One of my favorite things about doing giveaways is that sometimes I get to spotlight mom-owned businesses. And today, oh internets, is one of those times. Because there are some really creative mamas in Nashville who have started a company called Show Offs Art, and they want to share their arty goodness with you.

Just for the record, we love sharing.

Even better is that they’re sharing THREE FABULOUS PRIZES: one of their small magnetic boards, one of their large magnetic boards, and one of their wrapped canvases (in case you’re wondering, this one is my favorite).

And the story behind the art? OH, IT’S A GOOD ‘UN. You can read it here.

So if you’d like to win, just click over to Show Offs Art, check out their stuff, then come back here and tell me what you like the most. I’ll leave the giveaway open until Saturday, May 17, and then I’ll use random.org to select three winners.

(That reminds me: my numbered comments are working again, and I am understandably delighted because, well, NO MORE COUNTING.)

(Also: NO MORE MATH.)

(Hallelujah.)

Have fun, y’all.

This giveaway is now closed.

So I should probably pretend to be excited about tonight’s show.

Right?

I mean, it’s Top 3 and all.

I AM SO FAKE EXCITED ABOUT TONIGHT’S SHOW, Y’ALL!

David Archuleta – “And So It Goes” – I love this song. And the little bit of a cappella at the beginning was brilliant. This was probably the first time all year that I’ve really responded to one of his performances…I just thought it was dead-on.

Also: I would like to hug him. Because there’s something about him that strikes me as a little bit sad. And I would like to hug him and cook him some fried chicken, thank you.

“With You” – Probably a smart move on his part to sing a Chris Brown song. It felt a little WRONG, ALL WRONG to me, but I’m also not sixteen. And I have a feeling that this performance probably went over REALLY well with his core audience. So good for him for breaking out of the mold.

“Longer” – Beautiful song. But I was bored.

(I’m sorry.)

(Please forgive me.)

Syesha Mercado – “If I Ain’t Got You” – I thought that was a total home run for her. I also really like that she didn’t go heavy on the dramatics with her performance – just a straightforward, no-nonsense approach. And I liked it.

“Fever” – This was a little too theatrical for me – it felt more like something from the talent competition in Miss America than a song someone her age would actually record. She sounded fine, but I think strategy-wise it was probably a misfire.

“Hit Me Up” – It was a really fun song – but it wasn’t a distinctive song. I don’t think that three years from now anyone will be saying, “Hey, remember when Syesha sang that song from ‘Happy Feet’ on Idol? THAT WAS AWESOME.”

David Cook – “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – SUCH an interesting song choice. And moreso than any other contestant, he can take ANYTHING and make it sound modern. I loved that he stuck with the original feel of the song for the first section, then went into something with more of an alternative sound at the end. SO great. Loved it.

“Dare You To Move” – I was tickled to hear him break out the Switchfoot. However, I didn’t think this was his strongest vocal performance – it sounded like he was a little sharp or flat or off or something. A little bit of a disappointment, all things considered.

“I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” – I’m trying not to be swayed by the fact that I don’t ever have to hear this song EVER AGAIN IN MY WHOLE LIFE EVER. It’s right up there with “My Heart Will Go On” in my opinion. I liked the edgier ending, though, and he redeemed himself from the Switchfoot song. So in that sense, well done.

Top Two: David Archuleta and David Cook.

And did I mention that I’d like to give David Archuleta a hug and some fried chicken?

Anyway, if you’d like to share your reactions to tonight’s show, just add the link for your specific post to the Mr. Linky below.

Here’s a picture of the flowerbed beast that must be tackled.

As you can see, it’s a bit, um, shady back there.

And here’s the deal: I didn’t get a dadblasted thing done in the backyard today. Because I went to the grocery store just like I planned and then came home to find the oven repairman here (so why does our oven smell like fish? why, he has NO IDEA! that’s repairman #2 with no solution!), and then I realized that we didn’t have any gasoline for our lawn mower, only that was supposed to be Step One in my backyard project, so then I took a picture of the flowerbed because A PICTURE, AT LEAST THAT IS SOMETHING, and then I hopped in the car and picked up the little man from a friend’s house and took him to soccer and fixed some supper and gave him a bath and got him to bed and now, NOW I HAVE TIME FOR THE FLOWERBED, ONLY HOLD ON, IT’S DARK.

Oh, internets. I am a terrible disappointment as a landscaper / flowerbed restorer.

But I do hope to redeem myself with a plan.

Said plan is as follows:

Tuesday: Get gasoline for lawn mower. Mow backyard, then weed and rake out the flowerbed. Turn over dirt, add new soil, and collapse.

Wednesday: Happily abandon plan to entertain the five year-old and a friend who is spending the afternoon with us.

Thursday: Plant things. Then mulch. Bore the internet to tears with many photos of the rehabilitated flowerbed. Skip across the yard, basking in the satisfaction of a job well done. Contemplate why I’ve taken up skipping after twenty some-odd years of no skipping. Shrug shoulders. Then skip some more.

So it’s going to be a very exciting week. As you can tell. What with all the skipping that’s on the horizon.

Anyway, before I start this process, do any of you Southerners have suggestions for shade-loving plants? I know hostas will work, but we have tons of those in our backyard already, and I wouldn’t mind adding a little variety.

Just so you know, my ideal plants are inexpensive, low-maintenance perennials.

I also enjoy plants that are billowy.

But not hostas or ferns.

And other than those six very specific criteria, I have absolutely no plant preferences at all.

See? I am very laid-back.

What? You mean you don’t want to read about this past Thursday’s episode of “The Office” for THE NEXT SWEET FOREVER?

Really?

Shocking.

So. Anyway.

HOW ARE Y’ALL?

We went to Nashville this past weekend, and that’s part of the reason for my extended absence from the computer. Because the last few times I’ve been there my schedule has been oh-so-wonderfully jam-packed, but this trip our little family really needed some good “hanging out” time. To recharge ye olde familial batteries, so to speak.

And that is what we did.

Also, yesterday Sister made the best cheese grits I have ever eaten in my life, which is saying something because I have been known to PUT DOWN SOME CHEESE GRITS in my time.

They were so delicious that – no kidding – Alex walked away from the table with grits IN HIS HAIR. I think that he was so intent on shoveling the grits into his mouth as quickly as possible that he lost a little accuracy with his aim.

Oh, he is his mama’s child.

What a tender heritage he has.

Alex was pretty much buck wild for the entirety of the weekend, so much so that Sister has vowed that before his next visit she is going to tie a rope to the chandelier in her foyer and just let him swing from it like the five year-old little monkey that he is.

I think she may be on to something.

So now we’re home and my house is a wreck and we need some groceries and I really, really want to tackle a flowerbed in our backyard that has been neglected since well before we moved here.

So I guess I pretty much just made a to-do list, and not only that I think that by sharing said to-do list I have also COMMITTED TO THE FLOWERBED PROJECT, RIGHT HERE ON THE INTERNET, WHERE PEOPLE WILL ASK ME QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THE FLOWERBED IS COMING ALONG.

Nothing like a little bloggy accountability for motivation.

See you in a little bit, interpeeps.

Because I think it goes without saying that I’ve missed you terribly.

Tonight’s episode of The Office was a mighty fine one indeed, with a nice combination of Pam and Jim tenderness, Michael awkwardness, deferred dream bittersweetness, and PLENTY-O-ANDYNESS.

Loved it.

A few highlights:

1. “My grandfather would be spinning in his URN if he knew I was out here with a Dartmouth boy.”

2. “I got my knot on.”

3. “Maybe for you paper should be more of a hobby.”

4. “…and then you sneezed in my tea, and then you said it was just allergies.”

5. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. And don’t call me Shirley.”

6. Andy and the golf cart, OH MY WORD.

7. Michael’s commentary on the kissing, which was simultaneously creepy and hysterical, but definitely more hysterical than creepy.

And I know it’s silly, but I was so proud of Jim getting that paper contract that I wanted to hug him. Despite the fact that he’s a made-up person working at a made-up paper company.

But still. It all felt VERY REAL to me.

So. Thoughts?

I came home from Bible study to find emails from Emily, who was trying to find a WordPress plug-in that will give me numbered comments again, and Jennifer, who – you won’t even believe this – PUT ALL YOUR GIVEAWAY COMMENTS INTO A SPREADSHEET AND NUMBERED THEM.

No kidding. I almost cried.

And that spreadsheet is how I know that the winner of The Romance Collection is Mandy.

Mandy, if you’ll email me your mailing address, I’ll put your DVD’s in the mail tomorrow.

And internets, if WordPress does return to the numbered comment format, I may have to find me some real-live comment counters. Because I’ve spent most of my adult life trying to avoid math in any form, and I can’t help but feel as if my blog has betrayed me just a teensy bit.

What with all the numbers and the counting and whathaveyou.

Anyway.

I’m going to watch “The Office” now.

And congratulations, Mandy!

(p.s. Emily found a plug-in – it’s called Better Comments Manager, and it numbers the comments for each post like MAGIC! Except that it numbers them with the most recent comments first. But still. It’s a start. And I am grateful.)