Valentines Shmalentines...

OK. So that sounds so romantic for most of you ladies (sarcasim). I just can't
get into it anymore. Maybe that's why I haven't been accused of being a Knight in Shining armor (lately) or to go "Throwback" on you it would be called "A Mac Daddy". Yeah ok I used that term in the 90's but it was cool then. Trust me I don't use it now. It's really hard because it seems like we just get over Christmas and then there are like 3 major birthdays in Feb at our house on the 1st, 5th, and 11th. Not to mention a bunch of our kids friends have them in that span too! Between all the cake, presents, and running around who needs a box of chocolate? I haven't finished off all the cake and treat bags from the other parties so then I need to wash it down with Valentines stuff? My wife and I discussed not getting anything or doing anything special for eachother since we got to do something fun on our birthdays. Being an experienced man of marriage for almost 12 years now I quickly saw through that proposal and if I translate it actually means = I am not getting you anything but you better make darn sure I get something! Yeah. I sold out got the box of chocolates and a funny signing card. In the morning I had the kids help me make valentines pancakes with strawberries and stuff. So I don't totally wimp out. Yeah I know. I can do better on the next blog.

Drivers Liscense Hell aka Kansas DMV

The following events are true and very real. The identity of the following events will not be protected in any way since it makes them all the more real. OK. So you know how when you move from one state to another you have to register your cars and get new plates and eventually you have to switch over your loverly drivers license (take another humiliating picture). So since I am an expert in navigating the first few items (having moved to kansas then to minnesota and back to kansas in the last 3 years) I decided to let the drivers license slide for awhile. After about 3 months into my "slide" Mary calls me at work and says that someone at the store pointed out that her license was expired. So that meant we needed to take action! So one Monday we decided to go and get them done during my lunch break. We pull up and thought we had hit the lotto! Empty lot. As Napoleon says... YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. We run to the door and almost immediately smack face first into the glass. "Sorry we are closed on Mondays" WHAT THE??? OK so being a bit fed up with that we tried again. We get there and we make it inside this time. Right as you walk in there is a big sign that reads "Effective FEB 1 2009 Kansas will no longer accept your prior states drivers license as proof of ID. You need your Birth Cert". CRAP we were standing there reading the good news on February 6th. Needless to say we had not brought them with us. Even if we had known Mary had lost hers in the move. So now I had to fill out papers to have a new Birth Cert expedited so she could have proper ID. FEB 20th the blessed day the new Birth Cert arrives and we fly to the DMV. We are in luck as the line has only 2 people in it. Things are clicking well. We get to the counter and we get our info processed faster because the last time we lived in the state was only a year earlier so we only have to pay half price! WOW all those bad feelings are slipping away. Then we move to take our pictures. Mary goes first. She looks great. I notice the room has really filled up. Twenty or maybe 30 people waiting now. Man I feel even better. My turn. The guy tells me to smile and I do. SNAP! Picture taken. Then out of no where some old crusty "Large Marge" of a lady comes flying over to the area where the man is examining my photograph. She points and without any subtlety blurts out... "HE'S TRYING TO HIDE HIS DOUBLE CHIN!!!" "SEE?" "SEE?" The man agrees with her. The whole room full of people then stop to stare and focus on the scandal. The man then proceeds to tell me that I may not tilt my head up so far as to try and hide it. "Extra Large Marge" then says to me... "YOU KNOW WHAT CURES THAT DON'T YOU?" and before I can even move she once again blurts out "A LOT LESS DONUTS IN THE MORNING". OK. So most of you know me and lately I am not the most physically fit guy BUT come on! Unfortunately I am a better dish-er than taker. Well from then on the rest was a hazy blur of Mary and the other total strangers making fun and getting their jolly's. I think that we all look for that little piece of heaven on earth but that fateful day on Feb 20, 2009 I stumbled into Hell aka the Kansas DMV.

Like sands in the hourglass these are the days of our lives...

Ok so for the last 11 years of life I have come to fully realize all those comments about being young and free and something about taking advantage while you can. M&M stands for Mark & Mary. Many times we sit back and chuckle about how young and silly we were back then. (I am only 34 for pete sake!) So this being my first blog I won't be trying too hard so just a few more comments and I will let everyone off the hook. Snap Shot of me today; I have 11 years of marriage under my belt, I have 4 kids ages 9, 6, 4, and 3, I just learned that once you get to 30 something they have a "special soccer league" for people your age that requires a card to ride on the short yellow bus and matching bicycle helmet! My dream car used to be something sporty but instead I drive a Honda Odyssey and pass the time rocking out to "The Laurie Berkner Band" http://www.laurieberkner.com/site/ . I have recently found excitement and anxiety with the new "Facebook" craze. It's good to catch up with all of your old "peeps" but then you also get a glimps of what others have done with their lives so far and then "let the emotional roller coaster begin". They need to put up warnings on there so people don't go off the deep end when they see how successful or unsuccessful their lives are vs. the rest. I think Prozac is trying to sign a deal with them now... OK back to the blog. From time to time I am going to weigh in on how my life is and anything I feel is worth noting on its current path.