Contents guarded by turquoise scotty dog! (What's In Your Bag?)

Member Name: Foxy-Lady

Product:	What's In Your Bag?
Date:	01/05/09 (271 review reads)
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Firstly , let me tell you about the actual bag. I absolutely love it and was thrilled to receive it as a Christmas gift last year. It's my first Radley! They are known to be rather expensive and initially I was afraid to take it out of its protective dust bag and use it. A fear of spoiling it in some way, or even worse losing it had implanted itself in my mind. I've overcome that now though and my little black bag guarded by turquoise Radley dog goes everywhere with me.

It's a medium sized satchel shape (called Exclusive Pocket Bag) with a shoulder strap designed to be worn diagonally across the torso. I believe that it is a Radley best seller and I find that it's ideal for me when out with my handful of a son as it doesn't slide off my shoulder all the time. It fits perfectly!

My last day to day bag was a large, sloppy canvas bag which used to contain all sorts of junk. If you looked hard enough you might have even come across the kitchen sink somewhere in its depths! My Radley is positively petite in comparison so I had to seriously condense the contents - not such a bad thing really! You will now find...


~ Purse, keys and mobile phone ~
I've grouped these together as they are quite obvious items to have in your bag! Purse (although rather empty at the moment!) so I can quite simply buy stuff. Keys for locking my front door, getting in the car and driving to work. And mobile phone (LG Cookie) as I keep it with me at all times. I don't use it all that often but I like to know that it's there for emergencies. Especially at the moment - you never know what will happen whilst pregnant and out and about!


~ Notebook ~
I've had this book for more than 10 years now. I bought it from Paperchase on a college trip to London but it's so pretty that I never wanted to use it! Lovely textured paper pages and unusual blue cover make it really attractive although it's becoming a little bit worn now that I've starting writing in it.

I like to feel that I'm being organised...but whether I actually succeed is another story! My little notebook comes in really handy as it's full of my scribblings to remind me of lots of things. There're various notes in here:

To do lists - I love the satisfaction of crossing things off my lists as it makes me feel like I'm achieving something!

To buy lists - currently baby products that we'll need for our new arrival and ideas for a few forthcoming birthday presents.

Baby names - any thoughts we're having on names get jotted down here. Mainly girls names (as we've been told we're expecting a little princess) but we've picked a selection of boys names too, just in case.

Work related ramblings - I do some freelance graphic design work so if I have any brainwaves on a particular job whilst I'm away from my mac, I jot it (or draw it) in my notebook for later reference.

Survey earnings - I'm a member of quite a few survey sites and have a rough list of current point balances/earnings. This way I don't have to keep checking the websites to see if I'm ready to cash in. If I complete a survey, a quick glance in my book tells me if I'm likely to have reached pay out level. If so, I'll pop on line to redeem.


~ Diary ~
This is in my bag so that I can easily keep track of all appointments and birthdays etc. Being pregnant means that I have quite a few trips to see the midwife. Pregnancy also causes my memory to go a bit squiffy so I need to keep the dates and times written down. I have lots of birthdays to remember too so my diary would be useful for that alone! Holidays are listed in here as well, as are work related meetings and deadlines, car dates such as tax and MOT and also dates for my maternity leave (I'm counting down the days!). All a sign of my organised nature I suppose.


~ Anti-Bacterial hand gel and baby wipes ~
These are great to have with me, especially when out with my little boy. You never know when you'll need a baby wipe to clean up any mess! I tend to just keep a few of these in a handy travel case. The little bottles of hand sanitiser which claim to kill 99.9% of bacteria are terrific for getting rid of germs whilst you're on the go, particularly before eating or if a certain person has an 'accident'. A quick squirt takes no time at all to dry and doesn't require any water. I first began to buy these hand cleansers when Jack was born so that I could keep my hands clean after nappy changes but I find that myself and my family still use them now...and I'm sure we'll continue to do so.


~ Pregnancy notes ~
This is an A4 sized booklet which is full of medical jargon relating to my pregnancy, as well as contact numbers for my next of kin. It's supposed to be with me at all times in case of unexpected happenings but I must admit, I do forget it sometimes. The size annoys me a tad as I have to kind of roll it up to fit in my bag. A much more compact A5 size would be better!


~ Sat Nav ~
I only 'inherited' my Garmin recently as hubby bought a better one for work purposes. I prefer to keep it in my bag rather than in the car to prevent it being pinched. Plus we have two cars that we swap between so I don't have to worry about remembering to transfer the sat nav too.

My directional abilities are totally rubbish. I usually only know one route to get somewhere and it can take me anywhere up to ten journeys before I'm fully confident that I know where I'm going. As other road users will know, you occasionally stumble across an accident or some other incident which results in a diversion being put in place. When this occurs I am more often than not well and truly stuck with no clue where to turn instead. This is when I reach for my Garmin. It's helped me out a couple of times recently.


~ Post Office receipts ~
I've got a handful of Post Office receipts in my bag at the moment as I've just had a session of selling unwanted belongings on ebay...clearing out to make space and some money! I tend to keep all proofs of postage (with a 'note to self' scribbled on the back of each one so I know which receipt relates to each item) in case there's any come back or missing deliveries. As soon as I've received ebay feedback, I get rid of the appropriate receipt. Actually, come to think of it these can probably all make their way into the bin now!


~ Cereal bar ~
I always keep a cereal bar in my bag to refuel if I begin to feel tired, particularly in the afternoon. If I didn't have a cereal bar with me I'd end up buying a bar of chocolate so it's a much healthier option for me. My current favourites are Jordan's Frusli bars and Nature Valley Granola bars. Scrumptious!


~ Book ~
I slip my current read into my bag every morning - right now that would be The Outcast by Sadie Jones. If it's quiet at lunch time I like to lose myself in my book for half an hour as it really helps me to unwind and briefly forget about work, ready to start all over again in the afternoon. Work is very slow at the moment so instead of twiddling my thumbs I've even been known to pick up my book whilst sat at my desk. Either that or surf the internet...like I'm doing right now. Ahem!


Right, now that I've organised my bag I'd better get back to some work...or I might even read that book!

Summary: The contents of my bag!