Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Rearview Mirror

You ever notice how things look different in your rearview mirror? When I’m driving sometimes looking in the rearview mirror doesn’t help because I still have to turn my head to see what’s going on in my “blind spot.”

Looking backwards can help at times. I can see what is behind me and if something is sneaking up to surprise me. My blind spot is what can cause me to crash and burn if I’m not careful.

Lately I’ve found that I’m in a place where looking in the rearview mirror is not helpful at all. I’m at a place where it’s time to look ahead. It’s time to see what is before me without the distractions of what’s behind. The blind spot has caught me by surprise but I’ve been amazed at how much I’ve seen coming. Here’s the thing – whether I saw it coming or it snuck up on me it still hurt.

A smart woman would take the lessons from the past and apply it to the future. Dwelling in the past doesn’t help me. It only causes more hurt. Learning from it and moving ahead is what’s helpful.

Today is a new day. For the time being it’s best not to look back. I don’t want to miss what God has for me by the distractions of the past. The road ahead is wide and promising. The road ahead is good. I’m grateful God has my back and He covers my “blind side.”

© Nadine Zawacki 2011

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Expiration Date

I recently cleaned out the cabinets in my kitchen. I have limited cabinet space and wanted to organize my food. It came to my attention that some of the food in the cabinets had expired. That’s understandable right? You pack new groceries and some of the older ones get pushed to the back.

The funny part was the “actual” expiration date on some of the cans. There was a can that expired in 1997. That was not a typo. I meant to write 1997. This means I moved that can from West Virginia to Washington State to Texas and to New York. Fourteen years seems to be enough time to be carrying something around that could kill you. What was I thinking? I really don’t know. It was something that slipped through the cracks. I’m just glad I never fed it to my family.

Before you judge me, it’s easy to forget about or overlook things in your closet that you don’t use often. It’s quite possible to push things aside and let them fall through the cracks. Granted I did pack it up several times and took it with me, but I did have help with that. I wasn’t always the one packing up the kitchen. I had friends who helped.

Okay, so I’m blame shifting a bit. Isn’t that the easiest thing to do? – blame someone else. It’s better than taking responsibility for it.

The way my mind works, it made me wonder what else was hidden in my closet that had expired? What am I carrying around with me that could possibly kill me? Am I carrying around old hurts and wounds? What judgments or resentments? What were the things of life I needed to take responsibility for?

This experience gave me an opportunity to check in with God and ask Him to clean out my closets of those things that I don’t need to carry around anymore. The things that could harm me or hinder my walk with Him. It doesn’t matter how it got buried. What matters is that it causes no further harm.

Price of a can of beans - $.79.
Price of a can of beans that is 14 years old - $.29.
Price of not eating a 14 year old can of beans – PRICELESS.

© Nadine Zawacki 2011

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Carnival Cruise

Tom and I went on a cruise for our 30th anniversary. The best part of the trip was spending time with Tom. It was fun being away from reality with the man I love. A couple of pics of us on the boat.
There were good and bad things about the ship. Let’s start with the good. There was a restaurant on board called, “The Emerald Room.” The atmosphere was lovely and elegant. It was one the fanciest meals I’ve ever eaten. We went there on our actual anniversary (the 7th) to have a romantic meal together. The chef sent out a little treat (and I mean little). Here are a couple of pictures: salmon and parmesan cheese purée and tomato soup. Aren’t they cute? They taste good too.
One of my favorite soups is lobster bisque. I’ll order it whenever it is on the menu. The presentation was amazing. This picture shows the garlic circular crouton with cream and puff pastry on top.
The waiter then pours the soup in the bowl. Believe me it tasted even better than it looks.
I had the porterhouse steak and Tom had the fillet mignon. Yum. Tender and tasty.

Check out this chocolate sampler dessert. It was amazing. In each of the little glasses was a different delicious piece of chocolate heaven; warm chocolate cake with ice cream, banana cream with sherbet, tiramisu and chocolate fudge with fresh berries and cream.
Simple sherbet served elegantly.
The ship had a big screen on deck. They played concerts and movies. The picture quality was amazing - day or night.
A quiet "adults only" spot on the ship that was very relaxing.
Our cruise went to St. John's in Canada. Here's a picture from the ship.
The center of the ship had elevators that had large glass windows.
Towel animals always awaited us at night. My favorite was the monkey.
One night we sat and listened to a band playing Latin music. They were really good. There was a group of women (youngest @ 30’s and oldest being @ 70’s) dancing. They found of couple of young men to dance with but were eyeing the crowd for fresh meat. Let’s just say they were feeling no pain. To be safe Tom was avoiding eyeball contact. One woman was dancing in front of us and bent over and asked me if I heard what she said. I replied no. “I need a man.” was her reply. Hmmm. I said, “Sorry, can’t help you.” She moved on. I had Tom’s back. What’s a wife for if not to protect her man from drunken women.

What I didn’t care for believe it or not was the food. Except for the Emerald Room everything else was okay. I was surprised that smoking was permitted in so many areas of the ship. There were times we wanted to listen to music at the different lounges but the smoke hurt my eyes and made Tom cough. It limited the parts of the ship we could enjoy. It wasn’t easy to navigate getting around the ship. Sometimes you had to go up before going down and through the smoked filled casino.

All in all a great time was had because I was with Tom. It was fun to be with my honey and celebrate being married for 30 years.

© Nadine Zawacki 2011

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Time of My Life

On June 7th Tom and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. I can’t believe 30 years have passed since I first said, “I do.” I appreciate the man he has become. He’s kind, considerate, loving, and faithful. I’m grateful he’s mine.

For weeks, no – months Tom tried to figure out something nice for us to do for our anniversary. Everyday he would search online to see if there were any deals. It was so important for him to make me feel special. The funny thing is I feel special whenever I’m around him. He constantly tells me how much he loves me – how else could I feel?

We went on a cruise that he booked on June 1st that set sailed on June 5th. The best part for me was being with Tom. We danced on our anniversary as Tom sang to me. I believe dancing to “I Had the Time of My Life” was so appropriate for us. The past 30 years has been anything but boring. It’s been quite the adventure.

Thank you honey for the time of my life and for loving me for over 30 years. My only prayer is that we get at least another 30 years.

More on the cruise in my next post.

© Nadine Zawacki 2011