What is your occupation and how do you split your time between the business and your primary occupation?
I am a full-time Anesthesiologist. My time is split 90/10 on most weeks and 80/20 on some weeks. With our business I am fully in charge of all the bookkeeping, taxes, payroll, logistics, etc. This allows Becky to concentrate on the fun stuff. Luckily we have a great accountant and I have been passing more and more of the bookkeeping and taxes off to them as we have increasingly become bigger and bigger as a company.
…..
How did you choose the field of Anesthesiology? What do you love about your specialty?
As a medical student we have rotations in many different specialties. At that time I had a chance to ask questions and see what life is really like for those physicians. I discovered that some fields that I thought would be interesting and fun, turned out to be boring and monotonous for me. For instance in my Internal Medicine rotation I felt like we sat talking and planning and never did anything. I enjoy doing procedures (epidurals/spinals/central lines) and seeing instant results. When I give a medication, we see the results within minutes – not weeks/months like in the clinic. In short, I chose the field of Anesthesiology because I enjoyed it most.
…..
Now that Project Life is HUGE in the scrapping community, it probably seems like it was an easy bet to everyone. But when you and Becky first acted on the idea, how did you weigh the personal risks (ex – your finances, etc.)?
When Becky made the decision to leave Creating Keepsakes magazine we faced a major crossroad. She had to decide if she wanted to retire from the scrapbooking industry or start a company and produce this product she believed in. We felt that there was an unmet need. We believed that Project Life would help people get their memories into scrapbooks with ease and style. I knew that because Becky believed in the product – and herself – we could make it happen. I figured if it didn’t work we could at least break even, so the finances/personal risks were based on that assumption. Luckily once we started the ball rolling we didn’t have much time to really sit down and think about all the risks.
We started this company with the objective to create one kit per year. We thought that one product only once per year would allow us to maintain a simple company with little time commitment. We did not anticipate the evolution of the product. The full kit made less and less sense as we progressed. (Side note: The problem with a full kit is that you rely on one company to produce all portions of the kit. The factory may specialize in paper materials but not in plastics or metals. If you divide the portions apart you can use factories that focus on one type of material and therefore decrease defects and improve quality.)
…..
What are three of your favorite things about Becky… and does she really not eat Raisin Bran any more?
1. She is beautiful, not just in looks but also in personality and attitude. 2. Her work ethic is incredible. She does not cut corners to make things easier on herself. The problem with this is she is also a control freak and has a hard time passing things over to for other people to do. 3. She is an awesome mother to our 3 kids.
She will rarely have Raisin Bran. She did eat it daily for years and years though.
…..
Tell the truth, do you have your own Project Life binder with your own journaling?
As Becky has said in the past she does Project Life in the Shutterfly photo book format. She has been using the Clementine Edition this year. I will occasionally journal for a picture if I took it or it is directly related to me. I love Project Life. I love looking though our older albums, but to tell you the truth I am involved directly with scrapbooking about as much as most of your husbands.
…..
As a man, do you have any advice for how I can convince my husband of the long term value of Project Life & scrapbooking in general? He just doesn’t seem to get it and says it’s just my hobby, nothing more. How would you sell Project Life to a man that thinks it’s just photos? Trying to convince my hubby why I love it.
When I was reading though the questions I kind of laughed when I saw this one, because I have talked about Project Life at work and tried to “sell” it many times. However, when I really think back on it I realize I have only “sold” Project Life to female colleagues – the female doctors and nurses. I have described the product concept and business to male colleagues but have never really tried to sell it to them directly.
I feel that this issue is a big difference between most women and men. Although I love looking back through the pictures and stories of our family I do not feel a responsibility or obligation to record it personally. It seems like women feel that responsibility for record keeping more than men. I am not sure why, just an observation. To make the point, I have talked to busy women who work (while their husbands are at home with the kids) and it is still the woman that feels the obligation to document life – not the stay-at-home dad.
I do understand why Becky and many, many others love it. I also understand that scrapbooking is much, much more than just photos. I look as it being a photographic journal. With each picture being worth more than a thousand words many of you are leaving an family history library for your loved ones. My mom and dad both lost their dads when they were teenagers, so I have never met or really heard much about my grandfathers. It would be absolutely incredible to find a Project Life type of scrapbook with everyday photos and stories of my grandfathers. I would love to know more about who they were and how they lived. Instead we only have a few precious photos and stories that have been passed down. So although I don’t “do” Project Life personally I understand and fully support Becky and others who are trying to pass on a legacy to their children.
…..
How much creative input do you have with the design of Project Life?
I actually have more input than anyone except Becky. Even though I don’t scrapbook (Would you if you had Becky doing it for you?) I understand the problems and frustrations that scrapbookers have. I appointed myself as Becky’s harshest critic over the years. I am never afraid to tell her if I think something is terrible. I also have a feel for the pulse and needs of our customers. I have stayed up late with Becky on multiple occasions, many times with a ruler to help get the measurements of the Photo Pocket Pages perfected down to the millimeter. I read the comments and pass on and point out things to Becky just in case she missed it. I am also very involved with the business aspect of the company.
…..
What is it like being married to a ROCKSTAR???!!! What’s it like to be known as Mr. Becky?
I am assuming you are talking about Becky? She is just like everyone else. She still does put her pants on one leg at a time unless she is stumbling around after 3-4 hours of sleep. I guess from that perspective she is a little like a rockstar in that she stays up late, but usually just emailing and taking care of business stuff left over from the day. So much of the work in our house gets done after 8 pm once the kids are in bed.
The only time I am known as Mr. Becky is at scrapbooking conventions (and I’ve only been to a few over the years). Most of the time I am just Dad / David / Dr. Higgins / Dr. Happy Juice / the candy man / gas man / epidural guy / my-best-friend-in-the-whole-wide-world-because-I-don’t-feel-this-baby-tearing-my-pelvis-apart.
Tags: anesthesia, david, Project Life
OMG I am ROFLMAO!!! I had no idea people had such funny names for their anesthesiologist!!! That’s GREAT!!!! Also fun having your perspective on Project Life, thanks for sharing Dr. Happy Juice!!!
Your last little paragraph cracked me up!!! But seriously it is so true. I loved the doc who gave me my epi, he sure did save me some pain!!!!
Very, very cool post Becky! David is a swell dude!
The last paragraph is pure hilarity!! Dr. Happy Juice…so, so true! 
Thank you for this post. It was really nice to see a man’s point of view! Made me laugh… It’s gonna be a good day!
It’s interesting reading a man’s perspective on record keeping. I used to homeschool my kids, and every year I would make a “scrapbook” of what they had done that year, special drawings/art, writing etc. I remember my (then) husband telling me that it was a waste of time and that my boys would throw it all away when they were grown up. I seem to recall saying “Well they might not want it, but their wives will”. However my boys LOVE looking back at those folders, remembering what they did when they were small, the creations they made, the legos they built, etc.
Perhaps record keeping is a “female” thing – and how lucky we are to have Project Life to make our record keeping so much easier. Thanks for taking the time to write about your part in this wonderful business.
Becky a rockstar…cmon people.
This man has people lives in his hand……
That does not preclude Becky from being a Rock Star in her chosen career!
Well Mr. Candy Man…I truly enjoyed this greatly. OH and I so get “thank you for this…for not ripping my pelvis apart kind of guy!” As a mother of three children and my first being 9lbs. I SO so so get this…then the third delivery when I seen my anesthesiologist looked at my OB and shook his head NO YEP thats it I was in too deep for any anthesitic…nice:) We really do LOVE you guys. Thanks for being so supportive to your wife too, so we CAN have project life:)
It seems I am always saying to my husband after some situation, “This is exactly why God created women AND men!” David’s very apt description of the difference between men and women in scrapbooking is a perfect example of this! Men, in general, are very practical and “grounding” which compliments women’s more creative and idealistic endeavors. This is a big generalization but it was very cool to hear David’s take on it. Just having my husband’s support is all I need. No, he doesn’t or wouldn’t scrapbook, but he gets it and that’s a good thing.
And, yes indeed, the anesthesiologist is my BFF! You guys clearly make a great team. Thanks for sharing!
It sounds like you guys are well matched for the life you have carved out for yourselves!! Best wishes always! Thanks for taking the time to share…great part of my day.
I thought David’s description of why the core kit is split up was the best explanation I’ve heard. LOVED his top 3 things about Becky. Becky is a rock star, but I hope she is only staying up really late to work on the school kit–ha!
As an outsider to the industry but someone who started PL in 2010 and always loved Becky’s work/articles, I think the two best things you and Becky have done with Project Life, besides improving it every year, is 1. selling through Amazon (that has made it SO easy to share with non-scrapping friends) and 2. being so supportive of the way other artists, and frankly, other companies, have jumped on the bandwagon and are offering lots of options to use with Project Life. I think a lot of different reactions would have been understandable, but Becky has always offered a wide, generous view of this craft and of life in general.
I love this! Thank you for your time & perspective on things…Mr. Happy Juice (my favorite). The last paragraph cracked me up but seriously, your wife is a total ROCKSTAR! She (along with your help) has totally made scrapbooking so much easier for me with Project Life.
I vote for more “David Editions” in the future!
You guys are a great team!
Ditto!
Beautiful!
Love this edition of Feedback Friday! It’s great to hear about Project Life from David’s perspective. Scrapbooking may be a ‘woman’s thing’ and even though my husband makes fun of me for taking a picture of food we eat or the corner of the cabinet I keep bumping into with the pot or pan I just washed while putting it into the drying wrack and all the other crazy pictures of our daily life he and our son sure do enjoy looking at those photo albums time after time!
And thank you Dr. Higgins for the work you do making woman comfortable in labor! I’m a labor & delivery nurse so I understand this completey. I’m so happy to help make my patients comfortable but I also will do whatever I can to make my patients comfortable without an epidural as well. I know we don’t get an award for going through labor and delivery without pain medication (…an epidural) but it’s a personal reward. I know that childbirth without an epidural is not for everyone.
Sorry…just wanted to say what I thought! This can be a very strong subject for some women!
Thank you Becky & David for all you do!
Juli, I love your comments.
From the delivering mother perspective:
I was told to push a mere fifteen minutes after getting my epidural with my first child. I thought it hadn’t done ANYTHING to reduce the pain! I was a tad irritated – I knew that baby was on the fast track but nurses and doctors don’t pay attention to first time mothers. We kept hearing that I couldn’t have an epidural yet. Turns out my BP was too low, so I had to have a liter of fluids intravenously. It was dripping so slowly! I was at the hospital for less than four hours before my daughter was born.
My second pregnancy was twins. I knew the recommendation is to delay drugs since twins are typically small, etc. My nurse was so good at alleviating my back pain with a rolled up towel and getting me to focus that it was awhile before I asked for the epidural. And my doctor laughed as he said “Push!”, promising the epidural between babies. r-i-g-h-t. #2 arrived six mins after #1, with half that time spent by me screaming that i was not pushing ever again.
Yea. I delivered 6 lbs 8 oz and 5 lbs 3 oz without any painkillers. I learned that the epidural with my daughter HAD worked somewhat! With the twins, I wasn’t in labor when we arrived. {Long story involving two parents getting less and less sleep..} From the time Baby A had the fetal heart monitor inserted to completing delivery was about 2.5 hours.
and now I should cut & paste this! I will.
Besides being a labor & delivery nurse I have also experienced childbirth myself…one of my greatest moments…even though it didn’t go as I wanted it to but then again not all labor and deliveries go the way we want! So…even though I am not the women praising the anesthesiologist or CRNA because if I had the chance to do it all again and didn’t have to have a c-section I sure would opt for no epidural! I also understand that this isn’t for every woman and I fully support her decision in the delivery room. And sometimes there just isn’t time for an epidural.
This is such a strong subject for many women and we could have a great conversation about this that could go on and on!
I hope you are having a great time using Project Life to preserve all those wonderful memories with your children…I know I am loving it!!!!!
I delivered all three of my kids without pain meds. The first was 8 weeks early weighing 5 lbs even and I had her in 4.5 hours. My second daughter was 4 weeks early, weighing 6 lbs 6 oz. I had her in 4 hours. My son was 3 weeks early weighing in at 8 lbs 3.5 oz. I tell you it was so painful and I decided I had the other two without it so why not be in less pain since I had experienced it without it before. They took my blood and were going to be back to give me my epidural and then the nurse checked me a few minutes later and called the dr for help. Yeah after 2 hours of labor my son was coming! I was grateful I didn’t have pain meds but man the pain on the last labor was torture! I was crying uncontrollably.
Love this!
Absolutely loved reading through David’s comments. Thank you David for all you do!
hahaha.nice post, your husband is awesome.
Of all the posts I have read – - on Beckys Blog, and I’ve had my favorites – - I think this is my favorite – why? Becase you – Becky and David are REAL people. What you see is what you get and I see an AMAZING husband and wife – TEAM! On a side note, I’d love for him to be my Anesthesiologist – after all, it sounds like he has a heart of gold, and most patients hope that’s who they have when they enter the surgical room.
Kudos to you – God has blessed both of you with eachother.
Happy Happy Post to end a Happy Happy Week! Thank you!
Nice to meet you David/Dr Higgins – thanks for taking the time to let us into your life a bit. WE crazy scrapbookers seem to enjoy getting to know others through our scrapbooking.
Thanks for supporting Becky the way you do – I’m sure she would have retired if you weren’t so supportive and that would have been a crying shame.
Love this post, feel like I know Dr Happy Juice personally. You guys rock
Loved your post Dr. Higgins. There are a lot of hats that both of you wear, and I’m sure it can get very challenging in a hurry. Thanks for supporting this crazy recordkeeping hobby of ours.
I just wanted to say that anesthesiologists are my favorite doctors. I had a csection and while my doc was great at the surgery…Chaz the anesthesiologist was by me the whole time holding my hand and just being wonderful. I admire him so much and will never forget him! I’m sure their are many who think the same about you!
Thanks for giving us a glimpse behind the curtain and supporting Becky with this awesome product…it truly has changed my life!
Thank you so much for this post! I really love hearing your male perspective and it rings so true of my own husband.
I am so thankful to you both for creating this project and business and sharing how you work together in your different roles as a family, business owners, careers etc. I just found Project Life the first week of January this year and am all caught up and current! It is a brilliant idea and system for scrapbooking and record keeping! I love it and thank both of you so much for your work, your sharing and your inspiration!
Thank you David for taking the time to answer all our questions, and thank you especially for the thought you put into my question about men and scrapbooking, it was fascinating to hear your thoughts on that subject (and all the others too!).
Oh I loved your nickname “my-best-friend-in-the-whole-wide-world-because-I-don’t-feel-this-baby-tearing-my-pelvis-apart”, I went through that experience twice and that is just the best name ever, lol!!
I could go on but I imagine you’re going to get A LOT of comments on this post, great job and thanks again!
Nice to hear from the other half of the “team”. Becky, when are the sheet protects expected on Amazon??? Says Feb. Do you have an idea??? I need….. them!!!
Love the responses to your questions … I have to say I had a very similar description for my anesthiologist after my epi and I think “super hero” was included.
) I also have to say its great to hear the guy’s voice in the system of ProjectLife!!!
Gosh! That must have been one of the most hilarious blogpost on men and scrapbooking! Thank you David for putting it right into perspective! I just started on Project Life, after having so much guilt trips over my Mount Everest pile of photos and simply no time to sit down and do layout after layout! Then I discovered PL and was so grateful for something that I could just document the silly little things that my gals do, slipped in the photo and I am done! When I have more time, I can then spend more time experimenting with techniques etc. I felt freed, relaxed and best of all, I can continue to record memories! Thank YOU, Becky & David!
What teamwork and partnership. I think you are both truly blessed to have the love and support of each other in all that you do. Wishing you continued happiness and success (measured not by sales, but by personal fulfillment and a desire to continue what you are doing).
I loved reading this…and as someone who has had 5 heart surgeries (2 of them heart transplants) I can tell you that the Anesthesiologist is hands down my favorite doctor in the operating, recovery, and procedure rooms!!!! You deserve every dollar you make
Great post David — love hearing it from your perspective!
The last paragraph cracked me up.
I met you (David) in 2006 on a cruise ship and knew right then and there that you and Becky were a great team. You are both so down to earth and like you described…the same as everyone else when it comes to putting one leg into your pants at a time. (and btw, that description sorta made me smile as it is the way a guy would likely describe someone being just like everyone else, a woman would likely phrase it differently). Anyhow, I loved reading your perspectives on PL, etc. Thank you for sharing your beautiful…inside and out…wife with us.
Hi. I actually managed to “sell”the PL-concept to my husband. He said; “Go for it, I was always annoyed at my mom for just having photos stashed in heaps.”
Thanks for sharing David! Absoutly laughed out loud when I read “my best friend in the whole wide world because I don’t feel this baby tearing my pelvis apart!” although I wasn’t lucky enough to know that feeling of relief because my labors were super fast, I can appricate it because I know for a fact I would have felt that way!!!
This was great. I couldn’t imagine what Feedback Friday would be like with David writing it, but I found this post both informative and entertaining.
Love the post! But my question is: David, how did you convince Becky the family needed a dog? Love Oreo. We have a Havanese, and he is the smartest, sweetest, and most adorable puppy ever! He is 10 months old and we couldn’t be happier about him joining our family!!!
Love that your husband is so involved in the PL business. Enjoyed this post getting to see his side. Laughed so hard at the last question! It took me back to my epidural 17 years ago when I grabbed the Dr’s tie and said “get me the anesthesiologist!” Ha-but it wasn’t funny at the timeand yes that is the Dr I remember the most from my 2 births. That 17yr old daughter of mine is now set on going to college to be a nurse anesthetist. I told her the first lesson is to be able to spell it without having to look it up! I have the Clementine edition but haven’t started yet-am learning my I-phone and trying to learn to take and print instagram photos then off I will go. Thanks so much for all you do!
Made me giggle, the last sentence…my best friend….because I too am best friends with my anesthesiologist he just doesn’t remember me the last time I saw him was 6 years ago:)