Herbal Baths

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Sometimes we have just plain old shitty days. Some days we are so over worked, stressed out, and beat up all we can think about is just getting in the tub and letting all of our problems just evaporate with the steam of a hot bath.

Sometime a hot soak can really hit the spot. Other times, you dry off feeling unsatisfied. Well I thought I would share a few fabulous herbal bath ideas with you that you would absolutely love if you could hold out just a few minutes to gather some ingredients and I promise you will leave your bath rejuvenated, satisfied, and relaxed.

Lets start with the easiest to prepare. A Milk Bath.  Did you know a milk bath was the favorite of Cleopatra? Ok, here's what you need, about 2 to 4 cups of milk. Voila! The extras are... and this totally depends on your skin type. If you have oily skin, use a low fat milk. If you have dry skin, use whole milk. Add warm water to the tub, add the milk and enjoy.
Now, if you want to take this to the next level, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil if you have some, add a little honey, which is GREAT for your skin or you can add some oatmeal to a muslin bag or some cheese cloth and make a bundle and use that to exfoliate and scrub away your stress!
(Ok, so if you are like me and have bags of powdered milk somewhere in the back of the cabinet and you have no earthly idea what your gonna do with it, Milk Bath!!! And you dont have to worry about if the kids are gonna have enough milk for their cereal!)

Here's another really easy one to prepare. Buy some Epsom Salts, some Sea Salt and add a few herbs to some cheese cloth or muslin, tie it off and let it sit under the running water. Sounds pretty easy, huh?

So let us now talk about taking this whole bath thing to a whole new level. Bath Teas. If you have never heard of this or you have and you always wanted to try it, Im gonna show you how to do it really easy.
First, NEVER throw away orange, lemon or lime rinds! You can chop them up, let them dry and add them to your bath teas. Whenever possible try to find some organic rose petals, or lavender. They are great additions to bath teas and to the de-stressing factor.  I say to try to find organic, so that way you know that no harmful pesticides have been sprayed on them.
Try to mix and match some flowers and herbs to find a blend that you love. I personally love the smell of sweet basil. When I cook, I grab a pinch and rub it between my hands and add it to whatever Im cooking. I love the smell on my hands, so I will often add it to a bath tea or a tub tea as they are sometimes called.

I hope that I have given you a few ideas, and really you can take it and run with it. Enjoy!

~Gypsy

"The Worlds Worst Place To Be Gay?"

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com So, the other night I came across a documentary, called "The Worlds Worst Place To Be Gay?". I was more than mortified as I watched it. Really whether you are gay or not, Africa is not a place you want to be if you are homosexual or have any gays or lesbians in your family. If you have a family member who happens to be gay, and you do not turn them in to the authorities, you and any other family members can be jailed. If you are gay, you can be jailed. If gays are caught in the act of having sex, they face death. DEATH.

In a world that I believe that has come so far, I can not believe that this  is how we treat people. Here in the US, we fight for equality and the right to marry which straight people have always had. Gays have been bashed, beaten, been outcasts... but no more. But in Africa, particularly in Uganda, where the documentary took place, gays are denied all of their rights. I was beside myself as I watched this.

British Radio 1 DJ, Scott Mills, who is gay himself wanted to see for himself how gays were treated in this country. He talked to families of gays, gays living in shanty towns, and a politician, who later tried to have Scott and the film crew  arrested, but luckily the politician had the wrong hotel information. Why have them arrested? Because the politician agreed to do an interview with Scott about a Bill that was going to be passed about "the gay problem" in his country. As the interview went on, Scott finally told the politician that he himself was an openly gay man. The politician took on a nervous laugh and demanded that they stop filming him. I guess he was mad that he was going to be seen by the world talking to a gay man that he sent out a task force to have Scott and his crew arrested.

No less than 37 countries in Africa have declared homosexuality illegal, with Uganda being the most dangerous. Scott met with a lesbian woman who has been raped repeatedly to "cure" her and left her pregnant and has subsequently contracted the HIV virus.  He also met with young school children who told him that homosexuality is an abomination.

Since the documentary, Ugandan Gay Rights Activist, David Kato was outed by a newspaper along with photographs of himself and several others. The newspaper headline said "Hang Them".  The police had made statements after the paper was published that gays, should take extra caution. There have been a recent reports of "Iron Bar" killings where people are attacked with pipes or other metal objects.

Witnesses have reported that a man entered David Kato's home and beat him to death with a hammer. Kato had received many death threats since the news paper had posted him picture, name and address. the newspaper issued a statement saying that they wanted the government to step in and hang homosexuals and not for the public to take matters into their own hands.  President Obama as well as Hillary Clinton have issued statements after learning of Mr. Katos death. One man has been arrested for the killing.

I urge you to watch the program. I always urge people to open their eyes to the world around them. This affects us all. This hits close to home for me because I am bi-sexual and have a girlfriend. I have three daughters who have came out to me and the world as being bi-sexual. I can not believe that we live in a world where such madness and hate take place. But, I guess we do.

Thank you for reading...