Glitz, Glamour, and Beauty

When I woke up this morning, I felt pretty good. I got out of bed and put on a pot of coffee. Time to get ready for work: I had no idea what was under my scarf. Last night when I moisturized it and tied it down as tight as possible, I prayed that I would not have a disaster in the morning. I went into the bathroom to plug in my curling irons. Now I want to tell you that my curling irons are nothing special. So many women think that they have to buy these supersonic high tech electric curling irons so their hair can have that “professional look.” This could not be further from the truth. I use a set of curling irons that I have had for years by Conair. Nothing fancy, an on/off switch and the spring action: you know the kind with a spring in it to help you control the hair. In fact, one of my curling irons has the little plastic piece missing that protects your finger from the heat, but hey, it still works so I roll with it.

I poured my cup of coffee and prepared myself for the moment of truth. As I unraveled my scarf I braced myself for what I was about to see. It wasn’t so bad. Completely straight: needed a lot of curling but otherwise pretty manageable. I usually have a good curve to my hair but this time it was just packed down on my head.

I had to take my time and curl it. Taking large sections was not going to do it. It also was still a little dry, so I had to reach back into some old school products. I first put some Dax Curling Wax on my hair for hold, and Duke Greaseless Hairdressing on my tapered back to get it under control. Yes, I said Duke. Don’t rule out the dude products. A doo rag and some Duke can do wonders on short haircuts about a week away from a relaxer touch up.

So off to work I go. My body feels a little sore, but some stretching before leaving the house helped. I get to work and had a Kashi fiber bar and a bottle of water. I knew I had the lamb dish left over from yesterday in the fridge at the shop, so I could have that for lunch. Normally, I wouldn’t add in what transpired through the day, but since we are not using our hair as an excuse for our health,and putting our health first, I decided to tell you about this part of my day.

Today was the first time I had a mammogram. We say that we are going to take care of ourselves, and regular doctor visits and screenings are a part of that. I had put off my mammogram a few times because of the horror stories I had heard and how painful it can be. Monday, when I went to the doctor, I promised I would get it done this time. My doctor told me not to procrastinate, and walk across the street to the radiology center and just get it done. When I got there, I obviously did not have an appointment so they could not fit me in. The receptionist at the desk said she had a Wednesday appointment at 1:00 available, so I took it. When I got there I had to fill out some papers and off to the waiting room to sit with other women. When my name was called, I was led into a room with 4 cubicles with curtains in front of them. The woman told me to undress from the waist up and put on the gown with the open part in the front. Lockers were provided for our clothes and belongings. I brought my Ipad with me to get some reading done while I waited. As I was reading, the next thing I hear is a woman returning into the room stating that she will never have this done again. She also had some choice 4 letter words to articulate the experience. Needless to say, I started getting real nervous, and you know I don’t need to sweat in the middle of the day, I need a touch up. Boy oh boy. My foot started tapping and I was trying to stay focused on the book I was reading, but it was getting difficult. I heard phrases like, “that hurt too bad: flat as a pancake: I know a man invented that machine.” By this time I’m ready to open the locker with my belongings, get dressed, and high tail it out of there. No: I’m all about taking care of myself and I made a pact with my girls. “Ms. Johnson,” was the next name called. As I entered the room it was a little dark with a Plexiglas machine glowing in the corner. The tech was very nice and started to explain the process. She told me women my age, (like what’s that supposed to mean?), could be sensitive if you had coffee, soda, or chocolate. Is she serious? Those are an essential part of everyday life. She said the machine would lock down on my breast and stay for about 3 seconds and then release. We would take 4 pictures, two for each breast. Before she started to get me set for the pictures I asked if it would be OK if I could scream, you know,  just in case I had to. She got me set and the machine slowly clamped down on my breast and stopped. Click, click: release. That’s it? That didn’t hurt at all. The woman before me must have been a real cry baby, or just a drama queen. I mean really, I was scared for nothing. Ladies if you are putting off a mammogram screening, stop. I was a piece of cake. Let’s get healthy and take care of ourselves.

When I got back to the salon, Andrea sent me a text that said “Frizzies today. A little puffy, no sheen, dull do day. I think I need a tighter pin curl. Test tonight.” Day 2 of Insanity was a little rougher. We both made it through the fitness test OK, but the first day of the real workout was a little harder on our hair. After I finished my last client for the day, I got dressed and called Andrea to let her know that I was on my way. When she answered the phone, she didn’t sound too enthusiastic. My body was tired and sore, but I’m determined to see this through. Driving over to Andrea’s house, I must pass my street to my house. I so badly wanted to take that left turn and head home. But I made a commitment, and I’m determined to see it through. The first phase: 60 days, 6 days a week workout. I can do this. When I arrived at Andrea’s house the door was open, and I walked in to find her dressed, hair tightly pin curled, moving slow, but ready to go. I heard someone say that if you make it through 3 days of whatever you’re trying to do, be it exercises, quitting smoking, changing your diet, etc. You can survive. Well this is day 3 and it was the worst. Shaun T really took us through it. Globe jumps, hurtle jumps and runs, power jacks, and other insane moves. I kept looking at the clock on the TV screen to see how much time was left. Finally, the cool down and I make it through. By the time we finished, I looked like Heat Miser. My hair was all over my head. The only thing that held up was my wonderful Xtreme Lashes which was touched up earlier that day. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So I guess I will go home, moisturize my hair, and tie it down tightly. I was so tired that I contemplated having sleep for dinner, but my stomach had other ideas. So I once again had a multigrain English muffin with smoked salmon. I’ve got to get my dinner menus together. I’ll search the markets this weekend. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.