Photo A Day

I'm sure you've all seen the Photo A Day monthly challenge that's floating around the internet, right? It looks fun and I thought I'd try it out for the month of June. Would you like to join me? I'll be taking the daily pictures and posting the pictures from the week *hopefully* every Saturday since the month ends on a Saturday. I'll add a linky party widget to the bottom of the post so you can link up if you decide to do it as well...I'd love to see your pics! (If you don't have a blog but you have FB, you should be able to link up a photo album.) So, get your cameras ready and your creative juices flowing because, believe it or not, June starts tomorrow!

THANK YOU!

Thank you to all those who have served or are currently serving in the military and have put their lives on the line for our freedom! I can't help but be reminded of the ultimate sacrifice - Jesus Christ laying down His life for us! Praise the Lord!!

John 15:13 ~ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

What's In Nicole's Purse?

Hello my name is Nicole and I blog over at Innermost Aspirations.

And I am happy to be guest blogging for Kali today.

I usually do not have this neat of a purse, but just for

all of you readers I decided I better clean it out! :)

I received this purse along with the adorable scarf from my parents

for my last birthday.

It is actually smaller than what I am used to but I have 

learned to adjust and take out unnecessary things. :)

1. I recently got this Vera Bradly lanyard because I was constantly digging around in my purse looking for my keys.
2. Business card holder
3. My Android
4. My digital camera

5.  Kleenex

6.  Perfume...my favorite scent

7.  Orbit gum

8.  A mirror

9.  Mary Kay satin hands...this stuff is the absolute best and lasts forever!

10.  My Coach sunglasses case from EJ takes up alot of room but I love it and it reminds me of my friend

11.  My Liz Claiborne wallet also from EJ

12.  Coach wristlet that I  got from my parents with the items contained below:

Sanitizer, Advil, Lip gloss, and nail clippers = purse staple items

 Tide to go because I know myself. ;)

More lip gloss and lip stick (because a girl never has enough of that)

My day planner

And thus concludes the contents within my purse.

Thanks Kali, for hosting such a fun purse party!

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Thanks, Nicole! And thanks, again, to all of the lovely ladies who participated. This was SO much fun! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!

Be sure to stop by Nicole's blog and say Hi!

Click HERE to see what's in my purse!

Click HERE to see what's in Erica's purse!

Click HERE to see what's in Maggie's purse!

Click HERE to see what's in Rebecca's purse!

Click HERE to see what's in Rachel's purse!

What's In Rachel's Purse?

Hi there, internet world. My name is Rachel and I'm the author of The Jersey Mama blog, which I write partly to keep my long-distance family updated with the doings of my household, and partly to keep a journal for myself. I enjoy reading Kali's blog and am tickled to be a guest-author for her this week!

When I got Kali's request to write about my purse, my first thought was, "Whew, I sure am glad I just cleaned it out!" And then I realized that I could clean it out before taking pictures anyway, and no one would be the wiser. But I really did just clean it out. Honest. You're welcome. You wouldn't have been able to see anything through that pile of crumpled receipts and gum wrappers and empty gift-card holders.

I actually just got this purse.

It was my Mother's Day present to myself. When you are the mom of small children, you get to choose your own gifts for Mother's Day!

I am anti-large purses -- I've learned that Large Purse = Too Much Stuff Inside = Aching Shoulders. With kids and diaper bags, I have enough stuff to haul around. (Plus, if your purse is big enough, your husband thinks he can put his wallet and keys in there too. Just sayin'.) This one is just the right size with just the right amount of compartments for me.

I need compartments. I need organization. Cell phones must be easily accessible. Keys cannot dwell within the same space as wallets and checkbooks, as they then hide underneath everything and refuse to be found, especially when I am standing in the rain in a parking lot with a cart full of groceries and two unhappy children. I must be able to reach in without looking and find my chapstick RIGHT AWAY because I'm probably driving and handing sippy cups to the back seat and turning up the volume of the Mary Poppins soundtrack all at the same time.

Exterior (most easily accessed) pockets contain only two things:

1. my non-smart phone

2. my car key and house key

Side compartment:

1. hubby's car key with another house key. You know, so that in case I lock my own key in my car in the driveway, I can get into the house. Not that I'm admitting to ever doing that ...

2. keys to the in-law's house, various store cards, and some other keys that are for ... uh ... actually I don't know what they are for. But for sure if I take them out I will need them within a week.

3. keys to the church building

4. a jump drive which is in my purse simply because it's been there for so long that if I put it somewhere else I'll never find it again

Other side compartment:

1. minty gum for post-coffee breath (this mama drinks a lot of coffee)

2. strawberry-flavored gum for children who must chew gum when Mama does but who don't like mint because it's "too spicy"

3. mint Tic Tacs for grown-ups

4. fruit-flavored Tic Tacs to keep 2-year-olds happy in the car and while waiting in lines

Oh, look, a Jolly Rancher! Where'd that come from ...?

Center compartment

inside pocket:

1. baby wipes are handy for everything

2. hand sanitizer (squirt some on a baby wipe and you've got a sanitizing wipe)

3. hand lotion

other inside pocket:

1. chapstick for children (the cheap stuff)

2. chapstick (the nicer stuff) and lipstick for me

3. Blistex which lives in the purse for the same reason as the jump drive

1. checkbook (I confess, I had the Curious George cover long before I had kids)

2. pocket calendar which is used solely for holding receipts and expired prescription slips

3. well-worn and much loved card/cash/coin purse from Fossil; I've had it for years and will use it until it falls apart at the seams. Then I'll get another one.

1. two pens, because if I only carry one I can never find it

2. new chapstick (can't go in the same pocket as the current one because I reach for it without looking and would then, of course, always pull out the sealed one first)

3. three cds which I'm assuming I put in my purse in order to take to my car

4. a calculator which I use all the time despite having one on my phone; besides, a calculator will entertain a crabby toddler ... at least briefly until she realizes it's not a phone and she can't see any pictures of  herself or play any games on it, but that's okay because she can't hurt it when she furiously hurls it to the floor.

And lastly, though I don't carry it all the time, my purse needs to be large enough to accommodate my Nook!

With this I can read books and entertain children with stories or games, and surf the web when there's wi-fi around.

And that's it! Thanks, Kali, for including me in your fun little blog project this week!

-Rachel

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Thanks, Rachel! I just love how you have an extra set of chapstick, gum & mints for your girls!

Be sure to stop by Rachel's blog and say Hi!

Click HERE to see what's in my purse!

Click HERE to see what's in Erica's purse!

Click HERE to see what's in Maggie's purse!

Click HERE to see what's in Rebecca's purse!

What's In Rebecca's Purse?

Today we have Rebecca from Cotton+Wood!

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A girl's purse is such an important asset to her. I'm not too picky about my purse...definitely don't have to have a Coach to get through life. My current purse is a Target-on-sale-gem. It's starting to show wear and it's about time to get a new one!

Because this purse is a bit bigger, the last thing I want is for it to bulge.  So I try to keep the contents limited to the basics.

Here we go!

This small bag keeps all of the essentials contained and helps me keep my sanity.  I really despise digging through my purse for something.

These are the floaters.  :)

Side pockets

Other side pocket

Front pockets

See?!  It does look a bit big on me.  But I love my little [big] purse.

Have a good day and thanks for having me, Kali!

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Thanks, Rebecca! I'm having so much fun 'going through' everyone's purse! :)

Be sure to stop by Rebecca's blog and say Hi!

Click HERE to see what's in my purse!

Click HERE to see what's in Erica's purse!

Click HERE to see what's in Maggie's purse!

What's In Maggie's Purse?

Hello there, "It's a Wonderful Life" readers!

This is Maggie from "Maggie's Moments"!

Also, I am Kali's sister, in case ya'll haven't caught on before now.

I am happy to show you what is in my purse today! Some things normally are not there, while others just have to be there all.the.time.

Alrighty, without further ado....

This purse has loads of pockets, which I love, which makes for an organized purse. I am all about organization!

The necessities:

Wallet

Checkbook

Keys

First off, I must say that I am a hand sanitizer junkie. Two different kinds of santizer, at the top left. Whenever I go to thrift stores, ect....I pop one of those bad boys out. Maybe I'm germaphobic, I don't know, but the thought of tons of other people's germs on my hands grosses me out!

Lotion: scented and non-scented

Kleenex

Pill box--This has come in handy SO many times. I usually hold IB-Prophen and headache pills in there. I can not even tell you how many times myself and others around me have needed some pain relief while at church, out in town, or wherever, that it has come in handy.

I call this the hodge podge picture :)

Pen

Lip gloss and Chapstick

Definitely a self-proclaimed chapstick-a-holic, looking into counseling.....

Sunglasses

Spanish Tracts

Heart--a little girl at church gave this to me :)

Hair band

Mints....gotta have 'em!

Individual juice packets

(I believe this flavor is Peach Tea)

Last but certainly not least...

Camera

Nail file

Again, has come in handy LOTS of times. Who here wants to go the whole day with a broken nail?! Not I!

Eye Liner

I don't even know how to explain this one, or rather it would take to long to explain it. I will just say that this is not normally in my purse!

Mirror

Cell Phone

Thread

I used this in an object lesson for the kids on Sunday. The more you sin and get in the habit of it, the harder it is to break it from your life. (Meanwhile, I was wrapping the thread around and around a little boy's hands.)

Thanks so much for having me today!

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Thanks, Maggie! I have benefited from several things in her purse, as if I didn't have enough in my own! Lol

Be sure to stop by Maggie's blog and say Hi!

Click HERE to see what's in my purse!

Click HERE to see what's in Erica's purse!

What's In Erica's Purse?

Hey y'all! This is Erica from the blog, Aunt Erica! 

First off, let me just say that I am very excited about doing this and can't thank Kali enough for including me in such a cute little series! :)

And second, I must tell you that I am just an ol' country gal so some things in my bag may seem a little strange, but I'll tell you, everything in it is there for a reason!

So, with that being said, let's take a look at my purse...or my suitcase as my Daddy would call it ;)

I'm just gonna state the obvious here and just flat out say this is definitely not designer!

It's actually just an imitation Vera Bradley that I got a yard sale a couple weeks ago for $2.

But it works for me and I just love that pink gingham in the inside there!

This is my little wristlet wallet thing that I got for Christmas last year and boy...do I love this thing!

It is so handy for when I don't feel like lugging this huge pocketbook around everywhere!

It holds my phone, debit/gift/insurance cards, license, business cards, and a small amount of change.

These are my keys.

I have my car keys conveniently located in the front pocket of my purse, but the bulkier set of keys stays inside because it has my key to the different houses/offices I clean.

[And by the way, I don't know if you can really see it or not, but I did something I saw on Pinterest and painted the tops of my keys with nail polish to color-code them...so neat!]

These are my bandanas.

Now girls, take note....they're not just for guys or just for wearing in your hair!!

You can use these things for just about anything you'd need a towel for.

My daddy is actually the one who taught me to always keep one on me because he was a truck driver for years and he'd run into all kinds of stuff on the road and bandanas would always come in handy.

So with me cleaning houses now, I'm constantly going from job to job and so I have to keep a check on my oil and water and stuff in my car. And more times then not, my hands get dirty and I know they make other things [like moist wipes] for situations like this, but a bandana works just fine! :)

These are my lipsticks.

The first one on the left is actually chapstick...Carmex Moisture Plus...love, love, LOVE this stuff!! It is the only thing that works for my lips!

The middle one is Revlon [I think] and the one on the right is Rimmel London.

This is some reading material I keep in my purse so that I always have something good and Godly to read while I'm out.

There's my New Testament [KJV of course!] and some Gospel tracts from my church for when I'm out soul winning.

And then there's a little devotional book that a couple I work for gives me every other month called, Baptist Bread.

Very good reading!!

These are just some of my hair accessories that I keep with me.

I have a habit of playing with people's hair when I'm around them, so I always need some kinda thing to put in their hair.

Like just this morning I braided a lady's hair and she didn't have a clip or anything so I got out one of my little black rubber bands and it worked like a charm! :)

Another one of my daddy's ideas...lol!

Pocket knives, pepper spray and a lighter.

You never know when you'll need any of these items so it's best to keep it with you.

And not only for your safety either...I use my knives to cut flowers when I'm out flower picking and my lighter comes in handy in various ways like when the power goes out or just when I want to light a candle.

You just never know!!

And these are my little bottles of J. R. Watkins' lotion that I get from Cracker Barrel, and some tissues.

I like this lotion and keep it on me because it has goat's milk in it and it really helps with the skin on my hands getting dry in the winter time.

And it's just always a good idea to keep tissues handy!! :)

Other than these items, I keep in my purse:

-Batteries...for my camera and mp3 player.

-My camera...I couldn't exactly photograph it, but it's just an 8.0mp Nikon Coolpix..and it's actually my baby sisters. I'm still working on getting a new one since my old one died :[

-Safety pins, nail clippers/file, pens...people at church are always coming to me for these!

Well, I reckon that's about it!

Thanks again Kali for allowing me to share!

God Bless! :)

-Erica

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Thanks for sharing your purse with us, Erica! I know I sure enjoyed it!

Be sure to check out Erica's blog!
Did you miss yesterday's post? Go HERE to see what's in my purse!

What's In My Purse?

Kate from The Small Things Blog recently had a series featuring different bloggers and what they carry in their purse. I thought that was such a neat idea and decided to do it here!

There's a saying - Never look through a woman's purse. Well, starting today, and throughout the week, you'll get to see everything or a glimpse (depending on how much they want to show :)) into the purses of some bloggers. We'll start with my purse today, shall we?

I love this purse, but as you can see it can get kinda messy!

1. Sunglasses & glasses cleaning cloth

2. Lint roller & hair brush...these really come in so handy

3. Lotion, mints & pens, lots of pens...there's nothing more irritating than searching through a big purse and not have ONE pen in it! Lol

4. Keys & ear buds

1. Calendar book - a must to keep everything straight!

2. The polka dots has gospel tracts inside and then that's a little notepad sitting on top

3. My wallet...my checkbook is hiding underneath :)

4. Pocket New Testament...you just never know when you might need it!

1. I got this bag from a little girl that I had in my kindergarten class. It's perfect to keep all of this stuff together! No more searching for chapstick at the bottom of your purse!

2. Mirror, powder puff & oil blotting sheets (last two from Birchbox)

3. Heart-shaped nail file & fashion tape (both from Birchbox), lotion & hand sanitizer. Ok, so I realize the fashion tape is kinda strange, but like I said I got it from Birchbox and I figure you never know when you might lose a button or something! lol It just might come in handy one of these days!

4. Bobby pins & Lipstick/gloss/chapstick

1. Camera, which is usually in a case...for some reason the case in on my dresser...hmmm

2. Phone

3. Calculator...not necessary since I have one on my phone, but it's in there :)

1. Yes, that's a straw...lol...it was an extra and I just threw it in. That's what happens when you carry a big purse.

2. Change - I gathered up a bunch of change a week or so ago and it's been in here ever since. It came in very handy when we had a garage sale to raise money for the kids to go to camp!

3. Pin cushion...haha...you guys I'm cracking up at myself. Let's see, why do I have a pin cushion in my purse...some of the girls that are going to camp found some skirts and they needed some hemming. I'll be hemming/taking them in for them, and I needed to pin a couple skirts so I knew what changes needed to be made. :)

4. One Dayquil & a magnet for the ladies meeting next year

5. Fabric swatches for Josh & Liz's wedding. Maggie & I will be wearing a dress similar to the blue.

There you go! I hope you enjoyed it. It's very revealing! Make sure you come back every day this week for a new post featuring other bloggers!