Updates and whatnot:

Hello dear friends. Sorry I have been away for quite some time (notwithstanding the sprinkling of random blog posts... hello Francis Scott Key!) but it's been busy in our neck of the woods. We are in our 3rd--yes, THIRD--week of school with Ricky Bobby. So as of August 11th, I had a 2nd grader for a son and I was officially 30. Yes, I feel old. Thanks for asking. But for the record, they say you are only as old/young as you feel so between arthritis, gray hair, and did I mention a son in the 2nd grade?!?! That makes me somewhere near menopause, give or take a couple of years. Yeah, I feel rather old.

So what else may be of interest to those of you who occassionaly peruse Steph's Other Space? I'll try my best to answer your burning questions but feel free to leave a comment with a FAQ. (Oh dear, that looks much more interesting than it really is!) Anyway, in no particular order:

Mentioning my birthday: No, I did not get a dog. I did get a verbal commitment/contract (binding!) to seriously revisit the issue next August when I send Crabman off to kindergarten. Plumberboy is pricing a licensed therapist to see which is cheaper. (Just for a visual... this is what I want, plus a money-back guarantee it won't grow up to bite my kid in the face. By and by, did you see those dudes with the lion?!?! And I can't even find a dog who won't bite my kid in the face. Sheesh.)

About my friend Stacie: Remember Stacie, the girl whose house was hit by lightening and caught fire? Well, they are doing their best to get back to some sense of normalcy. They will be out of their house for 6 months to a year. Until then, their insurance company will pay for a rental house and they should be moving into that sometime after Labor day. Their brand new minivan was a total loss but they did finally get a rental van until the insurance company can decide exactly how much to give them for a replacement vehicle. Everyone is safe and sound but obviously stressed and out of sync (as opposed to N'SYNC. Har, har.) Hopefully things will get better soon once they settle into their new digs. I've tried to organize a donation drive for folks who have good, clean stuff that they wouldn't mind donating. Everything in the kitchen and the kids' room is a loss because of smoke, water, and insulation damage. So basically they are in need of just about anything! They have two young daughters (ages 2 and about 3 months) so any baby clothes would also be much appreciated. Plumberboy is taking a truckload to them this Saturday (no, I'm not going to the Clemson game... more on that later!) so if you have anything that you are looking to get out of your house and into the hands of someone who could really use it, send me an email and I'll be happy to see if I can work something out. I am also trying to spearhead a gift card drive for them... again, just email me if you are interested. Stacie, if you're reading this, feel free to either leave me a comment with further updates or just email and I'll post it here. There are many, many folks who are concerned about you and your family!

Update on TiVo or not TiVo: Our unanimous answer is to NOT TiVo and I know this is a disappointment to those of you firmly rooted on TiVo's side. Rest assured we know how wonderful it would be to watch all our favorite shows at our convenience without all the commercials but we also decided that we would like to make an earnest effort to drastically cut back on our TV viewing. I cannot imagine a time in the future when we would actually chuck our TV all together but we would like to at least get to a point where we watch as little TV as possible. Let's be honest. It's seriously all trash. Even the news is trashy (beloved FNC included!) If it's not the actual content of the show then it's most definitely the commercials! We love SYTYCD (Hey Jen, I found another "Dear Sister") but it got to where we couldn't even watch it with our kids! Some of the dances were quite racy (that's always been the case) but the real camel's-back-breaking-straw was the Thursday night guest performers. Did you see Katey Perry's performance? If not, then good for you! We saw just enough to get nauseated. I don't know why I didn't change the channel before she came on. She's a one-hit wonder so I knew what she was there to sing. And completely incidentally, I hate the Teen Choice Awards on Nickelodeon. In fact, I hate Nickelodeon all together (though both my kids still love Noggin.) And I'm bordering on that exact emotion for Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana. Okay, I'll end this before I digress any further. I could go on and on and on for days about all of this but the point is, I'm hoping there will be a day in the near future when I can order a la carte all the sports and news channels...and maybe Lifetime. Sure, that's one of the most liberal stations out there (2nd to MSNBC and that goob Keith Olbermann) but I would really miss The Nanny. I know, I know. I'm a hypocritical prude. Thanks for sharing!

New blogging buddy: Hopefully you're following MckMama at her blog. Despite being read by thousands and thousands everyday, she has been known to find time on occasion to grace us with her presence here at Steph's Other Space. I'm honored (and a bit embarrassed) that she'd even take the time to read any of my stuff! She's a really cool gal and a great, entertaining, insightful writer/photographer. (Don't those kind of multitalented folks get on your last nerve?!?! Oh, wait. I guess that's just jealousy!) Seriously, take the time to go read her if you haven't already.

Football: I hope to have an entire post dedicated to my love for UA football in the near future. Keep holding your breath, fingers crossed! :) Currently I spend most of my free computer time (not much of that these days though because lo and behold I actually have typing!) playing Cash Cow on Webkinz. There. I said it. I like playing Webkinz games. And I even got my own Webkinz for my birthday. Her name is Sassy and my user name is MrsPlumber (no punctuation) so look me up! You'd be more likely to communicate with me via Webkinz than facebook anyway. I still hate facebook (but have had quite a few comments on there lately thanks to my sister posting a ton of family pics from the 80s. Did I forget to say "thanks!" Stacy?)

Politics: Every 4 years I watch the party conventions and every time it's the same thought running through my head. Me to myself "Boy, those folks sure need football! That would be a much more productive outlet for their blind enthusiasm, penchant for goofy headgear, and overzealous vocal cords. Not to mention the homemade signs." Besides, you can trust your head football coach more than any politician. Well, maybe not. Oh, nevermind.

Random Tidbit: A couple of weekends ago, Plumberboy and I were honored to participate in a wedding uniting two of our "adopted" college students. The groom's brother/best man and his wife stayed at our house for a few nights to save on hotel costs, etc. We really enjoyed getting to know them and truly found them quite delightful. At some point during their stay, we discussed all things southern, including SEC football. We watched the Olympics, yada yada. A great time was had by all. So anyway, this guy decided to thank us at the end of his best man speech (keep in mind this was a "society" wedding in our current hometown.) and you know what he said? Two simple words: "Roll Tide!" Priceless. Mad props to Bryan and Whitney! :)

Well, I guess that will do it for now. Don't forget your FAQs. :)