a lovely composition, just a little too dark MO, I would lighten it just a fraction, and crop a bit off the bottom to loose the light bits there.

I agrre - it's hard to kame out the beautiful vase

great job gl

Lol @ sell kids

Nice, if it was mine I would increase the contrast and lighten it a little.

Just a bit more contrast to pull up the notes.

better

Definitely sell the kids!

Sell kids LOL Win lottery and don't think about work!

Beautiful

I like the lights

I would have cropped out the side so you didn't see the flash and then bump up the contrast just a hair.

Love the "gloves." I agree with k5683 about the cropping

Welcome to the world of photography! I myself am a beginner and use Picasa sometimes. You should also give the photo some contrast and shadow, you can do this in Picasa. Use the auto contrast button and slide the shadow bar until you get some depth in your photo. I don't like to use the glow as it removes focus and makes your photo soft (it works well on face close up but not much else). Hope this helps! Good luck in your journey!

Thanks for the tips!

BTW, you can edit your photo and resubmit it. Just go to My Stuff then to My Contest Entries under the photo click edit entry and upload your edited one. Be sure to check the hi-res at the bottom of the page.

I entered too late to win anyway but thank you SO much for all the tips!!

Welcome, I quite agree with rbsgrl, and it's not too late to change the photo, uploading doesn't finish until the end of the week.
You could also consider re-shooting, there is something about the composition that bothers me. Think about the flowerpot being it's side and the writing which is very appropriate is a little disconcerting being upside down.
good Luck

I agree with the comments above. There's just not enough color in the banana.