This question came to me last night while I was scrubbing the house top to bottom in anticipation of holiday guests:

What is the one thing that you do (besides cake decorating) just for yourself?

For example: I make sure that I have a relaxing bath with a good book every evening before I go to bed. We renovated our bathroom 2 years ago and I had a old-fashioned clawfoot tub installed. No one uses that tub but me. I don't think my husband has even asked to!!!

I work with children so I need some alone time and the only thing right now is serf the net- take walks alone -read books or even to exercise is alone time to me!!

Hmmmmmmm alone time? My hubby works nights/sleeps days and we have 4 children between us so its very hard to have alone time... I keep thinking I need to do it but making the time is very hard to do, oh well, at least I have CC...

Another vote for alone time!

Design...work in...and enjoy my flower gardens and yard. I LOVE IT! And I dream up reasons to have people over for "GATHERINGS"...and I serve 'em CAKE! lololol I have an annual (3 years running) tea party for little girls...and I serve them dinner and photograph them in the garden in their fancy dresses with their dolls.....

I pray for alone time... when it comes I'm in heaven! : )

I like to make jewelry too, but neither that nor cake decorating is very relaxing with my little ones afoot, but it's still fun!

read a good book...take a bubble bath (usually late at nite after the kiddos are in bed)...sleep/nap...mini at-home pedicures for me and my girls (the girls have a routine down - they bring in a pillow, plop down on the floor and wiggle their toes to get manicured & pedicured!)

I post on these boards! lol!

I also take dance classes each week. Tap and jazz classes. Not only do I love it--it counts as exercise (quite a bit, too!!)

Lisa

Good question. I lOVE magazines. I ask for subscriptions every year at Christmas so that I can have 4 or 5 delivered monthly. I get in the bath at night and I am in heaven! My new favorite is Real Simple. I like to dream about being organized and living a simple life, as if!

Yoga ... it's alone time and so fabulous for my general well being... I deal with stress SO much better!

Bellydancing ... just because I am terribly shy and hate any sort of performing ... it forces me outside my comfort zone!

Read ... anything and everything!

Sudoku puzzles ... Japanese logic puzzles which are a lot of fun

Note: I don't get to do them all at any given time, but I try to get in at least 2 in any given week!

Gardening. Both flowers and vegetables. I love just being outside with nature. Of course now that is is fall I can just think about it until spring.

Yoga ... it's alone time and so fabulous for my general well being... I deal with stress SO much better!

Bellydancing ... just because I am terribly shy and hate any sort of performing ... it forces me outside my comfort zone!

Read ... anything and everything!

Sudoku puzzles ... Japanese logic puzzles which are a lot of fun

Note: I don't get to do them all at any given time, but I try to get in at least 2 in any given week!

After my daughter goes to bed and before I turn in, I like to lay in bed with a good game in my gameboy and watch LOST!

Going to the gym...LOVE LOVE LOVE that alone time...

I like to do crafts or reading.

My secret vice is people magazine or worse yet star or the enquirer. They are such trash but I love to vegge out and read them after the little one is in bed!

Girls Night Out!!!! We make it a point to have GNO every month. Dinner, Movies, shopping, drinks, whatever......
I don't know what I would do without my girlfriends!

Oh gilson, I have a claw foot tub, too! Circa 1900, cast iron with dragon claw feet. I had it refinished in hunter green and ivory. I LOVE it! There's nothing like sinking down in that tub after a hard day with some lavender bubbles and a good book.

I like doing all kinds of cooking, I'm always inventing recipes, but I guess that's not all for myself, since I'm doing it to feed my family

My main hobby at this point is scrapbooking. Before the hurricane hit, I was having scrapbooking get togethers at my house, sometimes 2 or 3 times a week. I had taught 5 girls from my church to scrapbook, so I had a couple different groups and we'd get together usually one weekday and one weekend evening and work on our books for several hours. I love it because it's practical, making beautiful memory books for my children, and it is an art, a channel for my creativity.

Melissa

Hey Melissa-a bit OT-how are you doing since the hurricane? We were in New Orleans. Is that where you were too? We are in FL now and won't be moving back since my dh got into school here!

I also forgot to add I really like to crochet which is relaxing but I never seem to get to make anything for myself!! I am afraid to start scrapbooking-there are just so many choices. I would buy waaaay too much!!

I just started a scrapbook for my eldest son. It's going to be a graduation present. When did he get so old!!!! I'm having everyone in our family write him a letter -- sort of, you mean so much to me & etc. I'm really pleased with how it's all coming out. You are right, dodibug, there are too many choices. He was a football player since 7th grade and the last two years were spent on varsity so I have a lot of that type stuff in there. There is so much you can buy to match what you are doing. I love it. My husband has promised the other 3 kids that they will get the same thing. I don't think he realizes how much work it actually is. Everytime I look through it to review what I've done -- I start crying. Of course my dh says that I've been crying since July anyway. This has been tough, getting used to Josh graduating and all.

My little man just turned one and it was too much. The time just went so quickly!!

Tomorrow your son will be 18!!!! At least that's what it feels like! I still have 3 other ones, but the oldest is always the toughest.

I work on my master plan to take over the world. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!!!!

alone time? time for yourself? whats that?

I dont get time to myself, and havent for 14 years. I thought with my youngest going to school I would have me time and I dont..... I count campbells soup labels and boxtops for the school... I am the chairperson for the "birthday table" at the school, I am room mom for my youngest and my middle son, I am on here, and another forum for those little times that I do get, and to top it off, my hubby is leaving for 4 months in 25 days, and when he gets back we will be moving again, to our retirement area wherever that is....so I imagine I wont see any me time for a while longer.... but I love all those "me time" things you all do!

I also love to read, work out and my Saturday afternoons are totally devoted to our weekly adoptions at the animal rescue shelter I'm a volunteer at. Icould have a bad week and holding a puppy or playing with "our babies" will de-stress me.

I love to hunt, read, write songs and poetry, fish, do woodworking, sail.

.......My wife has a sign on the wall....says "this marriage on hold till after hunting season."