Handbag Tag

OK, so to all my readers out there (mom), I have been crazy busy at work, and all I want to do when I get home is take off my clothes and put on pajamas, not describe what I'm wearing or set up a tripod to take pictures of it! But having a moment to sip some tea and spin through my blog list, I saw that the lovely and creative dreamecho has given me my very fist tag! She wants to know six things that are in my bag - and isn't she lucky she just asked for six - although I realize I'm cheating a bit by combining some items. I tend to carry a biggish bag during the day as I have to tote some minor medical supplies and accouterments. Currently, I'm using a Hayden-Harnett Pastis frame bag in brandy leather. It looks like a cartoon of a proper old ladies bag, as it shaped like a reticule, but huge, with a giant brass kiss-lock closure. And it has lots of pockets, which are a must in any bag I carry (I can't believe that you can get a wait-listed, multi-thousand dollar bag like an Hermes Birkin, and it has not a single pocket! You need to spend an extra 20 bucks to get one of those pocket thingies you can stick in cavernous purses). So, six items:

• Glucose meter kit - this includes test strips, lancets, insulin vial and syringes (I used to use an insulin pen - much easier, one piece - but my new insurance won't cover them, pheh), alcohol wipes, and glucose gel - I like CarbBoom as they actually taste like fruit instead of syrup - in case I have a blood sugar crash. All of this matches the Diabetic Sweater, obviously.
• Sennheiser foldable headphones with Ipod Shuffle - for my bus commute. The headphones are very high quality and fold up into a little, flat case that is perfect for purses, which is why I liberated them from my husband (hey, he took my noise cancelling headphones, a Hanukkah gift from my dad, so it's fair). The Shuffle is also a gift from my dad, with my name engraved on it, and my husband loads it with fresh music for me every month or so - just like a high tech high school mix tape (an art form in danger of being lost - http://coilhouse.net/2008/01/08/mix-it-mix-it-good/)
• Cell phone - although I often forget to charge it!
• Lippie collection - in dry Colorado winters, I usually ditch my makeup bag because I can't be bothered with more than moisturizer and lib balm, as anything else just cakes up on my peeling lips oh-so-attractively. The three balms I have in constant use are chai rose Badger Balm (no color), Aveda SPF 15 lip tint in spice (sheer silvery-beige), and Hemp Organics lip moisturizer in Kiss (pinky-brown that my husband says makes my lips look like Angelina Jolie's, so I go though two tubes every winter. Available at Whole Foods and Wild Oats - I know, I know, they're the same now -and Vitamin Cottage, ladies. Looks good on almost all skin tones.).
• Packet of RTD bus schedules
• Reading material - changes every few days (I'm a fast and multi-booked reader), currently Away by Amy Bloom. Being able to fit a hard-back book is another day bag requirement.