Day 25- What You Would Find in My Bag

We played this game once with a bunch of friends.  It was fascinating and said so much about each of the women I was with.  I, even now, laugh when I think of my friend who had a lifetime's supply of breath mints in her purse and the other who carried a tape measure and swatches of fabric.  Another friend had envelopes full of receipts.

Here's a little known fact about me.  I HATE carrying a purse.  Honestly and truly.  Maybe I have some kind of female Peter Pan complex, and I don't want to grow up.  Carrying a purse means I have succumbed to being an adult and being responsible for stuff.  Maybe that's it.

As a mother, I can't get away without carrying stuff with me; although, I would if I could.  Most of the time I carry a cell phone, keys and a wallet.  That's it.  I can fit all that in my pockets.  When my last purse got lotion spilled in it, I was thrilled.  I didn't even try to clean it out.  Oops.  Bummer.  Ruined.  Darn.

This is where my ignorance comes in as far as woman-ish things go.  I blame it on my being raised with brothers, but I really don't have a clue.  I guess there are good purses and not so good purses.  If you're carrying the right bag, you are esteemed higher than if you're carrying the wrong kind.  Your purse should match your shoes?  I really don't know any of this purse etiquette, so I choose to stay away from it altogether.  I know, I should be ashamed to call myself a woman, huh?

All of that said, here's what I carried with me today.  By the way, I carried it in a bag my mother-by-marriage made for me a few years ago.  I've listed them in order as I pull them out:

• Two keys to the same car (in the outside pocket)--if the Warden finds out I have both keys, he's not going to be happy.  They are SUPER expensive to replace, and if one goes missing, it's a very sad day around here.  So, he kind of freaks when he doesn't see at least one in the usual key place in this house.  BTW, we used to have four of them.
• My after-visit summary from the doctor visit today telling me all my vital statistics, what medicines they're prescribing for me, and how to deal with a sinus infection.
• My red wallet.  I have received a newer one as a gift, but I love the redness of this thing.  It makes me happy.  It has no money in it and no credit cards, but it carries my drivers license, temple recommend, my Albertson's and Fred Meyer cards, a whole deck of medical insurance cards, my blood donor card, and a dozen and a half cards for Build-A-Bear and other such places that I will get rewards for if I ever go there more than once.
• A bank machine receipt.
• Orthodontic rubber bands for Inmate #2 that I confiscated from Inmate #7 today.
• My camera, which I wish I used more often these days.
• Keys to the nursery closet at church that I need to hand off to one of the new nursery leaders this coming Sunday.
• A receipt from buying lunch at McDonald's yesterday just so the kids could play on the indoor play equipment.  Funny how "Super Size Me" took all the joy out of McDonald's.

Wow!  That was a nice little exercise, so I could clean it out.  It's now down to a camera, a set of keys, and a wallet.  Oh, I usually carry my Blackberry too.  It doesn't have service; I just use it for it's calendar and to-do list.  My new phone is terrible for those things, but I don't want to have to pay for the smart phone stuff.  I'm kind of tightwad in that way.  Does that surprise you?  Probably not, huh?  Like I need internet 24-hours a day, so I can just waste more time doing that kind of stuff.  Ha!  I'm not a dummy.  I know myself pretty well.  I've got to set my limits somewhere.