Thanks so much for all your kind emails all week asking if we’re safe from the fires. Fortunately, I was only evacuated one night and the fires only came within 5 miles of our neighborhood in Del Mar Heights.

But it has been a week full of fear and anxiety, horrific stories on the TV, and sadness for all the families who lost so much.

To be truthful, like so many others, I’m struggling to get back to work.

Some thing’s just don’t seem urgent or vital after a major disruption to your life like evacuating because of fire danger.

I just want to sit and count my blessings. I am so grateful I can get back to my home, my hubby and my two kitties.

I’m grateful I don’t have to reconstruct my computer files, that I have all my books next to me, and that I can continue to work this week uninterrupted, almost as if nothing happened.

But something did happen. And we’ll not be the same again. You can’t experience an evacuation like this and not be forever marked by the memory, by the anxiety, by the sadness.

In an effort to get back to "normal," whatever that is, I am reminding myself that I’ve promised you the following blog posts coming up soon:

1. Continue with the Pathway to Profits series about making money with content online
2. Continue posting my notes from Lorrie Morgan Ferrero’s Red Hot Copywriting Workshop
3. Continue updates about our upcoming teleseminar on legal issues and protecting your business’ intellectual property and creative assets

There you go! I know once I put it in writing, I’m committed to doing it…

I’m back home and safe with Hubby and 2 kitties. The skies are back to blue with hazy clouds in the distance. But for 750 1,300 home owners in San Diego, things aren’t so safe or happy.

(photo Sean M Hafffey/San Diego Union-Tribune/Zuma Press) For more photos visit SignOnSanDiego.com.

We got the "reverse 911" call at 9 p.m. last night: an automated voice announced mandatory evacuation for our neighborhood. We’d already packed up a bag of kitty food and essentials, but since the fires were still 8-9 miles away, we didn’t have a clue where to go.

So we went to the beach and sat on a bench with our kitties, Huey and Dewey. At least the air was cooler and not as smoky. We finally got on the I-5 freeway north and went to Hubby’s office in Carlsbad where we slept on the floor with our 2 unhappy boys.

We’re back home now, in spite of the mandatory order. We called a couple of friends who are also staying in their houses until the fires get closer. The wind is died down, at least here, but not where the fires are still raging – inland from us.

Now I understand more about how people get caught in Hurricane regions – you always think it’s safer at home and put off leaving until the last minute.

We’re staying informed by TV and Google earth on the Internet. While Google earth pictures are interesting, we haven’t been able to discern any burning fires. Maybe the pictures are delayed.

As I write this from my home office, I can see blue sky for the first time in 2 days, mixed with soot and smoke. That’s good news, right? That and the fact that the kitties and Hubby are sleeping soundly…