E.J. Divitt's Blog, page 6

Third Party Review

I was ego surfing and I came across a review of my Things Every Goddess Should Know book that completely warmed my heart. The reviewer absolutely got what I was trying to say.

https://readersfavorite.com/book-revi...

Here is a quote from the review:

"The book also shatters the myth of perfection and being perfect, instead telling readers to pursue excellence. To search for colors in every person instead of their sunset is again another piece of inspiring advice and reiterates the fact that all us can make a difference to the world."

Thank you, Reviewer. We have never met but right now I feel very close to you. I feel as though you have reached across cyber space and said, "I get you." I love hearing that you found something of value in my book because my book is a part of me.

Hard Work Is Often The Early Indicator Of Good Luck

"I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." This quote is generally attributed to Thomas Jefferson but many believe it was actually author Coleman Cox that came up with this line. Whomever it was, they were very wise.

Luck, coincidence, fate; whatever word you chose, there are definitely things beyond our control. We can not predict the bus breaking down or the washing machine hose letting go and flooding us with water. We can not tell the exact right time to be standing in front of that building to bump into the one person who can make all of our dreams come true.

We can work hard to help get us to that correct place. We can check that washer hose in advance to make sure it is not worn out. We can check the bus schedule so we have a better idea of when to leave. We can work hard to make sure we are practicing our skills and getting our name out so some one has a better chance of finding us.

If you want a better job, work on developing your skills. Send out those resumes. Get on to networking sites. If you want to be a writer, than write. Dancers should dance even if it is in a small production. Take the time to make the contacts; to do the work. Work hard and there is a much better chance that the rest will follow.

Working hard without seeing results can be frustrating. You may find yourself wanting to quit. Before you do, make sure you truly have done the work you need in order to get lucky. If you are just waiting for blind luck, you are a pretty small target in a universe of possible places to land. If you are doing the work and putting in the time, you make yourself a bigger target and that may make all the difference.

Sometimes You Have To Move To Move On

Any one who has ever been told to just let it go or to get over it knows that it is not nearly that easy. Some times you are faced every day with reminders. You see your ex at the grocery store or the person who got your promotion every day at work. The adult grown up thing to do is get over it but inside we are all children in some way.

Some times the most adult responsible thing is not what you need to do to heal and move on.

Some times you need to do the childish thing and get away from it.

Maybe your ex invited you to their wedding. You don't want to seem bitter or like you are not over them so you force your self to go. Don't do it. There is nothing wrong with refusing to put yourself through it.

Maybe you live in a small town and the object of your misery crosses your path constantly. If it hurts you, then there is nothing wrong with leaving.

You can change gyms, change jobs or even addresses if that is what your heart needs. I'm not saying to screw up your future by leaving a good job or your dream home. I am saying to think about whether you are happy there. Do you really like that gym or have you just always gone there? Does that job suit you or is it just a paycheck?

Maybe you need to look for another job or another apartment. Maybe you need to give yourself permission to move where you are in your life so you can move on in your heart.

A Promise Should Always Be Kept

I have a big problem with broken promises. I admit it is partly my own personal history so some may say that I bring my own personal baggage to it but I don't think that it makes a broken promise any better.
If you promise to do something, you should do so with the full intention of carrying through. If you only think you can do it, than say so. If you have no intention of doing it, then say so.
"I promise" should be a sworn oath. It should mean something. It should stand on its own and stand tall.
Things happen sometimes. Life intrudes. Mistakes happen and sometimes through no fault of your own, you can not complete or keep your promise. That is different. That is understandable.
What drives me to distraction is those people that use promise when they mean maybe or say promise but then break that promise because they just did not feel like following through or because there wasn't enough in it for them. Whether the promise is flat out spoken or heavily implied--for example, yes, I will do that or yes, you can do that--it is still a promise.
Don't break you promise.
Don't be that person.
Don't be that inconsiderate, selfish, obnoxious person.
Be the kind of person that your word is solid. Your word has weight and meaning and depth. Let your grave stone list you as a person who could always be relied upon. I can think of no better epitaph than to be a good person who could be relied upon.

I Don't Believe In Soulmates

The idea of a soulmate is wonderful. The idea that the Lord has put this one perfect person on the Earth created just for you; it is intoxicating really. You are so important that there has been a perfect partner created just for you.
I have a problem with the idea of one perfect soulmate for several reasons.

What if you miss them?
What if there is one perfect person out there for you and you are having a bad day or feeling bruised from a prior relationship or they just aren't as tall as you thought they would be and you miss them? Does this mean you never get another chance at being truly happy?

If they are meant for you, then you will not miss them.
So I have no control over my life? I don't get to decide if I want to be with someone? They are already chosen for me and my free will means nothing? What other decisions do I make that I think are mine but are really just me acting out my role as puppet? Is it only the big stuff or is even my breakfast choice predetermined into the master plan?

What if they die?
I've been to too many funerals not to wonder what happens if your soulmate dies. Does this mean you never get to be truly happy ever again or do you get a second one? And if you get a second one then how is there one perfect soulmate? Are there levels--the perfect one, the almost perfect one, etc.?

If you think you are destined to be together, you may not work on the relationship. Relationships are hard work. Even with someone you love desperately there are conflicts and compromises and accommodations that must be made. The idea of soulmates makes it sound easy and it is not. My spouse and I know that our relationship is worth the work and that taking care of each other and our marriage is important.

I believe that in this world there are many wonderful people that suit you; many more that would make for a perfectly nice relationship. There are hundreds of possible good relationships. I believe you should wait for a person that you love, some one with whom you are compatible; someone that understands and values the relationship and most importantly, that it is not some one you are trying to change or for whom you are willing to settle. I'm not saying settle; never settle. I am saying do not be so consumed with looking for the perfect match that you miss the almost perfect one that is willing to work hard to make you happy. I don't believe in soulmates but I believe in life mates.

Getting To Audio

     After weeks of back and forth--months if you count picking a narrator--I clicked the final submit button on the audiobook version of Things Every Goddess Should Know. The final audio is off to ACX for approval. This is my first attempt at an  audiobook so I have no idea how long this process will take or what to expect from them. The website says it will be anything from 3 to 10 days for approval and then 10 to 15 business days until the audiobook starts showing up on places like Audible or iTunes. It makes it hard to decide on things like asking reviewers to listen to the book. ACX is going to give me copies to pass out to reviewers but not until everything is settled and I don't know when that will be.
     In many ways, this is a giant experiment. Can my book capture the attention of audiobook audiences? I am proud of it and believe it is full of great advice but will anyone else think so? Will they like my choice in narrator? Is it worth putting my other nonfiction titles on audio? Should I focus instead on getting my fiction books into print? And by focus, I mean get them ready to be released at all? I currently have 4 fiction manuscripts in the draft stage in my computer and/or desk drawer and I am working on another one. It drives my husband a little crazy that I have not done much of anything with them.
    I guess I just have to wait and see on the audiobook and whittle away at the fiction books. I like to know things though. I like time tables or rough estimates. I like to know what is coming and what is expected of me. If someone could show me the path, I would follow it but it seems instead that I will continue to stumble forward, metaphorical flashlight in hand waiting to see what is coming.

Farm Share Dessert

We got two Fuji apples in our farm share this week and Hungry Girl's newsletter included an "Apple Pie Bites" recipe that called for Fuji apples. It seemed like the perfect pairing so I had to do it. It was quick to make and pretty tasty. The fillo shells have a definite crunch to them and the apples are soft and just a little sweet. My husband and I ate the whole 15 pies ourselves even though it says that makes five servings. I would absolutely do them again. Here is the link directly to Hungry Girl (just scroll down) and I have pasted their recipe below.


Hungry Girl Recipe

Apple Pie Bites  1/5th of recipe (3 bites): 58 calories, 1g fat, 26mg sodium, 11.5g carbs, 1g fiber, 4g sugars, 1.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 2*

Teeny-tiny apple pies with HUGE flavor… Who knew these could be so easy to make?Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes Ingredients:
15 frozen mini fillo shells
1 1/4 cups Fuji apple (or another sweet apple) chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar (not packed)
Seasonings: cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place shells on a baking sheet, and bake until lightly browned and crispy, 3 - 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium-large microwave-safe bowl, top apple with brown sugar and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Stir to coat. Cover and microwave for 2 minutes, or until apple has softened.

Fill shells with apple mixture.

MAKES 5 SERVINGS

Continuing Adventures In Farm Shares

We once again have a working oven so the farm share adventures continue. This week we got cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, more beets, naval oranges, fuji apples, collard greens and an eggplant as well as two lemons.

We repeated the earlier cabbage and chorizo recipe the first night as well as roasted the broccoli.

Roasted Broccoli
Chop up a head of broccoli
Toss it in a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

It is an easy and straight forward recipe that seems to work well with a lot of vegetables.

The brussels sprouts were brand new to me. I have never had brussels sprouts before so I went with something that would provide extra flavors if the brussels sprouts proved too bitter.

We did not have Parmesan so we used Romano cheese which made it a little sharper. We quartered the brussels sprouts and I think we would cut them smaller in the future. Over all not a bad side.

Here is the recipe I used; just remember to cut the bitter ends of the sprout first.

http://www.thegardenofeating.org/2011...

Adventures In Farm Shares--Week Two

Week two got off to a pretty rocky start. We got the new bunch of vegetables from the farm share box on Wednesday. That night we chopped up kale, red chard, red cabbage and onions and sauteed them with garlic. Meanwhile, I was going to roast beets. I had everything ready to go and set the oven to preheat. Only it never did.
The igniter on our stove died.
We ended up sauteing the beets into the rest of the vegetables that my husband was frying up. The beets were not cooked enough. It had a deep rich flavor but was hard to chew.
The next night we opened a can of chili and mixed the vegetables in. It actually was pretty good. It tasted like the usual can of chili for the most part with some extra crunch mixed in.
We are not getting a new stove for a week and a half so we are restricted to what we can do on the stove top. If the weather decides to improve, maybe we can grill but it is snowing now.
We got potatoes and broccoli and beets this week; all of which cry out to be roasted. Here are the recipes I had planned to try.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/fo...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gu...

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipes/ove...

Instead we are sauteing what we can and I baked a potato in the microwave to go with my chicken for lunch yesterday. It is not the week we wanted and I think we will just be sauteing things together all week so they don't go bad. Not very exciting but at least we are still eating vegetables. Our new stove is an unexpected expense but hopefully we will get years and years of use out of it. The stove is dead. Long live the stove.

Mushroom Asparagus Risotto

In my last post, I mentioned that we had tweaked an old mushroom asparagus risotto recipe. I do not remember where we first got the recipe or what changes we have made along the way but here is what we do.

2 tsp butter/margarine or oil (one early/one late)
2 cloves garlic (fresh or equivalent minced)
1 cup of white rice (We do not use Arborio as it is expensive)
1/4 cup of white cooking wine
32 oz stock (veggie or chicken)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
chopped baby bella mushrooms
chopped asparagus (bottom of stock removed)

Put stock in a sauce pot so it starts to heat up. In a separate large pan, melt 1 teaspoon of butter over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes to get flavor going. Add cup of rice. Toss it so the butter/garlic mixture coats it thoroughly. Add the white cooking wine and stir and heat until wine is mostly absorbed.
Slowly add the stock to the rice mix about 1/2 cup to a 1 cup at a time allowing it to absorb. Continue this until you have about a cup of stock left. This takes 20 to 25 minutes. Stir regularly.
Add the asparagus and mushrooms along with the last cup of stock. Stir until stock is almost all gone. Turn off heat. Mix in last teaspoon of butter until melted and then add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

We do not measure the asparagus or the mushrooms. We simply chop as much as we feel like adding. We have also been known to add chopped bratwurst or chicken when adding the vegetables. If you leave out the cheese and use oil, it easily converts to a vegan meal.

Makes dinner for 2 or sides for 4-6. 

Recipe is easily doubled. Stirring in stock will end up taking about 30 minutes.