Stress Reliever Ideas

Who has some really good ideas on how to relieve stress? We all deal with just because of the nature of our family dynamics here. Being a step-parent is difficult. Being a step-parent with a difficult ex to deal with on top of the "usual" stepfamily stuff makes it, by far, the single most difficult thing/role I have ever had in my life.

Here are some things that I do:

• I go to the stable and spend time with my horse. She has been such a huge stress release for me the past three years. It's not about riding (which I actually don't do that often), it's just about putting myself into a different situation (at the barn) and spending time loving on this huge animal, pushing thoughts of the daily stresses away, putting my head up right against hers and just breathing her in.
• I lock the bathroom door and soak in a hot bath. It'd be nice if it was a jacuzzi bath, but it's not. Lighting some candles, like WoodWick Candles, which sounds like a fire crackling, makes it all the better. That's assuming the kids can stop pounding on the door for me!
• I write. For years, I went to my stepfamily forum and it was my venting place. I still have it but since blogging, I don't use it near as much as I used to. I have both a private and public stepfamily forum and the private one is safe for me (and my members) to vent all we want without worry about who is reading it and what they think because they understand. Most of the time, like I said, I blog here instead now.