So, I don’t consider myself a “girly” girl.  I’m the oldest of 3 girls, I had Barbie dolls, and my mother was the kind of woman who didn’t go to the grocery store without having first applied her makeup and generally make sure she looked good before letting the public see her.

The poor woman always had a point of frustration with me.  Why?  Because I didn’t want to take time to do my hair – pulling it into a pony tail was good enough for me most days – and makeup?  Heh.  Only when she got really mad at me for being over 16 and still not caring.

It should come as no surprise, then, that I’ve never really done my nails, either.  Hey, when you play piano, and are taught that “pianists don’t scratch, they nub, so keep your nails short,” you just don’t think to do much more than trim and file.  I never ever understood the girls in high school when they chipped a nail.  Frankly, I didn’t even really know what that MEANT.

For Valentine’s Day this year, my husband told me he wanted me to get a manicure and a pedicure.  He loves it when, once in a blue moon, I actually take time to pretty up my nails.  My problem with doing my nails is the paint always chips off after a day, and, if I go red on the fingernails, I can’t seem to stay in the lines of the nails, so I end up looking like my hands have been through a grinder by the time I’m done.  AND, there’s always ONE nail that gets smudged, so I’m stuck for 30 minutes trying to perfect it.

I don’t think poor Rich realized what he was getting into, though.  See, it took me a month of research before I found a place that seemed to strike a good balance between price and service that was rated excellently.  Curses on the internet and all the people who post reviews of places.  It makes people like me take even longer to decide where to go for things like a manicure.

I finally went for a manicure last week.  Rich laughed when I got back from it because I went for a pale pink – i.e., natural color – on the polish.  Why?  Well, what if the polish chipped the next day again?  Another lady was getting her nails done there and was shocked to learn this was my very first manicure.  I should’ve noted my mom gave us girls manicures – I just wasn’t aware that’s what she was doing when she did our nails.

The polish lasted 6 days – with one extra top coat added by yours truly 3 days after getting the manicure done (I read somewhere that was a great way to help extend the duration of your manicure).  I think a manicure is supposed to last about 2 weeks?  For me, 6 days is practically a record, though.

As I lament my chipped nail (I think this is what girls mean whey they’ve “chipped a nail”? no, I never really learned what it meant), I’m looking forward to a pedicure.  I’m also feeling sorry for whomever will be working on my feet.  See, I’ve only ever done the NAILS on my feet – leaving the rest of my feet calloused and dry.  If the person doing the pedicure can manage to make my feet soft and smooth, I’ll be hooked.