Hair today...

What is your hair routine?  Is it a long and drawn out process or do you just wash it and go?  Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of wash and go.  I blogged about my after shower afro a few months ago...and well, because of that, I have to do something with my hair each and every day.  I mean, I do have days where I wad it all up in a bun and call it good.  But on the off chance that I have to leave the house, I normally use nap time to shower and spend the 30-45 minutes to dry and iron my hair.  Because of how long it is getting, my beloved curl product is just not cutting the cake. 

So I've been thinking a lot about chopping it all off.  The hair.  It's just long.  And well, just long.  Not much else that I can say about it.  I feel the need for a change.  This morning I took the time to pull some old pictures to see my own hair through the years and what I've come up with is so funny!

I can totally see where I was in my life with each picture.  Why do I hear Kenny Rogers singing in my head?  So, I give you--my hair diary:

2002-Short hair, married to "the butthead"-this cut was actually a
mistake by the stylist that I "tried out" and I asked for a trim.  Ha!  Nice trim.

2003-Growing it out and some funky color going on.  Very homely.

2004-Beginning to find my own place in this world.  Losing weight and
trying to do something with the hair--and the life.

2005-Lost the weight, and the butthead!  :)  My ideal weight here.

2006-In my prime!  Haha  In the bar.  Ugh.

2007-And the hair continues to grow.  And so does my relationship with Richie.

2008-The hair continues to grow (see a trend here) and I get hitched.

2009-I went dark!  But it still continues to grow.

2010-Highlights are back....but it's still long.  Oh, and I had a baby.  :)

So you see now why I am screaming for a change.  It's time.  It's beyond time.  I just have to go and find a stylist that I like, and can afford.  Chicago stylists are A LOT more expensive than southern IL stylists.  Richie almost strokes when we discuss how much it's going to cost. 

I asked my super trendy bestie for advice on what to do with the hair and she got right on the task and presented me with four "options" that she thinks would work best for me.  And here is what she thinks:

This one is my favorite.  But I'm scared that styling it will be hard
and I'll end up never doing it...and look just the same.

I really don't have an opinion of this one.  It's cute, I guess.

This just seems super short.

This is her favorite, but Richie and I both say no to bangs. 
I don't pull them off well at all.

What do you think?  Do you like any of the options or do you have a better idea for me?  With school starting in a month, this is the start of my new second chance and I want a new look to go with the new opportunity.  Reason enough.  And, I'm a girl and I want to feel pretty.