5 of This and 5 of That


5Here’s a little insight into my life.

5 Items in My Fridge:
1. Squirt Whip Cream.  I love the stuff and am quite juvenile about it.  I rarely buy it, but I made strawberry shortcake for a small group cook-out and it seemed like the best solution for the whipped cream part of the dessert.
2. Diet Pepsi.  Yuck.  (Sorry to all you fans.)  I’m a Diet Coke kind of girl, but my parents and siblings prefer Diet Pepsi.  I bought it for their visit in April and there are still a few cans hanging around.
3. Iced Tea.  I even have two varieties—regular decaf and green tea.  The regular stuff is in this very cool dispenser I bought at the Container Store.  It’s long, thin, and rectangular.  It’s probably not more than 2 inches wide, but it holds almost 3 batches from the iced tea maker.  So, lots of iced tea in very little space.  The green tea is there because it’s better for you and it makes a decent non-breakfast smoothie.
4. Garlic Paste.  When I was in Austria this winter, my friend Janet gave me a tube of garlic paste as a culinary “must have” from Vienna.  I haven’t quite figured out the best way to use it yet.
5. Salad dressing.  There’s the non-creamy Italian and a Dijon Vinaigrette that get used for marinades more than salads.  Then there are the 2 must haves—blue cheese and thousand island.  Each is decent by itself, but together . . . yummmmmmmm.

5 Items in My Closet:
1. Shoes, shoes and more shoes!  I love shoes, and even more than that, I love shoes that fit.  My foot is not the easiest fit into most shoes—it’s a bit long and wide, so when I find shoes that fit, that I think I have a chance of wearing, that are reasonably priced, I bring them home.  In fact, I have lots of shoes in my closet, and even more “off season” shoes in the guest room closet . . . and then a bunch by the front door.  I guess I should thin out the collection.  Someday.
2. Lots of clothes hangers.  I did a ton of laundry last weekend.  I haven’t ironed anything yet.  Consequently, I have many hangers and not as many clothes as I should in there.
3. A red suitcase.  After my last trip, I decided I may as well keep one suitcase in my closet and handy for the next excursion.  Of course, my house currently lacks good space for storing suitcases.  I need to do some serious stuff purging and reclaim some space for storing things elsewhere.
4. Canvas and nylon totes/ bins.  They live on the shelf over my longer hanging clothes and shoes.  My jeans, sweaters, and some tops occupy different totes.
5. A rapidly disintegrating pillow case.  It’s from my childhood.  My friend, Reyna made it for me.  She drew a horse’s head on it and wrote my name in “liquid embroidery” stuff.  It was a treasure back in the 70’s.  I don’t know what to do with it, but I can’t stand the thought of getting rid of it.

5 Items in My Car:
1. Index cards with directions.  I’ve only lived here two and a half years.  Combine that with my penchant for getting lost, and directions are a necessity.  I discovered my visor has an elastic band on it, and the cards fit in there perfectly.  I can glance at them as I’m driving and know where to go next.
2. Lip gloss.  They’re all over the place.  Because they don’t seem to stay in one place, I keep bringing more and leaving them in the car.  Then they get too hot or too cold and rather icky, so instead of throwing them away, I just add to the collection.
3. Biking Gear.  My gloves and helmet are thrown into the back of the car.  I figure if they can stay there, I’ll never have to look for them.  My bike was back there for a while, but now that it’s “kid season” for me, I need the space to put kids.  The bike currently resides in my dining area.
4. Brush Ups.  Those spiffy little toothbrush stand-ins that fit on your finger live in the center console of my front seat.  They’re great for a refreshed mouth when you’re out and about without all your dental hygiene equipment.
5. CD jewel cases.  I suppose there are CDs in them.  I think I put them in there for a road trip two summers ago.  I generally listen to the radio when I drive, but sometimes you just want Thelonius Monk . . . or someone else.  Who?  I’m not sure, but there’s a good chance you can find a jewel case for their music in my car.

5 Items in My Purse:
1. A Check.  Actually, a reimbursement check for a bunch of the money I shelled out last week for the first group of kids that came through for debriefing.  I love it when money comes in!
2. 3/4 of My Color Palette.  I have a friend who’s a beauty consultant.  Last year she did my color analysis.  I am a true luminous summer, and I have the color swatches to prove it.  It really does make clothes shopping better.  I know without a doubt which colors will look good, and I can easily leave behind the things that don’t match my palette.  There are colors in there I don’t wear too often, so if I want to branch out, I have the tool with me to help me choose “new” colors that will still look great on me.
3. A Starbucks Gift Card.  I hate spending sooooo much money for coffee, but hey—if someone wants to pay them to give me coffee, I’m all over that!  This one was a “thank you” for working with the youth group at church.
4. Receipts.  I’m currently carrying one of the largest purses I own.  It’s really not that big.  Actually, it’s small by many purse standards, but it holds more than my wallet, my phone and my camera.  It holds lots and lots of receipts.  Somehow it’s easier to just stuff them in all that room than it is to do anything else with them.
5. Earrings.  They’re little sterling flip flops for one of my friends in CA.  I carry them around in the hopes that I’ll remember they’re in there and actually mail them to her.  Maybe today will be the day they start their journey to SoCal.

photo courtesy of mn-que


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