#45: He Owns Us...

[aikim]

Back from an impromptu session of wrapping; one of the gals couldn't make it so I filled it...had a great meeting a lurker Clay fan.....and enjoying sharing the Foundation and the Christmas Season. It was a bit slow, but we met some nice people...a couple that immediately came over to ask about the Foundation before they even shopped.

She recognized the "Aiken" name but asked if it was Troy Aiken! When I said no, Clay...she responded "Oh yes, he was a special ed teacher before he was on idol". We explained about the Foundation while we wrapped their books. One of the books was the 3rd book in the Wicked series...so we got to talking about the theater and she mentioned that her kids are really into theater have seen Wicked and are going to be heading to New York to see some plays. Of course we mentioned Spamalot and Clay! Hope they decide to see it.

Unfortunately it started getting busy about the time we were leaving so I think the Girl Scouts may have a better day than us...this was our last day of wrapping for 2008, but always looking forward to next year and how we can make improvements and spread the good works of the BAF!

[Carolina Clay]

Greetings, FCA!

ETOnline has picked up the People story.

The People interview has also been picked up at Huffington Post. Some good comments there, too.

Gerwhisp has posted a new

at YouTube link and in her OFC blog. I love how she treated the "faith has conquered fear" line.

This afternoon I sent all my holiday cards. Here is one for everyone at FCA: Season's Greetings, FCA!

Happy Hanukkah and Christmas Week! :thbighug-1:

Caro

P.S. Adding the latest on Kai, who has really discovered Christmas this year. Below is one of his latest pictures, and here is the link to a five-second video from a ToysRUs shopping trip. I understand he was carrying the bear to a little girl on the other side of the boxes: Kai on a Mission.

Clickable Kai

ETA: Sending good vibes your way for you and your mom, Couch Tomato.

[Couch Tomato]

My mom's home. Kicked her out they did. She does have some weakness on her left side but that's it. A PT will be coming to the house to do the rehab. Thanks everyone for all your concern and advice. I need it, just haven't a minute to think just yet about how I'm supposed to take care of all this. I'll take the rest to the Caregiver thread...when I have a moment away from you know caregiving. I think I may by her a bell for Xmas Maybe I can get Clay to do something..If I think it's him calling me it might be ok. hee

If anyone needs a ticket I have the following to try to sell

Saturday January 3rd 8 PM Mezzanine B2 (ailse seat) added bonus of sitting next to me only $69 SOLD

Sunday January 4th 2 PM R1 (another special bonus of sitting next to me LOL) 131.50

that's the face vaulue of the tickets.

I will be wrapping all day,every day, starting Thursday so I'd like to go ahead and wish everyone here wonderful and blessed holidays! Couchie & Company, thanks so much for my new board home, even though I'm mostly a wallflower, I DO love your casa.

We love wallflowers!!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I spent the day eating and shopping with my best friend (since we were 18!). We just can't believe we feel this young and look this old.

There's just no justice.

You do have a way with words! I feel the same way!!

I'm on page 26th..off to read more

[Lotus]

Happy Solstice

Bringing this over from CV by Fountaindawg

It's good that I was not drinking anything when I read the bolded part.

(With apologies to Clement C. Moore)

A Visit With St. Nichols

'Twas the night before Christmas and at Shubert's house

All the French guards were taunting, calling Arthur a louse!

Sir Robin was shocked! Galahad was a-twitter,.

“No one else to talk to? We’re stuck with this *bleep*er!”

Lancelot was a-dancing, Bedevere just gas-passing

'French Peeeeopllllle' still chasing & mocking & harassing!

The cow from the catapult flew high and far.

Landing close to the mark ... pretty much right on par.

The Lady and Laker Girls all led a cheer

Patsy had notes. (St. Nichols must be near!)

Out front at the castle, taunters leaned from the door

Gazing in joy at d'art like their Renoooooiiiiiirrrrrrrrrr.

At Camelot, off-stage the ladies did partay,

(Wishing an Idle would give *them* something to say.)

When what to their wondering eyes did appear

But an easily distracted guard admiring his spear.

Yes, the silly, daft guard loved his flowers and pike!

While St. Nichols prayed that house numbers would spike.

More rabid than most, zealous Clay fans they came

(And out came Jerome's file. He knows some by name!)

From gaze-y to bouncy, from screechy to sappy,

With Playbills for signing and cameras for snapping,

Up out of their seats with a run through the hall.

Down to Shubert Alley ...now dash away, y'all!

The ushers all ran, ducking off to the side

When they witnessed the stampede; found places to hide!

Down to the stage door, tossing his <blond/brown/reddish/insert current color> mane,

Clay emerged to the crowd that was cheering his name.

Then in an instant charging down Shubert Alley.

Came stupid paparazzi. Now Clay couldn't dally.

Out shot Jerome's hand without even a sound

And he whisked Clay inside! Not a paps shot was found.

The next night Clay returned, dressed as is his want.

(Each hoodie known to humankind his wardrobe does flaunt.)

A sharpie in hand, he signed right and left ...

Sometimes even behind him, autographing quite deft!

His eyes how they sparkled, his humor a-showin',

He greeted one and all with a "Hey, how ya doin'!"

His lips pulled aside in those now well-known smirks

Enjoying the fans and ignoring the jerks.

The alley a-lit by the gleam of his teeth

Won't keep fans from noticing those mandals beneath!

As Sir Robin, he sings about idols and Jews,

Both dancing & singing according to cues.

At first not too sure if this gig fit himself,

Mike Nichols said "Kid, just get over yourself!"

So decked out in tabard, with chicken at ready,

He took on this gig. (Hey, the work would be steady!!!)

Now close to the end, life's no longer for one.

Clay looks beyond ‘Robin’ to life with his son.

As Spamalot's days now draw near to their close,

The cast will *all* be missed! (Damn these economic woes!)

Each will go their own way to new challenges sent.

With memories they've built of this time they have spent.

As they party this holiday with those they hold dear,

Hope they know they've touched hearts (& funny bones) far & near.

[Couch Tomato]

Well I changed my airline ticket. The cost to change it was more than the original ticket. Sigh. The things I do FOR MYSELF to see Clay. And yay I have a roomie! And it was the first person I ever met in this crazy clay fandom. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Smitten's coming to California..another reason to have a party!

Love all the stage door pics....

[jazzgirl]

Couchie, glad to read that your mom is home. Sometimes, it's better to get out of the hospital as soon as possible as germs in the hospital itself can make a patient sicker than they were when they arrived. As for helping a loved one recover from a stroke, I think you will find that when it's family, you can do things you never thought you could do. It's a blessing that you still have your mom. As for the airline ticket, it's only money and you can't take it with you.

annabear, your employer gives some good gift cards. The most I ever got was a turkey, that I think I gave to someone else!

Bone-chilling cold here. It hurts to breath, so I try to keep the muffler wrapped around my face.

[FromClaygary]

Via CV, a short matinee report from CH:

He played "jingle bells" instead of chopsticks today's matinee, and made the most adorable faces when he turned around towards the audience. He seemed to be in a great mood, friendly with all at SD, did some photos - he is so loveble and irresistible - I know, what else is new.

[annabear]

It's verra verra quiet in here this evening.... I just finished my final essay & got it submitted with about 8 minutes to spare! :o

Who? Me procrastinate? Never!!

I wish there would be Clack of Sir Robin playing Jingle Bells during his big number about Jews!

Off to bed for a few hours before I have to head in to work...

[Couch Tomato]

yay I'm all caught up to start the week.

Loved WRAL's little 12 days of Xmas..and a clay aiken baby... probably won't be able to sing the song the same again.

Well NO BONUSES this year from my company but she gave us all a $50 gift card to Safeway. Love it. Something I can use. It won't be sitting forgotten in a box. My mom is one for keeping gift cards for years before she uses them. I made her get them all one day...and she had all sorts of restaurant cards. We ate great for about 2 weeks. I love giving them as gifts but am trying to be careul -- so many companys going out of business or needing freakin' bailouts. Even cards you think will be good forever, like American Express or Visa -- who the heck knows.

My mom is the Xmas person in the house. She has boxes full of crap gorgeous decorations and nativity scenes and lights and wreaths that I have to pull down every year. All the boxes were down but she hadn't really gotten started when she had her stroke. And Tuesday morning we were going to go pick up our Xmas tree. My brother in law picked one up for us yesterday (didn't know they start slashing prices a week before xmas) and my neice and nephew decorated it today while I sat there and listened to AIW and MCWL. First time this year. Can't wait to hear that voice again.

Guess Clay cleared up that misinformation about Jaymes passing on Parker to him and Kelly. Bwah. Geeze.

Jazzgirl...you are so right. It's nice to have her home with me. I still need to get that bell though

Yay Annabear is done with school...which means she has time for ...work. hee Congrats ..you set your mind to it and you did it. You're an inspiration.

Lucky thanks for always bringing over the recaps..and everyone else who brings Clay news. It is always much appreciated.

ETA: The banner is gorgeous and festive and CUTE..love it.

[luckiest1]

Hey couchie, glad to hear you had some help getting ready for Christmas, and that your mom is home. I remember 2 years ago, my mom had her cancer surgeries back-to-back right before Christmas, and we managed to get things done as best we could. The best part was having her home.

Yesterday was hectic but probably one of the nicest days I've had with the kids in a while. Son #1 was working, but son #2 & luckiestdaugher pitched in and helped me find my motivation to bake shortbread, magic cookie bars and my infamous cherry balls, all while I was doing my overtime work-from-home on the laptop, and folding laundry. We even watched Wall-e whilst eating delivered pizza & wings. Heh, who says we can't multi-task? My mom is arriving this afternoon to stay through Christmas. So the house isn't as clean as she'd like it.....but she'll deal. Supposedly the snow is going to hold off for a day so she is taking the opportunity to hit the highway. I have to work right up until 5 pm Christmas Eve so if someone cleans it, it won't be me!

I just took the dog out to pee (story of my life) and while it isn't snowing it is still freaking cold and windy. My front screen door (clear glass) is completely frosted over, you can't see a thing out of it. Don't remember the last time it was this cold.

Love that Clay played Jingle Bells instead of chopsticks! Annabear, I too wish there was clack. Ah well, hope those that were there enjoyed it and showed him the love!

[FearofH2O]

Happy Birthday Spikesmom amd my very good friend georgiesmybaby!

:fest09: :laola0: :nana:

Hope its a great day and all your dreams come true!!

[aikim]

Good Morning Everyone,

13 Days until The Closing Night of Spamalot!

35 Days until Golfing For Inclusion!

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

[ldyjocelyn]

Happy birthday Spikesmom and georgiesmybaby! Hope you have a great day ladies!

[cindilu2]

Guess Clay cleared up that misinformation about Jaymes passing on Parker to him and Kelly. Reed. Bwah. Geeze.

Hee, Couchie, I forgot about that part. Bwahah! I do hope the rest of the rumour is true though. }-)

Happy Birthdays to spikesmom and georgiesmybaby

[liney23]

Happy Birthday, Spikesmom and georgiesmybaby!!!

couchie... glad your mom is home and that you are still going to Spam it up!!!

anna... congrats on that eight minutes to spare! Enjoy yourself for the holidays, now.

luckiest... brrrr! You're making me shiver down here is "you can see you breath... it's dang cold" southern California!

The next 5 days are going to be incredibly busy! Then I get to relax and enjoy the rest of the year! Whew!!!

[claytonic]

I'm with you on this,

claytonic

! Our company this year gave us Kroger (grocery) gift cards. Some people complained that it wasn't very exciting or fun. The way I look at it, if I don't have to spend that X amount of $ on groceries, then I can spend it on something exciting or fun - like Spamming in NYC! :lol:I also received iTunes gift cards from my boss - *love* those!

Years ago, I was given a Gift Card to a store that was slightly out of my way, it was a specialty gift store. First let me say that it was a Gift Card originally given to a close friend, who was just too busy to even think about it. She gave it to me to buy something for my house. So then I had it for ages and finally decided to go to that store, and because it was somewhat out of my way, I decided to buy something for the sake of redeeming the Gift Card. It turned out to be a waste time because I just bought the item because I was THERE, and did not want to have to go back another time. I may as well have lost that card or given it to someone else, because it turned out to be as useful as an unwanted gift, which it was to my friend who first received it. This is why I won't ever give anyone a Gift Card to a specialty store. A gift card that can be spent on essentials at the local store is as good as giving cash, except that it looks better than cash. Then you have that cash to spend on anything your heart desires, just as you pointed out, annabear!! An itunes GC would, however, be the closest thing to a specialty store that I would consider, if I knew for sure that the person was a frequent customer.

A specialty shop is great as long as it is not inconvenient to get to. The longer you hold on to the Gift Card, the greater the chance of it getting lost, expired or the retailer goes out of business.

Many happy returns to spikesmom and georgiesmybaby

Gees, some things are just too technical for women....

[luckiest1]

Hee, only took me 45 minutes to dig the cars out of the driveway this morning! We got blocked in by two plows - the sidewalk plow and the road plow. I was down on my hands & knees digging chunks of ice out from under the one car that was nearest the road, while son #1 used the shovel to do the rest. What a mess. My next house will have a triple car garage, I swear to god.

Happy Birthday to spikesmom and georgiesmybaby!!!

[annabear]

:rant:

I'm alternating between and this morning! It's 6 freakin' degrees and I go out to warm up the car... guess what! My car door won't close! I try everything I can think of to get the latch to move to no avail. I call the dealership & the service guy recommends opening another door, seeing if it will close and if it does, use it as a guide, along with a screwdriver, to get my driver side door fixed. Um, OK, opened another door, closed it, looked at it, messed with my door, messed with the other door, and now NEITHER OF THE FREAKING DOORS WILL CLOSE!!! [/Rant]

On a much lighter & happier note....

Happy Birthday

georgiesmybaby & Spikesmom

[cindilu2]

annabear - is there an outside electrical outlet anywhere near where you park? Seriously - a blowdrier will probably solve your problem. Take it from someone who worked for VW for a long time, and rescued more than one person that way. DISCLAIMER: of course you have to be careful with it, lol and don't use it if it's still snowing.

luckiest, if you still need a three-car garage at your next house, somebody's gonna need a good smack!

[annabear]

Nope, no outlet & not nearly enough extension cords to reach clear across the street! I think I'm going to try putting some towels in the dryer and then running them down and applying to the doors.

[luckiest1]

Hee, cindilu2, you have a v.v. good point! And annabear, my daughter has the problem all the time. Other than to get the car into a heated garage for a few hours (or cindilu2's solution) I don't know what else to tell you. Argh, winter!

[claytonic]

annabear, can the door sorta close, I mean, if it is not wide open can you turn the heater on in the car and warm things up a bit?

On the other hand, who the h*ll am I to be giving suggestions when I have never had that problem in my life. (Mind you, I did have a white Christmas in Europe many years ago and it was so cold the gas froze in the tank.)

But meanwhile back here, it is too hot to think so if I don't make sense, I have a good excuse.

[annabear]

Finally! Success! Only about 3 hours after I first went outside! Earlier, I managed to turn the car around so that the driver's side would be directly hit by the sun as it warmed up to a balmy 11 degrees... I can't feel my feet, but both doors now open & close! Just heard on the news that it's supposed to be 60 on Christmas Eve... :thtwister2:

Off to work, a few hours late, but at least not having to take an extra vacation day - always look on the bright side of life!

[muskifest]

annabear...your situation reminds me of one very cold winter when I was in college. I was doing my student teaching at a nearby high school and it was so freaking cold that when I opened the door to my 1964 Chevy Belair (a huge navy blue box with pink rust freckles), the latch didn't move and I had to hold the door closed with my right hand while I steered with my left! Fortunately, I didn't have a stick shift, but those right turns were hairy!

:lmaosmiley-1:

It's weird thinking of having to get some proper winter clothes for my NYC trip. We just don't DO that kind of thing out here!

[Lotus]

I too was glad that the there has been some effort to counteract the report that Jaymes had just left Parker with Clay and Reed.

Sometimes Clay sense of humour doesn't help him...I wonder how many parents eyebrows shot up after reading "he's still uber dependent". Well..yes. So he's ready for him to start talking. I bet there were mothers who thought "typically male". I remember how every little change in my babies was a source of wonder, something that their father really missed out on.

While it is nice to have a "white Christmas", enough already!!! It is still snowing, there is 6" of wet compacted snow on my deck, I do not have all the groceries I need for Christmas dinner and I am hoping that the new snow tires I got last week will allow me to get up the steep hills around here so that I can get to the grocery store.

But I do have power, and a full wood box. My son and family have been without power since 300am.

Being the procrastinator that I am, I finally got the tree up and the Christmas decorations up yesterday. When I was a child we didn't see the Christmas tree until Christmas morning as my parents would put it up and decorate it on Christmas eve.

The long range forecast is for more snow with up to 6 inches next Sunday. Yikes! Crazy weather all over the continent. This is not what we expect for winter here. I think last winter I might have had a total of two inches of snow the whole season!