Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! I hope everyone has a safe and healthy holiday season and a wonderful New Year!

It's hard to believe 2006 is almost over. This has been a very good year for me. I really enjoyed competing in my first professional level contest as well as being an integral part in helping others in their competitive pursuits. I'm not certain if I'll take the stage in 2007 primarily because of the financial commitment involved and other obligations I must attend to. It does look like I'll be working with more athletes than ever next year which is very exciting.


Earlier in the year, I had the pleasure of working with Ann Caliri for the 2006 Masters Nationals where she placed 4th in the middleweight class. Ann has a beautiful structure, is dedicated and disciplined and only needs to add a little more muscle to climb higher. This photo is from the guys at Women's Physique World - www.wpw.net.










I mentioned Amy Sibcy in my post on September 10th. Amy came in 2nd in the middleweight class at the North American taking a big step up having placed 5th at the Jr. Nationals 3 months earlier. I'll be helping Amy again in 2007 for the Master's Nationals and possibly the USA. Unfortunately, I don't have any stage pictures of Amy to post here, but here's one taken post contest by Tom Nine.



I had the pleasure of working with two women for this year's Nationals... Tera Guzman from Florida who placed 3rd (out of 17) in the lightweight class and Holly Geersen of Colorado who placed 7th (out of 16) in her first National level contest in the very competitive lightheavyweight class. Tera is a busy gym owner and property manager and Holly is a Chiropractor. In spite of heavy work schedules, these two trained and dieted very hard for this contest. Working with them was a pleasure and now that I know how they repond, I expect to see them move up at the 2007 Nationals and/or North American Championships.






















Julia Stamper from Indiana competed as a heavyweight at the Jr. Nationals. Unfortunately, Julia's look did not bide well with the criteria for Jr. level competition. I'll be working with her again in 2007 for the USA and the Nationals where she'll definitely be a better fit. Check out Julia's section on my testimonials page.

Congratulations all of you on a job well done!

Sonic Christmas Parade

Last Sunday, we pulled a float in the Sonic Christmas Parade. This was our third year participating and was the most enjoyable yet. Everyone was thrilled to meet Parker, who is now 18 weeks old and weighing 43 pounds. I've just posted a new video on YouTube.


Our boxer dogs Booda and Big Suge were missed by many since Booda was recovering from surgery for a torn cornea and it was best he stay quietly at home.

I hope everyone reading this has a happy holiday season!

New Videos and Updates

Check out the new video I just posted on YouTube of Barry and Parker, at 11 weeks old... He was in quite a cranky mood on this occassion, probably hungry or in need of a nap.



We're off to Miami on Wednesday for Nationals. I'm very excited to see lots of old friends and to play tourist. It's been many years since I've been to South Beach and I'm eager to play, shop and eat.

I'm doing prep for Tera Guzman and Holly Geersen. They both look fantastic and I expect them to do very well. I'm very proud of both of them.

I'll be writing more about my trip when I return...

New Puppy is Home

We have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of our new Olde Victorian Bulldogge puppy for the last few weeks. He arrived Friday and we're thrilled over this 13 pound bundle of energy and cuteness. He's a lot of fun and a lot of work, but he seems extremely healthy, smart and alert so I'm hoping he will be fairly easy to train. It certainly helps to have our two well behaved boxer dogs, Big Suge and Booda to lead by example.

We're still trying to figure out a name for him and welcome suggestions and comments on your favorite.
Our list now includes:
Turbo (his father is Power Stroke aka Torque)
Ozzy
Jasper
Uno
Chucky
Magnus
Rocko

Here are a couple of pictures of him and I've posted a video on YouTube.





Here's a little about the breed and a link to the registry website.

The OVB is an olde bulldogge that is being bred and shown to the victorian era standard A large smooth coated dog with a wide heavily built torso and chest. He is large headed with thick bones that does not impede vigor. Broad muzzle with a short face, but not too short to hinder breathing capabilities. Hindquarters should be slightly higher than the foreparts. The bulldogge should have a symmetrical body and be well muscled. The OVB must be loyal and courageous but must have a stable temperament.

Ohio Trip for Amy Sibcy

I traveled to Middletown, Ohio last week to help Middleweight Amy Sibcy with the last details of her North American preparation. The contest will be held Saturday, September 16th and is promising to be one of the best North Americans ever with top ranked amateurs Sherry Smith, Andrea Gahan, Debbie Bramwell, Michelle Brent, and Isabelle Turell all fighting it out for one pro card. I have high hopes for Amy and I think she will definitely be a stand out in a contest rumored to have 40 competitors. She has made remarkable improvements over the last few months and her conditioning is spot on.

Amy trains at Powerstation Gym owned by trainer extordinare Mike Ferguson. This gym may be the best I've ever seen. The equipment is top notch and the environment is hard core - definitely a dream environment for strength athletes, bodybuilders, mixed martial artists and wanna-be warriors of all ages and levels of condition.

Mike trains Rich Franklin who is the UFC Middleweight Champion and Jorge Gurgle, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist who appeared on season 2 of Ultimate Fighter. I watched them go through a one hour non-stop workout that would bury most people. Spike TV was there filming and it will show 10/14 on pay-per-view "UFC 64 - Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva". Rich and Jorge are fantastic ambassadors for the sport... down to earth, friendly and very cool. You can check out some video clips I shot of them on YouTube.

The Europa Supershow and Website Update

My favorite part of competition is the guilt free eating the first 3 or 4 days after. Days 5 and 6, the guilt of making a pig out of myself begins to set in. Day 7 (today), I'm sitting here with my belly distended and aching full of M&M's and pralines and I find myself swearing once again that enough is enough and it's back to my slightly amended contest diet tomorrow.

Barry and I had a fantastic time at the Europa Super Show and I'd really like to do it again next year if I can make the necessary improvements. I was so thrilled to be there as a Professional Bodybuilder. It was very cool to be among so many fantastic athletes. It's a small thing, but I really liked the fact that you are a name to the judges, rather than a number. The athletes have the option to choose their numbers or go on in alphabetical order. It was decided by a vote to go in alphabetical order. Of course, the bodybuilders feel that bodybuilding should take place at the beginning of the prejudging and finals rather than come after figure and fitness. Betty stated that they like to save the best for last. Guess we just have to cultivate more patience if that's the case.

I want to say a special "Thank you" to Merry Christine who gave me her personal suit after my win at the 2005 Master's Nationals. We have known each other for years and her gift of this suit really helped me feel confident and glamorous. Merry makes the most gorgeous suits around through her company MC Bodywear.

I had lots of home team support this year. Dominique Durand is a young bodybuilder who helped with my posing routine and music. Her help was simply invaluable. I also want to thank Belinda Smith who did my hair and makeup. She is very talented and it was great to have her and her boyfriend Brady Becker there. Also lending support from Lafayette were Ozzy and his dad Doug - thanks, guys! Thank you as well to Lee Verni and everyone at Red's for all their encouragement and good wishes.

It was fantastic to have the chance to visit with Debbie Bramwell, Gina Davis, Colette Nelson (who I am so very happy for), GeneX, Scott Salberg and Leighsa Bailey and so many others. It was also great to get to know Tazzie Colomb a little better. She and I chose a Nina Simone song as our posing music which blew me away. The fact that she prepared for this show while dealing with the stress of Katrina is amazing. I enjoyed meeting Nathlie Abellan from France and Vicki Nixon - both are such sweethearts.

Of course my deepest appreciation is for my wonderful husband Barry. He is my biggest supporter and seems to love his new role as "Professional Bag Handler". I love you, Dawg!

I was very happy that I was able to make improvements to my legs for this show. I think my symmetry was improved as a result and I think I achieved the "correct" conditioning that the officials say they are after although I think I can improve by dieting a little longer and doing more cardio next time. I know the areas that need work and I think I can make those corrections. If I am to do better, I must improve my stage presentation, polish my posing and put together a kick ass routine for next year.

Web Site Update and Europa Super Show

We are close to launching the newly redesigned website! Sorry, but these galleries are no longer on-line.

The Europa Super Show is just around the corner (August 25th) and I'm working hard and trying to stay sane as the time grows near. Cardio twice a day and being perfect on my diet are taking at toll and I'm doing my best to keep a positive attitude, although it's very tough at times. I really just want to enjoy the experience and not get too stressed out mentally. This time, I'm doing it on my own. In the past, I had the brilliant Chad Nicholls helping me, but I didn't feel I could afford that luxury this year. If I compete again in the future, Chad will be my number one priority because I realize having his help is not a luxury, but a necessity!

I'll post pictures soon!

I'm very excited about some of the athletes I'm working with for the North American and Nationals and will write in more detail about them soon.

Web Site Redesign Coming Soon!

I'm very excited about my web site. It is being redesigned and will be launched soon. There won't be any disruption, just a major change, so keep checking back to see it and let me know what you think once the transition is complete.

I'm busy preparing for the Europa Super Show in Arlington, Texas August 25th. It should be a great weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and getting lots of new pictures for my web site. In a funny way, I feel much less pressure doing my first pro show because I'm not concerned about how I place. Of course, I'd like to do well, but my goal is too look my best and have a great time.

Louisiana is just damned hot, but I'm getting lots of work done inside. We had our state show last weekend which I judged for the 3rd year. Judging is much harder than it looks, but I'm learning a lot and enjoying myself. Jay Cutler was the guest poser and he looked amazing. I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of this gentleman...

Sorry for the Absence!

It's been way too long since I've updated things here. About a month ago I began to have problems with my computer... Gremlins, you know? I backed up my data to DVD's and CD's and things seemed to settle down for awhile. Two weeks ago, I could not access Windows and received the dreaded BSOD (blue screen of death) with some odd error codes. I decided to reinstall Windows XP which meant my C: drive was reformatted and whatever work I had recently completed was lost as well as some things I had failed to back up (like my email for my web site and my friggin' music files). So, I hope that those of you who wrote to me won't be too upset that I haven't gotten back to you. Now I have an external hard drive and good backup software so this should never be a problem again.


I've been busy with contest prep, but just have a few people so that I can give myself adequate attention for my contest coming up the end of August. Most recently, I helped Stephen Mattox who won his weight class (LHW) at the Southern USA on April 22nd which qualified him to compete at the Jr. USA on April 29th where he placed 4th in his class (LHW).


Here are a couple of pictures I took before the Jr. USA...








I promise to stay more in touch in the future. I'll have a new page ready for my web site soon that will feature magazine clippings and articles as well as more galleries and clips.

Stay focused and train hard!

New Pictures in Gallery Section

I've just changed all the pictures in the "Gallery" section on my web site. Sorry, but these galleries are no longer on-line.

Here are a few of my favorites shots...

Krewe des Chiens Parade in Lafayette

Saturday was a big day for our boxer dogs Booda and Suge. This marked Booda's 3rd and Suge's 2nd time to attend the Mardi Gras Parade for the Krewe des Chiens in Lafayette. We stay clear of Mardi Gras celebrations for the most part, but this one has become an annual event that we look forward to. We didn't walk in the parade this year because I enjoy taking pictures both at the staging area and as the parade passes by.

We do plan to donate our entry fee as it benefits the local animal shelters in this area and promotes the goal to help reduce the rapid growth of the animal population by educating the public about the importance of having your pets spayed or neutered. Attendance was smaller this year because of the colder conditions, but we had a great time and the dogs are sleeping like logs tonight.

For these shots, I set the 7D to full automatic aka idiot proof as I was concerned with getting the shots and not experimenting with settings this time...

Boxing in Lafayette

Saturday night, we went to watch some of our local fighters at the Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette, Louisiana. The main event on the card featured welterweight "Bad" Chad Broussard who won a twelve round unanimous decision over Homer Gibbins. The other fight I had been looking forward to featured Kaysha Chamblin, a featherweight who is referred to as "The Fighting Marine". Unfortunately, her opponent had backed out and none was found to replace her. I'm hoping to shoot pictures of Kaysha soon. Here is a shot from the weigh in on Friday at Red's Gym and from the fight of Chad and corner people including his trainer Kenny Vice.

"Women's Physique World" Magazine Cover

I'm thrilled to report I'm featured on the cover of the December 2005 issue of "Women's Physique World" magazine. There is also an article by staff writer Mike Bogen and several more pictures by Bill Jentz who is the publisher. You can check out the article in adobe .pdf format on my web site from the "News" section.

As you see, the issue focus is on older physique athletes. I don't really like to make a big deal about my age, but if others do that's fine with me LOL. I didn't start lifting until my early 30's and I feel I looked better as I've gotten older. The amazing thing about bodybuilding for women is that years of consistent work and maturity result in continued improvement. My goal has always been to make improvements in shape and symmetry and so far I've managed to do so. I'm sure there will come a time when maintenance will be my primary goal, but until then, I'll keep on plugging away.

For the non-competitive trainer, be assured that weight training will keep your bones strong and your mental attitude positive. It's never too late to begin and your body will thank you!

Happy 2006!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Mine was uneventful and very low key since poor Barry had a nasty cold (which I managed to avoid).

I mentioned my Minolta Maxxum 7D previously. It is a fantastic camera and Barry gave me a beautiful new lens for xmas to complete the package. I had purchased a couple of lens on Ebay, but this one is made for this camera and will probably rarely be removed. Here are a couple of pictures I did of Barry's grand kids Cade and Madison...






Once I had my digital SLR, I decided to add a compact digital for video clips and snapshots "on the go". I settled on the Contax U4R, which is a little jewel and I found a very slightly used one on Ebay.

Here are a couple from that camera...

This is Biggie, who is a rescue cat we got a few months ago. He is the most amazing cat I've ever known and I'm so grateful to be his caretaker. He was one day from being put down when Cajun Animal Aid got him. I'll be eternally grateful for the wonderful work they do. Here I am in the next shot tearing it up...

The Contax takes some great video clips, too. Andy just posted a couple of work out clips I took with it. There's also a new clip of my routine from "The Celebration of the Most Awesome Female Muscle in the World" (too damned long title) in 1993. I used a song by Dead Can Dance and my routine was sort of an urban shaman or sorceress called "La Loba" who can bring animals to life from their bones. If you're interested in learning more about the "Celebration", check out the new book by Kristin Kaye, IRON MAIDENS.

Zoo Visit

Today, Barry and I went to the Zoo of Acadiana to visit the animals and to test out my new Minolta 7D camera. We love going to zoos and auto museums and take every opportunity to do so when we travel.

I am very happy with the 7D. I decided to test it out in the default auto mode. I have a very big, very heavy zoom lens and with the anti-shake technology built into the camera, I was able to get surprisingly sharp pictures using it without a tripod. Considering the fact that the camera and lens weigh tons and my subjects were moving, I thought the results were quite good. Most impressive to me is the quality of the color. I love the feel of a "real" SLR and this camera feels very comfortable. I have lots more to learn. For example, I realized too late that using fill flash in many of the pictures would have yielded me better results.

I have a 1GB card and was shooting raw + jpg. I managed to shoot over 200 pictures. Unfortunately, the card was full before we got to the high point of the zoo, the young white tiger who was acquired not too long ago as a cub. I definitely want to return soon to shoot her in her new habitat, which is very well done.

Anyway, here are some shots from the (high humidity/bad hair) day...

Inspiration From Hurricane Rita

What a crazy month this has been here (just north of Lafayette, Louisiana). We have been very fortunate. Hurricane Rita damaged the fence and hammered my banana plants and my other tropicals. We were without power for 15 hours - a minor inconvenience relatively speaking.

I was most concerned for the many hummingbirds who have adopted me and depend on me for 2+ quarts of nectar a day divided among 5 feeders. Watching them is so amazing. Friday, the eve of the storm, brought strong gusts of wind and rain. The size of these birds belies their strength. They surge through it all and manage to consume amazing amounts of food in spite of the fact that their feeders are swinging in the wind. They are most active just before sunset. Standing a few feet away, I watch them and listen to their chirps and the sound of their wings. Normally, they are territorial and stage little fights. Sometimes you can hear the beaks make contact like tiny sword fighters. The evening of this storm there was none of that behavior. They took turns feeding and just seemed to be intent on fueling up for the night ahead. Occasionally one of them will fly up to me, hover and dart back for more nectar. If I observe them from inside the house through the window, I'm no more than 2 feet away from them and they seem to realize that I'm the lady who fills the feeders.

The worst of the storm hit around 3AM. When I got up the next morning, I honestly didn't expect to see my birds, but Barry had already refilled and hung the feeders I had removed to protect from damage during the storm. In the back of the house was a female (who really does own that feeder) perched on the S hook waiting for me to replace her feeder. There were definitely fewer birds, but the numbers continued to increase throughout the day and it seems most are back and completely unharmed.

I've been researching Digital SLR cameras and hope to get a lens that will allow me to take pictures of these birds as well as lots more (bodybuilding) images for my web site. At this point I've decided to go with the Konica Minolta 7D. This picture was taken with my Olympus C-5050 zoom camera.

It has been heart breaking to watch all the innocent animals suffer throughout these storms. Knowing that some are as resilient as hummingbirds gives me hope.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





When I was in Las Vegas for the USA, I had the opportunity to work with Mike Yurkovic of Physique Art, Inc. I'll be preparing a gallery soon with these pictures. Here's one of the images that I like.

Hurricane missed us!

Just a quick post to all my concerned family and friends to let you know that all is well. We had a little high wind, but nothing significant. We are very grateful since it could have been so much worse.

There will be lots to do and many months before things return to normal for the people in Katrina's path. My thoughts and best wishes are with them.

It seems telephone (land lines and cellular) service aren't working right now, so email may be the best way to communicate in the next several days.

Thank all of you who have written and for your good thoughts and wishes!

Amanda Dunbar - Newest IFBB Pro!

On July 30th, Amanda Dunbar won the light heavyweight and overall titles at the USA Bodybuilding Championships in Las Vegas, NV. It has been my distinct pleasure to have assisted her with her contest preparation over the last several months. She was unwavering in her determination and dedication and I am grateful that she trusted me to get her in her best ever condition. Congratulations Amanda and welcome to the IFBB! You can see more of Amanda Dunbar on her web site at: www.amandad.com


This year has been fantastic for the athletes I've assisted. Jennifer Chehardy won the lightweight at the Southern Classic in Jackson, MS and was the lightweight winner at the Junior Nationals in Chicago on June 19th. Look for her to move up to national level competition next year...

For those of you who may be interested in working with me on their contest preparation, I'll be adding a new page to my web site with more information. In the meantime, you can drop me an email with specific questions regarding this service.

Important news for those who care to make a difference!
On September 24, my wonderful niece Christy Dodge is going to make a difference in the lives of some very special people by participating in Walk for the Gold®! Walk for the Gold® is a premier fund raiser for Special Olympics Northern California and Christy will be joining hundreds of other people to help raise money for this wonderful organization. If you'd like to make a monetary pledge on behalf of Christy (or on behalf of me for Christy) you can follow this link.

IFBB Professional Robin Parker

July 23rd was a simply amazing day for me! I won the overall Master's Nationals and earned the right to become an IFBB professional bodybuilder. Here are some shots from the show...



























This one is the line up at pre-judging. That's me on the right and Michelle Brent 3rd from the left.



THANK YOU all my wonderful friends for all the fantastic support and congrats! I'm still floating on air and doubt I'll come back down to earth for a while.

I couldn't have done it without my husband/training partner/best friend, Barry. He is my hero. He has been incredible - this is a team effort and a shared victory. I'm so blessed to have him in my life.

The contest was just about perfect and Gary Udit deserves a lot of credit as a promoter. I recommend his contests to everyone. You can check them out at www.garyudit.com.

My favorite part of this sport is the people in it. It was fantastic to see many friends again and especially Michelle Brent and Merry Christine who are both a joy to be around. It was also a wonderful opportunity to make new friends, too such as Trudy Ireland, Pam Shealy, Pam Franklin and many more of my sisters in iron. People at this contest were amazing. I lost count of the people who came up to me to tell me they had seen me in Dallas and were happy that this contest turned out as it did. It just blew me away!

Amanda Dunbar has been such an important person in all of this as we've shared our progress over the last few months with all the ups and a just a few downs. She's helped me keep things in perspective and always seem to say just the right thing. Now, it's her turn this weekend in Las Vegas at the USA Championships. Thank you Amanda for all your encouragement and positive input as well as for trusting me with your preparation.

I also want to give a special thanks to Colette Nelsen who helped with my routine and has been so supportive and Cynthia James (CJ's Elite Competition Wear) who made my fantastic posing suits. What a team!

Just goes to prove, it's never too late. I'll have updates on my web site with new pictures soon. This weekend in Las Vegas will provide the opportunity for lots of new pictures and video clips.

Oscar's 2nd Birthday

Our Manx cat, Oscar, had his second birthday on Friday, July 15th. Here he is doing what he does best...

Oscar is extremely independent and only comes in the house to eat. The rest of the time he is in the back yard sleeping in the mulch or somewhere in the neighborhood doing who knows what. He is small and thus, we refer to him as "Little Baby". The world definitely revolves around him. Much respect, admiration and a little jealousy.



















My contest preparation is going great. Here's a picture of me taken in 1989 when I won the Master's Nationals as a middleweight (124 pounds). That's Bob Bonham of Strong and Shapely Gym in New Jersey and Shirley Kemper from John Kemper's Diamond Gym, also in New Jersey. The week before, I had won the overall at Mike Katz's Northeastern Championships. There's nothing quite like the feeling of winning. Let's hope history repeats itself on July 23rd! Thanks so much for all your support and good wishes! It means more than I can say.