There’s some deep and abiding 80’s joy right here. It’s an 80’s trifecta: big hair, pastel clothes and a synthesizer. Such a treasure.

Trista is hosting an End of The Summer Blog Party, and you can find all the details here. The festivities start Monday and last all week.

A couple of months ago Keetha sent me a copy of her latest book, More Culinary Kudzu. When I finally sat down to read it, I was hooked. It has fabulous recipes, great stories, and did I mention the fabulous recipes? If you’re Southern or maybe a teensy bit fascinated by the South, you will love this book (and her first book, Culinary Kudzu, as well). You can find all the ordering info you need here – and you can read chapter samples, to boot. Delightful.

I’ll see y’all tomorrow.

Stay gold, internets. Stay gold.

I knew someone would make it all better.

I just knew it!

Look at the butter, y’all.

IT’S RIGHT SIDE UP!

Thanks, Trina, for your Photoshop magic.

You have turned my bloggy photo frown upside down, and for that I am forever grateful.

Veronica tagged me for an Alumni Newsletter Meme that she found at Stacie’s. Here’s how Veronica explained it:

The idea is to write two blurbs for the alumni newsletter, updating your life. The first should be the perky, show-offy kind that everyone writes. The second should be the darker side of honest.

Really, I had no choice but to accept this challenge. I love reading the updates in our alumni magazine, but I’ve never actually written one. Until, of course, now.

And just FYI: you’re all tagged for this meme. Because it’s fun.

Version 1:

S. has been happily married to fellow MSU graduate D. for ten years. They have been blessed with an outgoing four year-old little boy who delights them on a daily basis. D.’s career enables him to work from home, and as a result S., D. and Alex enjoy an extraordinary amount of time together. S. does some part-time work that puts her English degree to the test, but her favorite job is being Alex’s mama. Their family lives in Alabama, and they’d love for you to stop by if you’re ever passing through their area! Until then, you can catch up on their lives by visiting S.’s blog, BooMama.

Version 2:

S. and D. have been happily married for ten years, though every once in awhile it feels like it’s been much, much longer. They have a delightful four year-old son whose name is Alex, but lately he’s also answering to Howard. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what you call him because he will talk to a fence post. For hours. And when he has finished talking to the fence post, he will try to dismantle it using only his bare hands, some mad kah-rah-tay kicks and a weathered Superman action figure.

Since D.’s career enables him to work from home, there are some days when S. will look at him and say, ever-so-sweetly, “I REALLY NEED SOME TIME ALONE. BY MYSELF. WITH NO ONE HERE.” She does some part-time work in her degree field, but she still doesn’t think of herself as a legitimate writer. Therefore, she calls herself a “writer.” She believes that her lack of wri-confidence stems from being pegged as a bowhead in grad school, where her classmates would often look at her (and her large, chiffon hairbow) with bemused detachment when she spoke up in class. Even though she was totally deep. And stuff. Y’all.

But she’s not bitter.

S. thinks that being Alex / Howard’s mama is the greatest job in the world, though there are definitely days when she requires a Special Touch From The Lord in order to keep her cool, what with all the jumping and screaming and daredeviling. Their family loves living in Alabama, and they hope you’ll stop by if you’re ever in their area. Or you just can hop over to S.’s blog, BooMama, where she “writes” and overuses capital letters ON A DAILY BASIS.

But if you happen to read the blog, be aware that most references to the blog in the course of real-life casual conversation will cause S. to twitch with unmitigated fury and then seek the comfort of a dark, isolated corner where she will sit cross-legged and rock back and forth until she feels invisible.

But aside from that, she’s still completely normal.

My sweet friend JMom over at Lots of Scotts has written a post that speaks straight to a tired mama’s heart.

You can check it out here. And you will be encouraged.

There’s a post on the way (eventually. really. I promise.), but I had to get these links out of my system first.

– Janice and Susan at 5 Minutes for Mom are giving away a big ole flat screen TV courtesy of Best Buy.

– Cindy is taking issue with the fact that I referred to Mandisa as my pretend-BFF. And it CRACKS ME UP.

– Why Mommy was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer six weeks ago, and she has some important information for all of us (link courtesy of Janice).

Drum roll, please.

Or you can just tap your fingers on a table. Whatever works.

Anyway.

I drew for winners using a trusty random number generator.

The number beside the name corresponds to the number of the comment, though I’m including a little bit of identifying information next to each winner so that you don’t have to count your way through all 392 comments. Which, by the way, is a comment record here at the blawg.

However, if you’d like to double-check, the giveaway post is here.

If you’re a winner, just email me your mailing address. The CDs won’t be shipped until the release date – which means they won’t be shipped until Tuesday, July 31.

All righty – here are the five winners of Mandisa’s book, Idoleyes.

49 – Nichole @ sunshine4zach
62 – Susanne@ susannespace
73 – Minnesota Mamma
148 – Merci @ spitoutthecat
370 – Sweetanlo

And here are the ten winners of Mandisa’s CD, True Beauty.

53 – robinrp
55 – Bailey’s Leaf
59 – Kari @ karisramblings
146 – Traci @ mysweethearts
171 – Amy (email is bellsouth.net)
197 – Alexia (email is voyager.net)
208 – BeckyB @ bilbybunch
214 – to know him
259 – Melissa @ oursidehomeschool
292 – jen in New Zealand

Congratulations, everyone!