lunch notes

little sausages

2011-08-18T14:56:00.000-05:00

pregnant robot walk

2011-08-08T14:58:00.002-05:00

ah, romance!

2011-07-17T13:25:00.002-05:00

This is what counts for quality time these days. Spending an hour watching the washing machine because it went berserk and spewed water all over your murder basement at midnight.

pow! right in the kisser!

2011-07-05T14:59:00.002-05:00

The baby totally kicked Chris in the face last night. :)

more baby notes

2011-05-02T22:34:00.002-05:00

Predator

2011-04-22T12:16:00.001-05:00

Chris assured me that it was probably a woodpecker.

Pied Piper

2011-04-13T13:02:00.002-05:00

We want to bring all the neighborhood cats home. Even Dandruff Cat.

found in my luggage - another St. Louis edition!

2011-04-01T13:03:00.003-05:00

Got to take a trip home to St. Louis to see friends and family last week. Since Chris couldn't come I got lots of notes in my luggage! :)

2011-03-10T12:00:00.000-06:00

Chris was in Seattle last weekend for Emerald City Comicon, so I was home alone for the first time ever. He was sweet enough to leave these around the house for me before he left. :)

early fashion show

2011-02-25T20:36:00.005-06:00

If you didn't see it, Chris broke our good news on his blog last week. This note was hidden under my dinner plate tonight, and in true pregnant lady fashion, made me bawl. :)

my birthday card

2011-02-03T16:39:00.002-06:00

Yes, I am one lucky lady. Hahahahah! :)

nap buddy

2010-11-15T18:25:00.000-06:00

I took a nap today. Scout wasn't helping.

work work work . . . work work work

2010-10-27T22:32:00.002-05:00

found in my luggage - St. Louis edition

2010-09-27T14:15:00.004-05:00

I recently took a quick trip back home to St. Louis to surprise my mom for her birthday. Chris tucked these into my bag to find on my trip. Like he did for my Portland trip and my Seattle trip before that. Whatta guy! :D

ch-ch-ch-changes

2010-09-07T11:44:00.003-05:00

I've really been struggling with what to do with lunchnotes in recent months. These drawings from Chris were originally done to put in my lunch everyday as a way to connect us while I was away at work. Now that I work from home with Chris, there is no lunch to be made every morning, and no reason to make a lunchnote.

Chris's schedule is packed. Crazy, busy, no time to breathe, packed for the next six months or so. As such, I don't want to burden him with one more thing to draw.

I'm still not sure what this means for lunchnotes. It may be a brief break. It may return in a different incarnation. I may take the whole thing down all together.

Thanks to those of you who have read lunchnotes, and especially to those who have been kind enough to leave comments, over the last four and a half years. It's been so nice to hear from you and I hope you've enjoyed lunchnotes as much as I have.

indoor cat

2010-08-24T14:36:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty sure Scout is the only indoor cat in all of Portland. Which means we have lots of kitties roaming in our yard on any given day. This fattie, who we've nicknamed "Shadow Cat" has been spending time on our porch lately. It's driving Scout nuts!

ACK! A SPIDER!!

2010-08-20T21:10:00.002-05:00

Laura is making dinner so I figured I'd go ahead and post this'n my li'l ol' self.

Oh, this is Chris by the way... you know, the one with the beard. Okay, here goes.

On our daily walks around our neighborhood we've been seeing a metric ton of spiders lately. We actually point them out to each other along the way. :)

To my surprise Scout actually pointed out this big'n that's building a web outside the window of my studio earlier today. She did it by purring and rubbing her paws all over the glass.

That'll do, cat. That'll do.

best idea

2010-08-16T18:09:00.001-05:00

No heat nor humidity will keep Chris from his piping hot coffee!

today's tragedy

2010-08-11T17:51:00.003-05:00

in dreams (again)

2010-08-09T19:57:00.002-05:00

So I had this dream the other night, where kittens kept coming out of our air vents and leaving the house through the toilet. The ones that didn't look exactly like Scout, were painted to look like lions and tigers. What does it mean???

windows

2010-08-04T16:04:00.002-05:00

We're pretty sure Scout doesn't get the concept of windows.

sleep

2010-08-03T17:20:00.001-05:00

ripped from our lives, pt. 987

2010-07-30T13:14:00.000-05:00

eeeeeooooooooeeeeeeeeeooooooo

2010-07-28T14:27:00.002-05:00

There's no better way to find out the old alarm system in your rental house is still working than by having it go off for no reason at 3:45 am.

looking back

2010-07-24T14:12:00.012-05:00

Chris signing at the Oni booth at Comic-Con (first book signing)

Chris with Capote In Kansas writer (and our dear friend) Ande Parks

Five years ago, Capote In Kansasdebuted at Comic-Con. I cannot believe it's already been five years since that book came out and put us on the path to where we are now. Five years ago, I don't think I imagined that we would be where we are today. And I can't wait to see where the next five years take us.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Chris these last five years and especially to those that were there five years ago. Special, special thanks to Ande Parks, Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt for being so kind to Chris so early in his career and Oni Press for taking a chance on an unknown artist. We are so lucky to be where we are today, surrounded by so many amazing friends and fans.

At Comic-Con, 2005. So much good stuff ahead for these two kids!

another true story

2010-07-21T13:43:00.003-05:00

It might be time to trim the beard. Before we lose something valuable in there.

anniversary card

2010-07-15T14:42:00.002-05:00

Inside it says "I'm really glad you picked me". Awwwwwwww. :D

scout the bug hunter

2010-07-14T14:20:00.004-05:00

No air-conditioning in the house means lots of open windows. Which means the occasional bug for Scout to chase around the house! :)

tropical!

2010-07-13T15:13:00.003-05:00

Chris will shortly be down to one project, for the first time in forever. This year has been a lot of stress and hard work, so we're planning our first real vacation to take this fall! Woo Hoo!

aaah

2010-07-12T14:32:00.004-05:00

Heat wave has finally broke. Thankfully, because fans are no substitute for air-conditioning when it's 98 degrees outside.

hot, hot, hot

2010-07-08T20:48:00.003-05:00

It's hot here, and we don't have air-conditioning, but this is nothing compared to St. Louis summers, so we're keeping our mouths shut! :)

true romance

2010-07-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

Chris and I met almost eight years ago to the day and as you can see, the romance is still alive! ;)

sharing

2010-07-06T17:06:00.002-05:00

We are sharing an office in our new house. I love it. Not quite sure how Chris feels about it! ;)

kapow!

2010-07-05T14:46:00.002-05:00

I love independence as much as the next gal, but don't necessarily love the fireworks that go along with. Especially when they last for 4+ hours.

yardwork

2010-07-02T16:45:00.001-05:00

new house

2010-07-01T10:19:00.004-05:00

There are a few things we're getting used to about our new house. Mainly the murder basement.

flureffen?

2010-06-30T13:12:00.003-05:00

What's the Swedish word for "pain in the ass"? That's what this cabinet should have been called.

empty house

2010-06-02T20:17:00.004-05:00

Sorry there is no lunchnote for this post. Our scanner (along with everything else we own) is now packed in a POD and headed to Oregon. It will be a few weeks before we have the office/studio set up again, so posting will be light until then.

If you're near Charlotte, NC this weekend, Chris and I will be at HeroesCon (why? because we didn't have enough stuff going on - we needed to add a trip out of town days before a cross country move to keep it interesting). If you're there, please stop by table 304 in Artist's Alley and say "Hi".

If you're having trouble finding us, just look for the couple that looks like they've been moving boxes of books in 90 degree weather with 90% humidity for the last week, then slept on an air mattress for two nights, then got up at 5 am to drive 14 hours to North Carolina. :)

moving!

2010-05-28T19:32:00.003-05:00

We spent all yesterday moving boxes out of a storage unit and into the POD on our driveway. This is exactly how we felt after 8+ hours in the heat and humidity lugging boxes of books.

if only

2010-05-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

If only Bebe would mow the yard, that would certainly help me out this week!

yip, yip!

2010-05-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

Just to clarify, it's Avatar the cartoon, not the James Cameron mega-blockbuster.

eeeeeevil chichi!

2010-05-25T14:43:00.003-05:00

Makes more sense if you read this. But the old prospector moustache is back! :)

baby bunnies!!!!!

2010-05-21T13:29:00.002-05:00

We once again have a baby bunny in our backyard!!!! This is by far the most exciting news we've had this week. :)

found in my luggage - Portland edition

2010-05-17T12:02:00.003-05:00

I got back yesterday from my trip to Portland. Chris hid these notes in my luggage for me to find throughout my trip. And for those wondering, I did find a nice little house for us to rent, so we will not be living under the bridge after all! :)

Warning: Last note contains partial cartoon nudity. View at your own risk! :)

under the bridge

2010-05-10T16:49:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow I leave for a few days to find us a place to live in Portland. Finding a house has been causing me a TON of anxiety as it's really hard to try and rent something long distance. At some point I posted on Twitter that I was afraid we would be living under a bridge. Which is obviously bad news since Bebe is scared of trolls.

wastin' time

2010-05-07T14:31:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous in St. Louis, so Scout and I spent some time watching the birds and squirrels out the open windows.

death by meatloaf

2010-05-06T20:12:00.001-05:00

Somebody ate too much "meat" loaf tonight.

chair thief

2010-04-30T11:00:00.001-05:00

road trip

2010-04-29T11:00:00.000-05:00

oregon trail

2010-04-28T10:02:00.002-05:00

We hit the road in just about six weeks. Advance apologies to anyone who follows me on Twitter, I already have a boatload of Oregon Trail jokes saved up.

chair obsessed

2010-04-27T13:21:00.002-05:00

Scout has recently become a little obsessed with the chair in my office. If I leave the chair for just a few seconds, I'll come back to find her laying in it. I have no idea why, it's not the slightest bit comfortable.

naps

2010-04-26T11:12:00.001-05:00

Brady ain't lying - naps are the best!

bzzzt!

2010-04-23T10:00:00.001-05:00

Another one for the cat lovers.

cat donut!

2010-04-22T11:34:00.001-05:00

the secret to Chris's productivity

2010-04-21T17:24:00.005-05:00

This might be a bit funnier if you follow Chris on Twitter where you can hear him talk about all the junk food he's eating/coffee he's drinking.

big news - on several fronts!

2010-04-19T12:04:00.001-05:00

So much going on! Where to start? Well, we put the house up for sale on Monday and had accepted an offer by Thursday night. We are very excited and I'm very hopeful that this is going to be a smooth process to closing. Come June, we'll be headed west to make a new home in Portland, OR aka PDX aka Stumptown aka Rose City aka Little Beirut. We are so excited about the change in scenery as well as joining the incredibly large comics community in Portland. There is an amazing amount of talent in that town - here's hoping some of it rubs off on us! :)

We also just returned from c2e2 in Chicago (hence the note with me loaded down with bags) where it was announced that Chris will be the artist on a new Thor book for Marvel, Thor: The Mighty Avenger, written by Roger Langridge and colored by Matt Wilson. There are some great interviews at Newsarama and CBR, if you're up for some reading. If you just want to look at pretty pictures, Chris has posted both the first two covers and design sketches on his blog.

c2e2 was a wonderful show for us and it was simply fantastic to see so many of our friends. I'll get my sappy thank you out of the way early this year.

I am blown away by the kindness and generosity of the comics community (fans, creators, retailers, publishers, etc.). So many people have embraced what Chris is doing (and made me feel welcome at the party) that is really overwhelms us. There are too many to thank individually, but if we spoke this weekend I know I enjoyed it and I hope that we'll see you again soon. And a very special thank you to everyone who stopped by and bought Lunchnotes! Thank you so, so much! This industry is simply the best around, and we grateful every single day that we are a part of it.

one of us is having a good time

2010-04-09T17:23:00.001-05:00

House goes up for sale on Monday. It has been very stressful, to say the least. But, one of us is managing to have fun in the midst of all the craziness.

bam!

2010-04-02T18:49:00.002-05:00

Inspired by a hallway collision when one of us wasn't watching where he was going.

sleepnote

2010-04-01T10:37:00.002-05:00

Not sure I need to say this, but this note was drawn by me. I left it for Chris to find after I fell asleep the other night. Hello, Marvel? DC? I am available! :)

new digs

2010-03-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

We are putting our house up for sale shortly, and in an effort to make it look like normal people live here, we've relocated Chris's work space to the basement. Scout is still trying to figure this new space out.

Inspired by Chris's tweets about moving the studio to the basement, talented comic artist and good friend Francesco Francavilla created this awesome portrait of Chris. Thanks so much Francesco! I can't wait to hang it in our new house!

inaminnit!

2010-03-25T14:59:00.003-05:00

I got this note minutes after I posted this. See that??? Nagging does work!!! :)

captain oversleep

2010-03-16T12:24:00.002-05:00

I know, I know. Another note about being tired. I wouldn't blame you for never coming back.

cofffeeeeeee

2010-03-15T11:30:00.003-05:00

Blah blah blah tired blah blah blah working hard blah blah blah coffee.

bear with us . . .

2010-03-05T11:00:00.000-06:00

I won't complain (yet again) about how hard Chris and I are working. But I will say that we are trying very, very hard to keep our blogs somewhat current during this very busy time in our lives. We so appreciate all of you guys that visit our blogs and leave comments for us. You have no idea how much your comments lift our spirits when we're exhausted. Thanks for sticking with us.

presents

2010-03-04T11:00:00.001-06:00

Chris and I were gone most of last Saturday and came home to a kitty that had gotten sick all over the kitchen and living room. Poor Scout. :( This note is a much nicer interpretation of all the "presents" Scout left for us.

gifts

2010-03-03T21:04:00.000-06:00

No matter what this cat does, she is too cute to ever stay mad at. Lucky for her.

ready, set . . . go!

2010-02-26T09:57:00.003-06:00

Scout spends a good portion of her waking hours racing an imaginary horse through the house. Are we the only ones who have a cat that mostly moves at a thunderous gallop?

not lulu

2010-02-24T11:00:00.000-06:00

assistant lulu

2010-02-23T11:00:00.001-06:00

We're in the midst of some big changes for Team Samnee, one of which I can finally talk about! I am now "officially" Chris's assistant. I gave notice at my job a while back when it became very obvious that Chris needed some help with the more mundane aspects of his job. I still have a few days here and there at work to help train my replacement, but for the most part, I am now self-employed with Chris. We're both very excited about this and I hope it will get Chris a little more time off and a little more time to concentrate on the art instead of all the other nonsense that sometimes goes into the funny book making!

We've got some very busy months ahead of us but I couldn't be happier about all this. Chris is working on a couple of very exciting projects right now and we can't wait to share more about them soon!

bath time!

2010-02-22T19:55:00.001-06:00

Somebody got a bath this weekend. And by bath I mean, got put in the washer and dryer. :)

my valentime

2010-02-18T16:16:00.001-06:00

how lunchnotes are made part 2

2010-02-18T16:14:00.000-06:00

the nest

2010-02-18T16:13:00.001-06:00

how lunchnotes are made part 1

2010-02-18T16:11:00.002-06:00

snow!

2010-02-18T16:11:00.001-06:00

coffee time!

2010-02-18T16:07:00.002-06:00

Chris thought I might need some instructions on how to make coffee. Who knows where I might have filled the water to if it hadn't been for this note! :)

igloo

2010-02-18T16:05:00.000-06:00

cannonball!

2010-02-18T16:04:00.000-06:00

birthday

2010-02-18T16:02:00.000-06:00

groundhogs day

2010-02-18T16:01:00.000-06:00

sooooo tired

2010-02-18T15:57:00.000-06:00

quick (lunchnote-less) thank you!

2010-02-04T12:27:00.002-06:00

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful birthday wishes yesterday! I appreciate each and every one of them! You all made a great day even brighter - so thank you! :)

Sorry posting has been so light these last couple of weeks. I typically scan and post my lunchnote during my lunch break at work and there are some computer issues at work that will keep me from posting that way from now on. And because things have been so busy, it just hasn't been a priority to scan them at night when I get home. Not 'cause I don't love you guys - but because I am elbow-deep in school work right now!

Soon, I'll have some news to share that will make it much easier to get these notes posted in a timely manner! But, until then, I'll try to get some up here soon! :)

birfday girl!!

2010-02-03T10:19:00.003-06:00

Today is my 32nd (gasp!) Birthday! Like any good birthday girl, I enjoyed a breakfast of chocolate ice cream to be followed by a movie with my handsome fella, all while playing hooky from work!

iPad

2010-01-28T11:22:00.002-06:00

I've shared my unhealthy love for my iPod touch before, so it's probably no surprise that I am eagerly awaiting getting my grubby little apple-loving hands on an iPad.

troublemaker

2010-01-27T11:15:00.001-06:00

funny face

2010-01-27T11:12:00.002-06:00

Secret to a happy marriage? Marry someone you find hilarious. Laughter really does do wonders. :)

bed head

2010-01-22T11:06:00.002-06:00

There should also be a caption for this whole drawing that says "tired comic book artist".

my love's one true love

2010-01-21T16:31:00.000-06:00

smash!

2010-01-20T11:52:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was kind of a rough day around these parts. No worries though, all better now! Now that I got some SMASHIN' out of the way! :)

meow?

2010-01-18T11:12:00.002-06:00

If you are on Facebook, you can now become a fan of lunchnotes!

tight fit

2010-01-15T11:22:00.001-06:00

I've said it before, but this cat will try and fit into anything. Including an empty wrapping paper roll.

dirty laundry

2010-01-15T11:15:00.004-06:00

Since I spent yesterday's post bragging about my incredibly impressive ability to weigh things, I thought I would come clean about something we've not been so great about lately. Things have been so busy that I've been letting the clean laundry pile up in laundry baskets. Long gone are the days of folding stuff fresh out of the dryer and putting it away. Sigh.

lulu, the human scale

2010-01-14T11:33:00.003-06:00

I am a woman of few talents, but I am pretty darn good at estimating how much something weighs by picking it up. The fact that I am bragging about this on the internet should tell you just how unimpressive my other few talents actually are. :)

tofu!

2010-01-13T12:06:00.001-06:00

night owl

2010-01-12T12:10:00.001-06:00

I know I've said this before, but despite the fact that like 90% of these lunchnotes are drawn with us in bed, we really don't sleep much (Chris especially).

And despite me looking contentedly asleep in this note, I do distinctly remember being woken up by a cold, wet little kitty nose on my face last night. SCOOUUUUUUUTTTT!

snow bump

2010-01-11T11:09:00.002-06:00

Unfortunately, we didn't get nearly enough snow to make a snowman or bump. For those of you wondering, here is an article about the spoons under the pillows supersition!

brrrrrrr

2010-01-06T11:14:00.002-06:00

My weather app is telling me that we can expect 3-5 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow morning! Woo Hoo! Put your PJ's on inside out and put your spoons under your pillows - I'm hoping for a snow day tomorrow! :)

lame-o winter!

2010-01-05T11:47:00.001-06:00

So far winter in St. Louis has either brought us warm and lots of rain or freezing cold and totally dry. I wish the two could get together to deliver more than a dusting of snow!

new years resolution?

2010-01-04T11:37:00.001-06:00

saying goodbye to 2009

2009-12-31T12:43:00.003-06:00

We decided to start the new year with new haircuts this week! I cut off about 16" to donate to a program that makes wigs for women with cancer and Chris cut off almost enough to donate himself! I'd be surprised if the UPS man recognized him, all cleaned up! :)

New Years might be my favorite time of year. I love the idea of fresh starts and new possibilities. Due to a little luck and a lot of hard work, 2009 was a great year for us. I know we owe part of that to all of you who support Chris's work and we are incredibly grateful.

2010 has some wonderful changes in store for us, many of which I'll be able to share with you soon. I hope 2010 also brings us (and you) good health, success, love and happiness. Thank you for sharing part of our journey through 2009, I hope you stick around for many more lunch notes in 2010!