Am not a PERSNICKETY eater :)

Well am sure you have heard a lot about raw apple cider vinegar. So what is the fuss all about? The one am using is by BRAGG Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. It is unfiltered, unpasteurized, kosher-certified and contains the 'mother' of vinegar.  What does it made of? APPLES of course! Hihi.

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is made from nutritious organically grown apples and retains many of the fruits' beneficial components because raw apple cider vinegar is not pasteurized [remember I mentioned this earlier?]. And in its two fermentation processes, it produces enzymes and life giving nutrients that make apple cider vinegar the powerhouse it is.

ACV has been used for thousands of years as natural health remedy. In 400BC Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, used it as an antibiotic because he believed it had natural energizing and cleansing abilities. It was also used in Civil War and WWW I to help treat wounds and combat indigestion.

You might be thinking "Okay, so can you get the one in normal supermarket or where can I get the raw ACV?" , right? I got mine at the VitaCare Pharmacy in KLCC. You can try supermarket as I usually get my stash at the pharmacy plus their pharmacist are super duper friendly. We get free nagging and we loved it! 

More stuff that you should know is that there is a difference between the clear vinegar and raw apple cider vinegar.

Clear vinegar (we call it cuka makan ---the white color plain usually used to make acar timun as condiment for beriyani) has none of the benefits of raw organic apple cider vinegar. Through its processing and distilling, it's been stripped of everything beneficial and can be detrimental to your health due to the fact that it is dead instead of alive. 

Only raw ACV has the "mother of vinegar" that makes the vinegar so beneficial. The "mother" is made up of living nutrients and bacteria (the good ones). You can actually see it settled in the bottom of the bottle like sediment.

Just look at some of the salubrious ingredients in raw apple cider vinegar:

Potassium : Helps to prevent brittle teeth, hair loss and runny noses.

Pectin        : Helps to regulate blood pressure and reduce bad cholesterol.

Malic Acid : Gives  ACV the properties of being anti-viral, anti-bacterial & anti-fungal.

Calcium     : Helps create strong bones and teeth.

Ash          : Gives ACV its alkaline property which aids your body in maintaining proper PH levels for a  healthy alkaline state.

Acetic Acid: It appears that this acid slows the digestion of starch which can help to lower the rise in glucose that commonly occurs after meals.

A few health benefits you may get from apple cider vinegar:

1. 1tbsp of raw ACV mixed in 4 ounces of purified water after a meal has been used as natural remedy for heartburn and as a replacement for toxic heartburn medications.
2. Raw ACV may help improve bowel irregularity, thereby removing toxins from the body at a faster rate.
3. Helps clear up skin conditions and blemishes giving a smoother texture and complexion.
4. Raw ACV may also help with joint pain and stiffness.
5. Helps to breakdown fats so that your body can use them rather than store them. For this reason, many diets include ACV in their regimen.
6. On a small scale, ACV was studied by researchers at Arizona State University. The preliminary study was published in the Diabetes Care Journal. It reported that ACV helps reduce levels of glucose.
7. Acts as a natural appetite suppressant.
8. Home remedy for dandruff and acne, taken externally. It is even good for pets. It has been used to help control fleas and even promotes a healthy shiny coat.

Very remedial and invigorating right? And not to mention, feasible too! So how do I take them?

There are several options really. If you are not on a diet or your BMI is normal hence no need to lose weight, you can mix it with apple juice or anything basically to remove that tangy vinegary taste. But if you are on a diet or intended to shed off 1 or 2 kgs, then 2tbsp of raw ACV and a glass of cold/warm water should do the trick! However if you tried and you think your tummy cannot take it, mix it with 1tsp or 2tsp of organic honey into your mixture; that should soothes your tummy. 

You can find apple cider vinegar in tablets or capsule form but I do not recommend these sources because they are dried sources. Hey the liquid taste much better and it is cheap too! You can even make your salad dressing using it. Give it a try. :)

Happy Fasting to all!

 Love,

Iliyana I. Ramjaun

6th July -- World Kissing Day!

I know you must be thinking that am demented or delirious for posting such thing. But this is for real! Yes, it is celebrated in the UK but now I guess has been adopted worldwide as INTERNATIONAL KISSING DAY. 

When I think about it, the concept of a kiss is everywhere in our society and of course, it has way way many meanings other than **whatever you are thinking inside that dirty mind of yours!**. A first kiss. A formal kiss. A passionate kiss. A child's kiss. A goodbye kiss.

The concept is aimed to make us appreciate a kiss in its own right. No conventions, no social norms; - JUST a kiss. 

From my walk on worldwideweb, there is a competition which hold record for the longest kiss! The record was set in the UK back in 2005 at 31 hours and 30 minutes. Then on Valentine's Day 2009, a couple from Germany set a new record of just over 32 hours. Again on 2011, a Thai couple, husband and wife team up locking their lips and began their quest to break the current longest kiss. After 46 hours and 24 minutes (can't imagine how swollen their lips would be?!) they claimed a new record for the longest kiss. Impressive? I know!!

Maybe you and me can get some kissing tip from them before puckering up. LOL.

Think of your sweetest kiss... a kiss from your mother? Your child? A thank you kiss from your closest friend? Or all those meaningless kisses? 

For me, next time I kiss Mr.S I will just think about how delightful it is and not what it 'means'. Haha. TLC for you later Mr.S :)

Love, 

Iliyana I. Ramjaun

A poem by Mother Teresa

So you see, in the final analysis... it is between you and your God;

It was NEVER between you and them anyway.

Love,

Iliyana I. Ramjaun

Just how things started ...

Love,

Iliyana I. Ramjaun

#3 - Wordless Wednesday

My whole world evolves around them at the moment. So here you go! 

Love,

Iliyana. I. Ramjaun

English ONLY --->HR Memo

Probably not a scenario if you are working in such a country where English is the main language. But somehow it is still happening in our UK and MY offices due to different cultures, races, and backgrounds. Some are from France, Italy, German, Malaysia etc. Hence it is natural when you meet your "countrymen", you will be conversing in your mother-tongue language. Not to say that it is wrong but some people may not understand you and think that you are blathering about them behind their backs or even sharing sensitive confidential information about ones organisation and this may caused misunderstanding which lead to discomfort in your working environment. You may defend yourself that you are not doing such thing, but then again, hey! we did not understand a word you were saying!! 

A close friend of mine were having the same issue the other day and was asking me if maybe they should impose some kind of punishment e.g. Every word that is not English will be penalised. Maybe 50cents? . You might be shaking your head and go "Duh!" but I fathomed where she is getting at. It is sometimes annoying especially when these countrymen started nattering LOUDLY and you are on the phone with your client trying to get your work done. But I told her we are all adults and I don't think such punishment would work. It may cause further arguments and unnecessary enmity. I gave her my 2 cents but not too sure if she took it. 

Anyways, later in that same week, another close friend asked and discussed about the same issue. This time it involved the management themselves and they wanted to be firm about it. She is supposed to write a HR memo explaining the management's austerity about this issue. Tell you the truth it is the same phenomenon in my office to a point HR actually sent email every week harking back on the same concern matter. Tiring? YES! And who said only kids don't listened and conformed. What baffled me is that adults are worse! So I wasn't  flabbergasted when she asked me to draft her a HR memo on this issue.

I outlined and emailed it to her. I think she did send it to management and got it approved.

The MEMO sounded like this:

Dear team,

Management is committed to instill better English commands in the organisation. The use of mother-tongue language is not permissible while at work as it may present misunderstanding among your co-workers/co-employees.

An insistence that employees communicate in English in the workplace serves the added business purpose of minimizing the sense of alienation and resulting hostility felt by employees and customers who don't speak or understand the foreign language. 

No other language is permitted none whatsoever other than English during office hour. With an exception of any business that requires conversation with a client or supplier.

Your attention is drawn to this fact and it is asked that you communicate with your teams to remind that our office is an "English" speaking office ONLY.

This policy should be followed with high priority. All the staff working at ABC Ltd. (real name cannot be disclosed) is requested to co-operate in implementing this policy without any deviation. And those who go beyond the policy should be reported to Mr. John Smith.

Please be reminded that this policy is being implemented by taking into consideration all aspects including sensitivity issues and it is management best intentions to make sure all employees benefit from it.

Harsh? I don't think so. Well am still waiting on her updates. For now, cheerio!

Love,

Iliyana I. Ramjaun

NATURAL Parenting -__-"

NO am not pregnant yet! It was just some conversation I had with a friend and we were laughing imagining how we are going to be if we become the mother. Topic came up because we saw a young couple with a probably 4-5 years old girl and this girl has been crying and screaming non stop. It seemed like the girl wanted something from the dining table where they were seated but the parents of hers - not sure why they are just ignoring this kid. Thus the annoying high pitch screaming. We were so disturbed to a point we wanted to just walk up there and ask them to do something OR for "fish" sake! give the girl what she wanted already!! It is annoying and you are in a public space., you know. People need their privacy too. Geez!

Anyways, even the other people in that area were glancing and mutterings and hushing-shhh! but I guess these parents are just DEAF! What I did not understand was that not even the waiter or waitress actually went and talked to this couple and ask them to do something about the kid. Me and my friend were just shaking our heads and continued our chit-chat till finally the place is SILENT. The obtusely fatheaded couple left. I swear we could hear sighing of reliefs everywhere around us. 

We ended up making jokes of this couple. The solution was simple. Just give the kid what she wanted to shut her up. If it is not something you wanted to give to your kid, find a substitute. Remember she is after all, a kid. Trick her with something flashy or yummy, she will be fine. At least do something about the situation rather than ignoring it completely.

Reminded of what my friend was saying. Parenting will come naturally when you have your own kid. Haha... is that true? I don't know! Maybe? 

Love,

Iliyana I. Ramjaun