Dear friends,
My blog has moved and is now www.joannasteven.blogspot.com

See you there I hope :)

To be really happy, surround yourself with positive people who send love your way without a reason. Avoid toxic people who bring the worse in you. It's cheaper than drugs, therapy or anything else. It's free happiness :)

<3

Hi everyone,

I haven't been posting much, because I'm spending all my time cleaning, reading, going to/coming back from school, and cooking/eating. Basically, 95% of what I do is centered around preparing my body for pregnancy. Here's what I have been doing:

1) I got a small $35 manual juicer for wheatgrass, and I have been making green juices every day. They are so delicious, and refreshing! Check out what, on average, each glass gives me:

Protein 15%
Vitamin A 800%
Vitamin C 400%
Vitamin K ~1400%
Thiamin 26%
Riboflavin 24%
Niacin 11%
Vitamin B6 32%
Folate 115%

Calcium 26%
Iron 30%
Magnesium 24%
Phosphorus 18%
Potassium 43%
Copper 32%
Manganese ~60%

Pretty amazing, right? And people say pregnant women have to take multivitamins. I say, drink green juices!
I put in mine half a head of lettuce, half a lemon, 1 apple, a piece of ginger, about 3 leaves of kale, and sometimes I put in some cucumber (the data above is without the cucumber). Plus, juicing by hand gives me a little upper body workout :) I got the inspiration for Natalia Rose's Raw Detox Diet.

I do take a multivitamin though. I need it for the B12 (I'm aware of the controversy, but I'm a "safe side" type of person), and for the vitamin D. I also take it for the folate, although I am aware I do not need it considering I eat lots of greens aside from the green juice. I calculated that by 1 pm, I have already eaten half a pound of greens. Oh yes, and at 10 am, I have a green smoothie, which has swiss chard in it :)

2) I have been working out quite a bit. I read that if you have strong abs before getting pregnant, your stomach will be just fine after delivery. I have always loved working out, so I don't do my abs every day, but honestly, I have a pretty nice six pack when I tighten my abdominal muscles a little (I have a little fat on top which hides it otherwise).

3) I have been gaining weight. Matthew was worried I was too skinny to be pregnant, and I should have "reserves", So, I've been eating as much as him (though healthier), and I have gained nearly 5 lb. I tell you though, it wasn't easy. Putting on weight has always been a struggle for me, and quite honestly, I think my body likes being at a slightly underweight range. I eat as much as my 6 feet tall husband, and I now I am getting top nutrition most of the time.

4) I have finished another book! It will be out in a few months I think, it's about being raw in the winter (something I'm not 100% successful at. The diet part is still done by my wonderful co-author Tonya Kay, and I did the nutritional breakdown).

5) I quit the pill in January, and I'm tracking my cycle with the baby-comp. I'm happy to say that I ovulated the 1st month after stopping the pill, and I have relatively regular cycles.

6) I have been thinking about what to do when I deliver. I decided that I will try as much as possible to have a natural delivery, as I don't want drugs getting into my breast milk. All these women in the past delivered without epidurals, I think I'll survive too! I also want dim lights, I don't want the baby to come into the world and by blinded by fluorescent lights.
I really wanted to deliver in my bathtub, but Matthew thinks it's creepy, and my MD aunt think it's safer in a hospital. I happen to disagree, but like I said, "safe side" ;) I wanted a water birth too, but my hospital doesn't do that. I'm hoping I'll find a way to still have it though.

That's all for now!
:)

I've been busy lately, but here's some reading on gardening and money saving tips from my hubby:
http://blog.matts.org/

I created an easy way for everyone to help the Republic of Armenia. I chose "Armenia Fund" as it is one of the largest organizations helping this country rebuild itself after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Armenian genocide of the early 1900s and many deadly earthquakes.

If you wish to help, please go to www.beujekian.com to buy Jean Beujekian's CD. Jean is a Lebanese Armenian guitar professor, and a graduate of the Music Conservatory of Paris.

For every CD bought, I will donate 15% to the fund if you buy the CD only, and 20% if you buy the tabs as well. You can also listen to some of the songs for free on the website. I will donate even more if you buy 5 or more CDs at the same time.



Shipping costs for the US are fixed, no matter how many you order. For the rest of the world, please contact me for a quote. I will give you a list of shipping costs and you can choose your preferred method.

If you know of anyone who might be interested, please send them a link to this page. Thanks!

Les Couleurs de la Guitare is a collection of original compositions and original transcriptions of traditional music, including Armenian ones.

Review of Les Couleurs de la Guitare:

"The most exciting thing about this album is that it's a completely unique and never before heard twist on classical ideas. It's classical guitar but peppered with oriental ideas.
The Colors of the Guitar are both subtle and haunting when they're brought forth by the hands of Jean Beujekian. Beujekian has spent his entire life in pursuit of mastering the guitar and his vast exposure to the traditions of both western and eastern music reflect his personal story. This seminal album defines a new genre of guitar music." (Matthew Steven)

"My daughter, Jayme, and I did the holiday baking while listening to the CD. I even used the CD for my yoga class. It is a wonderful collection of music!" (A US yoga professor)

I read on momadvice.com something really interesting: a no-spend challenge. Basically, for a whole month, the family isn't going to spend money on anything, except bills, gas for the card, and $250 a month for food.

It inspired me to do the same, although I've been doing it for a while. I set my credit card account to send me a balance report every day, and my goal was to not spend more than $500. My total goal is to spend a maximum of $600 a month.

I have to admit, most of this is food, college tuition and health insurance. I don't think I can get down to $250 a month and still consider my diet balanced (and I don't want to rectify the consequences of my frugality with multivitamins). I used to pay $300 a month on health insurance, and now I pay $100. I just transfered the $200 I saved on the grocery budget, and frankly I'm healthier than ever and 100% medications free for quite a while now.

Anything else I need to buy will have to be from my paypal balance, either from my freelance earnings or from selling things on Ebay (which I never do anymore, I hate paypal), which doesn't represent much at all.

Wish me luck! If I can manage to get my yearly expenses to $8,000, I can start putting money on the side for when I have a baby, and so I can stay with him or her for a long time without needing to work. Which after all, was always the purpose of this blog ;)
I think that staying with my child is so much more important than being able to afford expensive cars, mowers, and big houses.

You know what the funny thing is?
I don't think that being cold is what prevents me from being 100% raw. At first, I'd wake up freezing, and I'd be gentle on myself and make oatmeal. Then I adjusted and green smoothies in the morning don't bother me. I was smiling to myself today thinking how when the temperature gets to 40 degrees, I'll probably go out in my shorts.

I don't think it's the cost either. Frankly, back when I was on BlueCross, I would pay nearly $300 a month on health insurance. That's more than enough produce just for myself. When I'm out of college, I'll get a cheap health insurance which will cover bad things like cancer (you never know how many toxins are around you, really) and if I break my leg and such, but that's it.

It's not cravings, either. Ever since I was a kid, I'd prefer salty things to sweet things. When I came to the US and I'd flat out say no to ice creams, people would look at me as if I were nuts (interestingly, I don't get the same NO reaction when it comes to eating fruits). Last semester, one of my teachers would pass around mini candy bars, like Snickers and the like, and those poor bars would end up squished up at the bottom of my bag because they were so unappealing. Actually, you know what I'm craving these days? Homemade miso broth with broken up nori sheets. Not raw, but still pretty damn healthy compared to the SAD diet. Even red leaf lettuce tastes like cream to me. And my doggie agrees. His favorite treat in the world is kale stalks (the tough middle part) and when I wash lettuce, he begs for me to throw him the lower crunchy white parts.

So, do you know what prevents me from being fully raw? My fear of driving. I am afraid of driving, specially now in Iowa where the roads are slippery and a bit dangerous. I am afraid of leaving the driveway when the snow banks around it are so high I can barely see. And so, I run out of fresh produce. That's it. Pretty ridiculous huh? Well, the other reason is that even if I were not afraid of driving, I'd have slim pickings at the store (no good tomatoes, or even decent ones, no avocados last week, oranges that are hit or miss a lot of the time etc).

I can't wait for spring. I'll hop on my bike, bring back delicious tender greens and big watermelons, and literally inhale sunlight until I'm sick of it. Which of course, will not happen ;)

Back in Spencer, the garbage pick-up service was run by the city, so it was fairly cheap. When we moved to Ames, where it is private, our bill nearly doubled! We put up with it, until we realized that for the price we were paying, they were not doing a very good job. Just last week, they "forgot" to pick up 2 full trash cans.

We decided we had enough, and canceled our contract. Instead of paying $18 a month, we will dispose of the trash ourselves directly for $8. In order to do that however, you need to realize that the amount of non-compostables you use can be fairly large. Here's what you should do:

- Get separate garbage cans, one for glass (which everyone has to take to special bins), one for metal cans (to re-use in the garden), one for paper (which can be shredded and composted), and one for things you really have to throw away. If you live in an apartment or a cold area, a worm composter will take care of all your veggie peels and other decomposable things, and if you have a backyard in a warm area, have a simple bin outside with holes at the bottom, and throw them in along with leaves, shredded paper etc. to make compost.

- Regularly, get rid of your glass (we do this on grocery shopping day, because the bin is next to Fareway), shred your paper and take care of your compost pile.

- Put all the things you have to throw away in a large bag. When full, seal it up and set it aside. When you have several bags, throw them in the car and take them to the garbage place.

- It's important to start thinking about all the packaging you buy without realizing, and how you can re-use them so as not to have mountains of garbage to take care of. Instead of packing your sandwich in a resealable bag, use a small plastic container. Instead of using tissues, use washable cloth. Instead of buying water bottles, use a reusable one. If you have more ideas, please tell me about them!

When it comes to coupons, I'm usually fairly lazy. I just check freebies4mom once a day to make sure I don't miss out on anything. For example, I got 2 $3 off Ben & and Jerry's ice-cream for Matthew since he loves it so much, I got a free bottle of the new eco-friendly Arm & Hammer all purpose cleanser (and a $1 off coupon), a free bottle of vitamin D pills (try to get some sunlight this time of year! hah!), etc. but none of those (aside from perhaps the ice cream) are things I *needed*.

Today, Matthew was complaining that I was making too many smoothies and that they were expensive. Did I think about coupons? No. But I was on Ebay checking for soymilk coupons, and entered "dole" in the search bar to look for canned tomatoes coupons. And what popped up? Coupons for the frozen fruits I use this time of year in smoothies. $0.75 off each pound bag. I never even thought to look for them! Guess who'll keep on making smoothies? ;)

Make a list of things you buy regularly, and then check for coupons. If you can save at least $5 a week, it's definitely worth the trouble.

I love yoga, and I love exercising. The only thing I love more is doing yoga with Matthew, but the living room has carpet (= dog hair = asthma for him) and the basement is too cold for him. When we started emptying the rooms to get the floors refinished, we set my desk in his office, and suddenly we had an empty room and nothing to put in it. I thought it would make an amazing exercise room, and then a nursery in a few years. Thing is, I didn't want to pay any money into making it the yoga haven I dreamed of.

So, we got all the furniture out, painting the walls white with leftover paint, painted the trims with burgundy paint (store bought, about $8), and that was it! All I need to do is get Matthew's tiny old TV, the TV stand I found on the street, and our yoga mats, as well as the used exercise video tapes I got on Amazon for next to nothing when the floors are done.
In the end, my beautiful new yoga room cost me maybe $10 and a little work.