Happy

Dinner of the week

Posted on by arappleby
Roast chicken thighs with mega mushroom risotto

So this weeks outstanding dinner was a mushroom risotto with chicken. Reviews were that is ‘banging’ and worth making again.

So here’s what I used… (plus chicken thighs that were roasted plain) I admit I cooked this in a wok.


2 chicken oxo, large white onion, olive oil, small cup white wine, 1 tsp of mixed herbs, garlic granules, onion granules, about 2 punnets of mushrooms, small bit of lemon for juice
Mushrooms (1 punnet chestnut, white and even a punnet of shitake because we could get hold of them), frozen peas, risotto rice

So how did I do it? Well I started with the onions gently frying them until they turned translucent and then added risotto rice I had to eye ball it because I’m lazy.

It’s not a big tub like around half a litre at most!
Pages: 1 2

I said yes!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on by arappleby

As you can see I am super excited to share with you my engagement….

It still feels wildly like a dream!

And that doesn’t surprise me… He and I have very different ideas of how it happened… mainly because he was 100% awake when he asked me and I was dosing off!

Can you believe it! On the night before our one year anniversary!!!!

So I asked him to do something for me, I asked him to write it as he remembered it. This is what he wrote for me:

We were cuddling up together watching Aristocats falling half asleep and I asked “how would you like to fall asleep and wake up next to me for the rest of your life?” You said “yes” with a big cute smile on your face and then I said “Ok in that case will you marry me?” You shot back and said “really?” I said “Yes really” and you said “yes” then I said “you better have this then” showed you the ring and asked again (Just to be sure) and you said yes.

 

Wanna know what I remember?

I remember closing my eyes and listening to the Aristocats cuddled up in his arms dozing a little bit and just feeling very blissed and happy and tired. When he asked me if I would like to fall asleep and wake up next to him for the rest of my life I had no idea what he was up to so I said yes without even opening my eyes. I think I must have opened them a bit because he moved away a smidge and asked me if would marry him and I couldn’t have been more surprised, hence my “really?” which was probably more a “really?!?!?!” or at least that is how it would have looked in my head. When he said “yes really” I didnt think twice for saying yes. I was wide awake and then he gave me the ring, I don’t remember him asking a second time, I just put that ring on and that was that. Wide awake and way too excited to sleep for hours. So I got out his present from in the cupboard that I had stashed there for this exact reason. Gave it to him and watch him get frustrated at 3 layers of wrapping paper, because you know, I am nice like that. He got a bow tie to learn to tie and his face did that super cute thing when he smiles which just grew even more when he saw his Toy Story “Woody” doll. Which made him even more excited when he found out that Woody Talks.

Safe to say it was an amazing night. A brilliant engagement. A frustrating proposal because my memory is a bit patchy until the part where I get super excited. But still very happy. Was a brilliant anniversary day too… But that will come in another post.

Consider me a mutant

Posted on by arappleby

So I have to tell you something. My friend (who for the sake of privacy I will refer to as J), well he recommended I read this book. So sure I didn’t take it seriously, it took me a few months to order the book from amazon. Then it took at least a month before I read the back (and by read I mean skimmed the first three lines) and put it back into my reading pile. Ok so the day comes when I think, ok time I should read it.

I WISH I HAD BEEN RECEPTIVE TO READING IT SOONER!

No word of a lie.

The book that was recommended? Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan.

I read the first chapter and thought hmm, this looks good. But then my attention wavered and gave it a couple of days. Then I read the rest of the book in one day. Yep that’s right. Morning to evening I didn’t put the book down for longer than two minutes.

I don’t want to give the book away. But I love how well written it is. I love that it is a book where you are able to take away from it as much as you are receptive to. I can see someone reading this book for entertainment and discovering their perspective altered just a tiny bit or a lot.

I came to this book with an understanding to a degree of the law of attraction. This heightened that understanding, underlined it and showed itself in a demonstrative way.

I can see why J thought this book was so important for me to read. I owe him a huge thank you.

Ok so basic story for someone not interested in the law of attraction: Woman goes to outback with a dying race, her life changes because of it, she has to go back to the real world.

Those of us interested in the law of attraction: Amazing journey, a woman ends up going on a journey where she finds her whole belief and life system tested. She comes to understand not only the law of attraction but the incredible details of the world to a very strong understanding of the world. Discovering her natural intuition. She returns to the society she came from and began to try to uplift the resistant. But finds more success on uplifting those closest to her with open minds and hearts.

This book is great.

I started recommending this book before I even reached half way I knew that no matter what the ending was going to be. Sad or happy it was going to be fulfilling. I just knew this book needs sharing. Had it not been for J, I would never have known. But now I do it cannot be ignored.

I would happily direct friends to this book. I genuinely mean it when I say “you should read this book”

Even if you don’t think you will take anything from it, even if it entertains you for a little while, that is great. Because you never know what you will end up taking away from this book.

While I can’t imagine myself doing the whole outback down under adventure of my own, my path doesn’t hold ground in that direction. But I do appreciate the values, the understandings, the teachings that it shows. The lessons and the tests. I know it is not my path to replicate the footsteps, I lived them however through the words on the page. They are as profound as the adventure itself. It is appreciated.

While it is fictitious that doesn’t diminish the possibility to extract something positive from this story. Whether you look at the world with a greater appreciation for the planet or you learn to trust your own instincts.

It is nice to escape for a while into another adventure where you can perhaps come to a newer realisation of self-trust.

Sure the world is probably going downhill. But to be honest. This book is a good read even if for entertainment. It has a very real feel to it.

The story is exactly that, a great story, if it helps you trust your intuition or encourages you to look for good in the world it has done its job.

Looking at the world with appreciation and gratitude is something that a lot of people would enjoy learning, to give up the struggle and resistance and just learn to live a positive life.

So to the author I send thanks and appreciation for the story.

To you readers, I strongly suggest reading this story, if even to find a place of peace or appreciation that you can take from this story and implement it into your everyday lives.

My challenge to you, name one thing each day that you truly appreciate, one thing that you are grateful for, one thing you are genuinely looking forward to tomorrow. Make that your daily challenge please. I’d love it if you all feel good more of the time.

May luck and adventure be on your side!

ARA xxx

Here is the cheeky little link for The Diary of Elliot Parker available now!!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MG21QLX