Empress Herbal

Good morning, family ❤️

I’m still documenting what my body is doing — and this morning is another example of why I started keeping my own records.

🩺 Left arm: 141/102 initially → 134/102 on repeat
🩺 Right arm: 126/98
❤️ HR: 81–87
🫁 SpO₂: 97–98%
📍 Sitting on the side of my bed

I’ve been entering everything into the blood-pressure tracker I created — BP, heart rate, oxygen saturation, right vs. left arm, manual vs. machine, position, medications and symptoms.

After everything that has happened this month and the discovery of findings consistent with Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD) on my CTA, I want a record of what is happening between hospital visits and doctor appointments.

One reading is a snapshot. A pattern tells a story.

And when I walk into my appointments, I’m bringing the receipts. 🧾👑

I’ll continue sharing this journey as I learn more.

Quiet Authority with Lady Empress 👑

#BloodPressure #FMD #FibromuscularDysplasia #PatientAdvocacy #QuietAuthorityWithLadyEmpress

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5 hours ago | [YT] | 1

Empress Herbal

🌱 My garden looks a little different to me now.

If you’ve been following Empress Herbal, you know how much growing my own food, herbs and learning about the plants around us means to me.

But September has changed my life in a way I wasn’t expecting.

I was recently diagnosed with Fibromuscular Dysplasia — FMD, a vascular condition affecting the arteries. And now I’m learning how to navigate a diagnosis I honestly didn’t know much about before all of this happened.

On September 17, before I ended up back in the hospital that night, I had actually harvested some of my okra and drank about 4 oz of homemade okra water.

No, I’m NOT saying okra water caused what happened, and I’m not saying it treats FMD. I’m simply documenting what I was eating and drinking, what I was experiencing, what happened to my body, and what I’m learning along the way.

Because now my journey with gardening and herbs has another layer:

🌿 What am I putting into my body?
🌿 What actually has scientific evidence behind it?
🌿 What interacts with my medications?
🌿 What is traditional use versus proven treatment?
🌿 And how do I continue living the lifestyle I love while taking a vascular diagnosis seriously?

As a nurse, gardener and woman now experiencing healthcare from the patient’s side of the bed, I think there is a conversation here worth having.

So I’m going to share it.

The garden isn’t going anywhere. ❤️🌱
We’re just adding another chapter to the journey.

— Lady Empress

#EmpressHerbal #LadyEmpress #FibromuscularDysplasia #FMDAwareness #FMDJourney #GardenToTable #GrowYourOwnFood #Okra #OkraWater #WomenAndVascularHealth #MyHealthJourney

2 days ago | [YT] | 2

Empress Herbal

I just hyped this awesome creator ‪@growingoutthebox‬

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Empress Herbal

When I tell you this CONSERVATORY is absolutely beautiful! It is and I have so much to share with you!

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1 month ago | [YT] | 5

Empress Herbal

🌱 FROM OUR GARDEN TO OUR DINNER TABLE! 🍽️💚

This right here is one of the reasons we grow our own food. Tonight’s dinner is salmon croquettes with rice, but look at everything from OUR garden on these plates! 🙌🏾

🥒 Cucumbers
🍅 Cherry tomatoes
🫑 Bell peppers
🧅 Red onions
🌱 Okra
🫛 Peas
💚 Green beans

There is something so satisfying about walking outside, harvesting food that you planted and cared for, bringing it into the kitchen, and then seeing it on your family’s dinner plate. 🥹🌱

Every seed, every hot day in the garden, every bug battle, every watering session… THIS is the reward.

We may not grow everything we eat yet, but every vegetable we grow ourselves is one less thing we had to buy — and one more step toward producing more of our own food. 💚

Garden to table for real! 🌱➡️🍽️

What did YOU grow this year that made it onto your dinner plate? 👇🏾

#GardenToTable #GrowYourOwnFood #BackyardGarden #HomegrownFood #GardenHarvest #VegetableGarden #Zone8Garden #HomesteadJourney #FoodFromTheGarden #EmpressHerbal

1 month ago | [YT] | 5

Empress Herbal

God has a way of showing us his promise!

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1 month ago | [YT] | 10

Empress Herbal

🥨 I honestly didn’t expect these homemade pretzels to turn out THIS good!

From proofing the dough outside in the Georgia summer heat ☀️ to stuffing them with bacon, sausage, eggs, cheeseburgers, and melty cheese… my family practically cleaned out the tray!

Which one would you grab first?

🥓 Bacon, Saysage, Egg & Cheese
🍔 Bacon Cheeseburger
🥨 Classic Salted Pretzel

👇🏾👇🏾Vote in the comments! I want to know which one you’d eat first.

P.S. The full pretzel dough video is coming soon!

1 month ago | [YT] | 6

Empress Herbal

I moved my hummingbird feeder from the front yard to my patio this morning… and within 30 minutes FIVE hummingbirds showed up! 🥹🐦

I’ve been watching them from my kitchen window ever since. They visit the feeder, my mandevilla, and even perch on the little apple tree that’s still in its nursery pot. 💜

I just bought two more feeders and I’m planning to build a DIY hummingbird bird bath next.

Do hummingbirds visit your garden? What’s your favorite flower that attracts them? 🌺

P.S. I’m thinking about filming a “Creating a Hummingbird Oasis” series. Would you watch it? 🐦🌿

#hummingbirds #hummingbirdfeeders

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2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 6

Empress Herbal

People ask if a backyard garden can really feed your family. Here’s today’s harvest. A little harvest every day adds up to a lot of food over a season.

2 months ago | [YT] | 5

Empress Herbal

🐣 THEY’RE HERE!

Three weeks ago on Juneteenth we set 9 eggs in our incubator. Today I’m sharing the entire journey from setup to hatch day as we welcomed 3 new chicks to the Hicks Homestead.

Watch here:
https://youtu.be/yJ320ksZPaE

Have you ever hatched chicks before?

2 months ago | [YT] | 3