The Lily Cafe Digest, No. 3

This year, I’m doing a 6+1 blogging schedule of 6 weeks blogging followed by a one week break. Since it’s time for another Digest, it’s also time for another blogging break. Enjoy, and thank you so much for following!

A Look Back

Reader

I’m experiencing a bit of a blogging shift. I’ve always been a huge reader, but, most of the time, I’m so far buried in a book that I often forget to rave about or destroy them in a review. That seems to be changing, though. I’m reviewing more books now and find I really enjoy talking about them. So much so that I’m in the process of turning The Lily Cafe’s Instagram account into a Bookstagram. It’s still a work in progress as I work to find time to even do it, but, so far, it’s been fun. I also follow several book bloggers who take part in Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and decided to start to take part, too. So far, I’ve posted about the first 10 books I’ve reviewed online and the 10 books I won’t lend out to anyone. I also talked about how important covers are and what I like and don’t like. But what I was most excited about was taking part in my second ever book blog tour! This one was for The East End by Jason Allen, which takes place over Memorial Day weekend and, as it’s upon us, I highly recommend you read it now. Finally, courtesy of the publisher Canelo, the author Matt Doyle, and NetGalley, I was given the chance to read and review Oracle’s War by David Hair and Cath Mayo, Addict, and Split-Level by Sande Bortiz Berger respectively.

Writer

What I have written of Raven is quickly coming to an end, but not before Raven and other characters have been in for some surprises.

Chapter 13|Chapter 14|Chapter 15|Chapter 16|Chapter 17|Chapter 18

As part of my personal writing exercises, I’m sharing personal stories, experiences, and thoughts. I jumped into this by writing about the nine years I’ve had this blog. Nine years! Not that it was actually active for that long…but, still. The Lily Cafe is nine years old! Late last year, we moved to the great sprawling city of Los Angeles and, while it’s offered a lot to us, there are still things that annoy me. Sometimes I just want to be mean on purpose, especially when I’m out walking with my kids. Drivers in this city bother me. Then, of course, also while walking, there are fellow walkers whose manners are more childlike than adult-like. Adults complain about kids staring at them, but it’s not just kids who stare.

Baker

I’ve been doing a lot of baking lately, about once a week, but have only posted about my adventures in ratio baking once in the past 6 weeks. Previously, I’d written about how much I love it and what’s so great about it. This time, I wrote about what isn’t so great. I still love it, but it’s not a perfect way to bake.

Mother of Two

Lately, I’ve found myself floundering when I came time to write my motherhood posts. I’d lost sight of why I was writing them. So I took a step back, re-evaluated a few things, and decided to turn my focus towards writing about the magic in motherhood. I also sometimes feel awkward when reading the mom blogs that talk about the nitty and gritty because I can’t do that, I can’t pretend I’m wearing leggings that haven’t been washed in weeks and I live in a pile of laundry. It may not be popular to talk about, but I’m proud to be a put together mom. I admit that sometimes I feel guilty about cleaning, especially when it’s just my daughter and me while my son is at school, but then I remember there are reasons why I clean. And it’s for their benefit. It might sound like motherhood comes easily to me, but it’s still hard. I still fail my kids, but knowing how to repair therapeutic relationships has been an immense help to me. Thank you, psychology training and education! On a more serious note, I’ve thought about my early miscarriage off and on, especially as I read about more accounts of miscarriage, and I’ve realized there was something that I could have used. Finally, to end on a happier note, I talked about my son’s funny shorts story. He probably won’t find it funny years from now, but, gosh, I still giggle about it.

The Weekly Question

In an attempt to combine two things I used to do last year, I’ve started a weekly question series.

#1: Do you prefer physical books, ebooks, or audiobooks?

#2: Parents: Where do you prefer to keep your kids’ toys?

#3: Do you believe in magic?

#4: Go-to dinner

#5: If you could build your house, what shape would it be?

#6: Share one of your posts

Looking Forward

The next Digest will come sooner than you think. July has lots of important dates for us, so I’ll be posting for the next 4 weeks instead of 6. During July, I plan on fixing up some older posts and creating images for Pinterest. August is a little up in the air right now since my son starts Kindergarten, but I’ll hopefully decide whether to post during that month by the next Digest.

Reader

I have plans, so many plans! Not only will there be more reviews, there will be more chatter about books. I have so many ideas for what I want to write about and the books I want to share. There’s so much, I almost can’t focus. I also have 14, and counting, books to review. Yikes!

Writer

Raven is coming to an end. I’m toying with the idea of writing a story I’ve been planning for a while and posting it as I write it, but I’m not sure yet.

Baker

I’m still on my cake ratio baking journey. There are just so many different types of cake and I have a post about 3 of them I’ve been working on. I also want to share a basic list of ingredients because, with ratio baking, there is no recipe with a handy list of ingredients. At first, it felt a little complicated to me, but, the more I bake, the more I realize it’s really easy to walk into a moderately well-stocked kitchen and be able to whip up a cake, and I’ll be sharing my experience doing exactly that.

Mother of Two

Summer is fast approaching and I’m really looking forward to having both of my babies home with me all day every day. I know. I will likely become one of those parents who count down to the first day of school, but, right now, I really love having my kids with me, so I’m going to enjoy it. I’ve also realized I have a parenting philosophy and I plan on sharing that.

Favorite Posts from Around the Blogging Community

Mostly because I feel self-centered about writing a whole post about my own blog, but also because there are so many lovely blogs I enjoy and want to share them with you. Here are some of my favorite posts from the last 6 weeks. I do hope you check them out and give them a follow.

Raise Strong, Independent Daughters AND Mothers from I Didn’t Want to Be a Mother: As a mother, daughter, and the mother of a daughter, this one really spoke to me. Coming from a mom who didn’t aspire to be a mom, this one felt quite powerful to me.

Waiting to Fail – Advice from a GenXer from Write Side of the Road: I come from the millennial generation, but this one really hit me. I was raised with similar ideas and plan to raise my children in much the same way. I love the advice Lisa gives, and hope it’ll make my kids better rounded in the age of technology.

Why I Stay Up Late, Instead of Just Going to Bed from A Sweet Life with Style: Yup, I do the same thing. As a mom with little ones, it sounds stupid, but Ashley hits it on the head: often, those late night hours are the only time we get to ourselves.

I Wish I Could Call My Mom For Advice and Share My Daughter’s Accomplishments from Confessions of a Parentless Mother: I’ve followed this blog for a while, and everything she writes always hits me right in the heart. I couldn’t imagine traveling motherhood without my parents, but this wonderful, strong lady has to do that. The strength she shows amazes me and brings me to tears.

Training Wheels from Clever Girl Writes…: As a fellow So Cal driver, I just really loved this one. It’s entertaining, and way too true. Also, if you ever dare travel the roads of Southern California, make sure you know how to drive properly, and do it.

How To Be Good by Brooke Cutler: For any mom or dad who wonders if they’re doing this thing called parenting right…you are. Short and sweet, but full of power, and the words that any caregiver needs to hear daily.

Despite dire warnings of my demise if I did so, I deleted Facebook from Boondock Ramblings: I once deleted Facebook, and survived. I contemplate deleting it again. Lisa’s post really speaks to how lazy it makes people. A simple like doesn’t make a friendship. Getting together and chatting like people with mouths and voice boxes does.

The Change…Dun-Dun-Dun! from Unconventional Mami: It’s official. I’m terrified of my son turning into a preteen. Much less a teenager.

Life with Lucas: Our Journey with Autism (Pre-diagnosis) from That Playground Life: I’ve worked with children with autism, and seriously respect their parents for everything they do for their kids every day. This mom knew something was different about her son and, despite professionals ignoring her mother’s intuition, she stuck with it and was able to get what her son needed.

Surprise me – but not too much from By Autumn Rain: This is great for any writer out there. It’s so hard to add something new to a genre without being too out there. It’s also so hard to keep everything recognizable without being boring. What is a writer to do?

Thank you so much!

Sincerely,

Kat

Stop by and check out the other Digests!