canfly172

I was on purpose not reading the spoilers, lol. Dat wud be cheetin'.

Caro, I have to say I am totally in love with that picture from Merrillville (sp?) in your blog. Great choice!!

gaaahhhh One of my all time favorites and favorite looks of Clay!

Tree, glad you enjoyed it. We definitely have some awesome tour photos and graphics. Here's hoping for many more!

Caro

I've never seen that picture before. Can sumbunny post the original pweease?

I decorated the livingroom rug...but by accident. I was painting and I had squeezable liquid paint containers with a little hole on the top, in the center and you were supposed to just squeeze a little out to dip your paintbrush in. I squeezed. Nothing came out. I squeezed harder. Nothing. I squeezed harder and paint shot out of it and onto the wool rug but kinda half under the couch. I remember freaking and trying to get it off and not being able to and then covering up the paint with a sock (like that would stay there forever). I don't even remember if I finally told mom or if she found it but then came the worse discovery that it had also shot on the expensive floor length drapes. I bawled and sobbed. Only time dad ever threatened a spanking. I bawled and sobbed harder.

hummmm..... I wouldn't say either one of these pictures are my favourite....

but out of the two...... I'll have to go with #1

Ditto, except I went with spontaneous schmoopy #2.

Ok, I love the pictures, ldyj, but what really got my attention was the photog tag in that last one from Spam.....aiken4clayscrew?!?!?!

I mean, I know whereof she speaks and I feel her pain ...longing.... but that sn just CMSU!

I want to steal it

She's one of the Mc Vargus girls. It was accidental cuz it was supposed to be aiken 4 clays crew because they were totally into Jesse and Sean but the clayscrew was obviously too good to pass up, lol.

Aikim, happy birthday!

Happy Birthday Aikim!!!

Only opining because the DVD came out for 30Rock and there was a post about Clay's parts on the extras. Thank god for it cuz now I know I don't need to buy it.

TOtally agree about the funny. It's weird but 30Rock feels like one of those shows I'm supposed to like as does that new show Glee. But I just sit there. heee. But definitely know it's probably the fact that I don't get the characters just popping in after a few seasons. I did try the first season.

I once in awhile will stumble onto AFI (America's Funniest Home Videos) and I'll be in hysterics over the stupidest things...laughing hysterically, gasping for air, half-crying over sheer nonsense. I'm kind of a visual person, so play on words stuff doesn't usually get anything more than a groan or a half smile from me.

From OFC (with permission) regarding the Christie cookie voting:

There has been some concern about voting more than one email address on this poll. LovesClaysVoice contacted the Christie Cookie people and here is the response:

Susan,

Can you answer a question for me about your Christie Cookie charity contest. Is it legitimate to vote one vote for every legitimate email address in the U.S.? What if one person has multiple email addresses? Is it legitimate to use all of them? Will all the votes be counted?

Thank you!

LCV

LCV,

Each legitimate email will be accepted as a vote.

Thank you,

Susan

So vote vote vote!!!

Kewl. So, like I only have 2 email addresses. I could start voting on behalf of all of my email contacts, lol.

Extraordinary day here - a massive dust storm blanketing about a quarter of the country. I can still smell it and taste it. Visibility was much reduced and the sun shone blue. I saw photos on the news of blood red skies. Freaky.

Well I had better go now and start dusting

Wow, so strange. Let us know if you run across a photo of the blue sun. I would love to see that.

Where do you live ausdon? I've seen a yellow moon. I've seen an almost reddish-orange moon. I've never seen a blue sun, lol.

Yayyyy for #4 on the Christie Cookie contest, and doubly yaay for the worry about the emails addressed! Thanks, merrieeee!

I'm going to repost my post from CV over here as well, in the hope that it might help someone vote for the second National Inclusion Project challenge! A few folks have found the directions helpful over there.

................................................................................

.................................................

So far, on the National Inclusion Project's second challenge, we have 140 votes....surely there must be more of us on Facebook, or that have been thinking about signing up for Facebook, that could add their "ilike" to this request?

Here are the steps:

1) Sign in to Facebook, or sign UP for Facebook

2) Click HERE and click on "Become a Fan" at the top of the page.

3) Click HERE and find National Inclusion Project's picture....at the moment, it is at the bottom right of the first page...a group of kids gathered around a table, one little guy in a blue shirt kind of stands out in the pic

4) Click on the picture.

5) Under the picture description, click on "Like" (under the grey line).

Thanks so much for any help with votes to get them a $250 gift card which can be used to help the Project!

This one is simple....only one vote per user.

Done. :thumbup:

My friend YYG posted this at NNHB:

One Year Ago Tonight

Every time I wrote the date today, I felt something nagging at me like it was an important date. I couldn't think of anybody's birthday on this day, or anniversary or anything. Then suddenly this afternoon it dawned on me. It was one year ago tonight that I sat here pretty much numb, realizing the People Cover pic was not a fake or a photoshop. My brain did a real flip flop when I first saw the pic posted. I couldn't reconcile the pic of Clay holding Parker with the headline. How could PH or whoever make that cover with Parker when we don't have any pics of him, and hey, I've never seen that pic of Clay, and well....you get the idea.

I have totally accepted Clay and love him more than ever, but I have to admit that was not a good night for me. It's not that I had never considered he may be gay. Just about anybody with a sense of reality had at least considered the possibility at some point, IMO. But the longer I was a fan, the less gay he seemed to me. I think my initial reaction was more like that of a mother than anything. I thought of the wife and family he would never have, and how hard life can be for gay men, and how cruel people can be, and my heart ached for him. I didn't WANT that for him. I wanted him to have the wife and the kids and the picket fence. Silly of me to feel that way about someone I really don't know, but I know you all feel the same kinship I do. I can't explain it, but he seems like part of my family.

Anyhow, I'm glad I figured out why that date seemed important to me. But even more, I'm so glad Clay seems happy and is able to live his life openly and honestly now. I hurt for him everytime I think of all he must have gone through coming to grips with himself and his sexuality, but just like he seems to be living his life and loving it, those feelings have faded for me as well. But this feeling will never change:

I LOVE CLAY AIKEN!

This message brought to you by Saps R Us.

Sitting here thinking of my orginal feelings of denial (I was sure that the People cover was a fake mock up by toadface for several hours), then when it was confirmed... a strange sense of sadness and loss (of a fantasy)... and a period of adjusting what I'd believed for such a long time... sadness for what he must have gone through on his journey to acceptance...some pissiness at some "fans" condemnation...I have a whole stream of thoughts running through my head. Oh and when I found out, I'd just come back from seeing Spamalot and it all seemed kind of surreal.

If I'm being totally honest, I would say that I wish that he wasn't gay (selfishly for a sort of loss of a fantasy and for HIM for what all he must have gone through) BUT I'm happy that he seems so happy and at peace now.

At last! An easy choice!!!

#2 all of the way baybeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Can't I vote neither and have the last two "losers" instead? No, huh?

From misschris at CV:

Kathy Griffin is on theTyra show

OMG Kathy said that she thinks Clay would "rock in the sack." She had the choice of Clay or Adam and chose Clay. She said she thinks he hates her but still

.

Has she been reading fanfic, lol?

She knows Tyra likes him. She's just sucking up.

:wtfcat:

Crap, crap, crap! Here I am getting ready to board a freakin' plane and I have to deal with THIS first? I can live with the fact that in the last contest there WAS no loser---yesterday's pics were both too yummy to rate...

Today? Well, shit.

My favorite pre-reconstruction smile, face, etc. in my favorite three-piece suit worn during my favorite "F-U" moment on camera to Kelly Bitcha? vs....casually HAWT and confident man about town, sooooo busy on the phone with some important person, looking delicious enough to devour right there on the sidewalk?

I can't deal. I'm taking my daughter to college today. There's enough stress in my life without this kind of torture.

:thtwister2:

WORD!

(except for the daughter part...and the getting on the plane part)

Happy Birthday Texas Lady!!!

Does AnAmeraikenInTexas ever post here?

I'm just gonna keep talkin' to myself.

No you're not. You're going to bed!

Oh. OK.

I've killed the thread, lol.

However, fringed paisy

covered to match

I hope most people wear some kind of name tag to breakfast. I recognize board names.

Can we do this? Please, Please?

Already taken care of.

You're way too efficient! :thewoman: :dawoman: :youdawoman:

I give up, lol. Can't get the emote window to open...or any new window....gotta reboot I guess, lol.

lmao. Yup. I clicked on the current HDD thread and it took me to page 1 cuz I haven't read ANY of it, lol. It has the link to the thread with the info. Their thread is HIDDEN. Man, ya need a bloody GPS to find your way around there, lol.

Does anybody know where the CV Friday night dinner thread is? I'm getting lost wandering around aimlessly over there, lol.

ETA: Nevermind... I found it and they need money up front:

http://www.clayversity.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5081

Do you need anything Fromclaygary, or is it just order when we get there?

Ok Ive been thinking about this while watching Carrie's team kick butt! We're 5 and 0 folks! Waiting to see which team will face us in the championship game. Carrie will be pitching!

But I digress.

I've decided that Im in love with #2 but want to have a hawt affair with #1.

can I cast one vote for each?

I asked that question already, lol.

Can we have a wildcard round? Huh? Huh? Huh? Can we? Huh? Huh? Huh?

Canfly said:

We shall see. Reading, I can help him with one on one, I have no doubt of that. It's just gonna take me pulling him out of Library on my prep for 10min when I can. Him reading in a Reading Group...I can already tell, that's gonna be rough.

That is what I admire about teachers, going the extra mile for their students. Although I love working with kids, I can't handle more than one at a time. I hope you have a great year.

It'll be a challenging one, that's for sure but my little friend is the only real behaviour issue. Last year, I had 4 and 2 of them were those defiant and "I don't want to" types. Really only two things push my buttons: lying and defiance...out and out refusal to do something simple and reasonable that I ask them to do.

The principal walked in to ask me something when I was reading with a kid last week and she asked where the rest were and I said in Library and she said, "You're reading with kids on your prep?" shook her head somewhat disapprovingly and walked away. Our preps are supposed to be for prep but frankly, it helps me to read with some kids during my prep. It's too hard for some in a group/classroom setting, plus I gotta get these DRA (Developmental Reading Assessments" done by the end of September, so gotta start those this week. Way too hard to do during class time unless there is an EA in the room. BTW, our Principal's daughter is in Grade 1 at another school, so there will be lots of "consulting" this year, I'm sure, lol.

I am however gonna be a very bad teacher on October 17th, lol.

Eeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh!!!! The National Inclusion Project has moved into the Top 30 on the Christie Cookie Contest!

Christie Cookie contest

It was also brought to my attention that your OFC membership includes a valid email address...which would be yourusername@clayonline.com.

If Canadians would like to vote with a genuine US email address....that would be one!

For those of you who have already used the addresses they have....please also use your OFC address!

I went and read the contest rules, and you are right, it's legit! One vote per valid email address. So whether or not you are Canadian, if you have any valid email addresses that don't link to a Canadian ISP (like Sympatico, etc) then vote, vote, vote! I have a gmail and a hotmail I can use as well as my clayonline one. Wheeeeee!

Well, I already voted using my gmail one, so all that's left is my clayonline one. Should I throw one in using my local email addy or is that pointless?

School stuff for luckiest, GDG, H2O and teacher-folk coming up...feel free to scroll...

This would all be fine, ifffffffffffffff... I didn't have one major ADHDHDHDHD boy. He's gonna drive me to drink. Yesterday, I was like "Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Don't scare the girls!" He's all over the place and always has to be doing SOMEthing he shouldn't be doing. Worse is that he gets MAD, when he gets caught doing something and lies that he didn't do it and acts like he's all bent out of shape because I'm accusing him of something that he didn't do. Nuh, uh kiddo. I saw ya do it. Nice try. It's weird. It's like he actually believes his own lie. Now I understand why his teacher last year said that he scared her (for his future) because it's like he's a little patholigical liar.

You have pretty much just described Stuart. I can understand the "drive me to drink" part. However, have you been given any special training in how to handle ADHD kids? For some of the more severe kids, there can also be other learning disabilities involved that might not have been identified yet. Perhaps you can get your kid in for some educational and/or psychological assessments? It's quite common for ADHD to be comorbid with something else. I spent all 13 years of Stuart's school life (K to 12) in a battle with the school authorities to have his disability recognized and accomodated. It took me 9 years to get accomodations officially in place, and then only with the added diagnosis of clinical depression and anxiety disorder, and then the remaining 4 years busting my butt to be sure that the teachers were aware of the accomodations, and were implementing them. It annoys the shit out of me that ADD and ADHD is not treated as a legitimate disability in the Ontario public school system. These kids need help and support and lots of positive encouragement. If we can get them through grade 12 (which is a real challenge for both teachers and parents) then they can be recognized at the college level for assistance. Thank God.

*gets down off soap box*

Things seem to be worse as far as getting an early start in identifying kids because they won't even LOOK at a kid to formally identify them until Grade 3. That frustrates the HELL out of me because it's pretty easy to tell, even in Grade One, who the kids are, who are going to have difficulties. It doesn't take a crystal ball. Why not intervene earlier?

On the PLUS side, our board is really quick with severe cases. We had a little boy come into Kindergarten 3 yrs or so ago, who was one of those kept in a closet horror stories. The kid obviously was dysfunctional. He'd been bounced from foster family to foster family. Horrible. His Grandmother took him in and was his guardian. When he started with us, he couldn't speak, was extremely aggressive and somewhat volatile...the whole nine yards. They had an EA pulled from elsewhere and in there with him within 2 days. Whew. She was awesome with him because she had her own ADHD behaviour child at home. Last year and this year, he's been in a special class trying to give him the skills to integrate him back into the classroom. Last we saw him, it was the end of Kindergarten and he was allowed to play on the yard without his EA and I could actually understand him a bit, when he came to me, when I was on duty. He spoke somewhat like a deaf child because of his lack of socialization and a speech issue. He'll get integrated back in next year.

Back to my little darling... Here's where I can say things are better as far as identifying kids. They can't be formally tested or put on a formal IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) BUT they CAN be put on an Informal IEP, which the boy in my class already has been. He already has accomodations listed. I just gotta go through them all. I know that he was given a "doodle book" for carpet/listening times, so he can go to a table and doodle instead of be-bopping all over the carpet and kicking and knocking into kids (mostly not done on purpose...he just can't sit still). That seems to help. The other thing he has is this wedge-shaped rubber "wiggle seat" that's supposed to help him get the wiggles out BUT that DOESN"T seem to work and last year's teacher concurs. He ends up with it in his hands and fooling around with it. I think I'm going to get him one of those smaller dollarstore squishy toys that he can squeeze and see if that works. The teacher last year warned me that he needs a lot of structure. I'm not so sure...from what I can see, he needs a chance to go for a walk once in awhile, a chance to move around (which is OK in my room because it's tables not desks) and the option of a desk in a quiet corner. Most of the time, I've been asking if he needs a quiet place to work by himself. It's better if he choses it vs me telling him to move. I did turn it around because he was packratting inside the desk, lol. Another boy asked me if he could sit there Friday, so that's good too...if it's a quiet place for whomever vs just for he, who makes me count to 10...repeatedly.

Only "on the job" training so far for me luckiest. I'll keep my eyes open for workshops. I'm not consulting the behaviour specialist lady for our area. Been there. Done that. She's clueless. I had a major behaviour kid about 7 years ago and her solutions were not very helpful or practical. She's been "out of the trenches" for way too long.

The volunteers at our school are not parents but employees of companies who belong to the Chamber of Commerce or retired people. This school is not a popular one to choose because it is off the beaten track in a run down part of town. It takes us about a half an hour each way to get there. Fortunately the volunteer coordinator appoints us consecutive sessions since we tutor two kids each.

I have the same little girl for the third year. She is very tall and is bullied on her bus, so we spend part of the time talking about how to handle it. The other child is a kindergartner who probably didn't test well. Obviously, I haven't met him/her yet. We start this coming week. I hope I have the energy with my "part time" job, which has grown.

luckiest, i hope your son continues on. I had to get a private tutor for my son when he was in middle school due to his atypical ADHD/ADD. He is doing pretty well as an adult as far as I know.

Our school is "off the beaten track" also but we're "in the sticks" so to speak. When they amalamated some school boards a few years back, that put my tiny country school to be the furthest most Southwest school in a huge board. It's an hour from the board offic and extremely hard for people coming from there or from Toronto to find...lots of zigzagging due to concessions on weird angles to each other. On the plus side...it's a good "hiding place", lol. We have no volunteers of any kind. We do have 2 ESL EAs due to our "clientele". We used to have 3 ESL classes before I started there. By the time I went there in 1995, there was only one, which was a Jr/Intermediate class. 3 Years ago, they decided that the ESL kids should be integrated and the ESL teacher replaced by 2 EAs. It was a shock for the poor Intermediate teachers. Imagine suddenly having kids in your class, who were functioning at a Grade 1 to 3 level in Reading, Writing and not much better in Math. It benifited our Primary Classes because now we have an EA devoted to US but made it tough for the Jr/Int classes because the Jr/Int EA is spread between 5 or 6 classes (depending on the year).

Yayyy I actually found a smilie that I wanted. The problem too with ADD and ADHD, if there are no other learning disabilities, is that people just assume it is a bad child or bad parenting. It is a rather invisible disability but a disability or certainly a challenge, nonetheless.

ETA: I was talking to my niece the day before yesterday and she has an child with autism in her class this year and, so far, no teaching assistant (I guess she is supposed to have a full time one just for him). She says she is spending her days holding him so he won't hurt the other children because, I guess, he lashes out at them. She is pressing for a teaching assistant so that he can remain in the class full time and she is able to teach all the children.

That's so wrong. The school boards need to get their heads out of their asses and realize that a situation like that is waaaaaaaaaaay too stressful for the teacher/the autistic kid and the rest of the class and screw the paperwork and get an EA in there STAT!

:rant:

This boy in my class isn't as severe as that but DOES take up a lot of time...and that's hard with 3 ESL kids, who need my attention for a different reason. "luckily" he's ESL, so he can get help from both sets of EAs and also he's a year behind academically. I think he's a bit weak but I think most of it is due to his inability to focus. I don't think it's because he has another learning difficulty...other than, your typical boy, who's not an "academic" child.

We shall see. Reading, I can help him with one on one, I have no doubt of that. It's just gonna take me pulling him out of Library on my prep for 10min when I can. Him reading in a Reading Group...I can already tell, that's gonna be rough.

I shall refrain from commenting re: ATDW, lol. I'll be good and just say...

OMWH rocks!!! (the CD, not the song, lol)

On the plus side, I love them both equally, and so whichever one wins, I'll love to death but you know I'll be voting for the loser and for the NAJNT stubble picture in my heart of hearts when we get to some of the others in the next rounds!

Can't I vote for both?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

*curses the random draws that LdyJ's husband made*

:boo-hoo:

Both are "top 5" for meeeeeeeeeeee!

I wubs them both soooooooooooooooo much!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! :RandomSmiley:

:thsigns053: This is too hard. :bigemo_harabe_net-24: I can't decide! What am I gonna do? I find these two impossible to rate. I love them both for entirely different (but equally smutty and and reasons.

I'll have to think about it... a lot....

Yeah, what she said. Damn.

I can't believe that I am having to choose between "Splendor on the Grass" and leggy sexy Clay! Just not right!

Too meny emotes!?! More emotes than the board will allow? Impossible in this case!!!

OK, I've tried 3 times, taking out more and more of Muski's emotes.... one more try!

What's the limit anyhow?

Eeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh!!!! The National Inclusion Project has moved into the Top 30 on the Christie Cookie Contest!

Christie Cookie contest

It was also brought to my attention that your OFC membership includes a valid email address...which would be yourusername@clayonline.com.

If Canadians would like to vote with a genuine US email address....that would be one!

For those of you who have already used the addresses they have....please also use your OFC address!

Question: I already voted using my own email address, so how do I vote using my OFC email address when I've already voted and given my name with the email address??? Or does it matter that I vote with my name twice? Has it been shown that the votes from our regular email addresses haven't been counted?

Thank you FromClaygary. I was able to vote once again.

Canfly, I wish there was something I could do to help you. My husband and I volunteer at a school with very low income students too so they appreciate whatever anyone can bring in, including cookies I bake. This year the volunteers dropped from 20 to 9 so they are short on everything.

Well, I ain't bakin' no danged cookies, lol (CF hates baking) but one thing Mennonite moms can do is BAKE. Sadly, they don't "get" nutrition and send junk food in lunches. I do buy stuff like duotang folders, stickers, little whiteboards and the cheapest whiteboard markers that I can find for practising Word Wall words on...and a shitload of books.

Except for 4 or 5 ladies who rotate for the snack program, we have NO volunteers. Our parents do NOT volunteer in the classroom. I don't think that I've had a volunteer in my classroom in over 10 years. Reason? We have a HUGE majority of Mennonite families. They are Low German-speaking Mexican Mennonites, which means that they migrated to Mexico...originally from Russia, I believe and then from Mexico to Canada and many travel down to Mexico for the Winter, which is like a 3 day drive from Ontario, Canada. Low German is a spoken language, so many of our parents are illiterate and those who have had some schooling. Many of the kids are not allowed to go to regular High School (cuz they might get corrupted dontcha know), so they go to Grade 10 in a special wing of our school devoted to "life skills" like job resumes and computer skills. Luckily we have a full bank of computers, which all work.

I have one boy, who doesn't really talk and only knows 2 letters of the alphabet. I just had 2 new little girls start yesterday...sisters, 5 and 6yrs old. They have never been to school before and do not speak English. Luckily, I have lots of little translators in my class. All of my class but 1, has Mennonite ancestry. Some may be 3rd generation, some 2nd generation, some are just learning English.

This would all be fine, ifffffffffffffff... I didn't have one major ADHDHDHDHD boy. He's gonna drive me to drink. Yesterday, I was like "Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Don't scare the girls!" He's all over the place and always has to be doing SOMEthing he shouldn't be doing. Worse is that he gets MAD, when he gets caught doing something and lies that he didn't do it and acts like he's all bent out of shape because I'm accusing him of something that he didn't do. Nuh, uh kiddo. I saw ya do it. Nice try. It's weird. It's like he actually believes his own lie. Now I understand why his teacher last year said that he scared her (for his future) because it's like he's a little patholigical liar.

Just thought I would share

I have never seen that one before! Nice tongue!