$10,000 Home Makeover Semifinalists Announced!

And then there were nine! That's right, our $10,000 Home Makeover contest is now down to just nine semifinalists.

When real estate guru, Life Goes Strong guest blogger, and home makeover contest judge Barbara Corcoran first alerted readers to our contest, asking for inspiring tales of life change as it relates to their homes, we were inundated with your stories. And each story was seemingly more inspiring than the next. Many of you have undergone serious changes as you've hit midlife. And while some of these changes have been joyous (a new grandchild; kids entering college) others have been very difficult and unexpected (illness; death of a spouse) – the type of change that can make us truly value the things we do have.

After reading the essays of our nine semifinalists, one of our readers seemed to sum up your stories AND our intentions perfectly: "I enjoyed reading through the entries," she wrote. "It is interesting to me how we have all endured hardships. It makes me wonder if that is a key factor in Life Going STRONG!!"

Not only can you now read the stories of the nine semifinalists, you can have a hand in deciding which of these nine will make it to our final three. The ultimate winner (to be decided by Barbara Corcoran) will receive a $10,000 Home makeover, while the two runner ups will each receive $1,000 makeover. So check out the entries, and start voting now!