2012. It’s going to be an exciting year. Item 1: Titanic is being re-released in 3D. (Stop judging, you KNOW you’ll go, and you’ll like it). Item 2: I will be running my second half-marathon in Duluth this June (Public Declaration of Intent – CHECK). Item 3: Our house is either going on the market, or burning to the ground in a blaze which will be found to have been caused by excessive dryer lint, and which will occur at a time when our entire family and all our prized possessions (Dave – beer bottle collection; Cyndy – photo albums and journals; Ellen – Busytown action figures; Cecilia – Caillou doll; Addie – whichever toy has a functioning squeaker at time of incident) are miraculously (mysteriously?) on vacation.
In fact, the excitement has already begun. Dave received his BEST PRESENT EVER (if we’re judging by enthusiasm upon receipt) a few days after Christmas, when $75 worth of Prevacid samples were delivered to him. “This is fantastic!” he exclaimed while I stared blankly. “Do you realize that I won’t have to buy any omeprazole for six months?!” (“Mm hmm, and do you realize that next year for Christmas I’ll just be wrapping up a giant box of Tums for you instead of trying to decide between a blue or white button-down?”)
Other Dave-related excitement: he and one of his colleagues have succeeded in getting his clinic to purchase several “Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitors,” or ABPM’s, if you will. (Basically, this is a device which patients wear for a 24-hour period, and which monitors blood pressure at 15-minute intervals, giving physicians a much more accurate reading). I know this isn’t really blog-worthy excitement for my readers, but perhaps you’ll change your tune after you see THIS little gem:
After Dave handed me the camera and posed, I asked with a smirk, “Is this picture supposed to show how you can wear the ABPM and still go about your regular daily activities, such as staring at the microwave while stirring an empty pot with a wooden spoon, while wearing your slim-fit workout shirt tucked into your jeans?” Yes. So it took me about 15 tries to nail this “ABPM Instructional Photo” (Dave’s title, natch) – “Could you get more stove in there? Okay, good, but now less of my neck. Yep, now make sure the device is in focus. Okay, but we need more stove again.” I think it turned out well though. At least there’s no more worry about what the ABPM might prevent one from doing. And I laugh whenever I think of it.
Ellen excitement: her preschool class is taking turns bringing home the class teddy bear, and whoever has the bear gives it a name and writes a few things about what he or she did with the bear. We took home the bear last Wednesday, and Ellen named it Elizabeth. After some lunch and a few books, Ellen informed me that Elizabeth would be marrying her old teddy, Melissa. We declare them fully legal.
Celie excitement: she LOVES Kindermusik, dancing, and anything involving her big sister, but the MOST exciting thing so far was figuring out that Grandpa is fun and not scary. Well, this was probably more exciting for Grandpa. Now allow the choir nerd in me to come out for a minute – Celie is crazy good at matching pitch, and this afternoon I caught her with one of my scores in hand, looking at it and singing to herself. Yes, I grabbed the camera.
We’re overlooking the score being upside down.
