keepingfaith

I just got off the phone with merrieeee, and she's floating somewhere in the clouds of Clay Heaven. She told me this is a whole new side of Clay Aiken that he's sharing with the world and she's walking on air. I think we've passed the point of "It's all good" and arrived somewhere far beyond good and breathtaking and exceptionally gifted and all that. He's in the realm of sit youself down, open your mind and heart and be filled to overflowing. An OTT opinion maybe? Nope. Not any more.

You can get it "rye cheer" (as my grandad would have said)! Or, more correctly, he would have said, "rye chee-ah." http://www.clackunlimited.com/clack/Concer...LonelyNoMore44/

Okay, ya gotta give it up cha cha .... did KAndre really sing Beatles tunes? This could be huge! Unless it was Ob La Di which she did acknowledge liking once, in an uncharacteristic moment. Re Kalamazoo: I love the LonelyNoMore_Scarlett Jazzy Medley ... but it's apples and oranges with the LonelyNoMore_Scarlett OHN. The OHN transfixes me because he's so still and controlling and the voice is effortless and pure ... and I'm still trying to come up with an appropriate description of what it does to me. The silhouettes are striking. The Jazzy Medley has movement and style and is fabulous. The ending of WW instantly took me back to the ending of Mack the Knife on Idol. It has the same effect on me ... unexpected, amazing and polished. My heart is with the fabulous eHP ... all of whom will be present at the Warner Theatre tonight, except little ole worker bee me. The only consolation is knowing that I've been a responsible adult and that every reason I had for staying in Houston only expanded and intensified over the last four days, so I did the right thing without a doubt. So why am I still conflicted about doing the right thing? It SUCKS!!! Thanks for the hugs everyone. I'll survive, and as I told the eHP and to paraphrase a lesser Scarlett ... as God is my witness I'll never miss a Clay Aiken tour again.

I just watched Kalamazoo_OHN_LonelyNoMore44&Scarlett and it is TO DIE FOR. Clay's voice is pristine and he totally commands the stage by standing still and singing his heart out. A beautiful man singing with depth and commitment and the voice of Clay Aiken.

Here I've been attempting to keep a stiff upper lip about NO CONCERTS AT ALL THIS TOUR NOT EVEN ONE and enjoy it vicariously through the messages and calls from my eHP sisters .... but to see that there are tears over missing the pre-party just pulled the plug for me. Man oh man, what a cold shot, jmh There's a scarcity of videos so far, it seems. Counting on the clack has been a limited option to this point, with a couple of notable exceptions. Gibby, I love ya. Ya'll know this is killing me, right?

SHEILADOWNUNDER -- I remember the laughs and fun in Tulsa, and the brief chat in Orlando and look forward to more time with you when next we meet on the trail. playbiller, you never cease to amaze me with the way you so succinctly articulate some aspects of this fandom, including the above. You wise and interesting woman, you! ETA: Just realized that I have half Jamar and half playbiller on that quote. I love the abundance of smart women at FCA. And to those mentioning Clay's eye problem, and about selling the merchandise at OFC, would somebody bring a link please? I dunno where this is coming from and I wanna know everything! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Usually I'm not a fan of glasses. Didn't care for the glasses in the clack I've seen of JBT Meadowbrook, and the several concerts last Christmas. But .... I think these glasses he's wearing are totally fiiiiiine ... Pictures from jtgrannyat CB:

Looking at that picture, I immediately heard in my head some verses from that old Carla Thomas song ... Gee whiz Look at his eyes Gee whiz How they hypnotize He's got everything a girl could want Man oh man, what a prize My, my, oh my There are things we could do I could say I love you But all I could say is Gee whiz...

Finally got a chance to finish downloading and watching all of the clack tonight (and now I really can't sleep!) I kept thinking ... where would we be right now without Gibby and ldyjocelyn??? FCA rocksz the clack so far!! Gibby your close ups are awesome, and LdyJ the big stage perspective is such a boon for those of us not attending shows this Christmas. This is priceless. What a voice, what a face, what a man. I'm getting a special vibe just watching the clack. It's like Clay is constantly expanding and moving on down the road, and dragging us, if need be, along with him. I really don't mind a lack of banter because banter with the fans would break the magic of this show. Standing in one place on the platform and singing all night requires him to be totally focused and mentally disciplined -- allowing no distractions from his performance. I think this show was right on time. No, I don't think he'll be burping or hiccuping or forgetting lyrics like he playfully did last Christmas. I'm going to stop saying that I wish I could be there, because I guess that's understood. After three shows, I increasingly adore the professionalism of this tour, including Jesse's most excellent arrangements. The first time I saw the pictures of the girls' gowns, I knew Clay picked 'em out. The cleavage gave it away.

Cheeky Baby!!!!

I like "mesmerizing" a lot, but I haven't changed to it, because I'm so mesmerized by "captivating" that I can't let it go! It's time to look at pictures. And this first one ... Lord have mercy on my soul ... But that first one is mesmerizing me and captivating me, besides kicking my ass and killing me dead. One more time ..... with feelin' ...

From Idol Chatter at USA Today: Another major beneficiary of the holiday season was Clay, at least for Merry Christmas With Love, which jumped from 3,000 to 5,000 this week and has sold 1.3 million. Otherwise, A Thousand Different Ways sold 300, up from 200, to total 520,000, and Measure of a Man sold 100 and is just a bit below 2.8 million total.

Oh yeah! I'll take that "affront" and raise you a "rub me the wrong way" .... if I can get a certain hot singer babe to brush up against my particular sensitivities!! Mama!!

Yeah, we wouldn't want that, would we, Honey?

Come on, CG, let's be fair. We all dish it out, and we all have to take it, too. I know you freely express your opinions, and so do I. Sometimes we agree and sometimes we don't. After I saw Clay for the very first time, you told me 5 minutes after the show that it was basically a horrible performance and the biggest mistake of his career and so forth, yet I saw what I saw and heard what I heard and loved every minute of it. You were entitled to think what you did, and express it -- yet my opinion didn't change your mind, and yours didn't affect mine. I don't think it's complicated. We just allow each other to have opposing opinions. I sometimes put in "IMO" but most of the time don't because I assume it's assumed by all that everything we put down on the boards is opinion unless we cite a source. My sticking point is completely different -- it's when I see a special select group with a particular brand on them who do their dance of doom, with accompanying suggestions for salvation, right on cue. That irks me some, and I'm trying to get over it, because if that's what blows up their skirts then "have at it" -- I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it. I don't think I've found anyone I agree with 100% -- and don't ever expect to -- and don't think I'd necessarily want to! My motto: Stand on principles and say what you think and feel -- and then move on. And if you change your mind next week, okay. If not, okay. No matter what ... okay. I've seen enough of this fandom to know that it's all different people of various ages from all regions and all walks of life. There will never be a lockstep mentality in the Clay Nation no matter how hard some have worked to get everybody on the same page. Because, there are no pages .................... (IMO).

Cindilu, I had that wallpaper as my desktop -- and it looks fabulous with either the brown or wine background. I can't take my eyes off the profile -- with that hair -- and that faint, knowing smile -- it's too much!!! $80 for the three items of Clay merchandise? Such a deal! Scarves and hats are perfect merchandise items for a winter show. Okay friends, anybody want to volunteer to get goodies for me? All I need to know is where to send the money. Even if I can't go to a show, at least I can hold some material that's been to a show!!! And it says, Love, Clay? OMG a must have! I'll pay any price, bear any burden, defeat any foe ......

Now come on, lightmyfire, you don't think yo' heathen daddy would approve something like that, do ya?

I think the smartest thing I ever heard regarding a negative-based church was when two partners of a big firm were talking and one was trying to get the other to visit his mega-church. Said the second gentleman: Does your church have females in leadership roles? Answer: No, because we believe blah de blah. Then: Does your church accept all worshippers regardless of race, sexual orientation, financial situation? Answer: No, because we believe blah de blah. This Q&A went on for a few minutes regarding male dominance of the church, an outreach ministry for the poor, and finally the person being recruited said ... "Sorry, but I'm not interested in a church that I'd have to lower my moral standards to attend." It was a powerful moment that I've never forgotten.

I saw a VH1 countdown on Cougars last week, and Demi Moore was the No. 1 Cougar. Of course there were Julianne Moore and Susan Sarandon and Goldie (even Drew Barrymore is a Cougar). Cougars are totally IN now -- so, for the most part, we're Clay's Cougars! lightmyfire, I hear ya! I happen to like change myself. I know there are those who get something good and want to stick with it. I'm that way to an extent at my favorite restaurants, but when it comes to music and concerts, I like change -- in fact, without change nothing ever improves. Mr. Serious Take Charge Clay has a big place in my heart. He didn't banter, or even speak a word, on AI5 when I fell on my face -- just sang and smiled and shined those eyes. Hearing him talk and kid around is fun, but not a necessary component for me. In anticipation of this tour, I was watching clack from last Christmas and the banter was more of the show than the singing, IMO. This year, it's a whole new world, and I dig it, my sisters.

I want O Holy Night. My favorite Christmas song of all time forever. Please, please, please?

I read Clay's blog last night after slogging through a long thread of opinions that ranged from *I'm going to go to more shows now* to *I think I'm going to sell some tickets and not go to as many shows* and underlying everything I read was the assumption that Clay was going to be there to read what they said. Everybody waiting on Clay to get on board and read their messages and change accordingly, or whatever. When I read his blog, I went to bed as happy as can be. You bet, all of us can say what we want to say and I love FCA for the fact that it's an adult board -- in content and philosophy -- and all our opinions are respected here -- but setting up camp on another board to get to Clay with criticisms about the program when they weren't even in attendance, well, IMO, that's just crazy. Especially when it's the same damn people every time that do it. The freaking "experts" -- who somehow happen to have no better track record than any other fan -- will gang up and repeatedly share their group think every single time without fail. It tires me out to slog through it, and it doesn't smell like free speech at all. CG, just as a preemptive, I'm not including your feelings and opinions in what I just said. I understand your objections to the venue and respect that -- and share it to some extent. I have my own opinions that don't always mesh with what Clay does. My problem is with those who think they know better than Clay how to plan and run his show, and believe he needs to hear it. I don't see their asses up on the stage entertaining anybody. just.my.rant.because.I'm.entitled.too {{{{atinal}}}} and {{{{ldyjocelyn}}}} -- my heart is with you. Love you guys!!! And you're going to see this guy, OMG!!!!

I might not mind the mixing of meats if the mixing of the names were changed ... but I just can't imagine eating anything that starts with "turd" or "turp."

I do believe that Tres Leches originated in Mexico, but it's popular over all of Latin America -- and in Texas.

Watergate Salad is more of a dessert that the kids demand for the holidays -- whether Christmas or the 4th of July. It's a box of Jello pistachio pudding mixed with a can of crushed pineapple with juice, folding in 2 cups of miniature marshmallows and a tub of Cool Whip and then a cup of chopped pecans or walnuts, and cherries -- and coconut is optional. I don't have a clue where the name comes from, but it's pretty well known by that name and we've been making it since the 70's. Squash? I LOVE squash -- let me count the ways ... yellow squash, zucchini and tomatoes ... ummmmm Fried rounds of yellow squash .... yummy Baked squash casserole .... rich and delicious I eat it so willingly you wouldn't believe it. Is this just a Southern thing, like okra? Because I could probably eat my weight in okra, too. I'm pretty much like Clay when it comes to vegetables. I like most vegetables -- just no beets for me, please. I had a bad experience as a child that warped me forever with beets. Twenty hungry folks. We ate at 3pm and I fasted all day until dinner, except for that honeycrisp apple that I couldn't resist when chopping for the fruit salad. Which is probably the last ones I'll have until the prices come down. I bought at $1.99/lb. before -- and now they are $3.29/lb. They're good, but no piece of fruit is worth that kind of money. It's excellent, very juicy and cooks quickly. Some people will eat their turkey no other way; however, I'm a bigger fan of the turkeys that spend the night in my dad's smoker. Best taste ever. Was it bottlecap with the quick Apple Brown Betty recipe? I pivoted off that one with my cherry pie. It just didn't look pretty when I took it out of the oven and the more I looked at it, I decided I would hold it back for private consumption. But thinking about the ABB suggestion, I chopped up the cherry pie into my cobbler dish and mashed it to an even surface, stirred up another pie crust to cover, baked it again and slathered the hot crust with some of the butterscotch sauce I used with the yams -- and it was a huge hit. Nothin' left. Thanks for the keeper tip. I adored that Washington Post article. And the line .... Which brings us to Clay Aiken, as most good conversations should will be oft-quoted by me to my daughter who just mentioned to me this week that every single one of our telephone conversations somehow manages by some twist or turn to lead to Clay. She lives just a few miles outside of the District and reads the Post daily. I emailed the link to her anyway because I can't take a chance on her missing that most pertinent comment. One last thing ... Tres Leches is fabulous. Three different milks (evaporated, condensed, and cream or whole milk) go into this cake made without butter. The consistency is unsurpassed and surprisingly it isn't a bit soggy, it's just fantastic. The Cake Lady in Friendswood makes a killer Tres Leches.

Thanksgiving is the best holiday ever in my opinion. Our menu this year was: 2 smoked turkeys a baked turkey a fried turkey a honeybaked ham smoked link sausage a huge pan of cornbread dressing another pan of cornbread dressing w/o celery my mother's incredibly addicting giblet gravy broccoli rice casserole butterscotch yams sweet potato casserole with pecan topping fresh squash casserole (the one with sour cream and cheese, etc.) mashed potatoes my sister's yummy macaroni and cheese fresh green beans watergate salad w/walnuts watergate salad w/o walnuts spinach salad fruit salad 40 deviled eggs cranberry sauce the obligatory plate of green onions two pecan pies a coconut cream pie a chocolate cream pie a cherry pie an assortment of breads beaujolais, iced tea, soft drinks, coffee It was wonderful. We feast hard and continue to eat it the rest of the weekend and it gets better every day. But right now, I'm dead and I don't want to see food.