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. Mashed potatoes or stuffing?
Mashed potatoes with lots of butter and salt.
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish?
Turkey! I don’t really like it at all.
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream?
I’d much rather have a slice of pecan pie, but if I had to have pumpkin, sure, I’ll have a dollop of whipped cream.
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like?
Me, El Hub and Connor would take a trip to Japan, and then after a day of exploring and sightseeing, we’d have Thanksgiving dinner at a sushi restaurant.
5. The best holiday movie?
“Little Women,” but it has to be the 1994 version with Winona Ryder and Christian Bale.
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving?
Best parts are hanging out with El Hub and Connor, and eating the leftover pie! The worst part is family drama. There’s always something, sigh!
7. How’s your Monday going?
It’s flying by because I’ve been at my desk all morning getting ready for a job interview I have tomorrow. Good stuff is on the horizon, I know it… It just takes a lot of prep to get there. 🙂
I hope everything with you is peaceful and calm, my friend. Have a great rest of your Monday, OK?
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. Mashed potatoes or stuffing?
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish?
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream?
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like?
5. The best holiday movie?
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving?
7. How’s your Monday going?
Nicole says
Wishing you the best for your job interview. I am sure you will nail it.
Karen says
Thank you, Nicole! It went great!
Eileen says
1. Mashed potatoes or stuffing? My husband doesn’t like either one so the only time of the year I fix them is Thanksgiving.
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish? Turkey—not because of the taste. It’s because I’m a vegetarian.
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream? I dislike pumpkin pie intensely. It’s the texture which I don’t like.
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like? Low keyed and relaxing. We haven’t had a big family hoop-de-do in over a decade. As we get older, it’s more about spending quality time with my sons and their wives. And, yes, their fur babies, too.
5. The best holiday movie? There’s lots of good holiday fare. I’m hard pressed to pick one.
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving? Best: Time with my family. It’s my greatest joy and pleasure. Worst: Packing away the holiday decorations.
7. How’s your Monday going? So far, so good. I got a lot of mundane things done this morning and so the afternoon is all mine.
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!
Karen says
Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Eileen!
Linda says
1. Mashed potatoes or stuffing? Mashed potatoes.
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish? Stuffing, I don’t make it, and no one in my family eats it.
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream? Like you, I would prefer Pecan. But if it had to be Pumpkin, then by all means, bring on the whipped cream!
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like? Lots of people around the table, with everyone getting along.
5. The best holiday movie? Miracle on 34th street.
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving? Worst: Lots of work, shopping, cleaning and cooking and washing up after. Best: Seeing my kids and grandkids.
7. How’s your Monday going? Busy! Shopping and cleaning.
Karen says
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Linda!
KC says
1. Mashed potatoes or stuffing? Cornbread chestnut stuffing is my preference. I look forward to making it every year.
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish? Green beans if they’re overcooked or mushy
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream? With whipped cream but I like a nutty crumble topping
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like? We had our big family gathering one year at a lovely hotel and the food was amazing. Didn’t have to cook or clean up. That was ideal and I wish we could do it every year!
5. The best holiday movie? The Home Alone movies are fun to watch with my son at his current age. We used to love watching the Curious George Christmas movie every year when he was little, though.
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving? Food and good company are the best but clean up is the worst if we’re hosting.
7. How’s your Monday going? Not bad. School’s out for the week so it’s been pretty laid back.
Jan says
Hope your interview goes well!
Karen says
Thank you, Jan! It went really well. 🙂
Brigid says
1. Mashed potatoes or stuffing? That’s a tough one, but I’d have to go with mashed potatoes with lots of butter.
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish? Green Bean Casserole
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream? My husband and I don’t like pumpkin pie, we usually have a gourmet ice cream with caramel in it.
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like? No snow to shovel!
5. The best holiday movie? I now it’s cheesy to a lot of people but I love “Love Actually”
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving? Best – is a sit down meal with us both actually home at the same time. Worst is the reminder that I’m the only remaining family member on my side, having outlived everyone, siblings included. I have a daughter I gave up for adoption that’s alive and well, but she’s with her parents on the holidays.
7. How’s your Monday going? Hectic crazy busy at work.
Karen says
“Love Actually” is wonderful. I can’t wait to watch it again!
Julie says
1. Mashed potatoes or stuffing? If it’s the stuffing that’s been in the turkey, then stuffing. Otherwise, spuds
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish? green bean hotdish with onion rings
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream? either. I’m like you, I’d prefer pecan pie.
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like? prep the turkey, then go for a walk.
5. The best holiday movie? not a movie buff
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving? BEST: Friends and family. Worst: clean-up
7. How’s your Monday going? just finishing a great day!
Karen: good luck with your interview. You are great and we’re behind you 100%. Happy Thanksgiving!
Karen says
Thank you, Julie! The interview went great. If I move on there will be three more to get through… We’ll see!
CL says
1. Mashed potatoes or stuffing? Mashed potatoes.
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish? Green bean casserole.
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream? Sorry, won’t eat that. It’s pecan or nothing for me.
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like? Go back in time to when my whole family was alive and we could eat together. Now, I have no idea. I don’t even have a pet.
5. The best holiday movie? For Thanksgiving, “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” except that I hate that almost every John Hughes film has a protagonist who is really extremely well off (rich). I wonder if he was a member of the 1% club in his family of origin. For Christmas, the 1994 version of “Little Women” is good. [One thing to know about the book “Little Women” is the author was forced to marry off Jo by her publisher, so she made her husband character a foreigner to sort of get back at the publisher. As an unmarried woman herself, she saw no reason that Jo had to be married.] Also, I was surprised how good “Elf” is.
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving? In the past, the best part was when all of my original family were well and got together amicably. Worst was when too many people showed up and it just got to be a boring, all-day slog (no drinking at these things, so we didn’t have fights break out). Now, I don’t know – I haven’t been invited to anything, and I don’t want to go downtown to play the self-sacrificing volunteer, so I guess I just stew in my loneliness and grief, maybe go to the cemetery to place some new flowers out there for Mom, Dad, and my older brother.
7. How’s your Monday going?
CL says
7. How’s your Monday going? Sorry, missed this one. Still steeped in grief, overwhelmed with tasks, still wondering what point there is in going on with my life at all. That is what happens when you lose your last parent, and you have no children or really close, wonderful relatives to spend time with.
Karen says
I will keep sending out good thoughts for you, CL. You’re going to be ok. Hang in there!
CL says
Thank you. I hope you get the job you interviewed for!
Stephanie Smith says
1. Mashed potatoes or stuffing? Oh this one is hard because I love them both so much! I’m gonna pick stuffing today.
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish? The turkey, it’s fine but I like the sides.
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream? With. Ideally, I don’t want to be able to see the pie under the whipped cream.
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like? I’d love to be with my family, but they’re 2500 miles away, so we have a Friendsgiving that is lovely, lots of food and laughs.
5. The best holiday movie? Die Hard.
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving? Best is the togetherness, worst is the clean up.
7. How’s your Monday going? I worked this morning, went in on my day off, but it was a good day.
Karen says
LOL to not being able to see the pie under the whipped cream!
Have a happy Thanksgiving, Stephanie. 🙂
Sandi says
1. Mashed potatoes or stuffing? Love both BUT if I have to pick one, stuffing.
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish? String Bean Casserole
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream? Not a pumpkin pie fan ..would love pecan pie or blueberry heated with ice cream
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like? casual, cozy and free of drama
5. The best holiday movie? no movies..just the thanksgiving day parade in NYC
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving? the price of food!!!
7. How’s your Monday going? Today is Tuesday and I am blessed. Thanks for asking. Hope everyone out there is blessed as well. Happy Thanksgiving!
Karen says
Happy Thanksgiving, Sandi!
Mandy says
1. Mashed potatoes or stuffing? Mashed potatoes
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish? Stuffing
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream? Without
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like? At home with my husband and kids….no extended family🤪
5. The best holiday movie? Elf
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving? Best: time off work and pie….Worst: family craziness
7. How’s your Monday going? Well…Mondays are always chaotic…So I’m here on a Tuesday😊
Karen says
Agreed, pie is definitely one of the best parts!
Hope your Tuesday was a little more mellow. 🙂
Tatiana says
1. Mashed potatoes or stuffing? Both! I love my carbs.
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish? Toss up between turkey and cranberry sauce
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream? With. They way Dear Husband does it we joke, “Having a little pie with your whipped cream?”
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like? Dear Husband and I and Dear Daughter if she can make it.
5. The best holiday movie? Don’t know if it’s the best, don’t care. But our family favorite is Die Hard. Also “A Charlie Brown Christmas” for the Vince Guaraldi music.
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving? Best – Dessert (but isn’t that the best part of any meal?) Worst – Family drama and politics.
7. How’s your Monday going? I guess it was busy because I just remembered to take a peek here.
I hope you and the family have a relaxing and happy Thanksgiving. The crab sounds delicious. I like your ideal T-Day idea of traveling to Japan to have sushi. Dear Husband does not like sushi (I know, right?) so I always have to find a way to get Dear Daughter to come with us so I can enjoy a sushi meal there.
E.D. says
1. Mashed potatoes or stuffing? Stuffing for sure.
2. Your least favorite Thanksgiving dish? Sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. I have a good savory sweet potato recipe that I use instead.
3. Pumpkin pie — with or without whipped cream? No point in pumpkin pie without whipped cream.
4. What does your ideal Thanksgiving holiday look like? Relaxed and only the dishes I know almost everyone will eat.
5. The best holiday movie? Not really sure there are many. I’m burned out on a lot of them. I just remembered that since we’re spending Christmas with DH’s family, I’ll be watching Elf and Home Alone on full volume. No thanks.
6. Best and worst parts about Thanksgiving? Best – the food. Worst (at least when I was a kid) – family getting sauced and arguing. Now that we’re NC with the uncle and his wife that were 99% of the problem, it’s much improved.
7. How’s your Monday going? I’m off all week, but I did have a breast biopsy as a precaution (not my first one). Waiting on those results and on an order for a pelvic MRI. Since I’m childfree, I’ve never had a uterine ultrasound but now that I’m in perimenopause with irregular bleeding I had one. I have a regular pu-pu platter of issues that need more investigation. So, could have been a better holiday week.