Two. Whole. Stinkin'. Hours.
120 minutes.
It's how long I take to get ready for the day, I recently discovered. And when I say ready for the day, I don't even mean having eaten breakfast, much less MADE breakfast, or put my shoes on or taken my purse off it's hook, ready to walk out the door.
When I say it takes me two hours to get ready for the day, I mean that after I get out of bed, I am showered, with shaved legs, blow-dried hair, brushed teeth, curled hair, dressed, and make-uped, among a few other things.
(Note: Under that strict definition, please be under no assumption that I "get ready for the day" every day. BECAUSE it takes me two hours to "get ready for the day," I often go without blow-dried or curled hair, and some days no make-up. Brent says he likes me better without make-up, so on the days I believe him, I don't wear it.)
I've always known I take a LONG time to get ready for anything. Especially for the day. Ever since I was a kid, my siblings would complain that I took unreasonably long showers. I would claim, and still claim to this day, that I was not just sitting and soaking in the comfort of the hot steamy shower, I was working and cleaning the entire time. I don't know why, but a shower that my sister could have taken in 10 minutes took (and still takes) me 30, sometimes longer.
Last Sunday, we woke up too late to go to the first service of church, so I decided I would take my time getting ready to go to the second service, doing everything in that strict definition of what it is to "get ready for the day." I was disgusted to find out that it took me 2 hours. Especially because, Lord willing, soon I will be working every day, and I would like to "get ready for the day" every work day without having to wake up at four a.m. or be late to the office.
Perhaps my expectations are too high? Perhaps I shouldn't expect myself to be able to do flawless make-up, blow dry my hair AND curl it and still get myself ready for the day within the space of an hour or less? Perhaps it's silly to think that I can go from this
(Wait a second, Hayley, this is the world wide web. Are you sure you want to post this picture on your blog, for everybody and their mother to see?)
(No, but it must be done.)
(Here goes.)
to this
in anything LESS than the space of two hours?
Brent think's I'm NOT expecting too much of myself. He thinks I CAN do it all in an hour or less. But then again, this is coming from the guy who says I look better without make-up
than with make-up.
Maybe I shouldn't take him seriously. He also thinks I look best in jeans and a baggy t-shirt. I mean come on, really?
I've "gotten ready for the day" three times this week since Sunday, and all three opportunities took me no less than 1 hour and 40 minutes. An improvement, right?
My goal is 1 hour. Tops.
Can it be done?
"First do it well. Then do it faster."
ReplyDelete(Author unknown to me, but it sounds like Elisabeth Eliott who also said (I heard this directly from her at one of the times she spoke in our area), "Tell your children this: when you wring out a dishcloth, twist it HARD." Don't search for any spiritual meaning in it. She meant exactly what she said by that.) It also sounds like it could have come from Liz George who, in her classes at Grace, often shared other cool little ditties for homemakers like, "Good, better, best; Never let it rest, until your good becomes better and your better becomes best.")
Anyway, you are doing it VERY well. And you never have soppy dishcloths around, and your good became better long ago!
Love, Mom
Trying to figure out what soppy dishcloths have to do with make-up and hair.
ReplyDeleteBut thanks, mom. :)
I'll critique you when you come up here because 2 hours seems like an awful long time. But for Hayley it seems normal :) I bet if you work on it you can get it down to an hour.
ReplyDeleteHey! It used to take me two hours too! I think it has something to do with how thick our hair is, plus my goal was to look magazine worthy. Magazine worthy is two hours. But once you find a way to do hair without having to start from the wet stage, you can get it down to an hour. It would be interesting to time each thing and see how much is spent on what. I bet'cha 1 whole hour of it is washing, drying, and styling the hair. Maybe even 1:15. And you are WAY more mature than me because you put that picture out there for everyone to see and I LOVE you for it. Someone as beautiful as you, you'd think would be too vain.
ReplyDeleteOh, really, really, like the new design and header picture. This one is easier to read too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Missy...I think hair takes the longest!
ReplyDeleteI would think female flight attendants would have a LOT of great tips on speeding up things and on not HAVING to go from wet to styled with the hair every day. There are ways of pulling hair into really tight ponytails so that it looks really sleek against the head and not greasy, and I see that on flight attendants a lot. -- the curl from the day before is still in the clean-looking pony tail, or they put it in a bun or someping. That will help, maybe, when it is getting up daily to go to work -- put off the day you wash the hair by an extra day. Maybe?
ReplyDeleteThe sopping dishcloths thing was just a digression when I got to thinking about the many PRACTICAL suggestions EE had when I got to hear her speak. Sorry.
Hi Hayley!!! First, let me say that I ADORE reading your blog..it is a nice break from "mommyworld" to read it and reflect about the times when I didn't have kids...*sigh*. Ok, so let me just tell you that I think that HAIR is ALWAYS the issue, I think that all women perfect their make-up routines quickly but hair is always the variable in any given morning...on mornings I am gong to work I wash my hair the night BEFORE and either sleep on it wet ( which gives it some body believe it or not) and then just curl it in the morning or I just put it up in a cute bun or pony-tail..or I blow-dry it that night and then touch it up in the AM. That has cut down my getting ready time by like 3/4. Then you can still take a quick ( 5 min.) wake-up shower in the morning and feel refreshed...it's amazing the things you discover you can do ( and HAVE to) when you have to awaken to 3 hungry mouths to feed! hahahahaha! ( that number 3 includes a hungry husband) Oh, and BTW...Brent is right you look gorgeous without make-up..pretty girl! :-)
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I'm pretty sure washing my hair the night before is gonna make the difference. It's just difficult because three days a week I work out in the mornings, and there's no way I'm going without washing my hair after a shower. I'll just have to settle for less than perfect those days. :) But I'm gonna wash my hair tonight and time myself tomorrow, I'll let you know how it goes!
ReplyDeletedon't worry, mrs. h... i got it! i LOVE EE, so maybe that it why i twist my dishcloth so hard! ;)
ReplyDeletehayley, i LOVED this post, too. and yes, it can be done in one hour. i totally agree with your mom... you do a great job, so you will be able to do it faster when you put your mind to it.
now for the biscotti recipe!
mom's biscotti
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
2 lg eggs
1 t (yes, a whole teaspoon) ground anise seed
1 c semisweet choco chips (we use mini chips as a rule... they spread the love more efficiently!)
1/2 c chopped pine nuts
preheat oven to 350.
line a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper. whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter in a large bowl to blend. beat in eggs one at a time. add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. add the ground anise seed and mix well. stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
form the dough into a 16-inch-long, 3-inch-wide log. (I do this on the parchment.) Bake until light golden, about 30 minutes.
Cool an entire 30 minutes (or you will have cracking issues). (I carefully transfer the log *on the parchment* to a cooling rack. Do this at your own risk!)
Place the log on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick slices. Arrange the cookies cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake the cookies until pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a rack and cool completely.