Happy Halloween!

Not much going on at the Stavenger house this halloween.
A bowl of candy is at the door, ready for visitors.
I'll be dressing up as Chris Stavenger, P.A.-C this year.
My scrubs are all ready to go.

I Had To Laugh a Little.

My friend Jennifer tipped me off to the following artifact-
I can see how this could be a problem at school.
But I can't say I wouldn't giggle a little inside.


Kids are way to savvy these days.

Because Sometimes You Need To Indulge.

This is a new favorite around our house.
Though, it will be a novelty since it's freaking expensive.


Do you have a favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor?

(And, yes, I realize it's getting a little chilly for ice cream...)

VEGAS, Baby!

I'll get back in the regular blogging game soon, but I'm taking a little break while my husband and I travel to SIN CITY this weekend. It will be Chris' first time in the city, and we're looking forward to showing him around and going to see this! We're also looking forward to spending some time with my parents & brother, as well as our good friends Stephen and Stephanie, and Chris' brother & sister-in-law. It's a big 'ol party...you should join us!

Those of you not fortunate enough to make the trip with us...if you are in the Minneapolis area this Thursday, be sure to check out the fabulous Shannon Curtis- she'll be playing at the Bryant Lake Bowl theater at 10 p.m. this Thursday!!

Fall Favorite Things

Yay!! One of the best things about fall is that it heralds in the Christmas season! And THIS year, I'm particularly excited to experience my first "white christmas," though I'll be far from family for the holidays. Anyway, we've been enjoying some little luxuries, so I thought I'd make a Favorite Things list! I won't have the economic impact that Oprah would, but I thought I'd throw some things out there for you to try!

1) Berkshire Blankets: Serasoft throw. We received this as a wedding gift, and it's SO soft, as well as the perfect weight and size in which to wrap yourself. Plus, their website has lovely bird chirping, enough to warrant a visit. :)

2) WoodWick Candles- Since we don't have a fireplace, I LOVE lighting this candle because it crackles like a fire! AND, it has super cool scents like Mojito, Pomander, Blackberry Crisp and Fireside...our personal favorite.

3) Caramel-Peanut Butter and Apples- a great treat for a chilly day! Slice apples, take 24 wrapped caramel candies...add to it 1 tbsp Peanut butter and 1 tbsp water. Place it in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir, add a pinch of cinnamon. Use it for an apple dip.

4) St. Supery Moscato- Okay, this is an OLD favorite, but there's nothing better. Best to drink when it's a little warm outside (it's refreshing), so Californian's...live it up! Plus, if you get to the winery itself in Napa, they have a great tasting deal!

Alright...your turn.
What would you add to this list?

Icky, Gooey Pumpkin Guts.

This week's date night fell into two parts: Heading to the pumpkin patch, and butchering our respective pumpkins to fashion some kind of spooky design. A couple of things surprised me about this experience...

1) There aren't pumpkin patches here! If there are, they are well hidden and seriously lacking advertisement. So we resorted to choosing a pumpkin from a shelf at a garden store. Kinda disappointing, since even in STOCKTON you can find make-shift pumpkin patches on concrete lots along Pacific Avenue. Chris said "you have to go out to the country to find those". I thought we WERE in the country!?

2) Chris freaked out when he had to reach inside the pumpkin and scrape out the guts. "It's so gross! Ughhh...I hate this part. I hate that smell. Ughhghhgughhh..." Okay- I know it's not the most pleasant task in the world, but SERIOUSLY! You stick your hands INSIDE people for a living! A few pumpkin seeds won't hurt'cha! On the upside, pumpkins don't squirt blood everywhere when you cut them up.

The end products turned out well, though we skimped on the creativity and went with traceable patterns. THESE are the jacks that will greet trick-or-treaters at the Stavenger house:


The cute one is mine. ;)

October Update

Hi friends!
Well, it's midway through October, and autumn here is winding to a close, evidenced by more leaves on the ground than on the trees and forecasts of snow as early as next week! I've put away the flip-flops for good...or at least until next summer.

And, as you may have noticed, my blogging has been sparse. I think the weather has played a part in that. On these chilly, overcast days, I'd much rather be on the couch wrapped up in a blanket! But I'm determined to keep this venue of communication as updated as possible, so I'll kick my motivation into overdrive.

Yesterday, Chris and I took a trip to Minneapolis to meet with a financial advisor. We're interested in the best ways to be saving and investing right now, so we received some helpful advice and were on our way! BONUS: making the overdue pilgrimage to CHIPOTLE!


Thanks to lots of free time on sub assignments (prep periods with nothing to prep), I've been able to do a lot of reading! The most recent book I finished is Jodi Piccoult's Nineteen Minutes. Excellent, but emotionally heavy. And Chris and I finished our previous devotional book and have begun reading The Five Love Languages . I've wanted to read this one for a long time, and so far it's right on the money. I discovered my love language is Words of Affirmation...

...which may be why I enjoy your comments so much!

Sensationally Spooky.

Tried to get a little artsy with some of the cemetery photos I took...this is the result. Happy October! Muaaaaahhhhh haha...

I'm A Law-Abiding Resident of Minnesota.

I believe the law here says you have 30 days to replace your license plates from the day you move to the state. Well, I've been here since January, driving around with California plates. I don't think that's made me a popular person here. We recently got pulled over by the police- and after telling us he was pulling us over for speeding, he made some snarky comment about how we're probably "used to driving fast, being from California". Well, the joke's on him, because the CALIFORNIAN in the car was not at the wheel at the time. :) Anyway, that won't be happening anymore (the sarcastic jokes, that is...I can't speak for Chris' driving record) because I paid a visit to the DMV to get my new plates. The conversation at the window went like this:

Me: I just moved here from out of state, and I need Minnesota license plates.
Woman at window 1: Where did you move from?
Me: California.
Woman at window 1: Why did you move HERE?!
Woman at window 2 to woman at window 1: Well, aren't YOU the Minnesota welcoming committee!

Now, my Honda is a proud resident of the state that may elect Al Franken to Senate. (gag reflex simulated)
We're both very proud.

Date Night Trip to the Haunted Ship

One of fall's big attractions in Duluth is the William A. Irvin, a ship docked in Duluth's Canal Park that is annually transformed into a ghost ship. Chris and I cashed in a date night adventure on this- and were impressed by the show they put on! It was much more frightening than any tour I've been on before- or, at least, an upgrade from the peeled grape eyeballs-in-a-bowl featured in high school haunted houses everywhere. I must say I was scared silly a few times. Chris just giggled all the way through. Well done, Haunted Ship, well done.

For those of you who aren't near a scare show like this, have no fear...
Just turn on the news.
It's scary enough.

Can It Be Autumn All Year Long?

I know I've already posted some pictures of Autumn in Duluth, but over the last couple of weeks, the colors here have become even more brilliant. We had the opportunity to drive around with Chris' parents this weekend and check out some different views of the city- what we found was breathtaking. It's times like this I feel fortunate to live in such a beautiful place. (I won't be saying the same thing 3 months from now...so I'll enjoy it while it lasts!) I tried to capture some of the beauty in pictures, but of course, they don't do it justice...

Beyond the carpet of trees in the background is Lake Superior.

Checkin' Out the Old Digs.

Chris' college class celebrated their 5-year reunion this weekend, so we traveled to St. Peter, Minnesota, to take part in some of the homecoming festivities. Chris got a chance to visit with old college buddies that live at various distances, and I got a chance to check out his college campus! It's nice to put some visuals with all the stories I hear (oy...). Bonuses: Beautiful weather, and a pre-reunion visit with Chris' sister, Carrie, on her current campus!

Just Try It!

Chris and I tried Rachel Ray's Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage yesterday, and it was SO great! Best of all, with cinnamon and nutmeg included, it made the house smell AMAZING! If you're a recipe fiend, take a second to jot this one down or print it up! The online recipe comes courtesy of the Food Network.

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
* 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
* 4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
* 4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, slivered
* 1 cup dry white wine
* 1 can chicken broth
* 1 cup canned pumpkin
* 1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
* Coarse salt and black pepper
* 1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
* Romano or Parmigiano, for grating

Directions

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Questions or Comments?

I subbed Kindergarten today.
My lesson plan instructed me to open up the day by greeting kids, going over today's "News" and allowing them to ask me questions, and then to tell me something they did this weekend. This is the transcript from our "question" time:

Student 1: Do you have a cat?
Me: No, I don't have a cat.
Student 2: Do you have...a hamster?
Me: Nope, no hamster either.
Student 3: Do you have...a butterfly?
Me: Nope...I don't have a butterfly. I don't have any pets.
Student 4: Do you have a puppy?
Me: No...I don't have ANY pets.
Student 5: Do you have a rat? (giggle)
Me: Ew. No. I don't have any pets, remember?
Student 6: Do you have...umm...a rabbit?
Me: I DON'T HAVE ANY PETS.
Student 7: Do you have...a pet store?
Me: Ok- that's enough questions.

Kindergarten teachers = patience.

Guilty Pleasure.

There are sooooo many reasons why I should hate this song.
1. There are few intelligible lyrics.
2. The lyrics you CAN decipher seem to be about a selling drugs.
3. She sings off key almost the entire time.
4. There are exactly two chords the entire duration of the song.
5. When there is talking in the middle of the song, I automatically dislike it.

However, Chris will attest that whenever M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" comes over the radio, I get a little giddy.


What can I say...
it defies reason.

Cause to Celebrate!

We had our entire volleyball team over on Wednesday to celebrate our surprisingly successful season. Lots of good food and laughs- I don't think we're ready to give up our Wednesday outings together. That's why we've planned to meet up again next week!

Here's the girls enjoying our new dining table...

...and the boys at the kiddie table.

That Voice In Your Head...

I was sitting at the computer today, and suddenly cued into the monotonous chant that had been going on for a few minutes. I knew subconsciously that it was there, but didn't really listen- when I tuned in, I found this bizarre scenario on my television...



It's like the stereo gods took over for a while.
Weird.

Tonight.

Tonight...
*I'm going to forget about the crappy high schoolers I worked with today.
*I'm not going to think about my nightmare last night.
*I'm going to make pizza for dinner- the kind you unwrap and put in the oven.
*I'm going to put on an extra pair of socks and wrap up in a down blanket.
*I'm going to have a piece of cake left over from our party last night.
*I'm going to light a candle.
*I'm going watch the Vice-Presidential debate.
*I'm going to spend quality time with my adorable and comforting husband.

*and I'm going to think of something to blog tomorrow.

Signing out for tonight...
Jamie