Following in Lindsey's manicured footsteps....

Following Lindsey's post...I've been reflecting on my fake nail history...riveting reading for all of you, I am sure.

I am always amused after a trip to the nail place. My fake nail history goes back to 1995. Wow...10 years of fake nails...that seems a bit obsessive when I put it in print.

When my Dear Precious proposed to me (actually, we had designed our rings before the actual proposal happened, so this proposal I speak of was the official one), I realized how silly a beautiful ring was going to look on my short, stubby fingers. You'd think someone as tall as me would have long fingers...but no...they are very short...oddly, grotesquely short. So I tried fake nails for the first time and then when then ring came a few weeks later, my newly elongated fingers looked much better, and I've been hooked on the nail thing ever since. I'd always had these thin, wimpy nails - so this was a new adventure for me. My friend Pam recommended a place down in Burleson that she went to. This was long before there was a nail place on every corner, so driving to Burleson wasn't a big deal. The most unusual thing about the Burleson shop is that a WHITE GIRL that did my nails. Maybe that wasn't so odd in 1995, but of course, that is very strange now. This nail place was also a hair place, owned by the lady that did my nails. She also owned a couple of bars where they had the 8-liners. It was always interesting when her bar customers would come in and she would momentarily excuse herself to the back room where she'd do "business" with her 8-liners customers. They usually discussed things like "loosening up the machines" and such, so I figured they were trading their tokens for something besides a stuffed animal. Enlightening, to say the least. But I digress...

I stuck with the Burleson salon until the owner sold it, and then I found a nail place close to home. I have basically stuck with the same place until I was forced into making a change. Basically, I've gone to about 3 salons since Burleson. I don't like going to new nail places...they make me very nervous. However, when you go to a new place where you don't know the people that work there, you can always count on the same questions and comments:

You want round or square?
You want cut down?
You work today?
You have kids?
You want eyebrows done today?
You wait to long for fills.
You come here before?
Who do your nails last time?

But here is what I've really come to know. If you are feeling poor, like I do most days, and are unsure whether or not to spring for the finger nails AND toe nails, hesitate a little, ask the price, go during the week and during the day when they are desperate for customers, and your hesitation will almost certainly get you a few bucks off the posted price. It's kinda like buying a sombrero in Juarez...never pay full price.

That's my tip of the day - hope it saves you a few bucks!