Other Places to Find Me on the Internet

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What's in my Purse?

I carry these things pretty much everywhere.

This is my wristlet From Left to Right: 

• Epi-Pen
• Albuterol Inhaler
• Hand Sanitizer
• Chapstick
• Big Pill Container with Antihistamines and Tylenol
• Card Case with Drivers License
• Cash, and Credit/Debit Cards
• Pen
• Not Pictured: My iPhone.

I really resent having to carry an epi-pen around. I haven't needed it since the incident that resulted in its prescription. It's so bulky. I am constantly on the hunt for a stylish wallet that will hold my epi-pen, my inhaler, and my phone. Since I haven't found one yet, I just toss everything in a extra large wristlet. I am so sad that Coach stopped making this style.

My Anything I Might Need Kit

I carry this make up bag full of things with me every time I'm out for the day. It comes with me to work and it goes with me if I'll be out running errants for the day.

It has:

• Crystalized ginger for upset stomach
• More Chapstick because there's nothing worse than running out of Chapstick
• Allegra (I take it in the mornings at 8 a.m. and my Xyxal, my other antihistamine, at night. I am a special person who needs to take two allergy meds a day!)
• Hand Sanitizer (sometimes I like it in my wristlet and sometimes I carry it in my emergency kit, it depends on how small the wristlet is)
• Hand Lotion because dry hands are the worse
• Powder Sunscreen so that I don't get a tan line on my nose from my sunglasses
• Exzema Creme because sometimes my skin hates me
• More Tylenol
• Eye Glasses Cleaner and Microfiber Cleaning Cloth because smudges on glasses are the worse
• Lipstick (x2)
• Eye Drops for my Contact Lenses in a pinch if your contact falls out at work you can use these to rinse them off before putting them back in
• Mini Glass Nail File
• Finger Nail Clippers that end up being useful for more than just cutting nails
• Compact Mirror
• Tums
• Kleenex
• Stain Remover
• So many bandaids in various sizes
• Blotting Linens that I almost never end up using
• Not Pictured: Feminine Hygiene Items in case I get surprised
• Not Pictured and Maybe Missing: A Spare Earring Back

Things I Carry With Me When I Have Space

I almost always have my sunglasses with me. I cannot stand bright blinding sunlight, which by that I mean any sunlight.

When I carry my big tote to work I usually carry some or all of these with me:

• My water bottle
• A coin Purse
• A card holder that has rewards cards in it (like the Beauty Insider Card for Sephora)
• An umbrella which sometimes lives in my car and sometimes lives in my tote bag
• My eBook Reader that I bring with me when I know I might have to wait someplace for a while
• Earphones and a USB cord for my phone in a little Lilly Pulitzer case
• A business card holder with work and personal business cards, my grandma gave it to me for graduation and I had it embossed with eHa, Esq.
• My camera in a case

Things I used to carry around or am thinking about carrying around:

• I think I should start brining a koozie with me wherever I go since I hate holding cold drinks. I had one in my purse this weekend.
• A spare pair of glasses, contact lens case, and contact lens solution in case I have an eye emergency while out and about and I need to drive to the eye doctor. I am really nearsighted and I cannot drive or see my computer screen without corrective lenses.
• A back up pair of earrings in case I forget to wear some out the door.
• Spare pantyhose (although I keep these in a drawer at work and work is the only place I wear them so maybe I'm covered.)
• An actual charger for my phone, not just a usb cord.

This is my favorite purse: The Coach Court Bag.
It is so easy to carry because I can hold it in
my hand or wear it like a cross body. It matches
my boat shoes and it holds everything I need
for an afternoon out and about.

I find this set up helps me switch purses easily since I keep all my small items in bags and can move those between purses easily. I also like just grabbing my wristlet and going into a store if I'm making a quick stop for coffee and doughnuts or running into Target or the grocery store on my way home.

Do you have a similar set up where you carry around an "emergency kit"? Do you find it useful? What do you have in it? What do you usually carry around in your purse/backpack/tote bag? I love hearing about how different people do things and learning knew ways of doing things.

Pumpkin Time

While I've already had my Pumpkin Spice Latte (and I remembered that I didn't like them that much). It's clearly fall here in Vacationland so Mr. Handsome and I went to get our pumpkins.

When looking for a pumpkin. I only have one thought in mind. How many seeds does it have inside? I don't care so much for carving pumpkins. I like having one and I love roasting pumpkin seeds. But pumpkin guts are messy, I am afraid of sharp knives, and the pumpkin guts irritate my skin.

Mr. H taking our pumpkins to the register.

We went to Rocky Ridge Orchard in Bowdoin. They have apple picking, a farm store, and pumpkins! All of the pumpkins were so big! I was happy an impressed. But that made it hard to pick out a pumpkin because they were all so nice looking. I ended up getting a scraggly looking one with green stripes and Mr. H found a great round orange one. (I forgot to take pictures of them but I will post them once carved along with photos of our halloween decorations.)

They also have a Halloween area set up where they have a bunch of creepy decorations to take pictures with. We walked through and saw a small child who was very happy about a giant rubber spider. The spider looked almost as big as the kid.

Inside

We went into the store/bakery to wait for apple cider doughnuts (they usually also have pumpkin molasses and chocolate doughnuts too). It was a busy day so we had to wait for a while. But it was worth the wait because we got half a dozen fresh hot doughnuts.

We already had apples at home so we didn't go
apple picking or pick any up from the store.

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds
I do not have a recipe for roasting pumpkin (and squash seeds) but you could use this recipe from allrecipes.com as a start. I usually flavor the seeds with season salt, pepper, and maybe garlic powder. I also usually use olive oil instead of melted butter. Do you roast pumpkin seeds? How do you do it?

Save the Moms!

So October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One fall during my junior year of college, my parents called me. My mom had breast cancer. She's been okay for long enough now that the chance for reoccurrence is pretty low. But now October is different for me now since it's impossible not to forget especially when I see things like this:

via Instagram
I concealed the user who shared this on purpose.

"Saving the Tatas" and "I [heart] boobies" things are my least favorite part of this time of year. My first thought when I see these slogans is that the people who made them up only care about my mom's breasts, my breasts, anyone's breasts! But not about the people themselves. I know that can't be right so I assume that most of the people who have things like this care about women and do not want people to die of breast cancer and just like saying risqué things. But, it still makes me feel uncomfortable because it does seem like the focus of this type of awareness is just on the sexualized nature of breasts.

I'm 27 and no longer breast feed so I could care less about my mom's breasts. But I care about my mom. My mom is a whole wonderful person and she would be still be my wonderful mom even if she had a double mastectomy and didn't have reconstructive surgery (this is not necessarily what happened to my mom). She would not be able to be my mom if she had died of cancer. So maybe another part of what distresses me is that these slogans obscure the real stakes when it comes to detecting breast cancer. It's not about about one part of your body--it's your whole life.

via Instagram
For some reason I found this one particularly galling.

I also am incredibly suspicious of corporations who seem to use Awareness to simply to promote their products. I don't really ascribe any motive to large corporations other than increasing profits. For example, I don't think companies that sell yogurt really care they just want me to buy their yogurt so they say they'll give some non-profit 10 ¢ for every cup of yogurt sold.

I am looking at you Lilly Pulitzer!
(I may end up buying this murfee but
that will be because I like the print.)

While, I don't ascribe the same motive to smaller companies that are run by one or a few people. It is still so odd to see people trying to get me to buy pink things to so that the company selling them can share profits with the American Cancer Society or the Komen Foundation or some other non-profit that is related to breast cancer. I would prefer to give my money directly to the non-profit organizations that help people with breast cancer or that raise awarness.

I'm sorry that I've been so cynical today. Like I said, I imagine that most people who want to "save the tatas" are genuine in their attempts to raise awareness about breast cancer and to raise money for research. It just rubs me the wrong way. And, I know different people react differently to different things so saying "lets save the tatas" might be comfortingly humorous to someone in circumstances similar to mine. I just needed to vent. Thank you for reading.

Update: I found this article on "Pinkwashing" at Sociological Images, the Lisa Wade does a much better job of explaining how this practice is sometimes problematic and she's found a couple of really egregious examples of pink washing.

Post Coming!

Due to technical difficulties (iPhoto not letting me edit) and me still being exhausted from the Red Sox's late game on Tuesday. Thursday's post will go up this evening after I get back from work. 

Until then, here's a doughnut: