Karen

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past eight (!) years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

1. What are three things on your bucket list?
   1) Start an all-girl rock band, 2) learn how to make jewelry (“She’s making jewelry now…”), and 3) do karaoke at least once in each of the 50 states.
2. Is it ever OK to snoop through someone’s email?
   Ooh, I have mixed feelings about this… OK, on the one hand, I would never ever want somebody to go sifting through my private emails, but on the other hand, now that I’m a parent, I can see why some people snoop through their child’s emails, because I’m so freaked out — SO FREAKED OUT! — about how I’m going to handle, like, online technology when Connor gets older. Oh boy, that’s a different conversation entirely. Soooo, I guess my answer is “I don’t know.”

   I’m gonna leave it at that.

3. It’s your wedding day! You have to pick one or the other: would you rather lose a front tooth right before the ceremony, or wear a Lady Gaga meat wedding dress?
   Well, both options are completely disgusting, thank you very much.

   Just thinking of that meat dress on my skin…

   BLUH. Makes me throw up in my mouth a little!

   But I would also hate to lose a front tooth… I like my teeth (thanks for the braces, Mom), so… Ugh! I guess I’d go with the wedding day meat dress, despite how utterly disgusting it is.

4. Do you use color correctors on a daily basis?
   Hmm… How do I answer this? Well, I don’t use a product that’s traditionally billed as a color corrector, but I do use a peach-toned concealer in my under eye-area to cancel out the purple. So…yeah, I do.
5. Ocean, river, lake or swimming pool?
   Hard choice because I love all bodies of water. I mean, if there’s a clean, swimmable body of water somewhere, I’m the first person to jump in.

   Normally, I’d go with the ocean (so I could go surfing), but swimming pools are also nice, especially right now, because I don’t want to put in too much work, LOL! I just want to float around with a couple of water noodles and chill out.

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. What are three things on your bucket list?
2. Is it ever OK to snoop through someone’s email?
3. Would you rather wear a lady gaga meat dress to your wedding or lose a front tooth on your wedding day?
4. Do you use color correctors on a daily basis?
5. Ocean, river, lake or swimming pool?

What do you do when it’s just Monday, and you ALREADY feel overwhelmed with all of the stuff you have to do that week?

You sit up straight, take a few deep breaths (Deep breathing helps… No, really, it does!), and put one foot in front of the other. Just take it step by step. That’s all you can do.

Aaaand, that’s what I’m telling myself right now because my to-do list is about a mile long, and I feel thoroughly daunted.

We can do this, though. I’ll stay calm if you do.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past eight (!) years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

1. French nails, French kissing or French fries?
   French fries, and I’m not gonna share them with you.

   Well, maybe I will…but I’m not gonna share them with El Hub because whenever we go out for burgers and I order my regular veggie burger and French fries, he always says when he orders, “I’ll share her fries,” and I’m like, “No, you won’t,” because I want all the fries to myself.

   Because when you order a veggie burger, you’re still hungry. So I want to eat all the fries. I don’t want to share my fries. They’re my fries, so if you want your own fries, you order your own fries.

   As for French nails and French kissing…I have nothing to say about either one at the moment.

2. Favorite Britney Spears song?
   Toxic, which I consider to be the height of Britney — the pinnacle of Britney-ness.

   The video’s just so glossy and sassy. Britney plays all of these different characters, like a sexy flight attendant, and then she’s a girl on a bike who looks like a secret agent with her long hair whipping behind her.

   And I like the song, too.

   Full disclosure: I went to a Britney Spears concert once and really liked it.

3. Favorite pair of sunglasses?
   I have a pair of beige Tory Burch cat eye sunglasses, which are close to my favorite, but they’re not my favorite because I’ve tried to wear them when I run, and they always slip down my nose.

   So my favorite pair right now might be my new Ray-Bans. They’re just classic Aviators, but they fit my face and don’t slip down my nose when I get sweaty.

4. In what job did you have the most fun?
   I don’t know if “fun” and “job” always go together in the same sentence, haha. But I try to have as much fun as I can at every job, I guess.

   My friend Jen and I worked retail together at The Limited once over the holidays, and all I had to do all day was stand there, greet people, fold t-shirts and talk all day. And sell the occasional purse or jacket. I also got a sweet employee discount.

   I also had a good time working with the foreign language students in the language lab in college. It was fun because I got to meet people from all over the world, and I really liked my coworkers, too.

5. Backstage or front of house?
   I’ll go with front of house, because I’m pretty outgoing. I think I’d like interacting with everyone, taking tickets and showing people to their seats. To me that would be fun.

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. French nails, French kissing or French fries?
2. Favorite Britney Spears song?
3. Favorite pair of sunglasses?
4. In what job did you have the most fun?
5. Backstage or front of house?

Hi, friend. I hope you’re enjoying the Memorial Day holiday so far. I’m just getting ready to go have coffee with my friend Marisol. She’s breaking me out of baby jail temporarily, and we’re gonna go to Home Goods and Bath & Body Works.

Connor will stay home and have a talk with her dad, because her new favorite thing is chatting.

She talks A LOT and makes the cutest noises now. I wish I could get a baby translator…

Here’s what she had to say this morning:

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Connor Claire turns three months old in a few days, and seriously, that time has flown by faster than three snaps in a Z formation. I don’t know how this fast-forward button got pushed, but somewhere, somehow, it did, and now it’s almost June. YOWZA!

So. If you’re a regular here in the MBB fam, you’re probably wondering where the weekly Saturday giveaway is, seeing as how I’ve been doing it every Saturday for years.

Well…I’ve decided I need to put it on temporary hold.

Just for a bit.

With a new baby up in the mix, I need to save as much as I can right now, because man! — those diapers are expensive, guys! I hope you understand.

Anywho, if you’re still here…hi! 🙂 Hellooooooo again! *gives you a big hug* I’m happy to see you. What have you been up to lately?

Me? It’s been all about routines. Diaper changes, feedings, sterilizing bottles, feedings, washing burp cloths and blankets, feedings, bath time, feedings, play time, feedings, tummy time…and did I say feedings?

But now that Connor more or less sleeps through the night, life has been less chaotic.

Of course, I’m shaking my head as I type this, because everyone I know who has kids says that once you get settled into a routine, something will come along to shake everything up — like the start of teething, a change in feeding or sleeping habits, a runny nose from a cold — something.

So I guess it’s just a matter of time before the sh*t hits the fan again! — but at least for now I’m trying to get back into my metaphorical groove.

One of the things I’m trying to get back into the habit of doing regularly is running, and yesterday I went for my first run in a really long time. And it was really freakin’ hard.

I think the last time I went for a run was, gosh…last July. Or was it August? It was shortly after I found out that Connor had taken up temporary residency in my tum.

Anyway, it’s been a loooong time.

But yesterday I jogged three slow miles. It took me nearly 50 minutes, give or take.

Yup, that’s slow, and even though a geriatric tortoise could have outrun me, I did it! And it felt good. I’m starting to feel like my body belongs to me again.

The birth in March took a lot out of me, both physically and mentally (I had an emergency C section in the middle of the night after about 40 hours of labor). For a while there (and, truthfully, still now), I couldn’t even think about it without falling apart.

But now that I’m able to do what had been one of my favorite things to do before I got pregnant — running — I’m starting to feel more normal again.

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