my magic bag of tricks...

tea
yes, i have tea with me. i love tea and you never know when you might need a cuppa!

lip balms
my other addiction. dry lips drive me crazy. and yes, i have lip balms, more than one...

sketchbook
i can't be anywhere without a mobile sketchbook/journal. the one i have with me right now is the perfect little red book. it has so much in it all ready and still has more room...

a bag full of medicine
i have severe GERD/acid reflux, so i have to carry with me several emergency medicines in case an episode occurs. along with that, i have a bottle of mylanta (i know, i sound like an old granny) along with a few band-aids, sanitizer, tylenol and a couple of things in case the girl doesn't feel good either.

ipod/cell
you know, the usual stuff...

an orla kiely reusable bag from target
in case i go somewhere and i buy a few things, i have my own bag already.

pencil/pen purse/case
for my sketchbook, i need pens and pencils :)

three cased smencils.
yes, smencils. three of them. they are gourmet-scented pencils made from 100%recycled newspapers. i have two regular pencils in cinnamon and very berry and a colored one (blue) also in very berry. they smell great, are good for the environment and write really well too!

a camera
because you never know when or where the perfect shot will be or those memories you want to capture

i know there is more...
but i am probably overwhelming you already :)

my name is andrea and i really, officially didn't have a nickname until i was in my late teens. just the simplified version of andrea, dre, but mostly drea (which people still call me by, including my husband). yes, i went through my fair share of 'dr.dre' which i couldn't stand because i was an alternative girl that didn't want to be associated with rap in anyway. but this is actually about my very first nickname i was given by my third grade peers. it was 'andrea the giant'.
now, if you know me, you know that i am far from being a giant. i'm quite small actually, all five foot two inches of me. during the school year of third grade, back in the eighties there was a certain famous wrestler at the time. yes, you guessed it, andre the giant. so my nickname had actually nothing to do with me but the fact that my name was andrea and his andre and thus the first nickname was born. and then died because i moved during that summer after third grade and never heard the name 'andrea the giant' again...

there are too many choices out there but today (for now), i narrowed it down to the fox. playful, agile, and just look at those ears! to raise it from a pup, have it take walks with me and snuggle with me. why not?