A Gathering Place for Adults Who Love Irish Dance

Monday, August 23, 2010

Kaylee's Choice by Rod Vick

Food to eat while reading: Delicious Dilemma Chips and Dips

What I liked:
Kaylee’s relationship with her dad is realistic. Although they have disagreements and don’t always agree, father and daughter love and sacrifice for each other. The fact that her father wanted her to take soccer because he had loved it addresses the whole "stage mother" issue that I try not to succumb to with my own children.

I also relate to Kaylee's attept at prioritizing. Daily I look at the various activities and responsiblities my children and I have taken on and try to keep them in perspective. Which is most important? Can the laundry wait until tomorrow? How can we compromise and keep everyone happy? more...

Thursday, August 5, 2010

The Ghillie Girls: Irish Dance Pals by Heidi Will

What to eat while reading: Sugar Cookie Dolls*


*For the next few months I will be reviewing Irish dance related books, along with my usual YA reviews. To go along with the Irish books, I will be trying various Irish recipes(watch for Sugar Cookie Dolls to be posted as soon as I test it in my kitchen).

Brightly colored and easy to read, The Ghillie Girls introduces Irish dance in a fun format that will appeal to those who want to know more about Irish dance, and those who already love it.
What I liked:

The book introduces four very different girls who have one thing in common: a love for Irish dance. Heidi Will uses these girls to illustrate the terms and language that is unique to Irish dance. Vocabulary blurbs define the words that are sometimes foreign to the beginning Irish dancer. more...

The Secret to Finding Gold at the End of the Rainbow

You may have heard that a man will become rich by following a rainbow to its end, where fabled leprechauns squirrel away their gold. Are the legends true? Can something be had for nothing?


Leprechauns are tricky fellows; they lure the unsuspecting on an impossible quest. To the mythological laborer, assurance of easy riches is a powerful siren that calls him away from the daily grind toward a magical life of ease. He leaves all that he has worked for and drifts toward the allusive rainbow, always just out of reach.

Scientifically, we understand that the rainbow is an optical effect that depends on the location of the viewer. The closer we try to get to its end, the further away the bow will drift.

A rainbow can be thought of in a different light: as a visionary goal. Think of the rainbow as a metaphor for a lofty goal that you have set for yourself. Does it seem so far away that you could walk forever and never reach it?

Unlike a physical rainbow, we have control over the attainability of our personal rainbows. I had a teacher in high school who drilled the importance of determined work into my brain, “Working will win, when wishy-washy wishing won’t,” he often quoted (Thanks Mr. C).

Think of the most successful people you know. Did they pine away after a get-rich-quick scheme or complain about how far away their goals were? If you take a close look at those people whom you admire, you will see a trend of hard work and determination. Probe a little further and those accomplished success stories will reveal a secret the leprechauns would rather you didn’t know: when they reached the end of their journey for success, it wasn’t the “pot of gold” at the end that gave them the satisfaction they had looked towards, it was the passage of time and work that became the real treasure.

Dictionary.com defines a pot of gold as the realization of all one’s hopes and dreams; ultimate success, fulfillment, or happiness. That kind of gold can be found at the end of anyone’s rainbow. Look for your own bow of light, and resist the urge to wait around for success to find you. Catherine Pulsifer, editor of Inspirational Words of Wisdom puts it another way, “Wishing for something occupies the mind, but leaves the bank empty. “

Work hard and keep your rainbow in view and your own pot of gold will be within grabbing distance. Just don’t forget to gather the valuable nuggets abounding from your efforts along the way.

*This article was originally published on DiddlyiMagazine on March 16, 2010
image source, image source