• And Now For Something Completely Different
• Got Sleep?
• Dauphin Island, 2007 Edition

 made by xianjessen, originally uploaded by boyshapedbox.

One evening, as I sat hunched over my laptop working on slides for a meeting, Reilly asked me what I was doing. “Working,” I replied, and showed him the screen.

He studied the presentation for a few minutes, then looked at me and said - “You’re drawing pictures?”

Essentially, yes. Daddy spends hours and hours drawing pictures on his computer.

So now, I stumbled upon the Song Chart Meme / Pool and am thrilled that there is finally a use for my professional skills! These things (most of them, anyway) are freakin hilarious. Please enjoy.

ORIGINAL, originally uploaded by boyshapedbox.

It snowed! And this time, even in inches it is noteworthy, at least for this part of the country.

We were on our way to ATL and actually turned back because the storm was so bad - lots of ice on overpasses and poor visibility and wrecks and stuff. We took the boys outside to play when we got home and they loved the first hour or so - until the thrill of snow turned to just cold and wet¹.

I was all set to make fun of the news folks who prepped for days and days about the coming storm: when we woke up on Saturday there was a light dusting, but no real snow. Not until about 9, anyway. My bad, newsguys - you don’t completely suck at weather.

1. Really, that’s more my gripe than theirs.

Reilly: Daddy - we don’t like the Elephants, right?
Me: Right.  But we do want them to win this game.
R: Who are they playing?
M: LSU.  (pause as I think through the Tigers, Tigers problem)  They are also called the Tigers, but they are not the Auburn Tigers.
R: (…thinking…)  So, we don’t want the LSU¹ to win?
M: Right.
R: But we do want the Elephants to win?
M: Today we do, yes. 

He sat and looked at me for a while as he processed this situation.  It seemed like minutes passed.

R: Then I will say War Eagle Elephants!  Because we don’t say “Roll Tide,” right, Daddy?
M: Right!

He spent most of the first half shouting “War Eagle Elephants” at the television.  Priceless. 

1. Ever since then, he refers to LSU as “the LSU,” which cracks me up.

This morning, I stopped to put some gas in my Trooper; and I wondered how far $10³ would go.  Less than a quarter of a tank, it turns out; which should roughly translate into about 80 or so miles.  Hopefully enough for the week.

1. What about it?
2. Granted, I lived less than a mile from my classes for the majority of the time there, but still…
3. Gas was at $3.05 for regular unleaded, compared to $.80 or so when I was in high school.

He called the Wednesday after the house was held open on Sunday to say that he had received an email from another agent stating that there were reports of people pretending to look at houses while they were actually going after medication.  And, he said, that one woman who was so interested only left a six digit phone number and no last name, and she did ask if she could use the restroom before she left, and she was in there for what seemed like a long time…

Sure enough - the medicines that MR had left over from her whirlwind day `o surgeries were all gone.  The bottles were still there, but not so much the contents.

I checked the rest of the house, and nothing else appeared to be missing - no jewelry or electronics or anything like that.

I can’t decide if I am angrier that (1) we were robbed or that (2) the person our agent thought was most likely to purchase is apparently not really interested in the house.

Great - so now I was curious, too.  So as not to abuse corporate internet-use policy, I did a search at home and discovered the secret - battery power.

I called him today, to tell him about it, and he laughed and laughed and laughed.  He was, I think, genuinely amused that I had not only looked up specifics and facts and figures, but also that I actually called him to tell him.

1. OK, OK, it wasn’t actually “while leaving,” it was while inside; but I really don’t like talking in the men’s room, especially at work.  It just doesn’t seem right.

So tell everyone you know.

In other news, our house has a website, too.

1. From our house, you can easily walk to two shopping districts, two parks, the neighborhood pool and gym and the library.