Lyric Tuesdays

I have loved dc Talk since junior high school. I remember seeing them in concert with my church youth group and thinking they were the best, most fun thing since sliced bread. Now years later, I giggle at my silliness and straight up laugh when I hear dc Talk's really old music where they beatbox. Come on, People... In any case, I enjoyed and still appreciate their music. "Jesus Freak" was one of my favorite songs.

Jesus Freak

[what will people think
When they hear that I'm a Jesus freak?
What will people do
When they find that's its true? ]

Separated, I cut myself clean
From a past that comes back in my darkest of dreams
Been apprehended by a spiritual force
And a grace that replaced all the me Ive divorced

I saw a man with tat on his big fat belly
It wiggled around like marmalade jelly
It took me a while to catch what it said
Cause I had to match the rhythm
Of his belly with my head
Jesus saves is what it raved in a typical tattoo green
He stood on a box in the middle of the city
And claimed he had a dream

(chorus)
What will people think
When they hear that I'm a Jesus freak
What will people do when they find that its true
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak
There ain't no disguising the truth

Kamikaze, my death is gain
I've been marked by my maker
A peculiar display
The high and lofty, they see me as weak
Cause I wont live and die for the power they seek

There was a man from the desert with naps in his head
The sand that he walked was also his bed
The words that he spoke made the people assume
There wasn't too much left in the upper room
With skins on his back and hair on his face
They thought he was strange by the locusts he ate
The pharisees tripped when they heard him speak
Until the king took the head of this Jesus freak

(repeat chorus 2x)

People say I'm strange, does it make me a stranger
That my best friend was born in a manger
People say I'm strange, does it make me a stranger
That my best friend was born in a manger

(repeat chorus 2x)

What will people think
What will people do
I don't really care
[what else can I say]
There ain't no disguising the truth
[Jesus is the way]


Unfortunately, I can't find a good copy of the Jesus Freak video on YouTube, but you can visit the video at YouTube on your own... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbB0QrBIs9k

Never Ending Stream of Goodbyes

I am overwhelmed, today – and was overwhelmed yesterday, and the day before that, and am certain that I will be similarly overwhelmed tomorrow – with this singular thought: I do not want my boy (or children in general) to grow up.
I don’t. I just don’t. I know that his future is bright and amazing and that the him that he will be in that bright and amazing future is a him that I will adore with every ounce of the intensity that I adore him now, and then some! But...

But...

At this precise moment I am so in love with Toddler Him -- with his soft, bright red hair and his tiny -toothed grin and his chubby bum and his small-ish, grabby fists that clutch and hold and cling to me and the fact that I can press him to me and just hold, just hold on to his squiggly, wiggly self and breathe him in and pretend that we are still two pieces of one body.

This him, this incarnation of the human being that he is, this small, precious, sweet-smelling clutchable form of him – this I want to keep. This I want not to lose.

I know that this is impossible; wrong, even. I know that I should rejoice in the fact that he grows, thrives, marches, leaps, runs, tumbles! – steadfastly forward into his own future. And I do rejoice in this, just as I have rejoiced in the transformation of his sisters from babies into bigger girls. But I also mourn.

This is a truth about being a parent that nothing and no-one can prepare you for: parenthood is a continual experience of loss, a never-ending stream of moments of goodbye.

From the moment your children come into your life you are losing them. That the person your child is today is a person you will never meet again -- a person that you will, in some ways, forget as he or she is replaced by new people, bigger people, faster people, people with more words, people with more independence, people whose primary purpose is to move continually away from you.

Oh! The heartache has begun. I am trying to cherish all of these moments and phases of life with my wee ones, but there is still a part of me that is truly overwhelmed. And in mourning...

Perfect Example

WARNING: These pictures may not be suitable for younger viewers. (Seriously!)

The below pictures are perfect examples of why it is not always a good idea to take impressionable young children for an innocent boat ride on the St. Croix or Mississippi River.

Yes, the man has his swimming trunks down to show off his tattoos on his buttocks (all I can say is OW!) and then twe have the pic that includes at least three women with only pasties over their..., well you'll see.

You should have seen the excessively scandalized look of my eight year old daughter as she pointed and yelled her very loudest, "MOM! They are NOT dressed all the way. What if they get sunburned?!?!"

Ummm... yeah, Honey. Somehow I don't think sunburn is even on their radar...

Magnificent Mile

I had an opportunity of a lifetime to go to Chicago last weekend with my fabulous baby sister and phenomenal cousin for almost free! Can you believe I have lived in the Minneapolis/St Paul, MN area my whole life and never been to Chicago? It's such a close destination. It's a pity I had never visited before, and now I TOTALLY HOOKED!!! It is such a gorgeous city. Granted, we were only in the downtown area (The Loop on the Magnificent Mile?), but still simply splendid.

Below are a few pics from our adventures...

This first picture is taken from 90-some stories in the air from the Observation Deck at the John Hancock Center. The views were breath takingly gorgeous! On your ride to the Observation area, you go up 94 floors in under 40 seconds. The pressure on your ears is immense. My ears popped 4 times in that brief time frame. Lake Michigan overlooking Navy Pier.

Below is the rock star / musician that my cousin Sara had us stalk the first night we were in town. Molly and Sara had tickets to see the Lovehammer concert that features Marty Casey as the lead singer. We went to the pre-concert party at the Rock-it Bar, where the band never showed up for their meet & greet. Next we went to the actual concert at the House of Blues (which was AWESOME!!! -- not the concert, but the actual House of Blues.) After the concert we went to our third bar of the evening, whose name I cannot remember. In any case, we staked out the joint until Sara spotted the infamous Marty Casey and we were able to get out picture taken with me. Yeah us!

Drunk

"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you."

~ Ray Bradbury

Not Ready To Call It Yet

The kids are dressed in playclothes and are sort of playing nicely with each other while I work around the house. I'm not ready to call it yet, but I think we will have survived the second full week of summer vacation.

Cold Stone Creamery

With the kids out of school and with the temperatures, finally, on the rise, it will only be a matter of time before you hear the first screams of summer: "Moooooooommy, my ice cream is dripping!"

Enter Cold Stone Creamery. The company known for its staff of singing ice cream scoopers is coming to the rescue of parents, whose frozen treat loving kids, can't lick fast enough to prevent massive meltdowns.

Cold Stone just announced that it is working with Jell-O to create a non-melting ice cream. According to the folks at Cold Stone, their product will remain creamy at ice-cold temperatures, and as it warms up, instead of melting, it will develop a pudding-like consistency.

Translation: No more kids standing in puddles of vanilla with sticky streaks of ice cream traced on their arms and legs.

The new non-melting ice cream will be available at select Cold Stone locations beginning next month.

Mark your calendars!

Breakin' Me

Lyric Tuesday -- Almost forgot this week's but ... Here I am! Just a day late.

This is a song from my all-time, very favoritest artist of all time -- JONNY LANG. I simply adore, love, cherish this man. Please give it up for THE MAN!

Breakin' Me

Every day I see your face I wish I'd stayed
Don't even know what made me run away
It's just the way I play the game

Emotional is not a word I'd use to explain myself
But now I'm down upon my knees
Baby please take me back

I don't want to be in love but you're makin' me
Let me up I've had enough. Girl you're breakin' me

Here I am just half a man standing alone
Feeling like I lost my only chance
At happiness when I let you go

I don't want to be alone thinkin' bout you girl
I got nothin' left to hold in this lonely world

The first time my heart was ever touched
Was the day I lost your love
I can feel it in my flesh and blood
My soul can only take it so much

So there it is. Why can't you give us one more try
You and I could find a way to live
If you let me in one more time

I know you lost your faith in me but I still believe
Can I make you understand, can I make you see
That I'm desperate for your love and it's breakin' me

It's breakin' me

Note to Self

So, if you know me in real life, I’m kind of a people pleaser.

No, seriously, I am.

You can stop laughing now. Seriously.

It is my goal in life to make people happy. Content. Thrilled with everything.

I will bend over backwards, I will borderline (or just outright) annoy you making sure you are happy. I will drive you nuts.

It’s a gift, people. One I’d love to return to the store for a full refund. But I’ve been told there was a 30-Day return policy, and we’re 30+ years past that point.

Or it’s a side effect of the guilt indoctrination from being raised by Lutheran (watered-down Catholic) parents.

Anyway.

If I have learned anything in the past few days, no matter how hard I try, no matter how personal I take things, no matter how much I listen, and try to accommodate…

I SIMPLY CAN NOT PLEASE ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE.

Even if I want to. Badly. Desperately.

You’re welcome. (You WILL thank me for this advice someday.)

Up the Creek?

Have you heard that the economy is shot to heck? Up the creek? Over a barrel? Between a rock and a hard place? In a pickle? On the fritz? And other assorted prepositional phrases?

Yeah. I think I heard that somewhere too.

Fortunately, even though the economy is, well…you know…here’s some good news. You can still take a lovely Caribbean vacation! Yes! In fact, in my current issue of Coastal Living (AKA “that glossy publication that repeatedly causes me to break commandment #10 into teeny, weeny pieces”), there is an entire article devoted to helping good, hardworking folks like you and me save a buck or two on just such an endeavor. And since I am all things magnanimous, I will henceforth share this information with all of you. First on the docket is the fabulous island of St. Lucia. Can you believe such places exist on this earth? Are those angelic voices that I hear, or have I just suffered a minor brain embolism in the face of so much lush tropicality?

Lucky, lucky us! Coastal Living informs me that we can go and stay at the Jade Mountain resort in St. Lucia anytime this year and receive our fourth night FREE!!!! FREE!!! Absolutely FREEEEE!!!!!

Pack your bags! Buy your flip flops! Slather on the sunscreen! Wax your…

Hang on.

Forgot to mention something.

The first three nights? $850.

Per night.

Okay, okay, okay! Don’t despair! I’m sure that was just a little joke to whet our appetites. Let’s move on and see what else they can offer us middle class slobs who stand in Walmart and compare cost-per-oz before choosing a can of garbanzo beans.

Deep, cleansing breath.

Ready!

Oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… be still my heart.

The Turks and Caicos Islands are surely the jeweled landing on the staircase to heaven, if not the lobby of heaven itself. Drink it in, my friends. Drink it in.

And guess what??? After June 1st, rates drop several hundred dollars per night! And if you book four nights in a row, you get FREE MEALS!!!!! Where’s my snorkel? Is my passport still valid? Does my camera have batteries? Has anybody seen…?

Ahem.

I seem to have overlooked the fine print.

Staying in one of those cute little pavilions? $1200. Per night.

But yoga classes are free with that! And afternoon tea!

If your windows shatter suddenly, do not be alarmed. It is simply the frequency of my shrieks at this moment.

Okay, Coastal Living. I’m giving you one more chance. Show me something that the teeming masses can enjoy, or I’ll cancel my subscription.

How about Virgin Gorda? It’s a sweet little British spot of fragrant frangipani, sea grape trees, and white sand beaches rimmed by that undefinable blue-green Caribbean sea.

I’m finding it difficult to type, my keyboard being so slick with drool.

The good news? Seven-night stay packages are several THOUSAND dollars cheaper right now.

So now, nights at the resorts run a paltry $700, champagne included.

What are you waiting for? It’s practically free!

Forget drooling. I’m starting to spit.

On the bright side, I think I’ve figured out what sort of relaxing, sun-drenched vacation I can afford this summer.

And it looks something like this.

Arteries

Forget about parental guilt. We've all done it from time to time. Heck, some do it on a daily basis.

I'm referring to the time honored tradition (translation: bad habit) of using the fast-food drive-thru as a culinary crutch. While you may not be a fan of the high sodium, artery clogging selections, let's face it -- the convenience of shouting into a metal kiosk, and almost instantaneously receiving a bag of food, simply cannot be beat.

What's more, fast-food restaurants are everywhere! They're right there.

All. The. Time.

On the way home from soccer practice, on the way to Nanny's, in between Target and the grocery store... basically, they're right next to wherever you happen to be at any given moment.

I have been awful about this bad habit, er... tradition, since summer began and I am hereby making a promise to my children to swear off all of that horrendous food that will end their precious little lives early.

Fuel

This installment of Lyric Tuesdays is for my husband.

I am not a huge fan of rock. I prefer things that sound much more mellow, such as Nat King Cole, Jonny Lang, Madeleine Peyroux, Billie Holiday, Etta James, etc. However, my husband is addicted to what I like to call "Angry-White-Man-Music". He adores 93x and thinks there are no greater musical genius' on the planet than Metallica. Now, I may agree that they are good -- for rockers -- and I definitely think it takes talent to come off as being so furious and certifiably psychotic all the time. So here is to the love of my life, Fuel by Metallica. Rock on... or something.

"Fuel"

Gimme fuel
Gimme fire
Gimme that which I desire

Turn on, I see red
Adrenaline crash and crack my head
Nitro junkie, paint me dead
And I see red

One hundred plus through black and white
War horse
War head
Fuck em, man
White knuckle tight
Through black and white

Oh, on I burn
Fuel is pumping engines
Burning hard
Loose and clean

Oh, and on I burn
turning my direction
Quench my thirst with gasoline

So gimme fuel
Gimme fire
Gimme that which I desire

Turn on beyond the bone
Swallow future
Spit out home
Burn your face upon the chrome

Take the corner, join the crash
Headlights, headlines
Another junkie lives too fast

Yeah
Lives way too fast, fast, fast, fast, fast

Oh, on I burn
Fuel is pumping engines
Burning hard, loose and clean

Oh, and on I burn
turning my direction
Quench my thirst with gasoline

So gimme fuel
Gimme fire
Gimme that which I desire yeah yeahe!!!!

white knuckle tight!

Oh
Gimme fuel
Gimme fire
My desire

Oh, on I burn
Fuel is pumping engines
Burning hard, loose and clean

And On I burn
turning my direction
Quench my thirst with gasoline

Gimme fuel
Gimme fire
Gimme that which I desire

On I burn

SNOWING in June

Mom! It's SNOWING!!! Seriously, the cotton wood tree is going to kill me with a non-stop allergy attack if it doesn't stop making the ground white! The children truly thought it was snowing a few different times within the last week because there was so much effing cotton flying around. Meh! It's going to kill me! (But it was fun for a couple of pictures...)

Sleep with One Eye Open

I can’t help it. I love true crime stories, because I personally can’t fathom how someone could think, even for a minute, that they wouldn’t get caught. Me? I’d TOTALLY get caught. So I watch in fascination of the stupidity of it all, and I’m hooked. Give me 48 Hours, Dateline Mystery, etc...

It seems like every time Husband enters the room one of these shows is on. He is constantly commenting that he just knows I’m taking notes on how to kill him and bury the body and get away with it.

Husband says I need to ask you, my dearest friends, if he should feel justified in his fears that his days may be numbered -- wonders if I am going to use these shows as “research”.

So? Should he be worried? Fearful? Sleep with one eye open? Huh? Huh?

I say no. Every story ends with the offending spouse getting caught and jailed for all eternity. It’s not like the show is providing me a road map on how to off my husband.

Besides, I can find that information on the Internet now days. Who needs a TV show for that?!

Honey? Hey! Where are you going?

…Honey?

Pay It Forward

It’s hard these days not to obsess about the economy; we’re thinking more carefully about every dime. We have friends who are really struggling just to get through the month. We’ve always tried to make the children understand how very fortunate they are, and to see all of the things that they take for granted; in the past, this has mostly been stuff like a bedroom full of toys and the occasional treats when they go the store, but lately, we’ve been talking about things like food and shelter — the basics.

My kids have a hard time imagining what it would be like to be hungry — there is always food in our house, and the worst case scenario for them is having to eat what I am serving instead of a meal they have cobbled together out of kid food (cheese sticks and chicken nuggets and fish crackers). The idea that a family might not know where their next meal is coming from is completely baffling to them.

I’m grateful for that, really, but I also want them to be aware that not everyone gets to choose between two different kinds of cookies for lunch, or have a Gatorade for every soccer practice. I want them to know that those choices come with a responsibility — if we can afford Gatorade and fancy cookies, we can afford to share what we have with those who have less.

Not only can we, but we need to, because it’s the right thing to do.

Here are five ways you can share with families who need a helping hand.
1. Sign the Scotts’ GroGood pledge, and help them help Feeding America.
2. Participate in Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale.
3. Clean out a closet and donate what you can’t use to a group like Habitat for Humanity.
4. Host a dinner party: provide all the food and ask your guests to bring donations (cash or canned goods) for your local food bank.
5. Help your kids host a book party: each child brings a gently used book (or two) that you donate to a shelter or to the local Ronald McDonald house. Do a craft where kids write and decorate their own books.

I really believe that the more we have, the more we should give, but I also believe that the more you give, the more you will feel like you have enough.

You're My Little Girl

Lyric Tuesdays!

Go Fish is one of my very favoritest bands ever. Now days they do mostly kids music, but I so wish they would do another adult album. (www.gofishguys.com)

Today's song, "You're My Little Girl", helped my soul heal many years ago. The song continues to remind me that God will take care of my precious children (and all of our inner childs) and love them unconditionally. Even when there is no way I can be a perfect parent and provide my children with the kind of patient and unconditional love they deserve, God can and will and does each and every day.

The song is a take on God speaking to a young girl whose parents are divorcing.

"You're My Little Girl"

The ones you love, they let you down
And I want you to know that I¹m sorry
The choices that they made were wrong
You were caught in the middle and I¹m sorry

So when the anger and the pain
Get the best of you
I know it seems like you¹re all alone
But I am feeling it too

Chorus
'Cuz you're my little girl
You¹re the one that I created
No one in this world could ever be like you
When you're cryin' in the night
All you need to do is call me
I¹ll be there for you
'Cuz you¹re my little girl

When you're lookin in the mirror
I hope you're likin' what you see
Because no matter what you're feelin'
You're perfect to me

Because I see you as a child
Blameless in my sight
Just spend some time with me
And I¹ll make everything alright

Chorus

Bridge
I know you don't deserve what you've been through
I know it doesn't seem fair
I know that there are times you think you're alone
But you've got to know that I will be there, be there

Chorus

No More Junk Food

My precious, little two-year son was sitting on the counter next to the sink in the bathroom as I was getting ready for work last week. The following enlightening conversation was had as we brushed our teeth and applied my make-up. What a hoot!

Darling boy in his sweetest little boy voice, “Mommy. You stay home with me today?”

Me: “No, Honey. I need to go to work today.”

Darling boy - pouting lip stuck out. “No. You stay home.”

Me: “I will be home later this week. I need to go to work today.”

Darling boy: “Why?!”

Me: “Because that’s what they pay me to do.” (I know this was a brilliant response for a two-year old.)

Darling boy: “But WHY?!”

Me: “So I can go to the grocery store and buy our family yummy food.” (I was fairly proud of this response. Seemed logical, right?)

Darling boy: “Oh! Thank you, mommy! I love to eat groceries.”

Thoughtful expression.

Darling boy – places his hands on either side of my face and pulls me nose to nose with him. “We no get junk food! Let’s get healthy grocery like fruit chews, cheese puffs (translation: Cheetos), cake and ummm… maybe a ice cream.”

Moral of the story: Your two-year old may be able to use the word “healthy” and he be familiar with the motherly warning of “No more junk food” but that doesn’t mean he recognizes the actual definitions or meanings behind these concepts.

Pass the “healthy” sour cream and onion potato chips, please!

Crusters

On Friday evening, I went out with a few friends from high school. These great friends hang out all the time. I am usually so crazy busy with the kids and volunteering and working and just trying to stay sane that I am unable to catch up with them more than a couple times a year.

In high school, our little clique got stuck with the handle "Crusters". I am unsure how we officially got stuck our name, but I assume we were stuck with the name "Crusters" because we were probably perceived as acting overly exclusive. I don't like to think that we actively excluded others (which I don't actually remember doing). I prefer to think that we were a group of six teenage girls who had similar interests and were overly self-absorbed (as all teenagers are) and that it just didn't occur to us to hang out with others.

I'm sure I am wrong. I bet we had our moments of being terrible to others. Goodness gracious, teenagers can be such horribly mean little beings. Thank God that life continues to throw different experiences at us as we mature to help us put the rest of life into perspective so we can learn to be humble, sweet, compassionate adults!

Education

Tonight the children and I took a little jaunt to the park. While it was a fun outing for them, I was reminded of the positive parenting skills of the unattended children also at the park. I was once again educated. Here’s what I learned:

* Playground equipment isn’t just for climbing on and playing games. It is a supposedly unseeable, smoke screen where 14-yr-old girls go to make out with even younger boys.

* In the game of tag, what used to be called “babysitting” (watching over your opponets) is now called “puppy-footing.” At least by the 7 to 9 year-old set.

* Seven to nine year-olds cuss. A LOT. They even make up songs comprised primarily of cuss words. Very talented.

* Kids still spend more time during tag discussing the rules than actually playing the game. Thank goodness for some consistency!

Trucks with Music

Is there a better way to welcome "SUMMER"

than sitting on the front steps eating ice cream

delights that are hand-picked from the

ice cream truck?!

Peanut Butter Graham Crackers

For whatever reason, I am totally craving comfort foods today. Before I ate lunch, I had a hankering for Beek's Pizza (now defunct, formerly located in So. Mpls). After lunch, I was craving homemade peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting, a treat my mom made each year for my birthday when I was a child. Being lazy and a bit short on time (not to mention patience), I settled for another, less common treat that we got at our house growing up, peanut butter between two graham cracker halves. It instantly brought back floods of memories.

Taste memories are almost as strong as olfactory (smell) memories for me; here are some favorite foods.

Mom's Kitchen:
* Scotch-roo Bars,
* Kidney Bean Hotdish,
* Taco Hotdish,
* Ice Tea made in the sun,

Cousin Chris' or Great Auntie Shirley's:
* Puppy Chow
* Rolled out sugar cookies
* Homemade Bean Soup
* Homemade Taco Shells

Grandma Blumer's:
* Pickled vegetables (of any variety)
* Fresh vegetables -- straight from the garden, complete with dirt!


There are many others, I’m sure. What taste memories do you have, and who or what do they remind you of?

Resiliency

"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry."

~ Ernest Hemingway (A Farewell to Arms)


What a wicked, deep quote!

Just dwell on that for a while.

Does the quote lead you to think that as humans we are flexible beings who have the ability to overcome great adversity? Does it lead you to believe we are all goners who will each experience deep, sometimes incapacitating, pain?
Hmmm... Very interesting.

I like this quote in an unsettling and slightly disturbing way. It makes your mind spin as you delve deeper into the possible meanings.

Goodbye, Mr. Leno! You Will Be Missed!

I love Jay Leno.... I mean REALLY love him. I think he's a class act. I feel as if I have been mourning the fact that Jay is leaving The Tonight Show for weeks, maybe months. Nothing against Conan O'Brien, but I just don't think he's quite the same caliber as Jay is and honestly, I find him excessively irritating. I would rather watch Letterman than Conan O'Brien -- and that is saying a lot because Mr. L is quite irritating too.

In any case, I guess I now will have a reason to go to bed a bit earlier. Here's a clip from last night's show and Jay's farewell on Friday, May 29th. This almost made me cry.

When I Call

Let's jump back into Lyric Tuesday.

Please take note: When I die, I want "When I Call on Jesus" at my funeral. Morbid thought, I know. Yet, this song speaks to me on a very deep level. I know several Christian artists have their own versions of "When I Call...". I don't know who made the first version. Nicole C. Mullen definitely has my favorite version. She is phenomenal!

"When I Call On Jesus"

I'm so very ordinary, nothing special on my own.
Oh, I have never walked on water,
And I have never calmed a storm.
Sometimes I'm hiding away from the madness around me
Like a child who's afraid of the dark

Chorus:
But when I call on Jesus,
All things are possible
I can mount on wings like eagles' and soar
When I call on Jesus,
Mountains are gonna fall
'Cause He'll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call

La la la la la, la la la la la

Weary brother, broken daughter,
Widowed, Widowed lover you're not alone
If you're tired and scared of the madness around you
If you can't find the strength to carry on

Chorus

Bridge:
Call Him in the mornin', in the afternoon time
Late in the evenin' He'll be there
When your heart is broken,
And you feel discouraged,
You can just remember that He said
He'll be there

Chorus (2x)

La la la la la, la la la la la, la la la la la-a-a

Keep Your Lips to Yourself!

UGH! I had a different post planned, but while I was channel surfing, a special report caught my short attention span to discuss President Obama's nomination of the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor as his choice for the next United States Supreme Court Justice. President Obama did a nice introduction of Ms. Sotomayor and then turned to let her take the podium. He shook her hand. . . and then kissed her. Ugh!

That just drives me crazy! This goes back to the presidential election and debates. Whenever Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin were introduced or greeted by a man, they shook hands. . . and then they were kissed. On the cheek, of course, but I can't stand this.

It's not that I'm a crazy feminist--I enjoy having doors opened for me. It's not that I'm anti-kissing -- I got used to this kiss greeting long ago. So I have no problem with the kiss greeting IN A SOCIAL SETTING.

But presidential and vice presidential debates? No.

Political rallies? No, again.

Introducing a highly regarded judge as a nominee to our nation's highest court? Sorry, still NO!

Did Barack Obama and John McCain kiss before their debates? Um, no. Do President Obama and VP Biden smooch when they pass in the halls of the White House? I'm guessing not. Biden and Palin upon meeting? Yes. Ms. Clinton and Obama? Yes, again.

What's the difference here? They do it when a woman is in the picture. And maybe they're just trying to be chivalrous or courteous or something, but JUST STOP IT.

If women want to be treated as equal, intellectual, level-headed, capable human beings (not being noticed for only their gender, as a woman or as a man), then they must be treated as an equal in all settings -- including introductions. If a man, as a manager or supervisor, interviews a woman for a position with his company, would the man kiss the female interviewees cheek after being introduced to her? Would the female interviewee EXPECT to be kissed on the cheek -- at any point in time during this PROFESSIONAL situation?

It's just not appropriate. This is not a social setting.

It is the international political stage.

If Joe and Sarah are meeting for drink -- fine, smooch away. Political debate? Keep your lips to yourself, thank you very much.