Dana Lynn

Its been a week since I have posted last and let me say, a lot can happen in a week! Well, last thursday I went to Boulder, Co to visit my cousin and her husband for the weekend. It was a really nice time. Boulder is starting to warm up a bit so we did plenty of outdoor things. The first day I was there, Friday, my cousin had to work but I walked all over the downtown Boulder area and had a really nice time shopping and people watching. On Sat we went to work on a farm and helped build a tool shed and then did a little more shopping in the afternoon. Sunday was Earth Day so we walked in a 4K Earth day race! It was great but since we didn’t run our time was pathetic! haha! We had lots of fun anyway just being part of it. I posted a picture up of a house I saw that is covered in solar panels on the roof. The house can make its own power! How cool is that?
My cousin Rachel and her husband also have a little scooter so Ger gave me a ride around the block on it. Oh! While I was visiting them we watched a really great movie. It’s called, TOUCHING THE VOID. Holy moly!! How empowering!! If you are looking for a good movie to have your jaw on the floor… this one’s for you!

So I got back home Sunday night and then Monday my good friend from back in NJ came to visit. We went to Venice Beach on Tuesday and then 4 of us went to Geisha House for dinner. It was really great having her here. Too bad that on Wed when we were supposed to be going to Santa Monica, I ended up getting EXTREMELY sick in pain, sweating and throwing up and she had to rush me to the ER. Jay left work and rushed to the ER and stayed with me all afternoon until I was released. I turned out to be ok after they gave me some pain meds and checked me out but BOY OH BOY was I IN PAIN!!! It was the kind of pain where you plead with your body to just make it stop and you promise to never do anything bad!! So I came home last night and just relaxed.

I’m feeling better today physically today but mentally the past few days have been awful. I can’t stop crying!! UGH!! I hate it! I hate crying this much but I can’t help it. I can’t stop. I guess I’m not doing well with all of this change going on. I am planning my move home and its so sad for me. Its a mixture of sadness and excitement. I’m excited to be taking a great position at an amazing company and be close to my family again but its also hard to leave people here who I love. Anyway, I have been sad a lot and crying but I know things will work out. I have to have faith in that. Plus, I can come back whenever I want, right?

DL

Ok, here are just a few Vegas pictures like I promised…

HOLY VEGAS!!! Now THAT was a great Vegas trip! Its been a couple days since I got back but I still have to tell everyone about my trip. We crammed so much into just a few days. It was so much fun… Lets see.. here is the breakdown on things we did…

1. Gambled like CRAZY… I won 500 bucks… then lost some too at Craps and Roulette… HATE THAT GAME! Never playing again! I LOVE craps but the second day we were too tired and didn’t have much luck… AT ALL!!!
2. Went to NY, NY- Ate a Nine Fine Irishmen
3. Saw Roseanne Barr’s show
4. Saw Zumanity at New York, New York
5. Went to Venetian and ate at Tao… FREAKIN AWESOME Peking duck! YUM!!!
6. Saw Spamalot at Wynn and then gambled there
7. Ate a classic Vegas buffet breakfast at Mandalay Bay
8. Went to the Shark Reef and saw some awesome underwater sea creatures! It was so much fun!!
9. Saw TWO Imax movies- One was 3D on Lions (we were so tired by this point that we were kinda falling asleep) and then saw another one that was a virtual Imax “ride”. It was awful. So dumb and I didn’t get the entire “government” adventure theme.
10. We walked around so much… it was just a blast!! I LOVE Vegas!

We took lots of pictures but they aren’t on my camera so I have to get a hold of them so I can post them up.

Lets see… as of my fitness… I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I have been SO tired lately. I haven’t felt like doing much of anything. My hips are starting to hurt because I haven’t done much but I just think I needed a little break. It goes back to my balance thing. I go so hard for so long and then need a rest. I’m ok with that or right now. I bought some iron pills to see if maybe thats my problem. I haven’t been eating much red meat at all. I also bought a lean flank stake that I’ll grill up with some veggies tonight. YUM!

******HERE IS A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT******

Well, I don’t know if you remember when I was having a rough time making some big life decisions but… I’m ready to tell you what its all about.
I have decided to move back to my hometown in New Jersey and start my new career working for the family business. My stay in L.A has been fun but its time to take my life and career to the next level. After closing my restaurant a couple of years ago I needed some time to figure out myself and what I wanted from life. I have realized that I don’t feel complete without being close to my family and working along side them in the amazing business they have created. As much as it will be tough to leave LA and the people I love here, I am very proud of my decision. Its something I have felt I have needed to do for a long time. So I’ll make my way back in May and be bi-coastal for a while until my house sells.

So… I hope you’ll be here to follow my adventures back to the east coast. I’m also going to FINALLY be able to continue on working on my fitness product idea. yeah!!

Stay tuned for some pictures later…
DL

GOOD MORNING FROM LAS VEGAS!!

I’m back here in Vegas and having a GREAT time once again! I love this place. Its just so much fun and there is so much here to do. I think I also love it because its so colorful and glittery and glamerous. My brain goes into overload when I’m walking around and I feel like a kid in a big toy store.

We arrived here yesterday around 8am (caught the EARLY flight again) and I was so tired. I tried to workout a bit at the gym in the hotel but I wanted to pass out. So I went back to the place and made dinner reservations and then took off again to find a place to get a pedicure and manicure. Success! I found a great place and they did a great job. I walked there and it was so cold and windy. When the heck is Vegas going to warm up already!?

Tonight we are going to start earlier and see how long we can go again. Today I’m going to try to nap a bit and maybe try to get in some kind of workout. I’m thinking a nice long walk would be great but if its too cold I should try running on the tredmill again. I do have to get in another 3 miles even though I HATE running!

Ok, today’s run was getting better. I did 3 miles in 36 minutes. Not bad… I just want to work on my first goal which is getting 3 miles in 30 min. This is a fun goal! After running I did the arc trainer for 20 min and then stretched and did some abs. My legs have been like jell-o all day. I am SO not feeling that crazy boot camp class tonight but I’m feeling the pressure from my friends. I’m so scared I’m going to be so tired and then look like a chump in front of the other people in the class. haha! I kind of just want to lift and do some light cardio while I wait for my buddies to get in their workouts.

Great news! The new season of The Soprano’s is back!! I watched the first episode today. Its so good. Its my favorite show ever. I’m so sad because its the last season. I own all the DVD’s for each season so eventually I’ll have to start at the beginning again. I could never get sick of that show.

I really think running is going to make a huge difference in my fitness. I am so excited!!
DL

Ahhhh.. back in Miami… the place I spent my college years… how fun! I’m here at my best friend’s place now and I’m having a great time with her, as usual! She’s an attorney so she had to go off to work today. So I’m keeping myself busy enjoying the great weather, my book, some little fun ideas she had for me and her gym guest pass I’m dressed and ready to head across the street to the gym in a few minutes.

While I was staying with my mom I had a great talk with my Aunt, who was also there. She is a marathon runner and told me that when she starts running the weight just falls off her. Makes sense. Well, for most of you who might not know… I HATE running. However, I am willing to give it a shot. I have made it a goal to run at least 3 miles a few times a week. I have done it now the past two days and I feel great so far. Maybe this will help to bring down my legs a lot more. It took me about 40 min to run 3 miles. I guess I have to work up to a better time. My goal is to at least run 3 miles in 30 min. The first mile or so is hell for me but once I hang in there it isnt so bad. By the time I’m done I get SO happy I did it!
Tonight Lorraine wants me to take some crazy boot camp class at the gym. She doesn’t want to do it because she says its too hard but I guess she’s throw me to the lions! She says it has tons of plyos, sprint work and drills. So fun to me! So if I’m not too tired from this mornings workout I’ll take the class and see how it goes.

Here are some goofy pictures we took last night. Aren’t we so cute?
Have a great day and hopefully I’ll be back… if that class doesnt kill me!

Hello again… from FLORIDA again!! Yep, I came back to Florida. It was kind of a last minute thing. As I have written before things have been kind of rough for me the last couple of weeks so I decided that I needed to go see my favorite person in the world again… MOM!! So I took the red eye in last night and arrived this morning at 5am. I’ll also be heading to Miami to be with my best friend for a few days too. I know that between the two of them I’ll be feeling much better

Anyway, the past few days before I left for Florida I have been going to Venice Beach and walking in the sand for workouts. Wow! Walking in the sand really works your legs and get your heart rate up if you keep up the pace. I went with my girlfriend who was nice enough to snap some shots of me. I even did some step-ups. The way I do them is that once I step up I bring my other leg all the way up and SQUEEZE my glutes. Here are some pictures… If you have a high place to step up at the gym, outside or anywhere really, give these a try! You can even do them holding weights. If anything, they will really get your heart going and help to raise and firm your booty!

WELL HELLO!! I haven’t posted in a few days because I have been BUSY and having lots of fun! Let’s see… I’ll post about one day at a time. The first day I’ll tell you about is Saturday. What a fun day! Four of us went to the San Diego Animal Park and it was a blast. The day started later then we wanted. I was proud of myself for waking up early and getting my hour of cardio done but then we had some other hold ups and didn’t get on the road until almost 11am. Since it takes 2 hours to get there from L.A. we knew we were pushing it because traffic is just about ALWAYS an issue. THEN, we put the directions in the navigation system in the car and ended up on a dead end dirt road!! We were freaking out because the park closes at 5pm and we weren’t going to get much time if we didn’t get there. So we arrived finally around 2pm and did get in a solid 3 hours of fun. We saw so many animals. I LOVE animals. I brought my new amazing camera my mom bought me after my competition as a gift (mine was stolen a few days before my show at the hair dresser!) and took tons of pictures so I’m going to post some of my favorites. There’s even a picture where I look like a little animal too!