Hair Help

Time for a haircut.  Actually, it's been time for a haircut for quite a while.  It's been at least two years since I got it cut, and it's gotten pretty long, well past my shoulders. It hasn't been this long since I got married, and even that was so I could wear it up/fancy.  Since then, I've had it either very short (when I was pregnant, I kept it super short so I wouldn't have to worry about it while throwing up), or bobbed to around my earlobes.  The bob looks nice (it really works with my hair type, which is very thick and pretty coarse), but I'm so bored with it I could scream.

I need something new, but I have no ideas what would look good but still be easy to deal with.  I am notoriously bad at fussing with my hair, except on the rare occasions that I go super curly.  That takes an hour and a half with a curling iron or hot rollers, so I don't do it very often, but it's Jeff's favorite, so I'd like to have that option at least.

Here's how it looks now: 

The side ponytail is not my first choice of style, but it has two things going for it:  it's off my neck, and I can do it myself. 

I'm guessing I'll need at least some layers, but not a lot.  And I can't stand that whole "pull the hair forward so it lays along the jaw" thing.  I need to be able to get my hair back, although I think I can deal with bangs.  Maybe side swept?

That's the problem--I have no real ideas beyond vague "I like this, I don't like that." I think it might help my stylist (whom I love) if I could come in with a specific idea of what to do.  Cutting my hair takes forever as it is; I don't need to add half an hour of dithering about what she should be doing to that.

So help!  I need suggestions, links, pictures, celebrity 'do examples, anything! I'm ready for "gorgeous" hair agsin instead of just "long" hair.