What is in your blogging bag?

 My Blogging Bag 

Looking around my desk, I see all sorts of things that make my everyday life easier. I have coasters and cup holders for my drinks while working, I have wire ties keeping everything organized so I don't accidentally pull the wrong cords, I have photos so that I never forget the reasons why I do what I do; my family. So many little things that make the every day mundane tasks more bareable and manageable. 

But what helps me blog? What do I keep with me and/or carry around to make blog life that much simpler. 

As I thought about it, I came up with quite a list of various things that I keep in my "blogging bag", which is quite different than my purse, day bag or diaper bag. Not all of the things in this "bag" can be seen or carried around but all of them are completely essential to my blog life. So without further ado and in no particular order; my blogging bag:

1) Photoscape:

This program has saved my butt at least 11 times out of 10. When taking on a blog photo challenge, adding a picture to my blog or even just uploading something, Photscap is my hero. Most of the websites I belong to and even my personal site don't have any type of automatic photo resizing abilities so I *sigh* must do it myself. This is where Photoscape comes in. I can screen capture, edit, resize, create collages, mass file store and many other things. All in all, it os definitely one of my most prized blogging tools. 

2) My netbook:

Duh! I can blog on almost anyone's computer whether is is laptop or desktop but my netbook is where all of my major tools are stored. Over this past weekend while I was in my post-partum room in MoBap, I had access only to Mikol's netbook and needed to update my site as well as my new baby daughter's site. Should have been easy enough. Not so much. I hate it, every bit of it. He didn't have the tools, the programs or even just the links I needed to manage the shortest update and I eventually had to quit entirely until he got back to me with MY netbook. I know that I will have to change/add all of my programs once I update to a newer netbook but until then, I have to have my own stuff or I start to go buggy.

3) My cell phone:

For taking pictures, jotting quick notes and/or shooting emails and updates to myself and others. I currently have the HTC Inspire which is, of course, a smartphone. It also has an 8.0 megapixel camera which was the greatest feature I could find while in search of a new phone (since my purchase, AT&T has released the Samsung Infuse which may actually be better than my Inspire). My cell is almost always with me and without it, even without the constant communication that I need with others, I would be lost. 

4) My journal and other writing tools:

Sometimes I just want to write. Really write. Not type. Or sometimes I have thoughts that I can't include in a specific blog, even though I would really like to. Other times I just want to jot down notes and keep something fresh in my mind. Either way, ultimately it is always handy to have a pen and paper available in the event I can not get to my blog.

5) Notepad:

I know this sounds really lame due to the high volume of Word users, but I really like Notepad for just basic writing. It's clean and structured and simple. Makes writing out a blog much easier than using Word.

I know there are several other things that are essential to my blogging career but they fit on the much simpler list:

*Coffee

*Inspiration

*Motivation

*Time

*Space

But the above are all I really need to get by in every day blog life. 

This week’s blog challenge is:

How Much Crap Is In Your Blogging Bag?

You might blog from home or an office, but if you take your blogging on the road, how much crap is in your blogging bag?

While the stuff you carry around with you to do your blogging may or may not have much to actually do with your blogging, this week’s blogging challenge is to list the equipment, hardware, and software you need for your computer, laptop, notebook, or cell phone that helps you blog.

In other words:

What is in your blogging bag?

Look around you and describe what the primarily, and secondary, essential computer parts and pieces you need for to take your blogging on the road.

I travel a lot, so in a week or two, after you all have had a chance at this challenge, I will share with you all the crap I lug around with me on the road. We’ll compare blog weight lifting notes. 

This is one of many blogging challenges I offer weekly to help kick your blogging ass. For more challenges, see the Blog Challenge category.