I'll take the curtain where Carol Merrill is now standing!
Did you ever watch Let’s Make a Deal? At the end of the show, Monty Hall would offer a contestant $50 if she had a specific item – a battery, cherry Life Saver, etc. The costumed woman would dive into her purse. As the credits rolled, she either emerged triumphantly, holding the item aloft, or continued her frantic search, bottoms-up in her bag.
I’ve been ready for Let’s Make a Deal my whole life.
Schlepping 50 pounds of junk around is ruining my back, I know. I’ve got ruts in my shoulders so deep Jimmy Hoffa could be hiding there. But I can’t ignore the little Boy Scout voice in my head whispering, “be prepared.”
When I had to come up with games for a wedding shower last weekend, I created Scavenger Hunt – The Purse Version. Players got one point for each of the following items:
Hairbrush/comb “Mystery” key
Wallet Address book
Library card Toothbrush
Glasses Tweezers
Feminine Protection Kleenex
Coupon Hand/face lotion
Blood donor card Unpaid bill
Camera Calculator
Sewing kit Stamp
Phone Jewelry item
Tape measure Business card
Gum/mints Checkbook
Dental floss Eyeliner
Paperclip Lottery ticket
Picture of a pet Aspirin
2011 penny Shopping/to-do list
I was inspired by the actual contents of my purse. Unfortunately, this is merely the tip of my satchel iceberg. Feel free to borrow the idea for your next shower. A gift certificate for a back massage might be an appropriate prize.
I’m still waiting for Monty Hall to show up. If he offers $50 for a mini WWF wrestling figure with a jellybean stuck to his head, I’m golden!
p.s. I am participating in a very scientific survey, studying the relationship between mentioning Justin Bieber in a post and the popularity of said blog post. The study is titled “The Effect of Mentioning Justin Bieber In A Post, on View Statistics For That Post”. This is NOT, repeat NOT a gratuitous insertion of said teen heart-throb’s name in the post to artificially inflate views. Merely trying to help out an esteemed colleague’s scientific research, is all.
p.p.s. Research update: After about 7 hours of study, it appears the very mention of Justin Bieber by a middle-aged mom like me is so repellent, all past, present and future possible readers have run screaming for the hills. Conclusion: COME BACK!!! I’ll be a Bieber-free zone, promise!
Peg-o-Leg's Ramblings 
I can’t even explain to you how many hits I get for search terms about sock bunnies and toon boobs (darn that Jessica Rabbit post…). I’m sure the Bieb will bring it home for you.
Also – I liked this post until I got to the WWF wrestling figure with a jelly bean stuck to its head, at which point I loved it.
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A girl never knows what she’s gonna need during a busy day.
Toon boob hits? Hmmmm..
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Having been a contestant on a Monty Hall-hosted game show, I can tell you that he is a wonderful fellow and would be delighted to spin a C-note or two your way. As for the Beeb, promote him with a tag and see what happens.
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Wow, Chris, you’ve had a very interesting game show/quiz show history. Was that in Australia?
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Toronto. Tell you what, I’ll post about it this Friday.
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Now I’m ashamed to admit – are you a Canadian TV star and I never knew it? So sorry – I don’t Google people – seems to be kind of rude. Can I have your autograph?
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First, I’m pretty sure Jimmy Hoffa is somewhere at the bottom of my mother’s purse, which she is never without and about which we (her adult children) have been teasing her for years. Second, I think I would have scored pretty well on your scavenger hunt, though sadly I lack any item with a jelly bean stuck to it. Third, thank you for participating in the scientific study – millions of bloggers anxiously await the results.
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Your mom and I are kindred spirits. Tell her I’ll pick her up for Bingo at the usual time on Thursday.
I didn’t want to identify the other scientist involved in the study for fear it would skew the results. Great. Now we’re going to have to do this all over again with some other teen hearthrob-du-jour – maybe that guy from “Joannie Loves Chachi”.
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Forget that guy. Let’s try David Cassidy.
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Hubba hubba! How about Bobby Sherman? Davy Jones? The blonde guy from Starsky and Hutch? (this isn’t dating us at all, is it?)
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Bobby Sherman? I remember all those guys, and except for Starsky the blonde babe, the others were lukewarm to me. And, yes, we are of that age.
I believe I won the purse scavenger hunt game at the wedding shower. It was a great idea and I would have had even MORE items if I’d brought my planner in with me. I know my purse weighs much less than that “tote” you call a purse, and yet I won? It was fun.
Praying for good news tomorrow for Lib. Hugs,
Sista T
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Happy humpday! You were the winner, weren’t you? I was never one for big crushes on teen heart-throbs, just unattainable real boys.
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Amen, Sister! BTW, Oprah had the female Pop-Divas on her show today. I got home for the last half. She closed the show with Sista Sledge, you know, We Are Family…… I got all my sistas with me! Sing it, sista! 🙂 Made me smile. Our anthem, me with my sisters whoopeeeeeee!!!!
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Hey, I’m hungry, pass over that jelly bean-clad WWF figure!! What a “sweet” article! Thanks for the many prayers, gals! We are family!
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Could I interest you in a Junior Mint embedded with a paperclip, a rubber-band and a McDonalds receipt?
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My suggestion is to switch to the backpack purse – saves on your shoulders, holds a regular-sized Jimmy Hoffa, looks cool to the teens, and can be found in abundance at Goodwill (Peg can attest to that!!).
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Mar, you need some “coaching” by Coach on proper purse-wear! I’m not related to you, am I?? Oh well, you’ve made Alfred Dunner proud, I’m sure.
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You tell her, Lib.
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About the part where it looks cool to the teens…
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I can’t belive all the stuff you ladys carry. What is even more amazing is that you can find any item in 2.1 seconds.
Sometimes I think I should carry a European sholder bag but I say. . . no my wife has a purse why bother.
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That’s one reason we have to schlepp so much junk – we’re packing for two (or three, or four, depending on the number of kids).
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Sorry forgot the E. believe
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I would have scored an 12 in your game (13 if Advil counts in the aspirin category). But I have many more items that you don’t have listed. lipstick, sunglasses, pill box, inhaler, small notebook, hand sanitizer…
Funny thing – this is the 2nd blog post I have read today about contents of one’s purse!
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I tried to go generic to make it fair. But we had another prize for the most unusual item. It was a toss-up between a clip to hold an IV bag, and the phone number of some guy that the young lady met in a bar, and had no intention of calling. The phone number won.
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Years ago I developed a hernia from carrying a bag every day to and from work that contained a laptop, multiple books, notepads, electronics, etc. When I found out I had a hernia, it took me a while to figure out where it came from.
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Thank goodness for the IPad now!
I’ve warned my now-college-aged daughters about the hazards of the (literally) 50 pound backpack for years. Perhaps if I practiced what I preach, I would get through to them better.
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Fun post! I guess in a minority-female in that I only take my purse when I’m driving. Even then it’s only a ten items or less bag…too many years of carrying around a diaper bag I guess 😉
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Seems like we go feast or famine when it comes to purses. And one could feast off the lint-encrusted bits of gum and Junior Mints in the bottom of mine.
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My 14-year old (who loathes Justin Bieber, by the way) and I have a quarterly exercise in which we film a video called “What’s In My Purse”. As is likely obvious, it involves her filming me extracting items one by one from the depths of my seemingly bottomless bag (think Hermoine in the last Harry Potter movie). While we threaten to post them on YouTube (which is where we got the inspiration for filiming this semi-toxic clean-up process – if you look up ‘what’s in my purse’ on YouTube, you’ll find a remarkable number of videos), we haven’t done so yet. Maybe this time! Love the game, and will try it out at my upcoming housewarming.
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How fun! And the amazing thing is, not only is your 14-year-old still talking to you, she will actually do things with you! You’re doing something right in the mom department.
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