Ritualistic

This post is dedicated to the routines we maintain, having to do with personal hygiene and otherwise. 

My favorite time of day is morning. Too bad I have to devote the best hours of it toward getting ready for school. This is what usually goes down:

I wake up at the crack of dawn.

I get dressed, which takes longer than one might expect from the outcome.

I eat breakfast, which is necessary. 

I get all dolled up. 

I brush my pearly whites with Crest Gel with Breath Strips.

I brush my hair, 100 strokes (lately this as involved some sort of de-static maneuvers).

I walk to the bus, I wait for the bus, I try to get a seat on the bus, I ride the bus.

I arrive.

At night there is more variability. 

Sometimes I take a 30 minute shower with Redken hair products and a loofa. 

Sometimes I don't.

I put on my PJs.

I brush my teeth.

I put in my zebra print retainer.

I sleep long, I sleep hard.

Lily

I am the opposite of Lily: a devoted night owl.
However, as I grow older, my love for the morning hours have expanded exponentially. The fact that I base everything on time intervals scares me. I can't count how many times during my morning routine I check the clock.

As for my routine in the morning, I am awakened every school day by my persistent 6:00am cell phone alarm and the voices of Dave Ryan, Lena, and Crisco from the KDWB morning show. I take my first glance at the clock here, as I shut off my cell phone.
I fall back asleep, loving the idea that I have "an HOUR of sleep left!" It's the best.
The KDWB morning show continues to play in the background of my slumber, and my final cell phone alarm goes off at 7:00am. I turn it off and immediately look out my window to check the weather situation for the day. Often times, because of my low blood pressure, I get dizzy and lightheaded from standing up too fast; I appease this sensation, by grasping onto something and closing my eyes.
Then I make my way to the room of bath.
I place my lime green retainer on the right side of the sink.
I always make sure I have two towels at-the-ready. I normally feel both of them to make sure I know which one drier. This is a crucial step, because I use the damper of the two for my hair and the drier one for my body. I always make sure the bathroom fan is turned on before I start the shower water. I hate steamy mirrors.
Then it's pretty simple: shampoo, conditioner, check the clock, face wash, then body wash.
My showers average 7 minutes, and throughout the shower I slowly turn up the temperature of the water. I always brush my teeth after I have dried off, and I only floss at night.
As I pick out what I want to wear, I listen to KDWB.
Many times I find myself just sitting on my bed in my towels laughing hysterically at the morning show: humor is critical to my morning routine.
After dressing, I blow dry my hairs, slab on some face lotion, and  spritz some D&G perfume on my wrists/neck. Done.
I then proceed downstairs, where I first say good morning to my dog and cat, and then read my horoscope in the newspaper.
On the way to school, I prefer to listen to the morning show (again) or the Lady Antebellum CD.

As for evening rituals...well I don't really have one.
I just brush, floss, plug in the phone, and say goodnight to my cat (who has a ritual of sleeping in my bed with me every night). Then in a few hours, I start my morning ritual all over again.

I guess it's all one big ritual, with some sleep in-between.
I am a creature of habit.

Keela