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Hemp for Easter?

By Jane Bokun

This holiday season, the Easter Bunny may stop at your house with gifts filled with CBD, but do you really trust him?

First off, according to a Schererville Your CBD Store, owner. CBD products are good for everyone. Parents also buy the products for their young children.

The store is part of a new chain of Your CBD Stores that have sprung up across the country. It is located at 2171 US 41 in Schererville. Inside the store, there are CBD-based gummies, topical pain cremes, bath balms and even honey sticks.

The store’s customers are not alone in their use of CBD infused products. A study of 2,000 Americans conducted by OnePoll on behalf of HempFusion, a CBD company with more than 3,900 retailers across 47 US States,saw 82 percent agree their opinions on cannabis and related products have changed in recent years. Of respondents who completed some form of U-turn, 46 percent strongly agreed that it was due to the rise of CBD products.

The CBD products are made of Cannabidiol, which is a compound found in industrial hemp plants. Companies that manufacture CBD remove its THC, (or tetrahydrocannabinol), the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects. Businesses then add plant-based terpenes to increase the potency of the CBD.  

“Okay, now what are terpenes?” you ask. Terpenes are compounds in cannabis that give it distinctive aromas and flavors. They give marijuana that, “who’s smoking pot?” distinctive smell.

If all of this sounds like a new foreign language, you’re absolutely right and therein lies the problem. Not all the products are considered safe and those putting together gift baskets should be aware of drug interactions.

“Some of the products like gummi bears shouldn’t be taken with things like warfarin or coumadin,” McIntire said. “It’s important to let your doctor know what you’re adding to your regimen.”

Amanda Lukasiewicz, who works at Vyto’s Pharmacy in Highland, also sells a plethora of CBD products for the holidays and she recommends asking your pharmacist about drug interactions.

“You should be careful of products like CBD shampoos and lip balms,” Lukasiewicz said. “If you have a CBD question go to your pharmacy instead of places like smoke shops and gas stations.”

Indeed, Vyto’s Pharmacy even made up a packet of information about CBD which tells the difference between Full-Spectrum, Broad-Spectrum and Isolates. Full spectrum products contain a hint of THC at 0.3 percent; Broad-Spectrum products are THC free; and Isolate CBD does not have any of the compounds present. A higher dose of Isolate will be lower than a lower dose of Full-Spectrum. The CBD packet that Vyto’s offers is so comprehensive; it even tells whether you can take CBD in the case of renal failure. Hint, you can.

According to Ash Rahmany, a sports nutrition consultant with Vyto’s, even though CBD is natural, it’s still considered a drug, like caffeine.

“People were using CBD early on until 1937,” Rahmany said. “After that it was outlawed.”

For the holidays he recommends products like beauty balms, and beauty serums. All of these products are made with hemp derived CBD and include less than .3% THC.

What’s on the Easter Bunny’s list of presents for Rahmany this year?

“I would love the soft gels,” he said. “They have 15 milligrams of CBD.”

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Shot, shot, shot

By Jane Bokun

I’ll admit it. I’m scared to take the Covid-19 vaccine and so I thought I’d discuss it with you.

Here’s my problem, although I never thought I’d get to the age I am, I want to see how this all plays out. Maybe, like my father, I’ll never be ready to die. I try. I read books on death and what happens in the end (smile on the face). Even though I have an upcoming appointment to take the vaccine (April 1), I don’t want to be one of the several thousand people who have died of one of the Covid vaccines by the end of the week they took it.

The brave Eugene Pospychala

I’m pretty sure they didn’t want that either.

As a Christian, I should be ready to die, but I can’t wrap my head around what heaven is like. Is it like your first kiss, all warm and fuzzy, heady with the anticipation of more? Is it like when your mop-headed son forgets his lunch and when you drop it off at his grade school, you see he’s heading up his own little newscast and he’ll be following in your footsteps? Is it like when you know for sure someone loves and needs you and you don’t have to be all alone anymore?

I’ll bet it’s all that and more – and a bag of chips. But my incrementally small mind can’t conceive of it. One thing is for sure, my dad walked bravely to get his Moderna Covid 19 vaccine shot. Characteristically, he even joked about it. Afterwards, I sent my brother a note that said, Dad successfully got his shot, he’s a zombie now though.

Ha! There are many conspiracy theories out there about the shot. The vaccine is taking over your RNA/DNA, the disease isn’t real (no matter how many people die), and it will form millions of bots that will give away your information. I hope I don’t die from the shot AND it gives away my information. I’m kind of embarrassed about some of my information.

Anyway, I’m taking the shot on April 1 and that’s no joke. Let me know when you’re taking the Covid shot and how you faired. Maybe we can get together and take a shot of something less dangerous, but more liquidy and fun.

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MaskTite Keeps it tight

By Jane Bokun

With the recent double mask mandate to deal with the Covid-19 virus outbreak, it’s getting more and more confusing. Maybe if we just swabbed a huge Band-Aid around our faces and bodies it could ensure that no virus reaches us. Or, we could try new products that can help us truly deal with the virus and its complications.

Enter, MaskTite a new tightening product for masks that actually leaves no entryways for germs with an airtight seal to your face. Designer/owner and mechanical engineer Dave Franchino launched MaskTite, LLC in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. After months of dealing with fogging glasses and slipping masks, he says he knew there had to be a better way.

I seriously like these new MaskTite strips for better mask use.

His solution was MaskTite strips. I’ve put these strips on each of my designer masks and found them to be highly comfortable and the best thing is I can wear my glasses and a mask without any fog. In fact, when I recently took a Covid test, I gave some to my CVS pharmacist and she loves them.

MaskTite strips are made of skin-safe, medical-grade, double-sided adhesive tape. They’re hypoallergenic and latex-free, made of US materials and manufactured in Wisconsin. MaskTite strips can be used with paper and cloth masks and improve mask fit in a variety of environments including schools, healthcare facilities, retail and restaurant settings, manufacturing, offices and more. The strips are sized to help adults and kids and work with paper and cloth masks. When you need to wear a mask, MaskTite makes every mask better. It also gives you the feeling that you’re doing everything you can to avert the virus.

I have some of the MaskTite strips that I can send to you if you’d like to see the difference they make. Contact me at janepospybokun@gmail.com with your address and I’ll send you a few in the mail. They are also available through Amazon and more.

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Free Pie for National Pie Day

By Jane Bokun

I may love pie more than anything. Especially now, when there are no parties, movies, big gatherings or anything, really.

My true love is cherry pie and I’m sharing that truly bit of personal info because it’s National Pie Day, yay!

Who started this sublime holiday, you ask? A guy named Charlie Papazian, an engineer, teacher and home-brewing expert who loved pie so much he declared his own birthday to be National Pie Day. Since 1986, National Pie Day has taken place every year and is sponsored by the American Pie Council.

That said, these are the restaurants that are celebrating this auspicious day. They include Baker’s Square, Red Robin, where you can get a free slice and more. Shari’s Pies and Village Inn also offer pie for the holiday.

Aunt Jane’s sucky cherry pie

In honor of National Pie Day, I am making a cherry pie. I seem to have trouble making crust though. In fact, I would love to be able to make a nice, flaky, yummy crust. But, even though I follow each recipe, my crusts taste like old, left out in the rain, cardboard.

Help me dear readers, do you make your own pie crust? I would love to know the secret. Please share it with me on this blog page at http://www.bpeeled.com. Hit blog on the menu and thanks for sharing your secret!

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Farting Through Yoga

By Jane Bokun

This week I tried Hatha yoga, which is the yoga I should have tried first instead of taking the advanced class.

It was slightly less painful than the advanced, but with a few more farts. I am mortified when they slip out during some of the more compromising yoga moves like the one where you sit on your back legs, or Vajrasana, to us who google . Who would have thought that pose would hurt so much? And, make you fart so much? I am going to continue yoga, but rate the classes with fart count. Advanced? 10 farts. Regular Hatha? Maybe two.

“I’ll try the one where I sit on my legs at home later on my bed,” I assured Rey Candelaria, owner of Shanti Wellness Center in Munster, Indiana, who led the class.

He, who I have known for a long time, wouldn’t hear of it. Rey posed my body in the required move.

“I hope he didn’t hear that fart,” I thought. The yoga farts don’t seem to smell, so that’s good.

I love the beginning of the Hatha Yoga class at Shanti Wellness Center. It’s lie down flat on your back, raise your arms and sssstretch. It’s very relaxing and helps to center your thoughts. The deep breathing is also good for stress. I broke my back recently and initially broke it three times in the mountains of Arizona. I find I can still do many of the poses such as Downward-Facing Dog. Extended Triangle. Sphinx Pose. Cobra Pose. Locust Pose. and Bridge Pose. I’m lying, of course, but I seem to be pretty good at downward facing dog.

What you’ll find out if you’re contemplating yoga for the first time is that many in your class will have the same ailments you do and collectively will applaud your progress. It also doesn’t matter if you have a proper matt, many yoga studios supply them, or the latest workout wear. I NEVER purchase good workout wear it’s a credo I live by. I get a lot of hand-me-downs from my niece.

“It’s like a community,” says avid yoga participant Mara Candelaria. Give it a try. Shanti Wellness employs excellent anti-Covid 19 practices and your temperature will be taken when you arrive. The website is at http://www.shantiwellnesscenter.com.

Try to come to a class that I’m not attending.

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No Brainer gifts

By Jane Bokun

I’d long forgotten the times when I relied on my wristwatch to tell the time.

Nowadays time is displayed everywhere, in smartphones, smartwatches, laptops and tablets, on the metro station, even on the dashboard of your car. In a world filled with high definition screens, time telling is pretty much easy at any time. That being said, who doesn’t like a beautiful timepiece that they can access just by picking up their hand?  I found an inexpensive award-winning watch out of London, England called Divestum. It looks a lot like a Movado watch and is really elegant, just in time for Christmas or Me Day, another new holiday (lol).

When I got the watch, I thought, why not? I’m going to try wearing a sleek, cool watch again. I found out I like it. In fact, I have a hard time taking it off and that’s not just because I never remember to take it off. I like the satisfying feeling of knowing I’ll never be late for things. It’s a tactile experience and in the Divestum watch it’s even tactilier.

There’s a band that feels like butter with a blackface and gold lettering. Even the little holes on the band are made square and not in circles to fit the square watch band holes better.

It’s more than time telling. It’s a statement.

I’m proud to wear them because they are really pretty minimal design watches. The watches can be found at https://divestum.com/?ref=pjgel7nsnxvc. I negotiated an even better price for you. Just put in this code for 20% off that can be shared online: JANEBO20

Thanks so much. I’m sure you’re going to love it.

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DRMTLGY: good skin products for less

By Jane Bokun

When I think of anti-aging, I usually think of impossible. Not this time.

I found a new, inexpensive product called DRMTLGY. It has ingredients like hyaluronic acid and much more. DRMTLGY reactivates collagen I, III, and elastin production. Collagen III, a naturally occurring protein, adds structure and strength to the skin, while collagen I and elastin help reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Best of all, it’s not costly like other face creams I won’t mention.

I tried the tinted moisturizer with a sunscreen factor of 46 and I was thrilled. Not only do I want a moisturizer that works like a base, making it easier to use just one product, I want it to have sunscreen already in it. I was a lifeguard for many years and being from the Chicago area, never took the time to wear sunscreen. I NEVER wore it. In fact, during the prehistoric time, we used baby oil on our skin to actually invite burning and early aging.

Used DRMTLY on face

It must have worked because a man came up to me at a party and said I looked like I had been out in the sun too long. I hated that man and figured he was going blind, but that’s another story. His comment actually led to my discovery of DRMTLGY and its bevy of products for those of a certain age that may look like they need a refresh.

According to DRMTLGY experts, upon aging, cells are no longer able to produce collagen and elastin effectively. The products’  formula provides a new source of bio-energy, helping to reactivate its production. I know I see a marked difference in my weather-beaten skin.

Clinical studies showed:

194% Increase in Collagen III production after 11 days

179% Increase in Collagen I production after 11 days

190% Increase in elastin production after 11 days

It’s like a needle-less facelift, although I’ve started to like the needles, but that’s another subject for a column. Products include moisturizers, masks and scrubs, skin lightning products and more. Products can start at about $10.

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Looking for a job? Here’s how one woman turned her job loss into a way to find jobs for many…

By Jane Bokun

A free job group called STM Career Group, which started years ago in Munster, In. has proven to be a saving grace for many in the area who are looking for jobs.

Try job groups or networking with people you already know…

Christine Spencer, who heads the job networking group in the Weis Center at St. Thomas More church, 8435 Calumet Avenue in Munster, started it when she lost her own job and saw it as a vehicle to help on the 3rd Thurs of each month at the Weis Center and the rest is history. “

Spencer, a petite woman who always wears suits to her meetings, has a background in meeting planning and has trained various groups in time management.

“Lots of people come here for jobs,” agreed Susan Strain, who works at St. Thomas More church in Munster. “They can get free help with resumes and hear from human resource professionals.”

Spencer said that may be the ticket to her group’s success.

“We have different presenters at most of the meeting that help with how to land that next opportunity,” she said. “We also have Donna Weidenfeller who is retired from Purdue Calumet Career Services helping people with resumes and cover letters each month and Robert Teets who helps with IT, social media and spends times encouraging participants.  His wife, Helen Marie Harmon, has also been a presenter many times and is certified to give the Myers-Briggs Assessment which we do each spring.”

STM Career Group now has a steady 30 participants each month and as many as 100.  All meetings are free and open to the public.

 In fact, Spencer said she started the networking group, because, “not only once, but four times, I’ve gone through downsizing and merger. “

Now, about 50 participants meet at 7 p.m. monthly on Thursdays  at Weis to network, hear seminars from local companies such as Arcenal Mittal Steel, and basically do what it takes to get a new job. The crowd varies each week from very young right out of college applicants to seniors. Volunteer, Donna Weidenfeller, gives presentations and is a resume reviewer.

 “When I lost a very good job I was traveling as much as 50 miles away to network,” Spencer said.  “I had been thinking of starting a networking group in the area and just prayed about what all this means.  Everything just eventually fell into place. “

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Another job for seniors – DoorDash

By Jane Bokun

‘How hard could it be?’ I stupidly thought.

Go to a restaurant, pick up a food order (with a mask) and deliver said meal to its new owner. No real friendship making or hand holding and it takes about 15 minutes to deliver an order. That’s if the order and the restaurant are in proximity. Some can be miles away from each other and there’s a time limit. There also are lots of people waiting to give you a good or bad review.

“Be kind,” I told one Indian gas station worker when I delivered his chicken dinner. “It’s my first time.”

I’ve decided to always end my deliveries with “it’s my first time” even when I’m a grizzled door dasher.

I’ve seen lots of young people, my own recent Northwestern graduate and more, do the DoorDash and seemingly not have a problem. But I’ve done it three times now and my heart is still pumping out of my chest. I delivered a meal to a man who asked me to leave it outside within a massive apartment complex and I’m still not sure he got it.

“I made $40,” my son told me.

“That’s pretty righteous bucks,” I said.

Even DoorDash, in its brochure, says it might not be easy.

“Our goal is to grow and empower local economies, according to Door Dash literature. To do this, we start by helping the merchants – the local businesses that create 60%+ of the jobs in every city.”

They stand behind their newbies, too. I recently left an establishment because I couldn’t figure out the order. They didn’t even scold me.

It’s clear. For the person in between jobs looking to quickly make some money with very little commitment, it’s a natural progression. For seniors who are bored and like a little chump change, and still drive, it can’t be beat.

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Healthcare costs after retirement can be doable

By Art Koff, Banana Peel guest columnist and consulting aging expert

“Aargh,” what do you do when retirement is just around the corner and you have no idea what it will cost. You always figured you’d have this figured out by now. But you don’t…So, here’s a few ideas…

How much will you need to spend on healthcare after you retire?
What are the risks that could jeopardize your retirement plans?
What might you do now to help avoid these risks?

Fidelity Investments estimates that a 65-year old couple who retired in 2019 would spend an average of $285,000 on health care and medical expenses throughout the combined remainder of their lifetimes. The Employee Benefit Research Institute found that a 65-year-old couple could need nearly $400,000 to meet lifetime expenses in a worst-case scenario. These big dollar estimates are misleading because retirees won’t be spending this money all at once – that is, they don’t need to have it all on hand at the start of retirement; however, the totals are far more than most people planning their retirement expenses realize.

These estimates are total expenditures for healthcare that will be spread across 20 or more years of retirement. They cover the cost of Medicare deducted from your Social Security, your supplemental healthcare insurance, co-pays and drugs and other items not covered by insurance plus necessary over-the-counter healthcare needs.

Prescription drugs
Medicare Part D insurance covers most routine prescription drug costs however there are some prescriptions which are not covered and if you need one of these very expensive drugs your out of pocket costs can be huge. 

You also need to understand the next level of coverage the so-called coverage gap, or doughnut hole. After Medicare has paid their yearly maximum you must pay 100% of the cost of your drugs until your reach the next stage where once again you pay only copays for covered medications.

Traditional Medicare does not pay for most dental, hearing care or glasses. Medicare also does not pay for care in a skilled nursing facility after a patient is discharged from a hospital unless the patient was admitted to the hospital as an inpatient for at least 3 days. Observation days do not count as part of these 3 days.

Note: Do not let the emergency room administrator move you out of the ER until you are officially admitted. 

Make sure you sign up for Medicare at the right time to avoid late enrollment penalties and lengthy coverage gaps. Medicare requires enrollees to sign up during a seven-month Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) that includes the three months before, the month of, and the three months following your 65th birthday. The one exception to this is if you are actively employed at the time of your IEP, or you are on the health policy of a spouse who is actively employed. In other cases, missing the IEP triggers late-enrollment penalties that continue for life – and possibly expensive, long waits for coverage to start. 

After you enroll in Medicare there is often savings for you shop your Part D or Medicare Advantage plan coverage every year, or at least every couple years, during the annual fall enrollment season that runs from October 15th through December 7th. Even if you are satisfied with your current coverage it is a worthwhile investment of your time to look at other plans during open enrollment. Be aware that your prescription drug plan coverage can change annually and the Advantage plans can make changes to their networks of healthcare providers.

Your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) can assist you and provide free help with selecting the best health insurance for you. The Medicare Rights Center also offers free counseling by phone
1 800-333-4114.