Brenda Begged the Balkan Bag Bonanza

Brenda in Paraguay tagged me saying, "I thought it would be interesting to see what is in your purse way over there in Macedonia." So, I'm dutifully (though belatedly) complying with her request. =)

Here are the rules:
1) "Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house."


My purse is all about function. I'd love to have a stylish one, but I'm clueless how to pick the right one let alone chose a color that will work with everything... and besides, style and function don't always work together. That's why I have this basic black. =)

The day-to-day contents vary, but at any one time you can bet the following are in it:

• Passport and Mac ID... don't leave home without them
• Camera... you never know what Kodak moments may occur simply walking through town
• Bible...that cute Macedonian knitted thingy has a Bible in it that was given to me by a friend several years ago while I was on home assignment... yes it was from a boy and yes we're just friends.
• Cell phone... since I don't have a landline nor an answering machine (do they even make them here??) I make sure I have my cell phone on me (and try not to lose it!)
• External hard drive.... yes, you may think I'm crazy to carry this with me, but since most of my travel entails going from home to the office and I use the hard drive to transfer files... it's a no-brainer
• iPod... this cute green thing was a gift from a friend of mine in the US who knew I was looking for one. :) Thanks! It's been wonderful to finally be able to listen to music without the CD player skipping while I walk. Now all I need to get is a docking station with an alarm clock and I'll be set at home as well!
• Inhaler... a must have with asthma
• Cough drops... still recovering from being sick and they help with singing on Sundays.
• Music for Sunday sets... typically I'm carrying them from one place to another and/or going over them in preparation.

My purse is usually stuffed full of all sorts of things, but those are the basics. =)

2) " I want to know how much it cost:) And this is not to judge. This is for entertainment purposes only. So spill it. And if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I’d love to hear it."

This purse was purchased in the old section of Skopje from one of the many vendors and cost about $10. There's not a big story behind it, only that I was looking for a functional purse and found this one while showing a short term team around town one summer. I've had this purse now for about 4 years and it's served me well! Though just recently one of the inside zippers broke, so perhaps it's time to get a new one. :)

3) "Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you’re showing everyone your diaper bag/non-diaper bag."

I know this is a little lame, but I didn't tag anyone as I figure if someone wants to do this they can leave a comment, post their own blog and link back to this one. It's also because I don't really know anyone to tag in the first place! :)

Hope you enjoyed this silly little post. :)