Back To Reality

Well. here it is ....

My last Day at the conference...time to return to Pittsburgh and reality...I think it is about 15 degrees at home right now...

This is my last walk down this hallway in the Tempe Mission Palms (until February)...




My last time at these elevators on the third floor...

My last predawn walk to breakfast through the courtyard...

Last time to see this amazing fireplace light in the courtyard before breakfast...

I figured I should document how amazing this whole buffet thing was....our conference and classes were held in the conmference portion of the Mission Palms hotel and it was all amazing...if y9u have a chance to use this service you should...we had not one complaint from the room to the food it was all amazing!!!!!

This the buffet each morning (hot selections...usually pancakes, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, etc.)

And this is the bagel/croussant/muffin/d0onut station with oatmeal, etc.

Then there was the fruit station...I swear I stayed focused on this all week....I did really well with my eatiung even though there was soooooooo much not so good for you stuff...

And this is where you could get a made ot order omlet...I got this everyday also...tried to stay focused on egg white omlet with veggies....soooooo yummy!!!!

It is hard to tell from this picture but there is a man up in this tree...the palm trees need trimmed at the top at least once a year and the guys just shimmy straight up and use a machette to cut of the dead branches....amazing to watch them!!!

Maybe you can see him better in this one....

Here is everything they cut off...it is all roped off as he cuts them and they all just drop to the ground to be collected...

Another of him in the tree...

A view of the crew...

Then we had class wrapup...this is my groups data from the week....the final section of points to the right after the dotted line are our improvements we made to the process....pretty great if I must say so myself....HA!!!!!!!!!!

Then lunch buffet ....here are really pretty appetizers...I did not taste one but aren't they pretty???!??!

And dessert after lunch was this amazing ice cream wth cherries jubilee...I passed as I thought the brandy may not be a good idea - HA!!!!!!!!!! But I can tell you that vanilla icecream with raspeberries was amazing!!!!!!!!

A little out of order is this beef leg....soooooooooo yummy for lunch!!!!!

And here is the view that I am seeing right now as I wait for two hours for my flight at the Phoenix airport...fun fun fun!!!!!!!!

While it was an amazing week with lots of learning and fun....I am ready to get home and see my babies.....:-)

See you soon fur babies!!!!!!!!!

Almost Time to go Home - Thursday

It is my second to the last day here in Tempe and we had a long day of classwork and presentation preparation...no time for fun all day...

After dinner, I went to the gym and did my usual nightly workout for this week which is 30 minutes jogging on the treadmill and then 60 minutes on the elliptical machine...and, again, I was the only one in there...it is kinda nice to have the whole gym at the Tempe Mission Palms to myself...lovin' it!!!!!

Here is the photo before I worked out...soooo clean and welcoming...


And I decided to sit outside after and take in this amazing view....it was about mid-60's and soooo nice!!!

So I thought, why not relax in the hottub...and again, all alone chillin on the roof in the hottub....HEAVEN!!!!!!!!!!

Lovin life at the Tempe Mission Palms........cannot wait to come back here next month!!!

Beautiful, isn't it?!???!

I hope everyone else is having a great week also!!!!!

I have personally been filling my brain with knowledge all day and my body with relaxation and health all night....

Who needs a man?!???!?!

Life is good!!!!!!!!!!

Day Four - Wednesday - Class and Customer Service

I love Arizona! I have spent a lot of time this week learning in a classroom even though it may not look like it by my previous posts...HA!!

Here is a little snapshot into my classroom all week.....here is the room...



And here is my instructor inside...

And some of my fellow classmates posing during catapult fun....

And here is where I went right after class today...ahhhhh!

This place is called Nails for Males in Tempe, Arizona (located above Pink Salon). They are located right near the ASU campus and they are amazing!!!! It is a local, small business and they go out of their way to make it a great exterience!!!

Here is a view from my chair....My pink and whites were done by Ty and I was taken home by Q....seriously - you heard me right!!!

Another view from my chair...

Here are my nails....awesome, hugh>>>>>? I was stuck there when I was done as the hotel courtesy van was accidently unavailable due to an emergency...I was just going to walk ( over three miles) when Ty insisted that Q drive my back to my hotel with Ty's car....WOW!!! Seriously, these guys do great work, gives great foot massages and pedicures and then go completely out of their way for me.....AWESOME!!!!

If you are EVER in the area, you HAVE to go here!!! Amazing place!!!!!!!! Thanks guys - you will definitely see me again in Feb when I return to AZ!!!

And here is part one of my workout...

And part two....elliptical extravaganza!!!! WEIGHT and FAT BE GONE!!!!!!!!!

Here is my view of the TV in the exercise room...

And the outside view on my way back to my room....

And another....cannot tell from these pics but it is a beautiful night!!!

I do miss my babies soooooooooo much.......getting ready to go home......love it here but really miss my babies!!!!!

Happy Hump Day all!!!!!!!!!!!

Day Three - Tuesday - Hike with the Class

Today we all went for a hike after class...it was sooo fun!!! This is my instructor and my fellow classmates... (Left to right...Dan, Reza, Jeff, Michael, Richard, Andrew, and missing is me and another Jeff that had to study his work stuff)...




This is where we went hiking...I think the whole hike was from around 4:30 to 6PM and it was soooooo awesome...we did not, however, see any snakes or scorpions :-( I really want to see a live scorpion!!!

The rest are just cellphone pcitures from the hike so they do not do the experience justice...it was so beautiful and amazing and fun bonding with my classmates!

We were told that each arm on these takes 50 years to grow so this is a very OLD cactus!!!

We don't have these in Pittsburgh!! HA!

Sooooo awesome and pretty!!! Thanks for the tour Reza!!!!!!!!

Day Two - Training Begins - Monday

My day started with an awesome buffet breakfast in the courtyard at my hotel...it had everything you could possibly imagine on it to eat..I did my best to watch (ate fruit and and an egg white omelet).

After that, training class went all day from 8AM to 5PM...

After that, I went on a little tour to a new area of Tempe toward the campus of Arizona...I did not take pics there as I did not want to look like a tourist - HA! But wow!!! They have an awesome campus and the dorms are pretty nice too!

Then I saw this temple...cute hugh????



And then this...little seats and steps with built-in fountains...it was pretty cool....

This is the town on my way back to the hotel...it all looks sooooo pretty lit up at night!!!

And this is the same hike up the Butte that I went on yesterday only this time I did it at dusk...so once I reached the top - this is what it looked like - PRETTY AMAZING IN PERSON!!! God is good!!!

And another....

And one more...pics cannot do it justice!

And here is part of my workout...I also did one hour on the eliptical since I ate soooo much at the buffets today!!! HA!!!

I have to say....I really miss my fur babies..... :-(

I hope you all had an amazing Monday!