I love birthdays! I love celebrating and I want to celebrate this special occasion with you. Last year I had a blast doing a give away so I decided to do it every year. Wow! This past year flew by like a jet plane. Here I am again and ready to party.
I'm giving away THREE autographed copies of MY novel, Secrets of the Heart and ONE $25 gift certificate from Barnes and Noble. All you need to do for a chance to win is leave a comment about the best or worst birthday present you've ever received OR what you will be wishing for this year when you close your eyes and blow out the candles. I'll accept comments until midnight of January 15th est. That's this coming Sunday. So all of you who are staying up to watch Downton Abbey will still have some time to enter if you wait till the last minute.This contest will only be open to folks living in the USA. I'll announce the winners on Monday, January 16th and ask you to contact me if you are a winner. You also may want to visit the other post I blogged about today over at the WordServe WaterCooler, entitled, A Writer's Pains and Gains: A Birthday Perspective
I know I can't enter the contest as I live in the UK, but I'd still like to share.
ReplyDeleteMy Birthday is on the 22nd December, and as a child being so close to Christmas didn't make much difference, but now it does. I never get that much for my birthday anymore because people can't afford to buy two lots of pressies. Instead I get a lot of 'joint' presents. Still, it's not what you get, it's how you spend it and who you spend it with that makes the day. The birthday I've just celebrated I spent with my sister traveling for four hours so we could spend Christmas with our parents. It was an adventure...lol
And apparently this year I'm not going to get a birthday because the world is due to end on the December 21st - according to the Mayan calender. They had to choose the day before my birthday, didn't they. Typical..lol...
But still, I wish you a very happy birthday. I hope you get spoilt :)
Hi there, DRC!
ReplyDeleteBelated Happy Birthday to you! I'd like to hear more about that "adventure" traveling with your sister. Those types of adventures can be or so interesting.:)I wouldn't worry too much about the Mayan calendar. I'd wager you get another birthday next year and tell your family you want a special one. They can start preparing now. Thanks so much for stopping by and celebrating with me. As I kid I never had many parties because January 11th always ended up being a huge snow day. I hope I get spoilt too.:)
I'd love to receive an iPad for my birthday, but it'll never happen.
ReplyDeleteLena,
ReplyDeleteLet's think a little more positively shall we? :)I suggest you leave some hints in all your correspondence to family and friends. Something like, "I want an iPad for my birthday." :) Thanks for stopping by. And you have to let me know if you get an iPad for your birthday. Here's hoping!
As a kid, my best birthday present ever was a lego set for my ninth birthday. I was so sick at the time, but still managed to put the thing together :).
ReplyDeleteAs an adult, the best birthday present I ever received was on my 30th birthday when I was pregnant with my twins who were trying to come early...like 12 weeks early.
I received a call from my doctor stating all was well because I'd passed a "is your baby coming early" test.
Best. Present. Ever.
(I went on bedrest the same day, and though the babies did eventually come early, it was only four weeks, not 12)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILLIAN!!!!!!!!!!
Christi Corbett
The last two birthdays it wasn't so much what I got, but what I did that wasn't exactly what I would have chosen if I'd had a choice. Two years ago we drove 6 hours to our daughter's to help them move into their new home. I was glad to help, but did it have to be on my birthday? Then this past year my birthday fell on the same day as our church's annual chicken fry and bazaar, which added up to a lot of work for yours truly - the birthday girl. I have to admit I'm hoping for a quieter birthday in 2012, minus all the extra work.
ReplyDeleteHey Christi,
ReplyDeleteSo nice to see you here! Thanks for the birthday wishes and for sharing your stories. So glad those twins were able to wait awhile, that is an awesome gift. And leggos when you're sick, ahh. Sounds like they helped you feel better.
Hi Teri!
ReplyDeleteYou and DRC seem to have a bit in common with traveling and family tales. :)I'm hoping this year that you'll find your birthday a pure delight and filled with awesome surprises. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT agree to do anything on your birthday this year unless it's FUN!
I'm not sure how to reach you if you're a winner Teri so please let me know your e-mail. Make sure it appears like name (at) gmail (dot) com to avoid problems. Thanks for celebrating with me.
How nice you are to be giving away things on YOUR birthday! Happy Birthday! :) I found you via the WordServe blog.
ReplyDeleteFor me, probably one of the best gifts I ever received was an iPod on my sweet 16th. My parents didn't have enough money to buy me one, so a friend suggested (unbeknownst to me)that all the people invited to my party pool their money together to get me one. It was an amazing surprise, but the real present to me that day was my family and friends. It still brings tears to my eyes to think about their thoughtfulness!
Happy Birthday! I followed your link from the WordServe post. Thank you for sharing your encouraging story, both professionally and personally. We love YWAMers (we don't live far from a base) so I know your daughter is learning, giving,receiving, and serving well. :0
ReplyDeleteWhat I will wish for when I blow out my candles is . . . more creativity and diligence. :)
Enjoy your cake!
Happy Birthday! You share your birthday with my mother, truly one of the greatest women I know.
ReplyDeleteMy best birthday present was a helicopter ride over the Napali coastline in Hawaii a couple years ago. I'd been to forty-nine states by the time I was eleven, visiting many of them frequently, but since you can't drive to Hawaii, it took until I was forty-three to get there. My husband took me on a cruise and arranged for the flight.
My worst was when I turned twenty-one and everyone forgot, including me! I was working so much the day just passed me by, but at least I had enough money saved to pay my tuition. ;)
Lizzie,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun birthday you had surrounded by so many people who loved you. I hope Lena reads your post. If you scroll up you'll see what she wants. Thanks for sharing in my celebration.
Hi Bridgette!
ReplyDeleteThanks for helping me celebrate. Glad you enjoyed my post over at the Wordserve WaterCooler.I am amazed at the number of people who know about YWAM. It truly is an awesome organization and my daughter LOVES it. I love your wish.
Babette,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful thing to say about your mom. I love sharing birthdays with cool women.:) And a helicopter ride over the Napali coastline is a memory you'll never forget. How awesome!
How can you forget your 21st birthday, girl? I hope that was a sign that you needed to slow down. Thanks for celebrating with me.
My Wish for my birthday this year is for the health of my youngest daughter Jodi. I pray that the Lord gives the doctors wisdom to improve her kidney function and enable her kidneys to begin to heal.
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria,
ReplyDeleteI pray your birthday wishes and prayers come true for your daughter. I worked as a social worker for ten years in dialysis areas in the hospital where I'm still employed as a counselor for nursing students. Kidney disease is very challenging. Thank you for celebrating with me today. May God move in your daughter's life with the gift of complete healing.
Happy Birthday! Your post at WordServeWaterCooler was very inspiring and encouraging. My birthday is in August and this year all I want is my first published magazine article. I interviewed a very talented new photographer in my area and I'm waiting to hear back from the editors. I'm so inexperienced so it's hard to think positive. I'm trying, though! I hope your day is wonderful and thanks for the words of hope!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Jilly! I hope you have a wonderful day, full of all the things you enjoy the most.
ReplyDeleteLast year I had a pretty fabulous birthday. My husband and I had saved for two years to go on a small cruise with some college friends. It just so happened that the cheapest week of the year to take the cruise fell over my birthday, so that's when we went. My actual birthday was a "day at sea" so I got to enjoy a decadent lunch and have high tea, to boot--one of my favorite things!
Wishing you a wonderful day and year.
Hi Sherry,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the birthday greetings. I'm glad you enjoyed the blog at WordServe. Maybe I should put a link to that in this post. :)
I would encourage you to hang on to your hope and while you are waiting you might want to visit this link to the Mt. Hermon Blog http://mounthermon.org/blog/writers/ and also this one to Ridgecrest http://ridgecrestconferencecenter.org/event/blueridgemountainchristianwritersconference
I know you may not be able to attend but you can get MP3's from Mt. Hermon or individual CD's related to magazine writing, etc. Both these conferences are huge and offer SO much. I've been to both. And although ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers)doesn't cover other forms of writing such as magazine they are huge for novelists http://www.acfw.com/
No matter what always try to think positive and if you are a person of faith take your concerns to a higher level when you get worried.
Hugs,
Jill
Hi Susie!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you dropped by. Thanks for the birthday greetings. When I got on FB today I couldn't believe how many folks had taken the time to say HB. I'm having a great day.
A day at sea with high tea! I'm jealous. Oh what fun! That sounds like a fun kind of cruise for a bunch of Regency writers. :) Hmmm.
Keep in touch when you can.
XOXO
Jill
Thank you for the links, I will check them out. I have been in constant prayer about this for two months so I know that whatever happens, it's all a part of God's plan ;) Not worried, just anxious for an answer. If I don't win your book here (really hoping I do now) I'll make sure I go buy a copy anyway. Looking forward to reading it!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Sherry! I think you'll get tons of information from CD's available. Let me know what happens. Just click on the contact tab. I'll keep you on my prayer list. And thanks for your interest in the book. Whenever, you read it I hope you enjoy it. You might want to ask your local library to order it if they don't have a copy.
ReplyDeleteHi Peter,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the BD greeting.
Imagine turning seven on a beautiful day in May and receiving both a new stingray bicycle with blue and white streamers cascading from the handlebar handles and...the chicken pox. I was quarrantined for a week - no friends, no bike rides.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'll wish for this May as I blow out the candles will be for my family and friends to have health, wealth, happiness, and the time to enjoy them all.
PS: Many Happy Returns Jill!
Thanks so much for your encouraging post on the Water Cooler blog. And happy birthday!! After reading about your achievements, and your perspective on them, again, I'm truly inspired.
ReplyDeleteWhat do I wish for birthday-gift wise? A lot. World peace. A publishing contract. Not much. To understand technology better. Have more reading time.
Oh Michelle! Chicken Pox! They can spoil things. Would you believe I just blew out my candles?! We had a late night. It was a fun day even at work. Thanks for dropping in and celebrating with me.
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine! So glad you enjoyed the blog post over at the Water Cooler. It's been a long road but I learned so much along the way. It's like building your own personal library in your brain. :) I obviously need to go to bed now. :) And we all just keep on learning. Don't ever let anyone tell you something is impossible.
ReplyDeleteLove your list of wishes.
Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteI am wishing for home decor for our new house!
littlegray88 at yahoo dot com
Hi Aubrey,
ReplyDeleteLove your name. May your wish come true. Thanks for celebrating with me.
The worst present I've ever received is a surprise party! Ugh! :-) I know I sound like Oscar the Grouch, but I would much rather get together with one or two friends than have a party.
ReplyDeleteDid your hubby throw that surprise party for you, Rosslyn? Poor soul whoever it was.:) Did they get a picture of your surprised face? I'd love to see that. I never thought about it much. It could be good, but then it could be really, really bad. :)
ReplyDeleteone of the worst gifts i ever received was this pumpkin-like glass pitcher with a spigot. i mean, i didn't even know what it was for, honestly, but then someone said it was for lemonade and tea, etc. it was huge and ugly, so i regifted it! yikes! :)
ReplyDeleteI love the way you celebrate your birthday! When my husband turned 40, he worked in a bank with a bunch of 19-year-old girls I called the "bank babes." They gave him Depends, a cane, Metamucil. When I turned 40, my friends gave me gift certificates to Kohls and a surprise party. I don't know if that was the best ever birthday, but it wins by comparison.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday!
Ann_Lee_Miller[at]msn[dot]com
AnnLeeMiller.com
This year I'll be wishing for an agent with my birthday candles.
ReplyDeleteKristiAnnHunt (at) gmail (dot) com
Jillian;
ReplyDeleteI sure do like your blog - HAPPY BIRTHDAY and MANY BLESSINGS FOR 2012!
I'd love to win anything you have to offer - esp one of your books.
Since I was taught that to tell a wish you make when blowing out the candles will cause it to NOT come true(rather superstitious yet still tends to give me pause)
I'll just tell you my all-time favorite birthday present was from my parents on my sixteenth birthday - oh so many moons ago - and it was a beautiful gold wrist watch. It was the very first B-day gift they ever gave me to unwrap. We had a very large family, were quite poor in material possessions but rich in love and although we each got our favorite (homemade) cake for our b-day and got to choose the main meal for the closest Sunday to our b-day - we did NOT receive wrapped presents. It was a very special gift and I've never forgotten it. I also got my driver's license the same day. ;)
One year after being married for five years I received five b-day cakes from different friends and our foster daughter arranged to have one made by a neighbor so it'd be a surprise - they were ALL CHERRY CHIP with CHERRY frosting. Still have a difficult time looking at Cherry frosting. ;D I might add - I'd never gotten ONE b-day cake in our married life before or since. Hmmmm.
Hoping for a laptop for my birthday, or a video camera, or a piece of jewelty. Whatever!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the op to win.
Susan K
Happy birthday!! I'm so excited with how your career is moving forward :) I would love to get a new laptop as mine is around 6 years old now. Thank goodness it's a Mac. No way, no how would a pc work as well as long! In lieu of that, I'd take a massage :D
ReplyDeleteAngie
Jeanne-yep, sounds like regifting was the way to go, though I can't help but feel sorry for the person who got it. :)
ReplyDeleteAnn, that's hysterical. Bank babes, depends, etc. Thanks for the BD wishes. Your bd was MUCH better!
Kristi, I hope that wish comes true for you.
Joy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your 16th birthday story. How wonderful. A gold wristwatch and a drivers license in the same day! Special memories girl. And the cakes, what a riot. I hope someone reads this that lives close to you and makes you a cake just like that for the sake of memories. :)So glad you like the blog, I love the stories. Thanks for joining in my celebration. I like to drag it out as long as I can. Smiles!
Being a Canadian, I can't enter your contest, but I just want to say I hope you had a fabulous birthday. I know January 11th is a good date for birthdays as my hubby shares it.
ReplyDeleteOne of my own favourite birthdays was just a couple years ago. My hubby and I were holidaying at our remote lakeside cabin when we heard a vehicle. Since it's a private road and waaaay off the beaten track, we couldn't imagine who would be out there except perhaps someone from a fairly distant ranch. But the vehicle turned out to be our son's truck. He had driven for over four hours, the last hour on an almost impassable logging road, and brought a cooler containing steaks for supper, flowers and a birthday cake. It was probably the best surprise party I've ever had.
Hmm. I think my best b-day gift ever has to be the Nook my dh gave me for my 40th.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! I hope you enjoy your special day.
Hi Carol,
ReplyDeleteSo nice to see you here again. That is a scene worthy of being in a movie in my opinion. How fun! And how sweet. That's an awesome gift. I can't help but wonder how the steaks were and what kind of cake it was. Did you read Joy's answer above about Cherry Chip and Cherry Frosting? Thanks for the birthday greetings, Carol.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteHope you've been dropping some hints about those presents. It never hurts. :)
Hi Angie,
I find the more little steps I take the more they add up.:) Thanks for the birthday greetings. I've never had a Mac. Maybe that will be the next big investment. I hope you get your laptop!
Hi Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteHubby knew what you wanted. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for helping me celebrate my birthday. Appreciate it!
Had to chuckle about Joy's cherry chip cake, because my family would *never* choose that for me. While I like fresh cherries, cherry anything else is my least favourite flavour. The cake was chocolate, and the perfect ending to the barbecued rib eye steak dinner. :)
ReplyDeleteYum! You are making me hungry Carol.:) Love that chocolate cake!
ReplyDelete