I am feeling a little drained. Work has been going really well, but yesterday my boss had to take my lovely Mac Pro to the Apple Store for some major surgery. Turns out the motherboard is fried... they think. This is actually not as scary as it sounds (correct me if I'm wrong, tech people) - I'm gauging that by the fact that I have been told all my files will be returned to me. Whew! For the moment I am working on an iMac... and missing my giant theater-screen monitor. And hoping my computer is fixed before a big design deadline next week!

This weekend will be fun (and fast!), as we are travelling to MO! Highlights of the trip will include: seeing Greg in Des Moines, playing with our adorable (ahem - I mean handsome) nephews, seeing family, and being there to see Jason's dad receive a special award at the Smaller Churches Conference at CCCB. It should be a great time - I just hope we can get some sleep somewhere in there.

Have a good weekend!

B

Snow Day!!!

Wahoo!! Something that I thought could only happen in my wildest dreams has come true - a Snow Day from work! I am leaving at noon, and will be working from home the rest of the day. AND, there is a possibility of a Snow Day tomorrow as well. We're getting snow at the rate of an inch every hour right now! I hope I can go skiing this weekend!

I am a Native

Inspired by my husband...

Sung to the tune of "Welcome Christmas" from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

Minn-a-so-tans!
Minn-a-so-tans!

Welcome Snowfall,
Come and play!

Minn-a-so-tans!
Minn-a-so-tans!

Welcome Snowfall,
Come today!

Welcome, Welcome
Giant snowdrifts,

Giant snowdrifts,
Welcome, Welcome

Welcome, Welcome
Heavy Snowfall

Heavy Snowfall
Snowy days are in our grasp

Snowy days are in our grasp
So long as we have gloves and hats

So long as we have gloves and hats

Giant Snowdrifts!

Giant Snowdrifts!
Pretty Snowflakes!

Pretty Snowflakes!
Welcome, welcome Snowfall!

Welcome Snowfall!
Welcome, welcome Snowfall!

check this out...

well, I (jason) haven't been to nyc lately so i don't have any real interesting pics to share, but i did want to give you the link above. it will give you a more in-depth look at the life and times of jd-daum. on a more current events level, here are the things keeping me busy lately:

• work: mentos, officemax, heluva good, pepperidge farm, airheads, sargento, simply smart, hill's science diet, etc. (very busy at work lately)
• church: small group, planning wednesday night worship, singing sunday morning for worship, being involved in various youth activities
• reading: Psalms, "Tis" by Frank McCourt
• listening to: Johnny Lang, John Mayer, The Fray, Philips, Craig and Dean, Kutless
• illustrating: working on some imagery from the book of Genesis
• dreaming of warmer weather (although I can't complain too much this week)
• making friends at church (kind of exhausting right now but pushing through the front end of a friendship usually is)

that's the topline stuff.

life has been relatively uneventful the last couple of weeks and that is aok with me.

don't forget the link...

New York, New York

What a busy/fun/interesting/educational/well-fed weekend!
I am back from New York, and I really enjoyed my short trip out there. The majority of the weekend was taken up by the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conference, held in downtown Manhattan. My main purpose in being there was to look for talented illustrators that would be interested in working with us. Of course, as a bonus I got to meet all kinds of interesting/famous people, and learn more about the children's book industry. A few highlights of the conference itself:

• The keynote speakers were amazing! The last keynote speaker was Katherine Paterson, author of "Bridge to Terabithia." She is an incredibly inspiring woman, and had so much wisdom. She told many stories from her life that have influenced her writing, and YES she did say the upcoming BTT movie is worth seeing. I felt very privileged to hear this 74-year-old Christian woman speak on life and writing! (Click here for a great interview with her about BTT) Here is a photo of Katherine during her presentation:



• Another speaker of note: Brian Selznick, an author/illustrator. This guy is basically changing the way children's books are made. His latest book, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," approaches the story somewhat like a movie - he uses many illustrations to help TELL the story, in addition to just showing it. Some very innovative stuff.

• On Sunday there was an awards presentation, including the Tomie dePaola Award. And who was there to give it out, but Tomie dePaola himself! I was very excited, because he is the first illustrator whose work I remember recognizing as a child. He's basically a legend in children's books. And after the awards, I met him and got my picture taken with him! It made my day!



In between all this conference stuff we took in a few of the sights of New York. It was so exciting - complete sensory overload! We walked down 7th Avenue and saw Times Square...





... and found out that "Legally Blonde" is being made into a musical! I know you've all been waiting for that!



We also walked down 5th Avenue, where all the fancy designer stores are, and Trump Tower. We went inside Tiffany's (I HIGHLY recommend going there if you're in NYC), and saw lots of rich people in fur coats, walking their little dogs wearing equally fancy coats. We also saw a guy pushing his two cats on top of a cart, but that's another story....



And there's no way I was going to go to Manhattan and stay 2 blocks away from MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) without going there, so we took a quick visit to the museum before leaving. Here's me in front of their cool sign:



I took lots of pictures of the art inside, but obviously I can't go posting those all over the internet, so here is ONE picture, a close up of a Jackson Pollock piece:



Other highlights of the trip included:
• eating the BEST cheescake I've ever had in my life on Friday night.
• eating EVEN BETTER cheescake on Saturday!
• havinng a weird cab driver who took us through Queens to get to the airport
• eating New York-style pizza. SO good!
• eating great steak (I told you I was well-fed!)

All in all, it was a great time! It was like being in a different world for the weekend. I loved visiting and want to go back (with Jason, so we can drool over all the art and design in the city), but I cannot imagine living there. The light from the sky doesn't reach the ground in some places because of the tall buildings - I couldn't handle that! But for a visit, it was awesome.

Happy Valentine's Day!

b