They Want Us to Look Like What?

It's November 17, and I'm already getting sick of the Christmas season already. Don't get me wrong, I'm really looking forward to Libby's first Christmas and all of the pomp and circumstance that'll come with it, but it seems that the commercialization of it has started so early this year. Last Saturday night, TBS ran "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (the good animated one...not that awful live-action one that Jim Carrey did)...that was on November 11...a good, what, 40 days or so from Christmas? My friend Dave is noticing it too out in California...it's an epidemic.

**Cue the "back in my day" music**

I remember that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade was the first chance to see Santa Claus for the 1st time of the Christmas season. Now - well, our mall is having Santa appear tomorrow...tomorrow. No one waits for Thanksgiving anymore. I remember not seeing Christmas cartoons or animation until well into December. Now? I'm sure that Rudolph will be popping up on CBS very soon (November 30 actually). JC Penney's has had their Christmas decorations up since around Halloween. We're getting to the point that the whole months of October, November, and December should just rename themselves to the Greater Holiday Months...that's all that seems to be going on during those times anyway!

OK, now onto the topic that Tricia mentioned yesterday that I had in mind. Sometime in 2007, Tricia and I are heading to Freeport, Bahamas for a vacation. With the new rules in place from the Department of Homeland Security, we need a passport to travel there now. When we went to Vancouver, BC in March 2005, all that we needed was a driver's license and birth certificate - I guess that's not enough now. Regardless, we are going ahead and getting all of our paperwork in, because knowing the government, it'll take a really long time to get our passports.

Last weekend, we went to Walgreens to get our passport photos made. We get there and are told that we have to take our glasses off (no big deal). Both of us instinctively smile for the camera. Nope. Can't do that. Apparently the Department of Homeland Security doesn't want you to smile. Can they not tell if someone is a terrorist if they smile? Seriously, what's the deal with that? We have to wait about 10-15 minutes until the photos are ready, and when we come to pick them up, imagine our surprise when they turn out like this:

All we can do at this point is laugh our tails off. Tricia says "my God, I look like a battered woman!" I have no idea what I look like - scary is the first thought that comes to mind! And you all wonder how we, looking as we do in these pictures, could have a daughter that's as cute as she is!

MK