Dove dreams

I've tangoed two days in a row. Life is good. Tango is an indulgence I have not enjoyed for several weeks (since school started). But tonight red shoes and a sassy little black dress helped create magic. On the way home I made a Wal-Mart pitstop and purchased another indulgence... Dove dark chocolates promises--you know, the ones with the nice messages on the inside of the wrapper.

Two wrappers in a row suggested "Make a list of your dreams." Since I have a blog dedicated to lists, I decided that a third indulgence was in order. Before I sleep, I'll make a list. Of dreams.

1. To find the man of my dreams for marriage and love and happiness.
2. To be the kind of teacher who loves her students as if they were her own.
3. To always be the kind of person that others trust and emulate.
4. To have guests frequently and have my home be a beacon of peace in a blustery world.
5. To be fit and able to dance tango until I die.
6. To go to bed each night feeling I did the best with the day I was granted and knowing that each new day is an unspeakable blessing.

About cultivation...

Reading Rules: then and now

1. When I was a kid, I could only read one book at a time.

NOW, as evidenced by "My current reading list," I'm reading at least five. (In reality, the number is higher, but I will not disclose exactly how many books lie opened and unfinished around the house.)

2. At one time, any book, once begun, is a commitment. Not completing a book once the first sentence had been read was tantamount to lying to your mother.

NOW, I give myself permission to give up on a book that doesn't interest me. Life is too short to be stuck in between unimaginative pages of insipid novels.

3. For a short period, I boycotted romantic and comedic fiction, reasoning that someone with a certain level of education should read only worthy tomes, that descriptor coming from an illogical gap in my theretofore reasoning.

NOW, I delight in the written word, no matter what the genre. If I am free to be intrigued by the title, preface, etc., I am free to enjoy it guilt-free.

4. I used to believe that a book on CD was really not a book, and shuddered to think that some people can stoop to enjoy a story read by someone else.

ONE DAY, I woke up and remembered that one of my favorite memories as a kid revolved around hearing stories read and told. This summer, I read about 5 books on tape while I was driving around town. Now that's a smart way to make progress on that looming reading list.

That list is for another day...

My current reading list, with commentary (of course)

Allende, Isabel. City of the Beasts. (Translation: Margaret Sayers Peden) New York: Harper Trophy, 2002.

One of my college students recommended this several semesters ago, and I'm still not out of the first chapter, but I really do want to finish it.

Chesterton, G.K. Orthodoxy. Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1994, 1908.
Eldredge, John. Waking the Dead. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.

I'm actually re-reading this classic. I love the intricacy of his exegesis.

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991, 1937.
Paolini, Christopher. Eldest. New York: Alfred A. Knopf/Random House, 2005.

I'm bored by this one and find it easy to get distracted. If I'm not finished with it by Thanksgiving, I may discard it. I am usually persistent with my reading lists...

Sonnenblick, Jordan. Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie. New York: Scholastic Press, 2004.

I love it! I do have to admit I cried on nearly every page! The book is soggy, but not sappy. One of my students did a report, and the way she described the brother, I knew it would be my next book.

Waltari, Mika. Tajomstvo Bozieho Kralovstva. (Translation: Andrej Rady) Helsinki, Finland: WSOY, 1992, 1961.

I've been coming back to this story, and rereading parts of it since a dear friend gave it to me as a birthday gift when I was living in Slovakia. I will finish this one, even though I've been lingering on it for years.