After waiting and anticipating for eons, my girlfriends spa weekend finally arrived! One of my best friends and I started an annual getaway last year with a trip to the Napa Valley for a little wine tasting and some major relaxation at a spa. Since that trip was riddled with traffic problems, snooty wineries and thin, scratchy, flannel robes at a hippie spa… this year we opted for something a little closer to home and a little more posh.

We headed to the Ojai Valley on Friday morning for a weekend of healthful eating, exercise and relaxation classes and some pampering. The best part was the all inclusive cost of lodging, meals and classes - and since we shared a room we qualified for a 25% discount! That meant we each got free massages (well…we justified it that way.)

So Friday morning before we left, L.A. Daddy made a point of telling my friend to please help me relax. I’ll admit I’ve been a little more stressed than usual lately. But it freaked m out that he was so adamant. I took on a little too much last fall and assumed things would slow down once the holidays had passed. But somehow I’ve found myself with plans commitments for every single weekend since Halloween. Anyway, I guess the lack of ‘me’ time was really starting to show. And of course I found myself thinking about L.A. Toddler and L.A. Daddy a lot all day Friday. It was really hard to unwind. But I forged ahead - we took a relax & stretch yoga class, jacuzzied, saunaed, ate a tiny but delicious 350 calorie dinner, played a little bingo for fabulous spa prizes (didn’t win!) and finished our first day with 50 minute massages. I slept VERY well Friday night.

Saturday we hiked, shopped a little, aquatoned, got facials and sneaked off-campus for a few drinks and some live entertainment at a local wine bar. We ruined our 1,000 calories but we had successfully left our stresses behind and had really unwound. I slept EVEN BETTER Saturday night.

By Sunday morning we were both in such a relaxed state that we blew off the morning hike in favor of a little more sleep (or maybe it was those drinks.) We finished our spa stay with a yoga class and a strangely filling lunch (only 250 calories.) Then we wandered the local farmers market and brought home some fabulous produce.

I was really refreshed and rejuvenated by the time we were heading home. And I was missing my husband and my child terribly. But I’m committed to taking a getaway weekend at least once a year because I came back yesterday a better wife and mother. We need some time away, we need our girlfriends to lean on and share with and keep us grounded. And we need to reconnect with ourselves.