What Do You Do for Yourself? - Virginia Beach,VA

I do community theater - actor, crew, stage manager, tech, whatever they need.
Back in October, I ran sound and video for the stage version of Rocky Horror.
Right now, I'm in rehearsal for Amadeus, in which I play two roles.
This summer, I will be crewing for Les Miserables.
Later this year, I will either be performing in or stgae managing Noises Off.

I do needlework.

I go out to hear live music and dance when there's a good band playing at a place with no cover, or cheap cover.

It's not nearly enough I know but what I do for myself is wake up really early before anyone else wakes up....just so I can have some alone time. I drink a cold coffee and try to read or watch the news in peace and quiet before the kids wake up!

I take long road trips alone in the springtime. I am an empty nestor so I have loads of time alone but its something about being on the road for a long stretch that really relaxes me.

one of the nicest things about being in my 50s is that i finally actually DO have some time for myself. and i'm one of those people who desperately needs lots of solitary time, so i'm much nicer than i was when i was harried young mother with 2 kids and 3 jobs!
i putter a lot. sometimes i feel better if i accomplish things, but it generally happens in brief episodes, unlike a focused have-to housecleaning, for example. sometimes i just go outside and wander, not doing anything useful like gardening, just having a word with my favorite trees, seeing if anything's going on at the pond across the lane, stroll down to the canal, groom an old mare. i used to spend every spare minute reading, but i'm a little embarrassed to say that i don't do it as much any more. i'm still an avid reader, but i'm also more likely to fritter away time on facebook or pinterest (or MP!), or wallow in some junk tv (i'm addicted to cooking contest shows like top chef.)
i should put 'running' in here somewhere but even though it's something i totally do for myself and to which i'm dedicated, it still feels like a chore, something i must get out of the way BEFORE i can have me time.
i should put some of this extra free time toward nourishing friendships, but i'm so blissfully content all by my only that i rarely even think to do that. i should work on it, though. a lot of wonderful women whom i cherish have slipped quietly out of my life, so i should be better at making sure the ones i treasure most feel loved. i'm a very lazy friend.
:) khairete
S.

I go to thrift stores once a week (Tuesday mornings) and splurge with $30 that I set aside. It adds up to $120 a month but I don't get my hair done professionally and we do not eat out much so its a tradeoff. I then come home and spray paint, wash or repair whatever I found and it makes the whole D. for me.

Little one is in tow, but its still 'me' time.

I get up early and enjoy the silence.

Go to y while youngest is at preschool, takeout 1x wk, highlights every 3 mos and Book club.

My children are older so I have more time. That said, I still do a lot of things for them and with them. There are weeks where I think I don't have a second to myself, but then it slows down and I can do some things just for me.
I ring handbells. I scrapbook. I crochet. I watch TV. I go to lunch with friends. I answer questions on Mamapedia!
YMMV
LBC

Tennis. I play tennis. Whacking that ball as hard as I can is extremely therapeutic. I can play out all the frustration I sometimes feel.

I also go to acupuncture once a week. It IS for medical reasons, but that 45 minutes when I'm on the warm table and the lights are dim are just the MOST relaxing. I almost fall asleep every time.

I wish I could go get a massage more often.
I wish my attention span was such that I could read a whole magazine in one sitting.
I wish I viewed cooking as a relaxing, fun activity (like my SIL, who is a fabulous cook), so making dinner every night wasn't such a chore.
I wish I could knit or sew or have the time to learn how.

well, in about one hour I'm about to drop $160 to get my hair colored, highlighted and cut. Of course, my husband on the way out the door this morning says, "Be ready to work off that hair job tonight" LOL so I'm thinking this might not be totally for me :-)

In all seriousness, I do spend money to keep my hair done and do excercise 5-6 days a week which makes me feel better. Since all three of my kids are in school, I do get to do a little shopping here and there. I don't spend like crazy but if I see something I like, I get it. Thankfully, my husband has never called me out on anything I do or spend for myself. He tells me often that I'm a good mom and a good wife so I guess he thinks I'm worth it. I'm a blessed woman no doubt :-)

I get up before the kids to have coffee and read the paper. I waste time on the computer. I read. I go to the gym a couple of times a week. Physio and Chiropractor once a month. Massage once in a blue moon. Manicure and pedicure once a year. When the boys were little and I needed time away I took Saturday mornings off. I went to garage sales, shopping, out for breakfast etc. Now that they are older I don't need the time away as much.

i was thinking about this, this morning. the ONLY thing i really do 100% for myself is my hour every morning that i am completely ALONE. most of the time i walk on the treadmill. sometimes i might do a workout video, and occasionally (yes i admit it) i will sit my happy butt at the computer and do NOTHING. but i get that hour every morning. it is my time to relax, to pray, to think - it is the only time my brain and my thoughts are MINE.

i have to get up at 4:30 m-f to get it. but i do it. and that's why. it's the only time that is totally MINE.

Every night I watch some junky show (bachelor, antm, American idol, etc). I subscribe to one magazine (instyle) and read the entire thing the first night. I go out with girlfriends once a week (usually after a PTA or preschool parent/board meeting) for a late happy hour, apps and drinks and girl talk!

Every Friday night is "mommy's night out" - I go out to dinner with my girlfriends or go to a movie. If I choose to stay home - I am invisible to my family. The boys called "boys night in" they get TV dinners and to hang out with Dad...they watch Star Wars the Clone Wars or play D&D.

I get a manicure/pedicure every two weeks as well.

My quilty pleasures:
I live sitting in a hot bath and reading a book or magazine.
I get my nails done every two or three weeks.
I also love to just walk around stores and look around without any kids. Especially re-sale shops.
In the summer, I love to go to garage sales.

I like to read and write. I run 2-3 miles in the mornings after I drop the kids off at school. I get my hair done every 6 weeks. I make sure to make plans with my girlfriends and my mom.

I work.

I'd like to do more scuba diving (I live where there is world class diving close by), but I can't currently fit it in my budget.

my time starts at 7:30 (kids bedtime), so i usually read a book and eat a popsickle.

When I first saw the title I thought "nothing!"
But then I was reading what other people wrote and I guess I take about an hour and a half every day to myself at the gym. I either swim laps or I work out. But I don't think that counts! I am sweating like a farm animal! That's not fun. It's out of necessity. :)
But, fun stuff? I don't. I don't get my hair done. I don't get my nails done. My "V" is done by me. I don't shop for myself. I can't tell you the last time I have bought anything for myself.
WAIT! I lied! Very recently, within the last month, I have had a standing Thursday lunch date with a friend. The baby (2) is still with me, but it's lovely to just chit chat with someone.
There have been times, not many, where I have called my husband at work and said, "When you get home, I am outta here. I am THIS CLOSE to losing my mind!" and then I drive into Seattle and "breathe" with my best friend.
L.

Every weekend, I take a long run, usually 5 miles or so. I try to run and do yoga and strength training during the week, but if that doesn't happen, I always make sure I get my weekend runs in. No one can take those from me!

I also keep myself well-manicured. I try to do so frugally, so for example I get my hair done, but I stretch it out to 10 weeks instead of every 6 or so like most women. I don't get much but a very subtle low or hi light so I can wait longer inbetween cuts and colors. I don't get manis or pedis except in the summer, the rest of the months when no one sees them, I do them myself. Cheaper and gets it done.

I collect My Little Ponies. Paint miniatures. Sleep.

I am so boring. LOL

I try to take some time for myself, if only for the cup of tea I have in the mornings.

Because we are fortunate enough for me to be a SAHM, I have a little more time for 'me' while Kiddo spends his three hours a morning in kindergarten. I like volunteering in the library at his school (this is actually very fulfilling, so it feels like it's for me) and am there two mornings a week; this morning, though, I am going to drop Kiddo off, hustle up to the store, and then home to burn through part of Season 2 of Downton Abbey so I can catch up. (another library volunteer loaned me her copy! :) )

I also love sewing and am making Kiddo and a friend hooded capes as a surprise. I guess that I consider 'me' time anything I enjoy doing--without a lot of interruptions!

(@Suz T: oh, I understand that whole 'talking to your garden' thing. I do that too... I love my plants and have 'relationships' with a few of them.)

As a working mom it is hard to spend time away from my family. When the boys get to be too much, though, I leave them at daycare for my husband to pick up during the weekday evenings. I then sneak off to go grocery shopping or clean the house . It's hardly for me but it clears my head and lets me get a chore done which is otherwise nearly impossible with little ones underfoot. The sense of accomplishment and quiet is blissful. Otherwise, I read a lot. Mostly I read while nursing my littlest one, especially at two a.m. The house is quiet so I can really dig into a good book while he contentedly nurses. I miss cross stitching the most, though. I am looking forward to when they boys are old enough I can resume that activity.

I wake up before anyone else each morning and watch something on Netflix while I use my elliptical machine. Also I read, scrapbook and watch movies/TV shows whenever I get a chance. Much easier to to these things now that my kids are older (8 &5) and can play in their rooms for hours. Also I started a Book Club with friends about a year ago and we meet once a month.

When I am at the end of my rope, I go out and shop. I always have my baby with me though so its not completely a break, but it helps. And then for other times, I just go read magazines, or books, take a walk, go have tea and Starbucks etc.

I rarely take this time though---I would rather i spend my time with my family.