Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Fun Stuff!

Okay, for a hilarious example of perfect wordplay, go to Mary Hershey’s blog. I never knew the Pillsbury Doughboy could be so funny, and leave it to Mary to show us just how much there is to poke fun at!

And for the second time in my blogging life, I’ve been tagged by a fellow writer, Patty Palmer. We bloggers are a playful bunch, aren’t we? And since my hubbie is teaching class right now and my cats are sleeping, I’ve got a few minutes to play along. So, here goes:

Rules for the game:
1. Put these rules at the beginning of your post.
2. Then answer each question (see below) in your post.
3. Tag five people at the end, then post a comment on each of their blogs letting them know you've tagged them, and ask them to check your blog for details.

What was I doing 10 years ago?
Ten years ago, I had just received my 1st degree Black Belt in taekwondo so I was in much better physical condition than I am now! Professionally, I was in my 21st year of teaching at the Montessori pre-primary level and my first thoughts of writing for children were surfacing in my mind. Personally, my son was finishing with middle school so I was very involved with his life.

Five Snacks I Enjoy:
1. Fresh blackberries.
2. Freshly picked cherries from Hood River, Oregon.
3. Movie popcorn (which I only eat about once a year because it’s got like a bazillion calories and way too many grams of fat and salt).
4. Edamame beans.
5. Oatmeal chocolate-chip FiberOne bars.

Five things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Well, if you’re going to fantasize, go big!
1. I’d buy a summer vacation home in Hood River, Oregon where I could eat fresh cherries every summer until my stomach would feel ready to explode.
2. I’d buy a winter condo in Mammoth so my hubbie could snowboard and not have to make the long day drive to do it.
3. I’d donate a large part of it to D & S Animal Rescue Center (in Ridgecrest) so they could build a full-service facility to house and adopt out the hundreds of animals that they save annually.
4. I’d surprise my husband with a trip to Palau so we could scuba dive and swim in Jellyfish Lake.
5. I’d hire Stacy and Clinton from TLC’s “What Not to Wear” to find me a pair of jeans that actually fit. Of course, that might take all of the money because it wouldn’t’ be an easy task for them and I’m sure they’re expensive.

Five jobs that I have had:
1. Counter girl at Jack in the Box.
2. Temp-clerk.
3. Substitute teacher (all grades).
4. College teacher.
5. Montessori pre-primary teacher.

Three of my habits:
1. Checking my email way too often—I’m obsessed, what can I say?
2. On-demand petting and playing with my two cats (and my cats are very demanding but since they’re the world’s cutest and sweetest cats they deserve it).
3. Writing with my blue Hello Kitty pencil. I’m a fanatic about it. Any writing I’ve done for younger children has always started out with this pencil and a notepad. I won’t write with anything else, unless I’m away from home and caught without it—and then my creativity is less than stellar. Hello Kitty really motivates me, I suppose.

Five places I have lived:
Just five??? Here are the main ones:
Fort Worth, Texas.
Rochester, New York.
Mercer Island, Washington
Manhattan Beach, California.
Ridgecrest, California.

Five people I want to get to know better (i.e) TAG!
Catherine Ipcizade at Fresh from the Oven (Catherine is a fellow Sylvan Dell author)
Barbara Bietz at Jewish Books for Children with Author Barbara Bietz (Barbara is from my SCBWI region and one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met).
Greg Pincus at Gottabook (Greg is a poet who invented a unique poetry form called, “The Fib.”)
Tina Nichols Coury at Tales from The Rushmore Kid (Tina is from my SCBWI region and has her first book coming out soon).
Greg Trine at Melvin Beederman Superhero (Greg is a softspoken superwriter with a sharp wit).