One of my favorite scenes in the movie, “How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days” is when Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey go head-to-head with the song “You’re So Vain.”

I found myself singing it a lot yesterday.

Sometime between the time we went to bed Sunday night and woke up Monday morning for work, it snowed. A lot. And our power went out.

I had to go to work without showering OR doing my hair. Now, I have lived in the third world before, and I realize that my “tragedy” here is nothing compared to what some face every day of their lives, but it was a big inconvenience for me on a Monday morning.

See, anyone that knows me in real life knows that I’m quite obsessed/high maintenance when it comes to my hair. I always have been. Some girls can just pull their hair back and go, or shower and go. I … have never been one of those girls.

Yup, I admit it, when it comes to my hair … “I’m so vain … “

Even as a toddler and into elementary school, my hair was super-long and required mucho maintenance — my mom would braid it, put it in pig-tails or pony-tails. I think we fought about my hair every single morning until I was old enough to do it myself.

Everyone that knows me, knows my hair takes time. Patience. And lots and lots of products.

If you want me to meet you in 10 minutes (and it’s not an emergency), if my hair hasn’t been done, you can guarantee I — Ms. Punctuality — won’t be there until I’ve had time to do my hair.

I can’t help it; I just don’t like being seen in public unless my hair’s been done (something my husband will never grasp. “But it looks good! Don’t worry about it,” he’ll protest. Um, no, dear, I’m PuffyHead over here, give me 10 more minutes, please!)

Though it wreaks havoc on my hair, I use a curling iron every day to pull out and soften my curls. In fact, in college, my best friend dubbed my curling iron, “The Squeak Machine” … let’s just say it woke her on more than one occasion.

I get complimented on the color/texture of my hair a lot (don’t we always want what we don’t have?). And I realize God blessed me with a nice, natural auburn color that is rather unusual. (As I’ve gotten older, it’s gotten darker, but no one would mistake me for a brunette; I’m definitely a feisty red-head).

But with this coloring comes (naturally) an Achille’s heel: I can’t wear bright colors or most shades of red (cranberry or crimson exluded), and (the kicker) it’s naturally curly/frizzy and so I spend a lot of time “taming the beast”.

I just don’t feel “ready” until my hair is done. Period.

My hair has identified me for as long as I can recall, and not being able to do it yesterday morning was awful. I seriously brought my curling iron to work, and did my hair on my lunch break!!

I am sure my insecurities about my hair are really a much bigger expression about myself … it’s the one thing on me that hasn’t changed, regardless of my body size. My dad even calls sometimes to ask, “How’s your hair?” because he knows the state of my hair is often indicative of the state of my mood. Sad, but true!

Anyway, in the next year or two, we hope to start a family and I’m pretty sure I won’t have the time to fuss over my hair. That’s going to suck … but maybe it’ll be a good lesson for me, too. It can’t always be about me. 😉

Until then, I’ll just keep singing, “You’re so vain” to myself whenever I find myself caught up in my appearance.

How about you? Is there something you won’t leave the house without doing? Is there anything you’re vain/high maintenance about?