Merry Christmas!!!!

Dear Friends and Fans,

YES!!! I made it...LOL. I wanted to get my blog up in enough time to say that. I've been running around taking care of end year stuff, and preparing for the holidays. I plan to lay low here at the house. I thought we would have a white Christmas, but it's a very wet Christmas here in the STL. I'd prefer the snow, but it's all good. It's just nice to have an excuse to do only 500 things a day instead of 1000, at least for the weekend. I made all my baked things last Sunday and gave then out to my friends. I'm about cookied out. tomorrow is the spiral ham, yummy sweet potato casserole.. the good kind that's gooey! LOL. I have to bake a couple of Christmas cookies tomorrow to at least fill the house with the season. Snowman sugar cookies and peanut butter ones with the kiss in the center. I hope the rain stops so the drive to see Xmas lights is nicer. I plan to end the night cozy on the couch with a Christmas movie. Now that's a HOLIDAY!

I did receive an invite to the 2010 Arnold Classic! I'm very excited to be on the Memorial Stage again! It's a tough line up for me and the possibilities of moving up from my last years placing of 9th. I hope to finish in the top 10. My ultimate goal here is to maybe in a couple years get in the top 6 at least once, but really, the challenge this year is to continue to be superwoman and do it all, help patients, run my business better every year, improve my physique every year, stay healthy AND be able to show up ready for a show. SHIT!!! my goal is to show up IMPROVED! The placing doesn't matter at a show like this. I'm there!! What more can you say? Worry about a placing? If I can see improvements myself, and realize all the things I had to take care of in addition to making physique improvements, I'll be proud.

Happy Holidays to you all!

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

In The Starting Blocks

Dear Friends and Fans,

I know it's been a bit as usual, but I Do have a good explanation... LOL. I'll start where I think I left off last with HALO. She is wonderful. She is getting big so fast. She looks like a little stuffed horsey. She loves to play and run around and when I the house she chooses to chill on the couch or in bed. She loves to snuggle... soon I'll have a pony in bed with me.

What is really driving me crazy right now and has all my mind space occupied is my business. You see, in school, they taught us how to be Chiropractors! They forgot to mention we need to run a business too! LOL. Logan College has changed that and is now offering great business classes in their curriculum, but I still have some figuring out to do. I keep complaining that I can't get any bigger without help. I keep kicking and screaming that I have the energy to See more patients but need help on the business end to make it happen. Of course, I have been complaining of this the past 5 years. I keep saying " I'm the Doctor not the Business Manager". Now a big brick just landed on my head and made me realize ,I'm both the Business Owner and Manager! AHHHH? I finally called my mentor from Florida and told him my issues. he said " it sounds like you want to move forward but don't want to do the work"! After 2 days of working that around in my mind, I figured HE'S RIGHT! In my mind, I have been thinking to better my practice I need to see more patients. I now understand that the way to build my practice is to step outside the box I know and leap into that business box I fear. I keep telling myself that I don't have the mind time, patience, energy or $ hours to waste on business management. Well with that in mind, It will never grow beyond what it is now. HUMMM? Is this what everyone has been telling me all these years...LOL? I have built this practice from scratch right out of school not knowing anything about how to start a business. I knew how to be a Chiropractor! I've decided to spend this extra " patients seeing energy" on getting to understand my taxes and electronic filling, payroll, billing, auditing accounts and utilize my Quickbooks better. Once I open my mind to understand it, I know all of this will be at the tip of a finger. It's time to OPEN UP!

With all of this being said, I plan to have the busiest bodybuilding year yet. I'm looking really close at the Phoenix Show FEB. 20Th, I sent in my application for the Arnold, guest pose APR. 25 Midwest Novice, NY Pro, Tampa and hopefully the O. OMG! What is my problem?

I'm sitting at a hard and ripped 147 and growing. I have about 10 weeks till the Phoenix Show. I'm concentrating on filling up a bit with food and really hitting the cuts of my muscles. I'm training with an X Blues Player, Rick Wilson; he is training my legs like a skater for the next couple of months. OUCH! We plan to pull out the glute/ham area with this style. I have my video guy coming to the workout next Monday, so you can see how the Pro Hockey guys DO IT! http://www.rikwilsonspowerplay.com/ . I'll be starting a gallery of my show preps soon. I look forward to all of your support. It will be a hard year... Champions never take the easy way out!

Keep pushing me to the top!

Xo

Dr. Dena

Little Miss Sicky Poo!

Dear Friends and Fans,

Well, I've had rough week. I strained my back in the gym on Monday, doing reverse hack squat. I really didn't warm up to good before, but I did go in knowing that I had been needing to be adjusted. So I guess 2 things that were my own fault. I was beginning to feel a bit run down, which is not like me, so by the time I got off work on Thursday I was exhausted. The night was pretty rough because I sweated to death all night, and had pressure in my teeth. I woke on Friday with body aches, a swollen parotid gland, red swollen gums and fever. My teeth had so much pressure that it felt like I was wearing braces again. My GP thinks it's some viral infection. I don't have a cough, runny nose or the lovely stomach stuff associated with the flu. I have highs and lows, but hope to get over this soon. I get halo on Monday and want to feel up to the 4 hour drive to get her. Needless to say I don't have much to say about my work out this week, but they had been going well.

I have figured out the camera some..LOL.. @ least I was able to get some photos off it. the one here is from 2 weeks ago. I need some sun.. but... It's fall! LOL. No really, I do plan to tan some before the Nationals.

I'm still continuing to get ahead in the office. Delegating responsibilities just leaves me to do more WORK!! Isnt that nice...LOL.. I say this just because the ways I put food on the table requires an extreme amount of labor and energy. It just goes with the territory if you want to grow as a business and your the owner. A major insurance company made some mistakes in payment in 2006-2007 , and I was notified of a group of patients I can re bill and get paid on! Yippee.. except this takes work to get the documentation together in the short time frame given. I hope to have all these files finished by next weekend and off they go before the deadline. No wonder i kept complaining to the billing company that i was working my butt off but barley making ends meet. the billing company I used just totally blew these situations off and since they were an outside company, and I had no idea about the billing, it was easy to brush under the rug with them and me not know. Thank goodness there was a class act filed against them and they had to notify me of the errors and refilling deadline. It would be great to get 2 years of income back. I have since fixed the billing problem and brought it more in house. i understand the billing more now, but still have to have someone balance my accounts for me. Julia does that for me, she has tought me the ropes of billing and handles the internal issues.

I'm hoping we may get some sun here this weekend. After I tell you how I love the weather here it rains for 10 days straight. the one good thing about having halo in the winter is that she will not need to walk a whole bunch right away, so we won't have to bring dirtiness into the house, and in time she'll be about hip height, so no more wet upper body on rainy or snowy days. Once spring comes around, I'm sure we will be on some major cardio walks.

I plan this weekend to clean and organize my bedroom and linen closets. I'm making my bedroom closet more efficient, and pitching the big king sized comforters that are hogging all the space. I need some of those big sucker bags "As Seen On TV"..LOL.. You know you suck all the air out with the vacuum.

I soon plan to be sporting a tin grin. Nov 3rd I go for a consult for braces. I had a tooth pulled in 2004 before the Nationals and it has allowed my bite to go way off and is the cause of alot mouth uncomfortableness. you can't really tell cosmetically, but when I get older I may be headed for caps and root canals...something I don't want to have to deal with. I may have told you this before, but I figured this could be my boob job..LOL... A year of pain for years of enjoyment and comfort. Sounds like a good deal huh?? Well after the way my teeth feel right now, I'm like ugh!!!

I hope you all are well. thank you so much for your support. I hope you like the new stuff on the site. We do have plans for the New Year in regards to the site, so lots to come.. new and improved.

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

Autum Is Here

Dear Friends and Fans,

I just love this fall weather. It's the seasons that's kept me here in Missouri. It's not Misery!! LOL... It's a beautiful place. this is how I always dreamed of Halloween being. In Florida, you sweat you make up off, can't wear any cool costume because it's so blazing hot, your candy even melts in your bag while your running from house to house. I'm finally in a place where I get trick or treaters. I'm usually at work though and have been getting caught empty handed for the late one's. I can be prepared and have fun with it this year. I'm even gonna carve a pumpkin this year!!!

I get Halo October 19th. Her mom and dad have been send weekly updates and pix. It's so fun and exciting planning for her. I never planned Maryjanes birth or death!!! She just happened. halo is the breed I've always wanted to raise from a puppy. She is going to be big. She is 5 weeks old a 9 lbs.. this pix is after her first bath and cut. look at that sweet face!!!! KISSES... People kinda look at me funny when I tell them I'm getting a standard poodle. I picked this breed a long time ago. They are large, protective, athletic, intelligent and have a non shedding coat. They have a lap dog personality, very clean mouths... I can't handle slobber!!! I love their stance and confidence. She won't have of those clown cuts.... she'll be cool! She is 6 weeks and 8lbs in this pix. Her breeder says there is something wrong with her left eye. Some hairs under her eye lid on the left are rubbing and causing tearing. sHE IS GOING TO THE VET THIS WEEK. I'll let ya know.

So, I'm all dressed up and no where to go with the HD camera I just purchased. Wow! All of this takes a lot of time, especially for someone who doesn't know computers and has 100 other things going on. Having enough space, getting it off the camera, editing, transferring, getting quality content when shooting. AHHHHHHH!...LOL... it's a learning process. I hope you all like what you see and can imagine what is to come. Thank you for hanging in there through some of these adjusting times. We are in the process of resizing the videos so they will be easier to open.

On Monday, I plan on changing up a few things with my training and diet. I'm going to spend the next 10 weeks with heavier weight and less reps. My physique has made a lot of changes already just doing specific training. Now, I just need a little time to pump the tires up! I'm a shredded 150 right now, so I figure that by the Nationals I'll be big, full and hard. Working on my diet, for me, is getting 4-5 whole meals in on top of the shakes. I become a lazy eater and get like 3 or 4 whole meals in and with my metabolism it's just enough. Once I start exerting more energy, I'm going to need everything those meals have to offer.

Hope you all enjoy the FALL weather as much as I do. Much love!!I've been to get trying to get this blog up since Thursday of last week...LOl.. I've been sitting here the last 45 minutes just trying to get a pix of me up here... I going back to bed... You'll have to settle for a pix of halo again.

Your Pro,

Dr. DENA

HALO!!!!

Dear friends and fans,











I hope you have enjoyed the updates to my website. I have been working hard at getting this done for my site. Colette and Per have been a great help with my site. Thank you so much. I'm pretty much sitting back and enjoying life. I'm extremely busy, but it's great pushing my business to the next level.

My training is the best its ever been. I'm just continuing to mature and it seems like every muscle is filling out. I'm not real heavy... 150-152, but I'm leaner than I've ever been off season, but full and ripped. Everything in my life is really just coming together.

So, here is the reason I titled this blog HALO! I always had in mind that my first dog would be a black standard poodle, and I'd name her Maryjane. Well, circumstances happened that a wonderful pit bull became my Maryjane. I've had a standard in mind when considering parenting again...LOL.. I had contacted a woman a couple months ago who rescued standards. She didn't have any at the time but was about to breed her own standards. I gave her my information and told myself that fate it would be if she happened to call one day... just 3 weeks ago I started talking about wanting a chocolate standard instead of black.. well the gal emailed me over the weekend telling me her babies were born.. 2 black males, and 1 chocolate female.... I wanted only a female AND.... she is chocolate!!! It's fate. I hope to finalize up some more of the details and pick her up after Thanksgiving!!! I had to think about it for a couple days and step out of the excitement of a new baby and think if I'm ready for a commitment like this?? Of course it's a bit SCARY... but that's the thrill of it. I love to face my fears and turn them into the best things in my life. I did such a good job with Maryjane.. I can't wait to perfect my leadership skills. Her name is HALO!!! XOXO Isn't she cute!!!


I have lots of stuff planned for the site. I have my own camera now and someone here taking care of the things I can't which is allowing me to interact better in all my careers. I will have work out videos, lectures, posing, strength moves... and more on the site soon. HD video, new galleries, Skype web cam chats and all the other things planned also requires more help and time... I appreciate all of your support. My website membership prices will be $12.99 starting October 1st. I hope you like all the changes..

I plan to be at the NPC Nationals this year, and I'm training and hoping for another Arnold Classic invite. Much Love...

I will be on Pro Muscle Radio with Tricky Jackson this Sunday Sept 13 5:30 pm CST.. We will be previewing the Ms. Olympia. Come listen! http://www.posedownmag.com/promuscleradio.html

Check out my forum on RX Muscle http://forums.rxmuscle.com/showthread.php?t=17648

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

Kiss To A Wonderful Life!

Dear Friends and Fans,









OMG!!! Yes it's me. I know I've been gone for...a long time. I'm sorry. I finally got tired of making promises I couldn't keep, so I decided I wasn't going to blog until I did what I said I was going to do. I have made a lot of changes. The ends are still trying to get blended together, but all I can say is that I definitely see the light and I'm sprinting that direction.









My life has TOTALLY changed since Maryjane died. I saw what she brought to me, but can also see the reason she left. I made a commitment to give her the best life I could, and I did just that... not realizing after the fact that our relationship was holding me back from growing, and that is just because I spent every second I had left on loving her. Outside my patients and close friends, I was with Maryjane. In my mind, she was all I ever needed!! WOW!! When that is taken away in a matter of seconds... I can't even explain! I can tell you that now I have opened up more and have accepted the love from my friends and loved ones. Your TRUE friends show up on Sunday, in a rain storm, to help you move.. not like that happened to me recently...but a true friend is always there to help you lug that damn mattress down the stairs!!...LOL.









My blogs in the past have talked about my organization and business goals... You no I'm not just a Bodybuilder.. LOL... It's VERY difficult being and doctor AND business person. I have been wearing the hats of too many people. July 7Th, 2009 hit my 5Th year in practice... business. I hear that if you can make it 5 years you are good to go! I can see how I'm maturing into my practice. The things I think now are nothing like what I use to think.









I feel like I am flying 5 different kites and I need to somehow tie all these ends together so it will work as one. I'm doing that at this moment. I hope you can tell by the updates I've made to my site that I'm in close contact with my team. Colette and Per are in close contact with me and we are working at making some great changes to the site. I have my own camera now and plan on doing a lot of fun stuff. I hope to soon be up on http://www.rxmuscle.com/ to answer any questions you may have.

I've been training hard in the gym. My physique is stronger and tighter than ever. I hope to be attending the Nationals this November and other thatn that.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another Arnold Classic invite.


In a Nut shell, I'm back in the saddle again!!!!









P.S. Special thank you to those who have supported me through everything. I do appreciate you! xo

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

Packin' Heat!!!

Dear Friends and Fans,

WOW! I've been busier than a one armed paper hanger...LOL.. Since the Ny Pro Show in May, I have been to KS City for a bodybuilding show and booth work, had wood floors laid in my house ( that leaves things in ciaos for a bit), and my mom is now in for 2 weeks... yes... 2 weeks...lol. She is having a great time and seeing why I love the STL so much. I hope to get her down to the arch tomorrow. She leaves this Sunday, and then I will have ceramic laid in my kitchen and walk out. I'm really staring to get motivated in the office. I plan to make some changes to my flow really soon. I know I always say that but it's coming. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

My training is going well. I started hitting the weights again 3 weeks ago. I'm huge!!! Lean full and heavy. I'm sitting at 159 right now. I'm getting stronger and stronger. I have been training mostly in my home gym. I've been adding some good equipment, and I just love being at my home. It's my resting place, actually its my body sculpting studio.

I'm just feeling great!! Life couldn't be better. I plan on knocking out some of those emails from my fans. I'm sorry I haven't been good about that. Everything just takes some much time. I hope you like the updates to the site. I have some fun gym stuff and lift and carries to come. Thank you for your support always! I'm LARGE and IN CHARGE...LOL.. and this pix is the heat I pack!!!

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

NY Pro Show 5th Place

Dear Friends and Fans,

WOW! What a year it's been so far. I have been running around like crazy, way before 2009 even turned. I must say I am looking forward to a little bit of a change. You do get to the point where you just don't even want to think about your physique. Wear as many clothes as possible and just put that physique to sleep for a while. I'm not sure how others can do show after show, but my body is really asking for a break.

I've totally enjoyed my stay here in the Big Apple. My friends KC and Charlie put Beth and I up in their manhattan condo, so we were totally hooked up. Just blocks from Broadway, we walked the streets and checked out shops. It was great just to feed off the energy of all the people. My prep and everything went as planned. I really couldn't have done anything different to help with my placing. I've looked at the pictures, I'm not sure of my opinion yet. I have been saying this same thing since 2004, but I have to still bring up my legs. I have made incredible changes, but still, I need more fullness. So my focus will be on my legs as usual for the off season. i will have to ponder that a bit to see how I want to go about it. The big thing is to get this done without hurting my legs and back. I'm feeling the need for a trip to Venice Beach to se the "Trainer of Champions" Charles Glass.

My weight when I left for the show was 138, one of my heaviest showings. The show was run very well. Vinny and Mike, who have taken over Stone Productions since the passing of Steve Stone, were all over it. To tell you the truth, better than ever. My only complaint was that it was sooo hot in the pump up room. I though I was going to over heat at the night show. I was kinda scared. The taxi driver would not turn the air on in the cab, and the sun was just beaming in. I was melting away like a candle. I got to the pump up room and it had been closed off all day between shows. I grabbed tazzie and asked her to sit with me because I was hot and might pass out. I searched and found one little spot that had some ciruulation and we chilled there for a bit. She and everyone else was burning up too. I finally got control over it and was fine.. but that is a scary feeling. You never want to be the one the ambulance is coming for, plus lose your placing for a no show.

I'm fine with my placing. I always use the results of my shows for direction in my life. When my focus should be re directed... bodybuilding lets me know that. If I should continue to finish off the year with bodybuilding, then I would be in the top 3 and olympia bound, but instead, it's time to redirect my training, get the practice to another level and get more involved with Species Nutrition. I hope to be on RX muscle radio show soon, and a couple other things lingering out there that I haven't had a chance to respond to.

I put this front lat shot up to compare to the last show. I wanted to put up the rear dbl bi shot so you can see the much improved ham detail, but still how my legs seemed to deflate in a matter of hours...?????>>>... You should be able to see stage shots on my web site shortly. I think I looked great. I got beat by names and home town faces... LOL... I'm honored however to have been given a scooby snack and placed in the top 5 in front of some great veteran bodybuilders, so I'm not complaining. I like NY and will be back.

Sunday, I shot all day withAwefilms...lol... you know we do good stuff together, so watchout for our vampire clip!! Great pix from behind the scenes soon to come.

Thank you KC and Charlie for the great place and hospitality, and of course Beth... for your help and friendship.; Thank you to my sponsor www.speciesnutrition.com and Pro Tan for helping my physique shine.

Your Pro,
Dr. Dena

Vibrant Life!!!

Dear Friends and Fans

I had Maryjane's memorial on Sunday. I had 40 people show up. It was AMAZING!!! I put on a huge spread and planned to let off 41 balloons @ 5:30... our favorivte time of day. I asked everyone to bring a plant for maryjane. After my eulogy, I let off a white balloon for peace and all her friends, who had green balloons for new life, followed. I must say that I'm the luckiest person in the world!!! Yes, in all of this, I've found happiness. I have the most amazing friends, neighbors, fans..etc. I never knew that I had so many wonderful people in my life. Maryjane helped me open my eyes to the love around me... and it feels so good. I get these tears running down my face reading her guest book and what everyone had to say to her. She helped my attract all of these wonderful people. She was so loved!!! Maryjane has shown me how to love, accept help from others, and most importantly... how to be loved. I finally realized that is why she had to leave. It was time to feel the love around me. I guess you never see it until a time of need. The individuals who have been there for be is over coming. I feel so fortunate to have this in my life, and to have gotten to experience all of these feelings and emotions, but not be over whelmed. It was such a satisfying feeling to feel but not react... if that makes sense. The main thing is that I didn't want to let my emotions control me... I just felt them openly.. and it didn't hurt. It brought tears of joy. I almost felt guilty! Connie came over yesterday and planted most of my yard. I sat in tears of joy last night as I stared out the back porch at the wonderful life that was out there...MARYJANE'S life! It's so wonderful to see, feel and be life. " Friends are flowers in the garden of life." Thank you all for everything you do for me! Special thank you to Brian, Patty and Connie for holding my hand in my time of need. My TREE is STRONG!!!!

Training is great. I look good, can't wait to get to NY and get this over with...LOL... in a positive way!! Summer is almost here!!! Beer n Burgers...LOL oh and Patty's Pool!!!!

I will be putting on a performance @ my local watering hole..Carmody's Bar and Eatery Saturday night. It is for a charity called Places for Peoples. 8:00 PM May 9th.

Carmody's: 49 Clarkson Road. Elliseville, MO

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

To The Only One I've Ever Loved

Dear Friends and Fans,

It was 11:37 pm, I was going to let Maryjane out for a pottie then paint my toe nails. I was looking forward to going to bed... I had to get some rest for a busy day at the guest posing. I live on a park which is down in a valley. I opened the back door and Maryjane took off after some deer. I started yelling her name to come back.... then I heard all this ruckus. I thought Maryjane was fighting with another dog. I could hear her screaming. I had slippers on so it was difficult to get through the woods and the creek with rocks. Maryjane stopped calling out to me, but I could hear the direction it was coming from. There was a mass of bushes and trees. I couldn't get to her and it was pitch black out. I went running home to get a flash light, cussing myself the whole time because I just thought to myself last week ago to get C batteries for that flashlight under the sink. What good is it if it doesn't work right?.....My neighbors were outside thank god because I would have gone crazy banging on doors to get me a flash light. I yelled I need a flashlight Maryjane needs help. I put on my shoes and they were quickly there with 2 lights. I grabbed one and went back to where I heard Maryjane. I went up the hill and shined my light down into the mass of trees...Maryjane was stuck down there. I could tell she couldn't move from the hips down. She ran off a 15 foot cliff. The ground just ended and there were large trees all around. It was very dark and I know she couldn't see. The guys were right behind me. I told them to be careful it looks like she broke her back. I gave my one neighbor the light and said for them to get her out I was going to call my vet. I ran home and called. I got the emergency number off the machine and told them we were coming in. I ran back outside and the guys were carrying Maryjane. I asked if she could walk and they said no. I got her into the back seat and took off. They took xrays and didn't find a break, but she obviously has a very bad neurological injury. I asked if they could keep her out of pain and see if she can get some improvement. On Sunday April 26, 2009, I had to put her down. She was my first dog. It took me a long time to feel comfortable enough to get a dog. I wanted to make sure I would be able to give a dog a good life. Maryjane actually found me. I picked her up in front of a grocery store the day before I left Georgia ( life University) to come to St. Louis for Logan Chiropractic. It was a big stepping stone in my life. I was moving farther away from home, going to a new state where I know no one, have no job, and a puppy sitting next to me. I always said I wanted my first dog to be a black standard poodle, and I'd name her Maryjane. Well a different Maryjane found me, and she was a perfect dog. Everyone loved Maryjane. She was the most loving dog. people were amazed that a pit bull was so nice. They would always say"it's the way they are raised". So I guess I did a good job. She was a very happy dog. I will miss her like you will never believe. She knew me so well. It's so ironic that I was just digging through some stuff the other day and ran across some puppy pix of Maryjane. I looked and reminisced. I was noticing how she had aged. I had her 7.5 years. I had a friend ask me the other day if I've ever been in love. I said "no", I don't think so. " I don't think so"? She said. I told her I compare it to the way I feel about Maryjane. When I would think of her my stomach would get butterflies, I couldn't wait for bed or nap time. She spooned with me. She would snore so loud I would have to wear ear plugs at times...LOL.. I like to hear her sleep. She would make funny noises as she chased squirrels in her dreams. She always wanted to be right under my arm. She would always watch me get ready. Follow me from room to room. She was like a little kid in the morning. I would come down and make my coffee, and she would lay in the bed for a bit longer, and then come crawling down and get on the couch so she could be close to me. I always wondered how the throw blankets on my couches got pulled down and sometimes the pillows on are on the floor. I never saw her actually do it. Several times a day I have to put the blankets back and pick up pillows from the floor. Then one day, I finally saw her do it. It was so cute (although it pissed me off at times). She reached up and put her paw on it and pulled it down. Then she kicked off a couple pillows, but kept one for her head. Very systematically she spread out the blanket and laid down with a big sigh. I finally saw her do it. So it wasn't a ghost after all....LOL.

Needless to say, I got 2 hours of sleep. I had to be at the pre judging by 8:30 am. I packed most of my stuff up Friday night, so I wasn't in too much of a rush on Saturday. I had to totally shut off my emotions. It was difficult, but I managed. I did still have an obligation to have my booth up and to pose in the evening. I was hoping I could pull this off. I couldn't let everyone down that was expecting me to be there. I didn't want to mess up the routine or get emotional or brain dumb when in front of the mic. God took it easy on me for the rest of the weekend. Everything went well at the show. My booth was fun. My posse had a great time and help me immensely. My photographer was all over it and will have some great pix out soon. My routine was on, my impromptu speech came out smoothly and purpose full ,hopefully.

I looked better than ever. I can see the changes that I wanted to make in the 7 weeks I had. I hope the judges will also. I had a lot of compliments on my physique, and this is from local people that have seem me evolve. I appreciate you all.

2 weeks out of the NY Pro Show, I just have to bring it in a bit tighter. It seemed like I had everything down. I used http://www.speciesnutriton.com/ new aqualyze. It worked great! I stayed nice and full. It was fairly comfortable. I'm a baby with the dehydration part. I complain about that the whole time. It wasn't killing me this time though. I think it was the aqualyze. I'm gonna kill myself with fish and broccoli for the next 2 weeks. I'm going to change my workouts to 4 all body work out days. Now it's about stimulating those deep fibers to fill out the bellies and press the muscle against my skin. Lots of posing!!!!

Thank you for your support, and to all the new fans I meet over the weekend. I appreciate you all. I will have a NPC Midwest gallery in the free section of site for fans and competitors to view, and Dr. Sexy galleries. You can check out the shows website to http://www.npcmidwest.com/ .

MARYJANE May You rest In Peace. Mommy misses you already.

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

Hopping Into Shape

Dear Friends and Fans,

hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. The Easter Bunny left me 12 egg whites, a bunch of chicken breast and pretty spring asparagus and broccoli florets. Oh it was so good..lol. I'm on the conveyor belt these days. I'm beginning to amaze myself with the amount of things I'm handling. My guest posing is next Saturday... and the after party @ wwwlurenightclub.com is on. I have finished getting all my PR stuff out from the show and my advertisement for the guest posing. It may seem easy to do a guest appearance, but to me it's not. I had to organize all my photos for sale and make sure I have enough copies. I'll be selling some used photo shoot stuff at my booth, so I had to get pictures together of all the outfits, wash them, package them, organize them in some manner and price them. All of this stuff has taken 4 weeks to do. I've been working ever since the Arnold. Of course, I have been taking care of all of these things on my "SPARE TIME"..LOL! I still have to practice my routines, work out and work my other job. to give you an example, my day today went as such: I woke at 3:30am to start my coffee then laid back down to try to force myself to sleep. I just cuddled a bit with Maryjane... up out of bed at 4:15. I sat and sipped some coffee, walked Maryjane then 5:15am I started practicing my posing routines and did my daily sets of push ups, pull pus, abs and leg magic. I was on the treadmill @ 5:50am for my first round of 45 mins of cardio. After cardio, I shot up to the tanning salon for a tan, back home for some web cam, and a meal. By 11:45, I was back on my treadmill for my second round of cardio. I took a nap @ 12:35-1:44. I got my office @ 2:30pm so I could put some much needed filing away and back on cardio but this time it was 15 mins stepmill, 15 mins stepper and 15mins of the hand bike adding up to 2 hours and 15 mins of cardio for the day. I saw my first patient @ 4:00pm and had them back to back til I left... 9:06pm... I always look at the clock..LOL time is my enemy. Oh did I mention that Wednesday is my off day?? So, I'm sure you can imagine what a day with a workout in it would be like. Now on top of all of that and trying to run a business and stay sane for my patients, I'm having wood floors put in my house while I'm in NY. I have to pick tile and get all the supplies straight with the floor guy. Next week, I have to empty all of my cabinets and move furniture around so the guys can get to the floor. May sound like nothing, but it takes the one thing I don't have...TIME!!!!

Now that I vented....My physique is looking good. My weight is still up.. I'm hanging now at like 147-148. It finally started to drop. I guess 2:15 of cardio can do that...LOL. Big, hard, full muscles. I can notice the changes I've still been able to make in my legs. I've kept my quads full and have hit my hams and glutes. I hope all this cardio doesn't eat me away, but right now everything seems to be on. I think I will definitely be heavier than at the Arnold though. I'm thinking 142-144.

Tom 9 took the pix I posted. I will have his gallery up soon. Hope you like the changes to the site. I appreciate your support. I hope to have some fun pix from the guest posing.

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

Irons In The Fire

Dear Friends and Fans,

Weeks seem to be just flying by. I feel like I have so much going on.... I have been working a lot more to pay for this NY trip. Oh My!!! I have my guest posing coming up in 3 weeks, April 25th, http://www.npcmidwest.com/ . Jack, the promoter, is meeting with the club owner today to finalize the details of the after party we are hosting after the show. It should be alot of fun. http://www.lurenightclub.com/ . I'm hoping to get my friend in from NY to spin at the club. DJKC.... www.myspace.com/djkcnyc . Gary my photographer will be taking pictures of the booth, guest posing and the after party, so we should have some fun galleries coming up.

My training is going well. I'm really just training my legs and hitting my upper body once a week, but I do push ups, pull ups and the hand bike everyday so that is keeping My upper body hard too. I'm looking forward to seeing what I look like at the guest posing. I will be 2 weeks out of the NY show. I'm weighing 150 right now. I have to start trying to get my weight down a bit. I don't want to be lighter... but I need to be a bit more crisp... I'm gonna have to figure that one out...LOL..

I thought my legs looked pretty good in this shot. Dan Ray took this photo. He shoots me really well. When standing alone my legs look great... LOL... you know how the rest of that story goes..

I hope you are all are enjoying the change of seasons. I love it. We have these white Pear Blossoms blooming all over. It's so pretty.

Thank you for your support.

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

Springing Into Bloom!!!

Dear Friends and Fans,

Well it's back to the full routine of training, posing and working. My friends had a CONGRATULATIONS party for me yesterday at friends Alex and Chris restaurant "El Agave" in Pacific, MO. oh my the food was GREAT and PLENTIFULLY!..LOL.. and a big chocolate cake. I almost over ate. Gosh, made that mistake one year... YUCK!! I really have some great friends, and want each of you to know that you really touched me.... I feel so fortunate to have so many people that love and appreciate me as a person. It's amazing how complete I'm beginning to feel. It honors me to share with you a poem that one for my friends wrote for me and read aloud at the party:

Ode To Dena

Please join us for a celebration

Not only tops in this great nation

She's also winner #9

In a world of muscles fine

Almost bare,she prances and dances

flexing while in muscular stances

On the stage she has such poise

while her fan club makes loud noise

This fine young woman we all know

Has great depth, she's not all show

Her friends are tops upon her list

And Maryjane gets hugged & kissed

The qualities that you posess

Makes all other seem a mess

You cook, you party yet motivation

Is the crux of your dedication

So dear Dena, we salute you

For the many things that you do

You heal us with your loving hands

You make no judgements no demands

How can one girl be so fun

Smart, accomplished next to none

Inside and out your beauty shines

You just get better like fine wines.

Thank you Connie

Okay so here it is, I have 7 weeks to pull my physique just a bit tighter. It's the damn glute/ ham area of course. I'm training my legs 4 days a week. I'm not killing them though, but they feel it the next day. I do the incline treadmill for 30 mins and then the rest of my cardio I try to do on the hand bike, so I don't burn up the size of my legs. A typical day of leg training would be 2 sets walking lunges, 2 sets box jumps, 3 sets stiff leg deads. I'm still doing 2 sets of pulls, push ups, and leg magic. My abs are INSANELY thick.. I'm gonna let them rest a bit... they get a work out while posing. everything seems to be right on so far. It's back to business... My posse wants to go to Vegas....LOL... Top 3 @ the NY Pro Show May 16th will Qualify me for the Ms. Olympia and a trip to Vegas with my friends and fans.

I have a guest posing Apr 25th here in St. Louis... Robert's Orpheum Theatre 7pm. It's a new NPC novice show called 2009NPC MIDWEST. I will be hosting the after party with the promoters Jack and Ann Titone. Ann is a top national figure competitor if you want to check her out. Show info WWW.NPCMIDWEST.COM . I will be back stage helping athletes during the prejudging and selling photo shoot outfits and photos at my booth. Come by and say hi. I'll keep you updated on the guest posing and the after party for all you local fans. Keep pushing me to be champion..... if only in my wourld...LOL.!!

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

9th In The World!!

Dear Friends and Fans,

Well, here I am... finally home. I need to get some rest but it's difficult to get off the rush. I worked the Species Nutrition booth Sunday 12-230 and then rushed over to do a photo shoot with Annie ( muscle angles ) 3-4. My plane left at 615. My entire weekend went that way. It's is a lot of running around.

I am VERY happy with the results of my placing. I was wanting a top 10 finish and I placed 9Th. It seemed like everything was right on schedule. I learned a lot about my body this show, or it's the accumulation of experiencing the way my body feels to peak. I still feel like I didn't nail it right on the head though. For once, I FELT a difference b/w being full and not. I did sweat on stage, not much, but the top girls weren't sweating. I have to check out the pictures closely and see if I had any water under my skin.

I had a huge St. Louis posse come to support me. I competed on Friday night and had planned a dinner party of 20 at Marchella's. I wanted spaghetti and meat balls and meat sauce, bread and oil and a couple glasses of a nice red wine. I wanted nothing that tasted like Pasta House. The meatballs were their speciality... YUMMY... ooooh and the meat sauce was right out of grandma Guzzi's kitchen!!! LOL. I'm a twirler..love to spin long noodles with a fork and spoon. There is just something about it... and I was craving that action. You can see that most of my post show food pictures have a huge bowl of pasta in front of me. There were 2 people in my party that had a birthday over the weekend, so I thought of what ,of course, I would want and it was a dairy queen ice cream cake. I special ordered a dairy queen ice cream cake in Columbus. On Thursday, Beth ventured out in her car to get my cake and drop it off at the restaurant for the next evening. She dropped me off for a photo shoot with Dan Ray... and off she went. Beth dropped the cake off with the chief supposedly!!!! So, Friday I was riding in the shuttle over to prejudging and the restaurant called. The manager was calling to ask where I got the cake from... My ice cream cake was left out over night!!!! Now keep in mind.. I'm on my way to get on stage and this happens!! Not something that needs to be on my mind at that time. They told me they saved the decorations..lol... Thanks!! Well, everything worked out. The food was outstanding and the service excellent. I had an ice cream cake... everything went as planned. Saturday morning, I had a photo shoot with Tom 9 from 10-1130 and worked the species nutrition booth from 12-2. I had just enough time to grab something to eat before starting a video shot with awefilms. Watch Out!! Steve just pulls something out of me. Our chemistry together is so free. He takes excellent video of my physique. I think this was our hottest video yet. We shot til like 7pm. I had to primp up a bit more and head out the door to the Party With The Pros. After that, we ventured over to Boma. We all danced the night. I'll have some pictures up soon on the site of the evenings. Now to make matters worse, we lost an hour in the time change.... I had to pack ,check out and work the species booth 12-2. I went to sleep at 530am... so, OUCH!!! I was feeling that 1030am wake up and rush around deal. Beth helped me out so much. She had her car there and was getting me around. She really got to know the area , so we were able to be somewhat efficient. I say somewhat because I had 1 more photo shoot with Annie 3-4 and my plane left at 615. Beth and I went to the wrong hotel for my shoot with Annie. Room 1407..... it was open, so we thought she was shooting in the lobby and would be up. I undressed and laid around on the couch under the covers and waited. After 15 mins goes by I check my phone to call her and I saw a text from her asking where I was...LOL.. I said waiting in your room. "MY ROOM?"...LOL we had no idea who's room we were in but Annie's hotel was 1407 across the street. We pack up and laughed all the way over to Annie's!!! OOOO, very packed flight on the way home, but made it safely....I was asked what my biggest threat was for the show and my response was " to not make it home safe and sound". I am a home body, and totally enjoy the security of my home. I don't like to leave it long.

AHHHHHHH, so many decisions to make. I know I should take a couple of days to think things out, but I have done a lot of thinking and had been sketching out my next move even before the Arnold. I, of course need, to wait and see what happened here. I've decided to do the NY Pro Show. It will be my 2ND consecutive year at this show. It's a great show and who can turn down a trip to New York. I have a game plan in mind... I have 9 weeks... I'm going to just train my legs. Do everything I hate to do or haven't been doing much of...walking lunges, lunges, step ups, stair sprints, box jumps....oh gag me with a spoon... must I go on..LOL. I plan to make minor, but noticeable improvements, We'll just see how I pull it together... I really think I'm starting to get everything down.

I totally enjoyed interacting with all my fans in the expo and around the lobby. I'm there for all of you. I get motivated by people appreciating and enjoying my physique. Thank you all for your support. " Strength is Beautiful".

PS. Check out my article on http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dena_westerfield_interview.htm

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

2 more days to prep!!

Dear Friends and Fans,

Well here it is... Monday! I've been waiting for this day for some reason. I'm right where I need to be with everything. Most of my bags are packed and food is organized for the trip. I have today and Tuesday to workout and finish up cardio.

I'm very pleased with where I am with my physique. I've made noticeable changes to my muscle bellies... I think it's just maturity. I'm blossoming...LOL. I'm leaner than I have ever been, yet heavier too. Here are a couple things I have been thinking about for the show:

We usually are put in order by our last names... that is why I'm always stuck at the freaking end by the podium or falling off the front of the stage...too close for the judges to get a good look at. I then get moved around... but it sucks to be dangling on the end all the time....LOL I'm use to it though... I've had this name for 38 years..

I'm not sure if this a blessing or not, but being the last competitor gives me no rest between my free pose and comparisons. I have to free pose then come right around and start to battle it out... My physique looks best once I pose it for at least 2-3 rounds instead of grabbing weights and pumping up that way, so although fatigued, my muscles will be full and ready for action. I think I'm fatigued, but I'm amazed at where this rush of energy comes from when your on stage. It's kinda like when I use to run... the finish line would be just in site and I would wonder how to make it... my legs would start to go so fast... the fastest the whole race.. it

s called the "kick". So, on stage, I'll be feeling the kick.

Another thing I've been thinking about is this... the top girls... in the top 5 get called out 1st.. right. So, the judges look at them and place them... then they get off the stage and on there merry way...meanwhile the " 2ND string, second call out, women" have to stand poised, in the background on stage, for all the judges to catch a glimpse of them letting their belly hang for some good inspiration....lol so the " not top girls" have to be in much better conditioning because they have to be on stage and perform longer. It's hard standing out there for all that time. Good thing the "best girls" are back with their feet up and not out battling it out for stamina too... LOL

OMG.. and 6Th and 7Th have a real hard time... they have to pose in the 1st round, then stay so the judges can judge the rest of the women against them. So, 6 and 7 really get beat up!!! It's nerve racking because you know you are on the cusp with the other person that got called out next to you..plus you have to hold it tight and not lose your placing by being tired and then drop from 6-7 to 9-10.. Confusing??? Long story short.. I've been really working on my posing because most likely I'll be hammered on stage with no rest and definitely no matter where my placing is .. I'll have to fight for it with my posing and condition with a boost of stamina.

ok.. one other thing that has been weighing on my mind.. my changes and weight. Here is the scenario:

As an amature, I was competing as a lightheavy weight (LHW)which was under 140. I had issues making this weight at times. I won my Pro card in 2005 (my hardest showing physique wise)as a LHW. 2006( my fulliest showing) I competed as a pro in an open class ( no weight class) and qualified for the Ms. Olympia. 2007 and 2008, the weight classes came back and intimated my the term heavy weight(HW) 0ver 135.1/4 lbs, I sucked it down to the light weight ( LW) class ( under 135) and missed the boat by 1 placing both years. I looked ripped, but small and long... for some reason. So... for 2 years I've been restricting my body from it's potential by trying to stay at a particular weight class. I haven't had the chance really ever in my career to just go with my look and not worry weight. I have made alot of changes and have not blossomed in 2 years.. so it's time! I'm my leanest and waking at 145-146 lbs. I've actually been gaining weight as I've been losing fat. I no didn't think it was possible.... I've talked to others... they say this is what happens when your "ON". I think my body is just really liking being able to just hang out like it wants. I just want it all to come together at the right time.. that's the trick.. holding it and not doing anything to change it. It's hard to hold a look and not over think. I'm not going to stress about weigh because it is not an issue, and hopefully this showing will give me the justification in my own mind what weight my body shows best at. Hope all that makes sense... LOl it is early here and I'm babbling...lol.. Realistically, I was upset in the off season because I just didn't pack on this huge weight like the other off season girls could. I'm a small person... I kept using that excuse.. but now I see it's not how heavy you get off season... its the quality!!! I'm 7-10 lbs from my off season weight which means through all of this I've only lost 7-10 lbs.. Most lose 20-25. No wonder I didn't blow up in the off season.... I grew and matured.... It's NOT about the scale...LOL.. I have to keep telling myself that too so don't think I'm being ms. bad ass here.

Wash up suits, clean house, business work, nails/feet make up food and out the door on Wednesday. I have a really busy week-weekend planned. It is work when I get there. I have to move from photo shoots to meetings to tanning and back.

I have a HUGE hometown posse coming to see me and experience the weekend. I'm so excited. I've had friends and people helping me in the past, but not a group of 20 people, some who are driving 10 hours, to come be with me and show there love and support for what I do.. I appreciate you all. We'll all have a great time and takes lots of pix. All of you who are in the STL waiting for me to come home.. I haven't forgotten you either!!! My NUcks!!! I'm looking forward to all the goodies my friends and patients will be making over the weekend for me to pig out in. They all love to come see how big I get from their homemade food.

I have a guest posing April 25th her in the STL, so I have to keep some look...LOL Not the Pillsbury one!!! LOL The pix here is from the shoot 3 weeks ago. I maybe able to get another recent one up.. but if not I brought my camera stuff to load on Beth's computer so I can send pixs to blog while there. Look for me on cam.

Still keep your fingers crossed and keep healthy thoughts in your soul for me. It is a critical time coming up. I've done my best... could I be better.... LOL ALWAYS.. after the show I'll have to figure out just what BETTER is.

Again, over and over, I appreciate you all... thank you for caring about who I am and what I'm about.

PS>>> I will be on muscle radio talk show Tuesday March 3,2006. Here is the link... there is an archive if you missed it.. http://www.musclesportmag.com/2009/03/02/dena-westerfield-this-weeks-guest-on-musclesport-radio/

Your Pro,

Dr.Dena

1.5 weeks to The Arnold Classic

Dear Friends and Fans,

It's coming down to the last couple of days.... this is the last week for me to really concentrate on losing as much fat as possible. My physique is coming in very good. I'm still working on the glute/ham area... but that is to be expected with everyone... it just happens to an area I've been working on, so I want that to be evident. Dave has me up to 2hours and 15 minutes of cardio in addition to 1.5 hours of posing and a workout.. my day is jammed packed. I have to try to pull myself together to then see my patients. It never fails that when you're trying to leave Town...everyone calls and needs to get in. I finally had to just close my books. I'm seeing patients this week, but just the ones that were lucky enough to schedule last week. I realize how physical my work really is. It gets difficult to stand after doing all the cardio and I often worry about straining my shoulder. I'm starting to pack and pre plan for next week. I still have so much stuff going on that it hasn't yet really hit me what I'm about to do. I get so busy just making it through the long list of things everyday. I'm sure Monday will be another story...LOL.

I appreciate all the supportive emails. I want to say thank you to all my friends here locally that have been calling and offering their help. If I had it their way... I would be laying around and they would be catering to me...LOL. Yeah sounds nice, it just seem easier to do it all myself. I guess that's just what I'm use to. But I do appreciate your understanding at least and your desire to help me.

So, just a couple more days of this. I'm still hanging in the low 140's. Dave says he's going to torture me this week.. he's almost there. I do feel like I'm in a cloud. I always feel like the bionic man... remember how he moved slow and made that noise.. I feel like that. It takes seconds to react. I feel like a stick solider... you know how there legs are stiff and they swing them forward...LOL. I keep getting shocked from dragging my feet.. I hate that.. and getting tangled in my rugs at home. AUGH!!!!

I can't complain though.. for the most part I'm doing great. I'll be my heaviest, fullest, and improved... I hope the judges notice that. I hope to blog again before I leave, but if not... I'll try from the hotel. Beth will have her laptop there, I hope to do some cam... so look out for me. I will be at the http://www.speciesnutrition.com/ booth Sat/Sun 12:30-3:00 come by and say hi.

The picture was taken @ 3 weeks out.. last weekend.

Hope you like the look of the new site. Colette has been working hard, and we have good stuff to come. Thank you for your support. XO

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena

4 weeks from the 2009 Arnold Classic!!

Dear Friends and Fans,

Yes.. OMG.. I'm here. I kwno it's been a long time. I'm sorry. I could give you all these excuses, but lets skip it and get to the present.. Except to say I hope you all had a GREAT Holiday Season. My web site is up and running with new content. If you happen to be getting a warning when on the site, use your browser instead of google for a bit. I've been told it's because of google... The site IS safe.

I've been training hard and staying focused for the Arnold. I was so excited to get invited. I was preparing well before I knew I would be doing the show which has left in a very good position. I think my muscle maturity is really starting to show. I didn't get HEAVIER off season. I stayed about 152-155. I was discouraged because I wanted to hang at 160 consistently... I guess I'm just stuck on that number...lol anywhoo I stayed leaner than ever too.. It just happened.. I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. I concentrated on my areas.. legs/ hams/ lateral quad/ calfs/ triceps.

A typical day for me is as follows:

4/4:30 am 1 hour on the treadmill

then 4 (5:10) mandatory rounds 20 minutes 40 secs

office work/ house work/ cooking/web cam

10:30/11 - 30 minutes on the hand bike at gym

practice routine 45 minutes

tan

home to eat

nap from 12-1:30

back to the gym to train (1hour)and do another 30 minutes on the step mill

4pm-8/9pm- see patients do last 30 minutes of cardio if I didn't get it after training.

So... a busy day full of things that take an enormous amount of energy.

I'm living off 2 Isolyze protein shakes and 3 chicken and veg whole meals/day. It's all good though. I feel decent.. highs and lows... but have had it worse. I'm enjoying not having to make a weight class. I can keep myself as full as possible.... I've been sitting around 142-144 and it's not dropping off quick. I'm really lean now though. I don't want to get all strung out looking. I have some big girls to stand next to. I think I'll show @ 140 or so. Which will be my biggest since 2004 Nationals although I was close at the 2006 Europa where I qualified for the Ms. Olympia.

I hope to place in the top 10. The last time I competed at this level I place 14th out of 15.. so I hope to pull out of the bottom.. but in my opinion.. even last is NOT bottom at this show. I will be at the Species Nutrition booth on Saturday.. so come by and say HI.

I'm going to try to keep you up till I leave for the show. I hope to do a little shoot this weekend, so I'll have a decent picture for you. the one here is what I call a mug shot. It is one I sent to Dave for a progress picture.... I had to grab a neighbor real quick to snap a shot of me... It's not easy to do pix when you have no one around.. lol./ anyway I look like hell but my side chest looks good.

Thank you for keeping up with me and showing your support.

Your Pro,

Dr. Dena