Plumberboy is fired up!

Over Bama SOFTBALL! He's more frustrated with the UA-ASU softball game in the College World Series than he was over all the blown calls in the LSU game last season! I think he may be more ticked tonight than I was back then... but maybe not.

And he's also at a loss as to why the Arizona State gals were the "hotties" and we were obviously the "notties." Hmph.

Really AWESOME Link

Hey guys... check out this site when you get a chance. I cannot imagine a more tailor-made ministry opportunity for myself than this particular one. So go read about who they are and what they do (and then maybe donate!!!) Plus, there are some really good links on there to other interesting, miraculous sites.

Do you know Juno?

As I sit here listening to the roar of a steam-cleaning machine (as it tries--hopefully not in vain-- to return my now pink carpet to its original golden khaki form), I figured I could at least blog to pass the time. I can't talk on the phone due to the noise and I can't really clean the house either as the cleaners are in the way. So blog it is, even though I still don't feel very inspired (will I ever?) So what requires very little by way of brainpower but might actually produce comments? Certainly not Sharon Stone and the dalai lama. Are you people ticked that I didn't capitalize the "d" and the "l"? Just curious. Shannon did post a comment, faithful as always, and guessed correctly to boot. Well, I've always wanted to discuss movies here and it appears there's no time like the present so here it goes. I've watched Juno three times in the past month or so. I can't bring myself to slip it back into its little Blockbuster envelope and send it back to the mother lode (I always thought it was "load"... you really do learn something new every day.) Anyway, Juno certainly isn't a movie to pattern your life after and there's plenty with which I fundamentally disagree (obviously) but I can't help myself... I loved that movie. First of all, it's hilarious. Like seriously, hilarious. And Ellen Page was genius in that role along with Jason Bateman (I kept waiting for Chris Hanson from Dateline to pop on screen during his scenes!) By the way, did any of you see Ellen Page on SNL? Apparently my sister thought she was fantabulous. So did I. And of course the way it all unfolded was overall pretty decent... and definitely sweet. It's one of those movies I could watch over and over. Like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Or Happy Gilmore. (Betcha thought it was Dear Sister, didn't ya?) Anyway, I recommend at least giving Juno a try. Hopefully that won't backfire on me the way Diary of a Mad Black Woman did. I still like that movie, I don't care what you all say.

Also on my list of recommendations (per our recent viewings): Dan in Real Life (highly recommended), August Rush, Becoming Jane, October Sky, and Reign Over Me. Nancy Drew was cute in a teeny bopper way. 27 Dresses was so-so as was PS: I Love You, which was actually kind of pathetic and the opposite of how I want to live my life or the legacy I want to leave behind. Deja Vu was oddly philosophical (did we talk about that already?!?) What about Sydney White? It was too cute and probably not even deserving of a PG-13 rating. It's sad how little I retain from our movie-watching... makes it feel like a big waste o' time. We have some good ones in our quiche (as we like to call it in our house) so maybe I'll have some more riveting reviews soon.

A very boring update

Hello all! It's been so long since I posted much of anything... well, that's not entirely true. I posted a video of a bear playing hockey (a real bear, I am convinced) and my grandpaw's trip to DC on Honor Flight (much more on that soon with pics and everything. It most definitely deserves its own post.) I even managed to post about Sharon Stone and the dalai lama in one fell swoop. So I haven't left you here to completely languish in the blogosphere known at Steph's Other Space but obviously I haven't lived up to my reputation either (what reputation you say? The highly esteemed one in my head of course!) Unfortunately, today probably isn't the day for me to get my blogging groove back either as I'm still feeling lazy and wanting to take full advantage of this first week of summer. And then there's always some sort of drama in this house... usually regarding the house... and this week is no different. I think we have defective carpet (I know, who ends up with defective carpet?!?!? Apparently us.) that might need to be replaced but probably not without a great deal of toe-to-toe,down-n-dirty haggling. Plumberboy is slammed at work so I'm single-parenting it a lot more lately too. We are soooooooooooooooooo (x infinity) looking forward to a vacation. I hope you all are enjoying your first few days of summer--and yes I know, the summer solstice, yada, yada but with a dewpoint like this... it's SUMMER-- and hopefully we can all meet back here in the near future to discuss important things, like unconfirmed "celebrity" pregnancies and gas prices and the likes. Can't hardly wait!

The World According to Earl Hickey

Someone--anyone--please tell Sharon Stone that My Name is Earl is a sitcom and not the gospel truth. I woulda thought a woman who flashed herself for a living was smarter than that. Be nice, Sharon.

PS: Can you imagine if some "conservative" would have said that?!?! In fact, the ultimate in compassion (I hesitate to use the term "compassionate conservative" for obvious reasons) once said,

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Any guesses on who said that? Here's a clue: It wasn't the dalai lama.

For Memorial Day

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Will share more about this experience later...

School's out for summer...

That thought makes me smile almost as much as this:



Also known to make me smile: This and this.

Miscellaneous PS: Kudos to the dude at icuris (apparently someone else who also appreciates randomness) for introducing me to the hockey-playing bear. I am not sure if the bear is real or not and this point was even discussed over at The Huffington Post but it makes me laugh nontheless. Feel free to continue the debate here. And yes I realize it may be cruel to make a bear do that (especially shoving his ginormous feet in those itty bitty skates) but the referee/trainer seems to lovingly reward the bear so I don't think he's all shock-collar-trained and whatnot.

See y'all soon!

Good for him!

This is a nice story. Congrats Lester (and Go Sox!)

PS: Wish I had time for more but it's still a super-busy time. Essentially everything ends this week and then I'll once again grace Steph's Other Space with my presence. Bide your time wisely until then! :)

Sounds familiar...

The caption for this picture (from people.com) reads "Uma Thurman stays in touch with her young costar on the N.Y.C. set of her comedy Motherhood on Wednesday. In the film, Thurman plays a harried mother of two who gets overwhelmed when planning a birthday party for her daughter." I know the feeling... well, except the daughter part.

Birthday Buddies

My dear friend Stacie welcomed her second daughter, Miss Lily, into this world yesterday so now her and Crabman can be birthday buddies. Congrats to Stacie, Pat, and their entire family.

Happy Birthday Dear Crabman...

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Crabman:

Happy Birthday to you!

Some pics (because pictures always seem to be popular):

On your mark, get set, go!

Father & Son racing:

In the homestretch:

Smile, Ricky Bobby! You didn't win a medal but you did run the mile in under 9 minutes!

Crazy Plumberboy wanted to push himself as hard as Ricky Bobby had so he ran the mile, ate a burger, then ran an impromptu 5K. Note the sweat!

Crabman will run/walk in the race next year but this year he just monkeyed around!

Uh, Steph... you're not in any pictures? Why yes I know. Please scroll down and read my last post.

Card-carrying member of the AFPTABT

I think I'll take it upon myself to rename the PTA ... I'll call it the AFPTABT. Catchy, don't ya think? Okay, so it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue but I think it more accurately reflects the organization. You see, PTA stands for Parent Teacher Association but in reality it's more like A Few Parents & Teachers All By Themselves. Our little town has a very well respected and nationally recognized school system with an alleged outpouring of parental support. Well, that hasn't been quite my experience over the past couple of years, especially this year. Anyway, I could use this blog as my personal soap box but I know you don't want to read it and I don't really feel like censoring how I really feel about the situation for fear that the wrong person would read this. So I'll just leave it at this... if your kid is in public school, PLEASE do your part and help out the room parent AND the PTA (I'm sure this applies to private school also but me thinks they are a little more, shall we say, "stern" about lack of parental support.) It may seem like someone else always takes care of things but I assure you, there's usually one or two poor schlubs (three or four at the most) who feel too guilty to leave it all to the teacher so they carry the entire class load on their backs. And that's if the teacher is lucky. On a personal note, I keep hearing that I should learn to say "no" more often but I assure you, no one else will step up if I decide to utter that simple little word. Anyway, that's my PSA for today. Help out your room parent and volunteer with the AFPTABT. And don't forget that Mother's Day is this Sunday. :)

Happy Belated Birthday, Crosby!

Our little buddy Crosby turned 4 this week. Congrats to him and his family! I can only imagine the emotional day that was for his family... Crabman's birthday is still very emotional for me! And our other little friend-of-a-friend Emily (remember her from my friend Emily's blog?) had brain surgery at Children's Hospital in Boston recently and is now out of ICU. She also started some aggressive chemo and I think the doctors are meeting later this week to discuss the next plan of action. Her page is a little harder to link to since you need a member name and password for CarePage so I'll try to keep you updated as best I can.

Comforting, I know...

I guess all those economic stimulus checks have been put to good use. Between that article and the economy, I'm feeling real good about the future of our country. How 'bout you?

Three (a nice magical number)

Well, this is my THIRD post of the day so that must mean my life is slightly less chaotic than last week. Last week was a doozie fer sher. The race/festival/fundraiser at Ricky Bobby's school is over YES! but it's still soccer season PLUS school is not out yet so I can't promise that I'll post any more frequently in the following weeks but I'm hopeful. Besides, it's not like I'll have any readers left after my last post somehow linking the Madeleine McCann "abduction" case with a Geico commercial (scroll down). Anyway, I'd love to upload a few pics from Friday night and share funny little anecdotes from our not-quite-funny-enough-for-a-sitcom-well-maybe-the-UPN-but-definitely-not-Must-See-TV-though-close! of a life but I'm still zonked from last week.

Before I call it a night, will you allow me to take just a second to offer a shout-out to some folks I think still check in with this blog from time to time? Have any of you had babies yet? Or sold houses? Or realized I don't check my facebook account very often? Regardless, word to your mother and check in with me again soon.

So easy a caveman could do it?

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT making light of the Madeleine McCann situation. Having my child kidnapped is my absolute worst nightmare (well, actually them rejecting Jesus is my worst nightmare but this is definitely second runner-up.) Madeleine's situation is tragic any which way you cut it. However, it's hard for me to not take a jab at her parents, who at the very least, left their children (ages 3 and under!) unattended in a resort villa that offered babysitting services just so they could enjoy a quiet meal with their friends. Anyway, if you haven't already slammed your laptop closed in disgust... read the article below. I have appropriately re-titled it:

I paid The Metodo 3 Agency $74,000+ A Month To Find My Child and All I Got Was This Lousy Sketch Art

Oh, but sometimes it IS!

To commemorate all new episodes of House starting tonight.

PS: You can read more about House's ongoing battle with the ever-present lupus diagnosis/misdiagnosis here and here. I never realized it was a series-long theme but, eh, I've only watched it for a season and a half. Oh yeah, in case you are new to Steph's Other Space, I do in fact have... (dun, dun, DUN!)... lupus. Take that, Dr. Gregory House!