CBD Lifestyle: The Couple that Vapes Together

October 12, 2016October 12, 2016 / beautyatbeard / Leave a comment

A few months ago I wrote a blog entitled CBD & Me: My Journey to Colorado. In it I discussed the profound effect that CBD & THC had on my health, not just helping pain, but actually eliminating it! However, since marijuana is illegal where I live I’ve been looking for alternative options.

CBD, short for Cannabidiol, is derived from the stalk and seed of cannabis plants. Cannabidiol oil is a natural botanical concentrate that is high in the compound CBD. Of the more than 85 cannabinoids so far identified in the cannabis plant, CBD is the second most common after tetrahydrocanabinal otherwise known as THC.

Hemp plants are naturally abundant in CBD and unlike their cannabis counterparts are low in THC. Thanks to a special extraction process, they are able to yield a highly concentrated CBD oil that also contains other nutritious materials suhc as omega-3, fatty acids, terpenes, vitamins, chlorophyll, amino acids, and other phytocannabinoids like CBD, CBG, CBN and CBCV. But best of all, CBD oil derived from hemp plants is legal in the US.

Hemp oil can be used in many forms including, cbd oil liquids, tinctures, capsules, gum and topically. The past few months I have been experimenting with the different methods of delivery to try to see what works best for me.

I started with Dixie Botanicals 100mg Dew Drops in Cinnamon Flavor. This is a pump system that you place two pumps worth under your tongue and hold till it all starts to dissolve. While it is cinnamon flavored, the hemp flavor is very strong, but after awhile you start to get used to it and forget that their was a time you didn’t know what hemp tasted like! When solely using this I averaged two pumps every few hours. At this dosage it did help take the edge off the pain, but did not eliminate severe flair ups.As with most things in life it’s a trial and error process to determine what dosage and delivery system will work best for your body’s needs. Purchase Dixie Dew Drops

Most drop systems tend to take 45 minutes to an hour for your body to process and for the effects to set in.This means that you need to take these in a preventative form instead of reactive. If I wait till I’m doubled over in pain, waiting for the drops to kick in in an hour from now isn’t going to help me at that moment. In light of this I decided to venture into the world of vaping.

The first thing I purchased was Blue Moon Hemp’s BlackKat 100mg vape liquid. As described on their site it is “A Classic breakfast cereal flavor, like Lucky Charms with a touch of Cinnamon Toast.” Basically it’s delicious and I love it! The benefits of vaping is the quick delivery of the vapor into your system. I no longer had to wait and hour for it to take effect. According to their instagram, Blue Moon Hemp has now released a 400mg dosage of BlackKat as well. Purchase BlackKat Vape Liquid.

While the 100mg of BlackKat tastes delicious and the quick delivery did help my pain, once again it wasn’t touching the severe flair ups I was frequently experiencing. So I decided to up my dosage to 1000 mg. Go big or go home am I right? I purchased the blueberry flavor which is light and subtle and perfect for someone who has issues with nausea. I counted over forty-six flavors available on their site. If I could request a flavor I would opt for ginger! There are several things I like about this particular company. They have free shipping on orders over $25 which is great because a lot of companies selling CBD hemp products charge a minimum of $10 on shipping. They also offer a rewards system based on your purchase history and after my first order I qualified for $25 off my next purchase. When I received my shipment they also included coupons and a free 15ml bottle of blue raspberry. Purchase Napa Valley Vape Liquid

Now, I bet you’re wondering what I am vaping with! I started with a G1 vaporizer and while I like it’s size, portability and carrying case, ultimately determined I needed something that would produce a better vape.

After doing some research I decided to Purchase the Minion Vape Mod Kit. This was a major upgrade compared to the G1 vaporizer. The tank holds a substantial amount of liquid so you don’t have to worry about running out throughout the day. It also holds its charge for about a week depending on usage, which is amazing! If you’re thinking about venturing into the world of vaping I recommend starting with a quality vape kit. Don’t waste your money on cheap pens because you will end up upgrading!

The Beard has also starting vaping using Hemp Hookahzz Pineapple Express in 600mg. He has found it to help reduce stress and help with overall relaxation. The 600mg dosage did help with my pain, however due to my nausea I could not handle the strong flavor of the pineapple. I confirmed this one day when I had a migraine and was vaping and gagging, vaping and gagging. I could feel the migraine lessening with each pull but my stomach was saying stop it!

Side note about nausea: I probably spend around 70% of my life nauseous. If my pain levels are high so is my nausea. The two are best buds. I switched to an electric tooth brush years ago because manually brushing my teeth was a daily battle of trying for good dental hygiene and trying not to throw up. While the hemp oil does help with pain, it does not provide the same nausea relief I experienced with the 1 to 1 ratio of CBD and THC in Colorado. I had more of an appetite during my visit to CO than I have had in years. So to help with my general nausea I’m a big fan of ginger, hence why I would love a ginger flavored vape liquid!

In the mean time we have discovered a few ginger products that are like gold in my house.

The Beard discovered these at Fresh Thyme and my first experience with them I wasn’t sure. But just like the taste of hemp, it rapidly grew on me and now I love them! You can also purchase these on amazon in a 6 pack. That’s right, we don’t mess around. Purchase Ginger Mints.

My other go to is Q Ginger Beer. As it says on the can, “Sharp Ginger Bite, Not Too Sweet.” I have found this to be a major life savor for my nausea. As opposed to ginger ale which sometime has this thick sweet syrupy consistency, this is crisp and punches you in the mouth with ginger! Also, you can’t beat the list of ingredients: Carbonated water, organic agave, ginger extract, extracts of lime, coriander and cardamom, citric acid. This can also be found at Fresh Thyme or on Amazon. Purchase Ginger Beer

As always, I’m not affiliated with any of these brands or products, I’m just sharing what works best for me in hopes of it helping you or someone you know. My goal isn’t to just manage my pain, my goal is eliminate it. And if that involves trying different dosages, delivery systems and even moving across the country that’s what I plan to do. For now, enjoy some of these awesome shots the ever talented Beard took.

The Couple that Vapes Together

Nature, Naps and What We Ate

July 19, 2016 / beautyatbeard / Leave a comment

This past weekend we basically ate a lot of food and napped, which is exactly my kind of weekend. We had dinner plans for Friday evening, but found ourselves hungry mid-afternoon and decided to pre-game dinner with a little BBQ! Now, I’m a bit of a BBQ snob, in that my standards are pretty high! This brisket was on point and as I type this I’m craving another platter of meat!

As they say, the best way to stay cool in this heat is with a cone of meat!

On the way to our second dinner, and yes we are practically hobbits minus the height, The Beard was reading instructions from his friend saying the restaurant was super colorful and we couldn’t miss it. I made the offhanded comment that the building was probably lime green and orange. Feel free to soak in that feeling of awe and amazement right now. It’s ok. I’m amaze myself.

I don’t have any shots of our food, as I wasn’t really impressed. I’ve heard several people say good things about this place, so maybe they were just having an off night with the crowd during our visit. So while waiting for our check, tom foolery ensued. If you’re thinking, “Is that Star Lord shooting a tortilla chip into tiny pieces?” then you are correct.

Saturday we got up and headed out for a couple’s massage The Beard had nicely arranged. Sorry, no pictures of that!

From there we headed to the Market District to pick up ingredients for a new recipe we were dying to try out. This recipe was for orange ginger- beef stir fry with a homemade marinade from ZenBelly Cookbook. Now this is not an advertisement, just what we were making for dinner. However, it’s a great book so if you’re looking to add to your collection check it out. Zenbelly Cookbook

We spotted a food truck in the parking lot and since this was more of an organic type market we decided to check it out. Neither of us do well with fried food although it sure is yummy. I ordered a chicken and pickled veggie lettuce wrap and The Beard opted for a spicy carne asade wrap.

Here The Beard is modeling my latest hiking t-shirt design and his food. If you want to check out any of our hiking shirts you can find them here. Trail Magic

Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures while we were preparing dinner, I don’t know what I was thinking! However, I did manage to take a snapshot before stuffing my face with this deliciousness.

Sunday was a “Make something out of the ingredients in the fridge” day. That turned into lettuce wraps with mayo, turkey, bacon, mushrooms and onions. That was so good I ended up picking up more ingredients to actually make them on purpose!

We also installed my new pot rack, courtesy of The Beard’s parents for my birthday. Of course this now means I need to thoroughly clean out my cabinets, which then means I need to clean out my storage cabinet in the garage so I can then relocate things from my inside cabinets. It’s amazing the domino effect that ensues by simply hanging a pot on the wall! But for now it is what it is, because just thinking about it makes me want to take a nap!

I’ve also been knitting a lot lately. Apparently I have a schedule and mid-summer I start knitting feverishly with Christmas gifts in mind, at least according to The Beard. I don’t have shots of all the recent items, but let’s just say I’m really into hats right now. I also created this draw string cowl for hiking and I’m pretty impressed with it! You can wear it as a cowl to keep your neck warm or you can pull the draw strings at one end and wear it as a slouchy beanie. I made this with wool-ease yarn so it is machine washable making it perfect for the trail. Once again I have the perfect model!

The weather was nice although pretty humid. However, I’ll take that any day for sunsets like this! Yes, The Beard was driving while I was snapping away!

To end on a random note, when I was a little girl my sister and I would take our mickey mouse fishing poles, bobbers included, and fish in the puddles in our driveway. We hadn’t yet made the connection that fish didn’t just magically appear in any body of water. My mother was happy we were playing and not fighting, as sisters tend to do, so she never dashed our hopes of catching a big one! Last week I came home and despite the lack of puddles I found a crawfish in my driveway! We have had a lot of rain recently so I’m wondering if he was washed downhill to surprise me. Either way, my patience paid off and I finally caught something in my driveway!

Circle of Life

May 3, 2016May 3, 2016 / beautyatbeard / 1 Comment

Adulting is hard. There are some many things you’re supposed to do and often certain things, while well intentioned, fall by the wayside. One of those things for me is remembering to take my vitamins!

There is no worse smell to me than when you open a bottle of vitamins. It’s the most unappetizing thing. It smells fowl and I’m supposed to stick it in my mouth and quickly try and choke it down before I can taste too much of it! Yeah, that’s on the top of my to-do list…So then I tried the gummy vitamins. That’s right, nothing says grown up like fruit shaped sugar.

Then I stumbled across this machine and after doing a lot of research decided to give it a try. Best decision ever! Let me introduce you to my vitamin buddy. Tespo.

Tespo is similar to a Keurig in that it uses a pod to dispense liquid but instead of coffee this is mixing together a vitamin shot. Each disc dispenses thirty-one individual servings; enough for one month. However unlike Keurig, these vitamin discs are recyclable!

While most pills contain vitamins, they also contain unnecessary ingredients such as binding agents, fillers, flow agents, additives, artificial colors and flavors. All things I try to avoid with my clean eating approach and yet was still ingesting with my vitamins. Upon further research I learned that our bodies can only absorb roughly 20% of the vitamins in pill form. You mean I’ve been choking down these things for years only to get a slight benefit? However, in this liquid vitamin form our bodies can absorb upwards of 90%! Talk about bang for your buck!

So how does this baby work? You place the vitamin disc in the front cover. This is a women’s disc, but they also carry men’s, children’s, energy, focus and sleep. The side of the machine also has storage for multiple discs if you wanted to rotate.

Next you fill up the back with water and push the circular button. It will turn green and then tell you how many servings are left in your disc.

It will begin to spin the shot glass as it dispense the shot it’s making in order to mix the ingredients. This little cup is really cool. It has a magnetic bottom so it stays in place and has a mixer in the bottom of the cup to make sure everything is combined.

So what does it look and taste like? The women’s formula is a yellow color and tastes like a mix of tang and flintstone vitamins! Now that is the kind of adulting I can get behind! The little white specs are the vitamins that are not water soluble. They are supposed to do that, and they do not add any sort of gritty texture!

Every morning I let the dog out, walk over and push the button on my Tespo and proceed to make the bed while my vitamin shot is being made. By the time I’m done the dog is barking to come inside, he’s so impatient, and my shot is ready. Easy Peasy! The best part is the vitamin discs are on a subscription basis so my refills automatically come to me each month! I may have a tendency to forget said things if left to my own devices….

While this is great for mornings when I’m home, what about when I’m not? Tespo thought of that too. This month they are launching their Tespo on the Go System. This little baby holds the same vitamin discs but allows you to add water, shake and drink wherever you are. Mine will be covering a lot of miles as we plan to hike up the Red River Gorge, Grand Tetons and Yellowstone this summer. While vitamins are always important, getting enough nutrients while hiking is a must! I will be sending The Beard with one when he hikes the Appalachian Trail in 2017!

I don’t endorse a lot of things, and like you, people drive me crazy trying to sell stuff on social media platforms. I don’t want to attend your online party for leggings, nail stickers, energy patches or cheap jewelry! So I am not doing that! I honestly love this product, it has transformed the vitamin world for me and I wanted to share it! I got a discount code when I purchased the product to give friends and family $40 off. If you want to use it, feel free, and feel free to pass it on if you know someone interested.