Handbag (Tagged by Kelly)

Kelly tagged me to do this so here it is!

1. Take a photo of your handbag

2. List what is in it (no leaving anything out!)

Okay so my bag is pretty old - the make is Custard and I got it for a bargain in a surfy type shop in Braehead Shopping Centre, Glasgow many moons ago. I'm sure it was a fiver or some other complete steal! It's not my full time bag as I tend to swap. I normally use a different bag for work but as I have been on holiday this week I downgraded to a smaller bag. It's still quite a "Mary Poppins" number though in that I seem to be able to cram a lot in.

And here is a list of what's in it currently:

• Purse (purple, make: Jag, containing: various credit and eftpos cards, loyalty cards for a number of places where I don't seem to shop, 2 pairs of earrings - I have a habit of taking them off half way through the day and chucking them in my purse, $2.20 in change)
• 2 packets of tissues - one menthol, one plain
• my red iPod Nano in it's pink snoopy bag (bought in Hong Kong at the night markets)
• a pink highlighter (I love hightlighting things randomly and I also like pink)
• a Gap (organisation I work for) pen (not pictured)
• Panadol (7 left on the strip of 10)
• a silver packet which contains a rugby trading card which you get free in packets of crisps - this is from the bag of crisps I got from the cinema last week and I'm saving it for my boss's children who collect them
• Mills and Boon Novel - The Inconvenient Bride by Anne McAllister - for some light hearted reading when the going gets tough
• Whitcoulls $20 voucher (remaining from $30 of vouchers I got from my birthday last October) - I have been saving it for something really special that I wouldn't normally buy and so far have not found anything that merits it's worth
• my crappy Nokia cell phone circa 1960 (at least that's how old it looks) - I really want a new one but don't have the inclination to spend the huge amount that phones seem to cost here in NZ
• United Video coupons - from last Saturday and Tuesday when I got movies and a Singstar game for my week off
• Purple glasses cleaning cloth although I can never find it when I want to use it and end up using my sleeve or bottom of my top instead
• Camera case (which also normally holds the camera except I needed the camera to take the picture)

Wow - that was quite fun! And for once I don't seem to have too much crap in my bag! On any other day it's quite possible by bag could have contained any of the following:

• poo bags for walking the dog
• dog treats
• Graeme's sunglasses
• umbrella
• shopping list
• craft stuff
• water bottle
• notepad
• diary
• a wad of old reciepts mostly from Starbucks

but not today!

So there you have it. I tag anyone who reads this that has the inclination to do it :-)

I'm back! (already!)

I said I would be didn't I?!

Well, day 4 (including weekends) of my 9 days off and I am loving it.

I am feeling pretty laid back and relaxed and I've also done a few things that make me feel like I've achieved something too...it's all good.

• I have baked a lemon cake (all gone) and some chocolate chip cookies (which won't last long once Graeme gets home!)
• I have scrapbooked 1 page (I am waiting for something to dry and then it will be finished and I might take a picture and upload it)
• I have decluttered the bathroom
• I have taken the dog to the vets because he had a gash on his foot on Friday night - he's now on meds and twice daily cleaning with salt water
• I have read
• I have watched one of my 6 DVDs that I hired for this week
• I cut the grass
• I have done heaps of laundry
• I have slept in
• I have been t'internet surfing
• and I am sure there are heaps of other things too!

Oh yeah - and I have taken a couple of photos too including this strange, arty shot

I really do want to learn more about photography. It would be cool to take a class in photography but I would need to find out if I could do it with my point and shoot camera - I don't have enough funds to buy a super dooper 'proper' camera right now. I am occasionally pleased with the photos I manage to take with the current camer though including this one

And as for the rest of my week off? We shall see but I am hoping for more of the same plus I should probably fit some exercise in there too!

I'm hoping to be back again in a few days!

I just won't know to do with myself...

I have a week off and it feels very strange.
The cool thing is that's it's all lieu time so I don't need to take any leave.
I've been really looking forward to it.
But it still feels weird.
I can't remember a time I took a whole week off just to be.
When I wasn't sick or wasn't going anywhere or didn't have visitors coming.
So it's a whole new experience.

In typical me fashion I have numerous lists on the go of things that it would be 'good' to do this week.
'Good' can be defined in 2 ways:
1) it has to be done and even though I may not enjoy it - I will feel better once it's done
2) it's something I enjoy doing so it will be fun

So I hope for a week (or 9 days once I count the weekends...although day 1 is nearly done so 8 more days to go!) of sleeping, watching movies, taking photos, scrapbooking, exercising, decluttering, giving myself beauty treatments, blogging, baking, emailing, journalling, doing projects and completing chores.

Of course each of these different activities have their own list and then I have tried to create a spreadsheet so I complete one of each type of activity each day....am I crazy or what?!

So far today I am nowhere near done with all the activities but I've done some.
I have a terrible habit of beating myself up (figuratively rather than literally) over uncompleted items on lists but this week I am going to try real hard not to do that.
I will do what I get done and that will be it.

I have spent heaps of time today being inspired by some cool artistic peoples blogs and found some really cool quotes.
Here is one that I might re-read every morning of my week off:

This bright, new day...complete with 24 hours of opportunities, choices and attitudes...a perfectly matched set of 1440 minutes.
This unique gift, this one day, cannot be exchanged, replaced or refunded.
Handle with care.
Make the most if it.
There is only one to a customer.
[Author Unknown]

And I hope to be back here blogging at least a couple more times this week :-)