We Need A Witness.

We need a witness to our lives.
There's a billion people on the planet...
I mean, what does any one life really mean?
But in a relationship, you're promising to care about everything;
The good things, the bad things,
the terrible things, the mundane things...
all of it, all of the time, every day.
You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed
because I will notice it.
Your life will not go unwitnessed
because I will be your witness'.

-Cathy Day

My Super Sucky Holiday Weekend.

It's Labor Day weekend! We should be doing something fun, like...going to the lake, or "grilling out", or camping. Instead, we're chained to Duluth because Chris is on-call all weekend. That means he's a slave of the pager, and so far his schedule is working out like this:
Saturday- work.
Sunday- work.
Monday- work.

Now, Chris left before 7 a.m. this morning, and we won't be home till nearly midnight (no thanks to the boozers who smash themselves up on 4-wheelers...). I'm almost beside myself trying to figure out things to do. The house is clean. I've checked MySpace and Facebook a million times (someone post new pictures or something!). I walked around the block...twice. I watched all my recorded episodes of Oprah. I went grocery shopping. I even cooked cinnamon rolls from SCRATCH, people!! I survived today, but if Chris has another 17 hour work-day tomorrow, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself (beyond going to church...alone). Such is the life of a P.A. wife. *sigh*

Help me pass the time. Any suggestions?

Stavenger for President!

My husband is VERY passionate about politics! So much, so, that he has now set his sights beyond working at the hospital. Yes, folks, he's got his eyes on the Oval office. And his grassroots campaign is really taking off! Check him out on the evening news here!

http://www.inews3.com/play.php?first=Chris&last=Stavenger

You can send your campaign contributions directly to me :)
See you in Washington!

The Stand

I'll stand
with arms high and heart abandoned
in awe of the One who gave it all.

I'll stand
My soul, Lord, to You surrendered.
All I am is Yours.

I'm Pretty Much Famous There.

At the Post Office, that is.
This is because Chris decided to sell some of his PA School textbooks on Amazon, and they've been selling like hotcakes! So my part-time job has been packing, addressing, and sending hugenormous textbooks to various parts of the country. Not a bad little side income! You may be thinking, "hmm. I sure could use a second-hand textbook on Pharmacotherapy or Medical Biochemistry!" Well, it's waiting for you over at Amazon!

Have you had any luck as an online seller?

The Wreck of the Day.

I was in a Martha-Stewart-eat-your-heart-out mood last night...making my own BBQ sauce for sandwiches and whipping up a little peach cobbler for dessert. Those golden peaches looked beautiful when they came out of the oven, but the whole thing looked a little, um, "liquid-y". I thought this would rectify itself by cooling for a few minutes. Not so much. It's then I went back to the recipe card and connected the dots; I neglected to include flour, salt, AND baking soda. Whhhhoooops!

Speaking of wrecks, Angela turned me on to this website, which features professional cakes-gone-bad. Equally as entertaining as the horrific cakes pictured is the hilarious commentary with them. It's worth a read!


That's all for today...
I'm off to give that peach cobbler another shot at life.
Wish me luck!

This Girl's No Draft Dodger!

The first thing I thought when we left for Chris' hometown of Moorhead, MN on Friday was "Oh no...I forgot to blog today! That means Chris' underwear is going to be up all weekend!" Poor Chris.

Our purpose in traveling 4.5 hours across the state was to take part in the 2008 Stavball Fantasy Football Draft. Ahhh, any girl's dream weekend getaway. :) Pre-draft, Chris and "the guys" went golfing (which, Chris adds is "the best round of golf he's ever played in his life") while I spent the morning pampered with a pedicure at the spa. (Hey...a girl's gotta have her fun, too!)

The football draft was a grueling 4-hour process (with a pizza break in the middle), but I was happy to be part of the action this year as the auctioneer and co-owner of team Brown Chick & Brown Cow. Now, I don't know a lot about football, but I think we have a pretty nice looking starting lineup. GO TEAM!

Brown Chick and Brown Cow represent.

Jake seems to think his #1 'stache will lead his team to victory.

There is some serious pizza consuming going on here.

The finale of the draft called for a night out! Here, Chris' brother, Brian, does his best impression of the aloof man at the bar.

Folding the Laundry

Why do I do it?
Because it makes Chris laugh- the kind of laugh that makes his voice all high and squeaky. The best kind of laugh.

Later that night, we made shadow puppets on the ceiling and went to bed.

The secret is out:
Most of the time, we just *pretend* to be grown-ups.

Last Five on the 'Ol i-pod.

Run to the Water (Live)
Wreck of the Day (Anna Nalick)
Weighed Down (Jars Of Clay)
The Sun (Maroon 5)
One Way (Hillsong United)

Your turn.

My Husband, the Olympics Ruiner.

(Yesterday Afternoon):

Jamie: "I really want Shawn Johnson to win a gold medal tonight."
Chris: "Why?"
Jamie: "Because she's done so well and been inched out of that spot more than once. And because she's so darn cute!"
Chris: (giggles)

(Later that evening, while watching Track and Field on T.V...)

Chris: "That Shay....Shaa....girl wins the gold."
Jamie: "Shawn Johnson?"
Chris: "Yeah."
Jamie: "Did they compete while I was on the phone?"
Chris: "No- it's coming up."
Jamie: "How do you know she wins?"
Chris: "I read it online."
Jamie: "CHHHHHHRRRRRRIIIIISSSSS!!!!!!!!!"
Chris: "WHAT!?" (genuinely stunned)
Jamie: "Thanks a lot! You just ruined it for me!"
Chris: "Oh....oops."

Doggone spoilers!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

Since it was such a be-a-UUUUtiful day out today, my friend, Jess, and I took advantage of Duluth's majestic lakewalk (Duluth borders Lake Superior, for those of you who are geographically challenged). Now, Rachel and Bobby moved to Santa Cruz last year and boasted about their gorgeous scenery along the ocean. But I would argue that as far as scenery goes, they have some stiff competition from the Northland! Observe, and be amazed...




Go ahead. Compete with THAT.

I Guess I'm a Twins Fan Now! Sorry, Dad.

Hi friends!
I realize I was a bad, bad blogger last week (wrist slap!). I was just so excited about all of our impending weekend fun! We received tickets to a Twins game, as well as a hotel stay in Minneapolis for our wedding. So, we treated it as an extended honeymoon and had a great time in the Twin Cities!

We stayed with Chris' aunt and uncle on Friday night, and they gave us a lovely tour of the city. We especially enjoyed a stop at Grand Ole Creamery, one of the nation's best ice cream parlors. We always enjoy visiting with them, and are grateful for their hospitality.

Saturday was our day out in the city, and no trip to Minneapolis is complete without a visit to the nation's largest mall! But we weren't there to shop. Chris wanted to school me in miniature golf...which he did. Have no fear, I shall rise again!! I was easily consoled when we stumbled across a CHIPOTLE in the mall- it literally brought a tear to my eye. That barbacoa never tasted so good.

Later in the evening, we enjoyed a lovely dinner in downtown Minneapolis.

Our hotel was kind enough to provide us with a "romance package" of Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. Then they were kind enough to send up a a second "romance package," which we kindly accepted :) I wonder if they've figured out their error yet...

Sunday brought us to the Metrodome to see the Twins take on the Mariners. It was quite the showdown, and very exciting for my first Twins experience. I appreciated the climate control in the dome, as opposed to sitting in the sun at Angel's stadium, or freezing from the Bay breeze in San Francisco.

Chris is very focused when he's watching the game...

...so I told him to look a little more excited to be here!

There we are, in all of our Twins Country glory.

Can I Have a Medal for That?

I GOT CHRIS TO EAT VEGETABLES!

I went crazy in the produce section this time around, and incorporated veggies into several meals this week.
I'm pleased to announce that he survived the Garlic Steak with asparagus, and the sausage skillet with zucchini AND tomatoes!

Ah, small victories.

The DOG Conversation.

If there were two things I could change about myself, they would be
1. the ability to enjoy a thrill ride, and
2. to understand a love for animals.

Believe me, I take a lot of criticism for the latter. It's not that I HATE animals...I just don't get the roll-around-on-the-ground-while-the-dog-licks-your-face kind of affection that my husband (and many others) have for the animal kingdom. I can't pin-point my aversion to pets...maybe it's the smell, or the shedding, or the begging for food, or the slobber...you get the idea.

Chris, for as long as I've known him, has wanted to get a dog. This, of course, would complete his little dream trinity of wife-house-dog. In an attempt to postpone the inevitable, I asked him to wait until we had been married a few months to start talking about it. And, unbelievably, he didn't bring it up...until this week.

Coincidentally, or not coincidentally, one of his patients owns a Golden Retriever kennel, the same kennel where the dog from Homeward Bound was born and bred. Chris interprets this as sign #1 and sits me down on the couch after work to tell me about it. Later in the week, at an outing to Burrito Union (Duluth's Chipotle wannabe), Chris saw a girl walking a Golden Retriever. Ding, ding, ding...supposedly sign #2!

Alleged "Sign #3" came last week when I was cleaning up apples from our yard, and glanced over at the tree in the corner of our yard. Chilling on the branches was the stuffed dog pictured above. I thought Chris left it there for me to find, but he said he had nothing to do with it (and, come to think of it, he probably wouldn't be that clever). Uggghhhhghhhh.

So, that's where we are. Chris is stoked about visiting the kennel this week, which I have expressed is just a VISIT. Logistically, we have a lot to work out before we get a dog. And he has a lot to conquer in me before we take that smelly, slobbery, hairy plunge.

Dog lovers...convince me.
And those of you who have obstained from owning a dog, HELP ME OUT! What's your reasoning??

Just Because I Love It.

"It's easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself."

-Johann Sebastian Bach

Another One Bites the Dust.

If you've ever been around me, you know that I'm a big fan of blogging. And I'm very competitive. If you roll those together, you'll see how passionate I can get when someone tells me "I'll never have a blog". And in the last few years, I've seen friend by friend slowly give in to the world of blogging and never look back. Muaaahahah.

Occasionally, I run into someone for whom I think blogging would be a natural bi-product of their introspective and witty nature. Such is the case with my good friend, John Garcia, who just started HIS blog YESTERDAY. I've been urging him for over a year to start one, with his primary excuse being "no one will read it".

Well, I'm here to pimp and pimp big time. Please help me welcome John to the blogging community. Stop by his blog and tell him not to use made-up words.

Asses and Llamas and Goats...ohhhhh my!

With Chris off work today, we got out and enjoyed the beautiful weather by visiting the Lake Superior Zoo! The last zoo we visited was in San Diego- the mothership of all zoos- so this one paled in comparison. But for a little zoo in Duluth, it was pretty enjoyable! It had most of the animals you'd come to see, minus all the weird birds and stuff. Fine with me.

Moments after this photo was taken, the snapping turtle SN-APPED at Chris...he wouldn't go near it the rest of the day. I think he has post-traumatic stress from the gorilla charging him at the SD zoo. I just sit back and laugh.

The lioness let us get up close and personal.

The polar bear did a whole lot of nothing, but sure was cute (and probably feels right at home here in the winter!!)

Of course, we had to swing by the petting zoo (for Chris). Take note of his ear-to-ear smile in these pictures.

Like a kid in a candy shop (except candy shops don't require anti-bacterial soap at the end of the visit. And they smell a LOT better.)

Chris had a special bond with this donkey. So much so that the donkey literally cried when he left. (And believe me...that is a loud, unpleasant sound!)

I'd much rather hang out with stuffed things that don't smell. :)

Why Did You Choose Those Earrings?

Today, we shook things up at the Stavenger household...JAMIE left for work before Chris! Actually, it was a precursor to "work". I had to go through the necessary HR presentation on safety, sexual harassment, payroll, etc. before jumping into my substitute teaching position come September. It's a grueling process- getting all the required paperwork filled out for this and that. But, God was dropping all kinds of blessings on me in the process. Let me share.

1. Our orientation was scheduled to end at noon. However, the HR ladies forgot about a union meeting they were to attend at 11:30. Thus, the sexual harassment and special resources presentations "had to be cut short". They apologized for this, but I don't understand why. We ended up finishing at 11. Score one!

2. We couldn't leave until our paperwork was processed. There were about 20 people in line ahead of me. But then another HR worker came to help and opened up a new table. You should have seen me get on THAT- I was so stealth. Front of the line. Awesome.

3. I got to have lunch with my favorite husband at the hospital today.

4. And I found $20 bucks on the ground. YEEEAHHH!

So, all in all, not a bad start to my educational career in this town. OH, as for the title of this post, I don't think I heard a word of the presentation today because I was too busy wondering why that lady was wearing a red, white, blue and silver outfit with those dangling, diamond-shaped brass earrings with the green stone in the middle. Why?

When Your Hair Stands Up Straight

I was asked to be a guest blogger for Brittany at perksofbeingme while she is away...so I wrote the entry below. But I thought you may be able to contribute to this brainstorm as well, seeing as you've been CHAMPION commenters lately (I love you.). Go here to see my guest post and leave Brittany some love.

Today I thought I'd address a phenomenon surely ALL of us have experienced: goosebumps.

Certainly, there are good goosebumps and there are bad- very bad- goosebumps. Let's brainstorm together, shall we?

GOOD goosebumps:
*The climax of a brilliant symphony, especially when experienced in person at a grand concert hall.
*Your sweetie whispering a kind word in your ear.
*The end of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" when they shout, "Move that bus!"
*Finding just the right Bible verse to soothe your soul
*The chorus of a song on the radio that speaks right to you.
*Finding "that spot" on your back that has been itching for hours.
*Hearing great news from a friend over the phone.
*When "your team" makes an insane comeback to win the game (that was my husband's contribution)
* (are you thinking of another one to add??)

BAD goosebumps:
*The quintessential scratching of the chalkboard.
*Nail files (ok...this is a personal quirk of mine. You probably don't share this one.)
*Duluth in January.
*The sound of utensils dragging across your ceramic plate.
*A foul note from a live performance.
*A convicting word that pierces your heart.

Alright, faithful bloggers...it is now your turn.
What would you contribute to this list?

Happy Birthday to You!

It's birthday time, with half of my immediate family celebrating birthdays this week! Fortunately, I got all my gifts and cards in the mail on time. But, since they're pretty important to me, I thought I'd give them a quick shout-out on the blog...so HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my favorite mother and brother!


(Mom, make sure Derek actually reads this.)

And if YOUR birthday happens to fall during this marvelous week, well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to YOU, too! :)

California in Sepia Tone

Chris and I were fortunate to be able to visit California for a weekend...more of a work-ish event for me, as I was helping lead worship for a conference last minute. But during our short stay, we were able to attend my friend Tony's wedding, as well as spend a bit of time with some of my best friends- Daniel and Amanda Baker. The wildfires caused our flights to be adjusted slightly, and- while the valley was unusually hazy and smoky- was not brown to the degree pictured below. That's just for fun. :)

(By the way, if you've been impressed with my daily blogging lately, take into consideration that this trip was at the end of June. That should take me down a notch in your book.) :)


Chris, me, Daniel, Anne-Marie and Amanda enjoying the fountains on a hot day!

Juice-It-Up smoothies were a welcomed treat...and Anne-Marie loved walking next to "Tis".

Sure...go ahead and get soaked. Water fun!

Jamie and Shannon, and Jamie and Chris at the wedding.

And the happily married couple...Tony and Kristina!

They played the "anniversary game" at the wedding, inviting all couples out to the dance floor, and excused us by how long we've been married. Uhhh, we were the first ones off the floor. I hate games I can't win!!! But I love being married :)

Makin' Pizza

I've tried Boboli.
And Freshetta.
And Tombstone.
And Dominoes.
But I've never made pizza from SCRATCH and thought this is a challenge I'd like to undertake. In fact, I've never made anything of a dough-y substance before, so this was a whole new ballgame for me. Chris and I found this awesome recipe for a barbeque-chicken and gouda pizza...on the grill. Yesterday I started early in the day letting the dough rise and putting together the sauce. I was excited for Chris to come home so we could get everything on the grill. 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m...still not home (he was on call for surgery this day). I almost gave up hope and resorted to a good grilled cheese sandwich when he called and said he was on his way home. GREAT! Let's fire it up!! And the official review from Chris was "it's like sex in my mouth." So I guess he liked it ;)

Doing the prep work (and taking advantage of our great deck, too!)

Throwin' the pizzas on the grill.

And....tada! This pie was quickly devoured by my husband.

Oh Please, I'm No Fool...

Two morning news programs today featured investigative reports involving the use of the hidden camera glasses. I can't help but wonder, with all the modern technology we have now, is there no way to make these glasses less conspicuous? Are the Drew-Carey-Larry-King style goggles the best we can do? I have to say that, if the situation arose, I don't think I'd fall for it. That is, if there is an attractive, young woman wearing them. If you sent in an old man, perhaps I'd be more inclined to fall for it.

Then again, it might have worked on me yesterday.