Just For Fun

You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”

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

1. Mood:
   Downright cheerful, and I see good things in store for us this week. 🙂
2. When was the last time you got your makeup done?
   Heavens, it’s been a while. Maybe six months ago at a MAC store? I remember chatting it up with a friendly artists about wearing brights in the crease, and she offered to decorate my eyes with a few of her favorite green shades. It was a blast!
3. Would you ever consider opening your own restaurant, bar or cafe?
   I think I’ll answer this question with another one: have you ever seen Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares?? In other words, no way, I would not. I can’t cook all that well to start, and I’ve seen one too many reality TV shows about running restaurants to know how difficult the food service business can be… I think I’ll stick to the glamorous world of pet assisting instead.
4. What’s your idea of a great morning?
   One that extends well past noon, LOL! I get to sleep in as late I want, no alarms (tabby or otherwise), and then I have a long, leisurely breakfast (French toast!). After letting my tummy settle for an hour or two, I hop on the treadmill and have a nice, long shower when I’m done with my run. Ah…heavenly.
5. Do you like classical music?
   I do. I played classical piano growing up, so I listened to a lot of it. I like Bach for the complex arrangements and Debussy for how relaxed it makes me feel.
6. What’s one skill that took you a while to learn?
   It took me a long while to learn how to take sharp pictures with my camera. Back when I started blogging I couldn’t take clear pics for squat. I feel like there’s still so much to learn (for me, lighting is the hardest part), but now I’m the person who usually gets handed the camera at family functions.
7. Which Muppet are you?
   The Swedish Chef, because like him, I feel like I’m always running around frantically with chickens all over the place and babbling crazy nonsense that no one understands, LOL!
8. Have the last three months gone the way you expected them to?
   Honestly, and I feel like a broken record sometimes, I’d hoped to be further along with some things, like clearing the boxes out of the dining room (or getting a dining room table, for that matter). I wonder if I’ll ever feel totally in control of my schedule and my life. I try and try and feel like I get pretty close sometimes, but then POOF! — the feeling disappears.

   I guess I just have to remember to keep things in perspective… All things considered, the past three months have been fine, and I’m probably the happiest I’ve been in a really long time.

9. What would you choose as your last meal on earth?
   The black garlic spaghetti grande with head-on gulf prawns, hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, calabrian chili and citrus essence from Bottega Napa Valley restaurant in Yountville… OMG, so good!

   Or my mom’s fried tilapia with garlic fried rice and diced tomatoes, seasoned with salt and pepper on the side (my idea of perfect comfort food).

   And for dessert, I’ll take a warm, semi-sweet chocolate brownie with vanilla bean and salted caramel ice cream on the side.

10. Weekly goals:
    Give Tabs a good brushing, find some peppy new music to listen to, start thinking about Halloween costumes, and — wait for it — look for dining room furniture, gah!

Happy Monday, cutie pie.

ZAP!

You’ve just been zapped with a powerful blast of positive energy. Let me know if you felt it in today’s Monday Poll. 🙂

To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.

Le List

1. Mood:
2. When was the last time you got your makeup done?
3. Would you ever consider opening your own restaurant, bar or cafe?
4. What’s your idea of a great morning?
5. Do you like classical music?
6. What’s one skill that took you a while to learn?
7. Which Muppet are you?
8. Have the last three months gone the way you expected them to?
9. What would you choose as your last meal on earth?
10. Weekly goals:

Have a great day, and we’ll reconnect in a few. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Here it is 12:37 a.m., and Makeup and Beauty Blog is playing dress-up.

I hope you like the new layout. I’ll be ironing out the kinks over the next few days (hopefully most of them tomorrow), but take a look around, and let me know what you think.

A few of the new changes…

• A much-improved search engine (thanks to Google!)
• A brand drop-down menu (I’ll be adding the links to the brand posts in it soon)
• A whole slew of galleries with ga-jillions of pictures
• And more stuff I’m sure I’m forgetting now because it’s way past my bedtime

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

1. Mood:
   Overwhelmed! — and desperately trying to stay calm. I woke up on edge this morning because I didn’t get everything I wanted to get done last weekend.

   Geez…and now my heart’s racing after typing that sentence. I better do my deep-breathing exercises!

2. Back to school! Where is (or was) your favorite place to study?
   Back in high school, I did most of my studying in my room. It was quiet, comfy and free of distractions — no computer or phone, believe it or not (this was the early ’90s).

   Then in college, I usually alternated between the library and my room. Some late nights, though, I’d go to this quiet 24-hour study room on campus we called “the morgue.” I’ve always been easily distracted, so I need quiet places to study, depending on the subject.

   On rare occasions, and only when the subject was math, for some reason, I’d do my homework at a cafe.

3. Again, how do you feel now about boots with fringe?
   Still undecided. I saw a couple of pairs at Target last Friday that I thought could look cute on some people, but I don’t know if I’m one of ’em…

   We’ll see. I may change my mind at DSW later today. I’m thinking about making a pit stop there after work because shoes always calm me down…

4. We’re more than halfway to 2013. What are three things you’d like to accomplish by the end of this year?
   Unsurprisingly, most of mine have to do with getting the condo in order. STILL, after more than three years here, I have an unfurnished dining room, so 1), I want to get some frickin’ furniture (YARGH!!), 2) organize my office, thereby making me less prone to fits of rage borne out of disorganization, and 3) get Tabs a new cat tower (one that isn’t falling apart at the seams).

5. When are at your most/least productive?
   I feel at my best from about 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and my worst from about 4 p.m. onward.
6. If you were a breed of cat, what breed would you be?
   A Ragdoll! Fluffy, easy going and built for love? Sign me up. 🙂
7. Best place to get a cup of coffee in your town?
   This will probably sound terribly unoriginal, but Starbucks brews a mean cup ’round here.

   Which reminds me — their pumpkin lattes are the bomb dot com! I may have to get one of those today…

8. Do you watch any late-night talk shows?
   I used to, but not so much anymore. I went through a David Letterman phase in college because that’s what EVERYONE I knew watched, but now, truth be told, I’m usually in bed. Plus, I figure if something really funny or interesting transpires, I’ll hear about it the following day online. 🙂
9. When was the last time you watched a sunset?
   I think about a month ago. The windows on one side of our place face west, so I get a pretty good view of the sun falling below some hills off in the distance.

   I remember walking into the bedroom upstairs to do something, looking up at the windows and going, “Wow!” The sky was this amazing mix of pink and orange, and it was very comforting, so I just hung out there for a bit and watched.

10. Weekly goals:
    To start tracking my runs on my workout calendar again, to find a new book to read, and to chill-the-eff out, LOL!

Good morning, sweet friend, and happy Monday! How was your weekend?

Mine was relaxing, but that’s partly because I skipped some of my chores… On Saturday, I went to my nephew’s birthday party and visited my parents out in the East Bay. Then on Sunday I just chilled at home and watched, like, eight back-to-back episodes of My Cat from Hell.

I actually cried for the first time ever watching that show! It was the episode with the 23-year-old orange tabby cat named Pump. [Sniffs] Pump wasn’t good with boundaries in the house, and it was interfering with his owners’ home business, so they were contemplating taking him to a shelter. Please tell me I’m not the only person who bawls her eyes out while watching Animal Planet…

If you have a minute this morning, I’d love to hear from you in the Monday Poll.

1. Mood:
2. Where is (or was) your favorite place to study?
3. Again, how do you feel now about boots with fringe?
4. What are three things you’d like to accomplish by the end of this year?
5. When are at your most/least productive?
6. If you were a breed of cat, what breed would you be?
7. Best place to get a cup of coffee in your town?
8. Do you watch late-night talk shows?
9. When was the last time you watched a sunset?
10. Weekly goals:

Have a great day. Talk to you soon. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen