So Im a vegan now.

Well, at least for the next 3 weeks. We'll see what happens after that. For the last week I have had no caffeine, alcohol, sugar, or animal product in my diet! Im not going to say it has been easy but it honestly isnt the hardest thing Ive ever done. Im planning on doing it for a month for a few reasons:
1- Most habits are formed after 21 days.
2- Ive been watching way too many documentaries on how animals are treated in the food industry and the benefits of a plant-based diet. I suggest Vegucated on Netflix or Hulu.
3- Oh you know, still trying to lose the weight.
4- I love a challenge.

Aaaannnnnyyyyway, Im one week down. And here's some of my thoughts/results:

First off, I was not aware how many things I could NOT eat. There's a lil bit of an animal in almost everything. Honey in bread, chicken stock in rice, butter in this and that. But at the same time, it made me realize how Ive been playing into the food industry game for so long. And I dont wanna be a part of that at all. Ive researched and there are so many plant substitutes you can use for butter, milk, eggs, ect. So Ive had fun trying out recipes and using the family as guinea pigs. Ive actually built quite the collection of recipes, turns out you can eat just fine using only plants!

I guess it should be noted that I am not making my husband and sister adhere to this diet as well. I told them they could eat whatever they wanted for breakfast or lunch but I would be making a vegan dinner every night. Thus far, my sister has only gone to Popeyes twice. But she's beyond picky. The hubs is way more supportive and open to trying new things.

Secondly, I have lost 5.5 lbs in a week. Heres the funny part though- I caught the world's worst stomach bug yesterday and saw everything that was in my guts for almost 36 hours straight. So I cant really say its all from the diet thing. But if I had to honestly guess, I would say Ive lost about 3 lbs from the diet and not the death I experienced this last day and a half.

Lastly, in this last week I realized how horribly I had been eating. Since I had to restrict in my diet, I realized how much I was eating crap! I had a day in the country, and 2 networking events, and I didnt break at any of those. There were brisket tacos, sausages, and queso galore. Not to mention alcohol. I was worried about going to my in-laws in La Grange but my MIL is amazing and provided me with lots of veggies and fruit!

So Im pretty jazzed about this whole deal and am looking to post lots of vegan fake-out recipes that blow your meat eaters' minds! Until then, Im gonna take a nap, cause Im still feeling kinda yucky. But not about my eating, thats making me feel great! :)

Later gators!
Susannah

I figured it out!

Truth.

I'm gonna go eat a whole carrot cake now. 

Tracy Anderson, a love/hate relationship.

My facebook status this morning reads:
"Tracy Anderson is like a really cheap tequila. I'm really excited about her during the dancing but really really hate her the next day. ‪#‎pain‬"

I. CAN. NOT. MOVE.

Its funny that I thought her "post-pregnancy" dvd would somehow be an easy, breezy workout. Ha. That woman means business. And I freaking love her for it.

Do y'all know about that Tracy Anderson Method? Shes a freaking beast! I heard about her from a (itty bitty super in shape) friend a few years back so I purchased the Metamorphosis DVDs. Its a 90-day workout plan that, if you can do, will leave you with amazing results. I totally plan on doing this once I work back to the intensity level because it is hardcore. Let me break this down for you:

1- First thing's first. She gives you a meal plan to completely detox. Im not going to lie, its a pretty hard plan to follow. Unless you have a juicer, and a strong stomach, you will definitely not be able to do the first week. Im talking beet, kale, and spinach juice, carrot and parsnip puree, and sweet potato and corn pudding. I didnt mind it when I tried it a few years back but now that Im breastfeeding there is NO WAY I could do her plan. Not enough calories and too much work (have you ever tried to clean a juicer....its stupid.) plus my family would have to do it with me because there is no way in hell I am cooking for them and me. BUT rock on if you can! The proceeding weeks arent bad at all. Small meals AND you can enjoy a glass of wine once a week. I might try this again once Im done BF. The family will just have to deal.

2- Do you like to dance? Well if you dont, stop reading this post. Because this chick has you dancing like you were at a gay bar for 30 minutes straight. Im talking bouncy-bounce, fist-pumping, type-of dance. For 30 minutes. Non-stop. It can get pretty intense. And exhausting. But this is my favorite part of the workout. I looooovvvveeee to dance. I dont care that I probably look like Napolean Dynamite when Im doing its one hell of a cardio workout. My only critique is that the music on the DVD sucks. Like, really bad. So what do I do? I put on my Kei$ha pandora, turn down the TV, and pretend Im at my favorite downtown rainbow bar. If I had my girls with me, Im sure those 30 minutes would just fly by. But le sad, they arent. Although its still fun!

3- The last part of her workouts are the mat exercises. AKA- the "I feel like Im going to die" portion. After bouncing around like an idiot for 30 minutes you are beat. But then she wants you to do these very specific exercises that work muscles you didnt even know you had. Im going to be honest right now- this shiz is hard! To start out I wouldnt blame you if you did the dancing one day, the mat the next. But for all in tense and purposes, you are "supposed" to do them right after the other. So give it a go. But dont say I didnt warn ya. They do get easier but its a bit of a self-beatdown the first few days because you dont think you can do it. You can! Just keep swimming!


So at the moment, I am actually doing her post-pregnancy workout, trying to build my endurance.

She just had a baby. Really? UGH. 

 I did this yesterday for the first time. I was expecting a dance-mat workout again but it actually is just mat exercises. Which is just fine with me at the moment. Ill run today to get my cardio in. I really actually liked the dvd. She really works on your abs, trying to get them back to where they once were. This was totally ok with me because that is the part of my body Im most self conscious about right now. Duh. So for almost 45 minutes you work your abs then she does some butt and arm workouts. Good stuff.

But let me tell y'all what- I am in pain today! I forgot that she works little muscles in your body to really pull your body in and give you a lean, dancer's body. OMG, my butt is a'hurting today. My abs aren't as sore as Id expected (dont get me wrong, Im feeling it, but with how much I worked on them yesterday I expected more) but the boo-tay is.

The idea is to work your endurance back to being able to do the metamorphosis workouts. I think Im going to rock the post-preggo dvd for another 2 weeks, 4-6 days a week, then hit up the 90 day challenge. Im going to document as I have been and see how things go!

Oh- and on a plus side, Ive lost a whole pound in the last few days! Yay! 4 more to go to meet my challenge by next Tuesday. I dont think Ill be drinking at all this weekend. Lame....but necessary.

Have you done the TAM? What are your thoughts? Comment away! Honestly, I dont hate those comments. Be back soon!
-Susannah

Starting out

So yesterday somewhat started off my "new routine". I say somewhat because we've been eating pretty healthy in this household for a while now so now its just the addition of exercise and paying attention to snacking.

I have a scheduled-out 4 week menu plan that I found at coachcalorie.com and grocery lists all ready to go so eating healthy at home is pretty easy. I make sure to substitute out anything I dont like (brussel sprouts) with something equally healthy (cauliflower) and dont follow it to the T. If I dont wanna put all that stuff in my pita pocket, I dont. But I never add to it. As far as the grocery list goes, I think I need to pay attention to the recipes more so I make sure I have the essentials I need (onions, garlic, tomato sauce, that kinda stuff). So I will eventually post grocery list once I have it finalized. It also has stuff that I know Mark eats at work every week, like yogurt. That man loves him some yogurt. But anyways: heres what we'll be eating for the next month.

4-Week menu plan
http://www.coachcalorie.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/CoachCalorie-4-Week-Meal-Plan.pdf


In addition to eatin' right, yesterday I went back to my cheerleading roots and did a dance routine-type workout. I found it on hulu- not sure if this link will work for anyone but here it is:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/228811#i0,p17,d0

If not- its the Wake Up Workout- Dancer's body exercise. I really liked it because it felt like I was in cheer practice learning a routine. So I made sure to go all out and be sharp and all that teenage fun. Im not super feeling sore today so I dont think it was THAT much of a workout but hey, at least I got up and moved.

This morning Holden and I started on our very first morning walk! Ive decided, and even put it in the baby's daily schedule that we will walk every morning after we are up and at 'em and Ive had my coffee *a must*. Today we walked to the CVS and back because A)I needed socks since my sister stole all mine and B)it was a good 2.4 mile distance. Lil man slept on the walk back so that doubled up for his morning nap anyway! Yay!

So, so far (2 days) so good. Ill try and keep this going and if I can, throw in a few recipes and pics every now and then.

-Susannah

Its been a while...

So it has been 4 months (almost to the day) since I wrote in (on?) my blog. I just recently looked back at it and remembered being pregnant.....and that damn 40 hour labor. Definitely a love/hate thing happening there.  But at the end of that insane experience of turning food into a human I have the world's most amazing baby boy. I mean, seriously, I dont think it is possible to love anything as much as I love Holden. He's just....amazing. And I love him even more every day!

So- a few things to catch whoever is reading my blog up to date....which Im fairly sure is just my mother- hi mom.

1) I took a 2 month long "maternity leave". Why the quotation marks you ask? Oh that would just be because I suck at it. I was constantly checking in with Amanda, answering emails, and attending a styled shoot for magazine. Im pretty sure that Im a shark- if I stop moving, Ill die. But yeah- I am full force back into work for 11:11 Events and loving every minute of it.

That is actually a lie. Im not a huge fan of being away from Holdito. If I could just bring him with me to every meeting, site visit, event, networking happy hour, I totes would. I am still trying to figure out a good balance between mom/event planner. Im sure it will happen organically.

Oh yeah, and I say totes now. Mark hates it. Which just makes me want to say it more. Totes funny.

2) It took all of about.....mmmm....4 days for me to realize that being a mom is tough! I say 4 days because the first 3 were in the hospital and those nurses are rockstars. Like, seriously, someone give them a raise. But for reals y'all, I read all the books and was prepared in my head for all the sleep loss, poop, and breastfeeding drama but in reality- NOPE. I will say that if it were not for my amazing husband, Im pretty sure I wouldve broken down the first day back. I absolutely HATE waking up. Always have, always will. I love to sleep. LOVE IT. So that was the biggest adjustment for me. Poop, eh. It happens. *see what I did there?* And we eventually figured out the breastfeeding thing, although, ouch.

3) Last but not least- I feel fat. Like, all the time. Which, for those who really know me, is not a good thing for my brain. And it doesnt help that in my line of work I am constantly having to go to events and see myself in post pictures. I have been trying my damndest to eat right and exercise but its presenting to be somewhat challenging. I have about 15 lbs to lose to get back to where I was. 20 would be even better. Id like to attribute 10 lbs to my tripled-in-size milk makers, but I know in all honesty they are but 3. 5 if I havent fed the baby in a while. Plus I just had some blood work done at the drs and it turns out that my cholesterol is crazy bad for my age. Which is insane seeing as I honestly dont eat junk food but who knows, maybe spinach salads are secretly bad for you. Point of the story is, mama needs to get her groove back.

Really thats what motivated me to get back on my blog. I feel like I should document the process for accountability purposes. And the thing is, Im not going to be screaming from the rooftops for everyone to read this- I dont even really want people to read this until after I lose the weight but still, it'll be here. Frozen on some technological tablet, that can't be burned or thrown away. I know I can deactivate my account but once somethings on the internet its there forever. It can be found again. Thus brings us to the here and now.

I, Susannah Joy Wynne Mikulin, do so solemnly vow to myself to lose weight. Not for or because of anyone other than myself. It about that time.

So starting tomorrow, I plan on documenting this transition from the beginning. Stats and all. UGH. But I know in the end it'll be good. Dammit- it'll be great! Im actually pretty dang excited.

So, until then, Suzy- OUT!

We planned and God laughed- A birth story.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

I am not pregnant anymore!!!! At 39 weeks 5 days, Mr. Holden Stephens Mikulin decided to finally make his appearance into this world on Wednesday, 3/13/13, at 7:28pm, measuring 8lbs 6oz and 19.5 inches long!

Not my prettiest picture, but I was in labor so shut up. 

That is the short story. 

The long story goes a little more like this. Be prepared for TMI. 

At 4:00 on Tuesday morning, I woke up to pee for like the 12th time that night. As I laid back down, I had a feeling that can only be described as "Whoa, I wasnt done!" followed by "Um....wait a second. That was something different." I jumped out of bed to check, and lo and behold, my water had broken. It was just a little so as I was pacing the bathroom, I googled it to make sure (yes, I googled "I think my water just broke"). After reading enough to freak myself out, I laid back down for about 30 minutes and realized that it wasnt really stopping. So I sat up, and as quietly as I could, whispered to Mark "Babe....I think my water just broke." To say Mark shot up was an understatement. He sat straight up and asked "Really? How do you know?" to which I answered "Um, because it did?". And then all the fun started. 

Since it was about 5 in the morning, Mark and I tried to get some rest, knowing that we were going to need it. We started timing my contractions, which were mild and consistent at 15 minutes apart. I (obviously) couldnt sleep so we just laid in bed and monitored my contractions and tried to relax. Around 6 we called the midwife who told us to do what we were doing and let her know when they are 5 minutes apart. And around 8 am we decided to go ahead and call the family to let them know what was going on. Mind you that the contractions were still only 10-15 minutes apart. But getting stronger. 

For the better part of Tuesday we did everything we planned on doing while laboring at home- We watched Beauty and the Beast, we worked on a puzzle, we watched another movie (Knocked Up seemed appropriate), I bounced on my birthing ball, I took a shower, I changed into my "labor outfit", ect. Around noon, I went into the birthing center to check how things were going and to their surprise, my "water breaking" wasn't really my water breaking. APPARENTLY, there are 2 water sacks (who knew!) and only my outer bag had broken and Holden was still very comfortable in the inner sack. But yes, I was in early labor fo sho. Still every 10-15 minutes apart. This required another round of phone calls to all the family members who were eagerly waiting to hear when to hurry up and wait. 

Around 2 in the afternoon, my best friend, and acting Doula, came to the house to be with us. To which we decided to watch another movie, hang out outside for a while, bounce on that damn birthing ball some more, and try to get some stuff moving. Around 8 that evening, I was STILL only 10-15 minutes apart. The midwife called to check on me and suggested getting some dinner and trying to lay down to rest, because I was definitely going to need it now that I had been in labor for so long. So we had some Chinese food and all three of us set up in our room, totally slumber party-style. 

Throughout the night, my contractions FINALLY started getting closer together and definitely started getting hardcore stronger. When they were about 7 minutes apart, around 1 in the morning, I was definitely feeling it and needed both Mark and Kendall to help me relax and push through each one. Side note- counter pressure when you have back labor is heaven. Heaven heaven heaven. Around 2 in the morning, my contractions were finally 5 minutes apart. After one stretch of what felt like 3 contractions right on top of each other, I was oh-so-ready for Mark to call the birthing center so I could come in. All I could think about was the tub. I wanted so badly to be able to get in the tub so I could relax a little bit. 

We finally got the ok to come into the birthing center where I found out a few downers:

1- The room we had chosen was taken by another woman in labor. So we had to settle for our second choice, the "Music Room". (Read: Cliche posters and guitar hanging on the wall. Blah.) 

2- There was no TV in the room. I needed some distractions. 

3- I was only 3 cm and could not get into the tub until I was 4-5 cm dilated. Laaaame. 

So as our midwife explained, we couldnt get in the tub quite yet so she was going to let us chill for about an hour while she was with the other girl and check back with us later. Then she said "Oh let me check his heartbeat while Im here." which she did. And thats when the you-know-what hit the fan. 

His heartbeat sounded weird- a regular irregular heartbeat. It sounded like one-two-three-pause, one-two-three-pause. Think about it like he was working on his 3/4 rhythm. I could tell by the look on my midwife's face that something was off. She said that she didnt like the sound of it and wanted to get a second opinion so she called St David's hospital. When she returned I knew that I was going to be transferred before she even said anything. She went on to explain that the Drs wanted to keep me continuously monitored, which was unable to happen at the birthing center. Although it was best for the baby, it broke my heart knowing that the biggest aspect of our birth plan- the location- was not going to happen. 

After that, the transfer and getting checked into the hospital was somewhat of a whirl-wind. I had my eyes closed the entire drive to the hospital, trying to find my "safe spot" and ignore that I was stuck in a sitting position for the oncoming contractions. I was wheeled into a room, told to change into a smock, and got set up with an IV. The nurse was having a hard time finding a vein (I still have a horrible bruise 2 weeks later) while the other was asking me every question possible all while I was having massive contractions 3/4 minutes apart. Horrible. Once I was all set up I met the doctor and the nurse who checked me and let me know that I had progressed to 4 cm. All I could think was that I would be able to get in the tub back in the birthing center where now there was no tub to be seen. Then another thought crossed my mind. By this point I had been in labor for 24 hours and I was only at a 4. I wasnt even half way there. 

The amazing people from the birthing center made sure that I had a birthing assistant with me at all times. It was very reassuring knowing that I had someone from the center there to help make my birth experience the closest to what we had planned in the beginning. The Dr from the hospital knew we were a transfer from the birthing center and wanted to respect the fact that we wanted to go all natural so after he checked me they left me alone until I needed them. For the next 4 hours I took a shower, walked the halls in the hospital, bounced some more, and pretty much did all I could to progress to a 10 naturally. 

After around 4 hours, I was contracting so bad that I threw up. The birthing assistant told me that it was a good sign because that meant I was probably getting ready. Note- this was the one and only time I threw up my entire pregnancy! The nurse informed the Dr who came in to check my progress. I was anxious to hear where I was, thinking I would be around a 7 or 8, depending on how much pain I was in. The Dr came in and said "Well, lets see where we are after 29 hours......oh." And thats when he let me know I had only progressed to 4.5 cm. After all that work and pain, I only progressed half a centimeter. All the air went out of the room by that point. He spoke with the nurse and looked over my notes and suggested that we start a pitocin drip to get the progress going, seeing as my risk of C-Section was rising with each hour. And thats when I started to cry. I still wasn't even half way there. 

I knew that he was right, that the baby and I were both risking a C-section if I continued to progress so slowly but I knew that the pitocin would bring on the contractions harder, faster, and stronger. By this point I was already exhausted and in excruciating pain every 3 minutes. It took Mark and I a long private talk in restroom to come to the decision that yes, I was going to need the intervention and yes, I was going to need an epidural to go with it. I felt as if my birth plan was not only being thrown out the window, but shredded, burnt, and pissed on beforehand. 

Even though I decided to go with the interventions, I was bawling and extremely frustrated with myself. I felt like a complete failure that I had succumb to everything I had been against literally the day before. It took the birthing assistant to tell me "There is a reason for these interventions. You are not abusing them. There is labor pains, and labor suffering, and you are definitely crossing that line. All the midwives back at the center agree that you need both. You've gone almost 30 hours naturally. You have done amazing. And you are definitely not a failure." She truly helped me so much to feel better about the decision. I feel so blessed that she was there. So after almost exactly 30 hours, and me cussing the anesthesiologist for taking so damn long (I had VERY much come to terms with the interventions by that point), I received both the pitocin and the epidural. I have never in my life been so glad to get a shot. Ever. Ever ever ever. 

I wish I could say I pushed him out after the 2 hour nap I managed to get after the epidural kicked in. BUT...

After a few more hours I was checked and the pitocin was definitely working because I was at 7cm. It felt good knowing lil man was on his way! But we still had some work to do. So Mark, Kendall, the birth assistant, and I watched The Hunger Games, seriously discussed living on a commune, and I visited with my family bit by bit. Once the Dr checked and noticed I was at a 9 he also noticed that the baby was looking straight up- oh yay, another hurdle. We had to turn him around so I was instructed to lie on my left side to encourage him to turn. Once I did, his heart rate dropped. Not good. The nurse decided to have me turn back and turn off the pitocin to give him a break. After an hour (and 2 episodes of Hoarders that I hadnt seen yet) we tried again. I was informed that by this point if his heart rate dropped again, that meant automatic C-section. So I prayed. This time, he did just fine and the next time the Dr checked not only had he rotated to face down, I was finally at 10 cm. 

The Dr wanted me to "labor down" a while before we started pushing so we waited one more hour to let my body get the baby as far down as we could. And even though I was feeling some pressure, we waited until it was strong enough and didnt go away with each contraction break. At 7:00 I was told I could start pushing. The Dr said "Well we may have some work ahead of us. 1st time mothers average 2 hours of pushing." To which my response was "Im in charge now. Lets do this." 

20 minutes later I met the most beautiful boy I had ever laid my eyes on. My first words to him were "Hi, Im your mom. Ive been waiting a really long time for you." My life will never be the same. 

I cannot believe that it took almost 40 hours but he is here now and we are so in love with him. Not one part of my birthing plan panned out but it was a very humbling experience where I learned that I cannot control everything, all the time. And an even bigger lesson that my son is now totally in charge now. And thats ok! Being a mom is already the best thing that has ever happened to me. It has forced me to give up power and let someone else be in charge. I also dont worry about the small things so much anymore. My hair and make up are the last thing on my mind and my baby boy's comfort is the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night (and through the night). 

Mark and I are so so so happy, honestly the happiest we have ever been. We thank God every day for bringing Holden into our lives and making sure he is healthy. I cannot wait to see what happens on this crazy ride called Parenthood and see how much better life can get! 

Lots of love, 

Susannah, Mark, and (finally free!) Holden Mikulin

How I've FELT lately.

Haha, oh puns! How I love them. What else do I love right now? Felt! I know it sounds cray cray but its my favorite craft fabric at the moment. The other day I was getting my exercising in by walking around JoAnns and other stores when I stumbled upon the Easter goods. After looking at most of it, I realized that I could make almost each piece myself. For way cheaper! So I decided to do so. Starting with my son's 1st Easter basket.

I know he isn't even here yet but he better damn well be by Easter or I will physically harm someone. Im not even kidding. And I also know that Im going to be too tired to make this project when he DOES show up. So after snagging a basic basket at Goodwill I thought about what I was going to make to spoil my lil man. Something that Mark and I want to make sure Holden is subjected to is books. Lots and lots of books! Honestly, we are hoping he can read by the time he gets into school. *FINGERS CROSSED* So I decided to make 2 felt books for the babes- Colors and Shapes.

Fun thing about felt is its super soft. Say...soft enough for a newborn to play with? Why, yes! So here's how I made 'em!

 Cut (8) felt pieces 6" x 4.5"

Cut out design and hot glue into place. I will say I attempted to sew design but that took WAY too long and glue was just as easy. And I think it looked cleaner too. 

Blanket stitch 2 pages (front and back) together with a thick thread to make less flimsy.

Once you're all done with the pages, blanket stitch the ENTIRE book together. 

Done! 

Here's the final product! 

I did the exact same thing for the Shapes Book. I think they came out super cute! 

For Holden's Easter basket, I needed some sort of "grass" but I hate- HATE- that plastic grass that gets everywhere and is super cheap looking. So instead, I lined it with dark and light green felt cut like grass and just stuffed the bottom with green pieces to give it body. I also weaved light blue ribbon over the handle and tied it with a bow. I like the way it came out! 

Contents: My 2 felt books, a "My 1st Easter" bib, a security blanket, a bath puppet, an elephant hanging toy,  a baby tie, and a "What is Easter" book (its behind the bib). 

Once I got going on my felt kick, I decided to make an Easter wreath for our front door. Here it is! 

This was also pretty easy to make too. I used a basic foam wreath from my local craft store, the felt I had, thick thread, hot glue, batting, and floral wire. 

First, I cut out the shapes I wanted on the wreath. I slip stitched the middles of the flowers, the duck wings, and the bunny's ears. Then I blanket stitched around each piece and before I was completely done, I stuffed it with just a touch of batting and finished stitching it up. 

I wrapped the wreath with light green felt strips and added the floral wire. Then I hot glued the pieces and TA-DA! All done!! 

Welp, that was my fun week with felt. Im not gonna lie, blanket stitching everything is a touch time consuming. Although, Im supposed to be resting and getting ready for lil man to get here. So laying in bed and crafting these were a fun way to do so. Hopefully this wasnt too long or boring and gives others some inspiration to use felt to create some fun projects! I have a crap ton of felt left over so I can only imagine what else I come up with. Yay imagination!!

Lots of love,
Susannah Joy