Spa Day for Mental Health

There's comes a time when you're just about to crack from all the craziness in your daily life. Between a full-time job, grad school schedule, R's schedule (it's football season, so there's always something going on!), church, and oh yeah, pregnancy and the prep for baby's arrival... life is pretty ridiculous. I do love to be busy, but then that point comes where I don't want to be busy anymore.

We looked at our schedules and discovered a Saturday where we had nothing planned. No work, no family plans, no errands that needed to be immediately done... this is rare, and I know it's going to be even more rare when this little one is born. I could have spent the day getting caught up on school work, house work, and whatever other work needed to be, or I could take the day to myself for a change. I swallowed my guilt about not getting work done and decided to do something for myself.

The best way to do that? An at-home spa day!

Here are my necessities for a spa day in my tiny little bathroom:

Spa day essentials ready to go!

1. Good reading material. I like to choose magazines when I'm relaxing. I snagged the October 2013 issue of Real Simple from my library for the insane price of just 10 cents.

2. A warm bath with Epsom salts and bubble bath. I'm definitely feeling the aches that come along with the 25th week of pregnancy. I try to take a warm bath at least once a week to relieve the aches. Adding Epsom salts and bubble bath up the relaxation.

3. Pedicure tools. I treat myself to a professional pedicure maybe once a year. Because I'm a cheapskate, I do my best to do my own pedicures. A pumice stone, exfoliating scrub, nail tools, and sometimes nail polish are all you really need.

4. Eyebrow tools. Again, I'm cheap and don't go to get my eyebrows done. It's been years since I've had them professionally groomed. I learned the basics of keeping my eyebrows in check, and that's sufficient for me. (However, I have an opportunity coming up to get my eyebrows groomed for free [thanks to my sister-in-law], and I think I'll have to take advantage.)

4. Trash TV. While painting my toenails, I like to indulge in trash TV. If it's on Bravo, I'll probably watch it.

5. Chocolate. Does this really need an explanation?

Along with the pampering, I spent the day doing whatever the heck I wanted to do. I stayed in bed 'til 9:30 a.m. I ate a delicious pancake breakfast. I crawled back in to bed to read through the pile of library books I have checked out. I had a slice of pumpkin pie. I may kick myself for putting off some of my responsibilities, but everyone needs a mental health day.

What do you like to do on your mental health days?