Attack of the Swag Bags

I was warned to expect lots of swag at BlogHer. I just underestimated what “lots” meant. Someone should have said absurdly, obscenely, over-the-top amounts of swag. Now, I wasn’t out elbowing children or robbing other BlogHers. I mean, I like stuff, but I don’t like it more than I like other people. Still, I had ridiculous, overwhelming bags of this and that. I wouldn’t have minded less. It’s sort of like wedding favors… if it’s isn’t edible or day-to-day useful, save your money. On the other hand, once I had it, I certainly wasn’t going to throw away anything of use.

I spent forever sorting through the swag, “recycling” some and trying to figure out how to get the rest home. I ended up checking a second bag and bringing an additional carry-on. And I still barely got it all home. My carry-on had a big bag that consisted entirely of edible items (chips, candy, gum, cookies, etc. – I have a hard time throwing food away) as well as sponges (yeah, we use sponges – not going to throw them out and have to buy more at home) and various other things. All of the things I needed to access throughout the day were in my other bag… my laptop, book, receipts, and so on were easily accessible.

I blogged about the whole drama that took place in another post, but basically, I got up far too early (for me), quickly finished packing and ran out the door. I had a lovely chat on the shuttle to the airport, but when we pulled up to my terminal, I couldn’t find my ID or credit card. They weren’t in their usual spot in my purse because I had pulled them out to go to a party the night before.  I knew they were sitting on the desk the night before, but was almost positive that I packed them. I went through my carry-ons over and over again trying to find them, but they were nowhere to be found.

After a full day of drama trying to get through security with no ID, I was finally home. Once the kids were in bed, I was sorting through the swag and showing some things to my husband. He got hungry and I said, “Don’t bother to get up. Check this out.” And I dumped my food swag bag in front of him. Guess what was at the bottom of that bag? Yep. My ID and credit card.

Foiled by the swag!

Related posts:

1. BlogHer and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very-Bad Day
2. BlogHer 09: Looking Back
3. BlogHer 10 Recap – The Good, the Bad and the Swagly