At Iowa City Moms Blog we LOVE our contributors! We are excited to announce that we have added 6 new writers to our terrific writing team! We want you to get a chance to know them, so over the next 3 days we’ll be introducing them to you! Today we are introducing you to Becky and Jessi.
Meet Becky
I’m a Minnesota native and Wisconsin Badger fan living in the heart of Hawkeye country! I met my husband, Phil, while earning my BA degree in Anthropology at the University of Minnesota and working at the University Aquatic Center. I was an office assistant and Phil was, gulp, a full-time, “official” employee. Not only had Phil completed his undergraduate studies, he had also finished graduate school and was working in the “real world.” Even though Phil is six and a half years older than me, we hit it off immediately and never looked back! This fall we will celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary.
With a layover in Louisville, KY we eventually landed in Madison, WI where Phil worked at the University of Wisconsin and I attended grad school. In July of 2009, after a short three years in Madison, Phil accepted a job at the University of Iowa and moved to the area at that time. I had just finished my graduate studies in Library and Information Studies with a certificate in Archives and Records Administration but had to wrap up my work commitments before joining him in North Liberty in September. Shortly after moving to the area I landed a job with the Council of State Archivists that allows me to work from home. At the end of 2010 we began construction on a new house and in June of 2011 we moved to Tiffin.
In May 2012 our daughter, Cora, made us a family of three. I continue to work from home while also taking care of Cora. When I’m not busy working, we like to play with Play Doh, go to the park, and have great conversations about Spider Man and Bucky Badger (who are apparently best buds). In my spare time, which there isn’t much of, I dabble with photography, read books, and try to keep up with my family blog, Bosom of My Family.
Meet Jessi
I met my husband long before the romance started, in fact it was probably on the first day of kindergarten. But the real excitement began in 6th grade when Kurt became my very first boyfriend by giving me a school picture inscribed with a special note reading “True Love Forever” (complete with hearts and smiley faces). We flirtatiously chased each other around the playground, spent countless hours on the phone and even held hands once or twice before the adolescent romance fizzled and we opted to be friends for the remainder of our school years. After a “ten year break” we crossed paths again as college students. Kurt and the wrestlers at Ellsworth Community College were always looking for a good time and I guess me and my sorority sisters at UNI seemed like an obvious reason to travel. It only took one spontaneous visit before our friends were commenting on the distinct spark between us and, as they say, the rest is history!
These days, Kurt and I are celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary and anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first baby, due in early August. After spending a few years living in the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area, we’re putting down roots in West Branch, Iowa, just a few miles from our hometown of West Liberty. Aside from reading baby blogs and nesting like crazy, I put my type-A organizational skills to use in the non-profit sector as a full-time donor relations professional with a knack for meticulous details and event planning.
You can often find me hunting for bargains, spoiling our dogs (Max and Pita) or being crafty. I aim to place the utmost value on family and faith; and I’m hopelessly in love with chocolate, Starbucks and Target. I strive to take in the simple joys of life and I’m counting down the final days until I embark on the biggest adventure yet… motherhood!
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