Jesus Christ has risen today, Alleluia!

Hi all,

First let me say that I hope everyone is having a blessed Easter.  We had a very nice dinner at my daughter's home.  All three of my daughters, and their families were there, as well as, some other family friends.  Way, way too much food!  Everything was very good, indeed, just too much of it.
Everyone one brought one or two covered dishes to share. 

After dinner, I played an Easter egg game with the nine kids who were there.  Six of them were my Grandsons, the other three were friends of theirs.  It amazes me that all nine of the kids (and I call them kids, even thought my Grandsons range from almost 16 to almost 22) were all boys.  The eggs were basically filled with money, so they all loved playing a game with money for prizes. 

We didn't stay too long after that, as I really wasn't feeling very well.  I wasn't very hungry before we started eating, and I ate more than I wanted.  When I do this, it makes my heart work so hard.  Then I can't breathe very well.  I wasn't having PVC's, which is a good thing.

Of course, there were lots of leftovers to drag home with us.  The fruit will not go to waste, as both my husband and I love fruit.  I'm not sure about the leftover cake.  I made biscuits using a recipe I saw on Facebook.  I took Pillsbury biscuits, flattened them out a bit, put about 12 mini chocolate chips and five mini marshmallows in the center.  Then I wrapped them up and sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on top and baked.  Needless to say, there were none left to bring home.  I also prepared baked sweet potatoes and I had a few left over to bring home.

Of course, the real purpose for Easter, is to celebrate Jesus' rising from the dead.  Can you even begin to imagine what would have happened to the human race, if God would not have permitted His only begotten Son, Jesus, to be crucified and then hung up on a cross to die.  His death gave us life, His resurrection into heaven continues giving us life every minute of every day.  I don't know of any other father alive, who would have given their child up for Crucifixion and death.  Do you?  I didn't think so...

I participated in the Mass, which was held at the Basilica in Washington, DC.,  on television early this afternoon.  It is such a beautiful church; the flowers were spectacular and the service was very moving.  I'm having trouble, actually sitting in a church.  It seems that after I'm in a church for a while, I become light headed and it becomes hard for me to breathe.  I have no idea what is causing this to happen to me, but there really isn't much I can do about it.  Since I usually attend Mass alone, it frightens me a lot.   I usually now participate in the Mass that is broadcast from Irondale, AL on EWTN on Sunday at noon time.

I am so excited, because my novels should be delivered either tomorrow or Tuesday.  I'm so anxious to hold one and check it out.  I love to write.  It doesn't matter what it is, I just love creating.  I'm in the process of writing a booklet entitled:  The Day the Flowers Died. It will be available through amazon in a day or two.  It's about living with any chronic illness; how it changes your life and the life of your spouse.  Check it out! 

If you go onto Amazon, check out the other four books I have available for Kindle:  Sassy With A Capital S, The Secret in the Claw Feet Box, Cardiovascular Disease:  Changing Lives, and Crafty-Cruise With a Capital C. 

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a great Easter with family and/or friends.  I also hope you managed to find an hour or so just for yourself.  We all need some alone time; time for us to sit quietly and listen to the whispering that God does in our ear. 

Be safe tomorrow, as you head back to your place of employment and have a wonderful day!  God bless you.
Susan

Life changes from day to day.

Hi all,

Have you ever stopped to realize just how much life changes in a short period of time?  Perhaps it's only us senior citizens who are aware of life changing, sometimes on a daily basis. 

I think that when we're younger, and working full time jobs, raising children, trying to maintain a good marriage, chasing kids all over the place, taking care of a home, etc., we don't really have the time to realize how our lives are changing, every day. 

Now that I'm older, with pretty much nothing but time on my hands, I see my life changing.  Sometimes the changes are not ones I relish.  I'm not not a person who likes change.  I usually need some time to adjust to change.  How about you?

I finished my novel, "Crafty-Cruise" With A Capital "C", last week.  It's now at the publishers being prepared for printing.  I'm anxious to see it when it's finished.  After working so hard for months and months, I now feel I'm in limbo.  I haven't yet decided what my next project will be, or what direction I want to take next. 

One thing I do know for sure, is that I don't want to just waste time doing nothing.  I have a need to give back to God for all He's given me, and doing something creative is the only way I have to give back any more.  I suppose taking a week or two to decide what my next project will be, would be a good thing for me.  I'm thinking, perhaps, I'll do another booklet on how chronic illness effects the family.  I have a booklet, "Cardiovascular Disease:  Changing Lives", which is available for reading on Kindle, IPod or PC.

Check out my books for Kindle, IPOd or PC at www.amazon.com.  Just type in my name, do a search and they will come up. 

Tomorrow I will be attending the funeral of my aunt.  She was ninety-two years old.  She was my Mother's Sister, and she outlived my Mom by seventeen years.  My Mom was the youngest and this aunt was five years older than my Mom.  Mother was only seventy-four when she passed away, which by today's standards, is quite young.  She died from cancer and heart disease. 

I suppose heart disease will continue to plague my children, their children and so on.  Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about having chronic cardiovascular disease.  It's a fact of life and one which many of us have to live with always.  One of my daughters, also, has cardiovascular disease. 

The bottom line is that we all have our crosses to bear.  What's important is how we carry them.  Do we carry them with dignity and strength or do we complain and play the blame game?  I know, first hand, how hard it is to live with chronic illness.  The only thing that works for me is gratitude and acceptance, for that I'm so thankful.

I hope all of you have a great day tomorrow.  Find a few minutes to do something nice for yourself, you deserve it!
Susan

Who is your hero?

Hi all,

I was just sitting here thinking about things, when God came into my mind. That's not a big surprise, since God's often front and center in my mind.  But, specifically because today is Palm Sunday.  Thinking about God, who is certainly my biggest Hero, I got to thinking about the human heroes in my life. 

First and always:  Let's ponder on God and His purpose in our lives.  I can truthfully say that He is with me every second of every day, and He always has been.  How do I know that?  Well, if I look back over my life, I can visibly see all the times He stood right beside me, helping me along.  Of course, then there is the many, many times, He's carried me.  He has brought so many angels into my life, both in human form and spiritually.  I'd be nowhere without Him.  This fact I do know for sure!  So God, absolutely, is my greatest Hero, now and for ever.

Second: From the time I was born, I'd have to say that my Daddy was my hero. I can't begin to tell you how very much I loved my Father.  As a child, I didn't really know the person he truly was. As an adult, I can say with all certainty, that he was a very loving, warm, generous, faithful and spiritual man.   He was a terrific Dad.  He worked extremely hard to provide for my Mother, Sister, Brother and myself.  Family always came first with him, no matter what!  He has always been my hero and still is, even long after being gone.  He died in 1996, but he's still right here beside me.

Next, but never last, would be my husband.  He is my hero in so many ways, especially since I became chronically ill back in 2006.  At the beginning of our relationship, things were sometimes a bit shaky, but that dissipated as our love became stronger.  I know he will always be here for me, even when he's not at home.  He does so many little things to let me know that he's thinking and worrying about me.  He always calls me on the cell phone whenever he's out doing errands, just to check up on me.  Speaking of errands, since I lead a sedentary lifestyle now, he offers to pick up things for me because he knows I either am tired or don't want to go out in the cold weather.  He's always offering to help me with the laundry, dishes or anything I need to do.  He worries about me when I'm not feeling well. He is supportive of my writing, hand-created cards, drawing, painting or anything I create.  I can't begin to tell you how very much that means to me.  I know that no matter what happens in our future lives, he will always be here for me, and I love him for that.

Now to turn to women, my Mother was and always will be a hero to me.  She taught me so much.  I believe I inherited her abilities to be creative.  (Of course, I know that God gave them to the both of us.)  Mom was full of love, warmth and generosity for everyone.  She worked hard, loved hard and shared hard.  She taught me and my siblings everything she knew.  She taught us about God, to be trustworthy, truthful and loving.  To me, she was the kind of Mother I aspired to become.  I'm not sure I lived up to her standards, but I tried.  My Mom passed away in 1994 and I miss her every day.

So, who's your hero?  I'm sure you have two or three, just as I do.  Oh, I have other heroes, such as:  Stephen King is my hero author; my three daughters are my hero Moms; my cardiologist is a hero to me; my closest friends are my heroes, also.  I'm sure there are many more, whom I just can't think of just now.  Come on, I know you have some heroes, too.

Of course, I'd not have any of these living heroes, if it weren't for God bringing them into my life. 
As you know, I love to write, and do all things creative.  I'm very proud of myself for the things I've accomplished, with God's help, in my life.  I know my life changed back in 2006, but God let me live.  So, it's important that I honor God any way I am able. 

I've been doing a lot of writing lately.  My second novel, "Crafty-Cruise" With A Capital "C" is in the process of being published right now.  But, it is already available for Kindle at www.amazon.com.
My first adult novel, "Sassy" With A Capital "S" is also available at amazon.  (You can check out my Sassy page here on my blog.  I will soon have a page set up for my Crafty book, as well. 

So, in conclusion for this Palm Sunday, may I say that God centers me and I hope you will allow Him into you life to center you, also!
Susan

God is good, yesterday, today and tomorrow, as always!

Hi all,

I suppose you could say that I've been a bit unnerved today.  My daughter, Angel, went into the hospital at six o'clock this morning for a ablation on her heart.  She has been having PVC's (Premature Ventricular Contractions) and the medication wasn't working for her.  (Little surprise there, since they didn't work for me either, twenty-one years ago).  I guess that apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Praise God, because she is now on her way home from the hospital and is doing very well.  Her cardiologist feels he corrected all the PVC's and hopes they will not return.  For the first time all day, I feel at ease.  I knew God would protect her and He would guide her doctor's hands, but even knowing that, I guess I was still worrying on the inside.  I would think that's part of being a Mom. 

It is funny, but earlier today I kept thinking that my little girl is in the hospital.  That makes me chuckle, because my little girl, is forty-two years old and has a, soon to be, sixteen year old son.  I'm sure all you Mother's out there know exactly what I'm talking about.  Our children will always be our little girls and little boys, won't they? 

I suppose that's the way God feels about all of us.  We are His little children.  He worries about us, tries to guide us along the safe paths, blesses us, feeds us, and just completely loves and cares about us.  No matter how old we are.  That thought really makes me feel humble.  Now, I can understand how God feels, when we go astray.  Wow, with so many children in this world for Him to worry about, He must be stressed all the time.

I'm also feeling a little out of sorts today.  It's like I don't know what to do with myself, since my novel is now at the printers and I've already uploaded it to www.amazon.com, I feel disconnected.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day.  You can access it by going to the above web address and doing a search for:  Susan Lapp Mellott    or   Sassy With A Capital S   or  Crafty Cruise With A Capital C.

I mixed up a large patch of peanut butter creme filling for my chocolate, peanut butter Easter eggs.  I melted the butter and peanut butter, so it would mix easier.  It's now in the refrigerator, setting back up.  Tomorrow morning I will form the egg shapes and start covering them with chocolate.  This is my dear Mother's recipe from many years ago.  It makes me feel close to her whenever I make one of her recipes.  I should have about four to five dozen eggs when done. 

Well, I suppose I'll close for now.  I just wanted to share my good news for today with everyone out there.  Alot of my family and friends were all praying for my daughter and I thank each and every one of them for those prayers.  If you ever need prayers from me, please ask.  I'll be happy to include your special intentions in my daily prayers to God. 

May He bless all of you and keep you safe.
Susan

Horrah! I Did It!

Hi all,

Well, I suppose I'm feeling a bit of a "high" today, because my new manuscript is finally at the publishers.  Also, it will be available for Kindle, IPod or PC, sometime tomorrow at:  www.Amazon.com.  Just go onto their website and do a search for:  "Crafty-Cruise"
With a Capital "C". 

The fifty books which I'm having printed, hopefully will arrive within two weeks.  I will be selling them for $11.00 each.  If anyone wants to purchase an actual book, please let me know, as I will only have the fifty.  I will be happy to mail you a copy, if you send me a check covering the cost of the book, as well as the shipping.

This is the sequel to "Sassy" With A Capital "S", which is also available via Amazon.  There will, probably be a third sequel, but that's off in the future some time.  Right now, I'd like to take some time to catch up on some of the writing websites which I've been neglecting. 

I like www.Fanstory.com, but haven't been there much lately.  I need to enter some more of my short stories on the site.  I think it's a great avenue available for writers, of any type.  You can enter any style of writing, such as:  poems, short stories, chapters from a book, etc.  I enjoy reading and reviewing the other writer's material, as well as, appreciating the reviews and comments from them of my work.  Check out this website, perhaps it will interest you, as well.

I'm not really sure what my next project will be as of yet.  I need to take a little breather, perhaps for a week or two, to just run some ideas through my head.  Since my creative endeavors are my way of giving back to God for all He's blessed me with, I need to make some quiet time so I can hear what He wants me to tackle next. 

How about you?  Do you have any projects going right now?  If not, maybe you should consider doing something that will not only make you happy, but perhaps bring joy to someone else.  Put that thinking cap on and be open to God's whispers. 

I haven't been having many PVC's lately, at least I don't think I have been.  Perhaps I just don't feel them.  I do know that when they were really bad, I certainly knew I was having them.  I'm not going to get myself all upset in regards to the PVC's. I have learned to just accept my health and turn my life over to God. 

One of my daughters is going into the hospital early tomorrow morning, for a procedure to the inside of her heart.  I'm asking for prayers for her.  I know God will be with her, as well as her doctor, but more prayers can't hurt.  If you are a believer, please say a prayer for her.  I am thankful to you.

Well, tomorrow's Friday and the last day of the week for most of you working folks.  So, when you report to your jobs in the morning: smile, breathe deep, focus on good thoughts and know that in eight hours you'll be free for the next two days.  Have fun this weekend!

God bless all of you!
Susan

How Was Your Monday?

Hi all,

Well, Monday is almost over.  How was your day?  Was it exciting?  Was it extremely busy? Or was it, perhaps, just so-so?  Mine was like any typical Monday:  laundry for sure, and I did some cleaning as well. 

The only exciting thing that happened today, was that my daughter dropped off the picture she'd created for my novel.  Which means that tomorrow I will now be able to insert it into the novel and then I'll be ready to email it to the publisher.  It's been a long seven or eight months since I first started writing it.  It, also, has about one hundred and fifty more pages than my first novel in this series. 

How's the weather where you are?  It's been a rather strange day here.  When I first got up this morning, it was flurrying.  Then, shortly after that, it stopped.  Later in the morning, it spritzed rain off and on for a while.  Then from after lunch until mid afternoon, it didn't do anything.  Finally, it started snowing and still is, but it's to be stopping by around eight o'clock this evening.  All I can say about that is "good".  I'm ready to say goodbye to the snow until next winter.  How about you?

What have you been up to lately?  Are you doing anything creative?  I haven't decided what my next project will be just yet.  I would like to start spending more time on the website Fanstory.  It's a site for writers and I enjoy posting some of my stories on it.  Also, I like reading the pieces that other people submit.  I haven't done any drawing or art work of any time lately.  I'd like to get back to that soon, as well. 

My husband and I have talked about going down to Ocean City before summer, but I'm not sure if we will or not.  I'm going to be down in OC in May with my Red Hats.  Maybe we'll go someplace else for a few days.  We'll see! 

Well, I suppose I'll close for now.  I do your Tuesday will be a great day for you all.  Take care and God bless!
Susan

What excites you?

Hi all,

What needs to happen in your life to get you feeling good on the inside?  I'm sure you all know, that true happiness comes from within us, not from outside stimulus.  One could have millions of dollars, the most expensive of homes and belongings, yet still not be happy.  I suppose another term I could use would be contentment.  If you are content with your life and yourself, then you'd be happy!

Today I am happy because I am 99% ready to send my newest novel, Crafty-Cruise With A Capital C
to the printers.  I have one more picture to insert, then off it goes.  It has 368 pages, which is about 150 more pages than my first adult novel, Sassy With A Capital S.  It's a sequel novel, but each can be read on their own.  After I get it emailed to the publisher, I will download it onto Kindle Direct Publishing via Amazon.  That should be in three or four days.  The link will be found on one of my pages at:  www.susanlappmellottsauthorartist.com.   Fell free to check out all my pages while here.

What a dreary day today has been.  It really didn't start raining here, until about an hour ago (3:00 pm)  I've been so tired all day.  I think perhaps that's because of the weather.  It's so overcast and dingy out there.  One just wants to lay down and take a nap. 

My husband's been on the go most of the day, thus far.  This morning he left the house by 6:30 so he would be on time for the campground breakfast.  It was being held at the Ronald McDonald House.  He was helping to do the cooking.  They cook and serve breakfast to all the clients who are staying at the house.  When he left there, he had to make a return to Bass Pro Shops, then he came home.  After lunch, he went to the Mall to walk.  When he was finished his walk, he did some shopping for me.  I so appreciate it when he helps me out with my errands.

What have you all been up to this weekend, so far?  Whatever it is, I hope you will make some time for yourself.  We all need that!  So, if you haven't taken that alone time yet, please try to do it soon.  Before you know it, the weekend will be gone. 

All my best to each and every one of you.  Take care and God bless!
Susan