So…what is the Monday Poll?
Good question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll. It’s just a list of five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past gazillion years (more than 10!). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a great start. ?
1. Emoji you use the most?
I use ? way more than any person with good sense should. I also abuse the sweets-related ones, like ?, ? and ?.
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy?
(Side note: I’m mostly asking this because I saw a girl at the beach on Saturday wearing a one-piece with an x-ray of a skeleton on it.)
Creepy, man! I don’t need be reminded of what’s in your inside on the outside.
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day?
OK, starting the night before, I either have to shampoo and condition, or do a conditioner wash, because if I don’t, and my roots are greasy in the morning, I’ll feel unkempt the entire day.
While I’m still standing in the shower after the shampoo or conditioner wash, I’ll twist my hair and wring out as much water as I can. Then, I’ll wrap a towel around the ends, and wring out even more, as much as I can.
(Incidentally, I never, ever vigorously rub my hair with a towel because it always makes my hair frizzy.)
Afterwards, I’ll work a leave-in conditioner into my hair from the mid-shaft through the ends with my fingers, comb it through using a wide-toothed comb, and let my hair dry overnight.
Assuming Tabs doesn’t sleep on my head (as he’s wont to do!), that process sets me up with loose waves the next day. In the morning, I’ll take either a large-barrel curling iron or a flat iron to add some loose waves around my face, then spray everything with a beach wave spray.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully not as tired and sleep-deprived? Just kidding! Kind of… Not really.
Let’s see… Connor will be 12, so I’d like to still be working in the beauty industry in some capacity, hopefully still 1) writing and 2) still able to be home around the time she gets home from school, especially during her middle school years. Hopefully. Because I remember those years being particularly awkward and hard, and even though she’ll probably want nothing to do with Mom, I’d still like her to have that as a safety net if she needs it.
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment?
Dude. This is so my power song right now!
Mid-week holidays
This year July 4th is on Wednesday, and while I’m not one to say no to a national holiday, I think it would’ve been even better if we had the couple days leading up to it off, too, amIright? OK, OK… I might just be looking for another excuse to sleep in. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Here are the questions for you to copy and paste with your answers in a comment:
1. Emoji you use the most?
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy?
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day?
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment?
I haven’t done a Monday poll in awhile, so here goes!
1. Emoji you use the most? The kissy face
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy? Creepy, definitely
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day? i stopped worrying about my hair and just put it up when it is not behaving.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Retired somewhere and enjoying myself. maybe even being someone’s mother in law.
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment? The current involvement of young people on issues in the world. Maybe there is hope for the future after all.
On a lighter note, just got some press about new eyeshadows ( about 76 shades & formulas) from NARS for Fall 2018 and new eyeshadow primers in different shades. I admit, I am intrigued.
It is soooooo hot on the East Coast! Stay Cool!
1. Emoji you use the most?
the crying laughing ,the laughing emoji with the eyes closed
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy?
cool
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day?
i need to go to the hair salon, get a treatment and then have it styled. a little bit of wind but no rain or people touching my hair. sun shining but no humidity and i am not sweating too much because i dont my hair to get any moisture. basically anytime during the fall and winter months (no snow). if am waking up , i have to double bag my hair so no water hits in and dry totally off so that my hair doesnt get any water on hit, then going to work , pull my hair back with a no marks band and then release my hair at work so the hair can kind of relax. stop people from touching it.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
hopefully working in my field that i went to school in, driving and maybe in another relationship
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment? affirmations. I just started speaking to myself in a positive way.
1. Emoji you use the most? The crying laughing emoji for sure
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy?
If it’s sugar skulls then I’m all about them. Obsessively about them. Other skeletons not so much. Although, when I was pregnant with baby girl, I had a shirt that had a skeleton of baby doing karate kicks on the belly part of the shirt and thought it was cute.
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day?
Day 1 of freshly washed conditioned and heat product applied hair is no bueno. Day 2 if I hadn’t profusely sweat in Day1 then my hair has enough product and natural oil to style and have volume.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
My 2 oldest will be in college and baby girl will be a freshman in high school so I’m hoping that I’ll be heavily involved in either a sports or performing arts booster and doing more traveling with and without my kids.
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment?
My mom friends. They’ve been so important and present in my texts, inbox and newsfeed. There’s been a beautiful flow of love and virtual high fives and hugs with everyone in my tribe lately that my heart is so happy and full.
Your hair always looks so lovely Karen. Do you have a favorite shampoo and conditioner from (drugstore and high-end)?
Thanks!
Great quote you posted as the cover photo for this post! Words to live by.
1. ?❤️??
2. COOL! I wish I knew where that woman with the skeleton swimsuit got it. I’m kind of obsessed with skulls and skeletal stuff. ?
3. Day 2 hair. The end. I’m very basic with hair so it being soft is a big win for me as I’m a twirler.
4. Oh gawd. I don’t even know where I’ll see myself next month! My kids will be 15 and 13 which is crazy! Hopefully I’ll find myself where I am now: happily married, food on the table, money in the bank, roof over our heads, healthy family.
5. They found the missing Thai soccer team ALIVE! I almost burst into happy tears when I saw the news while I was at the gym this morning. I’m inspired by how teams from different countries banded together to launch the nearly impossible rescue. It’s amazing what we can do when we work together. It’s a reminder the world needed.
1. Emoji you use the most?
Crying laughing, which is what these crazy kids make me do all the time.
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy?
Creepy.
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day?
I have to start out with freshly washed and conditioned hair. If I’m going with natural wave, I’ll use Living Proof’s PHD In-Shower Styler, which is the absolute bomb for air-dried styles. Scrunch and go. If I’m going to do a blow-out, I’ll wrap my hair gently in a towel for a few minutes, then spray it with Ion’s Quick Blow Dry Spray (from Sally Beauty) and blow dry with a round brush. Then I use a little BioSilk Lite (from Ulta) and a touch of Ion Keratin Flex Finish Hairspray (also Sally Beauty).
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Right now, things are so up in the air, I just don’t know.
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment?
The boys from the soccer team that they rescued from that cave this afternoon. 9 days trapped in a cave!
1. Emoji you use the most? ❤️??, my top three. I love lovey emojis.
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy? When I did roller derby I had a pair of booty shorts with skeleton hands on the rear, loved them! I don’t mind skeletons and skulls, but it can be a bit gimmicky, and that’s not what I like.
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day? I wash and condition at night, and put it in a very loose braid. The next day it has subtle waves, and then I spend about ten minutes with a brush and a flat iron, getting my bangs juuuuuuust right. Then I’ll put my hair in a ponytail or clip because it’s freaking hot and I don’t want hair on my neck and back. Lol!
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Retired, the kids will be 22 and 25, so I’d like them to be in college or working. Hanging out in nature, surrounded by my 17 pugs.
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment? The youth of America and the change that they’re bringing. It’s inspirational!
I currently have a 12 and 15 year old daughters, they still like me, I know far more about YouTubers, video games, and cats than I’d ever like to know, but you have to pick your battles! Lol! Talk about their interests, and know their friends. That’s the key to a healthy teenager relationship.
1. Emoji you use the most?
I’m on my laptop right now, but my most used is the face with the big smile and closed eyes. Emojis can look quite different on Android vs Iphones and sometimes people misunderstand what I’m trying to say, lol!
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy?
Creepy and should have stayed in the 20th century if you ask me. What’s next, and MRI shirt for detailed organs?
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day?
I need to be really lucky, that’s about it! My hair is problematic because it’s naturally wavy but very fine, and extremely prone to frizz. The best I can do is wash and let air dry with Bumble & Bumble Don’t Blow It leave in.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Pfff… No clue. Things are not exactly going my way. If I take this question as a way to set long-term goals: happy in a marketing job in the beauty industry, living in a large bustling city, traveling regularly.
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment?
The warm sunlight! We’ve had gloomy weather for most of the spring here, with May Gray and June Gloom in full force. But it’s now finally sunny and getting warmer, and it’s making me want to enjoy all the cool summer things: beach, mojito, bbq, coral blush and lipstick…
I hope you have a great week Karen!
1. Emoji you use the most? 🙂 and 😉 People often don’t get my weird sense of humor, so I have to let them know I’m not being serious or mean. I’ve inadvertently offended people in the past.
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy? Cool! I love skull and skeleton designs. We all have a skeleton inside us, and it’s a beautiful and amazing structure.
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day? I need a really good pro at a salon.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Better off financially and with more independent kids. ideally, I’ll have a grandkid or two.
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment? Honestly, I’m not feeling the least bit inspired lately. My estranged mother was in ICU for three weeks, then in passed away less than a week after getting out of ICU. I’ve spent most of the six weeks in the hospital with her or helping my brother deal with her affairs and sort through her hoarding and pack up her house. I’m just tired and emotionally wrung out.
I’m so sorry about your mother. Hang in there okay? Grief is so hard, especially if your relationship with the person was complicated.
Thank you, Jennifer. That is so sweet of you. There’s a lot of baggage with this situation, but I’ll be O.K. 🙂
My condolences, Rachel. I’m very sorry for your loss.
(I haven’t done one of these in awhile but this is my break from unpacking so here we go fam.)
1. Emoji you use the most? O.o (which is not technically an emoji, but def conveys my *raises eyebrow* emotion pretty well)
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy? I only like it when they are more technical than sugarskull/cartoon skull. Or dino skeletons. I love me some dinosaur skeleton prints.
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day?
My best hair is probably my day 2 hair. Dry shampoo (LUSH No Drought) on the roots before bed and sleep in a loose bun. When I wake up? body/waves for days, with the occasional curl. Mermaid hair like whoa.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Hopefully still in this house (we just moved) bc I am not packing/unpacking all this bsns again anytime soon. Besides, I have Plans for the landscaping.
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment? The MSMR station on Amazon music is probably the only thing that got me through the last week tbh.
Congrats on your recent move, Remi! Hopefully getting everything settled in will be done soon.
1. Emoji you use the most? ? It’s bad. I think my friends are going to hold an intervention soon. Also, I’m not on my phone right now and I can’t find it on emojipedia but it’s the one with the hand over the eyes and the face kind of looking down.
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy? Careeeeeppppyyyyy
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day? Oh so many things. Basically, if I wash the night before and if I use Lush Rehab shampoo and then give myself a few pats with a towel and squeeze the water out of my hair then follow up with a liberal spritzing of Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair Leave-in Mask, then do a forward fold and aim a blowdryer at my roots for just a minute or so then wrap my hair in two loose buns ala Princess Leia, I’m assured a good hair day the next day. Cannot have a good hair day with spankin’ clean hair though.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Funny you should ask this today. I had to answer this yesterday for this frugal no spend challenge I’m doing for the month of July. I’ll still be writing for sure. I’ve been writing for too long and it’s too ingrained into my personality and soul and life to stop. I’m actually wondering about starting a blog consulting business because I’m really critical after 20 years in the newspaper business. I think I could monetize that.
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment? I am so with you on Imagine Dragons Thunder. I have it on my phone. Also I’m really digging “Friends” by Marshmello and Anne-Marie
I’m gonna listen to that song once the baby wakes up. She’s napping right now and I’m enjoying the silence! AHHH!
Imoji ? because some people just confuse me !
Skeleton prints are adorable ! For Halloween ?
A good hair day : if I awoke with no frizz !
Hm 10 years I’ll be pushing 80 ! Scarey . Trying to stay healthy
What’s inspiring me now is this book : “The Soul of America “ Jon Meacham !
Encourage all to stay politically active and vote !
You’ll be 80 years young, Michele! 🙂
1. Emoji you use the most?
??❤️?????
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy?
creepy
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day?
a really, really good cut (with lots of layers and volume taken out near the roots) and freshly rinsed and air-dried but not squeaky clean
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
keepin’ on truckin’ (okay, not like literally in a truck, though anything’s possible!) ?
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment?
the thai cave rescue! omg I have an 11-yr old and I can literally feel that mother’s emotions. also i found this inspiring from serena williams’s twitter feed this week: “Just in case no one’s told you yet today, I want to remind you that you are greater than your circumstances.” It’s so generous of her to be inspirational and encourage others, instead of gloating or relaxing in her success.
That’s a great quote from Serena, Amy. Thank you for sharing it with me.
Hope you’re doing great and having a good week so far. It’s been crazy on this end!
❤️??
1. Emoji you use the most? 🙂
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy? Creepy!
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day? Treatment for my dry scalp, shampoo, mask, throw it into an Aquis towel and air dry.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? At peace with my life choices and who I am. A successful, internationally acclaimed published author. Mommy to a wonderful 10 year old. Wife to a longtime amazing husband (whom I would have known for 20 years at that point!)
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment? Beauty videos inspire me to care for myself daily by putting on a lil bit of makeup to make myself happy.
Hi Syahidah,
I’m with you on the Aquis towel. It rocks! 🙂
1. Emoji I use the most? POOOOOOOP
2. Skeletons: eh, I’d have to judge each one individually.
3. Not much. Wash with John Masters Organic Sage and Zinc, Masque with Christophe Robin’s Prickly Pear, and if needed add a touch of Moroccan Oil to the ends and let it air dry. That always gives my hair and scalp the best treatment I can currently afford. I don’t need to style as my hair has natural body at the root usually and soft waves without product. I’m also not a perfectionist trying to match wave pattern all around my head. That John Masters shampoo gives me extra lift too, almost like I used a root spray!
4. 10 years; hopefully won the lotto, healthy, happy, and maybe baby. Reality wise; healthier, happier, and maybe baby. I’d like to start my own business again, moreso than blogging. I’d like to get into skincare, wine, or maybe a tapas bar.
5. I hear you on Imagine Dragons, they been giving me life at work. My work actually started a little station where you can play music and your coworkers can pick the songs and it’s been really fun. It’s very distracting however. Other than that, my inspiration tank is running low-ish. Late night swimming under the stars helps.
I’ll have to try swimming under the stars. I just found out our pool is open until 10!
1. Emoji you use the most? The crying my eye out laughing and rolling to the side emoji!
2. Skeleton prints on clothes — cool or creepy? Creepy
3. Walk me through what needs to happen in order for you to have a good hair day? Cowash, leave in condish and scrunch! Natural curls rock!
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Retired, running a crab and wine joint, enjoying life!
5. One thing inspiring you at the moment? Gabrielle Unions body is inspiring me to lose some weight!
Oh, my gosh on the good hair day. I wish I knew. I feel like I do the same thing every day and the results couldn’t be more different. HAHA! I don’t know if you saw on FB but the gals and I (and the husbands and kids) all got together on Sunday for a giant photoshoot. Besides always worrying about looking huge (we’re all our own worst critics!), I was quite worried about my hair. It was in the 90s and humid and I could just imagine the wet rat look I’d be sporting. Thankfully, with the help of some product, a diffuser and 100 lbs of hairspray (and LOTS of prayer!), I think it was OK. There is no way I could do that every morning, though. 🙂
I just looked it up and you and your hair look super cute! And WHOA I did not realize how big the boys (young men!) have gotten. P.S. Humidity, like burpies, is the the devil’s work.
Aw, thanks! I was so happy that one of the fellas was smiling with teeth. The other has a great smile, too, but he doesn’t think so. I remind him often of how much money we spent on his teeth! 🙂 The Hubs swears there will be pics of him smiling, too – we’re waiting on the whole collection to see if he’s right. HAHA! I let both boys drive a bit down a private dirt road last weekend. They’re 15 and a half (can you see why I’m always crying about how fast they grow up?). 🙂 I did give “smiley” a piggy back ride the other day but he only allowed it because I let him carry me first. I know you already do, but CHERISH! 🙂
Wait, seriously?! 15 and a half? Weren’t they just in middle school? I know it’s silly but I feel like their silent virtual aunt, and I’m already NOT ready for them to leave for college. What will you do with yourself when they go?
Did I tell you Connor is starting pre-school next month?