But as I dove into the Saturday Night Widows, I realized that while becoming a widow may not be something I can relate to, the true story I found in this book was actually about finding a way to start over when life has pulled the rug out from underneath you and doing it with friends.

These are things I can relate too…

The focus of the book wasn’t just about losing a spouse (though I’m sure women who have lived that particular circumstance will get even more from this story than I did) but about losing everything and rising from the ashes. Whether that’s losing your home, a job, infertility, divorce, or any circumstance where you have to pick up and start all over again.

And that’s the thing I kept going back to while reading this book.

Is that YOU can start all over again. All you have to do is put your head down and keep going. And surround yourself with friends who won’t judge you and will let you laugh in the face of tragedy.

Which is really the secret to life in general isn’t it?

Laugh at life, even when everything hurts and it’s totally not appropriate, laugh. Laugh at the absurdity and unfairness of it all. Laugh at your horrible luck. Laugh to help keep the tears at bay. And make sure you have friends who will laugh (or cry) with you at all those inappropriate times.

Oh, and go ahead read books that you don’t think you’ll relate to. Because you might just be surprised…

Now, I laugh a lot. I’m not going to pretend I don’t. But as I sat and stared at that writing prompt I couldn’t help but reflect on the fact that, well, this week sucked. There were high points yea, but as a whole, it sucked. It sucked big, bad, and hard. And at this moment as I write this I’m having a hard time thinking of a particular laughable moment from the past week.

Well OK, except for this. Because when I am going through a rough patch I always turn to the boys in Monty Python to help me make light of it.

So yea, crappy week. But THIS. This made me laugh it out.

That right there is what makes reading such a wonderful thing. It’s one thing to read about things we love or relate to, but it’s in the books that give us a look into a life and world we know nothing about that forces our imaginations to work overtime.

That’s what kept going through my mind as I read Chris Pavone’s The Expats.

The Expats follows Kate Moore, a former ClA operative turned housewife, who has moved with her husband and kids to Luxembourg where mystery and secrets take over her life. The espionage and mystery storyline are good enough, but it was in the setting of the book and the general idea of living abroad that got my mind thinking.

Halfway through the book I finally dove into the Internet looking up to see what life is like in Luxembourg. Pictures, home rentals, schools, etc. Not that we are in a situation to up and move to Luxembourg, but thanks to the Expats (and the Internet) I was able to imagine what it would be like to do it.

And again, isn’t that the point of reading? To give us a sneak peaks into lives and worldd we’d otherwise not know exist? Not that I didn’t know Luxembourg existed, but the whole world of Expats and moving to another country and sending my kids to school and building a life, is not something I’d really thought about.

Until Now. Where would I go? Luxembourg? Maybe, it’s gorgeous and I feel like the atmosphere would be easy for my quirky family to fit into. But at the same time Norway or New Zealand would be amazing too. I had a friend from Prague in my early years as a mom, and I was always in awe of her stories and (I interviewed her for a college project about schooling in other countries, giving me a lot of details about growing up in Prague) yes, I think I’d give it a go. Or perhaps Ireland. Home of my ancestors, my family’ motherland. Some sort of cosmic full circle thing. I don’t know… but it’s fun to think about.

So I ask you, if you could just drop everything and pick up your family and move abroad, where would you go?

photo credit: Wolfgang Staudt via photopin cc

This was actually written on the 2008 Anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake, but I’m reposting it today.

They say sometimes animals can sense when something is about to happen. A storm, tornado, flood, or an earthquake. Well Mama Kitty had been missing since Monday, and it was now Tuesday afternoon. We decided to make some flyers and hang them up around the neighborhood. We sat at the kitchen table making up our lost pet posters, when suddenly the earth began to shake. Movies and books began falling of the shelves, and as all good California boys & girls do we got underneath the doorway.

Once the shaking finally stopped we all ran outside. All the neighbors had stepped out into the October evening and began joking and making guesses as to what size the quake was. Us kids were laughing and standing in the street watching the parked cars still gently rocking back & forth. When the cable finally came back on we all went inside to see the verdict. You see, earthquakes here aren’t really a big deal. They happen all the time, and though this one was obviously a doozy, it was still just an earthquake. Or so we thought.

The first pictures I remember seeing of the devastating damage done by the Quake of ’89 was that our beloved bay bridge had collapsed. No one had ever imagined something like that could happen. I just remember staring at the TV, and thinking “there’s people down there”. The newscasters just kept saying, “Thank God for the World Series”. You see, here in the bay area at the exact moment the quake hit, a good majority of bay area residents had gathered to watch our two bay area teams, The A’s & The Giant’s battle it out in the World Series. That game is the only reason the Bay Bridge was relatively empty on a Tuesday at 5:04PM when normally it would have been backed all the way to Oakland with commuter traffic.

The coolest thing about living in The Bay Area is that when we do disaster, we do it well. In less than 24 hours the local Red Cross and many concerned citizens were doing what they could to help find shelter for the 12,000 people left homeless by the quake. I heard it said on the news after the 2007 California Wildfires that FEMA should base their emergency disaster relief plans on California’s state disaster plans. I don’t know if that’s true, but I remember being pretty inspired as a little girl by the way the various Bay Area communities stepped up during what at the time, was the worst natural disaster in US history.

We Built This City was designated by Bay Area radio stations to be “Our Song” during the days following the quake. This was only right considering the song was written about the city anyway. As those rescue and recovery efforts continued and the rebuilding (which took years, hell, the Cypress just finally reopened LAST YEAR) began, this song fit. And ever since that shaky Tuesday in October I have forever related this song to all the kind, brave, and generous souls who did their part to help rebuild the city.

“Marconi plays the Mamba, Listen to the radio, Don’t you remember? We built this city, We built this city on rock and roll!”

The next day was a Wednesday, and I woke up to find Mama Kitty sitting on the front porch as if she’d never been gone. That day after the quake, October 18, was a big day for me. It was my birthday, and I turned 11.

That’s right, Circus Vargas is back! Their run kicks off today in Tracy at the West Valley Mall, where they’ll be through the 27^th.  Then they’ll set up the big tent in Milpitas at the Great Mall from August 30 through September 3 after they hit they hit Southland Mall in Hayward from September 6 – 10 and the Newark Mall in Newark from September 13 -17.

We’ll be of course catching one of the Tracy shows. But as I always say, what fun is a little circus magic if I can’t share it with my friends?

So once again this year the folks at Circus Vargas have given me a family four pack of tickets to giveaway to ANY of their Bay Area shows!

From their press release, “This year, Circus Vargas is bringing a touch of Broadway to the Big Top, introducing famed singing Ringmaster Kevin Venardos. Venardos skillfully melds melody with movement, adds a bit of Broadway and a splash of razzle-dazzle for an unbelievably entertaining extravaganza!

So what do you have to do to win tickets? All you have to do is “Like” Circus Vargas on “Facebook here, https://www.facebook.com/CircusVargas and then come back and leave your name in the comments of this post. That’s it. Friday at 2PM I will choose a winner via Random.org. Then you let me know which show you’ll be attending and your tickets will be waiting for you at will call!

So join me in enjoying the magic of the circus this summer and check out Circus Vargas!

As a mom I have come to reassess my shoe buying standards to something more than just if they look good and I can squeeze my feet into them. I need shoes that are practical, comfortable and affordable. Even more that I need shoes that fit the season. I don’t mean that in a fashion forward kind of season, I mean winter, spring, and summer fall kind of season. I am also weary of shopping for my kids as well because as any mom knows, kids grow FAST. I am always looking for good sturdy shoes that do not cost and arm and a leg because I know that despite how great the shoes are, they will be out them in less than a year.

So what’s a mom to do? Go to the mall.

There are 16 shoes stores at Stoneridge Mall (this does not include the shoe departments at Macy’s, JC Penney’s, Nordstrom’s or other clothing stores).  Which means you are guaranteed to find the style, size, and price for everyone in the family.  Whether it’s fancy shoes for date night, your favorite sister’s wedding or flip-flops for the whole family. Which incidentally is what I went for.

I found four adorable pairs of flip-flops for all four of us. My next shoe-shopping trip will include some cutesy sandals, but I was on a mission to obtain flip-flops for the daily trips to our neighborhood pool we will be making once school is out.

I ended up at Payless Shoe Store. This is the beauty of mall shopping; you don’t have to spend a fortune to get shoes on the whole family if you don’t want to. Something for everyone’s budget is there.

I received a Simon Mall Gift Card from Stoneridge Shopping Center to purchase something to “National Shoe Week”, but the opinions are completely my own.