annabear

8 hours, couchie? 8? You've got a con.nec.shun!

Ok, I really MUST get off the computer now! I was supposed to leave for Columbus at 2:30 - that would be in like 2 minutes - and I've yet to feed the cats, pack a bag or take my shower!!!

These pics from Quiana's MySpace page just keep popping up in my mind today...

Gosh... (tm King Arthur)

I slept in, got up, checked in here, still on the same page from last night. *yawn* The computer's acting funky, so I decide to reboot. Not 15 minutes later, I'm on the phone when I get a text on my cell that says, "Did you hear?".....

Congratulations to Clay & Jaymes! Welcome to our world little Parker!

A Child To Love

You can have your wealth and riches

All the things so many seek,

Position, power, and success,

The fame you long to keep.

You can earn as much as you wish,

Reach a status high above,

But none of these can equal

Having one sweet child to love.

'Tis the greatest gift from heaven,

Little arms that hold you tight,

And a kiss so soft and gentle

When you tuck them in at night.

A million precious questions

And each story often read,

Two eyes so brigtht and smiling,

And a darling tousled head.

God has never matched the goodness

Of a trusting little face,

Or a heart so full of laughter

Spreading sunshine every place.

A child to hold and cuddle,

'Tis a gift from God above,

And the world is so much brighter

When you have a child to love.

~ Author Unknown

I don't actually start classes for another 2 weeks, but I'm taking "workshop" classes each week up until then. Homework? What the heck did I get myself into?!

Scarlett darlin' :F_05BL17blowkiss:

I usually recommend one of the Janome products - one of their not-so-expensive machines. They don't have alot of fancy stitches, are relatively simple to operate, and you can purchase a 1/4" foot for them that helps you with sizing your seams. They don't sew really, really fast so are good for beginners - easier to sew with. It's also pretty small and easy to store or transport. I believe you can pick one up for right around $300. I wouldn't recommend a Kenmore. Brother and Husqvarna are good products but I don't have first-hand experience with either.

I have a Janome Jem (not sure if they make that style anymore) that I use when I travel (it only weighs 11 lbs and has a great carrying case) but my home sewing machine is a Pfaff. It was coughratherpriceycough but I love it and I probably won't buy another machine the rest of my life.

Whatever you get - make sure there is someone in your area that services that brand. And don't let them sell you something with a bazillion stitches - because you probably will never use them. It's like any other machine - the more complicated they are the more things that can break!

My mom has a little Janome that she uses when she does quilting classes - she loves it. We both have Husqvarna Viking machines that we use at home.

Great pic, Perma, and great story, Clayzed!

The day/week is finally over! I'm heading home! And, as always:

:F_05BL17blowkiss:

If it Friday yet?

It is for me! :nana:

Wishing you a verra :bday: YSRN!

If memory serves, there is a picture of young Clay (with Brett) wearing a tank top in LTS while on one of their family vacations.

Wishing you a :bday: Strummer6!

While searching through 1,001 links for condos today, look what I found!

There's no question for me about why Clay gets the heightened speculation about his sexuality in the media and why references to sexuality are forever mentioned in the tabloids. It's because he's overpoweringly sexy -- and everybody wants some. He's got the stuff and he keeps it close. I guess he still believes there's an advantage in not showing his cards. Damn, it just makes him sexier.

Oh, I like that point of view!!!

Except that Clay has shown his cards, some just don't want to believe they were on display. He just doesn't feel he needs to show that hand every time some idiot asks, because the idiots are still hoping he has shuffled and re-dealt.

All this talk of cards kinda makes one think about Clay playing poker, no?

Why must there always be at least one person who isn't happy unless they're miserable? I got away from one person like that when I was assigned to this project. Unfortunately, her best friend now sits across from me and instability-wise seems to be about 10 times worse. She's applied for another position off the project and I hope that for my sake, she gets it!

How are things going with the dictated retirement party, ldyj?

Hi! Just checking in to say that the storm was mostly a non-event, well mostly for the people who already had hurricane supplies. I had to go out and get some last night (hurricane supplies), like batteries (for my flashlight) and bottled water and things. *Muski and annabear should be the ones doing this. The world is upside down*

I'm prepared! I've got emergency supplies! Which I hope I never have to use!

Wow, some great posts today. I agree, the IT and NAT were wonderful and fun, but he has grown tremendously since then.

I think the majority of us, just want Clay .. singing, rocking, walking, talking, joking, dancing, waving, winking, smiling, laughing. Generally...just "being", as long as it's where we can see him and enjoy him.

As long as it satisfies his soul and he's enjoying himself, so what? We're bound to benefit from it

But if being a superstar is his goal...I'm right there with him

Yep, yep, yep & yep, Claymatron

ETA: So, muski, you and I are sharing a brain today? :2: Apparently.... (tm Sir Galahad)

You know those people that win the lotto and say they are going to keep working? I think I could find things to do that didn't involve work on a regular basis.

I hear Brother Maynard belting out an Aaa-aaa-aa-men to that!

Its not that I don't have a life, its just that these Clay things are so much damn fun!

Thread title?

That's all I've got until I get my coffee and indulge in one of the fresh baked chocolate chip cookies left on my desk this morning by our resident baker as a belated b-day gift.

I've had this sitting in reply status for an hour - guess it won't post itself, huh?

I hope and pray that Clay keeps right on doing whatever he's doing and lets us wait even though I (completely selfishly) check the boards every day for any little crumb of news.

I love him. I want him to have a life.

jmh beat me to the thread title suggestion!

instant gratification just ain't his thang!

You said that on purpose, knowing where minds might wander....

Which is why, classy broad that I am shutup, I didn't smut on it...

Not by way of written word anyway...

instant gratification just ain't his thang!

You said that on purpose, knowing where minds might wander....

SHUCKS I missed some birthdays!

Happy belated to annabear and everyone who had a birthday in the last few days. Hope it was a wonderful day for you.

Thank you! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Had a nice weekend. Shopped, cooked, spent time with family & friends, house hunted, listened to OMWH.

Now it's Monday and back to work...

I hope she doesn't mind my posting this here, but I feel she could use all of the comforting energy we can manage to send her way...

Our dear {{{Jazzgirl}}}'s mother passed away last Friday. The memorial service is being held today.

Please keep her in your thoughts and, if so inclined, your prayers. Thank you.

Besides tasting good, this recipe is also very pretty with the creaminess of the cheese, deep green zucchini & yellow summer squash, bright green dill, pale yellow lemon zest and lavender of the shallots. The only alteration I made was to not add the goat cheese for the last 20-30 minutes of baking - instead I sprinkled a little more Parmesan on top. I managed to get all of the veggies & herbs from farmer's markets, so they were nice & fresh. It was absolutely DELICIOUS!

This is the second recipe I've tried recently from Heidi Swanson and her 101 Cookbooks blog. Most of her recipes are fairly healthy and mainly vegetarian. There are many more I'll be trying, especially once the weather cools down, as I love cooking in the fall & winter.

Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake

To shred the zucchini use a box grater - most micro planes are too fine, you want shredded zucchini, not mush. Feel free to play around with the "add-in" ingredients - for example, use whatever chopped herbs you like. I had dill on hand, and I like how it tastes with summer squash, so dill it was. I suspect anything from chopped olives, sun-dried tomatoes, or chives, to spices, chopped spinach, or corn could work here. Also, when I have the time and inclination I'll drain the ricotta through cheesecloth to get even more moisture out of the cake, but to be honest, most times I won't bother. Lastly, I use a spring form pan here, but you could use an equivalent baking dish or deep tart pan as well.

2 cups zucchini, unpeeled & grated

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

2 shallots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

zest of one lemon

2 large eggs, well beaten

1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled

drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 325F degrees, racks the middle. Butter/oil a 7-inch spring form pan.

In a strainer, toss the shredded zucchini with the salt and let sit for ten minutes. Now aggressively squeeze and press out as much moisture as you can. Set aside.

In the meantime, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, shallots, garlic, dill and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Now stir in the shredded zucchini. Fill the spring form pan with the ricotta mixture and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for sixty minutes. If there is any moisture left on top of the cake at this point, carefully use a bit of paper towel to dab it off. Now sprinkle with the goat cheese and return to the oven for another 20 -30 minutes or until the goat cheese is melted and the cake barely jiggles in the center (it will set up more as it cools).

At this point, if the cake is baked and set, but the top isn't quite golden, I'll zap it with the broiler (just about a minute) to get a bit more color on top. Remove from the oven and let cool five minutes, then release the cake from its pan. Cool completely, serve at room temperature drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a few sprigs of dill.

Serves 8.

I served this at room temp, on a bed of mixed baby lettuces & baby tomatoes with the drizzle of olive oil she recommends. My guests loved it!

Thanks, everyone. It's a weight off my mind. I really like this new doctor. He took the time to talk to us about the future, and to explain about transitioning from a child taking the medication, to an adult. It helps with so many other things too, like muscle mass, percentage of fat in the body, cholesterol, and depression, just to name a few. Some adults continue to be treated, as HGH is necessary to the body, even after physical growth stops. Ds seemed quite receptive, which surprised me. Maybe now I can relax!

Great news, both that your son is doing so well and that you're pleased with this doctor. That unfortunately seems to be such an elusive finding today.

A verra :bday: to Tijala!

What I love about going to a Clay concert is the voice, the funny, the pure entertainment value he brings to every show. The reason I go to multiples is to witness the unexpected. I wasn't there for Listen but I adore the clack. It was one of those special unforgettable moments for me like Clay singing to his grandad and even Clay singing Without You with KLo or him falling and bouncing back up oh you get the drift. For me it wasn't about the song but about the connection between Clay and Quiana and kinda feeling I was watching them "work" and find the magic.

<snip>

Sigh. I smile just thinking about these performances.

On the current topic, the Sterling Heights Listen is very special to me because Clay took what could easily have been a disastrous moment (would any of the "popular" performers take a chance like this?), trusted Quiana and relied on what he knew she had in her and delivered a spontaneous, blow-your-mind-away performance! In general, though, I think Angela's version is perfect and I'm sorry that the clack police got to us right at her moment in LA -- would have been a great gift to give her family if we had recorded that one!!!

Yep, yep, yep!

And on a totally shallow note... that clack makes for some very fine moments...

PSA...

If anyone finds they're having problems accessing certain websites and getting the error message "Internet Explorer cannot open this site... Operation Aborted." Here is the problem.

Seems to be causing quite a stir...

I've been pulling my hair out trying to figure this out since last night!

If you scroll down through the comments there are a couple of fixes for it. I used the one entering *.sitemeter.com into my restricted sites. Oops but now it looks like I get all their newsletters. lol Maybe we should just wait until IE and Sitemeter dook it out...

Thank you!!! :F_05BL17blowkiss: I was trying to print out some recipes this morning & kept getting that annoying error message with that annoying little sound blip. Which, by the way, for some strange reason makes Gidget growl every.time.she.hears.it! Which makes me ! She's such an odd, but cute cat...

Not caught up yet - friends kidnapped me for lunch & retail therapy today - but wanted to say for the birthday wishes! I might be able to help Clay get through his 30th b-day in a few months - *mouths, "Call me, Clay!"* - seeing as I've been 30 for two years now!

Oh - as always...

And Couchie, I've added "not an axe murderer, have credit cards, will travel" to my resume...

I got 'soul mate', too, Lotus! But only after it guessed 'cannibal' and 'raccoon'....

Why isn't it Friday!

I'm sorry, couchie. :F_05BL17blowkiss: Truly I am, but for moi it *is* Friday!!! :00000442: :dan1: :00000441:

Oh - and....

It didn't quite guess Clay, but it wasn't all that far off.

Hee! For me, about Clay, after sevral wrong guesses it said something like, "I'm guessing it's something you wouldn't want your mother to know about..." :lmaosmiley-1: