I felt the magic of swiss herbs in Ricola Herb & Throat drops as part of a sponsored post for Socialstars. #RicolaCrowd #SwissHerbs
We all know how important friends are and we have them for every occasion. There are our coffee friends, our mom friends, our online friends, our social media friends, our shopping buddies and work out pals. Then there are those friends. Best friends. Friends who have been there for all of it. The ups and downs. The highs and lows. The break ups, the divorces, the births, the deaths - ALL OF IT. I am so fortunate to have a few best friends, but my number one bestie is Colleen, who I have known and loved for ten years. She's been there for me every day, every step of the way, and I probably couldn't have survived the last ten years without her by my side!
Best friends are those people you don't have to fill in the blanks with - because they've been there with you for all of it. No matter how far apart, how long it's been, best friends pick up where we left off. Who fit right into their pre-cut puzzle piece of our life.
In the last year of my life I've been to hell and back. I have the scars (and the tattoos) to prove it. One of our most basic fears is being alone and that fear was never closer to the surface than when my husband walked out on our marriage. But I never had to be alone. Colleen was always a phone call, a middle of the night text or a girls-day-on-the-boat away. She has seen me at my best and my worst over the last year, over the last 10 years, and she loves me anyway.
After my divorce, and the words my husband said, my self-esteem took a hit. When I was being ugly to myself, friends were there to develop my self-esteem. To boost it when I couldn't seem able to. And it meant the world to know that someone loved me anyway.
But good friends are also honest. They know us well enough to tell it like it is, even if we're lying to ourselves. They don't get enough credit for that. For being there when we're on the verge of making a terrible decision. My best friend Victoria tells me - whenever I'm about to do something I shouldn't do "STANDARDS, JENN. STANDARDS!" And my best friend Lisa warned me "RESIST THE CHERUB" when I was dating a guy I referred to as "The Cherub" because dang, that angel face.
It's for these reasons and so many others that Colleen deserves to be recognized on International Friendship day. Of course I had to make it Facebook official. Nothing is real if it's not on Facebook. It's like if Taye Diggs doesn't follow you on Twitter, you probably don't even exist.
One of my favorite ways to thank someone is with a personalized gift basket. For friendship day I filled my gift basket with things every girl needs. A Nicholas Sparks book to make us believe in love again. A cellphone charger for those late night phone calls and texts. A movie to make us laugh. And something to make us feel better.
For this basket I chose Ricola Natural Herb Cough Drops. They're made with Chrüterchraft – a natural herb found only in Ricola products from Switzerland.
The drops also contain Ricola’s “Magic 10″ Herbs:
- Lemon Balm ~ It has a restorative, energising and cheering effect, and in the language of flowers it brings “harmony with the divine message, to dispel fears of the future”.
- Horehound ~ Horehound activates the immune system, eliminating foreign matter and protecting the respiratory tracts from dust particles.
- Elder ~ Elder promotes perspiration, helping counteract fever, stimulating bronchial secretion and is an immunotherapeutic agent.
- Peppermint ~ Peppermint has a cooling or anti-inflammatory effect and stimulates the circulation. It is an effective treatment against bacterial infectious agents due to its rapid cleansing action.
- Mallow ~ Mallow helps alleviate mucous membrane irritations in the mouth and throat, dry and irritable coughs, gastrointestinal and stomach complaints.
- Sage ~ Sage’s essential oil has a cleansing action against bacterial infection agents in the mouth and throat. Its tannins prevent overproduction of perspiration and its bitters strengthen the digestive tract, also helping prevent bad breath.
- Thyme ~ Thymol, the main component of Thyme, is regarded as a very effective disinfectant.
- Lime Flowers ~ Lime flower blossoms drive fevery heat out of the body by promoting sweating, clear the respiratory tract and make the voice clear and bright. They relieve irritable coughs and soothe inflamed frontal and maxillary sinuses when inhaled.
- Hyssop ~ Hyssop has a beneficial effect on the chest area, relieving chronic irritable coughs and working as an expectorant. It also reduces inflammation that makes breathing difficult
- Wild Thyme ~Wild thyme revitalizes by driving colds and hardened mucus out of the bronchioles, seals the mucus membranes for a long time, gently strengthens the stomach and intestines and increases blood flow in the pelvis.
Along with those listed, Chrüterchraft – a natural herb found only in Ricola products from Switzerland – is used. Be sure to visit Ricola.com to take an interactive journey to learn more about Chrüterchraft!
You can learn more about Ricola® Swiss Herbs here, and don’t forget to follow along on social media!
Like the Ricola Facebook page and follow @RicolaUSA on Twitter!
Leave a Reply