
So…what is the Monday Poll?
Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007).
1. Do you have a favorite vegetable?
Yes! Carrots, for sure. The fact that you can turn them into a cake is a big deal! I mean, come on, have you ever heard of a broccoli cake? Or an okra cake? Yeah, I didn’t think so, LOL! I also love that you can put them in salads, roast them or just eat them plain with a variety of different dips.
2. A song that’s been stuck in your head lately?
“Top of the World” by The Carpenters has been on repeat in my car.
3. Something you’ve been avoiding lately?
Social media and the news cycle in general.
4. Lip masks: yes or no?
Yes, but only if we’re talking Laneige.
5. Whatcha reading right now?
“The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris” by Evie Woods. I’m on a magical realism kick!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.
1. Do you have a favorite vegetable?
2. A song that’s been stuck in your head lately?
3. Something you’ve been avoiding lately?
4. Lip masks: yes or no?
5. Whatcha reading right now?

1. Do you have a favorite vegetable? Potato, of course.
2. A song that’s been stuck in your head lately? “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)” by Elton John, a tribute to John Lennon. Weirdly, in the 1980-1981 period when this would have gotten a lot of radio play, I don’t remember hearing it at all.
About The Carpenters – they had a song called “Sing” that a radio station in my area used to play at the exact same time every weekday as I had to get out of bed to go to 7th grade, in a city my parents had just forced us to move to. I started developing a Pavlovian nausea response to that song because every day I was going to a school where I was not only not accepted, I was harassed every single day by the spoiled brats of my new school. Years later, a columnist in my local paper told of having the EXACT SAME EXPERIENCE (many years before I did) concerning a song on the radio every morning as he was getting ready to go to school and HE was being harassed every day at his new school! So it appears that no human experience is really unique.
3. Something you’ve been avoiding lately? Getting more medical tests done and needed dental work. As a so-called cancer survivor, I fear that more tests will show it has come back (as the odds are it will). The dental work is going to be enormously expensive, and I don’t know who to trust to get it done (that field is full of grifters).
4. Lip masks: yes or no? Yes, but I keep putting off using what I have.
5. Whatcha reading right now? I have a LOT of library books on all kinds of subjects right now. The one I need to finish reading (as it’s due) is “Drawn Testimony” by Jane Rosenberg, about her long career as a courtroom artist.
PS – if you wonder why I didn’t “just change the station” when I was a kid, it was because my parents were using an intercom FM radio built into the house. They had total control of it, and if I had complained, they would not have changed the station on my account. By the age of 12 I already knew how little they cared about my feelings.
1. Do you have a favorite vegetable?
Okra, I like it crispy with sautéed onion
2. A song that’s been stuck in your head lately?
amour plastique
3. Something you’ve been avoiding lately?
making orthodontist appointment for my wisdom tooth
4. Lip masks: yes or no?
yes, tatcha and laniege
5. Whatcha reading right now?
Just finished freida mcfadden – The Housemaid, and not reading anything right now
1. Do you have a favorite vegetable? Broccoli with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2. A song that’s been stuck in your head lately? Azizam by Ed Sheeran. Great tune!
3. Something you’ve been avoiding lately? Potato chips!!! I am addicted
4. Lip masks: yes or no? Have not tried one, but YES..anything that helps!
5. Whatcha reading right now? No books…just blogs or The New York Post
1. Do you have a favorite vegetable? Cucumbers. I love the authentic Persian cucumbers I buy at the Middle Eastern grocery. They’re shorter and thinner than the ones you see in the regular markets and they taste like sweet melon. They’re summer in a bite.
2. A song that’s been stuck in your head lately? “Hallelujah” sung by KD Lang. There have been so many covers of that song, but she conveys the true meaning and underlying emotions like no one else. I first heard her sing it at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. It was illuminating.
3. Something you’ve been avoiding lately? Going to the market. Odd, yes? I’m not sure where that’s coming from. 🤔 The weather perhaps. It’s been hot here.
4. Lip masks: yes or no? Yes, but I’m very particular because my lips are chronically dry and sensitive. My fave is by Sisley. It costs an arm and a leg even though I purchase it during Sisley’s F&F sale, but it works beautifully for me. I’ve tried many different ones over the years at various price points, but always quickly come back to Sisley. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
5. Whatcha reading right now? “Her First Mistake” by Kendra Elliot. It’s the first in a new series, but I don’t think I’m going to continue. It’s not particularly well written.
1. Do you have a favorite vegetable? Asparagus.
2. A song that’s been stuck in your head lately? “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys.
3. Something you’ve been avoiding lately? Going outside. It’s so hot here in South Florida.
4. Lip masks: yes or no? Yes! And Laneige is my fave as well.
5. Whatcha reading right now? “Six Years” by Harlan Coben
1. Do you have a favorite vegetable? Fresh, sweet corn.
2. A song that’s been stuck in your head lately? Leaving on a Jet Plane (John Denver)
3. Something you’ve been avoiding lately? I told myself I’d clean out all my dresser drawers when I retired. A month in – haven’t touched them.
4. Lip masks: yes or no? The Tacha jelly lip mask.
5. Whatcha reading right now? Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quain English Village (Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper). Hilarious short illustrated read.
1. Do you have a favorite vegetable?
Broccoli. Love it! It better be cooked, though.
2. A song that’s been stuck in your head lately?
“A Way” by The Bolshoi.
3. Something you’ve been avoiding lately?
Making more appointments for physical therapy.
4. Lip masks: yes or no?
No, I’ve never used one.
5. Whatcha reading right now?
Lots of comments on Reddit and Nextdoor.
1. Do you have a favorite vegetable? Sweet potato
2. A song that’s been stuck in your head lately? Anything Mod Sun – all of his music has been on repeat at our house lately. MGK too.
3. Something you’ve been avoiding lately? Talking politics with my family🤪
4. Lip masks: yes or no? Nope
5. Whatcha reading right now? Nothing at the moment. Life has been a little too busy to read right now.