PermaSwooned

I'm surprising myself that I'm really enjoying Facebook. I don't participate in "chat" type activities on other boards, I'm not an IM type person, and I don't have huge random email correspondences with friends and acquaintances, so I didn't expect to really "get into" Facebook. However, this seems different. I'm enjoying hearing about real life activities...trips...movie or book recommendations.....important family events....& I like the pictures. It's put me in touch with a cousin and former colleagues, and I'm enjoying that. It's a cool way for my DD & I to stay in touch regularly during her pregnancy. This may sound strange, but it lets me be "reactive"....which is relaxing. I'm not the type to send out random emails to people saying..."Hey! How are you? Haven't heard from you in a while!" However, on FB, when annabear posted pics of her new puppy, I could comment right away, as an example. Congratulations...sympathies...the opportunity to comment is right there all gathered in one place. I don't update my status much...last one was to say that after nearly 2 years, my DIL's Green Card application was finally approved. That was big news in our family. I don't do many of the quizzes...it's a time discipline thing on my part. I don't do the gifties either. OK....gotta work. Have fun.

I am a Claymate!! Kewl. I'm going to have to guard that mug with my life, though. My office mate is a huge fan and stuff I put up on my walls keep migrating to her office. Heh.

Ooooooo....Glen Ivy!! LOVES me some Glen Ivy!! Let's see...I was there last year. My daughter & I had to cancel our annual trek this year, because her preggie self is not allowed to do hot tubs at present. They have done so much renovation over the years ...it is really gorgeous, and kind of like going to a high end resort rather than a day spa. I haven't personally done any of the special spa services, but my daughter has had a massage, pedicure, manicure and facial there. It's hard to get to all the special pools & stuff even without that, so there's always plenty to do, especially relax!! They restricted the place to 16 (or 18) and up a few years ago. So there's no cannonballing into the pools. The food is "healthy" but very good and a lot of different choices. They do have lots of smoothies, juices and teas, but they have soda, etc. as well. I'm pretty sure they have wine/wine coolers/wine spritzers, etc., but I'm not sure they have anything harder than that. I haven't really checked, because I have to drive a fair distance at the end of the day. Let's do it!! Anyone else in SoCal in April?? I see the point in renaming the BAF. I remember when Autism Speaks bounded by the BAF in one of those Six Degree fundraisers, because their mission was obvious. I think it's an interesting point about the term "inclusion". The term is probably NOT that well known in this context by a lot of people. My DD teaches the deaf & hard of hearing. When she started college, "mainstreaming" was still the term being used for inclusive school programs. In grad school they used "bi-lingual, bi-cultural environment" as the proper terminology. Now, her students are in "inclusive" classes. Who knows what it will be in 5 years. Maybe it's better to focus on the idea of "Abilities" instead. Back to work. Darn.

I just HAVE to take a break from researching the degree of risks for high-resolution CT scans and bronchoscopy procedures!! I'm way overdue for posting here, so why not now? liney23 and I DID have a wonderful dinner last night. I thought I ate 1/2 of my seafood Cobb salad (YUM), but my left-overs look like they are enough for 3 hungry people!! It's amazing how fast 3 hours can pass when chatting with a friend. Y'all should just SEE liney23!! She looks AMAZING. If I want to look on the bright side, I guess it's a good thing that I haven't lost that much weight, because it means she can still recognize me (alas), but she's a whole new (smaller) person. Wow. couchie, a trip to San Diego is nothing for us SoCal types. It's 2 hours, and it takes 2 hours to get anywhere down here if you hit the traffic wrong. OR I could do my new favorite thing and take the train! The bus/train combo thing to Fresno was awesome!! It was 4 1/2 hours, which is pretty much what it takes me to make the drive. I showed liney23 a pic I took with my camera phone out the window of the bus as we drove through a blizzard on the Grapevine (I-5). I was sitting there snacking and reading my book, whereas if I'd been trying to drive it, I would have been cowering in my car pulled over on the side of the road while giant trucks thundered by and hoping someone rescued me before I froze to death. HATES driving the Grapevine. Oooooo...Greg Mortensen is speaking on March 6th at Long Beach State as part of the Long Beach Reads One Book celebration. It's kind of a cool community event where everyone in Long Beach is encouraged to read the same book at the same time and discuss it in different venues. It starts with Middle School level, and they are reading a Young Reader's version that just came out in January. It's sponsored by the Library Association. Since I'm not a CSULB faculty or student type person, tickets would be $30, but I'd love to hear him speak. Hmmm.....food for thought. Travel bucket list? Well, first of all, I need to get a new passport. My DH has been worried that he'll be overseas somewhere and need me to fly to his side, and I won't have a valid passport! Good point. So that's the first thing on my to do list. *I've never been to Vancouver or Victoria, and would love to go. *The South Island of NZ....I've been to the North Island, but not the South *My DH really wants to visit Alaska, so I'd love to do that. *Tahiti *I'd love to revisit Ireland when it wasn't so cold!! Brrrrrrrrr. *Grand Cayman & 7-mile beach *Norway....home of some of my ancestors (Ireland claims the rest) Hmmmm...better get busy!! BTW...I am loving Facebook. I'm in touch with lots of folks I haven't seen in a while, including one of my cousins. Also a cool way to exchange pics & stuff with my daughter. OK...back to work....how many millirads are in a "low-dose" High-res CT scan anyway? Guess I'd better find out. Sigh. Oh....Clay....more diverse track list than I might have guessed, and yes I'll be ordering. IMHO there is no way that the company of "Wicked" would invite an outsider to sing as part of their "showcase" number at a big Broadway benefit show. Thought the whole piece and especially the dancing was really gorgeous, though. CLAY!!! There are 35 Indian casinos in California!! Remember how great the shows were in Pala & Indio???? Add 33 more stops to that and you'd have a great tour!!! Come West, young man!!!

Hellooooooooo..... I have been trying to lurk as much as possible as a person without a home computer could do.....finally had to give up and buy a new one.....some Vista errors are unrecoverable (grrrrrr....I HATES Vista). BUT...Scarlett, you got me out of lurkdom with the fandom question. My only experience with a message board was in being a moderator for an asthma disease management project I was working on. Not really the same thing at all. I was, however a big fan of Google. My DD had been nagging me to watch AI2 since she had watched AI1 and loved it. I couldn't imagine liking anything on Fox, but one night I tuned in and caught Clay on the Wild Card show....and the rest was history. He just blew me away, but honestly, I never thought that America would pick him. I thought he looked too young, sounded like a hick when he talked, and just was Mr. Anti-Cool. So I was beyond thrilled when America proved me wrong. I was totally hooked. My DD & her now DH were also big fans, so we got to talk about it every week. I think I hit Google probably around Movie Night, just to see if anyone was talking about that Clay Aiken guy! WOAH!!! FORT (Fans of Reality TV) paid for prime position, I guess, so I clicked on that. LOTS of AI stuff, and a really long Clay thread already. It was a linear thread, and people posted whole paragraphs, so I learned my posting pattern there. My first post was a very erudite essay on how "Everlasting Love" was TOO a disco song and how many beats per minute were in Clay's version and how that met the technical definition. Hey, I AM a professional researcher after all! There were 4 mods for the AI threads at FORT and 3 of them were Ruben fans. They started getting more and more rude towards the Clay fans, so it wasn't that much fun. Someone posted that they enjoyed the Clay thread at TWOP, so I wandered over there. There was actually a fair amount of bashing in his thread, so I didn't see the appeal, until someone pointed me towards the Idol Entertainment threads, and I was in Heaven!! SO, SO, SO much fun stuff by so many creative people. I laughed myself silly!! I followed the path from there to Todd's emergency "home" and then to the CH. I thought it would be fun to see the AI tour when it came close by, so I bought tickets for my DH, DD, SIL and myself for the Anaheim show. They were in the lower bowl opposite the stage. I thought that would be good because we could see the whole stage!! HA!! What did I know then?? Of course then we got a whole country-full of reports of people seeing multiple shows and how great it was to be close up. I tried to figure out what else I could possibly see, since Anaheim was the last show. One day I was at work and was wistfully fiddling around with Ticketmaster and tried the Salt Lake City show. Front row center came up!! I was so shocked, they timed out...I think one of the docs strolled in about then. When I tried again those were gone (went to 2 CHers) but I got 2nd row towards the end. So I took them. Then I convinced my DH that driving to Salt Lake City for the weekend was a perfectly reasonable thing to do!! After all it's only about 13 hours each way!! We went to the concert, and got together with a ton of fans at the CPK before the show. The most amazing thing I remember was that when Clay worked the corners of the stage, we could hear him quite clearly separately from the microphone and he sounded SO gorgeous!! I'll never forget it. So...a few days later, we needed to take our DS back to college in NoCal, and decided a side-trip to Sacramento was mandatory to see the show. As couchie said, that's when we met at the CH gathering. That's where I met ncgurrl as well, and we've been friends and travel companions ever since. I got to room with couchie in January for the final Spam weekend. I'm surprised we got any sleep we talked so much. We really are twins. I don't know why y'all can't see it!! I have pictures from that gathering!! I'll see if I can get to them when I get home and put them in the Members Section. One of them is a hoot!!! Anyone remember Oddreigh? Wait until you see her er..."outfit" for that concert. OMG!! AND!!! I'm the one who set up the lunch before the AMA's in 2003. We had close to 30 people and there was NO WHERE near the Shrine Auditorium for that many people to eat. Especially on a Sunday. I had spread sheets, sent out maps, directions, all kinds of stuff!! The funny part was that ncgurrl had bought tickets to see Neil Sedaka in Vegas that weekend. Remember when we thought Clay might show up? As it turned out, he was in L.A. filming the Nickolodeon Xmas show!! We drove home from Vegas that morning, and then quick changed, picked up abbyharp & Mrs Loki from their airport hotel and went to the restaurant. I remember the debacle with the witless waiter, but it DID turn out well. That was the last year non-celebs were allowed to go in the Red Carpet entrance, even if you had floor seats. Very lucky after all. I have pictures of THAT gathering as well!! I have kAndre in her lovely gold and Scarlett in her gorgeous dress. Those of us poor peons in the balcony were not nearly as well dressed!! I'll have to see if I can find THOSE pics and put them up as well!! What fun remembrances!! BTW, I was at the Jan. 1st Munch at the Marriott after that show with many of you. My fingers were still frozen solid after holding my camera forever waiting for Clay to (NOT) come to the SD. EVERYONE else took pics of the group, so I figured I didn't need to do it as well. SO WHERE ARE THOSE PICTURES....HMMMMM???? I need to go home and wash & pack. On Friday I'm going to go see my DD in Fresno and am taking the bus/train!! Should be interesting to say the least!!

Hi all, Sorry to have been such a missing person. Things have been really tension-filled at work, and it was challenging working around my family's crazy work schedules. I spent a lot of time trying to find a new travel partner for NY ***waves to my new roomie Couch Tomato*** We got the joyous news that my DD is expecting, but it's been tempered by the fact that the pregnancy may be somewhat precarious. She's holding on so far, so it looks like my trip to NY and hers to Hawaii are safe so far. Any good thoughts are appreciated. I'm coming in on Jan 1st to JFK, but in the early evening. I can't understand why someone wouldn't want to hang out at the airport for 12 hours, but whatever! I won't get there in time for a Thursday show, I don't think, but may have a prime spot for any potential stage door. I'm scheduled to see 2 other shows besides Spamalot while I'm there. I really, really wanted to see Billy Elliot, but could only find very last row of the balcony seats way to the side. Unless I wanted to pay $361 for a premium seat!! :Tour4: Today, just out of force of habit, I tried again and got a 12th row center seat at the regular price!! OMG, it must have been meant to be!!! So, that's my Sat. matinee show. I'm there an extra day, so Monday night I'm going to see "Forbidden Broadway". I got a front row center seat for $39.00 from Broadway Offers. I've seen this show in L.A. a couple of times. It's a series of musical parodies of current Broadway shows. It's updated all the time, so there are various editions. It's been running for 27 years with breaks. The current one is "Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab". The author says this may well be the last one. He says the move to "Disney-fy" Broadway doesn't give him enough material. Here's a link to their site if you want to check it out: http://www.forbiddenbroadway.com/ It's all starting to feel real!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

Hey smitten....er...claylaughs!! I know you!!! Welcome. :thbighug-1:

Nope, no more hiding in the dinner closet for us!!!! We will sit there proudly eating dinner for all to see!! You know, I have never found any benefit whatsoever in sulking and clinging tightly to slights and resentments, real or imagined. Life is just too damned short. KWIM?? It's nasty out there. Thanks to all for keeping the warming hearth lit here. Oh, and in previewing I see I am echoing the very wise FearofH20. I'm definitely in good company. Back to work.

The original Sir Galahad...the one that came back with Hannah from London and was in the show with Clay from Jan to March. I'm sure someone will have a picture up any second. Photos? I have photos!! Speaking of which.... I love stubble pics. These were two I found just recently. Since I've been remiss in sharing, I thought I'd bring them over. I just love a man with a high testosterone level. I LOVE the ET Online clip with the heat of a million EZ-bake ovens. I must have watched it 20 times before going to work this morning. He also looked verra, verra nice on my BIG TV when I came home tonight. A good way to start and end a day. One of the things I love the most about the ET clips is that there is absolutely zero tension in his face. I said the same thing about the Gala pics I've been processing. It had gotten to the point that there was visible tension in his face in every single interview. Bracing himself for some comment or question he felt compelled to dance around was really taking a toll. Now he looks so relaxed & so happy. That makes me happy too. to Clay

Um....isn't the current touring AI season 7? Season 6 had such a big show in Glendale AZ last year because it's Jordin Sparks' home town. I read somewhere that the lowest attendance so far this year was Fresno. I guess my DD didn't go. I know what some of you are saying about changing the style of the recorded music to fit radio. One of the classic examples (to my mind) is Nellie Furtado. Her first two albums were very quirky, very folky....and she was very quirky and folky as well. Her song "Powerless" got some radio play about the same time that "Invisible" was on the radio. Neither of the albums were big sellers, however. All of a sudden, in 2006 she is a completely different singer and has a huge hit with "Promiscuous". Who IS this person, I thought to myself. She performed at the 2006 AMA's where Clay presented with Tori Spelling. I watched this person with long dark hair in a skin tight white dress gyrating around and just had to scratch my head. But it sold. AND it got played on the radio. I hope she thought it was worth it, because she had a very recognizable style until then, and a dedicated if smallish audience. I admire Clay for giving us music that he thinks is true to who he is. IMHO that seems to be important to him. I wanted to make sure that I got to say Bon Voyage to our travelers. I want stories. I want pictures. I want to read ginormous recaps from KAndre about how she got the Chinese to do her bidding. Have a great time, you guys. I'm starting to think it's a very bad sign that liney23 never mentions when we get together for dinner. I'm having a great time and she doesn't want anyone to know!! I'm crushed. Well, don't tell anyone, but we had dinner last night. We always split the difference on distance and eat dinner in Long Beach, CA. They have done so much restoration, renovation, gentrification, whatever...it is really nice. Last month we ate outside on a patio next to the marina, and this time we ate in a lovely seafood restaurant right across from the Queen Mary. The weather was really gorgeous. We could barely pull ourselves away and just sat and watched the lights and reflections on the water for a while before we went home. I feel so lucky to have had the chance to meet her. We see so many things in the same way, and can practically finish each others' sentences. Thanks, Clay, for sending her my way. There's a little shop in Shoreline Village that features all kinds of hats. They have hats from around the world, Red Hats for Society members, sports hats, outdoorsman hats, straw hats. Lots of hats. They also have humorous hats. Last month we found the perfect hat for someone to give to Clay at a M&G or the stage door. We had commented about his Somalia pictures and how his nose looked a bit sunburned in a few of the pictures. We saw the perfect hat for him that offers a bit more protection for his pretty face. I tried to figure out the camera on my new cell phone while liney23 modeled it for us. And now I've finally figured out how to get the pictures off my cell phone!! We think it's perfect in oh so many ways: It really looks pretty dashing, don't you think?? So who's going to volunteer to give it to him? Or is it too smutty for a new Dad?? I am so far behind I'm going to have to start fresh. My DH made it safely to Iraq. He's working midnight to noon every single day. That's opposite from the shift he had last year, and I'm sure it's taking some getting used to. I miss him. I miss Clay too. I didn't get to keep up with the Florida nostalgia, but I loved those shows. I think Clay did too. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Hello all!! I got a call from my DH this morning just before 3 AM. He'd made it as far as Frankfurt, Germany. He's about halfway to his destination....so far, so good. Now I really miss him in earnest, though. I have a zillion things to do, but am having fun looking at Ft. Myers clack. I loved that show. Clay was just ON FIRE, and the funniest EVAH!!! Take a look at Scruffy's Banter clack from that show to be thoroughly entertained. Clay was having so much fun that night...and the whole audience did too. BBL. Have a great day everyone!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

"Oops!! Sorry!! I didn't mean to wake everyone up. I was just checking on Parker, and he wanted me to pick him up and sing to him. I could just tell!!"

Slightly O/T request. I've been away from the boards all day and it will take me a while to catch up. I have a friend who is looking for a Gala ticket. If anyone knows of an available ticket....let me know!! Thanks!! I'll be back when I've caught up. More Spam!!! Yum!!!

Yup. That's the way we were taught in the hospital. My first hubby was a tall rangy guy with big hands, and he used this when both kids were born. It's really secure. I am SO shmoopy today. My Clay-lovin' co-worker and I printed out a couple of the pictures today and were showing them all over the office like the proud "aunties" we are. Lucky little Parker. He is in the center of so much love. I'm so happy for Clay I can't stand it. You all are evil. Did you know that Nordstrom's has very cute little Burberry onesies? A mere $105.00. Or perhaps the much more reasonably priced "Titanium Lined" cargo pants for only $34.00. Good thing I would have no idea where to send it. I'm sure Parker won't be lacking for clothing...although hopefully Jaymes will pick it out!

I read my name!! You called? I am exhausted. so I don't want to track down the info at this particular point in time....maybe tomorrow. What I mainly remember from my research on advanced maternal age and first time births was that the babies were most often delivered a little bit early, most frequently by C-section. The reason given was that the placenta tended to age a bit faster with higher maternal age. Vaginal delivery was more stressful for the BABY, and if there was some placental insufficiency it could pose a serious risk. Time out for one tiny poor.me.whine. I took my DH to the airport this morning. I helped him drag his duffels that held his clothes, a combat helmet, a flak jacket and a kevlar vest. Also his dental records. He's going to be on the other side of the world where bad things happen to Americans, and I won't see him again until November, at the earliest. So I was feeling kinda sad this morning. Until I heard the big news!! I wish every joy to Clay and Jaymes, and little Parker. What a wonderful blessing for all of them. I believe that all babies are miracles, but some births are a bit more miraculous than others. I know that Clay believes in Divine Providence, but in this case he must also believe that God helps those who help themselves. I am so thrilled that something they both obviously wanted very badly has had such a wonderful outcome. You know, life takes some pretty unexpected twists and turns sometimes. Five years ago neither my husband nor I would have pictured him working in such a hostile environment and spending such long periods away from home. But life doesn't always go the way we plan. Five years ago Clay probably did not envision that he would become a father in quite this way. But I am very happy for him that he was able to make that dream come true with someone so incredibly dear to him. Because he refused to comment when the news was leaked, I felt pretty sure that it was true. But I figured that he wasn't going to comment even if they held a gun to his head until that baby was safely born. Tempting fate indeed. I think having Faye call Linda Loveland was the perfect media contact. I think that Clay's blog was timely and perfect. 1. "My son was born today and these are the particulars" 2. "I couldn't say anything until the baby was safely born" 3. "I am the father of this baby, and I am proud and pleased to claim him." 4. "We are a family and all of our extended families are delighted today" 5. "I am not going to shut you all out from this wonderful part of my life". It has quite a bit of a take-it-or-leave-it tone to it.....but done very nicely. He invited all the fans to share in his joy and excitement. If anyone didn't want to....their choice. But it was clear that he didn't plan to go into the why's and wherefore's. Good for him. Thankful4Clay, you are definitely not alone in your thoughts regarding Jaymes not being willing to tie Clay to a commitment. I had (and expressed) that thought to several friends. Pure speculation, but I know a lovely couple that fit that exact scenario almost to a T. They've been together quite a while, and did have a child together. The age difference is really starting to make itself felt now, but he's still just as devoted as ever. She never would marry him, though. A great, but stubborn lady. You know, I was just thinking about Clay's confronting FBM at the M&G last December. He had to know about Parker by then. It makes you wonder if he wanted to state on video and in front of witnesses that he had no children at that point, and to hear FMB say that she was not claiming that he was the father of any of her kids. Things that make you go hmmmmm. :F_05BL17blowkiss: Clay, I love you, and Jaymes and Parker, and I love that you let us all share your joy. OK. It's been a long few days. See y'all tomorrow.

Just peeking in while I eat lunch. I'm pretty sure I wrote up a big post about the LI AIW just a few weeks ago. The awe I feel for what Clay was able to do that night will never get old. Gotta get back with helping with the packing. But first....holding on for dear life:

Hello strangers!!! Life is moving way too fast these days. My DH leaves on Friday for foreign (hostile) lands. He won't be back until some time in November, so lots to do before he goes. They're giving him tomorrow off to get ready. Princes, aren't they? I worked from home today to help him get ready. My reports were slow to upload, so I caught up a bit and edited a couple of pictures. I sure wish he was back in California sining to me about now. Gotta go. See y'all in a few days.

She'll probably post herself before I finish writing this, but I just talked to liney23. For some reason, there was a lot of damage in North Orange County...maybe the quake traveled down a fault line or something. They were showing a lot of damage in the area where she works and lives, and a lot of college campuses and schools were closed for broken glass and structural damage. Anyhoo, she's OK. She was out of the office when the quake hit, but when she got back a few hours later everything seemed OK. She was worried about her place, which is full of crystal pretties on open shelves. Only 3 things fell and they didn't break, so she was very relieved. She's checking on her daughter who lives nearby to see how they fared. Whew.

Wheeeeeee!!! Well that was fun....only not!! Nothing like being surrounded by elderly patients with heart conditions when an earthquake hits!!! This one was a "roller", which lasts a long time but isn't as violent. During the Northridge quake 14 years ago it felt like our hospital was being picked up and "shook". We're OK here...just a little shook up!!

Here's the link for Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com/ (Very imaginative, no?) Any of you big readers, be sure and check it out. If you have blogs, you can add a cool widget that shows what you are/have been reading. There are author chats going on all the time. You can see a recommended list of books based on the books in your "library". They get a lot of advance copies of new books, and you can request a free copy each month of one that looks interesting. It's kind of a lottery, so you're not going to get them all by any means, but I'm sure your name will come up eventually. I found out about the site right here at FCA in the Books and Mags thread. This is bookwhore's original post about it: If you click on her link, you'll see a "library" way more impressive than mine!! Oh look!! There's a book by Clay Aiken!!! So Kipper finally speaks. Hmmm. I'm glad he considers that the album was hugely successful. Well, it did have a better opening and better chart position than Sting's last album. Of course that was all medieval music, wasn't it? If I had to choose at gun point, I would say that dry heat is better than humid heat. However, extreme heat is...well...extreme. It was 113 in Indio last summer, and I could hear my skin sizzle when I stepped outside. As Clay himself said, it was "HhhhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWTTTT"!!!

Ooooh!! I have to sneak this in because spikesmom talked about reading. Thanks to bookwhore (dang! she was just here and now she's gone!!), I discovered the Library Thing website as a place to archive books you're reading, have read, want to read, etc. I thought that was a good idea, since I am starting to buy books that I already have. Sort of like Quiana confessing in Ft. Myers that she had bought a top she already had. Anyhoo, I've started adding books, mostly before I give them away or take them to the used book place, since you can't see my walls for the books!! I hadn't been on the site for a couple of weeks, but logged on on Saturday. I saw that I had two messages...I didn't even know they did that!!! One was from the webmaster, telling me that she saw I had a book in my library by Michelle Richmond, and that she was doing an author chat on their site for a week, and I might want to join in. Cool. The next message was from Michelle Richmond!!!! She told me that she had seen my review of her excellent novel "The Year of Fog". She thanked me for my "insightful and thoughtful review" and told me that she was pleased that I had noted a particular literary device she had used. She hoped I would join the author chat, and asked me if I would post my review at amazon.com. Woah!!! How cool is that!!!!!! Of course, I missed the end of her week in author chat by one day, but still!!! Now of course I am motivated to buy all her other novels because SHE COMMUNICATED WITH ME!!!! She went and sought out my review!!! I'm stunned. Fortunately for me, she's only written 2 other books, or I'd be in trouble. On topic: :013085001176249046: and he makes me "awwwwwwww" all the time.

Well crap!!! I just posted, so I'm bringing it over here so someone will read it!! Whew!! Caught up!! I'll try to be topical here. chach I loved those mosaics!! So many great memories...thanks for bringing them over. Plus, they used a number of my pictures, and that's always fun for me, and it IS all about me, after all. Dream venue for Clay? My dream venue for Clay was the Greek Theatre in L.A., so my dream came true last summer. I wish we could have filled it for him, but still. It's such a lovely location up there above Griffith Park, and the acoustics are just stellar. I've been to so many concerts there over the years, and it's really a big deal here. I'm so grateful to have been able to see him there. It was a dream come true, for sure. There have been a few places that were new to me where I traveled to see Clay. I hadn't been to Charlotte and Raleigh before. I had the chance to drive around a bit. I preferred Charlotte to Raleigh, and HATES the beltways. My cousin & her husband have lived in Charlotte for years, and my college roommate lived there for a number of years as well. They all loved it. I'd never been to NH or VT before. couchie has mentioned her dislike of that drive before, but nicegurrrrl and I loved it. We thought the scenery was spectacular....so different from our area here in SoCal. I really liked the Meadowbrook venue as well. So glad I missed the bugs this past summer. I don't think I'd been to any of the 4 Florida cities from last summer, but the heat & humidity killed me, so my appreciation was limited!! My DH & I did go to the BAF Gala in Ft. Lauderdale, though, and that was wonderful. We had such a great room on a beautiful beach, and we loved taking the water taxi all over and eating at some amazing restaurants. Great fun. My favorite city to see Clay is probably Washington, DC, because I LOVE Washington DC and have been able to do some museum hopping, and other fun stuff both times I've been there to see him for the JBT & for CITH. I love that whole area, love the Chesapeake Bay area, Baltimore's Inner Harbor and Annapolis. Now I'm hungry for Crab Imperial!! Yum!! My favorite place outside the country is probably Ireland. SO beautiful. Neck pictures, you say? I love this one:

Whew!! Caught up!! I'll try to be topical here. chach I loved those mosaics!! So many great memories...thanks for bringing them over. Plus, they used a number of my pictures, and that's always fun for me, and it IS all about me, after all. Dream venue for Clay? My dream venue for Clay was the Greek Theatre in L.A., so my dream came true last summer. I wish we could have filled it for him, but still. It's such a lovely location up there above Griffith Park, and the acoustics are just stellar. I've been to so many concerts there over the years, and it's really a big deal here. I'm so grateful to have been able to see him there. It was a dream come true, for sure. There have been a few places that were new to me where I traveled to see Clay. I hadn't been to Charlotte and Raleigh before. I had the chance to drive around a bit. I preferred Charlotte to Raleigh, and HATES the beltways. My cousin & her husband have lived in Charlotte for years, and my college roommate lived there for a number of years as well. They all loved it. I'd never been to NH or VT before. couchie has mentioned her dislike of that drive before, but nicegurrrrl and I loved it. We thought the scenery was spectacular....so different from our area here in SoCal. I really liked the Meadowbrook venue as well. So glad I missed the bugs this past summer. I don't think I'd been to any of the 4 Florida cities from last summer, but the heat & humidity killed me, so my appreciation was limited!! My DH & I did go to the BAF Gala in Ft. Lauderdale, though, and that was wonderful. We had such a great room on a beautiful beach, and we loved taking the water taxi all over and eating at some amazing restaurants. Great fun. My favorite city to see Clay is probably Washington, DC, because I LOVE Washington DC and have been able to do some museum hopping, and other fun stuff both times I've been there to see him for the JBT & for CITH. I love that whole area, love the Chesapeake Bay area, Baltimore's Inner Harbor and Annapolis. Now I'm hungry for Crab Imperial!! Yum!! My favorite place outside the country is probably Ireland. SO beautiful. Neck pictures, you say? I love this one:

I have basically missed this entire week. I am worn down to a nub. However, I have brought a Get Well gift for ldyjocelyn Smiling Clay with Glasses!!! I figure it should make you feel a lot better!!

Thanks for all the great feedback. And yes, I would definitely need help on making hot links for the buttons. I have no clue on how to do that. I did another page on the topic of water. This was really, really hard. The statistics are just staggering, and it's hard to reduce it to just a few thoughts. UNICEF has so many projects in this area that it's hard to narrow it down. There were hundreds of pictures relating to UNICEF and water. Fortunately, most of them focused on the success of the solutions rather than the horror of the problems, and I think that's what we are going for. I couldn't find a good picture of Clay relating to water. I know there is video of him pumping water in Uganda, and there ARE a few screencaps from that, but they're not good. You can't really tell what he's doing. So I ruthlessly narrowed it down to just a few pictures of the children. Here it is: I couldn't find anything referring to six cents or nine cents. Was that all from the CNN special? The $1.00 for 40 children for one day (or 40 days for one child) are all from TAP Project information.