Think being a stay-at-home mom is easy? Think again. In Sara Rosett's latest Mom Zone mystery, it's murder. Check it out:

Diaper bag over her shoulder and her toddler wriggling in her arms, Ellie Avery tries to balance motherhood, marriage, and her business—Everything in Its Place. She can send the worst case of clutter packing, but when a fellow military wife turns up dead, Ellie's ordered world is thrown into chaos and she has to tackle a different type of case—murder.

Was driving home today and passed West Marine - the very store I was planning to visit in preparation for our upcoming sailing trip - a trip that is seeming more boot camp-like every day. It will be me, my two best friends, and a captain on a 30-foot sailboat for five days in the Florida Keys. The captain is supposed to be teaching us to sail, and since we've never done this before I decided to call the sailing school and inquire about 1) the food, and 2) the drinks.

"So what do we eat?" I asked, knowing that they feed us every day on the boat. "Things women enjoy, like whole grains, fruits and vegetables." Huh? "What about Doritos?" I asked. "And snacks, we like to snack." Silence. "And we're bringing alcohol to drink, so will there be enough room to keep a case of beer cold?" Finally an answer, "We suggest drinking in moderation," the woman told me, "You'll be working on the boat all day." I went on to explain that we'd also like to dock the boat in the evenings and have dinner at some lovely water-side restaurants when possible. More silence. Finally the woman says, "You do realize you're living on a boat, right?"

Well, yeah! But this isn't the marines we're joining, we're paying to learn to sail, not starve. My friend, Lisa, who was smart enough not to join us on this expedition, calls our boat The Titanic. This trip will either be the best time ever or the worst. In any case, I now own a very cool pair of leather gloves with the tips cut off for when I must hoist the jib or do whatever I'll be expected to do (looked cooler than the ones with the full fingers), a neat blue shirt that has water wicking abilities, and the cutest navy blue bucket hat that has no right being worn on a boat designed for wind, but was too cute to pass up.

I realize April 1 was a week ago, but it's been busy! After spending last weekend at a writer's conference with a bunch of writer friends (Marley, Marianne, Diana, Hank, Becky) and my agent, this week was all about getting things caught up. Must mention that at the conference's Friday night dinner it was a "dress as your favorite character" theme for dessert. I went as, what else, Lauren from DRESS REHEARSAL, and did my part to look official in my white apron, white chef's hat, and a plate of chocolate cake in front of me - and in my tummy after about two minutes. Wish I had a picture to show what everyone else dressed as, am waiting for Diana to send me a picture of us, the patry chef and the secret society girl in a cloak.

Anyway, my kids were all excited for April Fool's day. When I woke up they were all giggly waiting for me or my husband to get fooled. Unfortunately, what they didn't expect was that the plumber would come to fix a leaky faucet in our bathroom. So when he turned off the water in the house and went to the kitchen sink to check to make sure it was off, he got a huge surprise. My kids had wrapped a rubber band around the sprayer next to the faucet so when the faucet was turned on, the person standing in front of the sink got soaked. They didn't expect that the plumber would be the first one to use the kitchen sink, and he certainly didn't expect to get sprayed by a stream of cold water. Luckily, he has a sense of humor.