My Fingernails & Their Five Seconds of Fame
If you had a total of 2 ½ hours to get ready to appear on national TV, what would you do? If you’re like me, first you’d freak out. Then you’d ask yourself, “How can I transform myself into Jennifer Aniston?” followed quickly by “And what am I going to wear?”
It’s a documented fact that although 72.8% of American women have closets so full of clothes they contain certified relics with shoulder pads, when push comes to shove, none of us really has A Thing To Wear. So you can understand why I went into panic mode after I received an e-mail at 3:00 pm last Monday, Memorial Day, asking me to be taped last Wednesday morning for a future segment of “The Today Show.” Because I had to work all day Tuesday, that left 150 minutes to get myself what I needed before the stores closed early at 5:30 pm on the Monday evening of the holiday.
It was triage time: could I find something in my closet that would work? And, if not, should I look for something new to wear or squeeze in a professional manicure? Consummate multi-tasker that I am, I decided to do both, though I knew that the chances of anyone really seeing my cuticles, let alone my hands, during the minute or so I would be on camera, would be slim to none. I just thought I’d feel more put together with manicured nails, so I decided to go for it.
I ran to a nail place that was open on the holiday, then drove with my fingertips up against my car’s air conditioning vents on the way to Banana Republic, where I proceeded to blitz-purchase a great-looking (I hope) teal shirt and black linen pants. The decision to go with the manicure was right on, by the way. Turns out, the cameraman spent five solid minutes filming my hands in close-up as I wrote a blog entry on my laptop (actually, the post was just “I can’t believe I am typing this on national TV!!!” over and over again, but you get the idea). And even though that'll probably get cut down to five seconds when the segment airs, my fingernails will be front and center that whole time.
Stay tuned to see my manicure (and the teal shirt) on Wednesday, June 13 in the 8:00 am hour of “The Today Show” on NBC. (And, oh yeah, to hear me talk about the latest skirmish in the "Mommy Wars.")
Comments
Wow, Laurie. The Today Show! Very cool. I will definitely tune in. And yes, you've always got to deal with the nails first. Everything else is gravy...
Congrats on being on national TV! manicured nails are essential though so I am glad you got it done!
Hi Laurie,
I'm a fellow iVillage blogger (The Weighting Game) and this post made me LAUGH. The little things, like manis, totally count - you made the right choice. I had a similar sitch where I was on the Today Show and wore these black peep toe shoes and black pants. We were sitting on low seats and, as a result, my legs were up by my ears (I'm tall) so my feet were in frame the whole time. I hate my feet (but love the shoes.) Never did I imagine so many people would come up to me after the shoes aired and compliment me on my "cute shoes." I bet you get a ton of comments of how gorgeous your nails look. And, of course, how articulate and fabulous your were! Congrats!
Leslie
Laurie, Congrats!! So cool! On national TV! I always knew you'd be famous!!! Can't wait to tune in.
Better buy a TV wardrobe because I know they'll be asking you back. Get ready America, here comes Laurie Yarnell! You're going to love her!
You changed the date from Tuesday to Wednesday June 13th but it is still the 8 o'clock hour? I will tune in, and hopefully since I have to leave by 8.49, I will see the segment. CONGRATS!
Thanks, Avid, for the congrats and vote of confidence, and yup, the date was changed to this Wed, the 13th but it is still in the 8:00 hour. Thanks, too, for reading and watching! Cheers, Laurie
