Bella19

Looks like I won't make it again this year. For most of the night I've been trying to figure how I could swing it but it just won't work, despite my air miles hoarding. Why do I *have* to have periodontal surgery and more dental work after that all booked for this fall! If my insurance covered it all completely, I would have bought a ticket already, but it's not to be. I'll just enjoy the stage door clack and hope for a spring tour, right?

It's now Number 1 of 16.

CV has now vaulted the video, minus sound for the time being. cindilu - As usual, your banner is wonderful! I wonder if Parker's teenie tiny sock stayed on in the car...I need to find a goo bucket.

I'll be happy to hear whatever and whenever Clay is comfortable sharing news about this son - his *son*...sniff...

I think this is a good day to change my avi...

Just got back from lunch with three RL Claybuddies!!! I was meeting them at the Eaton Centre (in TO) and practically ran there, because I read the news ten minutes before I left. When I got to the restaurant, two of them were waiting for me and one motioned rocking a baby in her arms. I was nodding my head when I ran up to her and we hugged each other really tightly! :ura: By the time I had arrived, these two ladies had gotten a call from a friend in London, Ontario to give them the news, since she knew they they were offline for the day. By the time our fourth friend arrived, minus a cellphone, we leaned over the escalator railing and yelled "It's a Boy!" It was really hard to drag myself away from lunch (they want me to work now?), but it was wonderful to celebrate with friends who were just as happy as I am. :laola0: Funny PS - my daughter just called and asked how lunch was and all I could talk about was that little Parker Foster Aiken had arrived - squee!!

I'm just thrilled for them and especially happy that it was a safe delivery! Great minds do think alike - Claymatron emailed me the story, while I was calling her to make sure she saw i.! Couchie - If you believe in Chinese numerology, 8/8/8 is a most auspicious day!

:00003653: YSRN - Hope you have a wonderful day! My daughter and I never miss it, but she's working tonight so she'll miss the finale. Thank goodness MTV Canada reruns it on weekends. We're both rooting for Joshua. The winner doesn't exactly get "some money" - this year it's $250,000 and a job in the next film from the director/choreographer of Hairspray (can't remember his name right now.) In past seasons, the winner got $100,000 and a job in a Vegas show - I know it was Celine Dion's show two years ago. I don't know if they're airing in the US or not, but I've been seeing Ikea commercials for their new line featuring the "popper" who was back as a guest dancer a few weeks ago. Can't remember his name, but he's adorable in the commercials, doing a moonwalk type walk around an apt. set. Clay topic? What if the maybe baby has already arrived and they're taking their sweet time about making an announcement? Hmmmm? ETA: jamar I agree with you and do think the baby might be delivered here in Canada.

If I can't see Clay this year in concert, I'll happily take him in White Christmas, if and when it might happen. NYC is expensive, but since I'm not going to the Gala, I could probably swing it. Now I'm glad I've been hoarding airmiles for a few years and there's always Porter Air from TO to Newark - I just checked and it's $324.25 Cdn round trip, which includes all taxes and fees. Sigh...I'll take Clay in NYC any time of the year!

It's excellent - thanks! I had to vote for Listen too - I have major Quiana love. Even though it's late, :7254: Annabear! Hope you had a wonderful day!

For all you Gala-goers who planned to go to the Raleigh Fair, here's some info for you via Ms. Marm at the CH:

gbmifan - You're a stronger woman than I. Good for all of you! Does this mean you'll all be sitting together, dressed in red and white and waving little flags to make sure Clay doesn't miss you? I'm so glad you travel with laptops, because I'll be sitting at home waiting for all the details!

Aww, poor baby - sending you good ticket karma for today! I have to thank both Lotus and you for the tax receipt info. I've never submitted anything from a US charity, but after your experience I'm gonna give it a shot. Just to wrap up the conversation about "fibre" people noticing details, I always notice what stuff is made of. Waaay back in the dark ages, in highschool, I made almost all my clothes. I've made loads of stuff for the house (curtains, bedspreads, even made a nightmare slipcover once) and what I love making most are Hallowe'en costumes. Who knows when my kids will ever have kids, but there's a huge plastic bin full of really great costumes waiting for them.

That's an excellent idea Lotus - thanks for the link. Another option (especially for Cdns who don't get a direct tax deduction) is to become a UNICEF Global Parent - it's an automatic deduction every month and goes to a child/family in need. I think that's what I'm leaning toward doing. Here's their link: UNICEF Canada Global Parent I meant to answer Scarlett's earlier question about what the shawl Meryl/Donna wears in MM is made of - to me, it looks like the silk used for saris, especially since it looked like there were beads worked into the fringe. It was just beautiful in the wind, wasn't it? Congrats to all of you going to the gala - you know we'll be waiting for all the details..sniff!

Scarlett, you know we'd love it if you came up for a visit! FromClaygary, sounds like our kids would get along fine. My daughter has worked all types of mediums (lots of examples around the house) and has now decided to pursue "traditional" drawing techniques as her focus for second year. She's been the co-ordinator at a parks camp this summer and just loves her little kids in the morning (4 to 6 yr olds). She now thinks that teaching kids is somehow in her future - remains to be seen! Night all..time to turn into a pumpkin..the alarm rings at 5:40 am!

It's the Creative Sewing and Needlework Fair, but it's for more than just sewing and needlework. Here's the link, but it seems to be down right now. When it's up, you can sign up for their newsletter. Fans come to Toronto from all over North America for the workshops, suppliers, etc. The quilt displays are just amazing and all the sewing machine manufacturers are there, with their newest products. The fall show is downtown in the city and the spring show is out near the airport. http://www.csnf.com/ I started needlepointing when I was 16, so this show would always be a great place for tapestries. My younger daughter liked it when she was beading (she worked her way through all the kids' Klutz Books) and wanted to something more challenging. Hey, you can always come up for a visit to TO and hang with us!

Chardonnay - Your daughter looked just lovely! FromClaygary - I'd love to got to the Spring CSNF with you! I'm sure by then I'll be up to my armpits in scrapbooks supplies and wanting more - it'll be like the old days, when I did needlepoint non-stop and was always looking for new craft projects for the girls. On thing I tried that just didn't stick - quilting! All those craft projects made something stick with the kids - older daughter is going into her second year of her fine arts degree. Have to get you over here to see her work. Claymatron can tell you all about it. My younger daughter and her friends actually spent last night in my rec room knitting and crocheting, while they watched The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants...hey, there're wild ones! Nothing like the ladies I usually roll with... To answer your question about jewelry, in the winter I usually wear some type of pin every day - I have tons of them. In the summer, I try to wear bracelets every day - the peach/pearl/white one you made that I won is great for my small wrists, because of the wrapped wire style. I wear earrings every day, but stick to a few different pairs because of sensitivity issues. Claymatron - Yes, our other boyfriend, Mr. Firth was good in Mamma Mia. Interesting twist with his character at the end of the movie too. Aren't we all enterprising, busy little bees? Keeping busy working, crafting, painting, cleaning out closets and gardening like crazy...hey, whatever floats your boat (and helps pay off the bills!) until we hit the road again, right?

:7254: to you lovely ladies! FromClaygary - Your bracelets are just beautiful! Since I've won one of your pieces in a draw (lucky me!) and have seen three from your auction page in person, I'm sure they're even more dazzling than in those photos. So you've been sorting beads? I've been sorting scrapbook supplies and also cleaned out my office/sewing room closet this morning. DD had 6 assorted plastic boxes in there, full of kiddie stuff she can't bear to part with, but since she now has a much bigger bedroom I reclaimed the prime closet real estate. Man, the stuff you find that you forget about...scary. Also went to Mamma Mia with my mum and kid this afternoon - it didn't disappoint. It a fun, summer chick flick and you can't help singing along. I managed to spot Benny and Bjorn in their cameos - very cute. Good luck to all of you buying tickets to the gala tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you that weekend, when I'm at the Creative Sewing and Needlework Fair in TO. Sniff...I'd rather be in Raleigh...

I don't think your detour is corny at all! Can I add a WTF moment of my own? Back in May, a few weeks after OMWH was released, I was driving my 24 yr old daughter back to her place after dinner out and I was playing the new cd. She asked, "is this his new cd?" and just kept listening while I told her about some of the songs, in particular, about TRM. During "Falling", she pointed at the cd player and said, "I like this...it's good" - very simply. I couldn't believe it! She is the kid who bought tickets for the Syracuse NAT for my bday that year, and went with me, but this was a lovely surprise because she's an enabler rather than a fan. Sometimes, when you - or they! - least expect it, Clay hooks them!

As far as the "signing away rights" goes -- doesn't that depend from state to state? And with changes in laws, I'm not sure if that's a given anymore. I'd have to do some more research on that. And I still say that IIT, there's a very strong chance that Jaymes will move her business to the East Coast. How about throwing another wrinkle into the maybes? What if Jaymes has the baby in Canada, since she does have a home in BC. She could be there right now for all we know.

That's me in a nutshell as well. I'm still saying IIU -- IIT for now, but I do believe there's a small part of me that's saying "yep." I don't know...I just hope we find out something. Not positive on that either, and that's really OK, I think. But my curiosity will get the best of me -- or someone else in the fandom -- I'm sure. You're welcome. A part of me is saying "yep" too, especially since there's been no official statement of denial. Of course, only time will tell!

Look what's on People.com today, with this intro: "Clay Aiken is just weeks away from becoming a dad, so it's only fitting that the singer and UNICEF ambassador is blogging about children's issues." Clay Aiken Reaches Out to Kenyan Children

Count me in - I've been hoarding airmiles for two years and have enough now to fly as far as Chicago for free! My kids will be visting the city in October with their dad and I'm so jealous. That's pretty much how I feel. I've watched some clack, but don't "need" to see Clay all the time. I've plowed through a stack of books since May, am working on much needed jobs around the house and baking as many of the Barefoot Contessa's recipes as I have time for, which the gang at work just loves - hee! Hope you're feeling better today.

My dream venue for Clay in Toronto, which many of us have discussed at local fan lunches, has to be Massey Hall - it has perfect acoustics. You can hear every single word sung or spoken on stage right to the last row in the theatre. http://www.masseyhall.com/home.cfm

As a survivor of years on Trek boards, I'd say they can be worse, but the fan venting is generally directed at "Paraborg", (Paramount) ather than the actors. Well, maybe Shatner in the old days, but not so much any more.