Well, I drew for the five winners…

…and then I felt like there needed to be more winners because, well, did you see all those comments?

So I drew for three more winners.

See? I really am slightly codependent. But it really is one of those books that you want all of your girlfriends to read so that you can talk about it and quote your favorite lines and tell your own versions of similar stories.

And truth be told, I probably would’ve done a drawing for three more copies if I weren’t afraid that Tyndale (Melanie’s publisher) (mine, too) would put me on giveaway lockdown for the rest of my earthly days.

(They really wouldn’t do that.)

(But I didn’t want to push my luck.)

Here are our winners.

657 – Sharon Edge
514 – kaki
512 – Beth
203 – Tonya
158 – Cherry
68 – Aubrey Williams
405 – Kathie
496 – Leslie Mertz

I’ll be sending y’all an email very shortly, so keep an eye on your inbox.

Thanks so much, everybody, for making today such a fun bloggy day. And if you didn’t win, you certainly don’t have to miss the Sparkly fun; you can order a copy from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ChristianBook.com, LifeWay, or any of your favorite online or local retailers.

You may have picked up on the fact that I highly recommend it.

So this morning I was thinking about what a big week it is for Melanie and her book and everyone who’s going to get to read her book because it is hilarious. And touching. And fantastic.

And then I decided that I have some sort of codependent enthusiasm disorder that causes me to be over-the-top excited about something going on with a friend – to the point that other people might be tempted to ask me to HUSH IT, POR FAVOR.

Regardless, I am so proud of my sweet friend, and since I am in fact beside myself that her book releases this Friday, I thought it would be fun to do a little impromptu giveaway. I haven’t even told Melanie that I’m going to do this, primarily because she would try to talk me out of it.

TOO LATE FOR THAT, SISTER.

So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m giving away five copies of Melanie’s book, Sparkly Green Earrings: Catching the Light at Every Turn – but you only have until 5 o’clock central time on Tuesday to enter the giveaway. A little after 5 o’clock I’ll draw for five winners, and I’ll notify them by email ASAP. And if you’ve already ordered a copy of the book, feel free to enter and then give away your prize if you win. I’ll even have it shipped to someone else if you want. Just please make sure that your email address is accurate when you leave your comment since that’s the way that I’ll contact the winners.

So. If you’d like to enter, just leave a comment with your answer to this question: what’s your favorite song right now?

(I have no idea why I picked that question.)

(But let’s just run with it.)

Remember – you have to enter the giveaway by 5 o’clock central. PM, of course. Because if you think I’m going to wake up at 5 in the morning to moderate giveaway comments, then perhaps I should introduce myself.

Can’t wait to see who wins!

(Well, really you’re all winners.)

(At least that’s what pageant emcees say.)

(And you know what? I believe ’em.)

This giveaway is now closed. Winners will be notified shortly!

All righty. The Super Bowl is on, and since we rarely watch the NFL in our house, I’m not really involved in the game. I mean, I want for the guys who played for Mississippi State to do well, and I’m glad that they’re having successful pro careers, but truth be told I’m pretty much just counting down the minutes until it’s time for Downton Abbey.

(By the way, I’m typing this post while wearing my pajamas and sitting on my circa-1965 gold sofa with a blanket wrapped around my legs. So it strikes me as somewhat fitting that I’m biding my time for my “story” to come on PBS. Maybe I can find a couple of re-runs of Barnaby Jones to watch in the meantime.)

(WHICH REMINDS ME: last weekend I was flipping channels when I ran across an episode of Charlie’s Angels. It was from the Kelly / Sabrina / Kris years. And I have to say that the plot wasn’t quite as riveting as it was when I was in elementary school and stayed up to watch Charlie’s Angels re-runs on WGN.)

(Also, they obviously weren’t anticipating a day when viewers would be able to pause their DVRs and clearly see that HEY, THAT STUNT DRIVER REALLY ISN’T KELLY NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT.)

(I was also troubled by how frequently the angels wound up in car chases with shady men who were driving large Ford sedans.)

Anyway.

We had really nice weekend, which was a welcome shift from All The Emotion of our week (and I cannot thank you enough for all of your sweet comments about Ally…I couldn’t get over how many of you also had to say good-bye to animals last week, so I hope you had better weekends, too). Friday night I went with my friend Leslie to hear Kelly Minter teach at a women’s conference in here in Birmingham, and it was so, so good. We went back for the second session Saturday morning, and then I came home so that my people and I could spend the rest of the day together.

After lunch we went to look at washing machines since our house is apparently in the throes of a mid-life crisis (it recently turned 40) and is demanding ALL NEW EVERYTHING. I’m almost scared to recount everything that has had to be replaced in the last year for fear that the dishwasher will read this over my shoulder and decide OKAY! I’M DONE!, so suffice it to say that our washing machine is the most recent home appliance casualty. We can’t really complain, though, because we’ve had our current washing machine for fifteen years, and D has rescued it from certain peril at least twice. So it was time. And the new one gets delivered tomorrow, oh hallelujah.

Saturday I also found out that my friend Elise’s son led his soccer team to the 6A State Championship in Mississippi, and y’all, it has tickled me to no end. His team won 3-0, and I’ll have you know that G scored all three of those goals – WITH HEADERS, NO LESS. I am so proud of him (and of all of Elise’s boys – they are hard-working and funny and handsome and funny and respectful and did I mention that they are really funny?).

OH! OH! Saturday afternoon we went to LifeWay after we looked at washing machines, and MELANIE’S. BOOK. WAS. THERE. In an actual bookstore. I jumped a little and then I took a picture and then I checked on it one more time before we left. Just to see if it needed anything. Like maybe a light snack or a bottle of water.

Make no mistake. I was annoyingly excited.

Saturday night I watched three or maybe even four episodes of Chef Wanted on Food Network. It is FASCINATING. I even got a little teary-eyed at the end of the episodes when someone would walk away with a real-live job, and clearly the first part of this sentence is a strong indicator that I may still be registering on the high end of the emotional sensitivity scale.

After church and Chuy’s and a trip to the grocery store that I could not avoid, I spent most of this afternoon in the kitchen while the boy and one of his friends played outside when they weren’t running back inside for a glass of water or a piece of candy or a different sword or two sheets of paper or grocery bags. It was gorgeous here today, and they had a blast. I made potato skins (in the spirit of the game that I’m not watching) and salad for dinner, and while the potato skins were absolutely delicious – seriously. SO tasty. – they were definitely not a make-in-a-hurry meal. They were more like a make-over-the-course-of-four-hours meal. But they were such a hit that I will probably make them again.

Okay. Now it is time for the Downton. So I’m going to stop talking / writing now. And yes, I realize that this was probably the most boring post in the history of ever, but it was a low-key weekend.

My very favorite kind.

Yesterday we had to say good-bye to a member of our little family.

We’re not really sure how old Ally was – she found us about fourteen years ago when she decided that our street looked like a fine place to stop and rest awhile – so we always pretended like she was an ageless angel dog. She was gentle, patient, loyal, funny (oh yes ma’am was she ever), and as sweet as she could be.

My husband would tell you that she’s one of the best friends he’s ever had.

And our little guy would tell you the exact same thing.

Ally loved chasing a laser pointer, treeing cats (but only in her sleep), curling up on a Costco dog bed, waiting to see what might fall from the kitchen table, riding to school with Alex, indulging in an occasional plain McDonald’s cheeseburger, and sleeping in our foyer so that she could keep an eye on the whole house. She also cultivated an impressive appreciation for white bread.

She was the best dog. And from the time she found us until the time she left us, she brought us so much joy.

We will miss her like crazy.

Here’s a collection of stuff I’ve loved reading / looking at / pinning / etc. and so on and so forth.

– The Day I Went To A Brothel by Debra Parker – If your heart has been craving some words that are full of grace and conviction and hope, here they are.

– one thing we’re waiting for (and why it’s time to stop) by Emily Freeman – There’s such a gentleness to Emily’s writing, and I especially love the way she handles our tendency to compare and feel left out.

– One my struggles with politics and some of our current social issues is that more often than not it seems like no one ever takes time to listen – really, deeply listen – to the other side. Plus, I get tired (just being honest) of hearing what and who people are against as opposed to what and who they’re for. It seems like somewhere along the way we’ve gotten so consumed with our agendas that we’ve decided that it’s no longer necessary to be kind – and we’ve forgotten that we can love people even if we disagree with them.

(I’m totally talking to myself in that last sentence, by the way.)

(Maybe that’s one reason the tone of some of our national discussions makes me so crazy – because I see parts of myself that I CANNOT STAND.)

Last night on Facebook my friend Jennifer linked to an article about a gay activist’s unexpected friendship with Dan Cathy, the COO of Chick-fil-A. And y’all? I cried when I read it. Can’t stop thinking about it, in fact.

– Because I am very academic and fancy, I wrote a post about this season of The Bachelor over at Ree’s blog (and listen, it was my great joy to spend some time focusing on The Bachelor after the emotional trauma of Downton Abbey on Sunday night). Anyway, if you have some amaaaaaazing thoughts about this group of amaaaaaaazing girls, feel free to chime in.

– Ten grown men have been playing a game of tag for 23 years, and IT. SOUNDS. AWESOME. And mildly terrifying. But mostly awesome. (via)

– Melanie’s book, the very, very funny Sparkly Green Earrings, releases next Friday. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that. :-)

– Sometimes I act like I’ve forgotten this (available on Etsy):

It’s good to remember.

When I was nine or ten years old, I watched a made-for-TV movie called Champions: A Love Story. It starred Jimmy McNichol and Joy LeDuc, and even though I have never seen any other performance by Joy LeDuc in the thirty-plus years since Champions: A Love Story, her name is forever etched in my memory because that movie marked me. It was the first time that I wept uncontrollably while watching TV. And honestly? I think I grieved that movie for a solid week. I just couldn’t get past it – it was too much sadness for my fourth grade heart to take.

(And listen. I have no idea why I was watching a made-for-TV movie when I was nine years old.)

(I also watched Dallas and Knots Landing.)

(All I can say is that I was the youngest child by ten years. My parents must have been exhausted.)

Anyway, I have always thought that Champions was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen on TV. Well, that and the time Laura died on Knots Landing, which happened when I was in high school and somewhat more capable of dealing with TV tragedy. And even now, if you were to lock me away in a room and force me to watch an endless loop of Champions, Laura’s death scene, and Terms of Endearment, I’m pretty sure that I would cry until I fainted or at the very least hyperventilated in a most unflattering fashion.

But as of last night, we can add one more contender to the aforementioned list.

Because last night? The fourth episode of Downton Abbey season three looked Champions: A Love Story straight in the eyes, motioned for it to come a little closer, then pointed its finger and said, “Have a seat, amateurs. And watch THIS, Joy LeDuc.”

Oh, people.

HERE COME ALL THE SPOILERS HERE COME ALL THE SPOILERS HERE COME ALL THE SPOILERS

ONE MORE WARNING ABOUT THE SPOILERS

I should’ve known, really, as soon as the doctor said that Sybil was doing great and everything looked normal and her body was doing exactly what it was supposed to do. I SHOULD’VE KNOWN. But it wasn’t until the two doctors got into a shouting match – with Lord and Lady Grantham taking different sides – when the part of my brain that has seen way too much episodic television started to think, Oh. I fear that this is not going to end well.

And that scene? With Tom bawling his eyes out on one side of the bed while Lady Grantham begged her baby girl to live? BRUTAL. All I could do was just shake my head and cry. Because who’s kinder than Sybil? Who’s more gentle and more loving than she is? I can’t remember what Mrs. Hughes’ exact words were, but she said something along the lines of “She was the sweetest spirit of anyone in this house.” AND SHE WAS, Y’ALL.

(Yes, I know that she’s fictional character. But just indulge me because clearly I’m having a bit of a moment.)

So anyway. I just needed to share in my TV sufferings a little bit this morning. Because no kidding: my feet had barely hit the floor this morning when I thought about what happened in last night’s episode, and I pretty much wanted to crawl right back between my covers.

And though it wasn’t at all intentional, I just realized that I’m wearing lots of black today.

Have mercy.