The End of an Era

My history with curling irons is extensive. I *wish* my old photos weren't packed away at a friend's house right now so that I could prove my history to you with pictures. Really, I wish. You'll just have to imagine 9 year old Ansley Cook living in Southern California saving up about 3 months worth of allowance to buy my first curling iron. I became proficient in curling iron use within about a week thanks to my best friend from across the street. She was a year older than me and had 12 months of experience with this curl making machine. At first, I gave myself ringlets each morning before school. I'd pull about half of my hair up into a little side pony (with a coordinating scrunchee, of course) and out the door I would go. It wasn't until we moved to the fashion forward Sumter, South Carolina that I would learn about the magic a curling iron could work on your bangs. Another friendly neighbor helped me perfect the 3-layer bang effect. You know, curl two sections toward the back of your head, the front section toward your nose, run a brush through it and spray wildly with Rave. Mercifully, I only rocked the bangs for 2 school years. Unfortunately, I also had GIGANTIC glasses and a large gap between my two big front teeth. I think the bangs drew people's attention upward, so it worked. I may or may not have also owned and used a crimper during this tumultuous period of my growing up years. In middle school, not to be left behind on the newest trend, I got a perm. The curling iron got a break for about a year. Once I hit high school, I finally learned to sit back and watch as new trends would come and go (at least with my hair - please don't ask John about the prom dress I wore to our first prom!). Since my 9th grade year of high school, I have curled my hair with a curling iron almost every day. The size of the curling irons I've owned have varied from the teeny tiniest to the one I curled my hair with this morning - affectionately called "The Big Mama". Yesterday when I was fixing my hair, I noticed that Big Mama was smoking - never good. This morning it heated up like an old pro, but promptly started smoking again ... aw man, I guess I'm going to have to make a trip to Target. 45 minutes later, I was showing my un-curled hair in public. Gasp. Honestly, I've never been very good at fixing my hair, and I'm new in town, so I'm pretty sure no one noticed me or my hair. I'm pretty sure they (Target) stocked their aisle to trip me up on purpose. The first half of the hair care aisle was filled with shiny flat irons. I've been wanting one of those pretty things for about 4 years, but I just couldn't bring myself to fork over the dough for one. I must have had a weak moment this morning (probably from the lack of curl in my hair!). A weak moment and the $40 gift card in my pocket and before I knew it, I was in the check out line with a pretty pink chi flat iron in my cart. I was tempted to have a "do-over" once I got home from target ... wash my hair again, dry it and try out my newest, up to date styling tool. But, there were two kids who had bigger plans of going to the park. So, I'll have to wait until tomorrow for my new era to begin. Here's to many years of smooth, straight hair, although I hear you can make some killer curls with a flat iron!;o)