The 4-1-1

Hi all... it's been a whole week since I last posted but I'm sure it must seem like much, much longer for all you dear readers. In honor of todays date, the 11th of April, I shall give you a quick rundown of all things in Steph's Other Space (at least until it's time to go get Crabman from preschool.)

The funeral: The funeral and all associated activities were actually quite uplifting. Of course it was a difficult time for many family members (as is totally normal and to be expected) but overall we really enjoyed our time with Plumberboy's family. GG's funeral mass was a perfect representation of who she was here on earth and her church family did an absolutely wonderful job of ministering to our family. It was also so very good to see our family members that live far, far away (New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New Texas... sorry I got carried away) but it serves as a sad reminder that many of today's families are so spread out. I want to upload some pictures but duh! I left my camera at my in-laws. And to think I coulda had a V8.

Easter: I know, I know... Easter was weeks ago! Still, this is a more traditional time of year for Easter and I never really did comment about our Easter, which is afterall my favorite Holiday. Easter was at our house this year so I did more hosting than picture-taking but you can check out my sister's pics here. While you're there, check this video out to see my kids breakdancing. Good stuff with kudos to Stacy for all her fancy media presentations. And while Easter is an overwhelmingly joyous occasion for me, it was unfortunately slightly tainted last Easter by a series of unfortunate events. (I posted about this on my myspace blog at the time but I'll recap here as a cautionary tale.) Last Easter, upon settling into my seat at church, I glanced down at my hands and quickly noticed that the diamond was missing from my engagement ring. The service was just starting so I couldn't really talk with Plumberboy about it or even stress about it on the outside the way I was on the inside. After church we all participated in one whale of an Easter hunt in the parking lot, our backyard, and even our trashcans... to no avail. Long story short, we never found the diamond but did find out the next morning that our ALFA insurance agent had allowed my ring to go grossly under-insured for most of our marriage. We had to replace it ourselves, which was a nightmare unto itself. Eventually Plumberboy did a most excellent job picking out a new diamond all by himself (sort of) and I love my ring even more than before. But obviously you can't replace the sentimental value of something like that so I still cling to the ridiculous hope that someday I'll happen upon it. Anyway, the lesson to be learned from all of this is that most people have not insured their jewelry against loss or damage, only theft. Believe me, it's a real kick in the teeth when you're already down so be sure to check your policies today!

Sweet kiddos: Our little niece Meredith is doing great. We saw her this weekend and she looks really, really good. Crosby is doing unbelievably fantastic as well. I love reading his mom's journal entries... so touching and transparent. Hopefully you're making the time to read them too. Also, little Emily from Emily's blog seems to be headed in the right direction. If you haven't been keeping up, my friend Emily has helped the Mandell family raise over $25,000 in like a week. That's right...that's a 25 followed by not one, not two, but three zeros! Go Emilys!

Dogs: I think I would like to get a boxer so let me know if you know of a female boxer looking for a good home. Or email me for directions to my house and then just drop it off on the front doorstep so that Plumberboy can't say no. Don't worry... he doesn't read this blog.

Misc: I hope Roger makes it into The Biggest Loser finals and am optimistic he will. However, I'm sure he must appear quite cocky to many viewers who will vote for Mark instead. Regardless, I have really enjoyed this season and am amazed at the transformations. My sister-in-law's husband is currently undergoing his own transformation so I know there really are nonsurgical ways to lose weight so Biggest Loser is not a complete scam. And on a semi-related NBC note, ER has officially gotten trashy and stupid. I think I'm done watching. Okay, what else? My brain is mush. We're so far behind with everything... housework, yardwork, laundry, typing. I'm so overwhelmed I don't know where to begin. And we're tired-- veddy, veddy tired. Here's a bunch of links to things I find highly interesting so knock yourself out here (hilarious!), here (tell me something I didn't know!), and here. I'm sure I've got some more randomness stashed away on my desktop but I'm seriously pushing the time limits for a Crabman-free jaunt through Walmart. Ta ta for now!