Rick.Stavanja.com

I don't understand why finding an appropriate greeting card has become so difficult over the years. I used to take pride in diligently searching through endless racks of greeting cards for the perfect message  for each and every occasion.  Unfortunately, it's increasingly difficult to find that magic card that expressed exactly what I ...

OK, I guess it's my turn to play. Randall Newton of AECnews chose to tag me from his personal blog for the "5 Things You Didn't Know About Me" meme, so here goes...Although I've always lived in the Pacific Northwest and love the four season climate, I'm not a big fan of snow. A few weeks of it around Christmas is ...

Yes, That's right.  It really is a new entry on my site. I've been away from my blog for a long time now.  Beginning In early June, several things happened that led me to eventually take some severe turns in my life.  Things have been hectic, satisfying, difficult, challenging, reassuring, and everything in between. Now ...

1969 Hurst Edition Buick GS 350 coupe On Wednesday I was in one of those “What would you do if you won the lottery?” discussions.  There were lots of things mentioned (houses, trust funds, sports teams, etc.), but one thing we agreed on was cars.  Although we agreed on filling enormous garages with beautiful vehicles, I ...

Adam Hughes sketching tutorial: Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 I loved comics as a kid.  I was a Batman fan.  The stories and the old campy TV show were what originally captured my imagination back when I was 6 or 7, but when DC Comics' brought in Neal Adams to overhaul Batman's new, more realistic style comic book, it became more ...

The M&M Bar, Butte, Montana, 10:14 PM Today is one of those days when I really miss Montana.  After missing last year's city-wide celebration in Butte, I really was hoping for a trip back this year.  Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be.  It didn't bother me too much until tonight sitting here seeing the live ...

I've been a big fan of the comic strip Dilbert for years, but several months ago Scott Adams, Dilbert's creator, began blogging.  I think his writing is even funnier than his comic strip. Typically my favorite blogs either make me think, or make me laugh.  Scott routinely does both in a single entry -- sometimes even in the same ...

"My dad never pushed me, but the big thing is that he helped me by going out in the backyard and playing with me." Bart StarrToday was Bart Starr's 72nd birthday. One of my personal traits that I've always found particularly bothersome is my poor memory for dates and names.  I've always had trouble even birthdays ...

I for one am happy to see 2005 in the rear-view mirror.  Every year has its ups and downs, and 2005 was certainly no different, but last year was a constant roller coaster ride.  So naturally, now I’m sick of roller coasters. To say last year had its ups and downs is somewhat of an understatement.  More accurately, 2005 was a ...

Self image is a strange thing.  All our life we're only able to see ourselves through our own eyes.  Usually we assume other people see us the same way, but the fact is, they don't.  This past Thursday night I was enlightened to that fact once again.  I was doing some Christmas shopping at the local Fred Meyer store, ...