Archive for the ‘Review’ Category

A young filmmaker made a movie based on just that question, and it’s called (surprise) Divided.

His question is why our Christian young people are leaving the church at an alarming rate. Why are the much touted – oh yeah, and expensive – “youth ministries” failing?

Through interviews with youth, with youth pastors, and other Christian scholars, he explores what’s going wrong, what the Bible has to say, and what we need to do.

This is something that we talk about often, and feel very strongly about. God calls Fathers to disciple their children, and calls believers (all of them) to gather together in worship.

Get a cup of tea, take an hour, and watch this important movie.

It’s available free online until September 15th – just click the graphic below. (The DVD is also for sale).

I’m once again going to sing the praises of Hillbilly Creations…

Although her Etsy store usually has a cute market tote or two, and sometimes other fun things, my favorite things are all “customs” she’s created just for me.

In my last “batch” of sending her goodies to upcycle, she made an adorable purse for Jewel. (You can read the full review, and see photos of the rest of the lovely thing she made – HERE).

This time around I had a new challenge for her. I sent her a pair of Nick’s old camo cargo pants, and requested something a la the Market Tote that took advantage of the pants’ “coolness” in a lunch tote for Nick.

Wow! It’s everything I hoped for, and more… Look at all the cool stuff:

Cargo pockets as exterior pockets.

Pants waistband as shoulder strap.

Ankle zipper as bag closure.

And lined with an old pillowcase, for full upcycle flair!

This is not a sponsored, or even requested, blog post. I’m simply sharing the wonderful work of Hillbilly Creations. Oh, and by the way, Mrs. Davis is also the SAHM of a family who lost their home in a tornado a couple of years ago. Nice Christian family that you’ll help support!

Well, this has not been what one would call a raging success. And an expensive “learning experience”, to be sure.

I’ve been reading a lot lately about the advantages of Fermented Cod Liver Oil (FCLO) and Butter Oil for overall health, and specifically for dental health.

If you want to know what the heck I’m talking about, the Healthy Home Economist blog is a great place to start. You can read How I Healed My Child’s Cavity, then check out How to Get Your Child to Take Cod Liver Oil. The comments have treasure troves of great information, too!

It’s all based on the work of the late Dr. Weston Price (I’m reading his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration right now). You can find lots of resources on the Weston A. Price Foundation website, including “Cod Liver Oil Basics and Recommendations“.

So I clicked on over to the Green Pasture website, and ordered a bottle of Butter Oil, as well as a bottle of this:

**NEW**BLUE ICE™ Emulsified Fermented Cod Liver Oil – Peppermint**KID TESTED**

Sounds good, right?

Not so much.

With shipping, nearly $100. And the verdict?

I mixed the Butter Oil and the Cod Liver Oil together in a little medicine cup.

Nick, Wolf and I can slug it down, shudder, take a drink of milk, and go on with our lives. Jewel and R.T. have alternated doing okay with it, and gagging and spitting.

I tried mixing it in a little yogurt. To me it tasted pretty good, adding mostly a minty tinge to the yogurt flavor. R.T. said he didn’t like it much, but drank it down. Let’s just say Jewel was quite opposed.

The best solution on which we eventually settled? Slug the supplements out of the cup, take a drink of nice cold milk, then the Littles each have a little bit of Nutella on a spoon.

Am I excited about that junk food addition? No. But I think the supplements are important enough to outweigh that little bit, plus I hope they will grow more accustomed to it over time.

We ran into an additional bit of a challenge as we got to the last third of the bottle or so of the FCLO. Apparently I had not shaken it up well enough at each use, and it had separated. According to Green Pasture, this is normal, and the remaining product is still good quality. But that remainder is much more solid than what we had been using, and the texture was not appreciated by my crew.

I decided I could try to do better…

Foe my next order I selected the blend of Butter Oil and Cod Liver Oil, in two different formulations – capsules, and Chocolate Creme flavored gel. This order (with shipping), was over $100. Ack!

This is where I start getting really frustrated with their dosing information, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

The capsules are obviously the most palatable choice – but only for the adults. The poor kids are just learning to swallow pills, and these babies are pretty big – and you’d have to take a lot of them.

Speaking of having to take a lot of them, there’s the price factor. Wow, they charge a lot for putting the stuff in capsules!

• The blend gel costs about $0.51 per serving (based on their serving size, the one bottle price, and not counting shipping).
• The capsules? Over $0.78 per serving based on the same factors. Half again as much — AND their serving size is mysteriously not the same as the gel!
• Increasing from two to three+ capsules to get to that same dosage raises the cost to a whopping $1.17+ per serving. (And read on to see why you probably need to take eight capsules, costing $5.75!)

But I digress…

The kids can’t take the capsules.

So, chocolate sounds yummy, right?

No.

Remember that TV commercial for air freshener?

A wet dog walks in. The actress wrinkles up her nose and announces that it smells like a wet dog.

Then she sprays “the leading air freshener”, sniffs, and wrinkles up her nose again.

She announces that now it smells like a wet dog in a pine forest, since that band only tries to cover up odors (rather than actually removing them).

This is kind of like that…

This used to taste like nasty fish.

Now it tastes like a nasty fish dipped in chocolate.

Yeah. Eeeew.

So now I have some leftover Peppermint FCLO that is separated and unpalatable. And I have essentially the whole bottle of Chocolate CLO/Butter Oil Blend that’s just disgusting.

But the stuff is way too expensive to throw away. And I have come to believe it’s way too important to our health (especially given our kids’ dental issues) to give up.

Now what?

Luckily, Nick came up with a way to get the Chocolate blend down, although it does involve more junk:

Chocolate chips, chewed up, then spoon the supplement in on top, and swallow quickly before the supplement gets a chance to touch your tongue. Munch on a few more chocolate chips for good measure.

Just be careful not to smell the stuff, as that will definitely ruin your whole day. (Wolf says it reminds him of catfish food).

And let’s talk about dosing.

The Green Pasture products’ dosing recommendations don’t line up exactly with the ones from the Weston A. Price foundation, which is not too surprising.

What troubles me is that the Green Pasture doses aren’t consistent among themselves.

• The FCLO suggests a dose of 3/4 teaspoon.
• The Butter Oil suggests a dose of 1/2 teaspoon.
• The blend (which is 2/3 FCLO and and 1/3 Butter Oil), suggests a dose of 1/2 teaspoon! So 3/4 + 1/2 + gel = 1/2?
• And the capsules, even more inexplicably, contain that same blend, and list the suggested dose as “2 capsules (750 mg each)”. First of all, mg is weight, and tsp is volume, so there’s no direct conversion. But the FCLO lists an equivalency of 3.5g (3500 mg), and the Butter Oil 2.5g (2500 mg) – so based on those you would need 3 1/3 capsules just to reach the 1/2 tsp. blend dosage (as noted in my cost analysis above), and 8 capsules to get the full doses of each product by their individual listings.

Hmm.

I guess we’ll try some of the other options… The non-emulsified FCLO has a smaller dose, so that might be easier, for instance.

I’m just scared to try other flavors, now. It’s such a big investment in something with the potential to be so… so…

We are so thankful for our friends at AnytimeCostumes.com!

Last year, Jewel was able to review a lovely Princess Costume from them.

We just got this fun “Plus Size Hercules” costume for Nick! (He doesn’t want to be “Hercules”, just liked the gladiator look)

This is our first experience ordering Plus Size costume, and it did have its wrinkles. As I have found with any large sized clothes, sometimes they are simply extrapolated from the smaller size pattern, and the results miss a few key elements.

In this case, two noticeable things: The costume has some upper-arm bands that close with velcro, but would barely go around Nick’s arms (and popped off if he flexed!). And it had wrist bracers that were supposed to fit snugly, with a stretchy lyrca panel to allow them to slide on over your hands — Except that they were huge, and he could have worn them as upper-arm bands (you’ll notice their lack in the photo).

The costume itself was very well put together, from both an artistic and a construction standpoint. The shin guards were very clever, and the studded headband was a nice touch. (That’s one of Wolf’s collector swords, not a costume accessory)

We’ve had similar fit problems with some of the accessory pieces even on Jewel’s costumes over the years, so I didn’t find it particularly distressing. A one-size-fits-all solution just never is… but as a starting point, it sure gives me a lot of relief from both planning and sewing!

WIN YOUR OWN!

One lucky As For My House reader will win a costume of their choice from Anytime Costumes (up to a $50 value)!

Sorry, but you must have a USA mailing address for this giveaway. Make sure to leave your email address with each comment. (Used only to contact the winner. If your email is entered in the form it will be saved for me but not displayed).

1. Head on over to Anytime Costumes and leave a comment here telling me what you would pick if you won. (You can change your mind later, don’t worry!)

Extra Entries (leave separate comments for each). Once you have completed #1, you can earn additional entries by doing any or all of the following:

2. Become a Facebook Fan of Anytime Costumes, and Facebook NetworkedBlogs Follow As For My House.

3. Follow Tiffany and Anytime Costumes on Twitter.

4. Subscribe to As For My House in your favorite feed reader, or by email. (Current subscribers count, too!)

5. and 6. Post this giveaway to your Facebook wall (leave your Facebook name), or Tweet about it (and leave the link)! Each may be done daily for extra entries.

In addition to these, there are MANY more ways to earn extra entries. You know, all the usual stuff like sharing on Facebook, Tweeting, and so on? Just click over to our Giveaway Policy page for all the details!

This giveaway ends 8/7/11 at 11:59pm (Central), or more likely some time around 5 am the following morning when I log in again.

The winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on the blog, as well as contacted by email. Winner must respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be selected.

** Comments are now closed. Look for the winner to be announced soon! **

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I wanted to like this book. I really, really thought I would, and was looking forward to an exploration of a topic I feel very strongly about.

How the Wild Side of Jesus Frees Us to Live and Love with Abandon.

Sadly, this was not the book I was hoping to read.

The first problem for me was the style. Lisa Harper writes the entire book in a very informal, “chat over coffee” style. While that might be cute and even welcoming in a blog post, it is tedious and annoying for an entire book.

I also, personally, did not care for the way she modernized all the Biblical images and stories she told. Thing like referring to people texting each other, or Mary pulling out Jesus’ Middle School picture with the braces…

Some people might have enjoyed both of those choices. Just not me.

I did stick it out and keep reading, since I was so excited about the topic.

But, sadly, I was ultimately disappointed.

While Ms. Harper does touch on some of the topics of the “wild” and awesome character of Jesus, her treatment was shallow and lacked drama and compelling force.

And further, her Scripture references are almost all from such sources as The Message, and the New Living Translations. While paraphrases and dynamic equivalency translations may have a places in providing an additional perspective on something, they are not valid as a tool for an in-depth study of what God’s Word truly says.

Maybe searching her bibliography will send me on to some more hard-hitting books…

Everyone who ranks this review at the Waterbrook Multnomah website has a chance to randomly win a free copy of the book — Note that you’re rating my review, and not rating the book in question. (Plus, I appreciate you letting them know that you appreciate me!)

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My latest gift from the fine folks at Franklin Springs Family Media was the new family worship DVD, Gather the Family.

We eagerly sat down to watch the program together as a family, and we were not disappointed.

R.C. Sproul, Jr. was featured as the “subject matter expert”, outlining the Biblical truths of the call to family worship, as well as some of the struggles we face with it in the modern world.

The production of the program had a very nice flow to it. There was background and narration provided from a single set, providing a “home base” effect as we jumped back and forth around the country to visit with various families.

Says Franklin Springs,

Modern busy lifestyles conspire against families taking the time to gather together. But Gather the Family visits families across the country who are enjoying the benefits that abound when families take even a few minutes to worship God together during the week.

Far from a burden or drudgery, this film reveals the joy that emerges when family worship becomes a priority in the home.

Family worship holds the lasting value of building biblical truths in the foundation of a family. The experience also forges family unity in a uniquely rewarding way.

Often we were distracted (in a good way) from the content of the program (which we then backed up to catch) by noticing the lifestyle of the families being profiled.

Look, all the women and girls are wearing skirts! Even working in the dairy barn! Even climbing trees!

Look, they all have (or are working on) more than 1.14 children (the last average number I’ve seen for the U.S.).

So, we’re NOT the only people, after all… Whew!

But back to the program.

Wolf and I both really enjoyed the program, the ideas, and the perspectives of the various families.

There was one issue that rubbed us the wrong way, though, and is one of Wolf’s particular “hot button” issues. Oddly enough, it came from R.C. Sproul during his opening remarks.

I am not going to try and transcribe word-for-word from the DVD, but I believe a faithful rendering of the essence of the comment is as follows:

…that’s why I like the language of “family worship” better than “devotions.”

“Devotions” sounds like some duty you have to do, to show God that you like him a lot.

“Worship” is entering into His glory…

Here’s the thing, though:

He’s the Almighty, All-Powerful G O D.

Not only does He deserve our Worship, but He deserves our Devotion, too! (Remember that whole “bondservant” thing?)

This seems like a cop out. Like those people who want to “soften” the Gospel, and make their church more “seeker-friendly”. You wouldn’t want anyone in our modern society to feel “put off” by what you have to say, right?

Bah!

But please don’t get the wrong idea. Although he says this disagreeable thing early on, it is not an idea that pervades the program. And many of the families themselves do, in fact, call their time “devotions”.

I would still whole-heartedly recommend this DVD… The wonderful overall message of family worship, the ideas and inspiration provided by the families who are interviewed – it’s a wonderful blessing!

Introductory Offer!

For a limited time (not specified), Franklin Springs is offering a discount of “up to 25% off the MSRP” when you purchase the DVD from their website [HERE], and enter the following coupon code at checkout: GTF-NEWDISCOUNT.

What a great gift for your whole family!

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Having been covering my hair for awhile now, I am beginning to run across other situations that had never occurred to me as “issues” before.

Like swimming.

We don’t go swimming much… Public beaches and water-parks are just too immodest for any of us to feel comfortable.

But I do want the children to learn to swim… For safety when they may be near water (fishing, boating, etc.), or even the occasional time we may want to go swimming – in a quiet “swimming hole,” at a friend’s house, who knows?

Jewel had some lessons last year through the local public pool, and I was excited to see that this year we were in time to sign her up for lessons at the base pool. When we went for registration, we learned that they also have “Mommy/Daddy & Me” lessons for R.T.’s age.

Hmmmm.

Suddenly my “it doesn’t matter” solution of just wearing a bandanna headcovering when we were near the water (something I could easily care for if it happened to get wet) didn’t seem to get the job done. A soaked bandanna is clearly not going to stay put when I’m swishing around in the pool with R.T.

I was delighted to find Princess Modest Swimwear. An Israeli company, they provide modest swimwear with an eye towards traditional Jewish modesty requirements – including headcoverings.

I picked out this one, “Aqua and Black”, which goes with the makeshift swim outfit I am wearing this season. (Swimwear, yeah, that’s got to be an entire separate post, don’t you think?)

It is essentially an ordinary lycra swim cap in the base color, with a black triangle “bandanna” of peachskin microfiber (the quick-drying stuff that men’s swim suits are often made of) sewn along one edge. You can then wrap and tie it in a variety of ways.

Looks cute, dries quickly, and it’s even SPF 50+.

My only concern was one that is, while of course not “unique,” certainly one that most of you needn’t worry about – it’s One Size Fits All.

As I explained to someone recently (someone else who sold clothing items, who should have known better!), being tall makes a lot of difference in everything. Someone who is six feet tall is simply proportionately bigger in every respect than someone who is five feet tall. So, while of course everyone is shaped differently, overall the taller person will tend to have a bigger shoe size, a bigger wrist measurement for bracelets, and – yeah – a bigger hat size. (And on top of that I do have quite a bit of hair).

I exchanged a few emails and a phone call with Galia, the owner of Princess Modest Swimwear, who proved knowledgeable and very sweet. She described the fit, said that it was roomier than last year’s, and suggested I check out the photos of the woman in the purple suit on the website, who had very big hair. In the end, though, she didn’t want me to purchase it if I was going to wind up unhappy.

Given all that, I decided to purchase it, with the clearly stated intention that I would take the chance, give her feedback on the fit either way, and pass it on to bless someone else if it turned out not to fit. That’s where you come it – skip down to the bottom if you can’t wait!

The magic of Google allowed me to find a lycra swim cap in an XL size (in a cute coordinating print, even), which is working out very well for actual pool usage. (Heads-up if you go on such a search – sites that have swim caps also often carry advertisements for swim suits, and not modest ones, either!)

I can certainly see, though, that if I was going to be spending the day with Wolf and Jewel while they fished (not my thing), or similarly “hanging out” in a possibly-wet-but-not-swimming setting, it would be nice to have the additional “scarf” piece to reduce the possibly dorky I’M A SWIM CAP look.

Maybe Galia will take pity on me,
and offer an XL size next year!

BUY IT!

Order your own stylish Swim Head Covering directly from Princess Modest Swimwear.

As of today (disclaimer just in case someone digs this up later) they sell for $14, with Free Shipping in Israel, or $5 Shipping anywhere else in the world.

WIN IT!

One lucky As For My House reader will win their own Aqua/Black Swim Head Covering

This is the one that I ordered to check out. It has only been tried on, never worn out of the house or around water…

Make sure to leave your email address with each comment. (Used only to contact the winner. If your email is entered in the form it will be saved for me but not displayed).

1. Leave a comment here letting me know what you currently do (or don’t do!) about headcovering in the water.

Extra Entries (leave separate comments for each).

Once you have completed #1, you can earn additional entries by doing any or all of the following.

2. Become a Facebook Fan of Princess Modest Swimwear.

3. Subscribe to As For My House in your favorite feed reader, or by email. (Current subscribers count, too!)

4. and 5. Post this giveaway to your Facebook wall (leave your Facebook name), or Tweet about it (and leave the link)! Each may be done daily for extra entries.

In additon to these, there are MANY more ways to earn extra entries. You know, all the usual stuff like sharing on Facebook, Tweeting, and so on? Just click over to our Giveaway Policy page for all the details!

This giveaway ends 7/11/2011 at 11:59pm (Central), or more likely some time the following morning when I log in again. (If you can still leave a comment, you can still enter).

The winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on the blog, as well as contacted by email. Winner must respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be selected. I will ship to your U.S. mailing address only. You may choose to pay the difference if you would like insurance, or shipping to anywhere else – Canada, Costa Rica, or wherever!

** This giveaway is now closed. Look for the winner to be announced in a separate post. **

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I have been wanting to try Palm Oil for a while now, after reading about it more and more on the natural / whole food and cooking blogs I enjoy. It was perfect timing when my good friends at Tropical Traditions offered to send me a jar to review!

Here’s what I got:

Virgin Palm Oil – Organic – 32 oz. – 1 quart

(Clicking that link above will take you to their product page, which has a ton of information about Palm Oil in general, and the benefits of it, as well as their particular variety and processing information).

For many of their products, they have numerous recipes on the website, but not so many for this one.

Although I had a few specific ideas in mind, we did also try it out in our usual bread recipe, as well.

The bread came out with a gorgeous yellow color, and it had a distinct flavor to it as well… I joked that it tasted like a palm tree, but I meant it in a good way. LOL!

We did the same thing with pizza crust. It (of course) had the same beautiful, rich color. In that context, the taste was totally lost in the spices and excitement.

I have yet to try the thing I was most excited about… The Popcorn that Wardeh from GNOWFGLINS demonstrates in her video:

Want to try it? Tropical Traditions has a free gift for you through their Referral Program:

If you are a new customer, as an As For My House reader you will receive a complimentary copy of the book Virgin Coconut Oil: How it has changed people’s lives and how it can change yours! by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy with your order. This book is filled with testimonies and research showing how healthy coconut oil is, and it also includes over 85 recipes showing how one can incorporate coconut into their diet.

Just select “Referred by a friend” when asked, and in the box that says “How did you hear of us?” enter my Sponsor ID number: 5689476.

…and be sure to come back and share your results!
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As you watch the program, it does have some earmarks of being made much earlier in the filmmakers’ careers, such as less money for staging, less smooth editing, and that funny camera man in the background of some of the shots…

But the material it presents is still engaging and useful. Many people will probably also enjoy Serene’s “whimsical and entertaining style”, although personally it wasn’t my favorite.

With a keen awareness of the situation, Franklin Springs continue to offer the DVD for sale, but they have it priced at only $9.95. Thanks, guys!

I would have preferred a few more specifics and recipes be included, especially since her cookbook is out of print and not as inexpensive or easy to get as one might wish.

Serene has some great background information on the consequences of unhealthy eating, and some vivid metaphors to help folks understand why things need to change. Then she offers some good overarching principles for eating better, and strategies for incorporating more raw foods (the “secret” to health!) into your diet.

I would venture a guess that anyone who reads my blog is probably interested in this topic, and unless you’re already well down the road of raw food, you’re likely to get some useful tips from this pleasant little encounter.

BUY IT!

Order it directly from Franklin Springs: Rejuvenate with Serene DVD for only $9.95, or as part of the Above Rubies combo pack including (her mother!) Nancy Campbell’s DVD The Family Meal Table.

WIN IT!

One lucky As For My House reader will win their own copy of Rejuvenate with Serene!

Make sure to leave your email address with each comment. (Used only to contact the winner. If your email is entered in the form it will be saved for me but not displayed).

1. Leave a comment here sharing where you are on your journey to healthy eating – whether you are just finding out about it and want to get started, or whether you’re already growing your own food and cooking from scratch full-time!

Extra Entries (leave separate comments for each).

Once you have completed #1, you can earn additional entries by doing any or all of the following.

2. Become a Facebook Fan of Franklin Springs Family Media.

3. Subscribe to As For My House in your favorite feed reader, or by email. (Current subscribers count, too!)

4. and 5. Post this giveaway to your Facebook wall (leave your Facebook name), or Tweet about it (and leave the link)! Each may be done daily for extra entries.

6. enter the Amazing Grace CD Giveaway, then leave a comment here letting me know you did.

In additon to these, there are MANY more ways to earn extra entries. You know, all the usual stuff like sharing on Facebook, Tweeting, and so on? Just click over to our Giveaway Policy page for all the details!

BE QUICK!! This giveaway ends 6/20/2011 at 11:59pm (Central), or more likely some time the following morning when I log in again. (If you can still leave a comment, you can still enter).

The winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on the blog, as well as contacted by email. Winner must respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be selected. Your DVD will ship directly from Franklin Springs.

*** Comments are now closed. Look for the winner to be announced soon in a separate post. ***

I was delighted when I got an email from Discovery House asking me if I would like to host a review and giveaway for the CD Amazing Grace: Celtic Hymns & Blessings. Not everyone “gets it”, but I always joke that in a way I do have Celtic roots, since my heritage is Viking.

Anyhow, the CD is every bit as delightful as I hoped it would be.

Both singing and instrumentals are soothing, and have a typical Celtic sound to them. In an era of rock guitar and a thumping beat, this was a very calming interlude.

Production quality is excellent, and I have no complaints! (Wow, how often do I get to say that?)

You can listen to samples of the various songs on Amazon.com by clicking through the banner above, and you can order the CD directly from there, as well.

Make sure to leave your email address with each comment. (Used only to contact the winner. If your email is entered in the form it will be saved for me but not displayed).

1. Leave a comment here telling me the first thing that comes to mind when “Celtic” is mentioned.

Extra Entries (leave separate comments for each).

Once you have completed #1, you can earn additional entries by doing any or all of the following.

2. Subscribe to As For My House in your favorite feed reader, or by email. (Current subscribers count, too!)

3. and 4. Post this giveaway to your Facebook wall (leave your Facebook name), or Tweet about it (and leave the link)! Each may be done daily for extra entries.

5. Enter the Rejuvenate with Serene DVD Giveaway, then comment here letting me know you did.

In additon to these, there are MANY more ways to earn extra entries. You know, all the usual stuff like sharing on Facebook, Tweeting, and so on? Just click over to our Giveaway Policy page for all the details!

This giveaway ends 6/19/2011 at 11:59pm (Central), or more likely some time the following morning when I log in again. If you can still leave a comment, you can enter!

The winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on the blog, as well as contacted by email. Winner must respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be selected. Your CD will ship directly from the sponsor.

*** Comments are now closed. Look for the winner to be announced soon in a separate post. ***