Thankful Thursday

Today is Thursday, a day that I personally gives my thanks to the Gods for all that is in my life.
Both the good and the bad...as they both have an impact on my life and who I am to this day.

For my first Thankful entry, I want to give thanks to the Gods for my Family.

Especially thankful to my parents, after all, without them, I would not be here.

My step-dad and Moma

My father (1943 - 2008)  

Those that know me, my childhood was not exactly what one would call happy.  I was abused by my biological father at an early age which resulted in their divorce.  Without going into much detail, lets just say I am not a fan of his, nor will I ever possibly be.  I am thankful that for a period in time, he and my mother fell in love.  They decided to get married and have a family. 

From that union, not only was I created but I also have a brother I love and a sister whom I not only love, but adore and is one of my greatest friends. 

Me and my sister in Salem, MA

I am also thankful that my mother was able to fall in love again.  J is a wonderful man and has been a great Dad to me during my young adult life.  He's always been one of my biggest supporters and told me I can do anything I wanted to do. 


There was also another man in my life that has impacted my life, my brother in law. 

He was there for me as a young child.  He was the man I could always count on.  He was the one helping me achieve my dreams such as driving me to and from ballet class.  Introducing me to the great rock n roll music of my life and told me yes you can be a guitarist.  Giving me a home whenever I needed one and was one of my supporters whenever I wanted to join the Army immediately after highschool.  His example, led to high expecations for any man that would want to become my husband.  Those high expectations led to:

Meeting my wonderful husband playing pool of all things at an amateur tournament for the APA. 
To this day we are happily in love and have been married over a decade and now have two handsome boys!

Commander Fox of the Clones

Our own R2D2 with squeaks and squeals of a 2yr old.

Thank you Goddess and God for the wonderful gift of family.  I am truly blessed!

Blessed Be,
Crystal

Wordless Wednesday

Tea Tasting Tuesday

Today is the first day of my new blog themed days.
Today being Tuesday, it is Tea Tasting Tuesday.  What does this exactly mean?

Each week I will be posting a snip of my favorite teas I like to drink on Tuesdays.

So this week's flavor is Ginger.  If I am not making it from scratch with fresh ginger root, lemon, and honey, I reach for:

When I first started becoming sick this past summer, one of my daily battles was that of nausea.  From my pregnancy days I knew that this would be a powerful herbal ally in my battle of the quesies.  Then to top it all off, during my initial battles for whatever reason, insurance was willing to give me what ever pain medicine during that time but fight me on the one medicine that could help me (Zofran) for my nausea.  Ginger tea became a staple in my daily intake during these bouts.  I would go through a box of this tea each and every week for a few months until the insurance decided that they would give me more than 15 pills per month to battle my nausea.

I just have to say thank the Goddess for Ginger, and thank you Traditional Medicinals for having a great product to help me in my time of need. 

So today I brew this cup to you!  I hope you join me for a cup of Ginger tea today no matter how you prepare it (hot or cold), tea or decoction after all it is a root), homemade or commercial.  Sit back and enjoy a few moments to yourself and experience what the Gaia's bounty has to offer you!

Sincerely,

Crystal