Reflections - things I learned from 2017

Here is the second instalment of 2017's Reflection series. If you didn't see the first post - click here.

If you want to see previous posts then the links are below:

Favourites of 2015

Favourites of 2016

Lessons of 2015

Lessons of 2016

• Always, always, always listen to your gut 

• It's okay to let people go

• Tough love actually works

• I cry at weddings

• If you let your guard down and people in, you can be rewarded 

• Despite the above, you do sometimes need to keep your guard up

• You can still be empathic and a shoulder to cry on without taking on everyone's troubles as if they are your own

• Every cloud has a silver lining, and with every difficult experience comes a lesson or a little more knowledge about life, yourself and people

• Be honest when you need help AND ASK FOR IT 

• Don't get a massage just before exam and revision period

• First, second and third impressions can be wrong

• You can miss someone you don't even really know 

• Imposter syndrome is pandemic 

• Sometimes you just know when something has to end 

• If you want something to happen - don't be afraid to go for it

• Working > studying 

• Having a place to call home is more important than I realised 

• I'm ready to stop going to the hospital 

• I can sorta, kinda "run" a 10k

• Tea-pickled eggs are not as enjoyable to eat as they are to make 

• I'm still making rookie mistakes 

• The idea of someone or something is often better than reality

• Reality is sometimes better than the idea of something or someone

• People can disappoint you and let you down

• You can expect too much from people so you end up feeling disappointed and let down

• Figuring out what you don't want is as instructive as figuring out what you do want 

• Puns are a universal language

• I could be a professional secret keeper 

• Baked goods are a great ice-breaker 

• I no longer enjoy Twitter 

• I will never grow tired of life, or of living 

• There are a lot of compliments I need to practice accepting 

• Some people don't want advice, even if they ask for it

• Some of my favourite people think I'm one of their favourite people too

• You can be surprised by who your favourite people end up being

• You can curl your hair with hair-straighteners

• Storage heaters are more complicated to understand than a law degree

• I need both the City and the countryside to stay sane

• Libraries are actually a good place to study

• I am very lucky 

• Life is still an incredible, surprising and wonderful thing (and far too much has happened this year for me to neatly sum it up in these lessons)

What life lessons did 2017 bring for you?

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Reflections - some of my favourites of 2017

As I have taken to do at this time of year, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the past year. Two posts will follow - this one of some of my favourite things of 2017, and another one on things I've learned in the last year (coming soon). I will try not repeat too many of the same things from previous years' posts, but be warned there may be a few similar!

If you want to see previous posts then the links are below:

Favourites of 2015 

Favourites of 2016

Lessons of 2015

Lessons of 2016

As I said last year (and the year before)...without further ado, and in the immortal words of Julie Andrews, these are a few of my favourite things (from 2017)...

• Red wine

• Reunions

• Rooftop bars in London

• Walking - both for perspective and health

• End of exams - especially if someone else pays for a celebratory lunch

• My gut instinct

• Getting braver, and going for what I want

• Polaroid pictures 

• My friends and family 

• A summer of work

• An actual cat burglar 

• Re-watching my 1SecondEveryday videos 

• Month In Review videos - even if I don't film them every month...

• Playing join-the-dots with freckles

• Pimms/Beer/Cider/Picnics at the cricket

• Impromptu plans - although I don't think you can actually plan anything that is impromptu...

• Being a pedant - see above

• Trying (and failing) to (temporarily) dye my hair purple

• Friends trekking across London to provide sustenance of more than one kind

• Texts that start with, "Do you want to come round to mine for dinner?" and end with "I'll cook".

• Perfecting my party trick of pill-swallowing

• Staycations

• FINALLY getting free coffee(s) at Pret

• Kumquats

• Telling stories about kumquats

• Being teased about my stories of kumquats

• My being-discharged-from-hospital anniversary being renamed my squirrel anniversary

• Reaching four years since I left hospital

• Puns - forever and always one of the ways to my heart

• Well-timed, freshly-boiled kettles

• Good grammar

• Good manners

• "Good morning"s

• Good referencing - in life, not just in essays

• Making time for self-care

• Sheet masks

• Yoga – especially Child’s Pose

• Early nights

• Late nights

• A dazzlingly coloured wireless speaker

• The Eiffel Tower light show

• Being the hostess

• Being the hosted 

• Being mistaken for a Parisian

• Being afraid of an answer, but asking anyway

• Robing rooms and court rooms (as always)

• Having one of my idols as a mentor

• The notification "xxxx has tagged you in a comment/post"

• Voice notes

• Screenshots and a flurry of messaging

• Still having more favourites than not, despite a roller-coaster of a year

...and so much more...

What are your favourite things of 2017? 

How to get in touch:
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Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co.uk/
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Month In Review: OCTOBER 2017

October in review, featuring Marilyn Monroe, halloumi and lack of sleep.
May In Review video
Sleep hygiene and insomnia video Article on sleep
Article on relaxing

How would you sum up your October?
How to get in touch:
YouTube - http://t.co/CGZBkZnWU2 Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Recovering_Life Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co...
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Recipe: Homemade healthy muesli

I posted a picture on Instagram of a jar of homemade muesli and asked you if you wanted a recipe for it; turns out you did. SO here we go...a nutty, nourishing, sugar-free, wheat-free muesli that doesn't taste of dust!

Ingredients:

600g oats

200g mixed nuts

100g sesame seeds

50g sunflower seeds

50g pumpkin seeds

100g raisins

100g dried cranberries

100g dried ready-to-eat apricots, chopped

Feel free to: change the types of dried fruit or seeds used according to your preference, and add some spices (cinnamon, nutmeg etc.) if you like a bit of extra warmth.

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C
2. Spread the oats, nuts and seeds on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes – making sure the oats don’t burn, but are slightly golden.
3. Take the tray out of the oven and leave to cool
4. Once the mixture is cooled, mix together with the dried fruit and store in a glass jar or other airtight container
5. To serve – add milk or yoghurt and some fresh fruit if you like.

How do you like to start your day? What recipes would you like to see next?

How to get in touch:

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Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Recovering_Life  
Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co.uk
Email - yourlifeinrecovery@gmail.com
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Comfort Food: Lamb Tagine recipe

In my September In Review video I mentioned that I have been loving making (and eating) lamb tagines. I have written up my recipe - please see below. My apologies for the lack of photos - the many times I have made the tagine, the ravenous hordes have descended before I have had the chance to take nice photos...

This recipe serves four or five hungry people.

Ingredients:

1kg lamb neck fillet
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp hot chilli powder

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

a few strands of saffron

2 small cinnamon sticks

1 lemon, unwaxed

500g of passata

150g dried apricots

125g dried pitted dates and/or sultanas

1 pint of lamb stock, or the water the lemon was boiled in

50g shelled pistachios

50g flaked almonds

Method:

1.     Pre-heat the oven to 150C (for fan-assisted ovens)

2.     Boil the lemon in a saucepan of water for 20 minutes, remove carefully and dice up the whole lemon while removing the seeds. Put the diced up lemon in a dish to use later. You will also want to retain the water it was boiled in for later...

3.     Dice the lamb neck and fry in a large oven-proof (and lidded) casserole dish over a very hot heat. Once the meat has browned, remove it from the casserole dish and set aside.

4.     In the same casserole dish you browned the lamb in, add the onion and garlic with some oil and start to sweat this down.

5.     Once the onion and garlic have started to soften, add all the spices (except the cinnamon stick and saffron) and stir over the heat to release the flavour.

6.     Add the lamb back in after a few minutes and stir the meat into the onion and spice mix, so that everything is thoroughly coated.

7.     You will now want to add your chosen liquid and also the passata. If your chosen liquid is lamb stock, then add the few strands of saffron to the stock before you pour over the meat. If you prefer, you can simply use the leftover lemon-y water from Step 2 and add the saffron to this. Stir!

8.     Add in the cinnamon stick, all the fruit (including the lemon) and the nuts and turn up the heat until the liquid is at a simmer, and let it bubble for a few minutes on the hob.

9.     Once the mix has bubbled away nicely for a few minutes, put the lid on the casserole dish and pop it in the oven for between 2 and 2.5 hours.

10.  Serve with a scattering of fresh coriander, rice, couscous or a green salad and watch the tagine magically disappear.

Let me know if you make this recipe - did you change anything? Are there any other recipes you make that are great comfort food meals?

How to get in touch:

YouTube - http://t.co/CGZBkZnWU2
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Recovering_Life 
Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co...
Email - yourlifeinrecovery@gmail.com
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