Just For Fun

Life in the Fast Lane

April 12th, 2016 by Karen 51 Comments

I noticed that I started doing this recently, and I’m 100% sure that it’s linked to Mommy Land, ’cause now, whenever I eat, I eat hella fast, shoveling every bite into my mouth like someone is about to take my food away. Because I’m always waiting…always listening…for Connor Claire to start huffing and fussing.

She has some kind of special radar. “Ooooh, Mom wants to eat a hot meal? OK, time to turn on Fussy Baby Mode!”

LOL.

And I don’t just eat quickly. I pay bills quickly, do laundry quickly, shower quickly, use the potty quickly (Haha! It’s true though…) — I move like the Flash during those precious minutes of quiet time when Connor’s napping.

I’ve been wondering (worrying) how I’m going to get stuff done with an infant at home when I go back to blogging full time, and I was talking to a friend (Hi, Steph!) about this the other day, and she said that it is hard to work from home with a baby, but still entirely possible.

Because right now it seems impossible.

She said that the keys are 1) to have routines, 2) to work as fast as you can while the baby sleeps, 3) to be flexible with yourself and 4) to regularly ask for help.

So, um…help?

Anybody else have any good tips? I could sure use some ideas (and a little reassurance).

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 418

April 11th, 2016 by Karen 48 Comments

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.

I want a new ______.
Car.

Not that I need one, because I’m happy with my Mazda 3 (zoom, zoom!). It runs reliably… I’m one of those boring car people who’s all about reliability

Oh, and it’s paid for. BIG PLUS!

But if I could get a new car, like, if I won the lottery or something, I’d get a car with power locks, ideally a Volvo, because my Mazda doesn’t have them, and it’s a four door, and ever since the baby came along I’m always forgetting to lock the back door after we take her out of her car seat, so I’ve been basically rollin’ around for the last month or so with my car open…

Camping or hotel?
Oh, hello, do you know me at all?

Hotel, ALL THE WAY, since homegirl does not do camping.

What do you want to postpone?
Ugh, tax day. Make it stop.

Three words that describe your current social life?
Temporary baby jail

What lipstick shades have you worn down to the nub?
There have been quite a few over the years, like my old school ’90s love, MAC Paramount. I can’t even begin to tell you how many tubes of Paramount I went through back in the day.

More recently, let’s see… Ah! MAC Viva Glam V.

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

1. I want a new ______.
2. Camping or hotel?
3. What do you want to postpone?
4. Three words that describe your current social life:
5. What lipstick shades have you worn down to the nub?

Good morning, glory! 🙂 How did you sleep last night? Did you have any dreams that you can still remember?

I slept pretty well, actually. No dreams that I can remember, but Connor was good about going back to sleep between feedings.

What are you up to this week?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 393

April 10th, 2016 by Karen 13 Comments

Dear Diary,

It has come to my attention that my assistant photobombed one of my selfies and then shared it on Instagram.

While I do look quite dashing in the picture, this is a gross violation of her employment contract, and I might have to write her up… We’ll see how she does with my dinner tonight. If it meets with my satisfaction, I may just let her off with a verbal warning.

Oh! This weekend I continued updating my portfolio. I found some old kitty modeling pics on a thumb drive. What do you think of this glamour shot of me gazing up at a bejeweled crown?

Don’t I look majestic and regal?

Or how about this more casual picture of me and my assistant? She appears to be understandably enthusiastic about appearing in a photo with me.

I also came across a series of instructional kitty modeling memes I did with Marmalade, my professional nemesis.

I remember that shoot… Marmalade was so annoying! I really wanted to swat his face, but that wouldn’t have been professional.

And then some of these are pics I took myself using my tripod and a timer.

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One Month Old

April 8th, 2016 by Karen 38 Comments

How did this happen?! Time really does fly when you’re ~~sleep deprived~~ having fun!

So far Connor Claire likes…

Listening to music, although I’m not too sure if she enjoys her mom’s lullaby versions of ’90s hip-hop hits… She looked mildly irritated when I did Salt-N-Pepa’s Push It the other night, but that could’ve been because I was messing up the lyrics pretty badly.
Smiling right back at you when you smile at her. SO. CUTE.
Chillin’ in her baby carrier (I use a Moby Wrap, and it’s awesome) while mom putters on the computer.
Staring up at the sky and at the branches and leaves of the oak trees outside, especially in the afternoon.
Hanging out with her dad at 3 in the morning…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Beauty and Mental Health: A Quick Look at How the Two Intertwine

April 8th, 2016 by Marcella Yakalis 40 Comments

Wouldn't you rather stay in bed with this? — Wouldn’t you rather stay in bed with this?

As someone without steady employment, and not a lot of other responsibilities, I often find myself in bed well past noon on a weekday. I don’t do this on purpose, and it’s not even because I want to be there. But while texting my boyfriend (from our bed) one late morning, I found myself saying, “I don’t want to get up, because my problems are out there.”

Simple reasoning, right?

But I can’t avoid my problems forever. I have to get up. I have to eat. I have to continue to look for a job. I have to consolidate my loans and make doctors appointments.

For most of my adult life, I have dealt with chronic depression and anxiety. I’ve used many methods to combat these things, but lately, I’ve found that getting myself into a routine has been one of the best things for me. The main part of my routine that has been the most enjoyable and given me the best feeling?

Doing my makeup and/or pampering myself.

It’s common knowledge that you feel good when you take care of yourself. But for a lot of people, and for many women, it’s often seen as vain and unnecessary to do our makeup, or to spend a lot of time on ourselves. At the same time, we’re being told that if we don’t look a certain way, we’re not trying hard enough. If we look tired, or pale, or sick, then there is something wrong with us. If we don’t smile at every stranger that passes us, we are mean, unfriendly, cold. This was something I ran into often when I worked retail, and a reason I got into makeup in the first place. I figured if people were going to think I was awful, I might as well look fabulous while they did it, right?

After I quit that job and went to graduate school, I stopped wearing makeup as much, mainly because I didn’t have the time. I reserved it for special occasions only. Then I stopped wearing it because I felt tired, my skin was awful, I didn’t want to be noticed. A million and one reasons to not take care of myself hung over my head every day.

The past few weeks, while I’ve been writing and reviewing for you guys, I’ve been looking forward to getting up and doing my makeup. I’ve been excited about taking care of my skin, of my body, and of my mind. I haven’t felt that in a very long time. Because of these changes in my routine, my other habits have changed as well. Instead of not eating most of the day, I actually got up all of last week, ate breakfast every day, drank a cup of coffee, and did my makeup. I was proud of myself for actually finishing a quart of milk without it spoiling in the fridge!

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Gel Habits Die Hard: Quitting My Gel Manicure Habit

April 6th, 2016 by Marcella Yakalis 22 Comments

gel nails, acrylics, nail polish — Baby’s first gel: a candy apple red (right) and my sister’s acrylics (left)

Last March, on a visit to see my sister, I asked if we could get a manicure together. Now, she gets gel acrylics, and while I’d only gotten a manicure maybe twice in my whole life, something made me really want one that day.

“Sure,” she responded, “I’m due for a fill!”

This began my obsession with gel manicures, which has continued to this day. Unfortunately, a year is all it has taken to potentially ruin my nails.

When I was around eleven, my mom was still getting acrylic nails. She loved going, and I loved how they looked. I also loved going with her and watching the whole process, seeing everything come off, and then watching the nail technician rebuild a perfect manicure right before my eyes. I felt the same sense of wonder when I started getting my own nails done as an adult.

A few years into acrylics, however, my mom got a horrible fungal infection under one nail, and she had to stop getting them altogether after that. That fact alone made me fear fake nails.

I got a regular manicure for a formal dance, acrylics for prom (which I promptly bit off a few days later) and, for some strange reason, decided that I needed gel acrylics in 2011. I got them filled twice before giving up on them, though, and it took my nails weeks to recover.

I was working in retail and wanted to have nice nails, but this was at the lawn and garden department of my local Walmart. It was hard to maintain them while I was literally playing around in the dirt.

My nails have always been thin and have a tendency to peel and crack. When they get even a little on the long side, they bend forward awkwardly, which leads me to believe I might be a victim of eggshell nails.

Over the past year, they’ve gotten better, as far as the peeling goes, due in part, I believe, to the fact that I quit smoking, started eating better, and I started taking collagen regularly. Nail problems can result from any number of things, like your diet (which, for me, despite my best attempts, isn’t always the best) or any medications you take.

Yet despite these problems, I’ve always loved doing my nails. As a kid, I had such an obsession with nail polish that I would paint my nails, but then take the polish off the next day to paint them a different color.

I can’t say this was exactly good for my nails…but it was fun. As an adult, I’ve been pickier. I’ve learned how to make my manicures last at least a week with gel top coats and by doing my best to preserve my hard work.

But the magic of real gel manicures hooked me. On my nails, they would often last almost a month, and it was worth the investment for something that wouldn’t chip or flake the moment I got my hands wet. For a while, they even seemed to make my nails stronger.

Some of my friends warned me against them and insisted that even though they were still my real nails, the gel process would cause problems (there are lots of arguments both for and against gel manicures).

It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I actually started seeing, and feeling, the repercussions of “the lamp.”

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All the Feels…

April 5th, 2016 by Karen 40 Comments

I was filling out Connor Claire’s baby book the other day when I suddenly burst into tears as I thought about her growing up.

She just turned one month old, but I can’t even deal with the idea of her turning one year old, or five years old, or 15! Or 25!

I dunno… I just get so emotional. She’s such a tiny little person, and this can be such a big, scary world.

I worry…

Do you think this will ever go away, or will I be carrying around this worry for the rest of my life?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen