Tangible change

here are some tangible products you can get to help with a healthier diet...

this particular product took forever to find... but I finally found a ketchup that has absolutely no processed sugar... you should compare the product ingredients (and calories) with the ketchup (and mayo) you have at home.. i think you'll be shocked... side note, Organic Ville has really good products... take a look at them if you have a chance.

this last one (Zevia) I have recently discovered...I cried when I found it... it is sweetened from the stevia plant. Zevia has 6 different flavors(that I have found); cola, ginger-ale, orange, black cherry, root beer and twist.. they all have the taste of a flavored soda... ginger-ale is sweeter than you would expect; cola tastes exactly like diet coke/pepsi; root beer tastes like a diet root beer; orange tastes pretty much the same as fanta, and I haven't tried the black cherry yet (don't plan on it.. it probably tastes like cough medicine.. i don't like that).. the following are the ingredients of Zevia..I couldn't get a good enough picture... by the way it's zero calories just like a diet pepsi/coke..

-Stevia

- Erythritol

- Natural Caramel

- Natural Tartaric Acid

- Citric Acid

- Kola Nut Extract

- Natural Caffeine

- Annatto

- Ginger Root

for more info on it go here http://www.zevia.com/

catch up..

couple of plants we've(my wife) been taking care of... the first is lavender and the second is a night blooming jasmine...

first pork chops i've made/had...The only unhealthy thing on this plate is the 2 tbls of cream... did I mention how delicious it was...

our attempt at making dumplings... shahrzad was a master at folding them... they came out asian tasting...

hard at work for some wickedly awesome jewelry (below.. so proud of the stuff she made)

interesting

19 going on 26

My wife asked me a question today that ive never really thought about.

If you could go back to any age...what would it be?

I thought about it and it was easy. 19...no question about it.

I think i remember it because it represents the year that my very first dream came true.

Ever since I was young i wanted to go to work at the Bahai World Centre. Its basically the administrative and spiritual center of the Bahai Faith.

I visited once and i'll never forget the one moment that made me want to go. I was walking down the terraces with my parents ( i think i was 10) and saw a man, dressed in green from head to toe walking through the gardens to say hi to my parents. Whats cool about this is that nobody is allowed to walk on the grass....nobody but the people that work there.

Ill never forget how freaking COOL this guy looked to me...the fact that he worked behind the scenes...he had grass stains all over him.... and i remember thinking how much i wanted to do that. I wanted to work, in the hot israeli sun, just like him. Anyone who has seen the gardeners at the bahai world center will know that they look like renegades or something and for a 10 yr old boy you can imagine how much of an impact that had on me.

well when i turned 19 i got accepted to go work there. I didn't become a gardener but got to work security instead. Ill never forget how excited i was when i landed in Tel Aviv...it was the first time in my life where i didn't know what would happen when i got off the plane....i didn't know anyone...i was on my own. It was unnerving but exciting at the same time.

Anyway I would go back to being 19 again and again. Not only did i get to go work in haifa but that is also the year i met my wife.

I can honestly say that life was simplest for me then.

I would see my friends, go to work, and when it came time for my shift to end i would walk home thinking about the beautiful girl I saw one night... and what i would say if i ever talked to her.

so what age would you go back to?

question for the readers

So I just got back from getting chemo... and I was on facebook and I felt like posting this status: "Nima Haghbin just got back from chemo ... and is on facebook.... this is ridiculous"

I was about to post it but then I thought: is this too depressing for facebook?... This is my current status why not?... will people think I'm complaining, and think i'm jaded?... People should get over it, i've been getting chemo for 3 years now.....

The point of the status is i can't believe that I just came back from the hospital and I'm on a social networking site... because for those of you who know me, know how much I resisted facebook at first.

usually I turn to my wife and ask her : hey would it be cool to post this? but she is sleeping right now and I don't want to wake her up for a facebook status... and where else to discuss my illness without judgment but my blog !!

So my question is (without being bias to my explanation above): How would you feel/think if you read that post on facebook?

be honest... it takes a lot for me to get offended, so don't worry..

getting back up

My back has slowly but surely started to get better.. I was so afraid that the doctor might have accidentally nicked a nerve and that I would be in permanent back pain... but fortunately that is not the case...

I have finally started school again... it's weird though... it feels like i've been gone for a long time and yet at the same time it feels like I never left. I'm just taking 2 classes so that I can manage with the chemo treatments...

well... I guess there isn't much else to say... you have now been thoroughly updated about my life..

Kissed by a bus

If you haven't already checked it out... and need a good laugh

http://www.kissedbyabus.com

put your back into it.

I can't move.. my back is out (indefinitely) due to a lumbar puncture... this is not like before...ive had over 30 and ive never had this problem... it's been over a week of pain and I can barely stand straight.... AND i have to start school tomorrow!!!..

anyone with ideas on how to fix back problems.. let me know...

since im pretty much bedridden i thought id write more in this post.

my wife made a cake to deal with how much she misses her family since we've been back. its been the only thing that i can look forward to since chemo last week so im really grateful/lucky that she resorts to baking to deal with things :)

if anyone wants the recipe she just got it online ( there's no refined sugar in any of it...she used agave nectar instead)

its a carrot/pineapple cake...and it was delicious.

(by the way the painting in the picture was a wedding present from my sister in law leila. so if you want a really great portrait done you should get in touch with her: leilavargha@gmail.com)

While ive been at home...most of the time on the floor cuz thats the only place my back doesn't kill me..ive been thinking a lot about getting a dog to chill with...it just seems like a good idea when im stuck at home but im sure when i start to feel better ill stop wanting one.....it didnt help that while in DC my wife and I stopped by a local pet store to play with some puppies and found this guy.

adorable right?

anyway my backs starting to get worse so im going to cut this post short.

since we left NY my wife and I cant get this song out of our heads.....i bet you wont either.

traveling with cancer

in D.C. since yesterday.. we've been so excited that we forgot to take my chemo schedule into consideration... so our trip has to be cut short.. we were planning to be here till thursday.. but looks like things will be changing... there's soo much to take into consideration when you travel sick... so for those future cancer-travelers... remember some tips...

-how do you feel when you get chemo?

-what medications help?

-ask your doctor if your dates are strict or flexible... because if something comes up you may want/need to change it to makes things easier for your trip.

-take 'just in case' medication.. for instance antibiotics just in case of a fever or other medication for whatever symptoms/side-effects you have experienced

-don't take your 'good health' for granted, if there's one thing to remember with cancer... things change within minutes.

-don't push yourself... rest as needed... your body isn't the same as when you traveled before cc.

i know there were some people we were supposed to see in d.c.... sorry we won't be able to keep those appointments...

the good news is, we will be in NYC earlier than expected.. so that's good for my wife and her sis cause they haven't seen each other in months.. which is a lifetime in their world...

a bite out of the apple is nice!

so the wife and I are in NYC visiting family... having a great time... catching up with some friends... doing some shopping... and seeing places...

my wife found this place right when i was diagnosed.. it's called 'Baby cakes'... it's a bakery that makes desert items like brownies, cupcakes, ice-cream etc... and they use coconut oil instead of butter... agave and unrefined sugar as a sweetener.. and spelt and gluten-free ingredients.. and finally after 3 years of knowing and reading about the place we tried it... and the cupcakes were just as good and delicious as a 'normal' cupcake. We wanted to try their stuff before we bought their recipe book to see if it was worth it... and the answer is yes it was!... so check it out if you want to be healthier with your sweets...

it's late, so i should go to bed