thank you

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Lilli Day aka bookbabie

So the summer is over and the truth is it was not a great one for me. Instead of frolicking in the pool and celebrating the weddings, showers, and graduation parties that were on my calendar, I went to doctor appointments and googled my way across the WWW trying to find an answer for the extreme fatigue, weight loss, and nausea I was experiencing. I’ve been here before (although not with the exact same symptoms) but I’ve been very sick for a very long time with “invisible chronic illness” and I really hoped I was done learning the lessons I needed to learn in that particular life course curriculum. Of course life doesn’t care whether we’ve been there before or had enough, it just keeps happening, and when the going gets tough we all have to choose if we’re going to be proactive-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other warriors or head-in-the-sand whiners. I must confess to have been a bit of both this past summer.

My health has recently improved a bit since this mystery illness first began, and although the weight loss has slowed to a crawl compared to a couple months ago, I still can’t gain even though I’m taking in plenty of calories. I know some of you are probably thinking “I have a few pounds I could send your way”, trust me, that offer has been on the table from friends and family for months and if I had been able to take them all up on it fitness guru Richard Simmons would be at my front door with a crane ready to haul me off to weight loss boot camp!

Still, I truly believe that no matter what is happening in your life there is always an opportunity for gratefulness and grace so here is my list of summer “bests”.

1. Birthday parties for my two grandchildren. Brooklyn turned 3 in July and Ashton had his 1st birthday party in May. I am thankful for those little arms that wrapped themselves gently around my neck this summer, the sweetness of those hugs helped me feel whole again.

2. I won a free night in Toronto with an Instagram photo I did for a contest organized by Josh Johnson and sponsored by ALT Hotels. My pic is now part of a permanent art installation in the lobby of the ALT Toronto Pearson hotel and me and Mr. Bookbabie are hoping to take a road trip this fall to see it in person and use my gift certificate, thanks Josh and ALT Hotels!

3. My debut novel, The Wonder of Ordinary Magic, won a silver medal in the 2012 Readers Favorite Award Contest! The awards ceremony will be held in Miami this November during The Miami Book Fair International, the largest book fair in America. As a first time author it is a thrill to be honored by this group, thank you so much Readers Favorite.

4. Always, always on my gratitude list is my husband Doug. Without him by my side I would simply feel lost and adrift as I navigate life’s bumpy waters.

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” ~Meister Eckhart

march madness book giveaway

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Lilli Day aka bookbabie

guernsy I recently read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and really enjoyed it. It’s written as a series of letters between a group of people and when I first started it I wasn’t sure if I’d like the format. It wasn’t long, however, before I forgot about the format (which is actually great for starting and stopping, each letter is like a little chapter) and became absorbed by the story. Juliet Ashton is a writer looking for inspiration for her next book. She begins to exchange letters with a small book club on Guernsey in the Channel islands off the coast of England. The story takes place just after the Second World War, and as she gets to know the people of the island she learns how the German occupation during the war impacted their lives. You get a little history with this novel, the Channel Islands were occupied during the war, you get some tragedy, a touch of bravery, a scenic setting, and of course, love. What more do you need? Sadly, the novel’s first time author, Mary Ann Shaffer, passed away before the book was published and her niece Annie Barrows saw it through to publication in honor of her aunt. It is a charming, entertaining little book that will take your mind off the evening news and the economy. If you’d like to win a new, hard cover copy of this book, leave a comment on this post, I’ll pick a random winner on March 25, good luck!

monday muse

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Lilli Day aka bookbabie

bookbabieposterart You all know what a sucker I am for on-line generators and quizzes. Every time I find a fun new website I think that’s it, I must have seen them all and then I stumble on another…and another….and another. And I don’t spend all that much time on-line either, honest! As a matter of fact, last week I finally finished my feverish work on novel #3 and entered it in the ABNA contest. When I got up today I realized that this is the first day in many many months where I really feel like my time is my own. This weekend I even went to the craft store and bought stuff to make my future granddaughter a gift. I haven’t had the time , energy, or motivation to make something simply for the joy of creating in a long time and it really feels good. Anyhoo, the latest website. During Obama’s campaign a street artist named Shepard Fairey designed a poster (now somewhat controversial) that became very popular. I made the bookbabie poster at a neat website based on Fairey’s art called obamiconme. It’s free, no downloads, and after you set up an account it saves all your posters. Check it out, even if you didn’t vote for you-know-who, it’s still a lot of fun 😉