My Mission Statement

I write to serve, to unite, to educate. I write to share literature and flesh out ideas that may be of interest to others. I write to document an emotion, experience, or a blip in time. My mission is to write in such a way that the reader is reminded that we can find humor in all situations. It's one of the great blessings of life.


Friday, May 16, 2008

Redneck Parenting Tooth Fairy Tip and TAG, you're IT!

Redneck Parenting Tips of the Morning:
1. Always have cash (small bills) in the house for last minute tooth fairy needs lest you have to go to the bank machine at 11:00 at night to take out a twenty and then drive to the only all night convenient store in your town, which is very scary, and get small bills, so your child will be appropriately rewarded for losing a tooth.
2. Get important pictures taken and portraits painted of your children BEFORE they lose their front teeth.
3. Do NOT let your child play Indiana Jones with a bungee cord, attaching it to a tree and trying to pull himself up. And do not let him encourage his friend to help him pull if it's too hard to pull.

TAG, YOU'RE IT! I was tagged to answer the following questions by Sara. Answer them yourself in my comments, on your own blog, in your writing today or SOMEWHERE! Of course, I like to hear from you in the comments...but no pressure.

WHAT WERE YOU DOING FIVE YEARS AGO? Caring for a two-month old baby, a nearly three-year-old son, a kindergartner and a first grader. Wow, hard to believe. I had not yet begun to write fiction, and probably hadn't even thought about it. I was writing a weekly newspaper column about parenting and educational issues.

WHAT ARE FIVE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST TODAY (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)?
1. Finish my submission for Chautauqua
2. Go to store for cat food and dog food
3. Choose and iron clothes for my sons to have their picture taken in tomorrow
4. Make sure my daughter's costume is ready for her recital
5. Put away laundry!!!

WHAT ARE FIVE SNACKS YOU ENJOY?
1. almonds, my favorite!
2. chee-tos
3. avocados, a luxury, a treat, but still, hmmmmm
4. a really cold diet Coke
5. a fudgesicle

WHAT ARE FIVE OF YOUR BAD HABITS?
1. Making a mess in the car
2. Not unloading the heavy groceries from the car until I need it
3. Standing in the pantry and snacking, especially while I make dinner
4. Leaving the house without brushing my hair
5. Going to sleep with a stack of books in my bed

NAME FIVE PLACES YOU'VE LIVED.
1. Beaumont, Texas
2. Cary, NC
3. Richmond, VA
4. Boone, NC
5. Chapel Hill, NC

NAME FIVE JOBS YOU'VE HELD.
1. Waitress at Bella Italia in Richmond
2. Custom framer and art retailer at Allen Montague's Collector's Gallery in Cary, NC
3. Waitress at Blowing Rock Cafe in Blowing Rock, NC
4. Teaching 8th grade at Carrington Middle School in Durham, NC (one of several teaching jobs)
5. Wedding singer and delivering singing telegrams

FIVE PEOPLE YOU WANT TO TAG
1. Liz
2. Dorothy
3. Diane
4. Leanne
5. Alison


Join me later for a party! djk

5 comments:

Dorothy said...

Do you really want all these 5s here? Too late, here they are:

1.2003 joined Blue Bravo group.
2. got a laptop
3.Never mind other three.

To-do list today:
1. (try to) Figure out Fairy Tale
2. Buy groceries/gas($60!)
3. Read Donna's blog and PubRants.
4. Hem up three old long dresses
5. Ignore housework.

Five Snacks: bananas, yogurt, peanuts, don't snack.

Five bad habits: procrastination, laziness, solitair, don't exercise, procrastination.

Five places lived: Milwaukee, Richmond, Charlotte, Auburn, Syracuse.

Five jobs: photography studio assistant, art and int.design teacher, museum educator/ researcher,interior designer, decorative artist.


.

Diane said...

First, happy birthday to you. Hope it was a great one! Now here's my present (it may not fit, but you can't return it):

My answers to your TAG: (yay, just what you asked for!!)

Five years ago I made a deal with my husband to quit babysitting and work part-time at the school if he'd let me enroll in the writing course through the Institute of Children's Literature (shameless promotion here: It's well worth the cost/time/commitment IF you're just starting out and clueless.)

Five things on my to-do list (for tomorrow since today's about done): Find and buy shorts my daughter will actually wear; Find and buy a swimsuit the same daughter will actually wear (not as easy as it sounds); Pick out and purchase annuals then get them in the ground; Water the grass seed and pray for grass; Guilt children into doing at least some of the chores they've been slacking on lately.

Snacks: popcorn with Lawry's Seasoning Salt; anything chocolate; Twizzler's licorice; peanuts mixed with raisins; cookies

Bad habits: eating unhealthy snacks (apparently); putting off shopping for clothes until the season DEMANDS it; spending too much time thinking of ways to get out of cooking/preparing dinner; staying up much too late for my own good

Jobs: Sales; Editorial Assistant; Marketing Assistant; Resume Writer; School Secretary

People to Tag: Valli, Shari and all the remaining members of our crit group

Oh, and I hope it's okay but I've started tipping a bottle in preparation for your blog party!

Anonymous said...

TAG, YOU'RE IT! I was tagged to answer the following questions by Sara. Answer them yourself in my comments, on your own blog, in your writing today or SOMEWHERE! Of course, I like to hear from you in the comments...but no pressure.

WHAT WERE YOU DOING FIVE YEARS AGO? I was teaching my first of only 1.5 yrs at Crest Middle. It was my 6th year total. As a married couple, we were buying our first house.

WHAT ARE FIVE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST TODAY (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)?
1. Teach Sunday School (2yr. olds...should be entertaining)
2.Do some yardwork
3.Plan a menu for our Memorial Day dinner
4. Shop
5. Spend time with my family

WHAT ARE FIVE SNACKS YOU ENJOY?
1. chocolate
2. ice cream
3. rice crispies
4. a really cold diet Coke
5. trail mix

WHAT ARE FIVE OF YOUR BAD HABITS?
1. Procrastinaing (that menu probably won't get completed...I'll think about it)
2. Staying up too late
3. Snacking while making dinner
4. Misplacing my keys
5. Leaving my dirty clothes in the bathroom

NAME FIVE PLACES YOU'VE LIVED.
1. Cullowhee, NC
2. Cary, NC
3. Shelby, NC
4. Minneapolis, MN
5. Somewhere in TX

NAME FIVE JOBS YOU'VE HELD.
1. Waitress @ a country club in the mountains
2. Middle School Teacher
3. YMCA Camp Counselor
4. Cashier at Lowe's
5. Curriculum Specialist

Liz said...

Loved your redneck parenting tips- ESPECIALLY #3- hmmm- wonder why? :)

5 years ago: Living in Galveston TX- had a 4 yr old and almost 2 year old- was working inpatient psych. Seems so long ago!!

5 things on my to do list today (really for tomorrow- it's almost 9 on Sunday night!): workout; visit with my mom; office work!!; laundry; watch my daughter play her first softball game of the season!

5 snacks I enjoy: reeses peanut butter cups; pretzels; chips and salsa; nuts; cheese and crackers.

5 bad habits: Hey! I do the leave-the-heavy-stuff-in-the-car thing too!; leaving my shoes all over the house; leaving laundry folded in the baskets until the whole family can find absolutely nothing to wear; misplace my keys; misplace my sunglasses.

5 places lived: Bangor, ME; Philadelphia; Orlando, FL; NYC; Houston, TX

5 jobs: Taco Tico in Orlando, FL; waitress at Mugs and Movies in Tallahassee, FL; clerk at Alvins Magic Mall in Panama City Beach, FL; counselor at a runaway shelter in Tallahassee, FL; associate at an insurance company in Tallahassee.

Donna Jones Koppelman said...

You guys are AWESOME. Thanks for playing! Tag me anytime!


Isabel by Donna Jones Koppelman

Isabel by Donna Jones Koppelman

Major Bear at the Grove Park Inn by Donna Jones Koppelman

Major Bear at the Grove Park Inn by Donna Jones Koppelman