Just For Fun

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 five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start. 🌻

1. Frosted Flakes or Rice Krispies?

Oh, easy one. Frosted Flakes, please! And if it isn’t too much trouble, I like mine with a 50/50 mix of 2% and oat milk.

2. Your favorite bag at the moment?

My black Timbuk2 backpack is rocking my world! It’s so nice to have my hands free to, ya know, to use hand sanitizer 1,587 times when I’m out and about.

3. Would you rather have a big-ol’ painful pimple on your butt, or your back?

Hmm, excellent question… Not the best morning convo, but I’ve experienced both and would characterize them both as “pretty miserable.” Be that as it may, I can imagine the booty pimple being a little less annoying most of the time. I guess? Granted, I’d probably feel the booty pimple every time I sat down (UGH), but at least it would be easy to reach. 🤷‍♀️

4. Did you (or do you now) ever watch soap operas/telenovelas?

Heck yeah, girlfriend! I was up on all the crazy storylines in Days of Our Lives back in the ’90s (remember when Marlena got possessed by the devil??).

5. How’s your mental health these days?

Eh…it’s been up and down, to be honest. I always try to see the sunny side of things, but I’ve been feeling worn out lately, especially whenever I see Connor do something like stare longingly at groups of children while we’re at a park or the pool, or when we went camping. She’s lonely. No siblings, cousins or kids in the neighborhood, and even if there were, there’s the virus to contend with. Coco also doesn’t have the vocabulary to fully express her feelings quite yet, so she just erupts into tears at bedtime or while we’re in the car.

And I’ve been feeling lonely too. I especially miss the little interactions I used to have with people throughout the day. COVID has changed so many elemental parts of life.

6. What time of day are you the most/least productive?

Most productive in the morning, and least productive after 4 p.m., but I can usually power my way through the afternoon slump if I have some tea in my system.

7. Do you still keep in touch with your high school prom date?

Nope! He was a friend and a nice guy, and we ended up going to the same college, but we rarely ran into each other and didn’t keep in touch.

8. Does anybody actually know what they’re doing?

HELL NO, GIRL. We’re all just improvising and making it up along the way. Nobody has any idea what they’re doing!

9. Are you currently wearing any makeup, and if you are, whatcha wearing?

I’m grimy and sweaty right now because I just finished a million-minute core workout (well, more like 40 minutes…but it felt like an eternity), so no, but I plan to wear MAC Melba Blush later, so I should probably be rewarded with a ticker tape parade, hahaha! 😂

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. Frosted Flakes or Rice Krispies?
2. Your favorite bag at the moment?
3. Would you rather have a big-ol’ monster pimple on your butt, or your back?
4. Did you (or do you now) ever watch soap operas/telenovelas?
5. How’s your mental health these days?
6. What time of day are you the most/least productive?
7. Do you still keep in touch with your high school prom date?
8. Does anybody actually know what they’re doing?
9. Are you currently wearing any makeup, and if you are, whatcha wearing?

P.P.S. Have a wonderful day! YOU DESERVE IT! Treat yourself to something nice this week, and hang in there! You can do it! 🤗

Greetings, fellow feline and fun-filled weekend enthusiast! Our two artists-in-residence send their regards.

While the girls decorate this piece of paper, I plan to decorate…my face with winged liner and a bright lipstick.

Why?

Answer: why not? But seriously, I don’t have anything profoundly exciting planned. I’m just taking Connor to her dance studio for the first time in months because she has a solo dance recital, and that’s all the excuse I need to get a little gussied up… At the very least, I can brush up my brows! 😁

The dance studio moved most of their classes online, but they do a couple things outdoors in their parking lot, and we’re going today so Connor’s dance teacher can record her and a couple other socially distanced students while they do the routine they would’ve performed on stage at our local civic center for the spring recital.

I still can’t believe how much things have changed… At last year’s spring recital, there must have been a hundred kids and 300 parents, everyone jammed into a performance hall, and all the kids and parents got ready in a big room backstage adjusting costumes, soothing nerves and, ya know, breathing the same air in close proximity.

I know this is all temporary, but you know how it is. I get a little down sometimes when I think about it… I’ll keep hangin’ in there if you do.

What are you up to today? Got a few minutes for some Saturday surfing?

• This article in The New Yorker about rethinking the science of skin is a long read, but it has forever changed how I view the bar of Dove soap in my shower.
• What is Hypochlorous Acid, and what can it do for you?
• Thanks to the pandemic (uh…), women are growing out their chin hair (and other bodily hair).
• How often should you be washing your hair?
• This polish by Nails Inc dries in 45 seconds, and it’s supposed to be the world’s fastest drying nail polish.How do you feel about pink eyeshadow? — ’cause it’s gonna be all over Chanel this fall.
• 10 budget-friendly perfumes that smell way more expensive than they are…
• How to “blind buy” a new signature perfume without ever smelling it…
• Long-lasting grapefruit perfumes for the citrus enthusiasts out there…

Have a great rest of your weekend. I hope you’re able to do something relaxing and fun. 😊

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

OK, I guess I’m getting better at “mom-ming while camping” because instead of needing two weeks to recover from the trip, it only took two days, ha ha ha! Ya know, when I envisioned the “Summer of Camping” in my mind, I thought we’d be going, like, every week or every other week this summer, but now I’m thinking maybe once a month?

Don’t get me wrong — it’s fun! I love it. It’s just a lot of work. The trip we just took to Collins Lake was a ton of fun. The drive is a long one if you’re coming from the Bay Area (about two and a half hours), but once we got there, wow! Our campsite was right next to the lake, and the water was SUPER warm — like bath temperature warm! Whenever I wanted to cool off, all I had to do was hobble down a hill and over some rocks for a minute, and then I’d jump right in. It was glorious! And being the water baby that I am, I went swimming quite a few times, although you know what I realized? Lake swimming is no joke, dude. When you don’t have salt water to keep you afloat, you gotta work that much harder.

Ain’t no party like a West Coast party

One thing I learned on this trip is that the time you go to bed at night really depends on your neighbors and how close you are to them. The tent sites at Collins Lake are closer to each other than the sites at Clear Lake (where we camped last month), and this time around, instead of being surrounded by quiet couples and families, it seemed like all of our neighbors were partying like it was a West Coast party circa 1994. Everyone was pretty rowdy, and we heard it all night long.

The music, at least, was good! Someone nearby was playing DJ and blasting ’90s hip-hop jams into the wee hours. I would’ve totally appreciated Color Me Badd’s I Wanna Sex You Up, but instead of singing along as usually do, I kept thinking, “Oh, please, oh, please, don’t let Connor ask me what these lyrics are about.” LOL!

A portable fan is your friend

Another thing I learned on this trip? A portable fan is an absolute non-negotiable. I know, sounds so silly. Who needs to have a fan, of all things, while they’re camping? Well, apparently I do! El Hub bought me this one from a brand called Treva (it runs on D batteries, so you don’t have to plug it in), and it just made the trip so much more pleasant. I would turn it on whenever I was in the tent to circulate the air and keep things cooler, which was especially handy in the middle of the day when the tent was really hot, and at night when we were getting ready for bed. Sometimes I’d bring it outside and set it in front of me on the camp table so I’d have a breeze to cool me down (it was pretty hot) while I made food. It sounds so silly, but it was REALLY nice to have around. I don’t think I can go camping without it now.

A quick bedtime refresher is the key!

One last “next level up” thing I stumbled upon on this trip is what I like to call “a quick refresher” before bed. Here’s what I do: I set a washcloth or some paper towels near my sleeping bag, along with a water bottle. Then, before I go to sleep, I wet the wash cloth and quickly wipe down my face, neck, the crooks of my arms, the backs of my knees and my feet — basically, any areas that have gotten sweaty since my last shower/sponge bath.

I don’t know why, but I seem to sleep so much better when I do this! I also did the same for Connor and she seemed to like it.

Anywho, we’re hoping to go on one last camping trip in August, and if I figure out any more tips by then I’ll be sure to let you know!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!!!