Call in to this radio show, Saturday please...

I promised my friend, Allen that I would put in a plug to encourage people to call in to his radio show.

Would you be able to call in a home improvement question to him this Saturday? He can handle any kind of questions. The show airs Saturday from 9-11 AM Central time, so be sure to calculate the time difference.

It's even a toll free number! 800-946-4420.

Here's a little taste of what he's doing when he's not doing the radio show.

Allen and I used to work together for a residential builder in Southern California. Now he's back living in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama and traveling the countryside as co-host on the TV Show - Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford. I'm sure you'll pick up on the accent if you call in or watch the show. It doesn't air in Phoenix, but could be on locally where you are. If you go here you can enter your zip code and see if it airs in your area.

Now I'm sure there's some burning question that you'd love to get an answer for, so give him a call Saturday.

And the winner is...

Thank you to all who commented on my book review and give-away from July 16th for the book Love as a Way of Life by Dr. Gary Chapman.

As promised, I gathered all the names from the post and asked my husband to choose one out of a hat (o.k., it was a bowl) . So...the winner is...(long pause)

...my old friend (but not as old as me) Allen Lyle. Just a little background on Allen. I met him when I worked for a residential construction company in Valencia, CA. I think it was about 15 years ago, but really can't remember exactly the year. It was a high stress job doing customer service for new high-end homes in a very hot market and everyone in the customer service and construction departments became best of friends because we all worked very hard and depended on each other to get things done. I'm still in touch with many of them even now. I was looking thru photos the other day and came across this one from a Valencia Company Christmas party. Allen is the one on the far left. (notice the Alabama sweatshirt) and that quartet did an amazing job!

Allen was only in So Cal a few years, then decided to move back to his hometown of Mobile, Alabama (yes, he has a southern accent).

Since moving back we touch base about once a year or so and he has enjoyed much success in many areas. He is now the producer and co-host of an Emmy-nominated TV show called "Today's Homeowner". I'm very proud to say that I know him! Congratulations Allen, on the Emmy nomination and on winning the book drawing (which is just about as important).

And guess what everyone? I decided that I would give away a 2nd copy of the book too! Terry drew and the second winner is Jenni D. I also know Jenni from So Cal. We met at Placerita Baptist Church and enjoyed many wonderful times together as friends and families. We also had such fun being aunt and uncle to their kids, Noah and Danni, since their extended family was not nearby. Now, I'm sad to say that I looked for a photo of them and could only find this old one that doesn't include Danni. It's pretty embarrassing to say that I have probably dozens and dozens of photos of them and can only find this one. Of course, there are at least 15 boxes of photos to search thru that are obviously not organized at all. (That project is getting moved up on my list.) So Jenni, if you show this to the kids please tell Danni I'm sorry that I don't have her picture here and tell Noah that I realize that he's a much more grown up young man than we see here. You and Dave look great, so no apologies there.

The books will go out this week. And by the way, stay tuned because sometime in the next month, I'll be reviewing (and giving away) some children's books that would make great gifts for kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, etc.

And don't forget, you can't win if you don't play!

Another one of our talented friends:
(I worked with Allen for a few years when we lived in California.)

Here's a message he wanted me to pass along to my friends. That's you.

I wanted to send out this general message to everyone to publish the fact that I will be returning to television beginning this fall. Some of you know that I am the Producer for the nationally-syndicated remodeling show, Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford ®. Our tenth season of airing nationally kicks off the first week of October and I will be co-hosting the show. You can check out the company web site at www.dannylipford.com and click on the "Today's Homeowner" link on the far left side to see a list of the 9th season shows.

I also wanted to send out this message to see if anyone out there would like to submit a video question to be shown on the show. One of the new elements I'm incorporating into the 10th season is a segment called "Ask Danny." Homeowners from across the country will send in a video (it can be a Windows Media File emailed to me) asking Danny a simple question on the trials of home ownership, such as why can't I keep mold off the bathroom ceiling or how can I save more on my energy bill, etc. I can email anyone an example showing you the first question of the 10th season from Jan Prouty of Irvine, KY (by way of Mobile, AL).

At any rate, if you could spread the word among your friends, I'd love to start processing some of these questions right away. For those whose questions are used on the air, we'll be sending you a Today's Homeowner cap or T-shirt. So get your camcorders out and tape a question (must be under 10 seconds) and email it to me at alyle19@yahoo.com !

Please tune in for the show. You can check the local listings for your area on our web site, too. Or, if it doesn't come on wherever you happen to live, we'll be having the full episodes online the week after they air nationally.