Bella19

I lied. I said I wasn't going to post in that OFC thread but I read one that made my jaw drop and hit the floor and I couldn't help myself. Please forgive me.

Sweetie, if I were seeing you in person today, I'd give you a huge hug! :thbighug-1:

I had a RL conversation with that very same poster today. As soon as I got off the phone, listening to those exact words said to me in a very vehement tone, I came here and felt much better. BTW, she knows I don't agree with her at all and, now that I've seen the GMA interview, make that disagree times 10.

Here's something we can do that we're verra, verra good at!

It's a CNN online poll to ask if the timing was right for Clay to make this announcement. Apparently it will be discussed later tonight on tv:

http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/

The yes' are gaining...

OMG the pictures are to die for! And Jaymes is pictured, and quoted.

I just printed the whole thing and took it into the bathroom so I could read it undisturbed. Wow. Wow. Wow. What a man.

Thank you SO MUCH for bringing the scans here! That's a fantastic interview with everyone and boy, is Parker ever sweet!

My co-worker and friend, who is doing the UW presentation here in half an hour, is also a huge Clay fan. I didn't think she'd heard this news story, so I showed her the People.com article and her reaction is the same as mine. Neither of us cares what anyone thinks, just that he keeps singing to us and entertaining us.

I also talked to the clerk who's my backup person - what a sweetheart! Her reaction was "Good for him! It must have been difficult to make that decision."

Now I just have to figure out how exactly to respond, without getting red in my face, to the comments I will get tomorrow from people who have always insisted that their "gaydar" is never wrong.

Yup, me too. Before I went to NYC in April, one of the guys at work made some nasty Liberace-style comments to me. I was furious and didn't talk to him for at least a month after that. Tomorrow we're having a huge United Way presentation, that I sent the invitation out for since I work for the boss. The guys never miss it because of the coffee and donuts (yes, they're shallow) - hopefully they know me well enough now to give me a wide berth and concentrate on the presentation instead.

My 19 yr old daughter made me feel better - she said, "Who gives a shit what they think! You like who you like and that's all that matters." She's a great kid.

Hey--I've had so many major peridontal surgeries! (Run away, KAndre, run away!!!) If this is your first and you need any tips, let me know. My main one is take the pain pills at the first sign of pain, or even before, and keep it up for several days. Also, use the ice like they tell you to for as long as they tell you too. It may be aggravating to hold ice to your face for hours, but it's so worth it in the long run, as it prevents the swelling and reduces the pain long term. Don't go back to work afterwards and take the next day off too. Rest rest rest. Applesauce is great for your first "meals," also yogurt. Mashed potatoes and gravy, and scrambled eggs with cheese later on. It's important to get something into your body, even though you don't feel like it.

Thanks for the advice! I'm really dreading this, since it's Part 1 before I get a crown on this tooth in November - double yuck! I booked the appt. for first thing on Friday so that I could recuperate all weekend. I even made lots of minestrone this weekend and I'll stock up on the other foods you mentioned.

We also have those long gel packs you stick in the freezer and then put into a sleeve, that are long enough to wrap around your head with a velcro closure. I'll make sure they're ready to go too and yes, I'll pop the meds whenever I feel I need them.

GAH! Hope the GMA info is true!

Me too! Even if I can't watch Part 1 live, I'll be at home on Friday morning. This will give me something else to concentrate on, since I'm having (major yuck!), periodontal surgery at 9:45.

:7254: aikim!

I'm so glad to see both mothers-of-the-bride had great weekends!

bottlecap - Thanks for bringing over those pictures - I love seeing how happy Clay looks after the performance.

Gibby - Big thanks to you for bringing over that review. The last line was definitely my favourite:

Like Fantasia igniting The Color Purple, or Reba transforming Annie Get Your Gun!, Clay fits Sir Robin and Spamalot like a glove.

Any bets on what the paparrazzi were yelling at Clay?

Whatever it was, if he was even listening to them, it sure didn't affect his mood! That is Jerome behind Clay, isn't it? I want to make sure my new glasses really do have an improved prescription.

Boy, I haven't posted in ages, so I'm going to send belated Happy Birthdays and Anniversary wishes to everyone I missed. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

muski - Since you asked, I can tell you that my older DD's moving plans are going really well. She gets her bedroom in the shared apartment for October 1st and we're doing her move that weekend. If she didn't have classes during the week, I know we'd be doing the move then. It's been great having her home for this month, but I know everyone wants their own space again.

Can't wait for tonight - I'll be sitting at the computer with a glass of wine to keep me company, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEing with rest of you! :thbighug-1:

We've had EEEEEEEEEEEEEEs and OOOOOOOOOOs - I'll add the AHHHHHHHHs! What a wonderful, happy day!

So much for the blog being private for fan club members. I found out about it from a Google Alert, and it had the whole blog verbatim. Regardless, I am happy that he blogged, sounds happy and is thinking of ways to introduce Parker to us. He can afford to fix his roof, and the main thing is that he and his little family were not hurt during the tropical storm. Life is GOOD. I have my Spam tickets. They are on Row A. I have never sat that close. I hope that we have good view of the whole show because I am going with someone who has never seen Spamalot before and is not a Clay fan. As for me, my eyes will be on Clay the whole time, and unless things change, he should be lying "dead" for ten minutes right in front of me. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE I hope he cannot feel my staring at him for the whole ten minutes.

Your seats will be great! I sat in A103 for my second show in April and loved every minute of it. Even if your friend isn't a Clay fan, the show is so funny and terrific.

cindi - Thanks for another wonderful banner and my new September calendar. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

{{{keepingfaith and mum}}}

Well, all my kids got off to school this morning, another successful school year has started. I have two living at home this year, same as last year, just swapped a daughter for a son, LOL. Work is looking like same old, same old though. And my freaking 80 gb iPod has disappeared! I am pretty sure it was stolen from my car, along with the case & charger. That'll teach me. I am lost without it. It is my constant companion. I hope whoever took it likes Clay Aiken!

Awww, condolences on your loss! I know how lost my kids are without their iPods (I've just got a shuffle). Hope karma bites whoever took it in the ass!

I spent the weekend getting my older daughter moved out of her shared accommodation, back into the house with her sis and I. It's probably going to be weird for a while - she hasn't lived at home for four years. She's hoping to share with two other girls downtown if the third bedroom in the apt. is still free and move out for October 1st. If not, she may be with us for a while longer.

Scarlett and KAndre - Safe travels!

I hope everyone in the gulf area stays safe over the next few days. I think I can live with massive snowfalls much more than the threat of hurricanes.

keepingfaith - Love all the pretties you've been posting. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

FromClaygary - Hey, I see you down there! How'd you like Bar Harbor? My daughter and I were there four years ago, during a cruise trip - thought it was adorable and a lot like a Maritime Niagara-on-the-Lake. I also thought of you this weekend, when I was in a Michael's in Amherst, NY. All those pretty beads for sale!

DD and I got back yesterday from a three-day outlet mall trip to Niagara Falls, NY and the surrounding area. We haven't travelled together in years and it turned out to be a great trip. The only hard part was 1.5 hours to get across the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge on Wed. at lunch! Getting home was so easy, but anyone travelling south was going to have a long wait. It was three solid lanes of crawling cars as we zipped past them home. Apparently the Cdn border guards are working to rule right now since they don't have a new job contract, so getting back in took all of 10 minutes - he didn't even want to see our passports.

For anyone in Canada, who doesn't have Spam tickets to NY yet, here's a contest with a Clay mention on the intro page - the qualifier is interesting too. It asks for your favourite Python quote:

http://www.contestcanada.net/2008/08/29/ctv-15/

And of course I'm going to apply every day...

Hello, POLympics.

Blyecth, Patooey, pffft!

Think we could just put both candidates on the track and let 'em go at it??!

First man to cross the line is the new prez??!!

Save us all a lot of time and money and aggravation!

:lmaosmiley-1:

Hee! I have to comment on this, since it looks like Canadians will have an election in the near (and I mean very near!) future. I watch CNN pretty regularly and think that their "Election Centre" title is hysterical. I mean, they've been using it for at least a year!

Our PM is expected to make an announcement after Labour Day about an upcoming Federal election - in 30 to 45 days! Yup, that's the way I like them. Even when those campaigns wrap up, I've had enough of all of them.

luckiest1 - Thanks for the Toronto JBT memory. I remember I was so excited about going that I took the whole day off work and it's where I met a lot of fans for the very first time.

preden! Now that you've met a lot of the Ontario fans, I hope we get to meet in the future too - hopefully on the next tour.

Scarlett and KAndre - Thought of you both this morning when I watched the typhoon footage of Hong Kong. Safe travels!

cindilu - Love and banner and love the pins. Please put me down for two of whatever is being produced.

I decided to take the day off since our office is really quiet right now. Turns out it was a good thing, since my older daughter now needs to make moving plans. Looks like I'll be helping her out this weekend - thank goodness for all the space in my car. She'll be staying with me again for the month of Sept. and then sharing with two other girls in the city by October, if all goes well. It's gonna be weird, since she hasn't lived at home in three years.

FromClaygary - You should have been with my younger DD (15 then) and I four years ago, when we visited the house in Dover, PEI that inspired Green Gables. My daughter is such a huge LM Montgomery fan and she nearly cried before we went into the house. We loved the gift shop, because she had 22 of LMM's 26 books and finally got the last 4 there. Funny thing is that I've never read the books, but she has many times. Both the girls and I also watched all the movies and the Road to Avonlea tv series - never missed one.

Scarlett and KAndre - Safe travels!

underthespell - We saw news footage this morning of all the flooding in Florida last night. Hope you stay dry!

And last, but not least, the lovely Perma said this:

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.

That's pretty much how I feel about my dear friend Claymatron. We've had the good fortune to not only have Clay in common, but many, many other things in our lives. :thbighug-1:

Full props to lindylo for this information, since Playbill doesn't ship to Canada.

The Playbill Broadway Yearbook is available for pre-order from Amazon.ca, to be shipped on September 4th. It's $22.50 and if you add something to your order to total $39, shipping is free. My daughter wanted The Sound of Music, so this was a no brainer for me:

Playbill Broadway Yearbook

Sending you gentle hugs annabear. I know how debilitating migraines are, but thankfully mine stopped after menopause (woo hoo!)

Oh those baby days - they seem like such a long time ago now. With my older daughter (who's 24), I had a picture perfect pregnancy, followed by 32 hours of back labour with a posterior presentation delivery. That is, she was facing up instead of down, giving her less room to "move out"! I had a miscarriage three years before she was born and it took years to conceive again. It had to do more with my ex being on various medications for a few years than my age, since I was almost 30 when she was born. Back in 1984, I was the last of my friends and family to have a baby and a few weeks shy of being an "elderly primagravida" or first time mum as the doctors call you, when I delivered. I remember being absolutely exhausted by the time I got back to the room and just wanting to sleep.

We got to stay in hospital for five days, when I was also trying to figure out nursing. It never did work for us, so she started bottle feeding once we got home. She also wouldn't sleep for long stretches of time - I used to think 3 hours was wonderful. My mum came to help for the first week, then I was on my own when hubby went back to work. We had gotten our first microwave before I got pregnant and it was a godsend - that, and takeout menus!

My second daughter was born five years later when we lived in a small town. We were the only mum and baby in the nursery by the time we went home and they let me stay a full five days because they had no-one else to look after! They were all really sweet and couldn't keep their hands off the baby - she weighed 8lbs. 12.5 oz. and had three chins. They couldn't stop cuddling her. This baby had no problem nursing - even though I'd been given morphine for the delivery (34 hours this time) and she was groggy when they brought her to me, she latched on right away.

My MIL was with us the second time around and it worked out perfectly because she kept older daughter occupied. The little one was also a wonderful sleeper - 5 hours straight on our first night home.

They really don't stay little for very long, but as much as I loved their baby days, I'm loving my freedom now.

Sending good karma to Clayzedover and I hope she got speedy medical attention this weekend.

Claymatron, I can live with your occasional "wandering", as long as I'm still Numero Uno!

I missed the London ladies, but had two of my local area Clay buddies over for lunch yesterday so that made up for missing your clunch and pj party.

Since I missed most of the conversations this weekend (great way to clean up the house - invite guests over!), I'll add my two cents to the will they/won't they all be in NYC discussion. As someone who has discussed his wish to have a child many times, I can't imagine Clay not wanting to have Parker and Jaymes with him in NY. Tiny babies change so quickly in the first few months of their lives and I'm guessing that Clay will want to see those first gummy smiles, take his turns getting those stubborn burps out and watch Sweet P (tm FromClaygary) learn to roll onto his tummy.

Of course, this is all just conjecture on my part!

Welcome Peyton!

Belated welcome from me too Peyton! We didn't have any tornado warnings in TO yesterday, but a funnel cloud was spotted a few blocks from my downtown office. Lots of pouring rain and a very dark sky too.

Today I will miss one of our famous Ontario cluncheons, because I promised long ago that I would go into Toronto and attend a Rod Stewart concert with an old friend. Have fun ladies! This same friend found every excuse in the book not to come to the Toronto JBT with me 3 years ago. So I'm hoping that if I do this, she'll have no way to refuse the next time Clay comes back to TO. Hee, notice I inferred "when" he comes back. Hope springs eternal!

We have a connection! My co-worker, who went to the TO JBT with me (and loved every minute of it), is a diehard Rod Stewart fan who will be at the concert tonight. She's going with two others, who each paid $600 Cdn for second row centre broker seats. They didn't care what it would cost because they feel that at 63 Rod may not be doing that many big tours again. Needless to say, she completely understands our fandom, but has "only" seen Rod 20 times since the 70's. Boy, the stuff I could tell her about multiples - concerts, that is - hee!

Hope you London ladies have a wonderful clunch today!

:7254: to you FromClaygary!

Awww, thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone! Claymatron I believe we'll be sleeping together sometime soon so revenge IS possible!

It's gonna be a girlfriend weekend....what better way to spend a birthday??

Okay, I'm gonna let Claymatron cheat with you just this once, but after your bday weekend, she's mine again!

I'm also going to miss the fun tomorrow (thanks for the invite!), but have some Claybuddies coming over for lunch on Sunday as my consolation. I know we'll all have a great weekend.

Gibby - Just had to add a "Wow!" to your hummingbird pictures. I don't have anywhere near my house to hang feeders, or I'd have to get them after seeing how beautiful they are.

ETA - Woo hoo! I'm a body guard now!

I am still here and I still adore this man and have no idea why.

Thread title ???

I'll second that!

wandacleo - Very nice - I love the blue colour!

luckiest1 - I'll go for dim sum with you, but really don't like the steamed ones too much. So that everyone knows what we're raving about when we talk about Cora's, here's their menu:

Yummy Cora's Menu

Five reports done, still waiting for more, so I'm taking a break.

We have a Cora's here, but I've never been there. I think it's because I always get tempted by the Starbuck's on one side, or the yummy Mandarin buffet on the other.

Sheesh, I live and work in an artsy-fartsy theatuh town and, although we have some wonderful gourmet restaurants here, we don't have a Starbuck's or a Mandarin or a Cora's. I think I must be missing some good food choices!

Poutine...yuck, phooey! I hates gravy on my fries, so I probably wouldn't like the Quebec stuff either. My DH has trouble passing a chip truck, and he loves poutine...with me, it's Dairy Queen! I gain 5 lbs every time I drive past the place.

I love your artsty-fartsy theatuh town and the adorable cafes we've eaten at, but you and luckiest1 have to try Cora's - maybe the next time you visit, 'k? Heck, sometimes they even put fruit on their breakfast plates! I'm happy to give poutine a wiiiiide berth too, but love gravy on my fries.

ToldForThis - loved your post!

Hey! Wait a minute! I don't know about this "Tarranna" place y'all are talking about, but I went to Toronto sans Clay last year - where the hell were y'all, and why weren't you entertaining moi and showing me where the actually edible 'poutine' is?!?!?

Heh, that was your first mistake. You shoulda went to Quebec if you wanted the edible poutine!

You said it! Never, ever order anything from the chippie wagons in TO, not even if they're right opposite City Hall. That stuff is "heart attack on a plate" material!

Kandre - you were on John Street? and went to Cora's for breakfast? I work at King and John (for the City of TO) and the aforesaid Cora's is right around the corner! You've got a tour guide waiting, whenever come back.

Oh yuck, look what landed on my desk...

I'm thinking we need to get the eHP up to Tarranna (how we natives pronounce it) up here to acquaint them with our beer and manners and stuff...

Problem is, it's hard to entice them without a Clay appearance! Maybe now that he has even more of a Canadian connection, he'll come back again. And hee about the pronunciation of "Tarranna"....I was listening to some Toronto JBT on my iPod yesterday, and Clay was talking to the lady in the audience about her flights from Vancouver to Vancouver Island to Edmonton to Toronto. He impressed me so much that evening with his knowledge of Canadian geography and the national anthem, but I just had to laugh at his very typical American pronunciation of Toronto, which of course is how it is spelled. LOL

Can you tell I don't want to work today? Eeep, I'd better get something done here!

Here's hoping he ventures north of the 49th parallel again!

djs111 - We don't usually use/hear "nil" - in sports scores, they just say "zero."

I'm enjoying the quiet while the boss does interviews on another floor and until the staff start giving me their reports to edit today but unfortunately, it won't last.

What? Canadians ain't Americans? Why didn't somebody tell me? Whodathunkit? heh!

I really can't get my mind around the idea that somebody would be bothered that Jaymes is Canadian - Hell, the Mounties are Canadian! I saw it in Due South (man, I loved that show). I personally think Clay just likes the exoticness...that accent is hot!

A woman after my own heart! Due South was great (they used to film in downtown TO all the time) and Paul Gross is hawt!!! Never knew my accent was exotic - my cousins in Queens, NY used to tell me I sounded English, as in from the UK.

I'm thinking we need to get the eHP up to Tarranna (how we natives pronounce it) up here to acquaint them with our beer and manners and stuff...

I think marriage is like the little girl with the curl on her forehead - when it's good, it's very, very good; when it's bad, it's horrid!

It probably doesn't help that I am aware I would make most people a perfectly horrid spouse - not big on the compromise thing, real big on the running everything thing, and then can't stand men that I can totally run!

Sounds like my own experience, which thankfully ended 18 years ago. After all these years I can't even imagine being married again, although I have dear friends (waves to Claymatron!) who have lovely marriages. They sure don't work for everyone!