Been home a week and a half

I totally forgot to post my results while I was out there!!! What was I thinking??? OK 14.2 lbs lost in one month. Down 3% in body fat, lost 8 inches total, and two dress sizes!!!! Off all my diabetic meds ($350 a month!), have so much energy and everyone is telling me how amazing I look now. Wow Fitness Ridge is so worth it. You make think it's expensive, but what price can you put on your health!!!

Monday - Day 28 Flying Home:)

Ugh...airplanes. I should have seen this one coming. So I had that steak for my birthday and it was sitting on my ankles like a saltblock. I had two flights today and both of them were about an hour late. Arrived at Charlotte and couldn't wait to see my little men. It was 10:35 pm and I was dead tired. I came down the escalator and there they were. They were all dressed up and Steve had a bouquet of white carnations for me (our flower). He had the car detailed too. It was so good to see all three of them. I love them so much and can't believe I'm finally home. I want to thank everyone who has supported me through this whole adventure. Thank you for your cards, emails, phone calls and love. I will continue to post on here every now and then. Well I'm off to live the adventures I couldn't six months ago. Wish me luck, I'm going in. Next stop...the Zip Line:)

Sunday - Day 27 Leaving the Ridge and Over Night in Vegas!

Tiffany and I just before I headed out for Vegas. Really gonna miss my Tiff!

This is what $49 a night will get you in Vegas. Pretty poshy.

Evening in Vegas at New York, New York.

Paris, well the little one in Vegas.

And of course, flamingo at the Flamingo.

Ahhh, Venice...the pic on the left is indoors!!! Only in Vegas.

This dude made a fortune in tips. Look at the bills on his railing!

Treasure Island. The boys would have loved this one.

This is Maria, my wonderful housekeeping woman! Love you Maria!

I am excited to finally be leaving, but somehow I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog's Day. Everyday I was here I would wake up and the same alarm would be going off, the same almond snack would be waiting, and the same vans would be loaded for hikes. This morning I have arrived. I woke up, ate breakfast, and finished packing. Maria came by to see me and wish me luck and I headed down to the lobby with my luggage. I would be on the shuttle and headed to Vegas. It felt good. I actually felt like I had been here long enough to make a real difference. I also knew it was my birthday and I was hoping for a fun day in Vegas. Maybe it wouldn't be too hot.

Saturday - Day 26

Here's the pic you have all been waiting for. I felt like I was getting ready for the prom when I went to my graduation.

Randi, Ron and I at Kayenta Art Community. We had a great lunch.

Shrimp Caesar Salad with the dressing on the side.

Here I am at the graduation party.

My birthday meal of chicken and rice.

It was pretty cool to graduate and celebrate my birthday at the same time.

My yummy birthday 'cake'.

Stephanie's last night too:)

My South African friend, Bridget.

Jenn and I were the Zumba queens!

Singin the night away!!

My last breakfast at the Ridge.

Gina will continue the journey without me.

My bestie Randi. Gonna miss my hiking buddy so much!!!

Connie and I just before I left.

The beauty of the red canyons will be missed.

The last hangin on a rock canyon photo.

Ancient Indians knew how to party!

Santa Clara River Basin

Our group in the Hippo

More from the Santa Clara.







































Our last hike. I will really miss getting all this fun!!!

I love this view.

Friday - Day 25

Thursday - Day 24

Wednesday - Day 23

Tuesday - Day 22 Only five more days left!!!

The hike is called Central Park...A walk in the park IT IS NOT!!! Lots of sand at first then, lots of climbing sandstone mountains (which I love). This is my second favorite pic I have had taken out here. I climbed up that rock like I owned that bad boy! We have a great group for hiking this week. Randi (in the black up front) Sean (on the bottom right - who is here for 19 weeks) and Mary (in the blue up front) and I were together today. The other guys were off at the gun and a mountain ahead of us at every turn. It was actually pretty comical because we would climb a mountain and they would yell at us from the next mountain over. Randi would say, "How did they get over there?" and we would say, "How do you climb a mountain?" "ONE STEP AT A TIME", everyone would yell at the same time. This was Randi's first week, but she said she loves hiking with us. And we love her too:)

Terrilynn (second from left) was a little nervous to be in the Advanced A group but these three girls are all new and in her group so I introduced her to them this morning and told them if they needed anything Terrilynn was the expert. They all seemed to hit it off like a charm.

Randi, Me, and Mary. Quite a view.

Here's what I mean about the other group being on the next mountain. That's how far off they were each time. We did that about four times.

Mary and Sean lining up to do the 'handicap ramp'

Beautiful view of Snow Canyon from the cliff.

Me at the top. Another sucessful hike:)

We were laughing so hard we couldn't figure out what to do, about that time Randi dropped her camera case off the cliff, but Kai the hiking guide went all the way down to get it.

This is called 'Indiana Jones'. It's a long rock wall that goes up at least 12 feet on each side and you only have about 15 inches clearance. There was even a dead mouse near the end. It was very much like the movie except no snakes LOL!

One of my favorite hiking guides, Kelli. Fellow cougars unite!!!! She makes the greatest animal noises ever. The spider monkey sounds totally authentic. Love you and will miss you Kelli *smooches*

Breakfast was a banana smoothie but since you only get 8 oz and an English muffin, I chose...of course, the eggs and toast. They were out of the green chili sauce Urg... This is squash soup.

Turkey sloppy joe, Who knew...right? Better than the original by a long shot. The salad is with apples and blueberries and a strawberry vinegrette.

Chicken on mashed sweet potatos with carrots and brussel sprouts. I was hungry from three hours in the pool, so I had the additional salad.

Oh, my love:)

What a long day. Loved the hike. It's called Central Park, but let me tell ya, a walk in the park it ain't!!! Lots of ups and downs and lots of hanging our butts out over rocks that weren't meant for that! Did stretch and pool and then three pools for the afternoon. I'm trying to baby my knee so it will feel good for the hikes this week. Also the pool is way better for working out the arms. I have met so many new and wonderful people. Randi and her dad are going to Coyote Gulch, and art community close to here, on Saturday and told me I could ride along. I'm looking forward to going. Gosh it seems like I just got here. Where has the time gone? I will be so glad to get home, but so sad to miss all the great people here at Fitness Ridge. Some of the trainers are finished for the week and we already said our good byes. I hope I will get to come back again. I think this place becomes a part of you.

Monday - Day 21

This was the most amazing chili. It had perfect spices and four different beans in it. There was ground turkey instead of beef. OK so we NEVER have beef here! The cornbread was equally delightful. It had onion, multi colored bell peppers, and craisins.

For lunch we had vegetable soup, a repeat and our entree was so yummy I never even thought of taking a pic. Just dove right in!! It was a chicken and green chili sauce on brown rice with a roasted veggie skewer. Of course I loved it - who wouldn't love anything slathered in Chef's green chili sauce!

Bacon egg and cheese McMuffin...OK not really:(

Climbing up Three Ponds Overlook Hike

Me and Isabella taking on the mountain:)

It just kept on going up

We made it to the top. This hike is higher up and more rock scaling than Saddle.

Beautiful view of (I think) West Canyon.

Number one:)

Those rocks were relentless. Kelli our hiking guide.

Taking a break, almost to the top.

This is how high up we were. That road down there is West Canyon and we were at a much higher elevation than Stop Sign, probably by 1,000 feet.

Kelli and Kai checking to make sure they didn't lose any of us!

Loaded on the van and headed back for breakfast.

I thought I had fulfilled all my dreams since coming here, but this morning I remembered there was one more thing I hadn't done that I really wanted to do: Make Advanced hike. So today was our evaluation hike that we get every Monday. Last week we went on an advanced hike but I was so close to the back of the pack that I had to stay in Intermediate A which was fine with me. That was such a hard hike I really didn't see the need of bumping me up. I might just as well reserve my ambulance! But today was different. I felt stronger, lasted longer, and stayed in the top third of the group. We were told they didn't even know where they were going to take us because they were trying out some new hikes. Heh....OK that makes me feel really confident right off the bat!!! So Friday we did Saddle. Remember how I said it was the hardest hike here? Well not anymore. Meet Three Ponds Overlook Hike people! More climbing and elevation than Saddle, more sand than Hidden Pinyon, better views than Volcano View, and just plain out mean and rotten!!! I loved it so much I didn't even mind the sand. I think my body is finally getting use to the climate, elevation, and terrian. Just in time for me to go home:) Oh and so when we got back to the van. I made Advanced B. Woo Hoo!!!

There are some wonderful people out here this week. A big shout out to my blog stalking buddies: Crystal and Debbie!!!! You girls rock and you are goin to have such a blast. It is so fun to get to finally meet them in person since they have been reading my blog from the beginning and we figured out that we would all meet out here my last week.

I came back from the hike, ate breakfast, took stretch and then went to Mountain. I love Mountain. There must be something wrong with my head (note to self, get examination upon return to NC). Got a double shot of Tiffany this morning in stretch and Mountain class. I told her it's my last week and I really need you to push me today. So for the last three minutes of class she was hanging off my treadmill yelling incentives to me. She is so great. I finished the last 6 minutes at the highest elevation (15) starting at 4.0 mph and going up to 5.7 mph for the last three. When you have it on 15 you have to hang on for dear life or you will go flying into the lap of the recumbant bicyclist behind you. Not pretty! I can't wait to see what hikes they have in store for us.

Since it's my last week, I need all the encouragement I can get so pour it on. I'm on my last leg and my last mile and I need to hear the roar of the crowd as I cross the finish line. You, my audience have helped me make it this far. When I thought of quiting, I thought of you and how I would have to tell you I failed. It's not in my nature, I'm ready to play big. Meet me at the end and scream your guts out cause the race gets harder at the end. I can see the Big Stop Sign in the distance. The breezes are blowing and my heart is pounding. Do I have what it takes to pass the competition and break the banner? My lungs are filled to overflowing. I am close to emotional breakthrough. Only 5 more days to go and then I'm home free. Thank you all for taking this journey with me.