Spa Day - woot woot!

One thing my girls complain about the most lately is that I do not do "spa days" with them anymore. So today I decided to try somethings I have seen on pinterest and have a spa day.

Kairah and Kaijah have curly hair that gets very dry and damaged. So I tried the simplest natural (kitchen) hair treatment I found on pinterest (here). All I did was run coconut oil through their hair and wrap with cling wrap. I had them each sit under a "rigged" blow dryer for 15 minutes.

We did all of our other spa plans while they kept the coconut oil in their hair. I painted their nails. I do not do manicures any more because I figure they are old enough to remove polish and trim their own nails. Kairah had me do a design she found on pinterest (here).

Lastly, we "waxed" their eye brows with this sugaring recipe I found on pinterest (here). I used the first recipe. The hardest part for me was finding the perfect temperature to put it on. Either is was too hot or too hard, but we worked through it. Kailah even got in on this action :D .

BTW, I did Charlie's nails yesterday. Are they not just too cute!

The coconut treatment made their hair so soft and Kairah's curls even lay longer than they usually so. So I call that a success! Does anyone else do their own spa days at home?

Maintaining and/or Growing a Friendship on a Budget

One of my goals for 2013 is to maintain and/or grow friendships. I can honestly admit that I am lacking in the know how in this area. So, I got to thinking, how would one do this? I thought about how I have done this in the past. It seemed to me that when I had the best social interactions it involved money. I then thought how could this be? How can friendship cost money? Especially when our average income is down from previous years; but it does not seem to matter. As a society we feel the need to go to restaurants for meals, go to or host home sales parties, go to or host game parties that cost money, be a part of an organization that costs money. It is not just adults that feel this way either. Children are the same.

I remember when I was a child, I forged friendships while playing outside in the neighborhood or at the park. I attended birthday parties that consisted of cake and a home made game of pin-the-tail on the donkey. If we were lucky we had pizza. I have tried to have these types of parties for my children and no one attends, but throw a party at a roller rink, amusement park, or sales business and you will max out in participation. I also fork over money to organizations, sports associations, and dance studios so my children can get some exercise and social skills since all of the other children are at these things instead of playing in the street.

I decided to see how much it cost me when I did these social activities and this is what I came up with:

That is a lot of money. $107 a month and this does not include the activities my children participated in. This has led me to my current search for free or inexpensive ways to have friendships or social interaction. It is an important part of life and I have decided to not let the economic stagnation and/or decline affect it.

I reviewed some blogs that made suggestions on how to maintain friendships in general. Gretchen Rubin started what she calls a "Happiness Project" that as a part of it she suggests ways to maintain friendships. I found these 8 items to be rather useful. Dummies.com also had some useful information. I strongly identified with the debt princess's article about losing friendships when times got tough for her. In contrast I wanted my article to focus on actual activities one could do to maintain or grow friendships without spending a lot of money or how about any money at all. :D

Game Night. You can do this with families or not. It could be a pot luck or just have a few snacks available.

Image courtesy of examiner.com

Movie or TV Show night. This can also be with families or not. The home DVR which quite a few of us have can make this even easier since you do not have to ask friends to come over on a Tuesday, instead record the show and have them over on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon or evening. I used to watch a favorite show with some neighbors (and even my deployed husband would watch over webcam sometimes). It was a blast. We played a game during commercials and had wine or drinks if we could afford them.

Cougar Town - Image courtesy of TBS.com

Potluck, BBQs, Brunches, Lunches or Dinners. This can be inexpensive and seems to be a favorite for most.

Image courtesy of fisherspeakcommunitychurch.org

Start a Group. A book club, play group, scrapbooking group etc. can be inexpensive especially when you can borrow a book from a library, use toys or supplies you already have and are not charging monthly dues.

Image courtesy of internetmonk.com

Go to a Free Outdoor Location. I am lucky to live in Florida where the weather is beautiful most of the time. I enjoy going to the park and beach. All I have to do to make it a group activity is invite some people.

Image courtesy of gotoflorida.net

Long distance friendships are a little tougher to me. Number 5 on Gretchen Rubins list made me feel a little more at ease with this. My long distance friendships are those kinds that I can go years without talking to someone, but call them up when I am in town or out of the blue and we pick up like we just spoke yesterday. Social Media has helped with long distance friendships in my opinion, but cannot replace a good ol' fashioned phone call or meet up. Here are a few ideas for long distance friendships:

Phone Calls. Calling a friend once a week, once a month, once a year or whenever can lift the spirits.

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Letters. With the invention of email, letters have pretty much become non-existent, but wouldn't it be nice to get something other than bills in the mail.

Image courtesy of essay.tv

Skype, Google Plus, Yahoo Messenger etc. There are video conferencing opportunities everywhere now. So not only can you talk to your friend but you can see her new hair cut or her little one playing with blocks in the background. How awesome is that?!

Image courtesy of geeksugar.com

Social Media like Facebook. Social media is great for quick little updates, but does not provide the intimate details (usually) that you would get from a letter or formal conversation.

Image courtesy of wizmarketings.com

I have decided to try all of these. Most of them seem pretty simple. I think I will look for a pen-pal first. That one seems the most interesting and uncommon. Here's to great friendships in 2013!!!

I feel Like the Court Fool

Maybe some of you will understand what I mean by the title, but in case you do not, the court fool was the entertainment for European royalty back in the day. They often juggled and did many other tricks and jokes.

My juggling act begins today. I recently started work/study which is basically working part time for minimum wage. I am also beginning 15 credit hours of school today. This is all on top of my duties as a mom and wife. Mondays and Wednesday are going to be the hardest. These two days will mark the first time in 4 years that I will not see any of my family from early morning until late at night.

I am very nervous about these two days because I AM the home maker and chef in the family. Who is going to ensure that my family has a delicious and nutritious meal. Last night I prepared as much as I could for my husband, so he could easily toss dinner together, but will I be able to keep this up? I know I am going to be tired and stressed. I will probably be a little mad too and feel sorry for myself.

I just keep reminding myself that this is my last semester and I can finally get out in the work force. I also try to be understanding in that I am not the only person being affected by my juggling act. My children and husband will also be affected. My husband will essentially become a single parent once again; juggling the girls' activities and drama. My daughters will be losing their best friend (at least I am that for now :D) and best cheerleader. Everyone will have to adjust.

Speaking of adjust. I find it interesting that things are so difficult at the beginning of change and by the time you are a pro at it something else changes. What is that all about?