review – Luv Saving Money

An Alternative To Prescription Meds and Cannabis

I have written a few times about my ulcerative colitis and IBS. Currently I do Humira injection every week. I worry though, because the potential side effects of the Humira can end up causing me more problems. I have to have blood work done every few months to check my liver function. In some cases, Humira can actually cause cirrhosis of the liver. That’s all I need is to have cirrhosis on top of my UC and IBS too!

Ulcerative Colitis can also manifest into the joints causing pain and discomfort not unlike arthritis. At only 39 years old have trouble getting up off the floor, finding a comfortable position to sleep because of joint pain, and have to make adaptions to my gardening because I just can’t crawl around like I used to.

In my quest for finding safer, alternative ideas to try I’ve come across a number of articles and research. CBD oil, cannabis, Turmeric, cayenne pepper, and even donor stool (yea I’m not trying that one). Each had benefits and each has had some research to support it. Not everyone is on-board with cannabis and it can be hard to get a medical script. CBD, because it’s not regulated, it can be hard to tell if you’re getting a quality product or even CBD at all.

Comfort! by Vergence has an option for pain relief, offering cannabis-like medicine without the cannabis.

Neuropath Brazos Minshew was featured on on NBC’s Desert Living discussing endocannabinoid system and plant based medicine:

This is where Comfort! by Vergence comes in.

Dr. Minshew and Abbatis successfully combined five phytocannabinoids to create Comfort!, including:

– Turmeric phytocannabinoids and terpenes support a healthy inflammatory response without the side effects of cannabis. Curcumin from turmeric powerfully activates cannabis receptors for relief of occasional pain¹.

– Ginger phytocannabinoids and terpenes support a healthy COX-2 inflammatory response, balance leukotrienes and quiets certain genes associated with pain.

– Kaemfera galangal phytocannabinoids and terpenes inhibit pain from multiple pathways, including histamine-induced, serotonin-induced and bradykinin-induced pain models.

– Frankincense phytocannabinoids and terpenes strongly inhibit occasional pain that arises from the nervous system itself (neuropathic pain). This is important because, over time, the brain pathways related to occasional pain tend to experience pain even when nothing is really wrong.

– Red Pepper phytocannabinoids and terpenes harmonize and amplify the cannabinoids of other plants. Further, pain is often worsened by obesity and obesity, in turn, may produce sensitivity to pain. Red Pepper reduces the pain process that is directly associated with obesity.

Dr. Brazos has dedicated his professional life to the development of wellness technologies that promote health and prolong vitality. His cutting-edge work in bioscience has led to the creation of life-enhancing therapies and helped expand the knowledge and understanding of Functional Medicine. He ranks among the most respected product developers in the burgeoning field of nutraceuticals. Brazos Minshew graduated Hollywood College in 1981 with a degree in Naturopathy, from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1985 in Psychophysiology, from Brantridge Forrest School in 1987 as a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine and from Brantridge University in 1993 with a Master of Science degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. He has been in clinical practice for more than 35 years. Dr. Minshew has significant experience in creating formal and ad hoc Medical Advisory Boards and Scientific Panels in support of Wellness initiatives worldwide. As a media contributor, Dr. Minshew has prepared over 250 Weekly Wellness Reports for 320,000 subscribers, as well as more than 180 VitaJournal articles with circulations exceeding 450,000 and produced a series of audiobooks including the acclaimed Body Systems 101. He. At the same time, his collection of YouTube videos on Health and Wellness have achieved thousands of visitors. As a speaker, Dr. Minshew’s travels have taken across the US and Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia, where he averages more than 60 speaking engagements each year.

So you just want to know if it really works. I have been taking 1 capsule a day for a little over a week now. I’ve also recently gotten back into a regular workout routine. I’ve noticed I definitely don’t have the joint pain I had in my knees like I did. Squats, lunges, planks, didn’t bother me near as much as they normally do.

I’ve read a fair amount of articles about how tumeric and cayenne pepper can have anti-inflammatory properties too. Comfort! by Vergence is a great alternative to those that just aren’t sure about cannabis or CBD options but also don’t like the prescription drug route. Prescription drugs can be pricey too!

You can order a bottle of Comfort! by Vergence on their website.

The is a sponsored post. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Harlem Globetrotters in Johnstown, PA

My family had been wanting to make to see the Harlem Globetrotters for years. We just never could make it work with schedules and location before. My oldest son actually brought it up again about 2 months ago. Ironically about 2 weeks later this opportunity popped up with US Family Guide so we had to grab it. It’s not often we get to see the Harlem Globetrotters at 1st Summit Bank in Johnstown, PA.

Having never seen them before we didn’t know what to expect. We knew they were talented basketball players but what were we going to see? A show? A basketball game? Would we enjoy it?

Well we quickly learned we were getting both a show and a basketball game. The antics of the Harlem Globetrotters had my kids and I laughing.

They new how to get the crowd involved from doing the wave, participating in a “slow-motion replay” and even taking people out on to the court. A few times the Harlem Globetrotters themselves even came up into the stands.

We were close to one such instance. It started with the Harlem Globetrotters “Hot Shot” throwing a cup of water at “Thunder”. Well it escalated to a point that Hot Shot tried to hide himself in the crowd to get away from Thunder with a water cooler. We happened to be very close to the action.

Hot Shot was found by Thunder in the crowd.

Thunder threw the contents of the water cooler on him which happened to be the white confetti you see in the pictures. That’s my oldest son in the black and gray hoodie.

At intermission they had Harlem Globetrotter basket balls for sale. I decided to get one as a souvenir for the kids. They were reasonably priced too. The kids were able to bounce them outside of the court which helped some of the little ones wear off some energy.

I was really glad we ended up getting one too because the player signed autographs at the end for anyone that wanted one. We were able to get signatures from Hot Shot (my kids’ favorite), Ice (my favorite), and a few others. The players were so nice to the kids.

They, of course, had Globie the most famous mascot and Big Globie or Big “G” as they called him. Took some live videos and more pictures on my facebook page that you can check out to see more!

Wondering if the Harlem Globetrotters are coming to your area. There are still shows available. SAVE 25% for ALL Harlem Globetrotters Games with promo code FUNFAM http://harlemglobetrotters.com/tickets

We received tickets to the show in exchange for this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box – January Box

This post does contain affiliate links. I will receive a small compensation when orders are placed through my link.

Simply Earth essential oil recipe box is just what you need to build your essential oil collection, introduce yourself to essential oils, or to get new ideas to use essential oils.

I have a subscription to Simply Earth essential oil recipe box. I pay for it myself, this is NOT a sponsored post. I love using essential oils in my daily life. Working in the medical field myself I like to use them as a compliment or in addition to things I’m already doing for myself.

I received my January box with my bonus box and it’s definitely worth every penny and more. I also tested my coupon code and got a $20 gift card to use. I decided to use mine on an essential oil storage box. I’ll receive it in my February box.

When I signed up I got the bonus box with me as well as the free $20 gift card. The brown box featured below is what the regular monthly boxes look like. The blue box is the bonus box.

Each monthly box comes with essential oil recipes cards, 3 – 4 full size essential oils, and ingredients/tools you’ll need to help with some of the recipes. For example, in this box one of the recipes is for a “relaxing textured massage bar” so I received a mold for the bar, beeswax, coconut oil, tapioca, pearls, and the essential oils needed to make the bar. They also provide labels so you can label your items once you’ve made them which I think is pretty cool.

January 2019 Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box

The bonus box came with a few carrier oils, extra rollerballs, extra essential oil bottles, and beeswax. Always using rollerballs for something so it definitely helps to have extras!

Simply Earth essential oils are 100% pure. Every batch is tested to ensure 100% purity. GC/MS reports are displayed right on the product page for each oil. They don’t do any made up testing that some companies do. You can read more about Simply Earth essential oils here

13% off Simply Earth profits are donated to organizations to help fight human trafficking !

If you decide to subscribe to Simply Earth essential oil recipe box use code: ANGELABEECHANFREE to get your free $20 gift card when you subscribe!

Educational Apps for Your Preschooler from Kids Academy

This post is sponsored post written by me for Kids Academy. Regardless I only write honest reviews.

All of my kids LOVE electronics. Xbox, smartphones, tablets, hand held gaming systems, etc. I try to let them indulge in their typical kid interests when I can but I do monitor everything I can. I look up video games to make sure it’s not something inappropriate, I check out review on apps and what it has to offer before I download it for my kids. I have parental controls set on all the electronic devices I can. My 5 yr old in particular loves his games. So when I found out about Kids Academy apps and was asked to review them, I said, sure thing.

There are several apps available from Kids Academy geared toward preschool and Kindergarten children. Right in my youngest son’s age range. If he’s going to be entertaining himself with an app may as well make it educational right? There are free and paid versions of all the apps. When referencing the apps, I tried the free version of each. I’m going to preface these review with this. The free versions of kids apps are a good way to try the game, check out the graphics, and see what the app has to offer. In general though, I’m not a fan of free app versions, especially pertaining to kids as there are usually a lot of advertisements and things they can get into that they probably shouldn’t. Also your limited to how far you can go or to what offerings you can use on the app. It is the same with each of these apps.

1. Kids Academy: Kids Puzzles Preschool Math Games

This is a screen shot from my phone. You trace the numbers with your finger. As they go along they get them right they collect fireflies in a jar. They have an easy to understand narrator to help your child with what to do. With the free version it only allows you to go up to number 3 until it prompts you to buy the full version. The graphics, colors, and sounds are engaging. The only thing I found frustrating with this app is if your child tries to trace too fast or doesn’t get it right on the dotted line it says “oops try again” You also must touch each bold dot when tracing in order for it to accept the tracing or you get the oops message again. My son became frustrated at time because he did go right to the bold dot all the time. I tried it myself and it happened to me a few times. In the free version this is the only activity.

2. Kids Academy: Preschool and Kindergarten Learning Kids Games

For this one, the free version had 3 different learning games. There is the one I have pictured above with my screen shot. It shows them an objects that starts with that letter, says the name of the object, and tells them the letter it starts with. They then show them what the letter looks like and your child can try their hand at tracing the letter. Again, the free version only goes up to the letter C until it prompts you to buy the free version. The other games on this app include the firefly number tracing game like the first app I have listed and another alphabet game where they find object in the picture that start with the letter being prompted. The graphics are cute, colorful, engaging. The narrator is easy to understand.

3. Kids Academy: Learn to Read and Write Kids Puzzles

This one again has 3 different activities in the free version. Mazes, a rhyming word activity, and tracing letters (similar to app #2 listed above). This one features a cute dog as the main character in the first 2 games listed. The maze are fairly easy. Your child must touch the dog’s bone and drag it to the end of the maze. If they lift their finger up at all though it goes back to the beginning of the maze. The mazes are not long so it’s really not a big set back. This one I”m going to talk about the second game “Rhyming Words” I like the idea but I think there are things that can be improved. With this one there is no narrator. It simple shows the dog at the beginning of the maze with a though cloud and an object pictured in it. The object is very small. There is no audio for you to know what the object is. The first one was fairly easy. The was a pen in the thought bubble and you have to drag the dog’s bone to one of 3 objects. The correct one will be the one that rhymes. For the pen one the objects were: hen, peas, cow so of course the pen would go to the hen. The next task showed up and the dog had…what to me looked like a trophy in the though bubble. but the object choices appeared to be train, dog, and bat. So I’m going through my head “maybe it’s not a trophy maybe it’s an award but then that wouldn’t rhyme. So I started going through the objects, maybe it’s not a train maybe engine. I couldn’t figure it out so I started dragging the bone to the different objects it connected with the dog. The it showed “cup” and “Pup” In my opinion, I think the narrator should state what the object is and if your child touches the other objects it should say what they are too. Rhyming is both visual and auditory learning.

So to sum up my opinion on these apps. The visual appearance couldn’t be much better for a kids app. I feel there are some things that could be tweeked as far as audio and sensitivity for toddler and preschool hands. The free version is good for parents to try with your kids to see if it’s something you want but if you do like it I recommend the paid version. The free version has many ads and pop ups for the paid version which is some what frustrating. If you don’t have parental settings on your phone you may find your child purchasing things you didn’t want to. I like the fact that the apps are geared to right level of learning for the preschool and kindergarten children. As with any app or game though, your child would need parental supervision for reasons I just stated. The links included in the post are for the free version on iTunes.

This review contain my personal opinions of the products specified. I did received compensation for this post