Thinking...

I think I'm going to change the format here... "can you picture" is fun but... I might think of something else to do with this.

addicted to raisins

Phrase: addicted to raisins
Results: 4,240
Context: I have pretty much single-handedly cultivated an addiction to yogurt-covered raisins in my son. I needed something to bribe him with when he staunchly refuses to let me change his diaper. Now, he demands them all the time. I guess it could be worse.

tantrum

Phrase: tantrum
Results: 46,400
Context: We are becoming very familiar with tantrums now that our son is two.

allergic weekend

Phrase: allergic weekend
Results: 30,600
Context: For the past few weeks I have been sick on and off. I'm no sure if it's allergies or a cold or WHAT. I do know that it is very, very irritating.

the real deal

Phrase: the real deal
Results: 4,480,000
Context: "The Real Deal" is a new show on TLC and we were trying to figure out when it was on. We learned that over 4 million images think THEY are the real deal!

skunk ape

Phrase: skunk ape
Results: 4,860
Context: My husband thinks this thing is real!

gooey cat

Phrase: gooey cat
Results: 11,700
Context: While traveling in the car this past weekend, my son was shouting random word combinations-- one of them which sounded suspiciously like "gooey cat!"

cheese bag

Keyword: cheese bag
Results: 1,850
Obso:

There always seems to be a cheese bag in the fridge. This is due to the seemingly high demand for crackers, and, of course, cheese present in the hour or two before dinner at my parent’s house.

The arrangement is typically composed with a small round cutting board on which sit both soft and firm cheeses, one of which is usually smoked, and a box of either Triscuts or Wheat Thins. A knife is also typically present.

On occasion, a cracker bag may make an appearance. In this case, the feeding frenzy has subsided, and the crumbs have settled. My mother, Koko, will determine that there are not enough crackers left in the box justify the cumbersome transportation of a dozen or less crackers in their original packaging the 37 inches from the kitchen counter to the pantry. This confectionary remainder is then efficiently moved to a zip-lock bag, and finally to the pantry to wait for the cheese bag to make it's appearance the next day. However, this eventuality is rare.

The more commonplace cheese bag has become a fixture in the crisper drawer of my parent's 'wide-by-side' not in response to a question of efficiency, but as a result of the vacuum-sealed packaging of said cheeses being destroyed as they are clawed at by either myself, or my black-sheep brother Mike. The cheese bag is established day after day as we, groggy with cheese, slump down between the sofa cushions leaving our appetites and waning blocks of cheese on the kitchen counter. With good humor, Koko collects the leftovers, which become the cheese, and (occasional) cracker bag.

P.S. J.K., the images on Can You Picture... are always faithfully retrieved from the Google image search

opossum in the pool

Keyword: opossum in the pool
Results: 5
Obso:

Somewhere about midnight Koko noticed what she took to be a strange cat filching a meal from the food dishes left on the screened porch for the 3 cats for which the meal was intended.

She wrapped upon the glass of the sliding door separating the sofas from 90% humidity only to find that the startled animal was not indeed a strange cat but a strange opossum. The bewildered animal, mouth full of masticated fancy feast, ran from his impromptu dinner straight into the pool.

After several spastic laps, and empting his bowels in the shallow end of the pool, the opossum was landed by my father with the aid of a large net on the end of a stick.

"opossum poop in the pool" yielded no results.

monkey

Keyword: monkey
Results: 706,000
Obso:

I was looking for a pic of a monkey to use on instant messenger when I found this little gem. I had no real intention of posting anything on Can You Picture... today as:

1. I have not felt incredibly inspired by any inspiring pop culture phrases or otherwise any personal topic. I have started a new job at The Gainesville Sun, (the local paper in Gainesville, FL) and have comfortably settled into a suite of rooms in my parents house so to the point of resuming my comfortable practice of leaving my "dirty" clothes in pools on the floor next to the bed and in the bathroom. As far as personal relevance is concerned, the only keyword I could possibly muster at this point might be 'shoehorn.'

2. Having started said new job, I am reluctant to begin/resume the habit of posting from work.

Anyway, Happy Birthday to my dear wife who has been through quite an ordeal as of late; moving to a strange new town, and living with strange new people, namely my parents (an arrangement which [God willing] is going to be exceedingly temporary.)

Incidentally, "Howler" (as in the above illustrated "Howler Monkey") is just one of the many ways my last name has been mispronounced by gym teachers over the years.

downtime

Keyword: downtime
Results: 22,000
Obso:

Got some downtime on the first day ata new job.

new jeans

Keyword: new jeans
Results: 16,100
Obso:

Got some new jeans today, $17.95 on the Target clearance rack. Kick-ass.