!. Man, oh, man what IS it with this week? I feel like everyone I know has been struggling with something, so much strain in the air. Then I wake up today to find out that Robin Roberts, who has been SO kind to me when I have visited GMA (and made many of those visits possible) lost her mother last night. This when she’s also going to undergo a bone marrow transplant next week. I know she’s a strong person, but come on, Universe! It’s all most too much to bear. I have a dear friend that is going back in for a second surgery after having a major one last week, as well, all because her aftercare in the hospital wasn’t as good as it should have been. Plus hurricanes, and grocery store shootings and, and….I’m just saying, something REALLY good must be coming up around the bend. A glimpse of it right now would be nice, though.

2. In other news, my daughter turns five this weekend. FIVE! Oh, man. I really does feel like only yesterday that I was lumbering around, hugely pregnant, enduring jokes about having a baby on Labor Day. (Ha! Ha! I had no sense of humor at nine months plus, by the way. NONE whatsoever.) It’s true what they say about the days being long but the years going quickly. I was out with her on her bike yesterday, watching her wobble down the street—she’s still on training wheels—and it just blew my mind. She wants me to stay close but also wants to be independent, so we compromise and I just put a finger on her handlebars. She puts her hand over it, and we move along. Okay, I have a lump in my throat just writing that. It’s going to be one of those many tissue weekends, I think. Break out the box!

3. When I’m not crying, I’ll probably be having a nervous breakdown, as for some reason my daughter’s birthday party is giving me panic attacks. People: it is seven kids, an hour and a half, and not at my house. What is my problem? I have no idea, but for some reason I’m looking at this like some sort of Death March I have to endure. And it’s supposed to be a HAPPY THING! It may have something to do with the fact that I organized all of this myself—place, cake, invites, favors, presents—so if anything goes wrong, it’s all on me. And I just want my kid to be happy. Which, truly, she would be with just about anything. Okay, I’m going to stop writing about this before I have go breathe into a paper bag.

4. You know what would be a great thing right now? This:

You’re welcome. Personally, I feel better already. This is why I have a Pinterest board that is nothing BUT pictures of puppies. Because it’s like a visual Prozac. Which, now that I think about it, would be a GREAT band name. Hmmm….

5. Finally, for your Friday, an update on the reading front. I finished Jess Walter’s BEAUTIFUL RUINS, which was just SO good and epic, especially the ending. Wow. Now I have moved on to Amy Sohn’s PROSPECT PARK WEST, which is all about Brooklyn moms. It’s fun and well written and reminds me a lot of Jennifer Weiner’s books, which I also love, especially LITTLE EARTHQUAKES. Next up, Jonathan Tropper’s latest, ONE LAST THING BEFORE I GO, which I have been saving because I know once I finish it I’ll have to wait awhile for another new book from him. On audio, I finished BEAUTY, DISRUPTED, a memoir by supermodel Carre Otis. It was really interesting and I will never look at Mickey Rourke (who she was married to for a time) the same way again. Man, there’s some crazy sauce there! Now I’m finally listening to Patti Smith’s JUST KIDS, which everyone has raved about, and I totally see why. It’s like a memoir written in poetry, just so lovely, and listening to it really brings out both her voice and the language. Also, it totally makes me want to move to New York, be wild and artistic, and live solely by street smarts and creativity. Which I would totally do…if I didn’t have a five year old’s birthday party to deal with. Oh, who am I kidding. I’m WAY too uptight to be a bohemian. I don’t think they, as a rule, need to breathe into paper bags. But maybe I’m wrong?

Okay, off to buy balloons and cupcakes. Have a great weekend, everyone!

1. I cannot believe that I’m starting another blog while reacting to news of a public shooting incident, this time in NYC. I don’t go into politics here, for any number of reasons. But can’t something be done about this? It makes me feel so helpless and sad, and worried for my own daughter and all the things I can’t protect her from. Is it a matter of control? Better diagnosis/early intervention for mental illness? I have no idea, but I’m just a writer: there’s got to be somebody who has put deep thought into this. When I think about it, it just makes me want to cry. Okay, I’ll stop cheering everyone up now.

2. And now I WILL cheer you up, I think, if you need it. This week I discovered two things that have become my go-tos for both procrastination and a good helping of happy. First up: this this tumblr that is nothing but GIFS of shots from Beverly Hills, 90210. I could spend all day looking at just this one. Remember? From when Dylan and Brenda were broken up but he got hurt so came to stay at Casa Walsh and was all pining for her and smoldering from the room next door? I probably don’t have to tell you it was one of my favorites. Or that I had a Luke Perry poster on the bathroom wall. Of the house I shared with my then boyfriend-now husband. When I was in COLLEGE. Oh, man. I can’t believe I just admitted that. Moving on…

3….to the OTHER happy making thing, which has gotten lots of attention this week: The Dog Shaming tumblr. In which people send in pictures of their dogs (and sometimes cats) looking very chastened with an announcement of their crimes. The boxers and Boston terriers are, of course, my favorite. Who knew so many dogs liked to eat underwear and feminine products? See, the internet CAN teach you things. I would have put up a pic of my little wild dog Coco already if I wasn’t having to narrow down her various offenses to the one I think deserves international sharing. There are so many. So, so many….

4. In other news, lots of questions here, via my website and on Twitter about the new book and other upcoming stuff. Here’s what I know: the paperback of WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE will be released on April 9th, 2013. Then my NEW book, THE MOON AND MORE, will be out on June 4. I’m actually going to be heading up to a meeting not too long from now to discuss publicity/tour/other fun stuff with the awesome marketing team at Penguin, so hopefully by the holidays I’ll have some fun details to share. We’re hard at work on a cover as well, which is GORGEOUS and I’ll share it when I get the go ahead. My eleventh book! Whoa. Time flies. I feel like I had that Luke Perry poster up in my bathroom just yesterday, too, though.

5. Another embarrassing confession: I just got totally distracted from this blog writing by the Kate Spade selection on Amazon, which I happened to spot as I looked up my paperback put date. Next thing I know, I’ve lost ten minutes drooling and dreaming over them. This, after I SWORE up and down—having lugged all my purses upstairs while the floors were getting done, then back to my closet—that I would not buy any more. At least until I unloaded a bunch that I had. What is it with me and bags? Purses, totes, cosmetic bags: when it comes to Kate Spade I am WEAK. I know some people are like this with shoes—my husband has running shoes the way Carrie Bradshaw has Manolos, they are everywhere—but I USED to be a one bag every couple of years kind of gal. Maybe it’s a sign of getting older, like the creases in my forehead and how cranky I get when someone snatches my newspaper? I guess it’s like that Luke Perry GIF and the dog shaming pics: you take your happy where you can, especially on days when you’re faced with so much of the opposite. I have a good friend who just does NOT read or watch the news. Like, ever. It’s a gift she’s given herself so she can be happy. But I’m on the internet too much for that, plus I’d have to give up GMA, which gives me a BIG dose of happy every morning. So for now, I will look, and try not to buy. If I am tempted, I will maybe start my own tumblr: Sarah Shaming. In which I take pictures of myself and all MY offenses, with buying too many purses right at the top. I’m sure Coco would approve.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

1. I just started this Five apologizing for being so late. Because I thought it was 7pm on FRIDAY, not Thursday. Which it is, as I’m writing this. I have a good reason for being so discombobulated, though. First off, the floor guys have been here all day (Thursday), my bed and bureau are in my living room, and my ears are ringing from the compressor popping. Also, I’ve been trying to do major edits on my next book, which is hard even when you DON’T have a parade of strangers coming in and out, loud noises and two very nervous dogs on the verge of a breakdown. Whew! But it is Thursday. Got it!

2. And now…it is FRIDAY, for real. My dogs just left for the kennel for the weekend, I have somehow managed to pack even though my clothes are scattered all around upstairs as if shot out of a cannon, and we will soon depart for the mountains to try to escape the chaos. I am a neurotic packer even under the BEST of circumstances, but with all this happening I am sure I will forget something major. I’m like Jason from The Truth About Forever, with multiple checklists. If you saw them, you’d think I was insane. And maybe I am. But when you HAVE no control, you do what you can to pretend that you do. Or, I do. (Updated later: I forgot to pack a sweater for myself, which is not a big deal, and any underwear for my kid, which is. Whoops.)

3. This week, I got a really nasty email from someone who needed help with a book report and was angry they received my auto-response. There was a time when I tried to answer each email personally, but then it just got overwhelming, and I had to, like, sleep and eat and raise my kid, so I tried to put the info people might need on my website and direct them to it. Most people understand this. I mean, if you want to learn about me, look no further than this blog: you will learn WAY too much about me just by reading back a few entries. Anyway, this person wanted me to answer some questions for her school assignment. When I didn’t, she said it was my fault she got a B. (Don’t even get me started on teachers who might actually grade based on a student getting a personal response from an author: UNFAIR all around doesn’t even begin to cover it.) Then she sent me a two word email, that began with a certain F word and ended with the word YOU. Nice, right? My first reaction was to write back and tell her how rude she was. Instead, I wrote a long blog post, saved it, and put it aside until the next morning, when my cooler head prevailed. No point it giving it more air than I’m doing here. And the only reason I AM writing about it is on the off chance that someone reading this is a teacher and in a position to point out to students that dropping the F-bomb just cause a total stranger doesn’t do exactly what you want or need isn’t okay. Because it isn’t. End of rant!

4. On a totally different note, a confession: I watched Here Comes Honey Boo Boo this week. I feel like I should pay a penance, maybe, say, have to watch nothing but PBS for the next month. Or year. Oh, people: this show. My husband—who I convinced to watch it under duress—is convinced it’s scripted, but I don’t think so. I just think these people ARE that wide open and honest and don’t realize how they come across on national TV. Or maybe they do and don’t care? I have always been a sucker for reality TV, I’m not too proud to admit it. But certain shows, even when I am WATCHING them, make me feel ashamed of both the subjects and myself. On the flip side, I am LOVING Gordon Ramsay’s new show, Hotel Hell, which is basically Kitchen Nightmares but at hotels, so he’s not only shocked at the state of someone’s walk in cooler but also their guest rooms and lobbies. I wonder what he’d think of the hotel where I am currently writing this, in Asheville, at 6:21 on a Saturday morning (nope, my kid does NOT sleep in on vacations). It’s cute but the pillows on the couch are like leaning back against cardboard boxes. I can hear him now, “Good LORD! How pathetic ARE these?” LOVE.

5. Okay, I’ll be honest. I don’t have a five. I barely have a four and this HAS to be the most disjointed blog I’ve ever written, or at least one of them. I mean, I started it on Thursday when I thought it was Friday. Added to it Friday in the midst of chaos. And am finishing it LATE early Saturday morning, drinking watered down tasting hotel lobby coffee. (“What IS THIS???” Gordon would scream.) Clearly, my blog skills are slipping. Hopefully it’s a temporary thing. Like situational anxiety: passing blog fail. Yeah, that’s it.

Have a good REST of the weekend, everyone!

1. Yes, I know this is usually a FRIDAY Five, and it’s Thursday. But this week has been nuts, and tomorrow I’m spending the day with my best girls from high school, doing our annual get-together, so I’m going to try and get this done today. Which is hard because I have been going non-stop since about six this morning. It was like the perfect storm of STUFF happening around here: husband leaving for race track at 5am, guys coming to take down a dead, leaning tree by 9, plus babysitter and other people and dogs barking and OH MY GOODNESS. By the time I got over here to my office and the quiet, I felt like it should be bedtime. But that’s the way it is in this house. Either nothing is happening, or everything. There seems to be no in between. Secretly? I think my husband likes it that way. Why, I have no idea.

2. Also today we had some car switcheroo going on, so my babysitter was driving mine and I had my husband’s sedan. It’s a manual transmission, which isn’t a big deal, as I can drive a stick shift. My first car was an automatic, a 1984 Nissan Stanza hatchback:

Mine was blue, and I looked JUST about as cool driving it as you can imagine. (Side note: I found this picture on a site called Old Cars Parked. Ouch! But I digress.) My Stanza was great, though, got me everywhere I needed to go, even if it slowed to a crawl up steep hills. When I was in college, though, my parents traded it in for a new car and gave me their old one, a white Honda Accord with a manual transmission. Learning to drive stick was NOT easy. My husband (then my boyfriend) was too nervous to be in the car with me while it shuddered and stalled repeatedly, so the task was passed to my brother, who had just returned from living at a Zen Buddhist center in California and was very relaxed. We spent hours with me trying to master the clutch, stalling, jerking around parking lots. Finally, I was on my own, so I started practicing late at night, after I got off work at the restaurant. I’d drive around empty neighborhoods, try to stop on hills (sometimes sliding down them backwards, whee!) until I finally got comfortable enough to try daytime. I drove stick for years, and ended up being so used to it that when I did finally buy my own new-to-me car, I was really bummed when the one I wanted and could afford was an automatic. I got it anyway, but since then have prided myself on my stick shift ability. It’s just a good skill to have, like being able to fold a paper sailboat or assemble a decent bean salad from memory. I am still good with a Honda. But my husband’s car is European, the stick is kind of different and today, I kept stalling. Shuddering. Embarrassing myself having to turn the key AGAIN to start at stoplights. (Often some of the SAME stoplights where I stalled out at night, all those years ago. Full circle!) So maybe I am not as good at it as I thought. Which is a realization I am coming to about a lot of things as I get older. And now I am DEPRESSED. *thinks a minute* You know, I wouldn’t want to be in my twenties again, though. Even if it meant rocking the manual transmission. Too much angst, not enough nice sheets. Yeah, forties are good.

3. Speaking of my brother, I will now share this picture of us as kids for no other reason than I WISH I could find a dress in the same toadstool pattern today. Also, you can admire the shag haircut my mother STILL insists was super cute (I disagree):

4. One thing I did in high school AND now was always carry too much stuff in my purse. I have never been able to go minimalist in ANYTHING, but especially when it comes to my bag. Do I NEED a big wallet, sunglasses and regular glasses, my phone, many lipsticks, a cute change purse AND several smaller bags to hold various other things? Probably not. But I have them. I was always the one—speaking of my high school friends—who ended up carrying everyone ELSE’S stuff because I was already lugging around this huge bag. “Can you hold my keys and ID?” I’d hear, and then my shoulder would sag under MORE weight, while my friends danced off to the bar or wherever. Anyway, every once in awhile I decide I am going to try and be different. So this week I found a great little wristlet on sale and got it. It fits only my phone, a couple of credit cards and one lipstick. TINY! But I packed it up for date night with my husband and was feeling SUPER proud of myself…until my babysitter commented on it. I said, “I’m thinking it would be great for if my friends and I end up at a club or something on Girls’ Night.” People: the LOOK on her FACE. “Sarah?” she said to my husband. “At a CLUB?” And then she giggled. In a nice way. See, that’s why I need a big purse. To whack people over the head with when they stuff like that. A wristlet=not the same. (I’m still going to take it with me this weekend, though. So there!)

5. Finally, a book update. I finished Jennifer Weiner’s THE NEXT BEST THING (which I loved) and have now moved onto Gillian Flynn’s GONE GIRL, which is one of those books that picks up steam and suspense so much that you realize you MIGHT be in danger of letting everything else in your life fall by the wayside until you finish it. I am trying not to do that, though. On audio, I finished Anna Quindlen’s LOTS OF CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKE and have moved onto David Sedaris’ SQUIRREL SEEKS CHIPMUNK, which is just as twisted and weird and wonderful as you would guess from the title. On deck in print: BEAUTIFUL RUINS by Jess Walter; on deck in audio, LET’S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED by Jenny Lawson. So many books, so little time. Especially since I probably need to start writing another one of my own….

Have a great weekend, everyone!