THE OBAMAS' NEW HOME

Here's where Barack and Michelle Obama, and their daughters will be living.

It's a 9-bedroom mansion with 8.5 baths, in the Kalorama section of D.C. about two miles from the White House. Barack Obama said they'll live there for at least two years while their youngest daughter, 15-year-old Sasha, finishes high school.

Photos and videos describe this mansion as "swanky, splendiferous, glamorous." There are rooms for everything -- work, research, recreation, exercise, pets, guests and guests' kids, a suite for Michelle's mother, accommodations and parking for assistants and servants, as well for U. S. Secret Service Guards who guard former presidents and their families.  

The Obamas have also acquired a California home in Rancho Mirage where there are world-class golf courses. The town has been the unofficial West Coast Camp David for other presidents. Right now, for the holidays, the Obamas are at their vacation home in Hawaii.

Yes, it's a WOW  of  home -- what they deserve after more than eight years of working for us -- a home sweet home where Michelle will continue working for us on her various projects, where Barack will continue working for us, our country, and people everywhere in the world. He's had the whole world in his hands. Undoubtedly, he'll continue to work on the many issues that are life and death important for the whole world



If you want to see more, you'll enjoy this second, longer video. 




Interesting facts:  
This 8,200 square foot brick Tudor mansion, owned by White House press secretary Joe Lockhart, is currently valued at $7 million. Though we don't know what the Obamas are paying for it, it would cost  $22,000 a month to rent, according to Lockhart's real estate agent, who lists the house as meticulously renovated with courtyard space for 8-10 vehicles. The mansion is next door to a former congressman,  down the street from the French ambassador's residence, around the corner from the oldest house in the city, and about a half mile from the D.C.home of Hillary and Bill Clinton. 

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

John Cullum reads the famous poem.

We made this video sometime ago. Each year we enjoy watching and hearing it again, and again -- like children, delighting in the way John tells the famous words.

CULLUM ON "CIRCLE OF IVY" A FAT LADY

John reads the opening chapter of Emily Frankel's novel, which bluntly, realistically tells the story of a fat lady jeopardizing her life by excessive dieting.

Click, get a free copy--CIRCLE OF IVY" (it's free till Dec 18th)

AUTHOR MOAN

Hey, almost nobody is buying my e-books -- my six novels are just sitting on emilyfrankel.com.

Why?                                                                                                              
 why?                     

Why?

Gee, the titles are good, book-covers are good!! The plots -- gee -- they're very good stories. My writing has been praised by critics ... Lotta friends on Facebook and Twitter read my blog ; they say they like my ideas, my humor, my honesty. Why aren't they buying a book?

The $2.99 price is too high?

I dug up facts hoping to comfort myself. According to Pew Research: One out of 10 American adults, 72 percent of adults, read some kind of book last year. That's a steep decline from 1978, when 92 percent of Americans made that same claim. But when e-books exploded into popularity -- driven by the launch of the Kindle in 2007, the Nook in 2009 -- books sales jumped from $61.3 million to $1.54 billion, and  e-books accounted for an increasingly large share of the total trade revenue. Pew and Gallup say the revenue from e-books has been "flattening" -- end of last year e-books totaled $1.37 billion and accounted for not quite 20 percent of total revenue.

Numbers dumberate me! LOUDLY I'm moaning -- I am, I am -- I don't write novels to study percentages, market shares, I don't really care about money.

Okay, audiobooks are getting popular. Researchers said they accounted for the strongest portion of adult book sales in  2015, bringing in $205.6 million, a 38.9 percent increase from 2014. My husband, John Cullum, who has a voice that thousands of fans love, wants to record my books.

Hey ho, haha -- I haven't been able to sell my e-books! Even with Cullum's name, the same thing will happen with audiobooks. Gee -- if I could just get my books in a store window, I'd post this sign.

Hey, here's a video that a critic who wrote a book published. It sums up my moan perfectly.