We Have Arrived!

We started off in Texas and went through all these states: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and finally New York!!! Traveling through all those states we didn’t have to pay any tolls. To enter the wonderful state of NY we had to pay two – total, $13.00. Ah, tolls, it’s coming back to me now. It was New York State’s way of saying: Welcome home.

I have to tell you as much fun as we have had on our very long trip; it’s great to be home. I look forward to getting the PODS unloaded and sleeping in my own bed. I can’t wait to cook a meal in my own kitchen and to no longer live out of a suitcase.

Tom and I stopped at my sister’s house to see my mom. She lives in Pennsylvania with her. It was good to see my sister, my niece and my brother-in-law also. My mom is 83 and is the sweetest person ever. I loved seeing her and spending time with her. We talk often on the phone (every week) but it’s not the same. I loved all the kisses and hugs I got when I got there and throughout. This is a picture of my mom.
I want to thank all of you who have come along this long journey with Tom and I. I want to thank all of you that we stayed with along the way. Tom and I had a great time together traveling in the car. We look forward to settling in and getting to know the people at the new church. This is an exciting time for us.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

Chocolate Factory

Tom and I stopped in Hershey, PA and got to see Chocolate World. It was fun. It’s part of the whole chocolate town of Hershey, PA. Check out the lamp post kisses.
There is a free tour that was very cute – complete with a ride, singing cows and how chocolate is made in a factory. Most of my pictures came out dark because there was not enough light, but here are a few.After the tour we got asked to give our opinion on their orange crème kisses. We were taken to a room, given a sample and we had to fill out a form. We got free chocolate at the end for participating. Yum. Results: I liked it but Tom didn’t. I thought it taste like a Creamsicle and Tom taught it had an aftertaste like baby aspirin. Funny, huh – two totally different opinions.
The store part of Chocolate World had everything chocolate – even a chocolate Barbie Doll. Here are some pictures from inside.
Look Tina - they had palm trees in Chocolate World.
Tom posing for me. He's so cute.
Tom knew this would end up on the blog. He's a good sport.
We had lots of fun and then headed out to see my mom in Stroudsburg, PA. She lives with my sister and her family. Next stop – New York! Yeah. No more living out of suitcases.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

BBQ in Clarksburg, WV

Tom and I have had a great time reconnecting with old friends (not necessarily friends that are old) in WV. We drove by our former house. This was the view going uphill to our house, which by the way is located on top.
The view from on the top of the hill we lived on.Our old house.
Then we headed out for a BBQ at the McColls who opened their home as a place to meet. Check out this spread.
Our gracious host, Dave and Lynette.
Dave made his famous venison bacon wraps. Normally I’m not a big fan of deer meat but Dave has a special talent. He also made some great chicken with his own BBQ sauce – King David’s Sauce. Even the mild had a bit of a kick to it.
We had a great time telling stories about old times and catching up on what’s going on in people’s lives now. The kids I left eight years ago are so grown up now. One just got engaged!

Monday the plan is to go to Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Now some pictures of folks at the BBQ.
© Nadine Zawacki 2009

Bridgeport, WV

We are now back in Bridgeport, WV. We lived here for a year before moved to Nutter Fort, WV for seven years. That’s right a Zawacki lived in Nutter Fort. Funny huh?
A very popular item in WV is pepperoni rolls. When we made a stop we had to have one.
We are visiting a dear friend we have know over 30 years, Jim and his family. His two eldest kids (now with kids of their own) came by to see us. I’ve know them since before they were born. Here’s a picture of Grandpa Jim with his daughter youngest girl (6 months old).
This is the oldest sister. She drew that picture and did I mention she is only 6 ½. She draws so well.
This is the middle daughter (3 years old). What a great smile she has.
Jim made a wonderful meal of salad, steak, green beans and corn on the cob. He’s a great cook.

His youngest son is now fifteen and much taller than me. It makes me feel old, but then again I am old.

We are having a great visit and will get to see some of our old church members at a BBQ tomorrow.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

Forest, VA

Tom and I have enjoyed visiting with one of our dearest and oldest friend, Carmela. She is a professor at Liberty University. She took us on a tour of the campus - it was big and impressive. This is Carmela and her two pups; Patches and Sammy.
Liberty University Emblem.
We have enjoyed staying with her and catching up. The two dogs have been very loving and cute to watch. Here are some of my favorite pictures of them.
She took us around Forest, VA. We had fun driving around. These houses are so nice.
I love these trees.
Carmela took us to this restaurant (Twin Oaks) that is located in this large house. It has this beautiful tree in front. The food was very good.
I love the view from the front porch.
Saturday, we head out to West Virginia to visit with another old friend, Jimmy. We will also get to see some of the people from our church plant in Clarksburg. Thanks for continuing to follow me on this journey. This time next week we will be in New York.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

Dance Class, Soccer Practice and Cheesecake Factory

I had a great time going to ballet class with Danielle for daughter #2. Check it out for yourself.
Also the two older children had soccer practice. Their little brother was hamming up the side lines.
Then Danielle and I met up with Beth (who was a member of our church in WA) and Lauren – my favorite editor of all time (who edited my book). It was great to see Beth again – she’s such a sweetheart. I got to meet Lauren in person for the first time. We laughed and I teased her about being mean to me when editing my book. Below are Danielle, Beth, and Lauren.
This is what I ate – a snicker’s cheesecake. Everyone say – Yummy!
This photo is of Lauren and me.
Tom and I hit the road and will be visiting with a dear friend Carmella, who we know over 30 years, near Lynchburg, VA.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

Tim Tams with the Kids

I wrote about Tim Tams (Arnott cookies from Australia HERE). It’s very yummy cookie treat. I was out with Danielle when we found a World Market. We thought it would be great to introduce the kids to this fun time. Here are the pictures.
Danielle and I were out and about and drove by some of these beautiful homes.
Tonight it’s the Cheesecake Factory for a girl’s night.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

Fort Mills, SC

Tom and I had a long ride from Birmingham, AL to Fort Mill, SC. I was hoping to be able to connect with another blog friend along the way, but it didn’t work out, which was sad. I hope there is another opportunity in the future. Because of the shape of SC we drove through it first and then NC and then back to SC. I thought that was funny.

We are staying with our friends the Thompson’s (Jason & Danielle). They used to be members of our church in WA State until they moved. She gave me this lovely gift.
Their kids are so adorable and very smart. They were excited to have us stay at their house and they just talked and talked. They made me laugh. Here are pictures of these cutie pies.

The oldest girl. Love the missing teeth - I think kids with missing teeth are the cutest they could possibly be. She is very articulate for a six year old. The oldest son. He is 100% boy but has such a sweet spirit about him. He does great impressions from the movie Bolt.
The youngest girl. She can talk a mile a minute. I was honored she let me comb her hair. It was fun to fix a little girl's hair again.
The youngest boy. You would think with three older siblings he didn't speak much, but no. I love when kids start to learn to speak. It's direct and to the point. He also liked when I brush his hair.
We got to spend the day with the Troutman’s (Jen & Ty). They too were members of our church in WA State. They have two beautiful boys that melted my heart with their hugs. It took a while for them to warm up to us, but once they did, we got hugs and kisses. The older brother is almost two and the baby is only 6 months.

The big brother with his daddy. He has a great laugh. I love his red hair and light blue eyes. We started our time together playing peek-a-boo until he warmed up to me. We became great pals.
Here's the youngest boy with his mom. When he smiled his whole face lit up. I was so thrilled that he let me hold him right away. He was so warm and accepting.
We took a very short walk with the boys. They were styling while walking around the neighborhood.
We just kept smiling all day long from all the love from all these beautiful children.

We’ll be here for a couple of days and I hear there is a guy’s night planned and a girl’s night planned.

Loving this road trip.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

Next Stop . . . Fort Mill, SC

We have had a lovely time with Michael and Elisha French (pictured above). They have been wonderful hosts and are dear friends. Tom spent Saturday helping Michael with a dream interpretation class at his church. Elisha and I hung out, had coffee and shopped. Most importantly we laughed and laughed. She is such a doll. I believe she is the southern version of me.

They have four handsome and some of the most respectful boys I have ever met. They opened their home and hearts to us. We are grateful for their friendship. Tom will be preaching at their church Sunday morning.

Then we leave for Fort Mill, SC where will meet up many dear friends – the Thompson’s, the Troutman’s, the Leone’s, the Driscoll’s and my favorite editor in the world – Lauren Stinton.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

Sweet Home Alabama!

Tom and I love our trip to Birmingham, Alabama. He is doing well considering he had his last chemo treatment this past Monday. Thank you all for your prayers.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel to have lunch on our way to Birmingham. I love Cracker Barrel. They have this peg game on the tables that I always have to play when we go. It starts off like this:
You have to jump over the pegs until you have only one standing. Two is good, three not so much and four or more left is very bad. This was mine after I tried:
This was Tom’s after he took his turn.
This is what we ended up with after we cooperated together. Hmmmm . . . lesson here is that Tom and I are better when we work together.
We are staying with dear friends, Michael & Elisa. They welcomed us with open arms and even provided the basket below filled with goodies for our room. Their church is teaching a class on dream interpretation and Tom is having fun helping out.
The bonus for me on this trip was I got to meet Jennifer from Dust Bunny Hostage. She was visiting Birmingham and took time away from her family (on her birthday – Happy Birthday Jen) to meet with me at the Irondale Café (better known as the Whistle Stop Café from Fried Green Tomatoes).Of course I had to try the fried green tomatoes. It was yummy.
I was thrilled to meet Jennifer. She was even prettier than her picture. She was as sweet and kind as she portrays herself on her blog. We had a delightful time talking and visiting. It was the first Tom got to meet one of my blog friends. He was happy to be able to greet her also.
I love reading Jen’s blog. She is very humorous when she writes. She blogs about so many different things and has a flare for writing. Do yourself a favor and visit Jen. You won’t be disappointed.

I’m loving Alabama and leave you with this You Tube video.


© Nadine Zawacki 2009

Jackson, Mississippi

We started our day waking up in a hotel room in Grand Prairie. Had breakfast at Starbuck’s (they have yummy egg sandwiches there) with my favorite latte (skinny venti latte).

The PODS got picked up.
We returned our keys to the landlords.
Then we stopped by Tom’s job and said goodbye to the staff. They prayed for us before we left. It was wonderful to be sent off with love and prayers. I’m going to miss those guys.
We hit the road and traveled through Louisiana. Very pretty highways. Loved these yellow flowers.
Along a stretch of Highway 20 in Louisiana was a ton of casinos on both sides of the road. Diamond Jacks Blvd. leads the way to Diamond Jacks Casino.
We crossed the Mississippi river.We stopped in Jackson, Mississippi for the night and we’re staying at the Holiday Inn. We had a very nice dinner at the Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon. The food was very yummy.
To finish off our day, we had ice cream at Baskin Robbins. I had a Snicker’s ice cream cone and Tom had Cherries Jubilee.Tomorrow we head to Birmingham, Alabama and it looks like I will be meeting with a blog friend (more on that later) which will be icing on the cake.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

PODS Are Here

Today the POD people came and dropped off the two PODS for shipping. I am so tired that I can't even think straight. I find myself surrounded by boxes for the second time in six months.

Tomorrow the movers come and load the two PODS. I think once the apartment is cleaned and the PODS are totally packed, I will be so relieved. Hopefully by Thursday my achy bones and muscles will recover.

I will post about our road trip along the way so long as I have a connection. We will be stopping in Monroe, Louisiana on Thursday on our way to Birmingham, Alabama. I'm looking forward to our time with our friends Michael & Elisha.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

Yeah! I Have a Home

Tom and got back Monday from a long weekend. The primary mission – find a place to live. That doesn’t sound too difficult right? We saw some not so nice places. One place an agent took us smelled of smoke and musk. It had shag carpets and a kitchen circa 1940’s. The landlord said she was going to shampoo the rugs – seriously, I don’t think that would have helped.

The good news is we have a place to live. It’s clean, freshly painted, new carpets and has two bedrooms. There’s a basement for extra storage. Someone lives in an upstairs apartment. Our apartment is on the first floor of the house. It was a big load off my mind to find a place to live. It is also only minutes from the church. Could you believe I left my camera at the hotel? The photo above is the kitchen from the MSL listing. 

Now, it’s time to pack, pack, and pack some more. Fortunately, I didn’t unpack half my things six months ago. Next week the PODs come and then when all the work is done – it’s road trip time.

So I will be absent for a bit while I pack up my home and do all those fun last minute things.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009 

Observations

Tom and I are in New York trying to find a place to live. It’s been a slow process. It won’t be long now until NY becomes home again. I’ll let you know how it all works out.

At the airport, I was people watching. I do that a lot. I guess I’m always looking for traits or characters to write about. We were sitting in the airport waiting for our plane, when I couldn’t help but observe away.

There was a man cleaning the windows on the outside of the building. He was hanging from a rope and harness. Hanging from his harness on one side was a bucket filled with water and a scrub brush. On the other side of his harness was a big squeegee. He was hopping back and fort cleaning big sections at a time. He was working hard, but the crazy thing was the window still looked dirty. It didn’t look like all the dirty water the squeegee cleaned off made any difference in the appearance of the window. The window was filthy on the inside. No matter how hard this man worked on the outside part of the window, it still looked dirty looking from the inside out.

It gave me pause to think about people in general and me in particular. I can work really hard to present myself on the outside as clean, neat and pretty as possible. But if God is looking from my insides (my eyes, my heart) is the window clean or dirty? Does it look any different to him? In my own strength I can do nothing. It’s important for me to remember to let Him cleanse me from the inside. The things that make me go hmmmm . . .

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

My blog friend Christina from All That Blog is having a giveaway of my book, Prisoner of Circumstance until Friday, April 10th. Hop over there if you would like a chance to win.