Spa 41

Astute Just Frances readers may know that today is my 41st birthday. And curious readers may wonder how I celebrated the day. So, that’s what this post is all about!

First, you should know that I have a long history of things not going well on my birthday, so I tend to isolate myself on them. Not in a “sit at home and sulk” kind of way, but rather a “no parties; no fuss” kind of way. And that means that I didn’t make plans to spend the day – or even part of the day – with friends.

Instead, I thought I’d treat myself to a spa weekend away. Or maybe just a spa day. Or maybe a luxurious manicure followed by lunch. Which is a theme I’ve enjoyed since my first birthday after Paul died.

Only when I started to look for where I would pamper myself, I found that the spa weekend was out of my budget and all of the day spas and nail bars were booked up.

I suppose that if I wasn’t used to having “bad birthday luck” I would have been upset about this, but I had a backup plan all along, and that’s what I implemented today.

So, how did I spend my day?

I slept in. Then when I awoke, I read in bed for a bit before enjoying a lovely cup of coffee. And then I relaxed with a glass of champagne whilst watching television. And then I enjoyed a feast of crisps and dip, cured meats, cheese, and crackers.

And then… I had a spa day at home. I had a facial, a long soak in a soothing bubble bath, and a salt scrub. And then I moisturised with some lovely body butter my sister, Veronica, made.

And because I know you’re meant to hydrate after a spa day, I topped off the day with lots of yummy, healthy water. (No, really. Just water. We old ladies need that to keep our skin fresh and young-looking.)

There were also various happy birthday messages to respond to via text and Twitter and Viber and Skype and, well, you get the point.

So today starts 41. I’m hoping it’s a great year filled with lots of joy and laughter. But at the very least, I’m sure it will be a year filled with interesting things. And who knows, maybe next year I’ll have better luck in making plans.