Good darn morning people! Welcome to GirlieOnTheEdge. Please, allow me to introduce myself. I am Girlie. Why yes, that very one! and I am your concierge for this day’s Ten Things of Thankful post. This post is my participation in a world outside of myself. It is as much for me as it is for anyone reading who may find value in, be entertained by or discover new creative ideas from, this post. Thank you for stopping by today…..
This morning, I awakened at a later hour than ususal. It being Sunday and all, before I am able to partake of the life giving go-go juice, popularly known as “coffee”, I must first take my weekly Fosomax. Yo! Dyanne! she who has recently returned to the fold of bloghop participation and my long lost sister at birth!, you know what I’m talking about. Before I can drink the black gold, I have to remain in an upright position (tray tables included) for 30 minutes. Why? Who the heck knows.
What shall I do while I wait? Decided weekly prep would be productive so…. prepared tuna fish for a week’s worth of sandwiches (which also serves as breakfast when I get to work, only half the sandwich of course), and nuked a bag of vegetables to have for dinner tonight. Quick stuff as I while away the 30 minutes to sanity. Now here’s the thing that precipated my listing, for the 2nd week in a row, my thanks for the internet and access to it. I emptied the bag of Fiesta Ranchero vegetables into the black plastic like Pampered Chef bowl, put the lid on best I could and stuck it in the microwave. It began to spin but! it began making a funny noise. As I watched it go round and round, it appeared one of the handles was bumping against the door. Well, we’ll have to fix that!
I pulled the bowl out and adjusted the lid a little better. The handles are imprinted with, “slide this way” (with arrows to remove lid). I put the bowl back in the microwave, hit the button and watched it spin once again. Only….now it’s rotating in the opposite direction! Holy smokes! What just happened? Am I really seeing it spin in a counterclockwise direction? It was spinning in a clockwise direction just a minute ago! What does that mean? Is that possible? lol Of course it is! Thanks to the internet, I googled “what direction does a microwave tray rotate?” and had my slightly anxious, playful inquiry answered (no supernatural, magical kitchen happenings today, y’all). So yay! for the internet and getting answers immediately 😀
So. As I wait to be able to ingest brain smoothing coffee, as I attempt to be productively efficient with the use of my time, I wander off into….creative self entertainment. However briefly, I imagined that “oh my gosh, did I really see the microwave arbitrarily change its’ rotational direction? Was I imagining it? Whatev. The pleasant residual was it got me to thinking, “hm…what if there was a microwave. A very special microwave that if you put a wish, desire or intention into a bowl, depending on the direction it rotates you could 1.) go back in time and re-write personal history or 2.) move ahead to the future and set in place a personal history assured…
…oh boy, where has Girlie wandered off to now? Here! at TT #2 😀 If we allow ourselves to relax, wander the creative side of town where maybe it’s not so neat and tidy, we just may stumble over a can of creativity. If we don’t venture to places unknown, to places that might appear a little scary, then what can we gain? You know, the folks who run the joint, Finish the Sentence Friday, offered up a good one this past Friday. It was pretty much a discussion of fear vs worry. And a fare bit of self revelation ensued from many of the writers in the process as they shared of their fears and worries. And you know what? As I become a more evolved version of myself, I see the absolute benefit of sharing. The personal stuff. Ya know? As a clark, I tend not to go too deeply into the coffers of the “personal” (then everyone might see what an awful person I am – is what my internal clarklike self insists) and that’s ok. For me and most everyone else, there’s a limit to what is shared as is appropriate. Did I wander down the hole to TT #3? Um, maybe.
(can we get back to a more structured and thereby more acceptable format pa-lease!)
TT # 4 Shopping is not anything I enjoy doing for myself. It’s frustrating, time consuming. But, it is a necessity at times. I’ve mentioned the Second Chance Thrift shop behind where I work. Proceeds go to the Humane Society. A very worthy cause. I haven’t been into the shop in months. My last purchase were some cds. Can’t beat the bargain price of .25 now can you 😀 Anyway, I’m not opposed to buying certain articles of clothing that are “gently used”. As I started up the steps to the second floor I saw hanging on the wall what I thought at first was a jacket. Wow! How very cool looking. I snagged it on my way up the second flight of stairs. Upon closer inspection I saw there was also a skirt. It was a suit. Tried the jacket on, perfect fit. Looked at the skirt and decided, yeah, that’ll fit too. It looked as if it had never been worn.The material is a jacquard damask, floral type, kinda sorta like this,. The pattern’s a little different of course, but you get the idea. It’s a lovely wine (not burgundy) color on a black background. How could I not buy a perfectly fitting suit for $5? Score.
TT #5 I went to the gym yesterday. (this is huge as it’s been 2 weeks since I last set foot inside my Gold’s)
TT #6 Reuniting with friends. I recently met up with 2 friends I used to work with before I took my present positions. One of them had a baby in the interim. In get-together #1, I got to meet the little guy. What an angel he was as his mom and I got caught up over brunch. The second meetup? That’s my next TT:
TT #7 This particular friend and I work only miles apart (she also left the firm and took another position) and we try to meet for dinner at least once a month. Last Wednesday was the first time since Thanksgiving that we’ve gotten together so there was much to catch up on. The bonus was we met at a little restaurant I had never been before. To my absolute delight, I discovered some of the best pizza ever! When I first moved from Rhode Island to Virginia once a very long time ago, I thought I would never eat pizza, real pizza, ever again (unless I went home but that’s a long way to go for a pizza). I believe I have now found pizza, dare I say it, worthy of rivaling the pies back home 🙂
TT #8 I’m appreciative and thankful my brother reminds me to take “pitchas” when I’m out and about, even though it can be challenging while driving lol. So the famous #9 #9 #9 are a couple of pictures taken on my return trip from doing Saturday errands. I’m not professional with the placement of photes like Pat with her causual ability at providing simple yet amazingly accurate descriptions. I can aspire though 🙂
TT #9 
[picture far right was actually taken about a month ago but it’s vertical so…there ya go. symmetry :D]
TT #10 This day, of course. It is incumbant upon me to celebrate it in a manner worthy of having received it. So …..
GirlieOnTheEdge's Blog 
Isn’t it interesting how simple observations can cause such great reflection? I’ve got a post that may or may not ever get finished and published that started that way (well, not with a microwave, but with a little observation.)
Hurray for bargains, friends, and beautiful blue skies!
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It is. I cherish those moments as you never know what may come to mind 🙂
Funny about posts begun but left hanging – when you return to try and finish, it seems somehow that sense of the first observation, the feeling of it, takes on a different coloring. For me, there are posts that if I don’t finish right then, there’ll be no coming back. The “moment” will have disappeared. But conversely, there are other posts where time away is just what was needed for the creative edge.
Good luck Kristi. I hope you finish that post 🙂
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(well…given that it’s originally $7,999.00 (at Neiman’s) you’d be foolish not to buy it!)
Fashion is an interesting element in the Doctrine. Not simply it’s uses and abuses, more for it’s manifestation, in the respective worldviews.
This (observation) inevitably leads to a contemplation of the effects of (one’s) secondary aspects on the perception and realization of fashion and such.
I agree with Kristi (up there in FRIST class), simple observations can yield, or, more appropriately, lead to valuable reflection. But then again, when we consider that here, in the virtual world, where everything is a story, a tale to be told, what most of us find difficult is the starting of the tale, which almost always can be ‘Once upon a time…’
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lol foolish indeed.
So very true, the manifestation thing. On face value, I believe the suite would be admired by all 3 personality types. As a clark, I had inmmediately indulged in pondering the fashion flexibility of a 2 piece suit and the almost limitless ways in which to wear the pieces together or as separates. And, I realize, that my rogerian sisters would tell me that quite certainly, I may accessorize the suit with heels or flats, perhaps even a mule, a scarf or not, colored stockings or nude but do not get in the habit of wearing the 2 pieces separately. (you would cause uneven wear, thereby destroying the integrity of the suit, you see) Am I wrong ladies? Kristi?
scottian women for sure would break out the Manolo stilletos (no, I am not stereotyping!) and not feel in the least that stockings would be necessary. As a clark (because I have already considered this), I would applaud the choice of a bustier in place of traditional blouse.
While a rogerian woman with her natural sense of coordinated style would find the perfect accessories, I, as a clarklike female would struggle against the desire to get all…well, clarklike! Ya know, fancy skirt dressed down, with or without boots, casual top with jean jacket or that bustier under jacket but over jeans and hm…cowboy boots. Idaknow….
Consensus for sure. I sometimes get surprised where my thoughts lead me sometimes. Other times, I beg for a wandering mind 😀 All in our “presence” I suppose. Whatever personal reality playing at the time.
Here, here to “once upon a time…”
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Nice list of thankfuls. Sounds like you got some great bargains at the thrift shop and how great that the money helps the animal shelter. When I donate items, it is usually to the thrift store at our local shelter.
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Thank you. Oh yeah, there’s usually something of interest there and all the money goes to a cause close to my heart.
Excellent. So glad you do 🙂
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I love that I can always listen to fun music when I visit. You sure were productive as you waited for the time coffee time. Watching the microwave go round and round. Hmmm. And the thoughts that go with that process. Sort of like watching the clothes in a dryer with a glass door go round and round. Yeah, I get that. Gym, friends, bargains – a good week. I still remember that cool jacket you were wearing when I met you irl. On me, the new suit might look like curtains, but I love a good bargain.
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We once had a microwave that actually did reverse directions if you stopped it in the middle of a cycle. The one we have now doesn’t seem to do that.
I love your beautiful cloud picture. On a drive I take several times a week through flat farmland areas, I get to enjoy such gorgeous skies. The mountains are off in the distance. I never tire of seeing this every changing palette above me.
Thanks for the shout out about the photo captions. I took my first sketching class (ever in my life) in college, and I remember how frustrated the professor must have felt at my inability to “see” what was right in front of my face and draw it.
It is interesting how we can become so attached to certain pizzas. We often don’t even know that we have certain expectations of how pizza should taste, until we experience something different. HaHa
Yeah for you on such a fantastic suit buy in the thrift shop!!! Excellent snag!
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I believe I read about that during my google search.
Glad you like it Pat. I actually took 3 successive ones while I was driving back from lunch. That one was my favorite 😀
Sounds like a lovely drive, especially with the mountains in the distance to contrast with the farmland.
You’re very welcome. I find it amazingly difficult to write vivid descriptions. You make it look easy 😀
It was an excellent snag!
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Hello Girlie, this was such a fun read today! Your mind travelled many backroads in the writing of this one and I totally enjoyed that! Keeping my mind on any given path for more than five minutes is a real accomplishment. I applaud your use of the thirty minutes upright. I would like to think I would be equally as productive, but somehow I suspect I would instead be clockwatching and waiting impatiently to proceed with other things. 🙂 I’ve had/known several microwaves that do indeed reverse their direction if a heating cycle is interrupted. I love that it took your mind into curious and creative places. And oh yes, how awesome it would be to have a fast forward and reverse mechanism in life to view and possibly adjust things. Going with the flow can be such a challenge at times!
While I didn’t make it to Finish the Sentence Friday this week, that is still one of my writing goals. I need to go see what folks shared because that’s definitely a “deep-thoughts” topic, my favorite kind! 🙂 Over twelve years of blogging I have shared way too much at times, and almost nothing personal at others, even having my blog on private lockdown by password only for awhile. It seems that at last I’ve found a comfortable balance of sharing/’privacy, although many folks are still surprised by some of the things I will say/share. We each have a different measure of what is too personal in our lives and what is free to the public. For the most part my life is an open book, a comic book perhaps… or would that more accurately be a comedy of errors?
I detest shopping, it seems so rare that I can find exactly what I have in mind (except at Amazon.com of course). I love that you support a cool thrift shop and managed to find a really awesome suit there. It must have been waiting for you to drop by! $5? That just makes it all the sweeter to wear!
Yay to you for making it to the gym! I know that doing so makes you feel good about yourself, and that’s just one of the benefits.
Catching up with friends is so fun and uplifting, it’s a lot like tying up loose ends in life. Discovering great pizza in a place you never expected to find such is definitely a noteworthy thankful, and even cooler that you now have a new go-to spot when the urge strikes!
Your brother is a pretty cool guy in so many ways. Picture taking has become so easy now, and it’s fun to see what people share! I loved your road pics, going down the road always signals adventure to me. Your sky photo was awesome! I take so many pictures of cloud, and I will always feel a childlike amazement by them. They still seem like cotton fluff that we should be able to reach up and grab a handful of, this is even more true when in an airplane. The almost ripple effect of the ones you captured is very cool, it looks like a painting!
I think to be thankful for this day, the one we are experiencing right now, is the best use of gratitude of all! Life is a rollercoaster, and often uncomfortable, but if we can maintain that perspective of wow… in the big picture of things this is pretty awesome, not a day will be wasted in anger, frustration, or regret. Live today, love today… remember to laugh!
Thank you so much for sharing with us at TToT, your posts are delightful! XO
Josie Two Shoes ~ TToT
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Glad you enjoyed my wanderings, Wendy 🙂 Weekends are so short and since I have to wait for coffee, I figured might as well do stuff and then it’s done and I don’t have to worry about it! Now, the microwave incident…all for lack of the caffeine no doubt lol.
I participated for a short while years ago in the FTSF but, like a lot of things, that too seemed to fall by the wayside. I look forward to your future FTSF posts! Surely, there is a sense of freedom in an open book life. I say bravo to that!
I swear there are pieces of clothing (and some shoes) that you can see and in an instant know you want, know will fit. It was like that with the suit. How could I walk away from that purchase 😀
Thank you for the encouragement. But I haven’t been back since! It was a start but somehow, I’ve got to get back to my more “normal” schedule. Tough when you are off schedule. Kind of like writing.
Thanks! I only wish I had been on the road to a real adventure instead of Saturday errands. I know exactly what you mean about reaching up and grabbing a handful of cotton fluff clouds. And you’re right, because it is so easy to snap a picture, my phone now is almost at capacity for all the pictures I’ve taken lol
It’s a challenge to be sure, being present in this day. The only day. But we have to try and yes! we should laugh and find something to be joyful about each day.
I really enjoyed participating. Now if I can make it round to everyone else’s post in less than a week I’ll be in good shape!!
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Glad you enjoyed my wanderings, Wendy 🙂 Weekends are so short and since I have to wait for coffee, I figured might as well do stuff and then it’s done and I don’t have to worry about it! Now, the microwave incident…all for lack of the caffeine no doubt lol.
I participated for a short while years ago in the FTSF but, like a lot of things, that too seemed to fall by the wayside. I look forward to your future FTSF posts! Surely, there is a sense of freedom in an open book life. I say bravo to that!
I swear there are pieces of clothing (and some shoes) that you can see and in an instant know you want, know will fit. It was like that with the suit. How could I walk away from that purchase 😀
Thank you for the encouragement. But I haven’t been back since! It was a start but somehow, I’ve got to get back to my more “normal” schedule. Tough when you are off schedule. Kind of like writing.
Thanks! I only wish I had been on the road to a real adventure instead of Saturday errands. I know exactly what you mean about reaching up and grabbing a handful of cotton fluff clouds. And you’re right, because it is so easy to snap a picture, my phone now is almost at capacity for all the pictures I’ve taken lol
It’s a challenge to be sure, being present in this day. The only day. But we have to try and yes! we should laugh and find something to be joyful about each day.
I really enjoyed participating. Now if I can make it round to everyone else’s post in less than a week I’ll be in good shape!!
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So many good thankfuls! And you have to sit up because that medication will cause acid that will eat away at your esophagus to bubble up there and cause more trouble than you want. The first time i took such a med, i forgot to drink enough water and it has the same effect. Trust me, drink enough water and sit up and do it for maybe an hour instead of only half, you can’t be too careful.
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Thanks, Mimi! Whoah, wait a minute! I’m not sure I knew about that side effect. That sounds really scary.
I hope you didn’t suffer any permanent dammage. Thank you for the tip. I’ll try to wait an hour. I still have difficulty drinking the water. Doesn’t seem natural to drink water first thing in the morning lol
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Because you capped this off with a bit of Kansas, I will share a bit of trivia with you. The band Kansas was formed here in my little town of Topeka while the members attended Topeka West High School. That school is the high school where most of the middle schoolers I work with will attend eventually. Kerry Livgren still lives in town. He is a very nice guy. He had a debilitating stroke a few years back, and made an amazing and heroic recovery. Dust in the Wind is still a challenge for him to play. I believe he could not play at all for a while following the stroke, but practiced with determination and has played publicly again since. There you have it. Rock and roll trivia you didn’t see coming!
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That’s cool. I wasn’t a huge Kansas fan but do like some of their music.
I can’t begin to imagine what its like to have a stroke, to deal with the aftermath and the recovery, let alone relearning to play music. Takes guts and persistence and tremendous commitment. Very inspiring.
Thanks, and no, I did not see that coming 🙂
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Huge Kansas fan here! Probably because they were kind of “local” for me, too. “Wayward Son” was released when I was a junior in high school.
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Doesn’t seem like long ago, does it!
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Wow. You are awesome, with that microwave observation. I am blown away, as I wasn’t expecting such a thing to turn up in your TToT. So glad it did.
Sometimes I hear about events in history and I wonder about going back there. A lot of my own history was rough and I don’t wish to return, but sometimes there were things I do miss. If I could go back or go forward, with the help of the tray in my microwave, that would be a cool trick indeed.
Ah, I meant to write a post for FTSF and fear vs worry and I didn’t get to it. There are so many things I fear/worry about, I suppose I couldn’t narrow it down and get my thoughts together. I do plan to get over to Kristi’s blog to read the posts there.
Love that song you finish with, even if your photos aren’t so accessible to me. It was the movie, Anchor Man I believe, that ended with that song. I could be wrong, but it seems true from my memory of hearing it.
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Your microwave story was very pleasing to read, indeed. hehe. And I enjoyed reading about the thrift store. I can’t bring myself to pay retail prices for clothes when half the time you can find new or almost new stuff for $3 or $4 at the thrift store. And funny…I found a new pair of jeans, a new dress shirt, a new hoodie, and new corduroy pants on my trip to the thrift store on Saturday. *bliss* I also enjoyed reading about #9, seeing the photos, and reading about your other thankfuls. Such awesomeness that makes me smile big!
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PS – I’m looking at that link for the dress / suit and…WOW. $7,990! That would be quite incredible if yours was a Nieman Marcus. Just saying. hehe.
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lol. That would be the find of the century! but no mine is no $7,900 suit although my co-worker did recognize the designer name on the label 😀
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I’m glad you enjoyed it! Isn’t it great when you find stuff that is like new but the price is so…old 😀 Sounds as if you had an especially good shopping trip!
That’s a thankful right there. Smiles for you 🙂
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Sistah! That Fosamax thing makes me CRAZY. You’re supposed to take it on an empty stomach with water only and not eat or drink for 30 minutes AND stay upright. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME, FOSAMAX? MY FIRSTBORN SON?!
Maybe your microwave dish was a Magic 8 Ball.
You totally scored on the thrift shop find! I love to go thrift shopping, but I’m not good at finding clothes for myself. I do find them for everyone else in my family, though. I got my daughter a seersucker sundress from American Eagle just last week for only 69 cents. Truly my lucky day!
Even mediocre pizza is still pretty good, because, you know, pizza. Glad you found some outstanding pizza!
Your pics are lovely – symmetry is a beautiful thing!
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Sistah! LOL. My feelings about that drug exactly 😀 But, I’m glad I’ve been on it.
Hey! Didn’t think about the Magic 8 Ball. Good one.
I did, but damn if .69 doesn’t win the prize. That was a lucky day.Excellent! I do much better in a thrift shop for myself than in the retail shops. Don’t know why that is.
Yeah, your’re right, pizza is pizza.
Thanks Dyanne!
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