Other articles by Martha Phifer:

Show off your project and win big Don't buy pricey pillows; learn how to make them Adjust shutters with touch of button

Health Care
FRONT OFFICE Trades/Construction
Lectra-Serv, Inc
Electricians & Helpers General
Prestige maintenance USA
Custodian Trades/Construction
Pioneer Landscaping
Yard Person/Loader Operator Administrative & Professional
Tucson Symphony
Teleservices Sales/Courtesy Rep Mechanical
Pioneer Landscaping
Diesel Fleet Mechanic Production and Manufacturing
Pioneer Landscaping
Crushing Crew

Everyone believes you when you say you weren't trying to show off when you did all those extravagant home-improvement projects. But just in case you would like some well-deserved recognition, here's a contest you can enter.

Better Homes and Gardens is taking submissions for the 2008 Home Improvement Challenge. Sponsored by Wells Fargo and others, the contest awards creative home-improvement and remodeling efforts of any size in nine categories: additions, bath, decorating, exterior face-lifts, green improvements, kitchen, outdoor improvement, projects less than $5,000 and renovation.

The grand-prize winner of the challenge will receive $40,000 in cash and will be featured in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens and on a national TV show. The prize for the winner of each category is $2,500 in cash.

You can see last year's winner in the September issue of Better Homes and Gardens, on sale Aug. 19.

Entries will be accepted through Jan. 31.

Details: bhg.com/challenge.

Book report

You know you always peek inside your neighbor's home whenever you notice the door is open. And as soon as he catches you, you pretend you weren't looking.

Well, because you're that nosy, or rather, interested in learning more about the way other Americans live, flipping through the pages of "America at Home: A Close-Up Look at How We Live" (Running Press; $40; hardcover) by Rick Smolan and Jennifer Erwitt might satisfy your curiosity.

A collaborative project compiled by professional and amateur photographers, the book is a visual presentation of what "home" means to Americans across the 50 states. Its 250 photos are a sample of the 250,000 images submitted during a seven-day period from participants documenting the way Americans live, work and play at home. Photos capture intimate moments, emotions and rituals that take place inside mobile homes, treehouses, tenement houses, ranches, retirement homes and McMansions. Facts and statistics about family life are scattered throughout the book and help put the photos in perspective.

Photos are divided into five chapters: Home as Your Sanctuary, Home and Your Obsessions, Home as Your Workplace, Home and Your Companions, and Home and Celebrations, with each featuring an essay by a prominent writer.

Readers can customize the book cover with their own photo by going online to myamericaathome.com.