(I wrote this blog in March and thought it would be interesting to see if it still holds my interest in December. Present day comments in italics)
Barley:
I made barley yesterday. Barley was unknown to me and to anybody I know as a stand-alone food. The closest we came to knowing barley was in some soups from Progresso. I bought a package labeled “pearled barley,” put the contents in a pot with water to cover and let it simmer. When the water was completely absorbed, I added the juice of two lemons. (Lemon juice is my go-to cooking accessory.) The result was unremitting good tasting stuff. It was chewy and tart. Lemon infused barley can become addictive, as in you can’t stop eating it. Barley is like Cinderella. You have to dress it up to make it stand out. It absorbs whatever flavor you put into it. I choose lemon. Adding raisins would also be good. When you see barley in the deli counter it is often paired with cranberries. Don’t ever buy deli barley. Make your own.
(This barley editorial took the barley love out of me. Haven't eaten it since.)
Betheny & Jason
Last night, at a dinner party with really smart , well-bred people, (nobody says well-bred anymore) I started blabbing about the reality show Bethany Ever After. I used to like Bethany when she was on The Real Housewives of New York City. She was the nearest to sane (yes, including Alex who finally came undone) The craziest one is, hands down, Kelly, who is dangerously insane. Anyway, Bethe ny, who had happily alienated all the other women got her own show last fall. Because she often goes to the hidden truth of a situation (she once told her male assistant to pack some of her underwear for a trip and when he hesitated she said, “They’re clean. It’s not as if my vagina was still in them.”) I like to watch Bethany. THEN SOMETHING AWFUL HAPPENED. This very hip, kind of whiny girl with a dark parental past who goes to the best shrink MARRIED (shriek) JASON. Everything Jason says is cool-like as in leather-like or “I can’t believe it’s not butter.” In other words he is trying. I don’t mind people who try (I try) but I very much mind people who are trying but don’t know it and keep on going and think they are the real deal and get all excited and happy and think they are a big hit.
(I learned to spell Betheny, Alex and Kelly were dumped from the show, still feel the same about Jason.)
Jobs that bring happiness:
Like some people I get most of my news from the Yahoo home page. A few days ago Yahoo identified the five top jobs that bring happiness.
1) Biotechnology worker
2) Customer service
3) Education
4) Admin-Clerical
5) Purchasing Agent
The people who troll the internet and comment had things to say about this list.
Customer service # 2 ????? Yeah, right....nothing like taking abuse from pissed off customers all day long for $9.00 an hour.
Customer service? Who the hell put this list together? Leave it to Yahoo for another stupid list of bullsh*t!
Then there were the zen commenters who were in their own serene world
Love is an acquired phenomenum.
The funniest people I know are homeless, they laugh all the way back to the bridge. And lovable. It’s like a Christmas card.
The job that brought the least happiness? Legal work.
(For myself,this has been one of the happiest years of my life. I love blogging, I love selling e-books, I love the serendipity of life and I love my grandchildren.)
Compliments
Why do I feel uncomfortable when someone is nice to me? It’s like wearing the worst itchy sweater in a hot room. Just received this fabulous review for Daughters and instead of feeling overjoyed, I felt uncomfortable. Somebody slap me.
(Not much has changed but there's something to add. One of my books gets really nasty reviews only on Amazon U.S.: "This book sucks," "Worst book ever," "Good book, dumb ending," My favorite of these says,"the dumb thing fell off a cliff and I couldn't get it back." This book is also my best selling book - even in slow months, it sells 60 or more ebooks a day.
Business
My internet business is chugging along. In March, my sales rose to 250 books, more than twice what I did in February. Part of it is due to pricing. I tried the 99 cent experiment with “Best Friends” and sold 140 books. I’m getting to be pretty good at marketing.
(In April Amazon accepted my Kindle Single, Thinner Thighs In Thirty Years, and my sales jumped dramatically on all the titles. Since then monthly sales have not dropped below 500. In November with the success of putting Best Friends up for "free" sales for that title alone have topped 1,000. I don't know if this trend will continue but again, I love the serendipity.
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