NEW SITE

Hi Everyone! 

Surprise it's Me! It's been a long time since I've posted on the Skeptical Sweeper and I apologize for not returning sooner. I have indeed moved and now own my own domain- www.candypo.com 

Won't you join me there? I launched it back in September and am really enjoying having my own space. I am still on Twitter, but now also have a Facebook page. 

Also the name is different. I decided against sticking with an all Sweepstakes themed blog and went with Candypolooza. It's fun, spunky and me! I blog about life, our travels, being an Army family, cooking, fitness, tv and everything in between. Oh and ofcourse Sweepstakes! 

I hope that you will come check out my new site and be apart of my party. Always fun, Always bright and we are still Winning! 

-Candy 

Mamavation Monday

Unfortunately my life has been turned upside down since coming to Texas but I'm dealing with it ok.

Well I say unfortunately but there's been a lot of positives too. I lost 1 lb this week. It was a tough week. I actually took off for West Texas last Monday and returned on Tuesday. A two day turnaround house hunt. Luckily I struck gold with house I went to check out.

I packed lite since it was a two day trip and I also packed my best friend from home and my 9 month old! Yes Ezra went along for the trip. He can be a little tricky to deal with so mommy brought him along. I have to say he did well. He slept like a champ the way back- 4 hour nap! I was so glad, I know I hate to see my babies upset. But I also packed a great bunch of healthy snacks to munch on during the drive. I did not drink any soda, I was so proud of myself! That's normally the first thing people reach for.

Anyhoo- I'm back home w/my parents and plan on doing some Nike workouts on my phone during Ezra's naptime from now on. I really want to drop 5 lbs or more by the time I see my husband again.. I've got 3 weeks to see him.. So I'm cracking down.  I have to add that I would LOVE to win an Omron Body Fat scale this week during Mamavation tv.

That's my week and I'm now returning to posting my daily journals as well. I'm so glad to be a part of the Mamavation community. They are all fantastic and are so supportive of each other.

This post is sponsored by Omronand hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention &weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway” at the bottom of your post.  


MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV

Mamavation Monday

We made it to Texas! Turns out my parents and Inlaws have become farmers- so there's so much fresh produce!! Yay!!

Since being here I've lost 4lbs. I'm assuming it the fresh veggies?? I've been eating a lot of soup type meals.. and Drinking water almost the whole time we've been here. Unfortunately I've not been able to workout. I'm still trying to figure that one out. But I have faith that it'll work itself out.
It's only been a couple days, but I'm trying to find the balance.

Hope everyone has a fantastic week!!

I'm super excited to listen in on the webcast this week!
Shout out to Mary Ann Kelly (@1980Dodge)  Welcome back! 


If you are interested in learning more about my Mamavation Monday posts click here: www.mamavation.com
If you are interested in pledging the SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesdays over Twitter. (Or later if I get swamped)


“This post is sponsored by FFIT and hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway” 

Sweepstakes Mama presents #Sweepstakes101 Twitter Party

Join the Sweepstakes Mama team for #Sweeptakes101!!

Learn to how to get started entering sweepstakes! And winning ofcourse! She will go thru tips to become a seasoned sweeper like her and take time to answer questions you might have!

SweepstakesMama.com is an awesome site for the best sweepstakes online! We have a page for Instant Win games and our Twitter party calendar is updated daily!

Join us on Twitter at 9pm ET hash tag is #Sweepstakes101

RSVP by going to www.sweepstakesmama.com

Join @sweepstakesmama
@sweepreviewmama


Hope u can make it!

Mamavation Monday

And the farewell tour continues- gosh am I full of myself or what? Nah I'm not. I'm trying to be funny, but I'm really sad about moving. 

Here's my weekly Mamavation Monday post- I'm slowly realizing what I need to do to get back on track. I'm hoping that with the help of my parents & my mother in law I'll get some time to work on me as well as enjoy being home with my family and friends. I've already made Zumba dates with my sister in law :)  

This week Mamavation is focusing on healthy meals & snacks. I tend to stick to pre-packaged snacks that are marked with the Weight Watchers points for now. I've never really considered myself an actual snacker- I was actually in denial. I've noticed that sometimes I do reach for chips or whatever is out just because. I bought some natural almonds for those moments. It's helped a lot this week. 

My favorite healthy snack to prepare in advance for myself is fruit salad. No additives, just the fruit. I cut up a fresh pineapple, cut up strawberries, add grapes, blue berries, watermelon and orange slices store in a large plastic container and portion out cup sized portions when I feel the need to chew.. Fresh fruits are worth 0 points :)  yay!! And I pare it with a cold glass of ice water w/lemon. A cool and refreshing snack. I get my water and my fruit serving for the day. Ofcourse I might do this twice a day if I have time. Most days I only have time to do this once a day. 

Oh an update on last week's challenge- I did make 2 zumba classes as planned. My running plans were de-railed by farewell tour dinners and get togethers. But we did walk a ton at Seaworld on Saturday. The official move starts Wednesday. Keep our family in your prayers as we will be leaving daddy here in Tampa, while we go home to East Texas to be w/family before our next duty station of Goodfellow AFB in west Texas. Hopefully the move goes smoothly and we find a place as nice as our place & landlord was here in Tampa. 

Big Congratulations to Hanan & Wendy for completing the Mamavation Mom Challenge!! You ladies rocked it! So glad I was able to be a part of your campaign.

WELCOME to the Mamavation Sistahood:
Welcome Kelly (@dancingvalentin) and Pam (@Pamdemonium2) to Mamavation. Jody (@rantsnrascals) and Lorri (@lorrieloveable), we are thrilled to have you back.

SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesdays over Twitter. 

This post is sponsored by Dole and hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.  

**The Skeptical Sweeper News**

Hi Everyone!
Just wanted to give you guys a heads up on what's going on with me!

I'm proud to announce that I am now a part of the Sweepstakes Mama team. For about a month now I've been learning the ins and outs of posting sweepstakes and being involved in the happenings with the blog. I was a part of the 20 minute chat held by The Motherhood last week. It was my first party type experience as a panelist and I was super stoked! It was a cool experience and looking forward to many more!

So if you haven't, go to www.SweepstakesMama.com and check out my posts and get to sweeping! Follow her site as well and you'll get emails when new sweeps are listed and you'll also receive emails each weekend with a round-up of all the new sweeps! You can also feel safe in knowing that all the sweepstakes we list are legit, I know that is a concern for a lot of people that want to enter sweepstakes but don't.

Also I will continue to post my Mamavation Monday posts but during the week starting next week will be touch and go. We are preparing for our move back to E. Texas and it's going to be a bit tricky. I'll be travelling back to FL in July to drive my car home and then we will head to west Texas and make our new home there courtesy of the US Army. Home will be intact by mid-August and the madness begins on Wednesday. (Yikes!) So you guys will see possibly a lack of posts regarding sweeping. As always I am always available if you have any questions- you can reach me via email candyolivares@gmail.com or leave me a comment and I'll get back to you.

I will continue to blog here as The Skeptical Sweeper and hope to learn some new tips and technique and share with you all. I'll always be skeptical ya know. ;)

I appreciate my small following; you all really mean the world to me.

Candy,
The Skeptical Sweeper

Mamavation Monday

Here's my weekly post to Mamavation.

This week was a little more hectic yet I felt more in control. If that makes any sense. I was able to watch my calorie intake and hydrate way more than normal. Positive on that aspect. The majority of my week consisted of working on my son's school yearbook. I was able to get it done on Thursday. Thankfully! I ran one day and went to an exercise class 2 last week. Wasn't what I'd hope to do but I was glad I got some exercise in. This week is Zumba week for me. Going to make 3 classes hopefully. And run 2 days. Hope to drop 2lbs by Saturday's weigh in. 

Wednesday was National Running Day- I was glad I got to get out and run with the group from Fit2Run at International Mall. 3 miles- in the heat & humidity were not easy. I ran the majority of it but walked some since I felt like I was overheating. No bueno. But it felt good. 

Last Saturday I attended a summer event at Weight Watchers and a representative from a running store told me that Jeff Galloway would be coming to his store the following Sunday (today!) and invited me to come out and listen to him speak. I have been getting Jeff's newsletters for about a year now. The idea of run/walk/run kind of makes me think I'd be copping out. But after listening to him speak today I am super excited to begin training using his method. 

Jeff Galloway schooling us on his method & why it works. 

I purchased one of the many books he's published and also purchased a interval timer so it will buzz when my run or walk time is up. I tried setting that up on my iphone and it was nutty! So I'm excited about this little contraption.  So that's me and Jeff. My husband told me not to get all nerdy on him, I was super excited to go listen to him. It made my day the he took the time and really spoke with everyone personally while he signed his book. Wasn't just a sign and get the hell outta here type event. I was very impressed.  If you ever get a chance to get to hear him speak- go! 

Me & Jeff Galloway 

The Running Center store

Carollwood- Tampa area

Oh and I wouldn't be the Skeptical Sweeper if I didn't participate in a raffle while I was there. I won a 2012 Disney Princess half marathon necklace! Yay me! 

Until next week Sistas! 

This post is sponsored by Joy Feldman and hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway

WELCOME
Welcome Shawn Ann (@ShawnAnn), Amy (@spotonwellness), and Pepper (@unicornbeauty) to Mamavation. We can’t wait to learn more about you!

Shout out to Wendy & Hanan!! Kicking butt and taking names mama's!! Awesome!