10 Things I Love that Begin with the Letter "D"

Before I start my "lite-write" for today (and lord knows I needed a "lite-write" after yesterday), I thought I'd share that DS got through his first day with flying colors, and it was only a slightly nervous boy that left for school this morning. And his mom is less nervous, too. And his first day was so unusual because his school is just so darned neat, that I'm going to make that a separate entry, but I just don't feel like writing about it today, so there!

Now, on to the "lite-write":

I first saw this challenge on Anno's place, who apparently saw it on Marianne's blog (not sure how I missed Marianne's posting) http://annos-place.blogspot.com/ but in any case, here's my list:

1. My Dear Husband - D. How could any list not start without him? How could any day not start without him? He's my handsome, sexy rock, my bff, occasionally my frustration, my jokester, and I've never (or at least, rarely) spent a day regretting marrying him 17 years ago. May we have many, many more.

2. The Dixie Chicks - not only do they ROCK as musicians, but any women who can stick it to Bush and stay true to themselves and THEN win a whole mess of grammy awards has my vote any day.

3. Mr. Darcy - my ideal "man". (Especially as played by Colin Firth). Another true-to-himself kind of guy. I could do without the social snobbery, but his sense of moral responsibility and his genuine love of Elizabeth sways me each time I read Pride and Prejudice.

4. Drifting - I really love drifting down a river in an inner tube. I even like those "lazy river" things, if they're not crowded. And I love to drift as a tourist - especially in a foreign land. I like to explore in a leisurely manner, so drifting seems like just the perfect descripter.

5. Daiquiri - A frosty banana or strawberry daiquiri can instantly transport me to Caribbean vacations of my childhood. Not that I was drinking them then, mind you, but they taste to me like St. Maarten or St. Croix or Martinique in a glass. One of the first things my dad would do is to order a daiquiri on the first night before dinner. And since he was from Boston, it was daaa-kiri. He also enjoyed Planter's Punch, and so do I, but that doesn't start with a "d".

6. Dragons - my favorite mythological creatures. An especial favorite right now is Sapphira from Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Trilogy. I'm also very partial to
from Kazul from Dealing with Dragons. I even have some affection for Smaug, whose "breath is death."

7. Dessert!!! Oh my goodness, dessert, dessert, dessert! And while I've always loved dessert, my tastes have changed over the years. As a child there was nothing better than a brownie sundae. These days, I'd rather have something like Apricot Chestnut Tarte Tatin from Amanda's wonderful Figs Olives Wine blog.

8. And speaking of dessert... DARK CHOCOLATE. Nothing finer. Fruit be damned.

9. David Lipshitz. Okay, so he's a character. My character from my still-unpublished YA novel A Changeling Goes to the Prom. But if I could have had my dream boyfriend in high school, David Lipshitz would probably be it (minus the unfortunate name and the werewolf thing).

10. Donuts. Yes, they're horrendously bad for you. But a dark chocolate-covered (see above), pastry cream-filled Boston Creme donut from the Crescent Bakery, warm out of the oven, is a close to pinnacle (you can insert another adjective of choice here, but there are kids who read this blog, so use your imagination) experience. Just trust me on this one.