The Bag Lady Stories

Earlier this week I was browsing around Zhu's blog and saw a meme that she had done. It was the "What's in your bag" meme. I loved it!! I ended up following the links to all the people she had tagged and on to some people they had tagged. Maybe I'm nosy or something but I thought it was a lot of fun. I was absolutely rolling when I saw this meme done by "the frogster" on the blog The Frog Bog.

I take the bus to work and sometimes I'm carrying several bags with me. So, I willingly refer to myself as the "Bag Lady" on those days. I feel that there is a "bag for every purpose and a purpose for every bag". Here are the stories of all my bags.

The yoga bag:



Pearl art supply stores were having a promotion where if you bought enough big things like 3 foot by 4 foot sheets of picture matting they gave you a free bag. Well, I wanted the bag because my yoga mat was really a camping mat (the kind you sleep on when camping) and it was big. I liked my camping/yoga mat because it was softer than the traditional yoga mat and my knees hurt if I don't have some cushioning. Well, fortunately my husband needed to buy some matting for his photos and I got the bag!!

The beach bag:



This bag was a gift from some very good friends. Not only is it my favorite color but it is also the perfect size for a bag a snacks, a beach towel, something to drink and a book. It is also OK to wash this bag in the washing machine so it really is perfect for going to the beach.

The Sunday school bag:










It was a Christmas gift from our host daughter an exchange student from Thailand. it is just the right size for my scriptures, the lesson manuals and a notebook for me to capture great ideas. My husband claims that I'm planning on starting a church of my own and that's why I'm taking notes. I particularly like to take this bag to church because the little babies are fascinated by the flashy decorations. This gives me a chance to play with the baby. That totally distracts me from taking notes but it is so much more fun.

The Toastmasters bag:
This bag isn't actually from the Toastmaster's organization it is just the bag I use to keep all my Toastmaster's stuff together. This bag was part of the new employee package at my current job. You could probably tell that it was a "gift" from the health insurance providers who were competing for the new employees' attention. This past weekend I celebrated my five year anniversary working for the same organization. I moved to a different department about six months ago to escape the Dr. Evil boss otherwise I wouldn't have made it to five years.

Miscellaneous other bags:
This is an assortment of bags that I use occasionally. The little black and brown bag I picked up in Thailand because I needed something small to carry a little cash, my Thai to English book, a cell phone and some chap stick. I still use it any time I just need to carry a few things with me and a pants pocket just isn't big enough. The white bag with pink handles is for sneaking popcorn into the movies. It is a very specialized bag. My sister gave it to me and I just haven't found any other purpose for it. The black bag with the beautiful needle work on it was purchased in Laos and it is the bag I carry with me when I'm following my husband around on one of his photography outings. Because he spends so much time getting just the right shot, I need something to do. I'll carry a book, some water and anything else to keep me entertained while I wait.

The very, very special bag:

This bag is a very special bag because I searched for it and I found not just what I was looking for but I found what my heart desired. I wanted a sleek purse that could keep me organized. Something that was set up for my planner but had space for a cell phone, all my credit cards, and a pen. Then I found the perfect bag and even better they had the style in red!! However this bag was supposed to be for work and I need to look professional. Red is not a conservative color and I have been raised a conservative. The dilemma was heart wrenching. I picked up the black purse and looked it over. I picked up the red purse and put it back. I started to the register with the black one and then went back for the red one. I started at it for awhile. Red will definitely not match my clothes every day. I'm really not the type of person who will change my purse to match my clothes. Usually I just have a black purse so it isn't a problem. But I really, really like the red purse. Well, as you can see, I did buy the red purse. It is such a beautiful purse.

After several years of enjoying my beautiful red purse, I noticed that more often than not it was getting shoved into my larger work bag because I just had too many things to carry. I now have a Blackberry so I don't need the paper planner and I found a small coin purse that fits my driver's license, some credit cards and some cash. So, now the red purse only comes out when I need to look professional and it's the only bag I'm going to carry. (i.e. job interviews)

The work bag:

It is a big black bag that carries everything I could possibly fit into it. It was acquired at a technology conference which is apparent from the not subtle advertising across the front. Everything in this bag is absolutely essential. There is the umbrella for the always expected Florida rain, my little red bag for my makeup because I never have time to apply it before I leave the house so I do it on the bus on my way to work, my pink Clinique bag for discretely carrying unmentionables, a couple of books to read while I'm riding the bus and my work notebook because I occasionally feel like working on something even when I'm not at work. There is the miscellaneous little stuff like my employee id, my blackberry with wired ear piece (wireless ear pieces cost too much!!), a few pills, some hydro-cortizone (I think that got left in there one day when I had an annoying bug bite), and various papers which were at one time very important (they had to have been or I wouldn't have kept them).

There is more story behind this bag. At the technology conference where I got the bag, one of the tech companies had a party and hired an artist to draw caricatures of people as super heros. Wonder Woman was always my favorite super hero so of course I had the artist draw me as Wonder Woman.



Now, if I had a cool little invisible airplane too keep all my stuff in I wouldn't need so many bags. Well, maybe just one or two.

I'm going to tag: Amel, Victorya, and The Pioneer Woman

Back from Blogging Hiatus

So do you know what hiatus means? I didn't until I moved to Florida and started living near a road called Hiatus. Then at some point I was told that the road was called Hiatus because it was supposed to be the last road before the Everglades. It was the end of the development. Well, I live west of Hiatus so the road was not the end of development it was just an interruption in the development. So, the road is aptly named.

I was thinking about this because I got tagged for excellence by Heaven Above at Wildlife Alive and I was really touched by her concern for the animals who have lost their habitat to the humans. Much of South Florida sits on what used to be the Everglades so occasionally there are some incidents with wildlife. Some of the wildlife has adapted fairly well to us humans but others are just too threatening to the average human. Just like the bears that Heaven Above writes about the alligators here sometimes get a bad reputation. In the end, they are just trying to survive.

So, Heaven Above tagged my post Another Day in Paradise for excellence because it made her laugh. I'm so glad for that. On some of the really tough days at my previous employer, I would tell my friends that I have to laugh because otherwise I'd cry. Ever felt that way?

Now time for me to tag someone else for excellence.

I have to tag Zhu at Correr Es Mi Destino for her excellent post Losing my Religion. I am a religious person and I just loved the respectful debate that this post created.

The only thing is; I was so hooked on reading this post and all the comments that I ran out of time to find other bloggers to tag. I would suggest that you check out any of the blogs in the list "My Favorite Blogs".

I do hope that I'll be able to get back to blogging regularly. I have so many ideas for posts, I just wish I had time for them all.

My Desktop

Choc Mint Girl tagged me for this meme. It's pretty simple, show a picture of my desktop. I'm afraid my desktop isn't very interesting.



See, I haven't changed it much since I bought this computer from Dell! Well, hopefully some of the folks that I tag will have more interesting desktops.

Here are the rules:

Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun. Here’s how you can do a screen capture:

1. Go to your desktop and press the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key).
2. Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and doing a Paste (CTRL + V). If you wish, you can “edit” the image before saving it.
3. Post the picture on your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop if you want. You can explain why you prefer such a look or why it is full of icons. Things like that.
4. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktops as well.
5. Add your name to this list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants.

People who have already pimped their desktop:
Francine of La Place de Cherie Chez Francine Bloggishi Unchained Melody LadyJava’s Lounge Mariuca Revellian Dot ComDesktop Emila’s Illustrated Blog Spiff, The Spaceman Rolando Brown Baron The Kat HouseMAX Choc Mint Girl Self Delusions of Angela May add yours here after doing this tag

I tag the following great bloggers:
Victorya Chase Goes to Therapy
Mel's Got An Idea
JenuArt - Soul Energy Rising
Kathleen's Invisible Keepsakes
Flavors of Italy

Tagging People for Priceless Experiences

OK, not too many people jumping at the chance to participate in this meme. Of course, it could be that I just don't have the level of readership that would allow for replies in three days.

So, here are some folks that I'm tagging.

Amel at Amel's Realm probably has cool experiences from both Indonesia and Finland.

Jovi at Girl, Interrupted is from the Philippines.

Let's get a New York perspective from Victorya at Victorya Chase Goes to Therapy. I always like reading Victorya's blog it is very thought provoking. Check out a past post about the Sexualizing of Children. This is a concerning trend.

OK, that's all for now.

Seven Priceless Experiences in South Florida

Well, this is another tagging game which Zhu of Correr Es Mi Destino started. I am really glad Zhu tagged me because otherwise I would be writing the second scene to the Another Day in Paradise. It isn't that I don't want to write the second scene but at the moment I have so many ideas floating around my head that I haven't been able to write anything coherent.

Zhu of course started the meme with Ten Priceless Canadian Experiences. I am from Florida, USA but I decided to be specific to South Florida with my 7 experiences. That's because South Florida is really different from the northern part of the state and in many ways different from the United States in general. I really couldn't come up with 10, but if I think of any more I'll add them.

1. Diversity and more Diversity
I really enjoy the diversity of South Florida. I have a wide range of friends from many countries, cultures, religions, etc. It's great to have conversations with them and learn about their experiences. It's like visiting a different country without leaving home.

2. Really Bad Traffic
This is one I hate! The traffic problem in South Florida is more than just the amount of cars on the road, which is a problem in itself. Some of the traffic problems do relate to the diversity I like so well because you do have folks who don't quite adjust to the US traffic laws. Even worse though are the people who do know the traffic laws and blatantly disobey them. It is very common for people to run red lights. In fact, if you are coming up on a yellow light and think you should stop you have to look behind you first. If there is a car behind you, you have to decide if it is better to go through the yellow almost red light or risk being rear-ended. Sometimes the very people who are supposed to be enforcing the traffic laws are violating them. Yes, I have nearly been run down by a police car while I was trying to cross the road.

3. The Weather is Great!! (except for hurricanes)
Why do you think so many people put up with the threat of having their houses blown away? The winter months are the best. While the rest of the country is shoveling snow we have the windows open letting in the cool breezes. The summer can sometimes be a bit unbearable with the heat and humidity. However, most of the time we have some nice winds coming off the ocean which cools things down a bit and everywhere you go is air conditioned.

4. Hurricanes are the Pits!!
Well, we lived through Hurricane Wilma which we thought was a category 3 but found out later that it was a category 2. That is because the wind speeds weren't sustained, whatever that means. All the same, when the wind was blowing I would put my hand on the walls of my house and I could feel them vibrating. My house is a cinder block house and very well built so the fact that the walls were vibrating caused me a bit of concern. My husband and I watched from the little window in our door as the winds uprooted a couple of huge trees and tipped them over on our neighbor's house. When it was all over, one of the neighborhood kids commented that our street looked like a scene from the movie War of the Worlds. I can only imagine how horrible Hurricane Katrina was.

5. Tropical Fruit: Avocados, Mangoes, Lynchees, etc.
It's great all the different kinds of fruit you can get here. The best part is that it is grown locally. It's not the tasteless fruit that's been picked early and ripened while it is shipped to the grocery store. Of course, you can get that kind of fruit here too. So, during the summer I get all the avocados and mangoes I can eat because I have trees. Sometimes I get lynchees from friends who have a tree. I'm not crazy about papaya and star fruit, but I could get those from friends too. For many years backyard citrus was disappearing because of the citrus canker and you couldn't buy citrus trees. That restriction has been lifted so maybe I'll buy an orange tree. Even if I don't there are shops everywhere that sell fresh oranges of all varieties. It's really wonderful.

6. Great International Restaurants
The diversity of the population ensures that there are a lot of authentic restaurants from the countries represented by the population. We have a couple of Thai restaurants that we love. We've also been to a good Venezuelan restaurant. We're not particularly fond of Cuban food, but there are Cuban restaurants on nearly every corner. Other restaurants that I've enjoyed include Italian, Japanese, Greek and so many more that I haven't tried yet.

7. Enduring Jokes about the 2002 Elections
I can't tell you how many times I've heard "So, you're from Florida. What was going on with the election?" So, now we have these computerized voting machines and every election there are debates about the reliability of these machines. Our local county government spent all this money on buying the machines and now some voters want to retrofit the machines to print a paper receipt. I'm not sure what good a paper receipt would do. If what is printed is not what you voted for then I guess you could make a stink about it. But a piece of paper isn't going to guarantee that the vote is counted. Occasionally, we hear about the votes in a machine not being counted properly for one reason or another. In reality, it's the same problem that elections have always had. With paper ballots, it was possible that a box full of ballots got lost and were never counted. Then there is that whole hanging chad thing. One friend told me that Florida's state quarter should be a nickel. Just count it five times!

OK, I don't know who to tag for this one. So, here's my idea. If you'd like to participate in this meme, leave a comment so that people can follow it to your blog. Over the next few days, I'll tag a few people as well.

So, ends my weekend. I spent most of my Sunday afternoon browsing the blogs Zhu listed for this meme. You should check it out, a lot of interesting blogs. I'm happy to be one of them.

Another Tagging Game

So, Choc Mint Girl tagged me again. This tagging game is providing blogging tips so, here's the scoop.

--Start Copy--

It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)

Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers.

Try to make your tip general. After that, tag 10 other people. Link love some friends!

Just think– if 10 people start this, the 10 people pass it onto another 10 people, you have 100 links already!

1. Look, read, and learn.
http://www.neonscent.com***

2. Be EXCELLENT to each other.
http://www.bushmackel.com****

3. Don’t let money change ya!
http://www.therandomforest.info****

4. Always reply to your comments
http://chattiekat.com***

5. Blog about what you know & love.
http://sugar-queens-dream.blogspot.com***

6. Don't use filthy language-buy a dictionary.
http://shinade.blogspot.com**

7. Whenever possible, spread some positive thoughts and love. The world needs more of them.
http://ailema4ever.blogspot.com**

8. Write down from your heart or head. Either way asks yourself why you ever get started.
http://chocmintgirl.blogspot.com

9. Be honest, be tactful but honest.
http://angelofdelusion.blogspot.com

--End Copy--

This time I'm tagging:
1. Bizzy Girl's World
2. Heaven Above
3. TL Corners
4. Victorya
5. Adrienne
6. Rollie
7. Lizzie
8. Jovi
9. Helmsdeep
10. Sirprizeme1393

Some of these blogs are ones that I visit regularly, some are folks that left comments on my blog and others are ones I found expressly so I could tag them. I did chose blogs that interested me and kept me reading beyond one paragraph.

I hope everyone enjoys the tips as well as the blogs I've tagged. I found the "After the Love is Gone" post on Jovi's site to be hilarious!

I got Tagged ... Twice!!!

It's like a chain email only it's with blogs. Anyway, there are rules I'm supposed to follow and one of the rules is that I have to put the rules first.

The Rules: "Each person posts the rules before their list, then they list 8 things about themselves. At the end of the post, that person tags and links to 8 other people and then visits those peoples' sites and comments letting them know that they have been tagged, and to come read the post, so they know what they have to do."

I'm not one for passing on chain emails but this tagging thing seemed like a good way to tell other people about my blog as well as sharing some blogs that I enjoy. I got tagged by Choc Mint Girl and Heaven Above. Now maybe I'm supposed to do 16 of everything because I got tagged twice but I had a hard enough time just doing 8!

1. I often have very dark thoughts that I find somewhat disturbing because I really am a very optimistic person. I think this has to do with having some very dark experiences so I know how brutal life can be but I also know how resilient we all are and that life is so worth it!

2. I love to touch rose petals. They are so soft and delicate.

3. Although I am a technology nerd, I don't own every new gadget. I'm really cheap that way and I will only buy the gadgets I really have a use for and by that time there are newer and better gadgets out.

4. I desparately want to have a child; my husband isn't sure he wants kids. I love my husband and we have a wonderful relationship. I knew about his concern regarding kids when we got married (many years ago) and at the time I honestly thought that I could deal with it. In many ways, this is more challenging than anything else I've dealt with in my life. It is so much easier when there is someone you can blame and hate; a "bad" person.

5. The song "The Greatest Love of All" is my theme song.

6. When I was 12 or 13 I was introduced to Rock and Roll (the members of my family are Country Music folks) and I loved it. One day, my mother caught me jumping on my bed, head banging and singing "Shout, Shout, let it all out" at the top of my lungs. I suspect that she thought I was possessed.

7. Wonder Woman was my hero. I wanted to be able to fight the bad guys the way she did. Beat the crap out of them but still be a lady.

8. A group of my co-workers and I like to joke about writing a musical based on the crazy things that happen at our work. Perhaps, I'll post the opening scene as my next entry!

So, there are the 8 things about myself. Now for the 8 bloggers that I'll be tagging.

1. Correr Es Mi Destino
2. Bizzy Girl's World
3. Herbal Renaissance
4. Amel's Realm
5. Mollotov Cocktail
6. Culumovic
7. Ramblings
8. It's Like You Know ...

For all of you who are following the tag chain, happy blog browsing and happy blogging!