A Piece of the American Dream - Homeownership

The American Dream is to own a house in the suburbs and in the San Fernando Valley it has always been a families dream and goal. With a population of over 1 million in the valley land comes at a premium and the hillsides are becoming sprinkled with homes as more and more people demand a piece of the American Dream. One of the things about living in an ever evolving valley is that a plot of land never sits empty for very long. This particular plot of land sat empty with overgrown grass for quite a while and in the previous decades it would have had one or two homes on it with large front and back yards. When the fence surrounding the property came down it was interesting to see the dirt being removed and the houses being built from the ground up. Once an empty plot of land now 6 months later sits 9 brand new homes with beautiful landscaping, a community pool, and 2 car detached garages. Here's the website of the new Haskell Mission homes and click on the slide show for a peek inside these homes.





Happy House Hunting!

~Valley Girl~

Featured Author - Marilyn Celeste Morris

Dr. Gregory House would be envious of Valley Girls guest author today. The television series House M.D. always has the character of Dr. Gregory House searching for and trying to find his next Lupus patient. Throughout the entire series he’s been hard pressed to find more than one or two Lupus patients, however, Valley Girl Musings may just have the most famous Lupus patient joining us today. Author Marilyn Celeste Morris is on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion promoting her book, Diagnosis: Lupus: The Intimate Journal of a Lupus Patient. This self-help book is filled with selected entries from her journal and details her personal struggle for diagnosis and treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Lupus) from the first symptoms in 1982, to her diagnosis in 1988 and current state of remission.

Ms. Morris states, “My purpose is to inform, in non-clinical language, newly-diagnosed, yet-to-be diagnosed patients and their families; give them courage to continue seeking a diagnosis in the face of frustration and feelings of despair; and offer hope, even when conditions seem hopeless. My intent is not to linger there, but to press on toward remission, recovery and acceptance.

Far from being a list of complaints, the author’s pages reveal her unexpected spiritual growth and gratitude for life itself. She answers the questions such as “How did I get this disease? Will my children also get it? along with many others.

“By relating my innermost thoughts and feelings, I hope readers will come to realize they are not alone in their frustration, depression, job losses and subsequent loss of income, battles with an Alphabet Soup of public assistance services, Social Security Disability; food stamps, clinical depression, job losses, loss of income and other dire consequences of the disease. As many new members of the our local Lupus Support Groups sign in relief upon finding us. “I thought I was the only person in the world who felt this way." Readers will discover they are truly not alone in their thinking and their feelings.

While she compiled these entries from the perspective of a “recovered” lupus patient, Ms. Morris states. “I am also aware that lupus may rear it ugly head at any moment, bringing me back to the rounds of physicians, medications, and even hospitalization. This is the life persons with chronic diseases must lead, and their choices are either to feel sorry for themselves and burrow into a sinkhole of despair, or live life as it comes, one day at a time, the best way possible.”

This is Ms. Morris’s third book. She has also written human-interest columns for ten years for a suburban weekly; taught creative writing at Tarrant County College, and was the recipient of an Honorable Mention award at the Ozark Writers Conference. Her first novel, Sabbath’s Room was published in December, 2001 and in 2004, her memoirs of her worldwide travels with her army officer father, Once a Brat.

Marilyn Morris may be reached by email: marilyncmorris@sbcglobal.net to schedule a speaking engagement or arrange for editing services. See also http://www.freewebs.com/graceworksproductions/ for excerpts of all three books.

Diagnosis: Lupus: The Intimate Journal of a Lupus Patient is available at www.PublishAmerica.com, Amazon.com and other online bookstores, or your local bookstore may order for you.