::: and the winner... :::

...of the book Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham goes to...

GRACE!

The Baby was involved in an emotional breakdown when it was time to draw names, so Bo did the honors.

Congratulations, Grace. I really believe this book will serve you well. E-mail me with the address you want me to send it to!

::: i am (one of) the runner-up champion(s), my friend :::

Woohoo! I'm so happy to announce that my daughters' bedroom makeover project was runner-up in the My Sister's Farmhouse 30-Day Mini-Makeover contest! The first prize went to Sarah, whose fabulous faux-bricks look like the real thing. There were two other runners-up as well; Lisa, who revamped some lovely lamps, and Carol, who mastered a makeover of her living room.

Thanks, Rechelle, for a fun motivator to getting a major project done--and under budget, too!

::: a million miles in a thousand years winner :::

This morning, I printed out the responses for the new Donald Miller Book and had The Baby choose one at random. And she chose...

Truevyne! 

Congrats, dear True! E-mail me at todayslessons AT gmail DOT come with your address and I'll whisk it on its way. I wish I had a copy of the book for each of you!

::: honey & jam :::

The talented Hannah at honey & jam will wow you with her beautiful photos. Hannah is a 19-year-old homeschool graduate who mashed her loves of photography and baking together to create a scrumdiliumciosis blog. If you go and visit her now, you'll find that she's hosting a generous giveaway--a $40 gift card to King Arthur Flour. Even though I'm minimizing MY chances of scoring that card by sharing this little tidbit with you, I'm doing it anyway because I think you'll like her that much, and how can I keep something so great all to myself?

Go visit her blog and enter that contest. I'll be here when you get back.

*Photo by Hannah.

Calling All Organic Gardeners: The Forty-Eight Hour Contest

On Saturday, I will be giving a presentation on organic gardening for the home gardener at our local public library as part of an Everyday Organic program and would be pleased as punch if you would send me your very favorite organic gardening tips. What works for you? What doesn't? What is your favorite home-gardening tool? Book? Website? Mulch? I would love tips on everything from pest control, to soil enhancement/management, to weed control, from veggie gardening, to flower gardening, to natural landscaping. 

I'll choose one name at random from the comments to send a fun gardening care package featuring some of my favorite seeds (including a few from my home garden), a Mary Jane's Farm magazine and some other excellent gardening stuff. 

Offer ends at midnight on Friday, so comment now, and spread the word!