TAGGING OR ...CHEATING? THIS IS THE QUESTION

I have been tagged … again … and just when I was complaining about “numbers” I got a meme with lots of 8s! Not a bad number, though. Thank you KATHRYN at LIFE IN ITALY! I’m ready to go.
This is an '8 Tag' meme - the rules being you have to mention who tagged you, you have to complete your lists of 8's and have to tag 8 other bloggers.

8 things I am looking forward to
- having more spare time

- having a new dream
- travelling to England again
-reading more
-watching new good films
-going for long walks
-going to the seaside
-having my flat restored

8 things I did yesterday
- stayed at school from 8.30 a.m. till 7.30 p.m.
- had a good quick lunch in a beautiful place in the countryside with some colleagues
- wrote a lot of papers
-yawned a lot (well, I tried not to)
-gave lots of good final marks to my best students
-gave lots of bad final marks to my worst students
- listened to my headmistress speaking for hours (that’s the reason of my yawning)
- felt guilty ‘cause I was completely neglecting my family


8 things I wish I could do
- improve my Spanish and English
- teach to people who really want to learn
- live in a different age for some time
- live and work abroad for some time
- learn new things each day
- become a superwoman, that is a perfect mum, wife, housewife, teacher
- take life with more …”leggerezza calviniana” (I’ll explain when I improve my English or when I have more time)

8 favourite fruits
- cherries
-strawberries
-peaches
-apricots
-raspberries
-kiwi
-pineapple
-watermelon

8 cities I've visited
-London
-New York
-New Orleans
-Munchen
-Brussels
-Norwich
-Madrid
-Barcelona

8 places I'd like to travel to
- Australia
-New York again
- Ireland
- Scotland
-Cornwall
-Canada
-Spain again
-Lots of places in Italy I’ve never been to!

Now ... this tagging question can be really hard sometimes! May I just say to anybody dropping by "If you feel like, do the same on your blog. And, well, let me know so that I can have a look!"
Is this cheating? Just for once ... let me do it.
FLY HIGH!HAVE A GOOD TIME!

APPRECIATING PRECIOUS LITTLE THINGS ...

Growing up with my lovely, wise grandmother I learnt to appreciate small little things and do you know what? It helps a lot to face life. For example, usually people plan great things for their weekends and long for the end of the working week. I usually hate Saturdays because mine are very often frantic: the housework & the ironing I have very little time to do during the week are there waiting for me! But today I managed to spare some time for me and that's a big conquest. It was only 5.45 p.m., my sons were going out for a pizza with friends, and I had, unexpectedly, some free time! Too early to cook dinner for two, my husband and I. So I sat on my small balcony in the fresh air and just watched the view surrounding me and listened to some music.

This is the view...

And this is the music ...

These two little things already made me happy and relaxed. So I decided to read a little. And I did it for about an hour. I'm reading a novel by Charlotte Bronte , SHIRLEY. I like it but I'm not keeping the pace I would like to 'cause I've been very busy these days. School is going to end, lots of final reposts to write and final tests to mark. But not today.

Then I cooked a quick simple supper for two, we ate salad and meat, cherries, and drank some good wine and now... he is finishing watching a movie (don't know which one) in the living room and I ... again... I'm trying to enjoy the little pleasures life can give... blogging is one of them, why not?

I've found two new blogs I like and in one of them THE BOOK GOBBLER there was a nice tag:

Try to recall in 15 minutes 15 books which will always stick with you. Do it in no more than 15 minutes. Nice isn't it?

Well, here are my 15 in 15:

1. L. May Alcott LITTLE WOMEN

2. J. Austen PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

3. J. Austen SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

4. J. Austen PERSUASION

5.C. Bronte JANE EYRE

6. E.Gaskell NORTH AND SOUTH

7. I. Allende PAULA

8. O. Fallaci UN UOMO

9. T. Terzani LETTERE CONTRO LA GUERRA

10. J. London MARTIN EDEN

11. R. Bradbury FAHRENHEIT 451

12 .S. Plath THE BELL JAR

13. J.D. Salinger THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

14. P. Mastrocola LA BARCA NEL BOSCO

15. A. Baricco NOVECENTO

But I've got many more! And it took me much less than 15 minutes!

Now, what are your 15 in 15? You don't have to think too much and must say the first 15 titles that come to your mind. Don't cheat....

Happy weekend... Lots of lovely enjoyable little things to all of you... My husband's movie is over...

TAGGING?

I'm glad I was tagged by you, lunarossa. I didn't know about tagging, either, so your "invitation" came to me rather unexpectedly these days. But it was a nice surprise and I think it is a pleasant way to know people in the Net. I'm terribly busy at the moment so I did everything in the bits of spare time I've had today.

As a "young" blogger I don't have many friends online so I hope the few I'm going to tag will respond.

Here are my answers and the new questions.

What are your current obsessions?
Do I have to be truthful? Please, may I tell you a white lie? Don’t know, something like … My current obsession is losing weight (I should do it, at least 4 kilos!), to get an appointment with a plastic surgeon (not interested at all!) or avoiding mirrors (I’ve always been distracted by the many things to do,I always forget to look at myself in the mirror even while putting on make-up!) ???
No? You want the truth? I’ll confess, then. RICHARD ARMITAGE. A lovely, charming, good – looking obsession! Since I saw him last summer in 2004 BBC “NORTH AND SOUTH”(one of my DVDs) , I have looked for, got and seen anything he has done so far ( Sparkhouse, Robin Hood, The Golden Hour, The Impressionists, Between the sheets, The Vicar of Dibley Christmas Special, any interview or clip I found on line, etc.,) . This handsome northern British actor has unexpectedly turned me into a … fan. I’ve never been a fan of anyone, neither when I was a teenager! I’ve heard there is an “Armitage Army” on line, but I’ve resisted the temptation to enlist … due to my convinced pacifist faith. Will I have the strength to go on resisting? Well, but, of course, what I appreciate most in him are his undoubted acting skills!

What’s for dinner tonight?
Fish & chips, for my boys (husband and sons); salad and salmon for me. It doesn’t sound typically Italian, does it? But they love fish and chips and we usually eat fish on Friday evenings. Then, I always say “I’ve ‘landed’ in Italy by mistake”

What’s the last thing you bought?
Small additions to my collections , just arrived today from Amazon by mail :
1. Audio-book The Witchfinders from Robin Hood read by …. Richard Armitage
2. Book Jane Austen, Sanditon
3. Book R. L. Stevenson , The Suicide Club

What are you currently listening to?
Coldplay, The Script; my favourite song at the moment is Malika Ayane, “Come foglie”(“Like leaves”)

What are your favourite holiday spots?
For a relaxing, defatiguing holiday I prefer Sardinia, Puglia, Calabria … any beautiful seaside resort in Italy. Then I love London, of course, but not to relax!

What are you reading now?

Lots of tests, essays, reports by my students. But also the last pages of Deirdre Le Faye, THE WORLD OF JANE AUSTEN. Hope to finish it soon. It’s quite a bit it ihas been in my bag or on my bedside table!

Use 4 words to describe yourself
I hate describing myself. (They are 4, aren’t they)

What is your guilty pleasure?
When I’m exhausted, to leave my husband do the washing –up after dinner and go to bed very early. Turn the lights off, put on one of my favourite DVDs and relax. (What a selfish woman!)

What is your favourite film?
I love costume drama, have a look at my blog and you’ll see it is true! My favourite one is NORTH AND SOUTH (BBC 2004) based on Elizabeth Gaskell novel and not only because my favourite actor stars in it. It IS one of the best adaptations of a classic I’ve ever seen. Have you seen it? Give it a try! (IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, HAVE A LOOK AT MY POST ABOUT IT. HERE)

What part of your body do you hate? (this is the question I replaced, well, I changed it a bit)
My hands, I’ve always hated them and tried to hide them ( but where!?!). Perhaps this is why I always notice other people’s hands, especially if they are beautiful.

What is your dream in the drawer? (This is my new question)
I don’t know if you say it in English. I just literally translated from Italian. Anyhow, my dream is to run a small beautiful old-fashioned bookshop but I am sure I couldn’t live on it. Have you seen the film “You’ve got mail” with Tom Hanks and … Meg Ryan.Was it she?

What do you fear the most?
To go crazy, to lose the control of my mind and my body (degenerative deseases).

What’s on your bedside table?
Some of my favourite books, some DVDs, a notebook with quotations I like to write down, pens and pencils.

What’s the best thing you ate or drank recently?
A good red wine and a tasty Italian dinner I had the last time my husband and I had dinner out, just last April. At the restaurant, the two of us, sons on a school trip , both at the same time though in different places… Perhaps it wasn’t the wine or the dinner I liked so much…

What would you like to be when you grow up?
A kind old lady with very few regrets, lots of good memories and … still interested in life.

NOW THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THIS PLEASANT ACTIVITY...

The "rules" are as follows. Respond and rework. Answer questions on your own blog. Replace one question. Add one question. Tag 8 people.

I'm tagging :

1. ELVIRA at FLORES Y PALABRAS (you can do it in spanish in your blog)

2. MARIANNA alias HANDBAGLADY (in Italian of course!)

3. LONDON BELLE

4. CHIARALICE

5. LARA at LONDON CALLING

6. JANE AUSTEN at JANE AUSTEN REGRETS

7. SYLWIA alias AUSTENETTE at MENDING MY OWN PEN

8. KATE DIAMOND at DAMNED SCRIBBLING WOMEN

Dear Ladies, apologies if you've been tagged before and if you don't feel like doing it or you don't have the time, dont' worry I won't be offended ( Sorry Antonella : I copied it from your post!)