confessions & freckles.: apple cinnamon funfetti pumpkin muffins

My doctor's appointment went great yesterday! Before I was seen by the doctor, the nurse asked if I would be willing to participate in a clinical study and of course, I agreed. On my way out, she handed me a $25 gift card to WalMart! I didn't realize they were compensating the participants, but I sure wasn't complaining :) Happy Doctor's Visit to ME! After my appointment, I went to the house and piddled around waiting on Bo to get home from the tennis match so we could work out. I was getting a little antsy, so I decided to do some baking.

Mom told me about a recipe she made recently that involved combining a box of cake mix with a can of pumping puree. It sounded super easy and right up my alley, plus I had the ingredients I needed. I pulled a package of muffin mix out of the pantry along with my pumpkin and set out to mix the two together.

As I was mixing the two together, I was actually chatting on the phone with my mom. I was telling her how little mix there seemed to be in comparison to the pumpkin...something wasn't right. Well duh...I was supposed to use a box of cake mix, not a small package of muffin mix. Thank goodness I was on the phone with her and she could steer me in the right direction. So, I went scrounging through the pantry again and came up with this...

So, I combined 2/3 of the funfetti cake mix with the already mixed apple cinnamon muffin mix and pumpkin puree. Not a normal combo? No biggie. I'm a lover of all things funfetti, so it couldn't be that bad, could it?!

I baked them in a greased muffin pan for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, and voila!

If you look really closely, you can see the funfetti specks :) And let me just tell you, they were AMAZING. Just goes to show that what seems like a failure is sometimes turns out to be a success!

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This morning, I enjoyed some of my favorite chobani yogurt topped with granola and one of my original recipe muffins.

After breakfast, Bo and I were out the door and off to my second doctor's appointment of the week. As I've mentioned previously, I've been having some issues with sore and swelling knees lately, especially during and after exercise. Bo thought it would be best to have an orthopedic look at them. Diagnosis = kneecaps that run off-track. Therapy = building up my quad muscles through specific exercises. I'm also going to start taping my knees, moving the patella over slightly so it stays in place during exercise. This should prevent further grinding and pain. I'm relieved to know what is causing the pain and also to know that I don't have to quit any exercise, including running. So thankful for that...

So, this happy girl is heading back to work in about an hour. Before I go, I've got a couple of errands to run...and a belly to rub :)