Ways to relax and recharge your batteries

Greetings from not-so-sunny Florida. It’s a good thing I arrived on Sunday morning to enjoy two gorgeous days, because I woke up this morning to grey skies and rain.

I’m heading back to San Francisco this afternoon, so this was in fact a very short trip.

But it was good one. I think this view from an evening boat ride I took with my parents sums it up …

Visiting family is important

I’ve always been someone who visits their parent’s house in Southwest Florida a lot. Now that I live in California, it’s certainly more difficult, and the trips are fewer, but usually a bit longer. When I lived in Orlando, I would come home for a weekend nearly every other month, and in between that my Mom would come up to see me for a day of lunch and shopping. These days, we have to plan our trips further in advance, because one of us will be flying across the country. Even though it’s not ideal, we’re making it work for now.

That being said, I always “recharge” when I come home (outside of my very busy whirlwind Christmas trip, during which I spent way too much time in the car going from city-to-city to see friends).

Favorites things to do to relax

Here is my list of must-dos when I am recharging my batteries and relaxing at home:

• Get a manicure and a pedicure
• Eat a lot of fresh fruit, veggies, fish, meats and my Mom’s delicious home-cooked meals
• Indulge in some of my favorite desserts (hopefully just one serving each night, but sometimes a little more than that because I give myself free reign during these visits)
• Sit at the kitchen counter with a glass of wine while my Mom cooks and talk about life
• Sleep more than eight hours a night
• Go on a relaxing boat ride in the canals behind my parent’s house (view shown above)
• Visit TJMaxx, Marshall’s or my favorite local store, Dillards, and pick up a new top
• Go through the entire day without wearing any makeup, doing my hair, or changing out of gym clothes or pajamas
• Take a long walk outside
• Soak up some vitamin D and spend time in the sun

And there you have it, these are the things I like to do every trip. In just two days and two nights, I did almost every single one of those items above and then some.

Here’s a look at some of the excellent meals …

LUNCH: A salad made with mixed lettuces, beets, chickpeas, black olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, artichokes and champagne vinaigrette dressing with a side of shrimp cocktail.

DINNER: Sauteed collared greens, blackened salmon and roasted butternut squash.

So colorful and tasty and just the tip of the iceberg of what we dined on the past couple of days.

Other ways to recharge

If you need to recharge and don’t have a getaway planned, you could just take an afternoon or a day to find your center at your own home. Some other ways to relax include:

• Get a massage
• Make a list of all the places you want to visit and trips you want to take
• Take a whole day off from social media or the Internet/computer
• Spend time in the kitchen trying out a new recipe
• Lay on your couch for several hours and call old friends to reconnect
• Write a letter to someone you haven’t seen in forever
• Start a journal
• Come up with a list of personal goals for your year and ways to reach them

You could also pull from the items I listed for myself. But of course, some of them are tailored to Southwest Florida and I don’t think there’s room for too many on my parent’s boat.

Mostly play, but a little work

While home, I also spent time practicing and learning the new Les Mills BODYPUMP and BODYATTACK releases that I will need to debut very soon at my gyms in San Francisco. And I studied for my NESTA personal training exam, since my intensive workshop and exam is coming up this weekend.

Although I’d love to stay for much longer, I have to get back to the City. Tomorrow morning will come quickly when my alarm goes off at 5:45 a.m. to teach an early BODYPUMP class.

You could call me a jetsetter, but if you saw the outfit I’m wearing to the airport, you may change your mind. (Comfort is key, my friends.)

Questions of the day

How do you recharge? Do you visit family often?