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 seven 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. On a typical day, what kind of clothes do you wear?
   I’m starting week three of temporary baby jail today, and one thing I’ve learned so far is that I absolutely need to get out of my pajamas, take a shower and put on real clothes in the morning in order to function during the day; otherwise, I feel like absolute crap.

   I dunno… Maybe the act of putting on jeans temporarily erases the fact that I’m not getting any sleep?

   Anywho, to make a short story exceptionally long, on a typical baby jail day, you’ll find me in maternity jeans with a little (OK, a LOT) of stretch to them and a loose button-up flannel.

   Why the flannel? Well, it makes it easier to whip out the boobs to feed Connor Claire.

   Sexy schtuff, I know…

2. What’s the last song you sang in the shower?
   Hmm… What was it?

   I think — yeah, I’m pretty sure it was Hey Jude, by the Beatles, which I got stuck in my head after I played it for Connor Claire during one of her daytime feedings.

   Yes, while she enjoys the fine gourmet fare known as Boobs du Mom, I play music for her. 🙂

   So far we’ve covered about a quarter of the Beatles catalogue, with some Stevie Wonder thrown in there too.

3. Do you have split ends?
   At the moment, I do. It’s been a while since my last haircut.
4. Last TV show you binge-watched?
   I feel like this is turning into “A Very Special Boobs Episode of the Monday Poll,” but so much of my life right at the moment is devoted to feeding the baby, so please bear with me.

   Anyway, I use a breast pump throughout the day, and while I’m pumping, I watch TV to pass the time. I’ve been binge-watching this show on Hulu called Broad City, and it’s HILARIOUS.

5. What refreshes and reinvigorates you?
   Um…a completely uninterrupted night of sleep?

   Also, washing my face with cold water first thing in the morning, hanging out with good friends, exploring new places with El Hub, an ice cold Power C Vitamin Water and afternoons spent at the beach (ideally, one with warm water).

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

1. On a typical day, what kind of clothes do you wear?
2. What’s the last song you sang in the shower?
3. Do you have split ends?
4. Last TV show you binge-watched?
5. What refreshes and reinvigorates you?

Have a great week, my friend, and I’ll try to do the same.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, my friend. Hope you’re having a good one. The bears, Tabs, El Hub, Connor Claire and I are gonna be celebrating this year at home.

There are probably fish and chips on the horizon…

No green beer, though.

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 seven 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’s your current favorite lip product?
   I picked up a YSL Volupté Tint-In-Oil in Peach Me Love 6 from Sephora right before Connor Claire was born, and it’s been the only makeup I’ve really been wearing lately, first, because I like it, and second, because it’s what I’ve had on my little nursing table next to me, and I haven’t had the time or energy to swap it for anything else, let alone put on any more makeup…or shower for that matter.

   It’s this, like, non-sticky, super moisturizing light lip oil/tint, and it smells like yummy apples.

2. Do you use a lot of slang?
   Yo, dawg! I use a little, but I can’t say I use a lot. 🙂

   I feel like I’m getting to that stage in life where if I try too hard to use the current slang, I’m like that aunt who’s trying to be hip, but is, like, so not hip.

   There are some words I can’t stop using, like “hella” and “stoked” and “guuuurl” that I’ve been using for years, but I haven’t been able to smoothly incorporate words like “bae” and “slay…”

   And I totally didn’t mean to make those rhyme, haha.

   So, yeah…I use a little slang, but not a lot.

3. What’s a beauty-related service or treatment you’d like to try?
   Well, I saw this thing in the April issue of Glamour called a lash lift, and I’m very, very intrigued. It’s done at a beauty salon, and what they do is curl your existing lashes and lift them from the root. Then they hold them in place with, like, a special serum so that your lashes look lifted and curled. The process takes about 20 minutes, costs about $100 and the effect lasts about a month. So for that one month, you don’t have to curl your lashes.

   Now, this for me? I have stick straight lashes, and the idea of being able to skip my lash curler is super appealing. Plus, something happened when I got pregnant, and I don’t know if it has quite gone away yet, but my lashes got really hard to curl for some reason. They’re stiffer and perfectly straight, so I like the sound of this service.

4. Do you change your hairstyle often, or do you tend to stay with the style you have now?
   Normally I do like to change my hairstyles a lot, but I haven’t really left the house in two weeks on account of being in “temporary baby jail,” so lately, my main hairstyle has been a messy bun.
5. What’s a trait you greatly value in your friends?
   Empathy. I like being surrounded by people who get it, you know? Who can feel my pain and my joy and my fears and understand what I’m going through when I’m going through something, and I can understand what they’re going through, too.

   I think I’m a pretty empathetic person, and I’m drawn to people like that. I also like people with a similar sense of humor.

6. A place you haven’t been but would like to go?
   Bora Bora. I’ve seen pictures of the Four Seasons resort there, and not that I’ll ever be able to afford to go, but I’d love to stay at that hotel. They have these huts right out over the water, and when you look down through the floorboards, you can actually see the ocean under you.

   I don’t know, but I think that would be really cool, and I love tropical places and places with warm, clear water.

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

1. What’s your current favorite lip product?
2. Do you use a lot of slang?
3. What’s a beauty-related service or treatment you’d like to try?
4. Do you change your hairstyle often, or do you tend to stay with the style you have now?
5. What’s a trait you greatly value in your friends?
6. A place you haven’t been but would like to go?

Hello, my friend. I hope you’re having a great Monday so far. I’m holding down the fort here in temporary baby jail, trying to sneak in a nap and a shower every once in a while. Overall, I’m basically unbearably tired…but I think things are going pretty well. I think. This is week two.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I swear to you, I did not plan on Connor Claire and I matching today. It just so happened that her mint green swaddle blanket matched my pineapple sweatshirt. 🙂

These swaddle blankets, by the way, are awesome, but they’re not just swaddle blankets. You can also use them to catch spit-up or poop, both of which I’ve become intimately familiar with over the past few days, along with any other sorts of things that come out of babies when they’re newborns.

The blankets are from the aiden by aiden + anais swaddleplus 4-pack ($34.99). I got one as a gift for my baby shower, and I liked it so much that I got another pack from Target this week.

On the beauty front, I don’t know if there’s really anything out there capable of fully combating the dark circles I have right now — any kind of concealer or cream or magical potion capable of making one look well rested after not getting any sleep at all for like a week — but I wish there was, because then I’d look less tired.