Exhale

Last week, I signed up for a full membership at Exhale Mind Body Spa on 2nd Street in Santa Monica. I love to move around and be physically active, but I tend to get bored with gyms and running. I also play tennis, kickbox and golf, but sometimes it's nice to just relax and workout without competing against the time, the ball or someone else.

Exhale offers great yoga and core fusion classes, which is their own unique brand of exercise that combines yoga and pilates. The core fusion instructors kick my ass every time. Each morning after my sessions, I feel like a truck ran over my entire body. That's always a good sign that I had a great workout the day before.

Not only have I been taking full advantage of these classes, but I've also been chilling out at their relaxing spa. I've really become a woman of leisure, and I'm loving it. I return to work next Monday, but I'm not going to think about it just yet.

San Diegans Are Returning Home

My parents were able to return to their home yesterday. The fire didn't reach their home, but mom and dad will be sweeping and wiping up the ashes and debris for the next several days.

San Diego Is On Fire

Yep, I picked the worst time to visit SD. I arrived on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, the whole family had gone out on their outing, but I had to stay behind to catch up on some seriously needed sleep. As I laid there in bed reading, I smelled some smoke that was seeping into the house. At first I thought it was the neighbors' chimney gone awry. Then my eyes started burning, and my breathing became a little strained. Thoroughly annoyed, I left the house with Fashion Valley on my mind.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw the entire sky covered in hazy smoke realized the smoke was coming from a fire much bigger than some neighbor's firepit. When I drove out to Del Mar Heights Blvd, the main stretch of road that connects the 'rents' home to the freeway, I could see dark smoke over the hills and mountains to the east.

Since early this morning, I've been getting phone calls and text messages from all over the world asking if my parents are doing okay in San Diego. I told them my parents are fine, and while the fire has caused me to drastically change my vacation plans in SD, I'm glad I'm here with my mom and dad.

A few hours ago, we packed up our cars with the basic necessities (food, water, a few change of clothes, and treasured photos) and headed out to beachside La Jolla where our friends have a home, safe from the fire.

All of us walked back into the house several times to see what else we could salvage. Frankly, there was nothing else that we couldn't live without. Suddenly, my clothes, bags and shoes didn't seem all that important. I left everything behind - the Louboutins, Chloe bag, Jacobs bag, jacket and tops.

As we each scanned the house one last time before evacuating, all of our material possessions seemed so insignificant and certainly not worth risking anyone's life for.