How do you spend your weekends?

[bisousx]

I go to nightclubs, dinner with friends, cruise along the beach. Always try to find something fun and glam to do.

[oopsididitagain]

I'm a mother and I don't have relatives nearby and never did make close friends in this city. We just rent DVDs or go drive as a family to some nearby attraction. Some weekends I rack my brains trying to think of something new for us to do that we haven't done before that doesn't cost a lot. I have a couple of glasses of wine in front of the (TV that doesn't have cable) on Saturday night. lol I'm very boring but I enjoy my life.

[karmenzsofia]

Wishing it was Monday already!

[bisousx]

Originally Posted by karmenzsofia

wishing it was monday already!

lol

[onegirlcreative]

Originally Posted by ami kio

This sounds like a good thread subject. Go for it! One interesting thing that my retired mother does is volunteer for festivals (e.g. she helps set up tables at a wine tasting event) so that she can get free admission. It gives her something to do, and she gets to attend some normally expensive events for free. I think that she finds out about these things via the city's Chamber of Commerce.

i agree. every summer in our town, there are always local events and festivals like this and we truly enjoy them. a few years ago, a friend of mine and myself volunteered to pour beer at our local brew fest (we live in a town that has the highest micro-breweries per capita) and not only did we get in for free, but we got to drink the delicious beer for free, as well. lol

[onegirlcreative]

Originally Posted by oopsididitagain

I'm a mother and I don't have relatives nearby and never did make close friends in this city. We just rent DVDs or go drive as a family to some nearby attraction. Some weekends I rack my brains trying to think of something new for us to do that we haven't done before that doesn't cost a lot. I have a couple of glasses of wine in front of the (TV that doesn't have cable) on Saturday night. lol I'm very boring but I enjoy my life.

sounds like my life, as well. nothing wrong with that.

as much as i enjoy hearing from members who are single and/or childless, i would love to read what mothers/families do on the weekends, as well. am i the only mother who has to run back and forth to soccer games, track meets, tennis matches, etc.?

[RWolfeOH]

No, you definitely aren't the only one. Every weekend is spent at some sort of sporting event that my kids are playing in....it's football and cheerleading at the moment. Our weekends definitely revolve around the kiddos, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

[coach4me]

Originally Posted by RWolfeOH

No, you definitely aren't the only one. Every weekend is spent at some sort of sporting event that my kids are playing in....it's football and cheerleading at the moment. Our weekends definitely revolve around the kiddos, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Oh certainly not! I used to have to take DD to dance class every saturday (her class has since moved to during the week!) and until last year, DSS always had soccer, or football, or both!

there is always something kid related... lot of little kid birthday parties on Saturday... and we often go to movies as a family, or when it's just me, DH and DD, we take her to the children's museum, or something like that. We also do a lot of out door festivals this time of year on the weekends now that the weather is cooler. DH often volunteers to do set up to get free entry.

[PANda_USC]

Two weekends out of the month, I see the boyfriend. I drive to L.A., or he flies up to San Francisco. We cook together, watch movies, play video games, walk the dog together. It's the best part of my month!

[elizat]

Originally Posted by floridasun8

I love reading these threads because I get to see Im not the only one sitting at home on weekends and I try to get ideas. Keep them coming, and if anyone has any suggestions about what you do in your area without spending money,please also share.

Well, local parks and hiking if you like that. Festivals and fairs too, although those aren't every weekend. Farmers or local markets are nice, but there are none all that close to me. I would love to have one that was within 10-15 minutes, but the closest one is about 35 minutes. Sometimes community colleges offer classes that are really cheap. I have taken art classes for about $40 for 3 months through the non degree seeking and it was fun. Another idea that is not free, but comes out to be reasonable are season passes to a theme park or theatre. I have a season pass to Sea World and if I use it enough, it will break down to less than $7 per visit. I also have season tickets to all the Broadway shows through the local performing arts center- you can do season passes and tickets average to about $10 per show many times. So, not free, but really reasonable for what you are getting. Yard and estate sales are free too- my parents love to do that and even if you buy something, it is probably pretty cheap (well, estate sales maybe not as much). Zoo passes are usually really cheap for a year too. The zoo near me is $50 for an annual pass for singles and families pay $80, I think and free parking. If you go to the zoo once a month in the morning or after lunch, it works out to a really low cost day!

[plain jane doe]

Originally Posted by onegirlcreative

do people on average, enjoy their weekends and do something different every weekend, or is their life in a rut like ours? either way, i'm curious—if at least to get some ideas—to see what you all do on your weekends. does it vary? same old thing? do you travel? hang out with friends? go to a movie? please share.

It has gone in cycles in the past, definitely with some deep ruts. But this summer has been great, we live in a situation somewhat similar to yours in terms of the outdoors. This past weekend SO worked 14 hours on Saturday, but Sunday we took a three-hour drive to enjoy fall in the mountains, took an easy hike, and drove back.

Is your DH not interested in going outside or do you have kids keeping you in? If SO is not available or not interested in going out and I'm bored inside, I take some road music and go for the near scenic drive by myself.

It might be easier to get your DH or yourself out if you sign up for an activity or have a hike or an itinerary in mind so you don't feel like you are just heading out aimlessly? I am usually pretty aimless but I know many people don't like this.

In general we are kind of homebodies. We do like to go out for low-key things (walk, movie, dinner, drink) but have a hard time with inertia. It helps if one of us is really excited about something.

[little LV lover]

Saturday mornings is when the housework gets done. Saturday afternoons are usually when we go grocery shopping/take care of errands. Sundays we set aside as family time. Sometimes we'll have a 'movie nite' at home and other times we just get in the car and go.

We've been here in AZ for 2 years now and still have yet to see the Grand Canyon...lol.

[MichelleD]

Like the vast majority, I too dont do much of anything on a regular basis. I work from home and from some bizarre reason when the weekend hits, I start loosing my mind feeling like I need to leave the house.

So, I watch tv, read, go to the mall,movies, go out to dinner. Nothing special really.

[onegirlcreative]

Originally Posted by elizat

Well, local parks and hiking if you like that. Festivals and fairs too, although those aren't every weekend. Farmers or local markets are nice, but there are none all that close to me. I would love to have one that was within 10-15 minutes, but the closest one is about 35 minutes. Sometimes community colleges offer classes that are really cheap. I have taken art classes for about $40 for 3 months through the non degree seeking and it was fun. Another idea that is not free, but comes out to be reasonable are season passes to a theme park or theatre. I have a season pass to Sea World and if I use it enough, it will break down to less than $7 per visit. I also have season tickets to all the Broadway shows through the local performing arts center- you can do season passes and tickets average to about $10 per show many times. So, not free, but really reasonable for what you are getting. Yard and estate sales are free too- my parents love to do that and even if you buy something, it is probably pretty cheap (well, estate sales maybe not as much). Zoo passes are usually really cheap for a year too. The zoo near me is $50 for an annual pass for singles and families pay $80, I think and free parking. If you go to the zoo once a month in the morning or after lunch, it works out to a really low cost day!

excellent suggestions, elizat. we had a zoo membership for 2 years in a row (which only cost $65/year for the entire family), but unfortunately since it's in denver and an hour away, we rarely went, so it didn't work out for us. i have a membership to the denver art museum which is really cheap—$45/year—but that's just for me. since i'm an artist, i feel as though i'm helping to contribute but once again, it's in denver so i don't ever go. now that i am recently unemployed, i'm planning on heading down next week and to visit my girlfriend who works/live down there as well.

[onegirlcreative]

Originally Posted by plain jane doe

It has gone in cycles in the past, definitely with some deep ruts. But this summer has been great, we live in a situation somewhat similar to yours in terms of the outdoors. This past weekend SO worked 14 hours on Saturday, but Sunday we took a three-hour drive to enjoy fall in the mountains, took an easy hike, and drove back. Is your DH not interested in going outside or do you have kids keeping you in? If SO is not available or not interested in going out and I'm bored inside, I take some road music and go for the near scenic drive by myself. It might be easier to get your DH or yourself out if you sign up for an activity or have a hike or an itinerary in mind so you don't feel like you are just heading out aimlessly? I am usually pretty aimless but I know many people don't like this. In general we are kind of homebodies. We do like to go out for low-key things (walk, movie, dinner, drink) but have a hard time with inertia. It helps if one of us is really excited about something.

this is definitely something i will need to start implementing, because my husband hates it when we go out aimlessly and don't have a plan. me? i'm a gypsy at heart, so i don't necessarily need a plan, but he does. i could drive around for hours without so much of a goal/destination in mind. not my husband. but that's definitely a good idea. maybe plan an activity or something like that. we headed up to estes park a few months ago on a whim and he was totally fine with that and it's a gorgeous drive and relatively close to us (about 45 minutes).