Ever try to find a chic swimsuit that offers coverage, comfort, versatility and style? Kind of difficult, isn't it? That's why Marin mom Lynn Werner started Lynnina, her line of stylish, comfy, and flattering mix-and-match swimwear for women of all ages. Lynnina swimwear consists of boardshorts, available in two lengths and a variety of colors and patterns, with a selection of coordinating tops, including bikini tops, tankinis, and rashguards.

Learn more about Lynnina and check out their selection of swimwear at www.lynnina.com. You might find something that you'll love to wear all summer long.

Please tell us a little about yourself. What's your background, and how did you get started in your career?

I ran computer and video game sales at Disney for the west coast region until I left in 2001 to spend more time with my twin boys.  I got started in this carreer out of a need to create something that I couldn't find anywhere.

Marin Mommies presents a guest article by health and fitness expert John Spongberg, founder of Personal Training in Marin, and creator of the Mother's Day Gift Experience, a personalized fitness and nutrition program for busy moms.

If you’ve watched Oprah or seen Bob Greene or Dr. Oz lately on television then you already know it’s not just about reducing calories or aimlessly exercising.... It’s about making lifestyle changes through nutrition and effective exercise personalized to your individual needs and preferences!

Focus On Goal Setting

If you want to lose weight, setting goals is going to help you immensely. Goals can keep you on track and they can motivate you when the going gets tough. Mini-goals can be especially helpful if you set them and reward yourself wisely each time a milestone is attained. You will need to seriously look at your motivation and commitment towards your goals. That’s where a professional can help. That way, you can stay focused even through the difficult times.

Speak to Me, Marin's premiere series of intelligent, inspiring speaking events for women, presents "Who's Looking After Your Body? The Facts, the Fictions and the Tools to Tell the Difference," a discussion with Laurie Green, MD, on Tuesday, May 10, 2011, from 6:30–9:30 pm.

A native of Los Angeles, Dr. Green graduated from Harvard College and Medical School, and completed a medical internship at Stanford and an Ob/Gyn residency at the University of California, San Francisco. She's been a practicing ob/gyn in San Francisco for nearly 30 years, and was the medical reporter for KTVU TV's Mornings on 2 for many years. This widely respected Bay Area medical expert will discuss how to separate medical fact from fiction in this age of unprecedented access to information, and how you can tell if you and your family are receiving thoughtful, comprehensive medical care.

While Mother's Day brunch is always a fun outing for the family, sometimes you want to skip the whole fine dining experience and do something a little more original for mom. How about putting together a picnic and heading out to one of the many great picnic spots in and around Marin County. Here are some of our favorite places to bring out lunch (or brunch) and dine al fresco.

• The Marin French Cheese Company, otherwise known as the Cheese Factory, is a wonderful spot for families, and for a special occasion like Mother’s Day. Located on Point Reyes–Petaluma Road, between Novato and Nicasio, the Cheese Factory is a great spot where the kids can run and play on their expansive lawn and you can relax on your picnic blanket in a nice shady spot. Bring your own picnic, or buy food at their cheese store and deli, which stocks sandwiches, ice cream, a multitude of different cheeses (of course), soft drinks, and an extensive selection of wine. Read more about the Cheese Factory in our article here.
• Bear Valley in the Point Reyes National Seashore is home to the park's visitor center as well as a large picnic area complete with tables, restrooms, drinking water, and charcoal grills. Have a leisurely lunch outdoors, and then take a hike—there are a number of different hikes and walks you can do here that are suitable for everyone in the family, including the Earthquake Trail, the Bear Valley Trail, and the trail leading to the Morgan horse ranch.

This week is your last chance to check out the fantastic exhibition Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico, which closes on Sunday, May 8 (Mother's Day). This kid-friendly museum exhibition features two rare Olmec stone heads—humungous scultpures carved out of single giant boulders, as well as a wide variety of other artifacts from this ancient culture.

The Olmec are considered the "mother culture" of Mesoamerica and America's oldest civilzation, developing their iconic and sophisticated artistic style by the second millennium BC. Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico includes over 100 objects drawn primarily from Mexican national collections, many of which have never been seen by North American audiences.

Visit your local Baskin Robbins ice cream store tonight only from 5-10 pm for 31-cent scoop night and help honor America's firefighters. The Baskin Robbins Foundation is donating $100,000 to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, so come on in and get your 31-cent scoop. 

Participating Baskin Robbins locations in Marin include:

• Mill Valley--29 Miller Avenue
  (415) 388-9897
• Novato--1769 Grant Avenue
  (415) 897-9862.
• San Rafael--909 B Street
  (415) 456-1450

If I missed one, please let me know. Enjoy!

Congratulations to Meghan in San Rafael—she's won a delicious dinner for her family, delivered to her door by Marin's Pomegranate: Home Cooking for Modern Lives.

Pomegranate is a family-oriented dinner delivery service, recently launched by longtime Fairfax resident Chef Teena Granat and dedicated to the principle of helping families come together at dinner time, even if they don't have time to put together a fresh home-cooked meal. Pomegranate currently delivers on Monday and Thursday evenings to Fairfax, San Anselmo, San Rafael, and Ross, and Tuesdays to San Francisco. Visit Pomegranate's Facebook page to take a look at upcoming menus and to read what Chef Teena's fans have to say about her service.

Veteran parents will probably remember joking about forgetting to pick up the manual for their new baby when leaving the hospital. Of course there isn't a baby user manual, but the Secrets of a Baby Nurse: How to Have a Happy, Healthy, and SLEEPING Baby from Birth(185 pages, Rising Star, 2011; $17.95), the new book by seasoned maternal-infant nurse and "baby sleep wizard" Marsha Podd, RN, might just be the next best thing! Marsha has over 20 years of experience working with parents and small children, and is the author of numerous articles, including guest posts on Marin Mommies.

In Secrets of a Baby Nurse, Marsha provides new parents with just about everything they need to know about their new baby, especially when it comes to sleep (both yours and the baby's). Her helpful advice and tips are the product of years of experience and plenty of scientific research. It's kind of like having your own personal baby nurse on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I really really wish I had this book when my kids were babies—I don't think my son slept at all until he was three (at least it seemed like it at the time).

If you don't have chickens running around in your backyard in Marin, then surely one or more of your friends and neighbors does. That's right—chickens are hot. They're about the only farm animals you can keep in a suburban or urban yard (sans noisy rooster, naturally), and not only do you get the freshest eggs you've ever eaten and some pretty clever feathered pets, but they help keep your garden free of insects and other pesky pests. It also goes without saying that they're a great educational experience for children.

Want to know more about keeping chickens, and communicate with other chicken-keepers in throughout Marin? There's a new Yahoo! group just for you—Marin Backyard Chickens. Started back in February by Marin mom Kim Salinger, the Marin Backyard Chickens group is a great resource for any chicken-related question and discussion, including chickens as pets, kids and chickens, chicken care, and Marin County-specific backyard chicken information.Naturally, it's a great source of information if you're thinking about taking the chicken plunge, too.

If you're as busy as we are, there are many nights during the week when you wished someone would just drop off a home-cooked meal, ready to eat. If you're a Marin resident, you're lucky enough to have Teena Granat of Pomegranate: Home Cooking for Modern Lives to do this for you! A Fairfax resident since the '70s, Chef Teena has long been a caterer in central Marin. She recently launched a family-oriented dinner delivery service, inspired by time spent with her daughter and grandson, and dedicated helping families come together at dinner time, even if they don't have time to put together a fresh home-cooked meal.

Pomegranate currently delivers on Monday and Thursday evenings to Fairfax, San Anselmo, San Rafael, and Ross, and Tuesdays to San Francisco.