Facecare

You’re probably gonna laugh with how haphazard I am with makeup these days, but it’s the best I can do with the time I have, so here it is: I use a twist-up, long wearing gel pencil (MAC Colour Excess) and draw a messy line on my upper lash line with no concern about the precision at all, LOL! If it’s too thick, then I smudge it out. If it’s too thin, then I figure the makeup goddesses wanted it to look that way, so I go with it. I don’t even bother trying to line my waterline, either. I usually layer eyeshadow on top of it anyway, so I’m not overly concerned. Seriously, THAT’S IT!

How about you? How do are you doing your liner these days?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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. When was the last time you spent a good amount of time outside?

Yesterday morning. Connor had a sleepover with a friend the night before, and the girls wanted to play outside, so we all hung out in the circle. The girls played and did art projects; I walked Marnie and threw her ball for her about a billion times, LOL!

2. Do you sleep on your back, your tummy or your side?

Usually my back. If my sinuses are stuffed up (hello allergy season), then it’s my side.

3. What’s something beautiful about today?

Well, I get to spend it with the people I love the most – Connor, El Hub, Marnie and Rosie.

4. What’s one pair of shoes you wear a lot?

I have a beat up pair of white Converse platforms that frankly, I need to replace. They’re comfortable and go with everything, though, so I keep wearing them.

5. What’s something you hope to accomplish this week?

I really want to support Connor as much as I can this week. She’s finally ready to move up from the junior dance team, and her auditions for the serious competitive team are on Tuesday and Wednesday. So, we’re going to bed early every night, eating lots of healthy foods and hyping each other up for a great week ahead.

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. When was the last time you spent a good amount of time outside?
2. Do you sleep on your back, your tummy or your side?
3. What’s something beautiful about today?
4. What’s one pair of shoes you wear a lot?
5. What’s something you hope to accomplish this week?

Tabs the Cat Industries, LLC always celebrates Memorial Day, a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

Despite his differences of opinion over some of the country’s policies and his disdain for some of its leaders over the years, Tabs strongly believed in the greatness of the United States. He actually had the U.S. Constitution memorized and would frequently cite portions of it.

One of his favorite quotes is from the preamble:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

But he felt it was the First Amendment that defined America. Without it, America would cease to exist. As Tabs always said, the promise of American democracy depends on our freedom to criticize it.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Whatever you’re doing this Memorial Day, have a good one.

Cheers!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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. What did you have for breakfast?

Protein smoothie with whey protein powder, greek yogurt, unsweetened almond milk and fruit (apples and strawberries). It’s easy, doesn’t require turning on the stove and it keeps me full for hours.

2. How did you do your hair today?

I’m wearing it down, with soft, barely there waves. Kinda boring but it’s practical for me because it takes about five minutes to style. Plus wearing it down helps with the migraines (I get bad ones).

3. What’s your favorite summer month?

June. It’s the end of the school year, and you feel like the whole summer is ahead of you! It’s also warm but not too hot yet. Oh, and it’s my birthday month, too. Yay, to all my cray-cray geminis!

4. What’s one thing you wear every day?

Um, besides the bare necessities like underwear and a bra? LOL! Well, my wedding and engagement rings, for one. Sunscreen. My bad cattitude… just kidding. 🙂

5. What’s your favorite hot weather drink?

An Arnold Palmer, which I didn’t discover until my 40s! It’s a drink with half ice tea, half lemonade. I like it with ice. YUM!

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. What did you have for breakfast?
2. How did you do your hair today?
3. What’s your favorite summer month?
4. What’s one thing you wear every day?
5. What’s your favorite hot weather drink?

Crisis between colleagues!

Today, a special meeting of the Board of Directors of Tabs the Cat Industries, LLC was called to review a most disturbing matter — the repeated and inexplicable disappearance of Chief Feline Officer Rosie’s crunchies.

At various times over the past few weeks, Rosie’s food bowl, which had been previously full, has become empty, and as you can imagine, this caused quite a corporate kerfuffle.

The results of an internal investigation were inconclusive, but Rosie thinks she knows who’s doing it…

Since the official investigation was inconclusive, the board hasn’t taken any action, but Rosie’s suspicions have created a lot of tension…

Unfortunately for Marnie, she has a lengthy record of snack theft, so her history isn’t doing her any favors.

Plus, she was captured on security footage early this morning in the vicinity of Rosie’s food bowl. When asked about it by the company investigator, Marnie lawyered up…

I just hope this gets resolved soon because it’s been bad for morale in the office. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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. What made you smile today?

It’s early in the day (I just woke up 30 minutes ago), but so far petting Marnie and Rosie, and re-reading the homemade Mother’s Day card Connor made are two things that made me smile.

2. What’s the first thing you do when you get home and walk through the door?

Hmmm, well, I want to say that I usually take off my shoes first thing because, hello, I need foot freedom (shoes are so oppressive), but I think what I technically do is lock the door behind me.

3. What’s your favorite cereal?

Does oatmeal count? If it doesn’t then, it’s Kellogg’s Special K with the dried red strawberries. I don’t really eat it for breakfast, though. It’s more of a snack thing.

4. What would you never give away?

My furry family. I understand that sometimes tough decisions need to be made to rehome pets, but it’s just something I don’t think I could do.

5. What’s your favorite summer activity?

Even though it gets a little more uncomfortable the older I get, I do quite enjoy camping during the summer, especially on the Russian River.

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. What made you smile today?
2. What’s the first thing you do when you get home and walk through the door?
3. What’s your favorite cereal?
4. What would you never give away?
5. What’s your favorite summer activity?

It’s almost dusk here at Casa de MBB, and we’re getting cleaned up and ready for bed, but I still wanted to wish you a Happy Mother’s Day.

There’s so much to say about Mother’s Day, isn’t there? It can be an emotional day in many ways for many reasons, different for everyone. People have such different relationships with their parents and their children and all of the creatures they care for, and life is fleeting. We all lose our care givers and loved ones someday, and days like today mean different things to all of us at different times in our lives.

I pray and hope your day was good to you.

Every Mother’s Day, just like every other day, I also think about Tabs.

Oh! — sometimes when I see an old picture like this one below, I tear up, especially on Mother’s Day.

I sure miss my special boy!

Rosie

As you may or may not know, Rosie the Magnificent has her own connection to Mother’s Day because she is…

A mother!

Happy Mother’s Day, Rosie.

This is one of her brood. These were pictures I took when she still lived with my friend, who was Rosie’s foster family in 2019. It was a few months after Tabs crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and I missed being around cats. Visiting Rosie and getting to know her helped me with my grief.

These pics were taken shortly after Rosie had kittens, and I really got to see how caring and sweet she was.

Rosie did a great job, and all of her kittens were adopted.

Over those months in 2019, Rosie’s loving nature guided me to open up my heart to a feline friend again, and now she’s a member of our family.

Happy Mother’s Day, Rosie, and to you as well. ❤️

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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. Pick how much ice you’d like in your drink: all the way to the brim, half full, a few cubes or no ice at all?

Half full, please. That’s purr-fect!

2. Have you ever raised a puppy or a kitten?

Yes. It’s a wonderful experience, but be prepared to have your nice things destroyed! Oh, and you can forget about your couch ever looking pristine again.

3. How often do you hit the snooze button in the morning?

Just once. I used to just get up when the alarm went right off, but lately, eh, I’ve been loving a little extra sleep.

4. What decade has the best clothes?

I’m probably biased because I wish I could go back to 1998 at least once a day, but I think the ‘90s had some great clothes. Everything I had wasn’t too tight or too itchy, and the quality seemed to be made better overall. The other day El Hub and I spent an inordinate amount of time talking about how the socks in the ‘90s were better, but I swear they lasted longer. Nowadays, I feel like I’m buying new socks every six months.

5. What decade has the best music: ‘70s, ‘80s’, ‘90s or 2000s?

Oh boy, don’t make me choose! I guess overall I’d go with ‘80s music. I can always find something I like from that era.

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. Pick how much ice you’d like in your drink: all the way to the brim, half full, a few cubes or no ice at all?
2. Have you ever raised a puppy or a kitten?
3. How often do you hit the snooze button in the morning?
4. What decade has the best clothes?
5. What decade has the best music: ‘70s, ‘80s’, ‘90s or 2000s?

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. What sports would you have liked to have played as a kid?

I would’ve loved to have taken dance classes. I think I would’ve enjoyed soccer, too.

2. Would you rather listen to the radio or replay a favorite album?

Replay a favorite album. Speaking of that, my family will probably freak out if I play the greatest hits from Fleetwood Mac one more time.

3. Have you ever had a job where you had to be on your feet all day?

Yup. I’ve done retail and worked in the back of the house in a bakery. Gotta have supportive shoes!

4. Do you have any travel plans for the summer?

Right now we’ve got one camping trip to the Russian River planned, and that’s it. I think eventually we’ll add on a last-minute trip to Tahoe but as of now we’re sticking close to home, which is fine with me.

5. What scent are you wearing today?

I’m wearing the new one from Chanel, Chance Eau de Splendide. It’s lovely! I mostly like the rose and iris notes.

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. What sports would you have liked to have played as a kid?
2. Would you rather listen to the radio or replay a favorite album?
3. Have you ever had a job where you had to be on your feet all day?
4. Do you have any travel plans for the summer?
5. What scent are you wearing today?

Things are a little different now under Rosie’s feline leadership — less kitty modeling, fewer lavish parties, and we don’t fly business class anymore. Lot more science, though. 😂 So, on the one paw, we’re on the cusp of developing a new fusion-powered AI robot that can dispense crunchies, but on the other paw, daily life can be a little…boring. But that’s OK! We like boring now.

Here’s a quick look back at a typical spring day when Tabs was in charge. He made everything seem exciting, even just going for our morning walk.

Tabs was hongry today on our walk. Not just hungry, but hongry. He was ravenous! He didn’t even care about the giant turkeys gobbling on the hill or the little kids shouting at the neighborhood playground. He was too busy hunting for the freshest, tastiest shoots of grass, which were hard to find today because the condo landscapers mowed the hill this week.

Tabby loves Novato so much, and we’re coming up on the best time of year for kitty exploring. The days are nice and long now, which means that he can go for more walks.

The only problem is that everyone else has the same idea, so there are also more trespassers and violators of the Tabs the Cat Industries LLC property perimeter.

Consequently, sometimes Tabs has to flex his kitty muscles to show ’em who’s boss, and he’s always ready to throw down, because you never know when some other cat will attempt a hostile takeover. As I’m sure you know, the kitty modeling business is cutthroat.

The constant threat posed by temperamental turkeys, pushy people, cantankerous kitties and drool-covered dogs keeps Tabs on constant high alert. Sometimes he even jumps at his own shadow…

But that’s the kind of diligence it takes to protect a world-class kitty modeling empire. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen