Honey

Both the holy Qur'an and Hadith refer to honey as a healer of disease.

'Your Lord revealed to the honeybee: make home in the hills, on the trees and in the structures they raise' 016:068
'Then eat all the fruits, then go along the pathways of your Lord create easy for you, from their bellies come a drink of varying colours, in which there is cure for mankind. Verily in that there is Sign for people who ponders'. 016:069

In addition, the Prophet (PBUH) said:

'Honey is a remedy for every illness and the Qur'an is a remedy for all illness of the mind, therefore I recommend to you both remedies, the Qur'an and honey.' (Bukhari)

The above hadith or Tradition and the benefit of honey can be read from islamicsites.com/honey.asp by Dr. Monzur Ahmed.

Honey used to be a must buy item whenever I have a chance to go and see my late father in KT. I normally buy about ten bottles of honey and whenever he still have some bottles honey to spare he asked me to bring a bottle back to KL for my own consumption. He normally add two tablespoons of honey to a small glass of 'cool boiled water', he stirs up the mixture and consumes it twice a day once in the morning and once in the evening. The other must buy item is 'minyak afiat' , an ointment that he used to massage himself before and after sleep.

One fine day, my brother-in- law came to our house in search of pure honey. I was in Sudan then and we have a few bottles of honey that I brought back from Sudan. He took the honey I bought from Trengganu and also those from Sudan. BIL told us later that one of his nieces got a weird sickness.. The boy's stomach got swollen in the evening ( but not any other time though) after he played in one awkward corner of a play-ground in Klang. After many unsuccessful medical treatments, my BIL was recommended to see a Tabligh guy who originates from Middle East in Masjid India here in KL. The guy asked for pure honey as the only ingredient for him to try to cure the boy's sickness.

BIL has bought many bottles of honey from Klang and KL markets but the tabligh guy told him that those honey were not pure enough for him to use. When he brought the many bottles of honey from my house.. The guy said the honey I normally bought in KT for my late father was good enough. We were glad to note that the boy weird sickness has been cured and the honey I bought in KT received some sort of authentification ;)

Now that my father is no longer around I still buy ten bottles of honey from KT once in a blue moon for my own consumption. Sometime I sold some bottles of the honey to my friends who knew about its quality and of late one of my friend paid better price than what I asked him to pay ... saying that it not fair for him to buy the honey at such a low price..;).

I used to sell kain batik and sutera some fifteen years ago to top up the payment of my car installment. I was at time scolded by my siblings for being so 'tamak' or greedy but honestly it was not so much for money now.. It is just a small past time.. I told them I can not even expect to pay a small portion of fuel cost of travelling to KT from KL from the sale of few bottles of honey ;)..

I believe this is my last entry for 2011 and I sincerely want to ask for forgiveness from my dear blog readers and those blogs owners that I commented for any unpleasantness felt from any of my actions..

Wishing you a Happy New Year with or without a bang from Ayoh Wang and family.
May the new year bring the blessing of Our Creator, His Forgiveness and His Pleasure.

God is never wrong

In my early working days, there was a teacher who asked me to read 4 chapters of the Quran namely Yasin, AlMulk , AsSajadah and AdDukhan in my solat hajat as a way to pray for the gift of memorizing the whole Book. I believed I do not have a good memory.. Been trying to memorize all the 4 chapters but to no avail.. There were time I was about to succeed only to find out that there were few verses I totally forgotten or mixed up.. Maybe I should hold the Book while praying ;)

An interesting post sent by my friend Mohd Jamin (many thanks to him) in one of my email reminds me of a subject of " just ends" in these two verses in surah AdDukhan

We created not the heavens, the earth, and all between them, merely in (idle) sport.044.038
We created them not except for just ends: but most of them do not understand.044.039.

I upload the whole content of that email and get the picture from google.

A king who did not believe in the goodness of God, had a slave who, in all circumstances, said: My king, do not be discouraged, because everything God does is perfect, no mistakes!

One day they went hunting and along the way a wild animal attacked the king. His slave managed to kill the animal, but could not prevent his majesty losing a finger.

Furious and without showing his gratitude for being saved, the nobleman said "Is God good? If He was good, I would not have been attacked and lost my finger."

The slave replied: "My king, despite all these things, I can only tell you that God is good, and he knows "why" of all these things. What God does is perfect. He is never wrong!"

Outraged by the response, the king ordered the arrest of his slave.

Later, he left for another hunt and was captured by savages who made human sacrifices.

In the altar, ready to sacrifice the nobleman, the savages found that the victim had not one of his fingers, so he was released. According to them, it was not so complete to be offered to the gods.

Upon his return to the palace, he authorized the release of his slave that he received very affectionately.

My dear, God was really good to me! I was almost killed by the wild men, but for lack of a single finger, I was let go! But I have a question: if God is so good, why did he allow me to put you in jail?"

My King, if I had gone with you in this hunt, I would have been sacrificed for you, because I have no missing finger, therefore, remember everything God does is perfect. He is never wrong."

Often we complain about life, and negative things that happen to us, forgetting that nothing is random and that everything has a purpose.

Every morning, offer your day to God, don't be in a rush.

Ask God to inspire your thoughts, guide your actions, and ease your feelings. And do not be afraid. God is never wrong!

You know why this message is for you? I do not know, but God knows, because he never makes mistakes.......

The path of God and his word is perfect, without impurities. He is the way of all those who trust in Him.

What you do with this message is up to you. May God put in your heart the desire to send it to someone. God knows why He choose you to receive this message. Please bless someone with it.

God is never wrong..

Have a good day.

A week that was

The second exploration well penetrated some oil and gas, a side-track well was drilled to prove enough resources to quickly develop the discovery. The sidetrack well reached final Total Depth on the fourth week of November and some tests were conducted. The result did not come in as expected and the well was plugged and abandoned a few days ago.
Last week there was not much activities that need my attention and I took a breather (a week off from work) to visit my beloved mother and relatives in Trengganu, armed with the knowledge that if everything goes as per plan, my third exploration well for 2011 will be drilled before middle of December.

Through my better half efforts I went to a masseur to relieve the nagging pain in my right shoulder only to find out that my right arm muscles has been twisted and the elbow was not in its proper place. This somehow threw my planning haywire as I need to get my arm massage every other day and those days coincided with the days I planned to be in Kuala Trengganu. I have to skip a few visits to my relatives places and also have to abandon my planned Kkalang Maras' visit (fortunately for me, I did not tell my blogger friend in Kkalang Maras of my intention to visit him);(

I did not plan to go off line.. somehow the massage thingy did not allow me sufficient time to properly visit my own blog.. least of all to go blogs hopping.. The other significant happening was birthdays celebration organized my niece for her two children.

The food and birthday cakes

How to get this thing to work?

When can we enjoy the food?

Ooh.. my fingers

At last the birthday boy got to cut the cake

Let me show you how it should be done!

Let me do it on behalf of birthday girl

Ain't we hungry?

Other than the curry puff, all food served were homemade...the birthday cakes were homebaked by my niece who children were the main actor and actress for the " belated birthday" celebration. For those who graced my house the other day. ...the kueh lapis Sarawak served then was also from her effort.

The above pictures were taken before the arrival of our neighbours who somehow shied away when the pictures were taken. When asked as to why they did not come earlier.. “Ah.. We felt a bit embarrassed lah” came the polite answer.

Although the celebration was planned to be conducted together during the daytime.. my grandniece was not very cooperative then and we end up conducting part of the celebration in the evening.. after her much needed sleep ;)

Cut it nicely

Slowly do it..

Let me help you.

Have a nice day

Nutrition: Myths vs Facts

A few months ago, I got this material under almost the same title presented by a well-known Malaysian dietitian from a reputable medical centre. I asked for permission to put the article on my blog and was told to modify it. I post a slightly modified version here for the benefit of my kind and appreciative blog readers, some at times wrote about their need to go on diet regime.

IS IT TIME FOR THE LATEST FAD DIET?
1. Overweight is becoming increasingly common in our country..
2. more than 20% adults are estimated to be overweight.
3. Do weight control diets actually delivered their promises?
4. How do you rank your weight control strategies?

HOW TO SPOT FAD DIETS?
1. Promote quick weight loss : 0.5 to 1 kg per week.
2. Promote miracle or mmagic food
3. Drinking cabbage soup everyday or eating only fruits for breakfast
4. Restrict or eliminate certain food group
5. High Protein Low Carbs Diet and No rice is allowed
6. Use testimonials from famous people & tie the diet to well-known cities
7. Beyoncé Maple Syrup Diet
8. The Beverly Hills Diet.


They are often expensive supplements!
1. Imply as cure-alls & work for everyone.
2. Claim that weight can be lost and maintained without exercise and other lifestyle changes.
3. No scientific research to back up claims.
4. Encourage people to look outside the medical establishment for correct advice.

PubMed indexes paper published from over 30,000 journals.
-A search for articles on Diet & Obesity finds more than 30,000 articles
So What’s The Best Diet Anyway?

GO FOR …..
1. Regular Exercise -Sensible and Safe
2. Commit yourself to a regular exercises program.

FORGET Crash & Fad Diets
1. No value to long term weight control
2. Short term losses are usually regained
3. Long term use can be harmful


FORGET Electronic Gadgets
1. No value to weight loss
2. No extra energy is used

FORGET Massage Belts, Sauna,Chemical Bandage Wraps
1. No value in weight loss.
2. Fat is not “melted” or broken down.
3. Fluid losses are soon replaced when water is drunk

FORGET Cellulite Treatments
1. “Cellulite” is nothing but plain fat.
2. Normal dietary measures with regular physical activity is the only sensible approach.
3. Avoid gimmicky devices and expensive treatment

FORGET Diuretics & Laxatives
1. Excessive use can endanger health.
2. They don’t aid fat loss !

Setting Realistic Goals
1. Don’t be overwhelmed with tremendous amount of weight to loose.
2. Break into smaller, more achievable short-term goals.
3. Genetics plays a key role in determining our body makeup.
4. Learn to love the body you have & keep your focus on ways to make it healthy !

L.The ScalesCan Drive You Nuts !
1. Don’t let the day-to-day fluctuations throw you into a state of panic.
2. Limit amount of times you weigh yourself.

Get Moving and Keep Moving
1. Exercise helps promote weight loss and weight maintenance.
2. Exercise relieves stress and can even psych up your state of mind to motivate you to make the smart food choices.

THE BOTTOM LINE……..
“For a lasting and healthful weight loss = a varied diet, reduced calorie intake and regular physical activity”.

Maintain a Healthy Weight and be Physically Active
A body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 – 25 is recommended.
Healthy weight results from a balance of calories (energy) in and energy expended.

Small, everyday changes matter most

Gradually transition from the old high calories plate...

to a better plate...

to a 3/4 plant-based food+ 1/4 animal protein

Eat Plenty of Vegetables, Fruits, Grains and Legumes
1. Eat 5 - 9 servings daily
2. Eat a variety of fruits and veggies; choose 100% juices.
3. Include dark green and orange vegetables, as well as dry beans and peas each week.
4. Enjoy whole grains, beans and peas with each meal
Do these foods prevent cancer?
Soy foods
1. Contain phytochemicals that may fight cancer (based on animal studies).
2. Soy supplements should not be taken to reduce cancer risk.
3. Women with breast cancer should consume only moderate amounts of soy. Source: The Complete Guide to Nutrition and Physical Activity.
The American Cancer Society. www.acs.org.

Tea
Some research (animal studies)
suggests that tea may have
antioxidant properties and
prevent cancer. Studies in humans
have been less conclusive.

The bottom line
1. Maintain a healthy weight throughout life
2. Adopt a physically active lifestyle
3. Eat a healthy diet, with emphasis on plant sources
4. If you drink alcoholic beverages, limit consumption
5. Focus on the overall content of your diet rather than specific nutrients
6. Don’t just take vitamin supplements to prevent disease

Hopefully some of you might benefit from this entry.

Thank you & Have a nice diet day !