How do you ladies do it?

Ok, so if you know me, you know I don't do hair.  I get a hair cut and it looks like how the stylist intended it until my hair is too dirty and I have to wash it out.  I try to straighten my hair, but my skills are lacking.  Yes, I use tons of product.  Yes, I partition it off in sections.  I do all the tricks - I'm just bad at it.  In addition to that, it takes about 2 hours for my hair to really dry and a minimum 20 minutes to straighten it - so my hair is usually whatever I happen to get that day.

I have many friends that straighten their hair every day, and they boggle my mind.  I have the utmost respect for them because I do not see how it's possible.  Surely they get up at 4am.

I got a new haircut this weekend and now have bangs.  I felt like if I was getting the different cut, then I should commit and straighten the hair.  I had every intention in the world of getting up early this Monday morning to wash, dry, AND straighten my new hair.  I did get up and make the coffee.  Then, I fell back asleep (something I've become sadly good at in recent years).  This left me with enough time to wash my hair (with the shampoo and conditioner optimal for straightening), put in the straightening cream, comb my hair, blow dry my hair straight, and use the de-frizz straightening balm.  However, without the actual use of the straightening iron, this combination results in what I like to call the "big-poofy-upside-down-muffin" or sometimes a set of basset hound ears.  Wavey in spots, straight in others, and just plain big.  The funniest part of it all is that I currently look a bit like the high school senior portrait version of myself, just with a few more bangs and a lot less hair spray.  And no velvet drape and pearls - which I admit are needed to pull off the full effect. 

The sleeping meant that I also failed to make my lunch, so I think I'm going home for a sandwich and some hair ironing.

(I tried to upload a picture of Kelly Kapowski and her awesome bangs here, but the computer is not cooperating).