I'm not exactly a girly-girl. My husband calls me low-maintenance and it's one of the things he says he likes most about me. I can be ready to go anywhere in 30 minutes (Add 20 minutes for each kid I have to take with me).

I rarely fret or fuss over what I'm wearing or how my hair looks. I don't care about designer labels, expensive perfume or salon-sold shampoo. The only beauty item I truly could not live without is my razor.

This laisse-faire approach to fashion and beauty is both a source of pride and a source of shame for me. When I'm around women who get regular manicures and wear the latest fashion, I am sometimes embarrased by my ignorance of and lack of experience in the girly world.

But, mostly I'm proud of my low-maintenance lifestyle. I am this way because I choose to be. And, really, the older I get, the more comfortable I am with who I am on the inside. I'm believe that shows through to the outside -- not matter what's on my feet or how much makeup is on my face.

My bare-minimum approach to beauty has always come in handy when traveling -- it makes for less baggage and a lighter carry on -- and this week was a perfect example.

There I was at 7 a.m. on Thursday morning preparing for my flight to Chicago when NBC news reported on the newly-restricted carry-on items for commercial fliers.

I glanced down at my carry-on bag. Hmmm..what would this mean to me?

Uh...well, not much, really.

A quick inventory of my carry-on bag found only four items that matched the "banned" criteria: Lip gloss, a Tide-to-Go stick, hairspray and hand lotion.

I threw the items into one of the pockets in my garment bag (which I planned to check) and prepared to breeze through security.

Until they informed me that I couldn't take my morning cup of joe.

Hairspray, liquid eyeliner and shampoo are one thing, but confiscating a working mom's coffee? That's just cruel.

As if I needed another reason to hate Bin Laden.