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. Where were you on September 11?
I was living in San Francisco with a roommate. It was early in the morning, and we were getting ready to go to our jobs when we heard about the Twin Towers in New York. We had very little information other than what we saw on the news, so I decided to not go into the downtown office that day because I was too afraid of taking public transportation. I stayed home, called my mom, who was already at work in downtown SF, and had her come out to my place in the Outer Richmond because I didn’t want her getting onto BART until we knew more of what was going on.
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning?
I walked Connor to school and we talked about crafts we could make as Halloween decorations.
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in?
My friend Alex in high school and I took a swing dance class together our senior year. He would pick me up for class in his Dodge Dart from 1972, LOL. I wonder if that car is still running!
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat?
I’ll go with the sweet treat, so I can balance it out with a cup of coffee!
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters?
Anastasia Brow Wiz pencil, Chanel Les Beiges Bronzing Cream, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder, Laura Mercier Corsica Tinted Moisturizer Blush, Hourglass Veil Retouching Fluid and Dior Backstage Concealer. When I find things I love, I tend to stick to them!
Good morning, sweet girl. How are you? I’m OK so far. This morning, I thought it might be a good time to explain what happened on September 11 to Connor in case she heard about it in school today. I used the simplest of terms and tried to focus mostly on how it felt the world as we knew it had shifted. Anyway, it feels so far away, yet there are so many details about that day that are so clear to me still.
I hope your day is has been peaceful so far and that you’re feeling safe and loved.
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. Where were you on September 11?
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning?
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in?
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat?
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters?
1. Where were you on September 11? I was in college and the classes got cancelled. I went home and my dad was cleaning the gutters. We were not all connected to the news 24/7 with cell phones, so he didn’t know yet.
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning? My husband took the kids to school (we usually carpool) and I had a whole 45 minutes to myself. Sometimes I just need a few seconds to recharge.
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in? Not sure
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat? Sweet…and I will take that cup of coffee you mentioned😊
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters? Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Liners (Perversion), MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (Give Me Sun!), NARS Orgasm, Benefit Precisely My Brow Pencil, Tarte Maracuja Oil
1. Where were you on September 11? I was at home getting Dear Daughter ready for school. We had one big desktop computer back then. I asked Dear Husband if I could borrow it to hop on Makeup Alley. All anyone was saying was how horrible something was, so I yelled at Dear Husband to turn the TV on because something happened in NY. Of course I spent the rest of the morning trying to get through to all my NYC friends but the lines were overloaded. Dear Daughter stayed home from school that day.
BTW, former Inner Richmond resident here.
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning? I had a really good, intense workout with my trainer and improved my deadlift by 5 pounds.
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in? Well since I grow up in the the 60’s I remember us having a blue Plymouth station wagon from around 1963 or so.
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat? Savory, I’m trying to cut back my sweet addiction and rebalance my diet.
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters? I would say Clinique Naturally Glossy Mascara, but they discontinued it. Right now I’m riding the Japanese cosmetics train. This is Dear Husband’s umpteenth trip there this year and he keeps coming home with the goodies. Gotta love a man who will shop for makeup and sunscreen for you.
The 9/11 discussion is a hard one. I’m sure you handled it well. Dear Daughter was 7 when it happened and there was definitely a range of how parents handled it and how the kids retold it in school the following week.
Hope the rest of the week is good for everyone!
1. Where were you on September 11? I was at work on the East Coast.
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning? I got to watch it rain – we’ve had about 3 weeks without more than a rain so not having to go out and water the flowers was nice.
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in? My Dad’s 57 Chevy, bought before he had kids. I wish he’d kept it!
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat? Sweet – but if if it’s in the form of a scone with butter, even better.
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters? Urban Decay Naked Mini 3 and Laura Mercier Caviar sticks (today, “laced up” from NM3 on lid and LM “strapless” to line upper and outer half of bottom lid). Mascara – Neutrogena Healthy Volume Waterproof – one of the few mascaras at any price that doesn’t flake or smear on me. MAC powder kiss lipsticks. I don’t wear foundation, but my go to daily sunscreen is a lightly tinted one by Blissoma.
1. Where were you on September 11? I was walking into the main office and saw a group of teachers huddled around a small TV. The office manager looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said, “Did you hear the news? The Trade Center is gone!”
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning?
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in? When I was about 4-5, my uncle had an old Ford Model T with a rumble seat. Us kids loved riding in it especially since my uncle would take us for ice cream before heading home.
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat? My preference is for something savory, but since you said “treat”, I’ll go with something sweet.
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters? Right now it’s all about Clé de Peau —cushion foundation, luminizer, cream blush, and eyeshadow quads. I recently discovered Victoria Beckham kajal eyeliners and can’t get enough of them. I’ve put all my other liners aside in favor of the soft, smoky look I get from the VB kajal.
Today I was reading what others had written and noticed I didn’t answer #2. Getting old, I guess! lol A nice thing that happened to me this morning is actually part of my morning routine. I make a cup of tea and take the time to watch the dawn transform the sky, to listen to the birds singing their good morning songs, and to inhale the fragrant flowers as they open up to receive the warmth of the sun. Those moments that validate the coming of a new day are priceless to me. I’m not a Pollyanna by any stretch and I’ve endured my share of heartache, but I’ve learned to find peace and joy in the simple things that surround me.
1. Where were you on September 11? I was at work. The office manager came by and said that a plane had just crashed into the WTC. We were all surprised, and started talking about what a strange and random event that was. Then after a few minutes, the office manager says, “Yeah, and a few minutes later another plane hit.” Uh, way to bury the lede!!! We all got out of our chairs and ran to my boss’ office, since he had a TV in there. No more work was done all day.
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning? I slept in a bit.
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in? No idea what the year was, but I rode in my grandfather’s blue behemoth of a car. When I was four or so, I could still easily stand up in the back seat.
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat? Sweet, always!
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters? NARS Dolce Vita lipstick, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, Marc Jacobs Fineliner Gel Eye Crayon in (Dove) Affair, L’Oréal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara
1. Where were you on September 11? I had just gotten into my car to drive to work and turned on the radio and heard a report about a plane hitting a tower – at first, I thought they meant an airport catastrophe of a plane flying into the control tower. I drove on to work, listening to the report with growing horror, knowing that if both buildings were hit it was undoubtedly an international terrorist attack. After I got to work, I put my things away and joined the other employees already watching the TV news broadcast in a nearby conference room. I saw the first tower fall. Shortly after that, we were instructed on the PA system to close everything down and leave our building, as our building conceivably could also have been some kind of target (though not in NY). I heard a radio report that the 2nd tower fell on the way home. Driving home was surreal due to the general lack of traffic (apparently most people were glued to their TVs at work or home). I needed gas but decided to go straight home, something I regretted because I wanted to work the next day, and I really needed the gas. People had started panicking that the Arab world would cut off our gasoline supply or something, so by 6:00 or so a horde was already gathering at the closest gas station to “panic-buy” gas. It was crazy. On that day, I never saw the footage people said they saw of bodies falling. To this day I don’t know of any network that actually showed that, but so many people claim to have seen it on that day.
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning? Well, the weather FINALLY cooled down about 20 degrees (no rain yet). I don’t expect the cool down to last more than a week, but you never know. We should get rain off and on this week. It could easily heat back up into the mid-90s and stay that way until Halloween (it’s happened before).
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in? Probably my current car – it’s 20 years old. Still drives really well, but it has none of the bells and whistles people expect cars to have these days. I really need a built-in dash cam and a backup camera.
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat? Depends on my mood. Usually sweet.
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters? TheBalm BalmShelter tinted moisturizer (apparently now discontinued), Benefit Dandelion blush, Nars Orgasm blush, Laura Mercier loose powder, Burberry Rosewood eyeshadow (also discontinued).
If you meant the oldest car based on manufacturing date, that would probably be my parents’ Nash Rambler, a car I don’t actually remember (this was before I had to go to school, and my parents only had one car, so it went to work with my dad). It was probably a 1960 model? Just a guess. First car I remember, was the new Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon (4 kids, no vans or SUVs in those days). It was a 1966 model. It broke down a lot. My father had an inexplicable loyalty to GM, considering all of his GM cars from that one on were notoriously unreliable.
1. Where were you on September 11?
At my job. The woman at the front desk was the first to spread the news. She was watching online and saw things that nobody should see. I was very concerned as my brother in law was working in the city. Fortunately he had missed his train that morning.
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning?
I mopped the floors. Clean!
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in?
A friend in college had a lovingly restored antique car I rode in once. I don’t remember the make—I wasn’t into old cars at the time.
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat?
Sweet.
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters?
Lancôme Lash Idole Lash-Lifting & Volumizing mascara, Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso, Maybelline Total Temptation Eyebrow Definer Pencil, Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey.
1. Where were you on September 11? I was in college working as a desk attendant and I thought someone had change the news to an action movie.
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning? free food
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in? probably a chevelle. dont know the exact year
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat? sweet
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters? mac mineralize skin finish , nars foundation in macao , mac blush on format,
1. Where were you on September 11? In high school physics class.
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning? I got to go back to sleep after I got my kids on the bus.
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in? Probably my Aunt Jane’s suburban. No idea how old it was!
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat? Savory. I know this makes me sound pretentious but I’ve cut back on sweets the last few weeks and now even a diet Coke tastes too sweet to me!
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters? Elf brow pomade. I wear it everyday! I’m not myself without my brows. 😁
1. Where were you on September 11? I was on my way to school, my first year of teaching. Some of my 4th graders already knew what had happened, but some didn’t. I just told them something very sad happened and that their parents will tell them more. We discussed it together the following day, and I answered any questions they still had. I was just as lost as everyone else.
2. One nice thing that happened to you this morning? Got to hang out with my husband because I was released from jury duty!
3. What’s the oldest car you’ve ever ridden in? One of those big American cars from the 70s
4. Pick one — a sweet or savory treat? Today I’d like an empanada please
5. What are some of your makeup heavy hitters? NARS radiant creamy concealer, Hourglass ambient lighting powders, Lancôme lash idole mascara, By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra powder, and Hourglass unlocked lipstick in Reef over Nars Dolce Vita velvet matte lip pencil