The first thing that popped into my mind, when I read this prompt question, was the time I ate a piece of chocolate cake that the cat had peed on! I wish I were joking, but alas, there is nothing made up about that event.
What would I have done differently? I would have made the cat live outdoors much sooner than I did. The peeing on things had begun about a month prior. I’d been attempting to correct the cats behavior, rather than evicting her from the house… until that day!
Why on earth would this be the first thing I came up with, as I read the daily prompt?
As a general rule of thumb, I do not look on past decisions as something I would change. I stay away from the whole woulda shoulda coulda mindset, not only because it’s done and gone, but because our pasts make us who we are now. Mess with one eensie weensie past decision and who knows what all will be affected, here in the present.
So, for the most part, there isn’t a great list of things I would venture to safely change… aside for the cat and the cake… that I could un-remember!
Here, have a piece of cake… I’m sure it’ll be fine! This cutie wouldn’t dream of being naughty…
There was a time when I could say that I was the poster child for Anxiety! My nervousness was my very own survival mechanism, of choice!
Not much of my life went the way I’d wanted, leaving me traumatized and wounded for many, many years. All of the life interuptuses I’ve endured, some from my own making, have landed me with two nervous roommates that never leave… IBS and Fibromyalgia.
While you may be wondering why I’ve allowed them to stay, to me, they are more like helpless children, needing constant care and supervision. In good conscience, I could no sooner evict these two, than I could my own children. By loving and tending my roommates, or scars if you will, God allows me to manage my own nervous anxieties, with grace, compassion and understanding.
Assigning a specific culprit to hold responsibility for making us nervous, seems rather silly. As WordPress is not leading a support group or therapy session, by asking everyone what makes them nervous, the only thing this prompt will successfully do is make everyone nervous about answering what makes them nervous.
Did they even look up the definition of the word, before they thought to ask the question? I did!
According to Google, which the world seems to think knows everything, the definition of nervous is this:
It seems rather ludicrous to ask a nervous person what makes them nervous! It quickly became apparent to me that the idea of being nervous is a mannerism, or a trait that has long since been established. Once I read the definition, I began thinking about how hard it would be to just randomly come up with an easy answer, over a cup of coffee in the morning.
If it were that easy for all us nervous folk to discover what makes us nervous, there would be millions of spare dollars floating around, that no longer need to be paid to the professionals who spend years learning how to become a therapist!
Just sayin…
Here, have a cookie…
They were supposed to look like pins and needles, but as the AI art generator reflects, it was much easier said than done! The closest it could come to what I wanted, was cookies stabbed by a decorative paperclip… go figure!
It feels quite strange to be sitting here, having to decide whether I want to read a true story that I’ve written, or a fictional one… either way, I feel as if I’m stalking myself!
I’m still unsure, as of yet, whether I’ve let the one book rest long enough, before I work on creating it’s Audio version. At the same time, it’s been a while since I’ve worked on my other novel, so I need to read back through it, in order to pick up where I’d left off. Fortunately, I can simultaneously work on both projects, if I so choose.
Truthfully, I think that writing my fictional novel has been a way to focus on something other than myself, as my memoirs require a great deal of self-evaluation throughout the entire journey. The one book feels like a labor of love, while the second feels more like an adventure!
Aside from working on those two projects, I’ve been having a ton of fun with our weekend line-up, from the antics of our Barnyard babies on Friday’s, to Saturdays As they say, and ending with Sunday’s Live Wire episodes. I’d say that these days are my weeks highlights!
So, all in all, it’s going to be a pretty busy and fulfilling week for me, I think. I hope everyone has a great Monday to start the week off right! If we get the ball rolling in the right direction today, the days to follow will be smooth sailing…
For myself, I get a great amount of pleasure, as well as a sense of unwinding, when I climb into my bed and play those silly phone app games. I absolutely love puzzles, merge games, and/or the farming ones.
I realize that these games are rather simple and/or childish… but I don’t give a hoot! I have a very busy brain, which can often stress me to my limits just trying to not think! Something about these meaningless little games can feel cathartic or relaxing, if you will.
In truth, I think it’s because they’re meaningless or no-brainer games, as I call them. If I play any of my mmo rpg games, I get caught up in the adventure, often staying up into the wee hours slaying orcs or zombies, so this isn’t where I’ll go to unwind… it’s where I’ll go to vent!
I’ve actually used my phone merge games and puzzles to combat anxiety, by giving me a simple focus point. I know it sounds absurd to think that these games would help, but oddly, they do!
While I would much rather be writing about my journey through God’s word, as I normally do on Sundays, IBS invited herself over last night, and just never left. She took it upon herself to throw an absolute fit about the foods I’ve recently been eating! It’s been a long night, to say the least!
I will say that I am currently upright, but this too could change at the drop of a hat! I made a massive mistake yesterday, by doing what I call stacking. I’d eaten one of the items on my questionable foods list early on in the day, but then followed it up with a second item later, without paying any attention! Normally, if I eat something in question, as long as I eat very carefully for the next several days, I can balance things out. Not so, when it comes to stacking… here be dark and dangerous waters!
Oh well, I will be right as rain in a few days, but today is the time for IBS to have her say about how I’ve offended her delicate sensitivities. My Bad!
My other roommate, Fibromyalgia, seems to be away visiting relatives or something, so at least I don’t have to listen to her try to argue with IBS on my behalf. I know she means well, but it’s much easier to calm these two down one on one. While they may be living together in my house, their friendship is precarious, at best!
I shall be spending most of the day in bed, letting IBS pick the shows we watch, as it comforts her to watch old reruns of movies that I once thought to be realistic and believable. Nowadays, I find myself narrating my own version of Mystery Science Theatre, laughing at what I once thought to be realistic. I’m rather funny, if I do say so myself!
I would have to say that I’m blessed with wisdom, from years of watching social media develop. I remember it from when it was born, watching it grow and take many shapes.
In my personal opinion, I see social media as a double edged sword, having both good and bad result from it’s use. Nowadays, while some folks find pleasure in fully sharing what they had for dinner and where, others have chosen more nefarious purposes, such as bullying or stalking. Some use social media to socialize, which was a positive idea, though many have warped it into a lying, cheating, he said, she said public dirty laundry show. Then, there are those who take an unhealthy pleasure in reading and watching, as others behave badly.
While social media can be a positive way to meet with your friends and loved ones, sharing time together online, it can become an unhealthy outlet if it’s not kept in check! I think one would be ignorant, to assume that simply because we’re an adult, we can safely navigate the online traffic out there on the web. Some grown ups are more naïve than our youth, regarding the wild wild west that’s out there within those social platforms.
I always go back to the old idea of checks and balances, rather than looking at Social Media as a good or bad thing. The problems never originate from the object, but rather how the object should or should not be used. Think about it!
Today’s old time phrase that we shall decipher is, “Rough around the edges.”
This one was suggested by JSteeleWrites, so thank you, my friend… I’ll give it my best shot!
We’ve all used this phrase at one time or another, so one would think that it might be simple to uncover the actual meaning and origin. Actually, I’m a bit unsure, now that I truly think on it, as to where it may have come from, and I’m not even fully sure that I understand why they said it!
As it seems to refer to the edge of a thing, my brain goes to where I might use it in an explanation, which would be sewing.
Either that, or something else that requires precise measurements or lines. I wouldn’t want to present something as flawless, if it weren’t, even if it were nearly so. If the finished product was a usable item for use, or a pie that were still delicious to eat, maybe I would suggest that “it’s a bit rough around the edges”, as it’s still good to eat.
Maybe a cartographer might assure you that the map is accurate, even if “it’s rough around the edges.”
It may even have to do with wood, during the carving or cutting of wood for building things.
Ok, that’s all I got! Now let’s see what Googlini has to say about it:
Wikipedia was my first stop, allowing us an actual definition to look upon…
(idiomatic) In need of refinement; unsophisticated. While rough around the edges, the church is really a wonderful place to be.The north side of town is a less expensive, rougher round the edges choice for a young family.His writing is appealing, but a bit rough around the edges.
So far, I’m a bit disappointed at there being no other meaning, aside from the dictionary’s bland “not real good, but getting better” kind of description. Let’s search a bit more, in hopes of finding the phrase, or idiom’s, true origin.
When I typed in the question, “what is the origin of rough around the edges?” I found this on Tumblr…
Origin: The expression is probably early to mid 20th century, though the word “rough” itself is very old going back to Old English making it prior to the 11th century. It was originally spelled “ruh” and had a gutteral sound at the end, later signified by the “gh” when the spelling changed.
Usage: Informal, spoken, general American and British English.
Idiomatic Meaning: Someone who is lacking in sophistication and/or refinement. It can refer to social class as well as personality
Literal Meaning: An object with a surface that is not smooth and even or soft to the touch, having imperfections
Here I’ve been using this phrase for everything but people… how very odd. I think that I like my definitions better… just sayin!
Remember, if you leave me to my own devices, not offering up any more old sayings to decipher, I’ll simply come up with my own! I know just enough to be dangerous…
The first thing that comes to my mind this morning, would be the White Chocolate I promised I’d offer my family today! It was suggested to me yesterday, so the first thing that came to mind, was to fill this prompt with some yummy goodness!
Journey With Me! 