2013 - Page 4 of 5 - The Clear Bag Store

Turtling with the Large Backpack

I’m an active guy, and I married an active gal, so when we got pregnant I was determined to stay active and not gain fifteen pounds and look twenty years older like a lot of my fellow new Dads. It’s all about having a plan. If you just react to things as they happen it’s chaos and confusion, but if you sit down and think it out, make a plan and stick to it, you can have some small control over your life. When the kids were small, we loaded them into harnesses and hiked with them hanging on us,…

Uncategorized

My Mother the Dumper

I love my mother. I want to state this up front so that the tone of the following rant doesn’t make you think I am some sort of unfeeling sociopath – I did read recently that some shocking number of people in the world are really sociopaths, which is kind of scary. But I am not one of them, I swear. Mom is lovely. She’s always been a bit dotty, but dotty in a lovable way. She’s the sort of woman who wears two similar but different shoes, one earring, and my windbreaker from high school and thinks nothing of…

Travel Bags

The Crayon Wars – His and Hers TSA Compliant Carry Ons

When we became pregnant, we had no idea what we were in for. When we found out it would be fraternal twins, we had no idea what we were in for. When the twins emerged as adorable, towheaded darlings, we had no idea what we were in for. Perhaps you’re seeing a theme emerging. I don’t know where Tom and Tabitha got it from. Their father and I are easygoing, Beta-type people. We’re not high-powered anything, and we like a quiet, calm life. The twins … are different. Competitive with each other, high-spirited, loud, and creative. The house is a…

Lunch Bags

Clear Bag: Keeping Mr. Paws in Sight

As a parent, you get creative fast. First of all, nothing last long enough – clothes, food, toys, your sanity and patience. You think you have enough of them and then bam! they’re gone or used up or worn out and you need something else. So you have a choice: You can take out a second mortgage on the house and squeeze in a pizza delivery job during those hours you had foolishly scheduled for sleep and just keep buying new, new, new, or you can figure out how to make everything do double or triple duty. Clothes can be…

Clear Laptop Bag

Clear Bags: Winging It

It’s a modern problem, and a first world problem, but it was my problem: The family needed new laptops. I needed one for my work, my wife needed one for the house, and our kids needed them for school. We discussed tablets, but laptops seemed tougher, better able to travel and take abuse. Plus, I thought I was super smart when I found a deal to get four of the same model at a discount – they were just about to discontinue the line, so even though they were brand new, we got them cheap. Husband for the win! The…

Clear Backpacks

Tomboys in Pink: The Large Pink Backpack

When I first became pregnant, my husband wished for a boy and I wished for a girl. We got a girl. And then more girls, three in all so far. But it didn’t quite work out the way I’d expected, because my girls are all complete and total Tomboys – my husband’s secret revenge. I love my girls, don’t get me wrong; they are my life and I would lie down in front of bulldozers for them. But I still wish for a girly girl, every now and then. Someone I could pass all this knowledge of shoes and handbags…

Transparent Tote Bags

Me, the Lunch Genius, and My Medium Fleur De Lis Tote Bag

I work in a tiny office. There’s just seven people including our boss, and it’s all very casual and good-natured. We’re all professionals, we all do our jobs, and there’s no stress or yelling or trouble. Performance reviews are done over cups of tea, the boss just steps out of his tiny office to make announcements instead of sending out impersonal memos, and we all even like to have a drink or two after work together sometimes. I may not be getting rich, but I really enjoy my workday, and not many are lucky enough to say that. We have…

Clear Backpacks

In the Pink at School: Large Backpack

I was lucky to get to go to college, and I knew it. My parents didn’t have a lot of money, and my grades had been good but not great, so the scholarships and work-study programs were a godsend. Except of course I then had the classic problem: my tuition was paid, my books were bought, and my housing was secured, but I had nothing to actually live on. For a while I toyed with the idea of following my room-mate around and eating her leftovers, but that was both dangerous and unappetizing. So I went the traditional route: I…

Clear Makeup Bag

Wear and Tear with my Small Cosmetic Bag

I love to run. I started running with my father when I was in high school. It was one of the few times we could be alone together without fighting during that period of my life, and I came to find running to be the most relaxing, meditative activity I could engage in. Over the years, I ran marathons, half marathons, relays – and every day, in the morning, just for myself. I can honestly say if I hadn’t been able to run I would have gone crazy a long time ago! But, it takes a toll. I’m still young,…

Transparent Tote Bags

The Secret Shame and the Medium Tote Bag

I’m a guy who generally moves through his day in a sort of pleasant fog. All my life, I’ve been this way – sort of happy to live an interior life. When I was a kid I started reading all the time – on the bus to school, during class, at home in bed, even while walking around. That hasn’t changed much. I’m all grown up and have a great job, but I still like to read all the time. The problem is what I read. I don’t like eBooks. Can’t explain it, just don’t care to read on a…