I'm Back !!!!!!

Due to the requests of many people who wanted me to continue blogging, I'm starting again.  In the coming days I'm going to explain why I stopped blogging, apologize to those whose question/emails I never answered (and I feel horrible about), discuss what made me decide to blog again, keep you updated on my Breast Cancer 3-Day training walks and the big walk, and keep you up to the minute on what's going on with me because I'm what inquiring minds WANT to know : ) 

Final Stats

In 4 weeks I lost.... (and don't want to find)

20.4 lbs
3.6% body fat
3.3% BMI
15.5 total inches
     4 inches off chest
     5 inches off belly
     3 inches off hips
     1 inch off calves
     2 inches off arms
     0.5 inches off thighs

I'm going to make a shirt that says "I left my ass in Utah".  I'm going to keep blogging about the rest of my weight loss, so this won't be my last post.

Here is an "after" pic.  This is me singing karaoke with Eric from the Biggest Loser on my last night.  That is one funny fella'!!

Day 28

Goodbye Fitness Ridge.  I'll see ya later.

I just got home from the airport and have to work in the morning, so this will be the shortest post yet.  I'll write tomorrow with my stats, etc.

Day 27

I'm done!  I can't believe this is already over.  It seems like just yesterday I walked in here freaking out.  Today was a very busy day.

I was determined to beat my time on the stop sign hike for my last time.  I always get hot half way up, so I didn't where a sweatshirt, just a t-shirt, and I almost froze to death until I warmed up.  I had on mittens and a headband/ear cover so I'm sure I looked silly.  I pushed so hard on the bottom part that by the time I got to the big incline I didn't think I had anything left.  I ended up shaving another minute and a half off.  So, if I remember correctly, my first hike was 1 hr 32 min and today it was 1 hr 7 min.

After lunch I had a hair appointment to do something with the mess on top of my head.  Between the chlorine, sun, and 2 inches of roots, I was a mess.  I was nervous about getting my hair done by a new person, but figured it couldn't look any worse.  It ended up looking awesome, I love it.  After that I had an appointment for a manicure.

Dinner was nice because I was thinking about my first dinner here and how different I felt.  It was sad though that so many of my friends were already gone, it just didn't seem right.  I was also sad that I've made a few really good friends in just the last couple of days and now have to leave.  After they showed the DVD for the week, they passed the mic around and I was very emotional again.  I didn't think it would be so hard to leave.  Once graduation was over everyone was getting pictures and saying goodbye.  Next, we started karaoke.  No one will believe this, but I actually got up and sang.  I figured, "What the hell!!", I've sure done harder things than that this month.  I got to sing with Erik (Biggest Loser winner) and I laughed most of the time and wasn't able to sing.  He is so funny.  Seth (also from BL) sang a few times and that boy is NOT shy.  Those two are so funny.

Now I'm in my room trying to pack.  I've thrown everything into a pile that needs to be put in my suitcase and just realized the dresser is still full.  I see another over-the-weight-limit fee in my future.

I'm going to have to put off answering the other questions another night.  Sorry, but I can hardly keep my eyes open.

To the gospel choir peeps... "Freedom is coming, oh yes I know!!"  : ) !!!

Tomorrow is my check out (weigh in).  I'm so nervous, but so excited too.  I'll post my results tomorrow night.  Keep your fingers crossed.  I'll also post some pictures after I see my family.  I want them to see me first.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Freedom

Breakfast - Fruit parfait
Lunch - Tacos
Dinner - Chicken and rice
Dessert - Chocolate covered banana

Calories Consumed - 1200
Calories Burned - 3798
Calorie Deficit - 2598
Steps Walked - 20,068

Day 26

This is going to be a short one because nothing much happened today and I am BEAT!  I've got to get to bed at a decent time so I can beat my time tomorrow.

I did the stop sign hike again, but I only walked to mini, my legs just wouldn't move.  After that we had stretch class and then after lunch 2 of my favorite people here, Dirk and Jim, left.  I got to meet their wives and say goodbye to them, so that was good.  The afternoon classes just weren't the same without them, and the hike tomorrow will definitely not be the same with them gone.

Cardio disco jam class was FUN today.  All the guys were in it, Seth, Erik, Doug, and Ephriam.  At the end, John had just the boys dancing and it was HILARIOUS.  Some people recorded it, so when I get a copy I'll post it.

After dinner, some of us just hung out, saying how we can't believe its already over.  I can't believe tomorrow is my last day!

When I post tomorrow night, I'll answer the questions about blisters, and the questions about what to bring and stuff.  I can hardly keep my eyes open.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Stretch
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:45 pm - Lecture (increase your income *calorie bank*)
2:30 pm - Total toning
3:30 pm - Cardio disco jam
4:30 pm - Pool
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Cereal
Lunch - Potato and broccoli soup, Sloppy Joe's
Dinner - Salmon burger
Dessert - Lemon pie

Calories Consumed - 1200
Calories Burned - 3581
Calorie Deficit - 2381
Steps Walked - 22,709

Day 25

Today went by fast, fast, fast.

I went on the stop sign hike today, trying to burn more calories. I walked up to mini with Mike and Erik, and Mike kept going while Erik and I walked back down. I waited for the rest of the group that I always walk back to campus with. That might have been the last time I take that walk back with that group and I'm a little sad about it. Today was also the last treading and ball works class I'll have.

During open gym today, I worked in the pool. I had the WHOLE thing to myself and it was great. But then went right into swim class. Treading was a great workout as usual and ball works was a killer, with John, as usual. After dinner we had a lecture about meal planning once we're home. That was pretty interesting.

I had two more "made my day" moments today. First, one of the guys that has been here the same amount of time as me came up and sat with me and told me that I have lost a "shit load" of weight. I asked "really?". And he said yes, he can totally tell. YAY! The second was while I was getting on a bike for treading class, the girl next to me said "Oh no Sara, don't make me look bad... you go so fast"!!! I just can't get over the stuff people are saying to me :) I also got up to 118 rpm's on level 8.

Tomorrow is the last full day... I'm sad.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Walk back
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:45 pm - Open gym, swimming
2:30 pm - Pool
3:30 pm - Treading
4:30 pm - Ball works
5:30 pm - Dinner
6:30 pm - Lecture - Meal planning

Breakfast - Fruit smoothie, Fruit, English muffin
Lunch - Mushroom soup, Turkey sandwich
Dinner - Stuffed peppers
Dessert - Fruit skewers

Calories Consumed - 1200
Calories Burned - 4417
Calorie Deficit - 3217
Steps Walked - 28,243

Day 24

Today we had really nasty rainy weather, again.  Also, my feet were a mess.  Open blisters, and soreness, and shin splints.  So I decided to not do the hike and just do open gym.  Since so many people did the gym because of the rain, they made it into a class and it whooped us.  We did something like a half hour of mountain (we also did later), half hour of intervals, half hour of weight circuits, and half hour of abs/legs/stretch.  It was brutal, but worth it.

Today was the usual tough Wednesday with Kickboxing AND Mountain.  We didn't have to do pool if we didn't want to because of the weather, but I did.  There were only about 6 or 8 of us in the pool.  It was nice.

We had another field trip today.  Paige, the Program Director took us to the grocery store to teach us how to shop the perimeter of a store and only go down an aisle is you need something from that aisle.  She showed us how to just shop for a couple days.  Healthy people only buy enough for a meal or two.  She said it is NOT a good idea to make a 4 serving meal and say you'll heat up the rest for lunch because realistically you'll eat another serving that night.  Use the butcher and get exact portions for just one or two meals.  Use prepackaged veggies and fruit.  She showed us how all butters are bad, even the ones that seem good.  She said butter is butter is butter.  Same with sausage, its sausage, it still has salt and fat in it.  She showed us different breads that say all the right things in their title but then the bread is 100 per slice.  That's 200 calories before you even put anything on it.  Then she showed us better bread that is 80 calories for BOTH slices.  So she proved you have to read the labels.

We had our yummy cafe salad today.  It just looks like a bowl with a tortilla in it as a bowl filled with lettuce, but hidden inside is tomato stuff, guac, black beans, chicken, rice.... its SO good.

Then we went to Target. I had to get my weekly $50 in blister paraphernalia.

Unfortunately my daily calories DOES include my resting rate, but still, I'm happy with it.

I had no interaction with the stop sign today because I didn't go on the hike. If I do that hike tomorrow, I'm sure we'll have some things to discuss.

So many people have been telling me to keep blogging after I leave. I think my boring life of working from home would not be very entertaining. I guess I could keep blogging about the rest of my weight loss journey.

7:00 am - Breakfast

8:00 am - Open gym

11:15 am - Circuit

12:30 pm - Lunch

1:30 pm - Shipping trip

2:30 pm - Mountain

3:30 pm - Pool

4:30 pm - Kick boxing

5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Cereal

Lunch - Beet soup,  BBQ chicken pizza

Dinner - Cafe salad

Dessert - Coconut sorbet

Calories Consumed - 1097

Calories Burned - 3943

Calorie Deficit - 2846

Steps Walked - 10,920

Day 23

I am so exhausted today.  I think I did too much yesterday, not to mention I have another blister and it's a nasty one this time.  If my feet don't feel a lot better tomorrow, I might not hike and might spend the whole day in the gym or the pool.  We'll see.

Today I did the West Canyon hike which is a gravel road that runs parrellell to stop sign, and is longer, but has very little incline.  Then a big group of us walked all the way back to the ridge again.  All of us were dragging and all of our feet were killing us.

I have two more "made my day" moments.  The first happened yesterday on the stop sign hike.  When I was almost to the top, making great time, coming in right behind the fast ones, a guide ran by and high-fived me and said something like "Yea Sara...doing great...very close...as usual!!!"  Yay.  And then the other happened tonight.  There is a new person here this week that has been following my blog.  We finally got to meet tonight and she said she didn't even recognize me from my pic on here because my face has gotten so much skinnier and stuff.  WHOOO-HHOOO.

MBL - Tuesday in the enclave would be lovely.  I rather not do Monday since I'll be getting in at about midnight and be jet lagging and stuff.  I'll still work though.

I do the stop sign hike about 4 times a week, including the 2 official ones.  I usually always walk back from them.  The other hikes I've been on are Anostagi (sp?) Ridge, that one was cool with pretagraphs, Chuckawalla, that one can get hilly, but its a good hike, West Canyon, which is just a very basic hike, and Fern Gully which was such a hard hike but the most rewarding, it was so pretty.  I haven't done any other of the advanced hikes, so there are a lot I can't tell you about.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Walk back
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:30 pm - Lecture on mastering going home
2:30 pm - Pool
3:30 pm - Cardio intervals
4:30 pm - Body toning
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Cereal
Lunch - Tomato soup, and Tomato sandwhich
Dinner - Ostrich stew... you heard that right. Ostrich!!!!
Dessert - Chocolate dipped strawberries

Calories Consumed - 1150
Calories Burned - 4383
Calorie Deficit - 3233
Steps Walked - 30,976

Day 22

This was the conversation I had with the stop sign this morning.

Stop Sign: Can I help you?
Me: Yes, I need your name.
Stop Sign: My name is Stop Sign, why do you ask?
Me: Because apparently I am kicking ass and taking names. Last week I kicked your ass, so this week I need your name.
Stop Sign then pouted and walked away

I beat my time by 7 more minutes today!!!! My time was 1 hr and 09 min. I ain't 'fraid of no stop sign. Then I walked all the way back to campus from there again.

So today was my last Monday here. I'm kinda sad about that, but also excited. It was another hard day. Blisters, squats, chili and cornbread, oh my!!

I forgot to tell you yesterday that Ephraim Salaam from the Houston Texans football team is here. He and his wife are both very nice. I guess he just got traded from the Lions... that was the best thing to ever happen to him.

We also found out today that the Access Hollywood segment that was filmed today is being saved for "sweeps", so it will air on February 9th.

Since we usually have most of our classes only once a week (kickboxing is Friday, treading is Wednesday, etc.) I am really trying to make the most out of them and tear them up knowing it is most likely my last time in that class. I think you'll see proof of that in my daily stats below : )

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Walk back
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:45 pm - Open gym
2:30 pm - Step n' puke
3:30 pm - Pool
4:30 pm - Circuit
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Yucky Frittata, so I had cereal
Lunch - Chili and cornbread
Dinner - Chicken and potatoes (they were purple)
Dessert - Grilled pineapple

Calories Consumed - 1098
Calories Burned - 4615
Calorie Deficit - 3517 (That equals a pound y'all)!!!
Steps Walked - 32,529 (I'm a stud!!)

Day 21

Today was my day of freedom with my new BFF Mike, who was the first person I met, the self described "snorin' baaastard" (pronounced in the NY accent) when I met him.  After breakfast, I did some laundry and took a little nap.  At 11am the rental car guy was here to pick us up and take us back to the office.  After that we just ran errands and stuff all day.  We went to Coyote Gulch.  They had such cool things.  Mom, you would have loved it.  One of the artists was from Ann Arbor, and you could tell just by looking at her.  We then went to get some prescriptions I needed, found one of those free blood pressure readers to see where we are with our numbers, and just drove around to different places.

After we returned the car we didn't have much time until dinner and introductions for the new guests.  One new guest this week is Ephraim Salaam who previously played for the Lions and now plays for the Houston Texans.  He is huge, and very nice.  His wife is really nice too.  I heard, who knows if its true, that she was a back up dancer or singer or something for Beyonce.

After that, Mike and I went to the gym and did some cardio for a while and watched the game.  Some new people came in and we talked to them for a while.  Then it was time to start folding some laundry and "cleaning my rooom" : )  And now its time to say goodnight.

I rented from Budget at the airport here.  I first called enterprise and they close at about 12 on Saturday and are closed Sunday.  I called Budget and that location was closed Sunday.  I called the Budget at the airport and they were open today.  They do drive out here and pick you up and drive you back to the airport, about 10 minutes away, you sign your papers and then leave.  When you return the car, they bring you back here.  It worked out great!

Laura, I would LOVE to come and work out every day for that week.  Would I be able to every day?  And also take your spinning class?

8:30 am - Breakfast
9:00 am - Laundry
9:30 am - Nap
11:00 am- Freedom
5:30 pm - Dinner/Intros

Breakfast - Cereal
Lunch - Soup, Chicken salad, fruit
Dinner - Baked penne
Dessert - Mint chocolate pie

Calories Consumed - 1200
Calories Burned - 2534
Calorie Deficit - 1334
Steps Walked - 8393 Not many today

Day 20

Day 20.  My favorite number.  The number Mickey Tettleton wore : )

The weather was awful this morning.  There was some snow, and ice, and it was so cold.  By the time we got to the stop sign hike, they told us the last section (from mini stop sign to the end stop sign) was "closed" because of the road/trail.  The beginning part was bad too.  There was black ice everywhere and people were sliding all around.  I was almost to mini stop sign and this huge group was coming towards me with a guide.  They were turning everyone around because that part was even bad.  So, a lot of people walked the 4 miles all the way back to the ridge, including me.  After the hike, I took the circuit class, then we had lunch, and then we were free!!!  I hung out with some people, and then took a nap before dinner and graduation.  After that, a bunch of us went to the movies to see Leap Year.  It was such a cute movie.

I'm renting a car tomorrow and my bff Mike and I are breaking out.  We're going to go to Coyote Gulch, an artist colony (or something like that), go to Walgreens, and go to the UPS store.  I'm excited for freedom.  If I had known it would only cost $29 to rent the car I would have been doing it every weekend. However, I've enjoyed sleeping every Sunday prior to this.  I guess it's a good sign that I don't realllllllyyyyy want to sleep all day tomorrow and I'd rather get out.

Laura, my knee is good, the one that Dr. H gave me the shot in.  But, the other knee is killing me now when I do squats or anything on it.  Not as bad as the other one at least.  It's probably just in shock!

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Walk back and Circuit
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:45 pm - Chit - Chatting
2:30 pm - Nap
5:30 pm - Dinner/Graduation/Movie

Breakfast - Cereal
Lunch - Green chile bisque, Asian chicken wraps
Dinner - Tamale
Dessert - Banana cream pie

Calories Consumed - 1220
Calories Burned - 3774
Calorie Deficit - 2554
Steps Walked - 23,904

Day 19

Today seemed like a quick day.  I was pretty sore from the previous hikes and it rained so much last night, that I did the stop sign hike and then walked the 4 miles back to the ridge instead of riding back and taking an 11am class.

I ate lunch with Erik and Doug.  That was fun, they're really funny.  I even got some tax tips from them.

We had cardio disco jam again today and it was just as fun as last week.  Erik took it too and although he is a tad rhythmically challenged, he gave his all and it was really funny and fun.  I love that class.

I need to cut this short since I have to get up early for my stop sign hike.  I will have more to report tomorrow because I'm going to Coyote Gulch, an artisan community.  So that should be fun.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Walk back
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:45 pm - Lecture - Prep for next week
2:30 pm - Total toning
3:30 pm - Cardio disco jam
4:30 pm - Pool
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Yogurt, granola, fruit parfait
Lunch - Parsnip soup and Chicken caesar salad
Dinner - Turkey burger
Dessert - Chocolate ice cream

Calories Consumed - 1160
Calories Burned - 4267
Calorie Deficit - 3107
Steps Walked - 29,573 (AWESOME!!!!)

Day 18

So, Access Hollywood was here filming Erik and Seth today. It was pretty fun, and cool to see the behind-the-scenes stuff that they do. I sat next to Doug, Erik's brother while they were filming the food segment. We were RIGHT across from Erik, Seth, and the host Maria Menounos. I was right across from her. They filmed from right behind me, so the only part of me that would show in that segment is my head. Doug is super cool though, I'm glad I got to get to know him a little. I was also around when they were filming the guys spinning, I was on the elliptical, so if anything, it will be of the back of me. When they're running on the treadmills, I'm in the background, and that might show me from the front.

The weather is awful here. For a place that they say never rains, it's been pouring all day. I wonder what we'll do for the hikes tomorrow, since it will be so muddy and rainy.

I did the Chuckawalla hike again today. There is a part called Turtle Rock (I think that's the name) and the pic is of Chelsey and myself on said Turtle. That area we were hiking is all protected for the turtles and if you see one, it's good luck. We weren't able to see one though. By the time we got to the van it was freezing and raining, perfect timing. The weather went completely downhill from there.

The pool classes were cancelled today because of the weather, but if we really wanted to brave it, we could do it. I did. There were about 10 of us. There were just too many people crammed into the gym, with a treading class and circuit class going, so I chose the water. Next we had Ball Works with John, once again, he was crazy. For example he makes us hold a squat and when you're just about to collapse, he yells "lower", and if the whole class doesn't get it right, you all start over. It's brutal, but you feel so awesome after. The last class of the day was treading. That was a great cardio workout, as usual.

I had another "made my day" moment today. One of the hiking guides is going to be working within the resort, so like all new employees, she is being put through the program. She is very in-shape. On the way to our hike today we were talking about how hard the "Step n' Puke" class was yesterday with John, discussing the never ending squats. She said she couldn't go any longer or get any lower and when he screamed "lower" she wasn't going to go down. Then, she said she saw me go down about 5 more inches and thought she had to do it too then. How SWEET is that? Someone THAT in shape did something because I did!?!?!?

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Circuit
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:45 pm - Open gym
2:30 pm - Pool
3:30 pm - Ball works
4:30 pm - Treading
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Egg sandwich
Lunch - Greek pita
Dinner - Stuff chicken and Rice
Dessert - Peach cobbler

Calories Consumed - 1086
Calories Burned - 3746
Calorie Deficit - 2660
Steps Walked - 21,238

Day 17

I had a diet Pepsi today!!!  It was so delicious!  A group of us that are in our third week were taken out to lunch, in a "real world" environment, with the program director.  We went to Quizno's.  I got the beef, bacon, and cheddar torpedo because it sounded so "bad" but was only 385 calories.  It was very good.  Paige said we could have a diet pop if we wanted to because that is what will likely happen in the real world.  So I got the diet Pepsi and it was like drops of fizz from heaven.  I will likely dream of it tonight.

While I was stretching at a bike in the gym getting ready for our mountain class, one of the new people for this week came up to me and said "You never change, do you?".  I had no idea what he meant, so I said "what?".  He then said something like "You're just always going and hard core and kicking ass in every class!".  I was SO excited.  No on has ever told me that I was one of "those people" in a work out or a class.  It really made me feel like I'm working as hard as I think I am, because others are noticing it.  So, that made my day.

We had step 'n pump (aka step 'n puke) with John today.  He is just insane in those classes.  My entire shirt was soaked and I really did feel like I was going to throw up at one point, but he just doesn't even stop for that.  But thats what I'm here for, a whoopin', and he's good at it.

I went on another hike today and it was AWESOME.  We went to "Fern Gully" and it was beautiful.  We had to walk through about a mile and a half of sand which was exhausting, and then we climbs and scaled rocks to get to the top.  Next we got over and went down the other side of get to this Fern Gully and since it's been raining here there was a bit of a waterfall, which made a little stream we had to hike through.  When we got to the place we were working toward, it was so worth it.  It was amazing.  It was just this small area where two big high up pieces of the mountains create this secret kind of location where the water runs down and forms a pool.  It seemed like we were on a tour of the tropics in Hawaii or something, not Utah.  It was a very hard hike though.  Had I known there would be 3 miles round trip of sand to walk through, I probably would have said no.  But I'm glad I did get to see it.  I hope you can tell what I've talked about when you look at the pics.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Pool
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:45 pm - Open gym
2:30 pm - Mountain
3:30 pm - Pool
4:30 pm - Step 'n puke
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Cereal with Almond milk
Lunch - Quizno's
Dinner - Salmon and orzo
Dessert - Fruit skewer

Calories Consumed - 1200ish
Calories Burned - 3941
Calorie Deficit - 2741
Steps Walked - 15,934

Day 16

The big news... Access Hollywood is going to be here this week to do a piece on Seth and Erik. I guess there is a chance I might be on TV?!?!?

Some advice for those that have plans to come to the ridge. Although this is a place where you assume everyone wants to be here and will be positive and upbeat, it just isn't realistic. The negativity and complaining can be contagious if you let it because you're sore and tired and it can be easy to join in.  I'm almost to my breaking point with it.  You really have to work hard to keep your distance from those people. You're here to do your own thing and just because someone else complains constantly doesn't mean to have to agree, or even listen to it. Just say no!! : )

Oh, I went on my first non-stop-sign-or-101 hike today.  I did the intermediate hike and we went to Chuckawalla. (See pics) The view was really pretty and the sun finally came out. I got right to the edge of the drop off and was pretty scared, but I wanted a picture of it. The hike was hard though, ups and downs, soft sand, rocks, etc. It did a number on my feet, again, but I'm glad I went. I think I'll try another intermediate hike tomorrow, to another place, depending on how my feet feel in the morning.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Stretch
12:30 pm - Pool
1:45 pm - Open gym
2:30 pm - Pool
3:30 pm - Cardio circuit
4:30 pm - Total body sculpt
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Muffin (I think apple) and fruit
Lunch - Tomato soup and Lettuce wraps
Dinner - Shepard's pie
Dessert - Chocolate Strawberries

Calories Consumed - 1156
Calories Burned - 3934
Calorie Deficit - 2778
Steps Walked - 18,576

Day 15

It was so cold and rainy here today.  We had the timed stop sign hike again today and I was so hot, from the humidity, that I took my sweatshirt, etc., off half way up.  By the time I got to the top I thought I was going to pass out because I was so cold and wet.  I don't think I warmed up until late afternoon.  On the bright side of that, I beat my time on the hike by another 2 min 30 sec.  Whoo-hoo.

It was strange to have pool class in the freezing rain today, but that doesn't stop this place!  It was warm in the heated pool but getting out was frigid.

I finally got to see Erik Chopin today.  I believe he's here with his brother.  Erik is even cuter in person than on tv with his cute smile and he is so nice.  He looks really good and I'm sure he'll get to his goal.  I hiked behind he and Seth today, and they somehow had the strength to talk the whole hike, meanwhile I could hardly breath.  I also had to watch them spit and blow snot (sorry, have to call Seth out for almost catching me in the crossfire of one).  Boys will be boys I guess.  I'm happy Seth and Erik are here together, I think they'll be very good for each other.

Dinner was soooo good today.  Chicken and polenta.  And then the dessert parfait was amazing.  A champagne class with chocolate pudding, then vanilla pudding, then a little strawberry sauce, and a little crushed pineapple.  YUM!

OH... today was the first day I didn't get a new blister.  I might have finally run out of available space for them, and I"m ok with that.

Mom, I'll tell Erik that Ann Arbor is cheering for him, probably the whole state is.  I hope Bob makes a surprise visit!

Well, cross your fingers that the rain goes away soon!

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Stretch
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:45 pm - Open gym
2:30 pm - Kickboxing
3:30 pm - Pool
4:30 pm - Circuit training
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - PB&J Panini and fruit
Lunch - Tortilla soup and Turkey Sammie
Dinner - Chicken and Polenta
Dessert - Dessert Parfait

Calories Consumed - 1151
Calories Burned - 4273
Calorie Deficit - 3122
Steps Walked - 24,130

Day 14

So the first exciting news is that Eric, the winner of Biggest Loser 3 is here this week.  If you remember, Bob challenged him to weigh in again at the finale of this season.

Today was Sunday, so I literally did nothing.  I got up for breakfast to say goodbye to some people leaving.  Then I went back to bed and slept through lunch.  I woke up and did some laundry and got ready to go to dinner/orientation.  I think we have 32 new people this week.  One of them is from Grand Rapids, MI.

AFter that I just folded laundry and got ready for tomorrow.  I think I'm going to go to bed soon, even though I slept all day.  Tomorrow it all starts over again.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Slept
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Cereal
Lunch - Tunafish sandwich
Dinner - Cobb salad
Dessert - Chocolate moUsse

Calories Consumed - 1100 estimate
Calories Burned - 1679
Calorie Deficit - 579
Steps Walked - Very few

Day 13

Today was the quick Saturday.  We do the stop hike for time and a stretch class eat some lunch and we're free the rest of the day and tomorrow until dinner.  Those of you that know me know exactly what I did all afternoon.  I slept.  But it was well deserved.  Even though my blister was doing ok, I missed my stop sign time by 29 seconds, but I thought that was ok since I didn't get a very good start.  I couldn't breathe very well at first (others said the same thing), and I just couldn't catch my breath so the higher we got, it seemed a little tough.  Suddenly I was breathing good and really trying to truck, but I added 29 seconds to my time.  But thats ok.  I should do good Monday after a big day of rest and sleeping tomorrow.

Oh, it's been brought to my attention that the night we had chocolate "mousse" I spelled it as moose.  I will pay more attention to that in future posts! :)

Tonight was graduation and a lot of people are leaving.  It's sad.  Afterwards some of us stuck around to play Deal or No Deal. That was fun.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Stretch
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:00 pm - Freedom
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Fruit, granola, yogurt parfait
Lunch - Veggie soup and turkey sammie
Dinner - Turkey steak with gravy
Dessert - Pineapple sorbet

Calories Consumed - 1100 estimate
Calories Burned - 3644
Calorie Deficit - 2544
Steps Walked - 16,354

Day 12

Stop sign again.  However, my feet are torn up!  I don't know if I can hike tomorrow, which kind of stinks since it's another official stop sign day for all guests.  I have a blister, or what was a blister right under where my big toe bends and I think it's infected and my toe won't bend.  It's gross, but it's what happens here apparently.  I have some stuff on it, hopefully it feels good enough to hike tomorrow because today I can hardly walk.

We finally had Cardio Disco Jam today and it was SO much fun.  John taught it, and was so fun he even had on silver converse sneakers.  His rules were pretty much that you had to shake it!!!  He had the whole routine made up and we all did a really good job of learning it.  In my next class, pool, John took that disco class out by the pool, so both that class and our people in the pool were dancing and it was really fun.  It was such a nice day out.  It was hard to do those dance moves in the water though.

We had the best lunch today.  Everyone talked about it all day.  Chili and cornbread.  It was so good, and tasted so "bad for you", but wasn't.  Yummmmm.

I'm sad tomorrow is the last day for some of the guests.  There are a few that I'm really going to miss and it will be very weird not seeing them around next week.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Stretch
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:15 pm - Preparing for next week
2:30 pm - Total body toning
3:30 pm - Cardio disco jam
4:30 pm - Pool
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Egg sandwich and Fruit
Lunch - Chili and cornbread (OMG, THE BEST)
Dinner - Meatloaf (Turkey)
Dessert - Watermelon

Calories Consumed - 1060
Calories Burned - 3777
Calorie Deficit - 2717
Steps Walked - 20,668

Day 11

I hate to say the same thing every day, but I did the stop sign hike again.  It's really the only one where you can use your iPod, zone out, and do your own thing.  I also burn a lot of calories on it, so I'm sticking to it for now.  I think next week I'll start on some other hikes, if my feet will let me.

We had the best lunch today.  It was a sandwich, again using the Arnold's sandwich rounds (that look like they've been poked with a fork).  There was no meat on it, but yellow, red, and green tomatoes, onion, guacamole, and probably some other stuff.  It was SO good.

We had treading today.  I worked pretty hard.  I was on the bike and kept my RPM's at about 110.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Open gym
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:45 pm - Open gym
2:30 pm - Pool
3:30 pm - Ball works
4:30 pm - Treading
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Egg sandwich and Fruit
Lunch - Sunchoke soup and Rainbow sandwich
Dinner - Chicken and Potato salad (YUM)
Dessert - Apple cobbler (MMMmm...)

Calories Consumed - 1186
Calories Burned - 3648
Calorie Deficit - 2462
Steps Walked - 22,925

Day 10

I can't believe it's been 10 days.  But then again, it feels like eternity.  I'm starting to like it more and more now.  Now I'm looking forward to the harder classes.

After beating my feet up yesterday, I took the 101 hike again.  They feel a lot better, maybe tomorrow they'll be ok.

The mountain class today was challenging, but a great workout.  I'm sure I burned extra calories sitting next to Dirk, because he had me laughing half of the time.  By the time our pool class started it was raining, but we did it anyway.  And kickboxing was super tough today too, and still my favorite class.  That is the best workout!

To all of my moms gospel choir peeps, every time I'm hiking I think of the song "Climbing up the mountain children" and usually sing it for a while : )

We got to go to Target tonight.  It was fun, but went by too quick!

I forgot to write down the menu again today, sorry, it won't be the exact names and calories.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Circuit
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:15 pm - Open gym
2:30 pm - Mountain
3:30 pm - Pool
4:30 pm - Kickboxing
5:30 pm - Dinner
7:15 pm - Target!

Breakfast - Egg, english muffin, fruit
Lunch - Turkey pizza, soup
Dinner - Chicken salad
Dessert - Chocolate ice cream

Calories Consumed - 1200
Calories Burned - 4636
Calorie Deficit - 3436
Steps Walked - 23,255

Day 9

Why do I do this to my feet?  What have they done wrong?

Today I decided to do the stop sign hike again, but in a different way.  I started out and got to the mini-stop sign which is about 3 miles.  Then I decided to do like some do and I turned back around, walked the 3 miles back down, and then walked the 4 miles back to the resort instead of taking the van.  So, that was about 10 miles.  However, the way my feet were banging in my shoe on the way back down the hill tore them up!  Before I even got to the 4 mile return I could tell I was in trouble.  I stumbled all the way back though and my feet have not been happy with me all day.  If I ever do that again I need to plan ahead and tape up.

Another thing that I've noticed is bothering me, but not too bad, is the inside of my nose is raw from breathing heavily through my nose while we're out on these dry hikes.  Fortunately tomorrow is Target trip night and I'll try to find something for that.

I was having an emotional-ish kind of morning and I don't really know why.  Some is home sick, some is not being part of the bigger groups, and some was a certain person here looking like a certain person from my past that I don't want to see here.  I had a little chat with "Dr. Dude" (shout out!!) and realized it doesn't matter how many friends I make here, it matters that I get done what needs to get done, and take care of myself.  So I had a MUCH better afternoon.  Thanks dude ; )

Walking back from the hike counted as my 11:15 class, so then it was lunch, and then the afternoon of hell.  The hike is nothing compared to the classes.  The cardio interval class was awesome.  I used to barely do a level 5 on the recumbent bike and now I do a 15.  A 15!!!  And then the body toning class was killer, as usual.

After dinner we had a relaxation techniques class, which taught us exactly that.  Then I went to my room to crash and watch The Biggest Loser.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Walk back
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:15 pm - Open gym
2:30 pm - Pool
3:30 pm - Cardio intervals
4:30 pm - Total toning
5:30 pm - Dinner
6:15 pm - Relaxation techniques

Breakfast - Banana muffin
Lunch - Roasted pepper soup and Tuna Nicoise Salad
Dinner - Veggie Lasagna with turkey (yuck)
Dessert - Chocolate dipped strawberries

Calories Consumed - 1113
Calories Burned - 4355
Calorie Deficit - 3242
Steps Walked - 25,757

Day 8

First things first... I kicked that stop signs ASS today.  I beat my time by 9 minutes today!!!!

Today was exhausting.  I don't know if we were all just THAT into it, or that the classes were harder, but we were all dead tired at the end of the day.  The "Step n' Pump" class with John today was INSANE.  HE is insane, in a good way.

I found out today that one of the new people this week, who looked VERY familiar to me, is Seth, the runner up of season 2 of the Biggest Loser.  He's here to jump start again.  He is sooooo nice.  And he is VERY cute.

A couple more people I met on Facebook are here now.  It's cool to finally meet them in person.  I've also had a couple people come up to me and ask "Are you Sara?, I read your blog".  I kinda feel famous!  I hope I'm helping people to prepare for this joint.  If you have any questions I'm not answering just ask!

I gotta hit the hay, today was a kicker.

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Stretch
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:15 pm - Open gym
2:30 pm - Step n' pump

3:30 pm - Pool

4:30 pm - Circuit training
5:30 pm - Dinner

6:15 pm - Tai Chi

Breakfast - Frittata and fruit
Lunch - Carrot soup and Bean and rice burrito
Dinner - Salmon burger YUM
Dessert - Cranberry sorbet

Calories Consumed - 1107
Calories Burned - 4373 YEAH!!
Calorie Deficit - 3266
Steps Walked - 25,957 WHOO!!

Day 7

I did NOTHING today and I enjoyed every second.  It was our off day and it was a ghost town around here.  All of the new people arrived today and it was interesting to see that I was in their shoes just one week ago.  The highlight of my day happened while I was doing laundry.  I was pulling my clothes out of the washer to put into the dryer and saw my iPod laying at the bottom of the washer.  Needless to say, it no longer works.  It sure is clean though!

Laura, I DO eat tofu now.  Everything here is tofu based, there is no dairy.  So apparently I love it!  So... salmon, CHECK, hummus, CHECK, tofu, CHECK!

Mom, that's awesome that you and your peeps are going mall walking!!!  Just leave your credit cards at home!

I didn't wear my bodybugg today, although it would be interesting to see how many calories I burned while sleeping all day.  I did just put it on and it will estimate the calories your burned while you had it off, based on your info.  I did walk on the treadmill with some other girls for about 20 minutes after dinner, so I guess I did do a little today.

Tomorrow we do the timed stop sign hike again.

7:00 am - Still sleeping
8:00 am - Thought about getting up for breakfast
8:30 am - Got up for breakfast
10:00 am - Went back to bed
12:30 pm - Got up for lunch
1:00 pm - Back to bed
3:00 pm - Laundry
5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Muesli (ick) and fruit
Lunch - Beet soup and Chicken Salad and apple
Dinner - Chicken and potatoes
Dessert - Key lime pie (yum)

Calories Consumed - 1292
Calories Burned - 1670 (surprise)
Calorie Deficit - 378
Steps Walked - Not too many

Day 6

First off... Adam, Laura, Mom... I LOVE HUMMUS!!!  For lunch we had red pepper hummus and it was de-lic-ious.  Can you believe it, hummus and salmon all in one week!!

Today was the last day of the "work week" here.  We get tomorrow off.  Whew!  I really can't believe how fast the week went.  At the beginning of the week, I thought it would never end... I thought each day would never end.  Now, a whole week is gone.  We did the timed stop sign hike today and I shaved two minutes off my time!!  I just wanted to beat it, and I did.  Once you get to the top of the stop sign hike, you can either walk back down, or take a turn on a trail that overlooks the path you just walked.  I did that today and was glad I was able to see what I had just walked.  Not to mention, it's beautiful.  This pic is a view from that overlook.  While I was walking the overlook path, I saw this skeleton.  I don't know what it was, but I'm glad it couldn't follow me.

Our day ended after lunch today, and I took a long nap this afternoon.  Tonight a big group of us went bowling and it was a ton of fun.  We only bowled two games and at 9:30 we were all exhausted, that was the latest we'd been up all week.

Tonight was also the "graduation" for some of the people.  It was very touching when they passed the mic around and the people leaving and staying all shared a thought for the week and it was very emotional.

Sorry there isn't much more to report, today was a very quick and low key day.  There will be even less tomorrow, since I plan to sleep most of the day.  I'll let you know how that goes though :)

7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
11:15 am - Stretch class
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:15 pm - ZZZZzzzzzzzz......
5:30 pm - Dinner/Graduation/Bowling

Breakfast - Granola cereal with almond milk and fruit
Lunch - Soup (forgot the name) with pita and hummus
Dinner - BBQ Chicken sandwich

Dessert - Chocolate dipped banana

Calories Consumed - 1200ish (I forgot to look)
Calories Burned - 3403
Calorie Deficit - 2203
Steps Walked - 19,696

Day 5

This is one tired girl!!!  So, this will be short.  There isn't too much to report anyway, today seemed to go by quick and uneventful.  I'm not tired like I was earlier in the week, that was the "I'm pretty sure I'm about to die" tired... now, I'm just whipped from a long, hard week and have the "I want to go to sleep" tired.

I chose the stop sign hike today because I wanted a paved surface to ease my feet back into it.  I thought it would be easy because I've done it once, and then worked hard all week.  That actually made it harder.  I wasn't the only one saying that today seemed harder than Monday.  I also wanted that hike today because tomorrow is another "timed" stop sign hike, so I wanted to prime myself for that.  I'm so excited that tomorrow we only have the hike, and a stretch or circuit class and then we are free until Monday morning.  I see a big long nap in someone's future!!!  We're going bowling tomorrow night.  That will be so fun, but very tempting for bad things.

I can't remember the exact names of the meals we had today because I just realized I didn't write them down and I am way too tired to walk over there, and they've probably erased them already.  I'll try though.

7:00 am - Breakfast

8:00 am - Hike

11:15 am - Stretch class

12:30 pm - Lunch

1:15 pm - Lecture (Preparing for next week)

2:30 pm - Total body conditioning

3:30 pm - Circuit

4:30 pm - Pool (It was friggin' freezing)

5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - Egg substitute omelette with avocado and feta, it was GROSS and fruit

Lunch - Chicken soup with this awesome big piece of bread

Dinner - Turkey meatball sub (Yum)

Dessert - Fruit

Calories Consumed - 1056

Calories Burned - 3368

Calorie Deficit - 2312

Steps Walked - 14,974

Day 4

First of all, I want to tell everyone that all of your comments that you leave are AWESOME.  It feels good to know that someone cares enough to read about a day in the life of me, even if its just to kill 3 minutes at work.  I look forward to reading everyones comments, and love to see that I have some to read.  Thanks for all of your encouragement, and Mary Beth, I did find that 2nd skin stuff and it is awesome.

My feet needed a day off from hiking in the worst way today.  Just the thought of another hike hurt.  I asked the trainers if I could workout in the gym instead of hike (which is what the people who can't hike, or are injured do), and they said absolutely.  So, I whooped myself today for a few hours in the gym until our 11:15 class.  I did 20 minutes on the bike, elliptical, and treadmill, and then lifted weights and did core.  We had the dreaded "treading" class today... you're on a piece of cardio and go as hard as you can for 5 minutes, recover for 5, hard for 4, recover for 4, then 3,2,1.  It was very hard but not as hard as the mountain class.  In my opinion.

7:00 am - Breakfast

8:00 am - Hike (I hit the gym)

11:15 am - Gym class

12:30 pm - Lunch

1:15 pm - Lecture (Cooking demo)

2:30 pm - Pool

3:30 pm - Ball works

4:30 pm - Treading

5:30 pm - Dinner

Breakfast - PB & J panini and fruit

Snack after hike - Orange

Lunch - Tortilla soup (yum), Hawaiian Pizza

Midday snack - Banana

Dinner - Stuffed chicken breast, Rice

Dessert - Chocolate dipped strawberries

Calories Consumed - 1396

Calories Burned - 3450

Calorie Deficit - 2054 (slacker today)

Steps Walked - 7,866 (low since I didn't hike and spent most of the day on stationary equipment :( )

Day 3

Today was awesome.  It started out rough again.  My feet were still killing me.  Breakfast was pretty gross, but I knew I needed it for the hike.  I thought my new insoles would help my feet on the hike, but they were so sore after the hike.  However, the "mountain" class turned my day around somehow.  This is a class where you're on a cardio machine, and every 3 minutes you go up a level, 12 times.  To be blunt, I had my a$$ handed to me, but I was so proud of myself.  My feet hurt too bad for the treadmill, and all of the bikes were taken, so I had to use the elliptical, which I HATE.  My feet were numb after about 3 minutes, but we weren't allowed to stop and I didn't want to quit like I usually do after just a couple minutes on an elliptical.  I went the entire 45 minutes, up all levels.  I may not have been going as fast as some, but I did it.  That somehow fired me up for pool, which was really hard today, and then I FINALLY got to do the kickboxing class which was awesome!!!!  And then, dinner was probably the most delicious thing I've ever eaten, and it was SALMON!  Can you believe that, Mom, Laura, Adam, Jill????

I wore my Tyrannosaurus Racks t-shirt today and it got some good laughs!

We also had the weekly Target trip tonight which was so fun.  I of course needed something for my feet, and also got some gum, etc.  NO pop though :)

For the first time since I got here, I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

7:00 am - Breakfast

8:00 am - Hike

11:15 am - Core workshop

12:30 pm - Lunch

1:15 pm - Lecture (Breaking barriers)

2:30 pm - Mountain

3:30 pm - Pool

4:30 pm - Kickboxing

5:30 pm - Dinner

6:15 pm - Lecture (Intuitive eating)

Breakfast - Muesli (which was nasty) and fruit

Snack after hike - Orange

Lunch - Potato and cauliflower soup, Greek pita
Midday snack - Banana

Dinner- Salmon filet, Israeli Couscous (YUM)

Dessert - Pineapple

Calories Consumed - 1429

Calories Burned - 4199

Calorie Deficit - 2770

Steps Walked - 24,842

Day 2

They weren't lying when they said today would be rough, because we'd be so sore and tired from yesterday.  I'm not gonna sugar coat it, I'm miserable.  Not to the point that I don't want to be here or don't love it here, but I have never been this sore and tired.  By the last class of the day, I feel like I can barely participate.  But I know I'm not the only one, we're all having a tough time.  It just goes with the territory.  The staff are the NICEST people I've met and the food is so amazing, but I am one tired turkey.

I forgot some calories burned yesterday because I can't wear the bodybugg in the pool.  Add 360 to that :)

So, on with today.  There were 5 different hikes (difficulty levels) we could go on.  The same stop sign hike as yesterday, 101, 2 intermediates, and advanced.  Since I'm going to be here a month, I just wanted to start with 101.  I didn't want to be any more miserable.  It was definitely a fitness hike, with inclines, rocks, etc (as you'll see in the pic), it wasn't easy.  We got to see petrographs, which are ancient carvings throughout the hike.  We had another good lecture today about using your calories, and now it's time to watch the Biggest Loser.  It's on at 7pm here.  You saw there is a team from Ann Arbor, right?

7:00 am - Breakfast

8:00 am - Hike

11:15 am - Free weight workshop

12:30 pm - Lunch

1:30 pm - Lecture (Cooking demo)

2:30 pm - Pool

3:30 pm - Cardio intervals

4:30 pm - Total toning

5:30 pm - Dinner

6:15 pm - Lecture (Spending calories)

Breakfast - Fruit parfait (the one in the pic online)

Snack after hike - Banana

Lunch - Tomato soup (So good), Turkey sandwich

Dinner- Enchiladas

Dessert - Chocolate ice cream (So good)

Calories Consumed - 1364

Calories Burned - 3766
Calorie Deficit - 2402

Steps Walked - 20,506

Day 1

This blog is going to be short because I am about to DROP!  I am so tired, I can hardly type this.  I'm happy to report though, that I made it to the top of the stop sign hike.  This is something everyone does on Monday and Saturday and each time your try to improve your distance and time (2 hour limit).  It is 4.5 miles, but it is incline and it is hard.  The last 1.5 miles is the hardest, and the last 3/4 mile is brutal.  Other classes today were stretch, step and pump, pool, and circuit.  I was in an extremely foul mood by the time we went to dinner, but felt a lot better after we got to eat.  We had a lecture on using your calories wisely, and then Tara (from the BL) talked to us for a while about life on and off the show.  Here are the stats and info for today (I use the BodyBugg for calorie burn and steps).

6:00 am - Intro to Circuit
7:00 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Hike
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:15 pm - Lecture (Budgeting calories)
2:00 pm - Stretching
2:30 pm - Step and Pump
3:30 pm - Pool
4:30 pm - Circuit Training
5:30 pm - Dinner
6:15 pm - Lecture (Spending calories)

Breakfast - Egg Sandwich and fruit
Snack after hike - Banana
Lunch - Beet Soup and Talapia Tacos (Yes, I ate both!!)
Dinner- Chicken with Wasabe Potatoes and asparagus
Dessert - Pineapple Sorbet (So good)

Calories Consumed - 1217
Calories Burned - 3793
Calorie Deficit - 2576
Steps Walked - 23,247... no joke!  Blisters to prove it.

Time for night-night.

I'm finally here!

My day didn't start off too great.  I thought I would have plenty of time at the airport but when I got there, the lines were longer than I've ever seen, even at Thanksgiving.  By the time I got to the counter my plane was long gone, so I had to catch the next flight.  It was only an hour later, so no biggie.  But, my suitcase was so heavy I had to pay $90 in fees.  I did end up being the only person in my 3 seat row on the plane, so I got comfy and fell asleep.  I don't even remember taking off, and I woke up just before we landed.  I slept almost 4 hours.  Then I fell asleep again in the shuttle to the resort and slept another two hours, but I'm still tired.

When I got to the resort, I checked in and got to my room, which is SUPER nice.  Then I had to go down and get "tested in" and find out all of the numbers no one wants to hear.  I walked down to the cafeteria and sat and talked with some people and finally got to meet one of the peeps I met on the Facebook message boards.  There is someone here from outside of Detroit, and someone else here from Fairfax.

Then we had dinner.  It was some kind of chicken salad with nuts and grapes and celery, with sauce.  And then a moose kind of dessert.  It was SO good, and I was SO hungry.  Tara from the Biggest Loser arrived during dinner.  After dinner the new arrivals had an orientation, and a tour, and then got to go back to our rooms.  I spent the night unpacking and trying to figure out how to use the heart rate monitor.  So, I think I'm ready to go.  As I was unpacking I found a bunch of cute notes my mom hid all over in my clothes.  They're so cute... she's so cute.  I just hope one doesn't slip out of a pant leg during a class or something, hahah.

I have to be up at 5:30 for a 6am class, then a 2-3 hour hike, then etc, etc, etc.  I'll let you know all about that tomorrow.

Last night, goodbye caffeine, I'll miss you most!

My flight leaves in 8 hours.  My suitcase is so heavy I can't even lift it, that should cost a pretty penny. I'm all packed but still have to charge my computer, phone, ipod, camera, and bodybugg.  I should probably figure out how to use this heart rate monitor too!  Here is a picture of my enormous suitcase, but I couldn't fit Maggie in it.  She's staying behind.

One day to go

I started counting down in weeks, then days, and now just hours.  There are only 35 hours until my plane leaves for Vegas Sunday morning.  Then I'll hop on a shuttle for a 2 hour trip to the resort in Utah.  I haven't been nervous at all, until now, and I'm starting to really get nervous.  I have all of my shopping done, camelback, sunglasses, shoes, band-aids, advil, etc.  Now, I just have to pack.  I hope I get a good night of sleep tonight because I know I won't be sleeping tomorrow night.