#Mamavation Monday - Pluggin' along...

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First of all, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for everything I have, I am especially thankful that I found Mamavation this year! You all have been so inspiring and helpful! Love you all!




Yep, I am pluggin' right along... This was probably my best week yet with all the meds/new job/etc... The banishment of the scale lasted a whole two days, then I remembered I had joined a challenge over at Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans with some fellow sistas from the Mamavation Sistahood. The good news is, I DID NOT GAIN WEIGHT THIS WEEK! Which is HUGE. :) I have dropped down another 5 mg on the Prednisone, so hopefully as I go down on the dosage, so will my weight. I didn't do great with water this week, I have purposefully been holding back on drinking enough, because of having to run to the bathroom so often! I am still in training at work, so it is awkward getting up to leave in the middle of the class to go pee! I take on my actual position starting Friday, so maybe I will have a cubical close to the bathroom. Ha ha!

I kinda sorta found out the shift I am going to be on at work. While I am not super excited about it, I am not too disappointed. My dear mommy has been babysitting my two boys since I started my new job, and at 5 days a week, it is truly a task for her. I had been browsing around at different daycare/sitter options, and the prices are through the roof. One daycare close to my apartment wanted $600 a month for both boys twice per week. Um, not! So now, with me working something like 4:30pm-11:30pm, my mom will only have to watch the boys for a couple hours each day until my husband gets off work. This does however create a potential problem with my plans to apply to be the next Mamavation Mom. You may recall, one of the requirements is to be available every Monday night during the campaign for Mamavation TV. Well, if I was chosen, and was still working the late schedule, I would not be available! Ack! So I am praying and hoping that my schedule will be bumped up a few hours before then! I really want to be your next Mamavation Mom! (Can't start campaigning too early, right?!)

I will start vlogging again soon. I am a little self conscious lately over my face. The prednisone has caused me to develop moon face and a rounder belly and I am not to fond of either. This medicine is horrid!!

Congrats to our SOTW, Heather, @notdiyheather! This lady is an awesome sista and I love her to death! I steal recipes from her site all the time. She is such an encouragement to me! :)

This week's Special Guests are Sharon Catherine Blanks and Billy Blanks Jr.!! How exciting! 

This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Subway,  @subwayfreshbuzz. One winner will win $100 towards the fitness goal of their choice. I would SO buy some running/walking gear with this if I won! My commit to fit challenge is to walk/run a 5k in the next 6 months. My goal was originally set for December 5th, but I have had quite a few setbacks with my new diagnosis, etc. 

Have a great week sistas!!

#Mamavation Monday - Banishing the scale

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Yes, you read my title correctly... I am banishing the scale. This past week went well, or so I thought. I started my new job, meal planned everyday, ate well everyday and still gained 4 lbs. This gain I am blaming on the prednisone (and my time of the month). I was really depressed over this yesterday and that huge number really got to me, so the scale is going away until I am done with these wack-o medications. I know this puts me out of the running for the Move it and Lose it challenge, but until December 31st, when I am done with this medicine, I can't even begin to take the scale seriously. 

I admit, I did
not exercise this past week, it just felt like I couldn't find time to fit it in. I am struggling a bit trying to find a happy medium between being a 5-day a week working mom/student, and fitness. Now, I know some of you do this and have been doing this forever, but I just can't seem to get a grip on it. It seems like as soon as I get home from work, the kids are needy over something, dinner is screaming to be cooked/served/cleaned up and then the packing/cooking/preparing for the next work day begins, then, it's bedtime. Sigh. Where do I find time for me in all this!?

The new job, however, is going great. I am enjoying learning about what I am going to be doing, and all the people there are great. The environment is so positive, and it seems like everyone there is pushing me to advance as far as I can. 

I had a bit of a snafu with my diet this week. I ate A LOT of fiber on Monday and I seriously thought I had sent myself spiraling into another UC flare. My stomach was messed up for the rest of the week (Like 4-5 BMs per day!), and by Friday my joints had begun to ache. I was scared! Now I am feeling better, more normal again. Thanks to Greta who introduced me to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, which is directed towards people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I am going to focus on sticking to this diet as closely as possible, and following the legal/illegal list to get my intestines back in tip-top condition.

So my goals for this week...

-Exercise at least 3/5 work days

-Drink lots more water

-Follow the SCD as closely as possible to aid in the healing of my intestines

-Remember to take my probiotics daily!

Our Special Guest and giveaway this week is Patricia Friberg @patriciafri.

Don't forget about the Fiber Twitter Party on the 18th (Thursday)! Make sure you go RSVP!

Congrats to Scarlett, @MMScarlett for being named SOTW, for the second time! Way to go girlie!

#Mamavation Monday - We're goofy!

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Forgive the goofiness in my vlog, we all truly enjoyed our extra hour of sleep last night, and it shows! We are also in that "Holiday mode" now, we had our first snow yesterday and we were so giddy about it!

Weight: Okay, So, I was WRONG in my vlog, I thought I lost this week, but apparently I gained 0.2 lbs, lol. Drats.

Measurements:

Wow, even though I have gained like 7 lbs I have still lost a couple inches or so!

	10/18/10	11/8/2010	11/ 29/10
Waist	42’’	42’’
Bust	47.5’’	47’’ (-.5’’)
Hips	60’’	59’’(-1’’)
L Thigh	29’’	29’’
R Thigh	28.5’’	29’’
L Arm	16’’	15.5’’ (-.5’’)
R Arm	16’’	15.5’’(-.5’’)

This week's blogging carnival sponsor is EarthFootwear! I WANT a pair of these shoes!

Congrats to an awesome Sista, @OnlyLaila for being named Sista of the Week. She is so awesome and supportive and always up for a chat if you need her! Way to go girl!

EASY Pumpkin Muffins (I'm not kidding, SO easy!)

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I am a lover of all things pumpkin... Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin rolls, pies, etc. So when I came across this recipe today, I knew I had to try it! 

Thanks to my friend Heather from On Pans and Kneadles for sharing this with me!

The recipe is called Brownie Muffins, but I decided to use white cake mix instead of devil's food cake mix. I think I may plunge and try carrot cake and/or spice cake next time! 

Ingredients:

1 box devil’s food cake mix (or whatever flavor cake mix tickles your fancy)
1 can pumpkin (15 oz.)

Directions:
Mix the cake mix and canned pumpkin together. That's it. Leave out the eggs, oil, and water. Seriously. That's all. The mixture looks kind of thick, but I promise, it bakes up wonderfully. Bake for 12-18 minutes (start checking, mine were done at 12 minutes) at 400 degrees F.

I sprinkled the tops of mine with cinnamon before baking just to add some flavor, I imagine it would be great topped with some pumpkin pie spices! Enjoy!

#Mamavation Monday - Operation Avoid Halloween Candy: FAIL

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*Just for the record, the Halloween candy has since been disposed of!*

So, here is a quick run down of my week in case you didn't want to sit through my long, scattered video... I started out strong Monday and Tuesday, working out lots, and drinking a GRIP of water each day, I had lost 2 lbs by Wednesday then Halloween candy took over my life and I gained those 2 lbs back (and then some)! Thanks to said Halloween candy I feel like junk. No energy, stomach ache and pounding head. Can you say "Halloween Candy hangover"? This is my last week at my old job, it's going to be an emotional one! Planning on drinking lots of water and eating tons of greens this week!

Scale pic... *SMILE*
265.6 (+1.2)

This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Subway and the #commit2fit campaign! Jared will be running the marathon soon, and I will be interviewing him over the phone afterwards! Can't wait!

Congrats to Lorrie @cuteangel79 for being named our SOTW! Way to go Lorrie, and thanks for your support!