And now for something completely shallow...

My hair looks absolutely nothing like this.

Well, unless it counts that my hair is long, dark and wavy.

(In truth, I only chose this picture because I think the model's expression is HILARIOUS. She either looks completely void of thought, or just really, really hungry. I'm going to say it's a little from Column A, a little from Column B...) (Also, I'm pretty sure that's a wig.)

So. Anyway.

Aside from a brief, year-long flirtation with a short, stacked, highlighted-beyond-all-reason bob shortly after I got married in 2002, my hair has been basically the same since 1993.

Long. Dark brown. All one length or with LONG layers (I could never pull off The Rachel).

In short: B.O.R.I.N.G.

But when I actually do try something new, like cutting it all off or dyeing it orange (the latter of which was unintentional, and has scared me away from those "no need to make an appointment we are always here and have sometimes sketchy qualifications" salons), I hate it.

If it's too short or too layered, I can't pull it back, which infuriates me. 99 percent of the time, I just want my hair out of my face. And it requires too much styling, whereas I'm from the school of "throw some product in my hair, scrunch and leave."

If it's some wonky color (read: orange; and I'm talking traffic-cone orange), I feel like it clashes with everything I wear, and it just doesn't feel like me.

Which is why I always end up...here.

Long, dark and wavy.

At this point in my life, I'm feeling OK about embracing my hair the way *I* feel comfortable with it. I'm into long, dark and wavy.

But the "long" part...well, it's getting out of hand. When it gets this long (halfway down my back), I shed like CRAZY. And it's becoming a problem.

Places I have found one or more strands of my hair JUST today:

1. Under my mousepad
2. In my pocket
3. Woven between the keys of my keyboard
4. In my dog's mouth
5. At the bottom of my lunch bag
6. Tangled in my husband's beard
7. Hanging from a lamp
8. Wound around my necklace
9. (I'm not even counting the carpet, my clothes or the shower drain. EW.)
   

So I'm thinking it's time to do some chopping. And I need opinions. And possibly links to photos. (Note: I would LOVE to do Locks of Love or something similar, but my hair breaks off at a certain point, and I'd have to literally shave my head to get the required number of inches. I know I probably should do it anyway, but I work in a professional office and...yeah.)

Here's what I'm thinking:

• Cut off about 4 inches
• Choppy layers, possibly longer in the front, but still long enough in the back that I can pull it back (the idea of an asymmetrical cut appeals to me, but I'm not sure if I can pull off something super weird, and again: I don't want anything that needs a lot of styling)
• Shorter layers right by my face (not really bangs, but kind of)

Thoughts? Advice? Cautionary tales? Cautionary photos?

Bring it.