Don’t You Find That Funny?

Humor is in the eye of the beholder. What one person finds funny, another – not so much.

What makes me laugh?

Comedies, comedy shows, comics, etc. That is normal, but . . .

I laugh when people fall. I know that just sounds terrible, but I can’t help it. I’m afraid that I passed that on to my daughter. Could it be the expression of surprise on the person’s face? Yes that’s a part of it, but it’s also the actual fall. If I could control myself long enough I would give out scores on a scale of one to ten.

My darling Tom has had a couple that when I retell it, I can’t control myself. Don’t think ill of me. He didn’t get hurt.

This is one of these times:

Sometimes when you watch someone fall it’s almost like watching it in slow motion. We were living in West Virginia. Our kitchen had French doors on the side that led to a side porch. Tom went outside one day and there was ice on the porch. He was wearing his slippers (not a good choice for the ice). My daughter and I were in the kitchen looking at him just in time to see him slip. First one leg seemed to be at a 90 degree angle from his body and then the other leg followed suit. He landed fast and got up even faster. He looked around to see if anyone was looking and unfortunately our next door neighbor saw. He asked Tom if he was okay. My daughter bolted to her room and I could hear her laughing. Tom came in and with has much self control I could muster; I asked if he was okay. It lasted for about ten seconds before laughter came out.

I know it’s not nice to laugh at someone when they fall, but I also know I’m not the only one out there who does. Why else would America’s Funniest Home Videos be popular or the show Wipeout.

Tom loves me even when I can’t control myself. I’m grateful.

What makes you laugh?

© Nadine Zawacki 2011

My New Cooking Blog

I’ve started a new blog, A Pinch of This & A Dash of That. Friends often ask me for recipes but I don’t really cook by a set recipe. It’s hard to share dishes and I love to share food. What I often do is invite them over and I teach them. That way they can see how much I put in or how long it takes for the food to be done. Once they have made it twice it becomes their dish. They can claim all the praise.

Friends encouraged me to do cooking videos. I didn’t really want to. I know that’s hard to believe especially since I pretend to have a cooking show when I’m by myself. Believe it or not, I was a little nervous.

Cooking for me is creative. I love to watch cooking shows and then attempt what I see by trial and error. Everyone has different taste buds. Some people like salt and others don’t. Some people like cheddar cheese and others mozzarella.

It doesn’t matter what you like, you can always substitute an ingredient you don’t like for one you do. I usually like to make a recipe first the way it was intended, then I can have fun and change things up a bit.

I love cooking outside the box. I enjoy seeing what’s in my cabinets, putting it together and seeing if my vision and the actual taste match up.

If you’re a food lover, I hope you enjoy my new blog. Comments are encouraged and questions welcomed.

© Nadine Zawacki 2011

Focus

The more you try to focus on a task the more it feels like you can’t get it done. Sometimes focus is difficult. Today I was trying to write a blog post and I had a difficult time with focusing on what I wanted to say.

In the middle of it, Tom called and asked if I could pick him up. No problem. He was only a couple blocks away. It was really cold outside and I didn’t want him to walk in the cold. So I picked him up and on the way back home, I mentioned how I was having a hard time trying to focus on my blog post. Do you want to know what my wonderful, loving hubby said?

“Can you focus on making me some lunch? Can you focus on that?”

He said it with a smile on his face. I knew he was teasing, but the situation brought to mind another incident that happened a week ago. Tom had an early morning doctor’s appointment. It was with a new doctor so I went with him to fill out all the forms. I usually make Tom breakfast every morning, but that day there wasn’t anytime. While filling out the form, I asked Tom a question. His response:

“I’m sorry; I didn’t hear you over the rumbling of my stomach.”

I just had to laugh again. When I first met Tom he was such a serious person. Very focused. Very determined. He has lightened up over the years and I guess it’s my own fault. I have helped him lighten up and he helped me be more focused. We make each other laugh. Laughing is good medicine. I’m still the funnier one though, in case you were wondering.

I wrote a different blog post (after I made him a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches) and it was done in about ten minutes. Thanks babe for helping focus.

© Nadine Zawacki 2011