Well, I just got home from my first-ever lacrosse game. Our high school was playing for the state championship, and since we know a lot of the kids on the team, we decided it would be fun to go to the game. And LISTEN. WAS IT EVER. We had a blast. It was hot as fire and I’m pretty sure that I may have gotten my first sunburn of the season, but it was so worth it. Our boys won, and I am tickled to know that there is lo, yet another sport that I enjoy watching.
Granted, I wasn’t really dealing with a shortage in that area, especially considering that we went to a high school baseball play-off game this past Friday night, and I spent most of the weekend following the State / Auburn baseball games on Twitter.
All I know to say is that my daddy trained me well.
But I will not bore you with additional talk of sports (except to say that the SEC baseball tournament is only 2 weeks away!) because we have far more important business to tend to today. And that business is this.
My friend Lisa-Jo Baker has written a fantastic book about motherhood. It’s called Surprised by Motherhood: Everything I Never Expected about Being a Mom, and I have so many good things to say about it. It’s beautifully written, it’s insightful, and (in my opinion) it’s just as much a love letter to Lisa-Jo’s beloved South Africa as it is to her kids (I was fascinated by Lisa-Jo’s strong sense of place because it totally parallels the way I feel about the South). More than anything, this is a book that beautifully chronicles the joys and the heartaches and the wonders of motherhood. It will warm your heart and feed your soul whether you’re a mom, an aunt, a mentor, a godmother, a grandmother, or a mom-to-be.
I’m so happy to be giving away two copies of Surprised By Motherhood (thanks, Lisa-Jo!). But there’s a catch: I’m only going to leave this giveaway open for 24 hours so that the folks who don’t win still have a chance to order it in time for Mother’s Day.
So. If you’d like to enter to win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post, and just for kicks – since it’s spring and all – tell me your favorite flower. But if your allergies are terrible and your don’t really care for flowers, then tell me your favorite kind of chocolate. Or, I don’t know – just tell me something. WORDS OF ANY KIND.
I’ll close this giveaway at 10:00pm central tomorrow night and draw for winners ASAP.
Happy Monday, y’all!
This giveaway is now closed; the winners have been notified.
My favorite spring flower is a dandelion. No matter how you try to eradicate the flower it ALWAYs perseveres and comes up the following spring.
I love wisteria!! So wispy and southern!!
I love Peonies.
Lilacs come first on my flower list. Thanks for the book opportunity! Win or lose, I’ll be checking it our for my daughters who are young mothers.
Fav. Flower: Wildflowers beside the road. Don’t know names, but they are beautiful in a field or hand picked by a beloved and given to me in a vase. Fav. Chocolate: The darkest Endangered Species variety I can find.
Hydrangeas, tulips, lillies – all my favorites
Would love a copy!
I have the book. I just wanted to say that your blog readers will not be disappointed with “Surprised by Motherhood,” so if you don’t win this book, go buy this book. I was surprised at how much I loved it. I didn’t intend to buy this book. Honestly, I thought it was going to be another one of “those” books where life is good and kids are perfect and families float through life on clouds. WRONG. I was hooked after the first chapter. I lost my Mom when I was an adult, but I so related to the things she wrote about missing her own mom, about missing her presence in these days, and missing her influence on her children…. WOW. How she wrote all of that is exactly how I feel. It brought back a TON of memories for me.
I love flowers…doesn’t matter what kind, or where they came from. In fact, some of the prettiest flowers I was ever received were picked out of our flower bed by a grubby little hand. :)
I love zinnias. They make me nostalgic. :)
Any kind of flower- always a great way to fancy up a space!
Calla Lilies. Have a great Monday.
I love all flowers! It’s the section I head to first in all the stores! I want some of every one!
Peonies are mine… thanks so much Sophie! Love reading all of your book suggestions! And YOURS!
I think Pansy’s are Oh So Lovely!
My grandmother always planted Zinnias for us to pick and whenever I see them I think of her! I also love hydrangeas!
Lilacs! Should be blooming soon here in Iowa. Delightful!
I love a beautiful daisy.
I love roses, because my little grandmother had some in her yard. She would tell me that whenever she looked at her roses, she would think of me. I’m so blessed to have had such sweet grandparents.
I love daisies….and tulips…. and pretty much ANY flower!
What a wonderful sounding book! thanks
The ONLY kind of chocolate I like is with peanuts! Like peanut m&ms mmmmm
Lilacs!! Followed closely by peonies. And it’s almost time for both to bloom :)
Yellow roses & white chocolate!
My favorite flower is the hydrangea and my favorite chocolate is orange cream filled chocolates.
Stargazer Lilies are my favorite!!
I love yellow flowers of any kind.
Sterling roses are my favorite. But my allergies are close to making me hate all flowers. :)
Heard awesome things about this book!
tulips…all time fav!
If I knew more about flowers I’d pick a true favorite, but I’m a little under-educated except to say “roses” are always great, especially those grown in other people’s gardens, since I’ll never do that. LOL
Thanks for the giveaway! My favorite flowers are tulips, which must come from the Dutch side of me!
Red roses! My husband has given me one every week since we got married almost 35 years ago!
I’m having a particularly hard parenting day to my pre-teen daughter, so maybe this would help…
Daffodils… followed closely by Daisies :)
I love daffodils!
Japanese iris (to grow), and wildflowers (to put on kitchen table)
Easy…purple hyacinth!
I love Gerber daisies and tulips!
Hands down no question tulips are my favorite flower!!
Peonies!
I’ve been wanting to read this book – calla lilies are my favorite flower.
Gerbera daisies and roses are my favorites!
Any white fragrant flower – orange blossoms, gardenias, magnolias…
2 of 3 daughters played lacrosse. Does your school have a girls team? Because no offense to the guys, but our girls are tougher! They play with eye protection and a mouthpiece, that’s it!
They tease some of the boys their game is just football w sticks.
But seriously, find a girls game if you can; there is as much strategy as baseball, fast action and real skill, both on attack (offense) and defense. It’s a much more creative and competitive game than most people know. The college championships are even televised!
Lacrosse – the fastest game on 2 feet
I love “surprise” flowers.
Since we’re stationed in Hawaii right now I’m going to go with Hibiscus!
Hyacinths. Love the smell.
Hydrangeas, for sure. I just think they are so lovely.
I love daisies! They’re so cheerful!
I love all flowers… behind glass. Claritin is my friend!
tulips are my favorite :)
White tulips. :-)
daffodils and Dove dark chocolate
I love lavender and lilacs. Can’t wait for them to bloom up here in PA!
brown eyed susans :)
Definitely tulips.
I love plumeria–reminds me of Hawaii–and I love your columns–you’re so down to earth.
My favorite flower is a sunflower. I plant mammoths and all varieties in my front yard so I can look at them while I do the dishes all summer long. :)
i love peonies
I’m so indecisive, I don’t have a favorite flower! But daffodils are pretty high on my list.
Would love to win!
I LOVE peonies! I cannot wait for my plant to bloom each year.
Peonies!!
Hydrangeas and gerber daisys!
I love violets! They are delicate and brimming with beauty. I also like dark chocolate truffles from Harry and Davids cold out of the fridge in the middle of summer. =)
Gardenias, roses, Stargazer lilies, hydrangeas, sunflowers, peonies, irises, daisies… really, I just love all of types of flowers! That goes for all types of chocolates, too! 😊
Lilies of any color, or better yet a bouquet of ALL the colors!
Love the smell of carnations – love all flowers!
Daisies And Lilies!
I would love this book! My favorite flowers are peonies.
While I’m partial to the Gerbera Daisy, my favorite would have to be stargazer lilies. Although, I can’t grow any of them. No flower survives my house. I have even managed to kill the unkillable peace lily. Yep, I am that awful. Took that one a while to die but eventually, they all move on to better places than my house!
I like SEC sports better than flowers ;)
Tulips and dark chocolate with coconut and caramel!
I do love all the spring flowers, but really my favorite is just seeing everything “green up”!
I have heard so many wonderful things about this book, and would sure love to win a copy! My favorite flower is the rose – especially a good old fashioned English garden tea rose!
I love Gerber Daises.
I would give the book to my sister-in-law. Sunflowers have always been my favorite – like a bright hello to the world. Lately I really like bright orange Gerber daisies too. They are a bit heartier. Thanks Sophie.
Have a great day!
My favorite flower is a rose!
I love chocolate more than flowers, but I love dogwoods the most (not really a flower, but a bloom on a tree.)
Pussy willows and eucalyptus are my faves, since I’m not a flowery type of gal. ;) Thanks for the fun giveaway!
I don’t discriminate against flowers…or chocolate. I love them all. But, if I had to choose, I would choose daisies and any kind of chocolate that had caramel or peanut butter in it.
Fave flower? Gerber Daisies. They make me all kinds of happy.
Fave sport? Football. SEC! (GO HOGS!)
Fave chocolate? Does there have to be a specific kind? Isn’t CHOCOLATE just enough of an answer. Chocolate? Yes PLEASE!
I love calla lilies and Gerber daisies!
definitely have more than one flower I love…but any bouquet with Stargazer Lilies is my fave.
Thanks for doing the giveaway : )
My favorite flower? You must be kidding! I live in THE SOUTH and each week brings a new favorite flower. I love the beauty of forsythia as it become the first flower to bloom in my woods. That is followed by the Iris and the dogwoods. My fav Rose is blooming now. I am anxiously awaiting the gardenias and the purple coneflowers and and and! Hopeless, I know to be unable to pick just one. My favorite chocolate is easy-Lindt Chocolate Truffles!!!!
Would love the book for my niece who is expecting, due June 22 2014
I love pink peonies, loved to look at them in my grandmothers garden ants and all.
Would LOVE to read the book and pass it along to my precious daughter in law, expecting her second baby in August. My favorite flower is peonie!!!!!!
Daffs are my fav for March and lilacs for May and dark chocolate for always.
I would love to read this book – lavender is my favorite flower smell…..
Lilacs!
GARDENIA………….. :)
Yellow Roses or Yellow Hyacinths
Tulips… just wished they bloomed longer:(
Oooh– I love a good bouquet of wildflowers. Even if they come from Publix. :)
I love yellow roses and milk chocolate. And daffodils and semi sweet chocolate. And hydrangeas and dark chocolate. Now that I think about it I just love flowers and chocolate. Such an easy peasy thing for me to comment on! And i would love this book just as much as I do flowers and chocolate!!!
Gerbera Daisy :)
Irises are my favorite. They always make me think of my grandmother.
I love any purple or white wildflowers! Or any wildflowers, really. :)
A toss up between Ranaculas and hydrangeas. With the win going to the Ranaculas. :)they were my bridal bouquet. I wish I had discovered them sooner and they were more readily available. :)
bachelor buttons always get me. they surrounded my momma’s mailbox growing up. the memories…!
I just love the scent of lilacs in the spring, reminds me of home!!
I’d love to win this book- or order it if I don’t win!
My favorite flower is, each Spring, the first Felicité Parmentier rose of the season.