My first pedicure

I'm 33 years old and I got my first pedicure Saturday.

I've always thought pedicures (and manicures) were a waste of money because my toes have always looked cute after I've painted them. People compliment me on my toes and they ask where I get my pedicures. There's a look of shock when I tell them I painted my toes myself.

It's not that I was never exposed to pedicures. My mother has a standing appointment at the nail shop every other week. Every birthday, anniversary and mother's day, she asks for gift certificates to get her toes done. My younger sister gets her toes professionally painted almost as much as my mother. 

Friday night, my younger sister announced she was getting a pedicure Saturday and asked me if I wanted to go. I thought about it and agreed, thinking I would finally see why people pay $35 plus tip for this service.

We arrived at the nail shop, took off our shoes and soaked our feet in warm bubbling water. The lady removed my existing toenail polish and began to rub my feet. She scrubbed the bottoms to make them smooth and used a sugar scrub on my legs to shine my skin, all this while I was sitting in a vibrating chair.  The woman quickly painted my toenails - a clear coat, two color coats and a top coat - without letting the layers dry. The entire experience lasted about a half hour.

I glanced at my toes and thought, "It looks the same as if I had painted them. Forty bucks wasted." 

When I paint my toes, there's no warm water, sugar scrub or vibrating chair, but it doesn't cost $40, either. I buy the same $8 bottle of polish the professionals use and get my monies worth by doing my toes myself. 

I try to look at everything as a learning experience - from this I learned I never need to pay a professional to paint my toes again. They look just as good when I do them.