Earth®. Step Into Wellness!

I am not a shoe loving girl. I only own a few pairs of shoes and honestly for me comfort trumps fashion every time. I am a 7 1/2 wide shoe and there aren’t a lot of fashionable choices in wide widths so my choices are limited from the start.

I have heard about Earth® Footwear and their “negative” heel technology for a few years now but the new spring line features “positive” heels. The “negative” heel shoes are still going strong and are available at Kalso Earth Shoes.

The new Earth® features a cushioned footbed for all day comfort, with a padded heel area to displace shock, a reinforced arch support to stabilize foot and a multi-density latex cushioning layer for extra support. 

I received a pair of Bonsai shoes in 7 1/2 (not wide) and they actually fit!! The shoe material and design allow it to fit comfortably on even my wide foot! The Bonsai has a 0.75″ platform and a 2.68″ heel. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to wear the shoes too long because of the heel height and my bad back, but I was wrong. The first time I wore them was to church. I am the head of hospitality at our church and I stand outside from 8:30-10:15am before service and then after service for about 20 more minutes. Very few stylish shoes have passed my Sunday morning test. The Bonsai made it through with flying colors. I love the Bonsai because they are adorable and can be worn with jeans, dress pants or a dress.

The new Earth® is characterized by Contemporary Comfort, Contemporary style and Everyday Value. The Spring/Summer 2012 Earth® Collection is all under $100! Prices range from $79-$99 – and is made of real leather.

To stay up-to-date with all things Earth® make sure you Like Earth®’s Facebook Page.

I was compensated by Global Influence  as part of a Bookieboo LLC campaign  with Earth Footwear. All opinions are 100% mine.

The post Put Your Best Foot Forward with Earth Footwear appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I’m still under a no exercise order from the doctor so other than checking out the Shake Weight my sister brought over, I’ve not exercised in 8 weeks! I got another round of labs done this week and I’m hoping that things will look better and I can start at least some exercising. I haven’t weighed in in 8 weeks either so I was excited to see that, even after Thanksgiving, I’ve only gained 1 pound!!

This week I’ll be drinking my water and doing a lot of walking, since we are headed to Disney World. I have warned my family I will need to take breaks and rest whenever my body tells me to. What are your fitness goals for this week?

The post Mamavation Monday-After Thanksgiving appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I’ll be trying to limit the treats this week but…it is Thanksgiving and the cakes, pies and sweet breads will be enjoyed without guilt. There will be a very early wake up call on Friday as dad and I head out verrry early on Black Friday to snag some bargains. Friday’s lunch will probably take place in a mall food court. Luckily the 2 malls we hit both have Subway’s in the food court so we can eat healthy.

I’ve actually missed exercising and am waiting for the doctor to give me the ok. My current fitness goal…IF I’m released on time is to train for the Royal Family 5k at Walt Disney World in February. My 15 yr old son and I are hoping to run this race together, the entry fee is $45 each so we will see what happens.

What are your thoughts on managing Thanksgiving goodies this week? Leave me a comment and let me know.

The post Mamavation Monday-Thanksgiving Week appeared first on The Mom Maven.

We ran out of butter so I bought some Shedd’s Spread sticks (to try to convince myself it was like butter). It is ok in my cooking and on some foods but it doesn’t cut it where I use butter the most…on toast and popcorn. Some of my friends suggested I try Smart Balance as it has some butter in it and might try that next.

I have maintained my weight so I am happy with that. Monday is our busy day and we always eat lunch out so I’m bringing the boys to Subway and that will be a nice treat for me too. I do have a favor to ask all of you who read and comment on this post-please take 2 seconds out of your day to help a sista out. I am in the running for an awesome blogging job. Part one of the application process is a social media popularity contest and I need your votes. There is no registration required and it just takes a quick click. If you wanted to be extra helpful, on the voting page there are buttons so you can ask your Facebook friends and Twitter followers to help too! Here is the link http://www.sam-e.com/job/entries/433.

Thanks for stopping by! Please let me know if you have an butter substitution suggestions and if you voted! (You can vote 1x a day per IP address-so vote often between now and November 10th!)

The post Mamavation Monday-No Butter appeared first on The Mom Maven.

The nurse took my vitals and was impressed with my weight loss and my blood pressure YAY! Then I wait for the doctor and in walks someone new…my doctor is no longer there and she is an ARNP. She looks at my records and asks why I hadn’t been in to get my lab results from April. I told her no one called me with any concerns and my previous doctor said “No news is good news when it comes to labs.” so I wasn’t concerned. She on the other hand was very concerned. You see, my labs from 6 months prior showed I am anemic and there was a note stating that more labs were necessary! The labs also showed that my triglycerides were somewhat elevated but, she wasn’t as concerned about that because I am losing weight and exercising and that was 6 months ago.

So back to the anemia, she placed me on a prescription iron supplement and warned me this was just a starter dose, about half what I needed, but while we waited the 3 weeks for my labs to come back she wanted to see how my body tolerated the iron. After talking to her at length, she is amazed I am still standing. She told me to continue exercising, but only to moderate levels 3 days a week and not outside in the Florida heat. Then I headed off to get the additional labs done to pinpoint why I’m anemic.

You may wonder if I had any other anemia symptoms…and I have but they were all explained away as effects of high blood pressure, obesity and per-menopause so no anemia red flags ever went up. In my talks with her we both figure I’ve been anemic for probably 2 years! She is amazed I haven’t been hospitalized because I am both active and very busy and should have succumb to exhaustion on many occasions.

I am taking my medicine and learning about anemia and triglycerides (though the recommended diets for each don’t mesh at all). I am focusing on the anemia as that is more prevalent at the moment. The iron supplement hasn’t had it’s usual adverse side effects on me, probably because I drink over 100 oz of water a day, but the rules for what I can and can’t eat 1 hour before and 2 hours after I take it are proving an inconvenience. I take the iron at night but it also says not to lay down for at least 30 minutes after taking it so I need to time it after dinner, before an evening snack and before heading to bed!

I did get 1 workout in last week and all of my water. I maintained my weight from last week, with all I was facing that made me happy. One other thing I did was enter the Subway Commit to Fit Challenge and you can too!How did you do last week? Do you have any ideas or suggestions about triglycerides or anemia? Please leave me a comment and let me know.

The post Mamavation Monday-Doctor’s Visit appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I am very excited to say that I am down 2 pounds in the last 2 weeks to a new low of 225! I think that is great, especially in light of all the delicious Little Debbie treats I consumes at Type-A Mom! Granted, it has taken me 6 months to lose 13 pounds but a loss is a loss. Today I finally get my “normal” schedule back after a crazy summer and a September filled with travel. I will be continuing my water intake, healthier eating and getting in 2-3 days of exercise a week.

How are you doing? Hoe did you do last week? What are your goals for this week? Leave me a comment and let me know.

The post Mamavation Monday-Heading in the Right Direction appeared first on The Mom Maven.

In just the last week I have traveled over 1000 miles, and never left central Florida. I have attended 2 conferences, 4 theme parks and walked over 65,000 steps! I am tired but re-energized at the same time. My goals for this week are to keep drinking my water,eat well and let my feet rest until I leave for Type-A Mom (I am in a lot of pain from my plantar faceitis). I’m craving Subway so hopefully I’ll get there this week too.

What are your goals for this week? Leave me a comment and let me know.

The post Mamavation Monday-Moving Forward appeared first on The Mom Maven.

That being said, I have now finished my summer job, and I am back at home full time. Now I can start exercising more regularly so hopefully get back on the wagon. Unfortunately the 10pm Mamavation show doesn’t fit it my schedule right now and I do miss hanging out with my sistas on Monday nights.

The post Mamavation Monday-Off the Wagon appeared first on The Mom Maven.

So, Last week was crazy busy and a ton of fun. We visited 3 theme parks in 2 days, spent Saturday visiting my parents celebrating their anniversary and my mom’s birthday and then Sunday was our HUGE Back to School Bash at church. Today at work we were cleaning up and reorganizing post-bash…and drying out, as soon as the Bash officially ended the skies opened up and we got a tom of rain, the church property was flooded! Anyway even with a week that included the BEST pizza I have ever eaten at Via Napoli at Epcot and some delicious desserts at SeaWorld…I lost 2 pounds!
I did get in my 10,000 steps 3 days this week and I drank 100+ ounces of water every day.

This week my goals are to slow down and breathe (and dream about winning some Avon Footworks products), make healthy food choices, drink my water and exercise 2 days. How about you? What healthy lifestyle changes are you making?

The post Mamavation Monday-Phew I Made It! appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I ate well most of the week and easily got in 100+ ounces of water each day. This week is another busy week. We are gearing up for next Sunday’s Back to School Bash where we expect at least 600 people to visit our church, ride water slides, climb rock walls, get their immunizations and the first 150 kids to register will receive backpacks full of school supplies. There is a lot of work and organizing left to do for this event and guess who gets to do it?? Me! Also…I have 3 awesome blogging events to attend this week. Wednesday evening I’ll be at Busch Gardens, Thursday morning I’ll be at Epcot and Thursday afternoon/evening I’ll be at SeaWorld! Phew… I also need to work on lesson plans because we start our homeschooling year 2 weeks from today.

My goals for this week are…get all of my water in, make healthy eating choices, sleep 7 hours a night and get at least 3 days of exercising in. What are your goals for this week? Leave me a comment and let me know.

The post Mamavation Monday-Busy, Busy appeared first on The Mom Maven.